Divine Worship

A page from my journal.........

"Today I sang in the worship team at church, and for the very FIRST time in my life, felt a profound connection to God while doing so.  It wasn't a concert.  I wasn't 'performing' to those in the congregation.  I was singing to God.  Straight up to Him.  There was nothing separating me from Him.  Nothing distracting me.  I was in His presence and it was breathtaking.  My voice was all for Him."

Yes, it was wonderful.  To be super honest, I didn't know it was possible to truly deeply worship and be connected to God through worship in the 'church' setting.  But today, it happened and I feel changed and just so filled with life!  Thank you Lord!

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Take the time to read through these lyrics, seriously this is an awesome song.  We sang it today and I could hardly breathe I was so caught up in worship and awe.

"In Christ Alone"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music

"In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand."

Nurture

Yesterday, my sweet friend Mychel came over for a cup of tea and a chat.  Her little boy Ben and Elijah (and also Declan, who was visiting!) had a great play together!  Mychel also brought me these beautiful flowers- sweet little roses- which absolutely made my week!  It's so nice to feel cared for!  :)

 

Aside from the pleasure of spending a couple of hours together, the reason for her visit was to deliver me these....

The ladies in our church family are starting a new bible study, starting this week.  We are reading and working through Lisa Bevere's book "Nurture", which looks like a great read.  All about how to find that balance between giving and getting, nurturing ourselves and nurturing others.  I love the look of this beautiful pack and feel so excited to start meeting together.  Sadly, Stuart has Wizard of Oz rehearsals on Tuesday nights for the next 5 weeks or so, so I'll be doing the study by "correspondence"!  ie. doing my own reading/ listening to the audio cd/ working through the workbook at home ...... / chatting about it in the school carpark in the mornings!!!

A beautiful Sunday

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"  Philippians 4:13

Our pastor preached on this powerful verse this morning.  Hallelujah!!  Say it to yourself: it is powerful!!!  This is going to be my verse for the week ahead.

Singing with James in church this morning was a great time.  I felt God's presence touching each one of us in His house.

Stuart blessed me with a couple of child-free hours this afternoon, and I feel SO refreshed!  I went to McCafe (it was open, and more importantly air-conditioned) for an iced mocha, and poured over my diary planning things for the weeks ahead of us.  I also thought.  And dreamed.

When I got home, I made this:  A raspberry malteser ice-cream cake!  It's for our Australia Day bbq tomorrow; it was REALLY easy and seems to have turned out well.  Let me know if you'd like the recipe!

Sundays are eggs on toast night, so it was an easy tea.  I *embellished* it with a few strips of free range bacon, tiny tomatoes from the garden, and snippets of chives.  The children had passionfruit and chopped apple for dessert.  Ah, the sweetness of a simple summer meal!

Bless you in the week ahead.  May you know the peace that comes from leaning on Christ, who loves us!

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