perfect only in her imperfection

Posted by Lauren

Bless the Lord
O my soul
And all that’s within me praise Him
Bless the Lord
O my soul
And forget not all He’s done
He forgives all your iniquities
And He heals all your infirmities
He redeems your life from the pit
And crowns you with mercy

It's taken care of, all of it.
It's been washed in His blood
and
I bare it no more
Praise Him!

I wish I could wrap my heart around all that he has given me and truly, truly be thankful for it.
But I can't
So great is His steadfast love
One day I will be able to comprehend it better, until then, I will rejoice in what I do know!

Posted by Lauren

How deep the Father’s Love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He would give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

how deep my fathers love for me
Higher than the mountains
Deeper than the ocean
Farther than the reach of the sky

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breathe has brought me life
I know that it is finished

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Why should I gain from his reward.
I can not give an answer

Why did I gain from his reward?
it's His love...

That's why

Posted by Lauren

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the moldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the moldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

The Rainy Day~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Posted by Lauren

my heart will sing how great is our God

When I am Joyful
When I am Disappointed
When I am Saddened
When I am Hopeful
When I am Delighted
When I am Confused
When I have had a bad day
When I am walking on the clouds
When I am in the valley of the shadow of death

my heart will sing how great is our God

All the time
Any were
No matter the circumstance
No excuse

my heart will sing how great is my God

It will sing, I will make a joyful noise
doesn't matter what I "feel" like doing

I WILL

Only true joy comes from my savior...I shall look no further.
No further

Posted by Lauren

Forgiven

Posted by Lauren

I have not much, to offer You.
Not near what You deserve, but still You come,
Because Your cross, has placed in me my worth.

....

Oh Christ my King, of sympathy,
Whose wounds secure my peace.
Your grace extends to call me friend.
Your mercy sets me free.

Here I am, at your feet in my brokenness
I am complete

Posted by Lauren

Hebrews 12:5 & 6

My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.

Verse 11:
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

A harvest...i want to reap that harvest...

& there she wept

Posted by Lauren

There's only grace
There's only love
There's only mercy and believe me it's enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
And there's nothing left now
There's only grace
~ matthew west

I am free, I AM Free

don't tell me there is no hope, 'cause i got a whole other story...

there is hope, and you are sure to hear about it, every single last one of you

Oh, it is a dark, dark world.

The failures of yesterday become the regrets of today; the regrets of today become the discouragement of tomorrow

Posted by Lauren

I am making history...not that I actually like that thought but I am.
Every time I make a choice, one little thing, could change everything.

This is the first day of the rest of my life...

I want to make it good, but I can not do it on my own...

I wrote my obit today...maybe that is what brought this on... idk
all i have to say is I hope I HOPE, i achieve all that i wrote about

I wish i could put into words what my heart screams, i wish i could.

Posted by Lauren

Savior, I'm overcome with Your great love for me.

-Starfield

Posted by Lauren

They say that love can heal the broken
They say that hope can make you see
They say that faith can find a Savior
If you would follow and believe
with faith like a child

It all comes back to faith like a child

kids are so trusting, loving, and compassionate
amazing what life can do to a person

forces you to grow up to quickly

makes you second guess everything
it pressures you to loose the bounce in your step
hurries you through causing you to miss the the little things
influences your mind to choose what the world says is right

But you know what,
My God saved the day!
He has made a way
For Me.
So I will grin and bear it!

Hallelujah

Posted by Lauren

We soon shall join the throng
Their pleasures we shall share
And sing the everlasting song
With all the ransomed there
~ David Crowder

With all the ransomed there

we will sing the everlasting song

my God is great...no, He isn't great He is better then great...
he is so much better that there isn't even a word to describe Him.

Not one word!

I can't wait...

...

Posted by Lauren

nothing new to update about today...other then my wonderful brother returning to the face of the earth!

So I am just going to post a poem I wrote for Madison

Ode to Madison

My muse is dead, it just up and died

It left no note, didn’t even say goodbye,

So here I sit, and I will try to write

A note to this dear friend of mine…

I am kind of mad you see,

You can’t just up and leave me.

What shall I do at 6:02

When care group is getting started?

It’s a tough situation you have to agree

We are the only ones out of many teens.

Why must you do this to me?

But now I will be kind to you

‘Cause how much of this did you really do?

It’s not your fault that you must leave,

So here I go, let me list the reasons why I do love you so.

You are pretty darn amazing this I do know.

I mean who else would offer to take my heavy vegetable tray without a slight delay.

And with whom shall I race through the obstacle course to only be badly beaten.

So this is my Ode to Madison.

My dear dear friend.

I shall miss you but the pain shall only last a moment,

For when the times I feel so sad I shall open up that Facebook fad

And gaze upon the lovely picture of your fish face,

Oh it is quite sad

And that shall make me laugh.

i felt inspired...

