Live by Faith

"I have been crucified with Christ: it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." - Galatians 2:20

My Savior, My God

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior

I take Him at His word and deed
Christ died to save me this I read
And in my heart I find a need
For Him to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves, my Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God He was, my God He is
My God He's always gonna be

Yes, living, dying; let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves, my Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God He was, My God He is
My God He's always gonna be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCUO7FAp6J8

Press On

When the valley is deep
When the mountain is steep
When the body is weary
When we stumble and fall

When the choices are hard
When we're battered and scarred
When we've spent our resources
When we've given our all

In Jesus' name, we press on
In Jesus' name, we press on
Dear Lord, with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on

Dear Lord, with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on

In Jesus' name, we press on
In Jesus' name, we press on
Dear Lord, with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on

We find the strength to press on
To press on

If You want me to...

"The pathway is broken and the signs are unclear
And I dont know the reason why You brought me here
But just because You love me the way that You do
I'm gonna walk through the valley if You want me to

No I'm not who I was when I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise You're not through with me yet
So if all of these trials bring me closer to You
Then I will walk through the fire if You want me to

It may not be the way I would've chosen
When You lead me through a world that's not my home
But You never said it would be easy
You only said I'd never go alone

So when the whole world turns against me
And I'm all by myself and I can't hear You answer my cries for help
I'll remember the suffering that Your love put You through
And I will walk through the darkness if You want me to

'Cause when I cross over Jordan I'm gonna sing, gonna shout
Gonna look into Your eyes and see You never let me down
So take me on the pathway that leads me home to You
And I will walk through the valley if You want me to

Yes I will walk through the valley if You want me to."

The Propriety of Praise

"It is good to give thanks to the Lord, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound. For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. O Lord, how great are Your works!" - Psalm 92:1-5a

~How Great Thou Art~

"Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

The Higher Aspect

“We should never lose sight of the higher aspect of our work – that of obedience to God, of bringing glory to His name, of gladdening the heart of our God and Father by living and serving as His beloved children.” - Hudson Taylor

AMAZING GRACE

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun."

Military Life

You stay up for 16 hours.
He stays up for days on end.
____________________________________________________

You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water.
____________________________________________________

You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.
He gets shot at as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.
____________________________________________________

You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.
He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.
____________________________________________________

You make sure you're cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.
____________________________________________________

You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren't with you.
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.

____________________________________________________

You complain about how hot it is.
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.
____________________________________________________

You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He doesn't get to eat today.
____________________________________________________

Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean.
____________________________________________________

You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.
____________________________________________________

You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He's told he will be held over an extra 2 months.
____________________________________________________

You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.
____________________________________________________

You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet.
____________________________________________________

You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.
____________________________________________________

You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded.
____________________________________________________

You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying around him.
____________________________________________________

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.
He does exactly what he is told even if it puts his life in danger.
____________________________________________________

You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat.
____________________________________________________

You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable.
He tries to sleep but gets woken by mortars and helicopters all night long.
_____________________________________________________

I got this as an e-mail forward a while back and I thought since today
was the 11th it would be a great reminder once again to stop and pray for the brave men and women who are out fighting and defending our freedom.

Stop and Think

Breathe on me, Breath of God, 
fill me with life anew, 
that I may love what Thou dost love, 
and do what Thou wouldst do. 

Breathe on me, Breath of God, 
until my heart is pure, 
until with Thee I will one will, 
to do and to endure. 

Breathe on me, Breath of God, 
till I am wholly Thine,
till all this earthly part of me 
glows with Thy fire divine. 

Breathe on me, Breath of God, 
so shall I never die, 
but live with Thee the perfect life 
of Thine eternity. 

I love music, but sometimes I never stop to think about the words....
We sang this hymn in Church a couple of weeks ago and even though
I've sung this hymn probably a hundred times, I never stopped to think
about the words. This hymn is truly amazing and should be the prayer
of every Christian.

- Fallen Soldiers -

The Mansions of the Lord
To fallen soldiers let us sing, Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing,
Our broken brothers let us bring, To the mansions of the Lord.
No more weeping, no more fight, No friends bleeding through the night, Just divine embrace, eternal light, In the mansions of the Lord.
Where no mother's cry, and no children weep,
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep,
All through the ages safely keep, The mansions of the Lord

My family was listening to this song on the way home from spending the evening with friends. It just really made me stop and think about the men and women who serve our country. I think sometimes we get so wrapped up in our everyday lives that we don't stop and think that even right now our soldiers are out there fighting for us and for our freedom. So this is a reminder to stop whatever you may be doing right now and take a few moments to pray for our soldiers.

We Were Soldiers
Lay me down, in that cold cold ground,
Where before, many more have gone,
When they come, I will stand my ground,
Stand my ground, I'll not be afraid,
Thoughts of home take away my fear,
Sweat and blood, hide my veil of tears,
Once a year say a prayer for me,
Close your eyes, and remember me.

To God be the Glory!

"Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things! And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen." - Psalm 72:18-19

~To God be the Glory~

To God be the glory, great things He has done;
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

Great things He has taught us, great things He has done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

Peer Pressure - Fear of Man

"Since all of us are affected by it at one time or another, we are almost sympathetic toward such behavior. But this is perhaps the most tragic form of the fear of man. Teenagers are constantly making unwise decisions because of it. Adults, too, look to people for their cues. We spend too much time wondering what other may have thought about our outfit or the comment we made in the small group meeting. We see opportunities to testify about Christ, but we avoid them. We are more concerned about looking stupid (a fear of people) than we are about acting sinfully (fear of the Lord)." - Edward T. Welch (When people are big and God is small)

I came across this today when I was reading and thought it was very interesting and decided to share it. It was really convicting for me, I sometimes find myself doing that. This book has been great, it has pointed out a lot of areas in my life that I need to work on. Sometimes it's scary because it's almost like it was written for me. I haven't gotten very far in it, (I usually just read a small potion at a time and let it sink it) but I definitely recommend this book for everyone to read! :)

~A Woman of Christ~

A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her."

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'" I'm whispering "I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian" I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be perfect, My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain.. I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not holier than thou, I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!”