A Hymn for Him

As I was praying this morning, this Hymn came to my mind. It seemed to sum up what I was feeling and thinking, so I thought I might share it with you!


As The Deer

As the deer panteth for the water,
So my soul longs after you.
You alone are my hearts desire,
And I long to worship You.

Chorus
You alone are my strength, my shield;
To You alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my hearts desire,
and I long to worship You.

I want you more than gold or silver,
Only You can satisfy.
You alone are the real joy giver
And the apple of my eye.

Chorus
You alone are my strength, my shield;
To You alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my hearts desire,
and I long to worship You.

You're my friend and You're my brother,
Even though you are a King.
I love You more than any other
So much more than anything.

Chorus
You alone are my strength, my shield;
To You alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my hearts desire,
and I long to worship You.


Psalm 42:1
"As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
so panteth my soul after thee, O God."

Easter Reflections

Well Easter has come and gone , but not without its share of reflection and remembrance. Something that has burned in my thoughts all weekend was a question that seemed to have come to mind starting on Good Friday. It is this: Why do we look to the world to give us Jesus? Let me back up.

Around the Easter holiday, as with all of the other spiritually significant holidays that we as believers celebrate, there is a sense of over-powering secular commercialism everywhere you go. Around Christmastime there are the Santas and reindeer that fill aisles and aisles of craft stores and shops. And at Easter you see the eggs, chicks, and bunnies all around. For some of us, me included, it can feel quite overwhelming to the point where I just want to get away from it all and focus on the true meaning of the holiday. So I busy myself with a "spiritual" event or craft. "There, that's better", I think. But then it occurred to me, Jesus doesn't live any more in a "He is Risen" banner than He lives in a silly bunny decoration or the tradition of families dying colored eggs- He lives in our hearts! And if He can be just as real and personal in the silliness of plastic eggs or the sweetness of a coconut cake, then so be it! I beat myself up too much sometimes about making sure my holidays are "spiritual" enough and feeling guilty when they don't seem to be, and I forget that Christ does not live in events or crafts, He lives in Me and You! Do I think it's more important to make a Resurrection scene over a Spring scene? I'm not the one to ask. I absolutely believe in teaching your children the story of Easter and what Christ has done for us by His death and resurrection- but the message that He came to bring us Life and Freedom! What a message to remember! And freedom in many, many forms. :) Having a wooden cross around your neck doesn't make you any more close to Him for it. Because you see, He doesn't live in symbols like churches or crosses, nor does He parade only down the aisles of "Spiritual-themed" decor- He lives in US!

So my question, "Why do we look to the world to give us Jesus?" You won't find Him there. Not truly. You need only look to the One that lives within you that died to bring you Life! And if you have not met Hm yet, you won't have to look hard...He's all around you. He's in her wrinkled smile or his helping hand. He's there, just open your eyes.

So I must ask you....what is more obvious in your life? That gladness and peace of your heart evidencing the Life that is in You, or merely symbols that decorate your life, and stop there. Something to chew on.

Keeping the Balance

When it comes to healthy living, I was beginning to think I was doing A-Okay. I have slowly and gradually begun to weed out unnecessary cleaning and beauty products that do more harm than good for me, and for the most part, eating healthfully has been one of my top priorities on our healthy regimen....until about 2 months ago. We moved. And with every busy, life-altering event that comes along, certain things do end up getting cast to the wayside. Where as before I was trying to buy things like fresh fruits and veggies and organic cereal, all of a sudden I was buying things like taco bell, Wendy's and Chinese food! Don't get me wrong...these are not bad in moderation, but we were having them about 3 or more times a week, with meals like Maruchan in-between. This went on for about a month of more, and where this kind of food is tasty to be sure, let me just say it doesn't leave you feeling the greatest. :P After we settled in and my kitchen was cleaned and put to good order, I once again fell in love with cooking! How fresh and fun it was to rediscover my cookbook collection (I have a library of cookbooks!) and to go about planning our meals out for the week. Matthew likes it when I do this...I think he just likes knowing there's gonna be food!

So, last week when I was planning our meals the thought occurred to me, "we're eating pretty well, but are we eating all the right things?" My cooking rediscovery hadn't been a bad one, but I was curious as to if we were eating a balanced diet. I did a little research online and my discovery was this: NO. We were doing well in the fruits and breads department, but the vegetable department was seriously lacking. So here I went again. Planning my menu that week took a little more thought than what appealed to our taste buds, but I'm really enjoying the new balanced diet approach. It's fun...and you know what? We both have a lot more energy than we did before. At least I do! A passage in Daniel comes to mind. :) I have included the chart below so you too can check out how you're doing and perhaps by me posting this, I will be kept accountable, too! Happy, healthy eating!