Posted by Lauren

well today i felt "inspired"
Wrote a poem for my dear Madison that is moving
Also made her a card (shown above)
Made a Challah...yea i know...i just like to say it :D
mmm and got a bit of a tan...yes it was pretty wonderful

and here is my Challah, and no it isn't burnt like it looks :P

and yes to end this pointless post I am listening to some pretty stellar "happy" music!

God is so good to me!

Posted by Lauren

My heart will praise throughout the night
Where singing seems a sacrifice
And you calm the raging seas
And You calm the storms in me, again
Your grace is all I need
Your grace is all I need

All I know is that I find rest in you

death

Posted by Lauren

In it's obsession with happiness and live, our culture has locked death in a closet and tried desperately to lose the key. We certainly don't treat death as the doorway into bliss.
~ Ted Dekker

oh, but it is.
this is my Fathers world, he has created it.
the wonderful things in this life have, come from him
the things i enjoy

Oh how the more will I be joyful in heaven when there is no more destruction
when death no longer has a sting
when moths and rust no longer destroy and when thieves can no longer break in and steal

why am I chasing after my earthly desires?

I am going to die someday...and you know what?
the sooner the better!

missing out

Posted by Lauren

Mark me with Your grace
Shape me in Your wisdom
Place in me a heart
Of mercy
Open up my eyes
Let me see Your glory
Lead me to the place
You want me
~starfield

what am i missing out on in my lifetime?
what joys have i not found?
what secrets are still secret?

When I think about life and the life I have lived up to this point I would say I am pretty satisfied with the way I have lived...

But that disgusts me.
Every day I miss many opportunities to serve, to love, to care, to engage.

many opportunities

and that is just the things i realize i have yet to even embark on God's journey
i haven't discovered his servants heart, his love, his care, his grace
and when i get to heaven...i know, that i would have barely left a small ripple in the water of his perfect plan.

oh let it not be so...

Posted by Lauren

“If the praise of others elates me, or if the blame of others depresses me, then I know nothing of Calvarys love.” –Amy Carmichael

yea...that's a lesson in and of itself...

Posted by Lauren

Ecclesiastes 11:5
As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things

There you go changing my bad for good...there you go again.

Posted by Lauren

I've made mistakes
Haven't we all
but I the biggest by far is not asking for forgivness on my mistakes.

Psalm 103

¹¹ For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
¹² He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
¹³ The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

I cry, Father, Father, forgive me
You say, Child, I already have
You are beautiful

bare with me please!

Posted by Lauren

Think of it: Nothing, not even an fly, not even an atom...nothing.

There was no count of time, no count of life...nothing.
No blue and green ball of earth, no galaxies...nothing.

There was nothing, just a wonderful, powerful God.Then... POW

"it" was
He made a self relying earth that ran only by His instruction
everything in perfect harmony, order
not a flaw
no miscalculations
no minuscule defect.
Perfection
We who were not, now are...

God started with absolutely nothing
let me say it again

NOTHING

what a mighty God we serve

random subject yes i know...but i think i was just able to touch it today in a way i have never touched it before...when i was doing school with the Hoy kids this is what they were learning about. The blank page really got me. You can call me incoherent, 'cause i am.

Funny of God to use these situations to bring glory to Him...

anywhere i go...i am still not out of your sight!

oh mighty God

Posted by Lauren

" my soul is screaming out to be found in you "

the secret???

Posted by Lauren

My secret as obvious as it may be is that I need God--I am shattered and no longer can I make it on my own. I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem to be capable of giving; to help me be kind, as I no longer seem capable of kindness; to help me love, as I seem beyond being able to love. To help me forgive because I am no longer capable of forgiving.

To give me humility, because I was never capable of practicing it on my own.

Yes,
I think my questions are now answered
Me fears are now crushed
My excuses are no longer...

I need God, and that is all there is to it

that ugly word: pride

Posted by Lauren

And I'll follow you there
to the place where we meet
and I'll lay down my pride
as you search me again
~ hillsong

I just can't do it in my own strength anymore

Posted by Lauren

I felt like the weight of the world was, crashing down on me
& some how I just didn't believe, That was how it was supposed to be.

But oh' were was this verse a couple of days ago?

Romans12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

...and yet I still do not grasp...

Posted by Lauren

This is my Father's world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker's praise.

This is my Father's world:
he shines in all that's fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father's world
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

Why should my heart be sad?
Who cares what I "feel" like.
Who cares what happened today.

The Lord is King, He reigns, I will be Glad!!

Posted by Lauren

Ephesians 3:20
Now to HIM who is able to do immeasurably more then all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

To him be the Glory