My Chains Are Gone...

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace

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

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

i am not afraid!

okay, so maybe you guys have noticed that i am really big on sharing lyrics. it's just something i like to do, find songs, listen to them over and over again and then share the words with people who might get something out of it. anyhoo, this is a song that we're singing tomorrow morning in choir and i absolutely love it! it's so very uplifting and i think many people can relate to it. it's titled "I Am Not Afraid".....

 I Am Not Afraid
 In the emptiness of silence
 when the world has turned away;
 beneath the weight of sorrow
 when I can no longer pray;
 in the wilderness of worry,
 in the desert of despair;
 in the never ending darkness
 when it seems that no one cares,

 I am not afraid, I am not alone
 You hold me in Your hands and will not let me go.
 Though the waters rise, and though the wind may blow,
 I will not be afraid, for I am not alone.

 When there are no words of comfort
 that can stem the flow of tears;
 when I'm stranded at the center
 of a rising tide of fear;
 when there is no path before me,
 when my feet have lost their way,
 I remember you are with me
 and I am not afraid!

  I am not afraid, I am not alone
 You hold me in Your hands and will not let me go.
 Though the waters rise, and though the wind may blow,
 I will not be afraid, for I am not alone.

 I will not be afraid....I am not alone.

An Image After His....

"Many women have done excellently,
   but you surpass them all."

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
   but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
   and let her works praise her in the gates.
                 Proverbs 31:29-31

A humble, lowly contrite heart, believing, true, and clean.
which neither life nor death can part from Christ who dwells within.
A heart in every though renewed and full of love divine,
perfect and right and pure and good, a copy, Lord, of thine.
Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart; come quickly from above;
write thy new name upon my heart, they new, best name of Love.
                              
                                                             Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Just a Closer Walk With Thee

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

 Now, I know, I know, after reading that you're most likely not wanting to read any more, but I have something to say!!! (as i normally do....)

 I want you to be able to dig way, way deep into this song, and think about it all. The beginning...."I am weak" which oh, we are. I don't think I go a day without my realizing that I could not be able to do or go through anything by myself. But..."Jesus is strong"!! Wow! This is always an encouragement to me because we can always go to God, and He will always be there! We are never left alone or forsaken, and we can cast all our care on Him, who will redeem and refresh us. We should never (as very hard as it sometimes is!) be unsatisfied in the Love of God.

"Let me walk close to Thee..."

"Through this world of toils and snares..." We all know how many things can bring us down, whether it be just by temptation or if we've gone to actually do it. Satan is waiting out there to trap us in these "toils" and "snares", and we need to be on the lookout! "If I falter, who cares!" Wow. Again and again I am caught up in becoming self-conscious about my sins, but really? God is the only one who we really need to go to. (unless, of course, this sin concerns another...) And He is always ready to forgive! "Who with me my burdens shares? None but Thee, Lord, None but Thee." I think this really ties into what I said up there, God will never, ever leave us. And I believe that at one point or another, you are going to get to a spot where you feel that all is lost, that no matter what people say, you are completely alone. But this is so not true. I fall into this trap so often, that I have come to even pray that this doesn't happen in my daily prayer! Our heavenly Father is always there. It's like He's always a prayer away, which you can do anywhere! Anytime, and anyplace, He will hear you!

"Let me walk close to Thee..."

 "When my feeble life is o'er". I'm pretty sure this is self-explainable. This is when we die, or, I think, about to die. If I live to be really old, and I know I'm going to die, I know I will want to be able to look back and say... "I walked with the Lord!" I think that something like this should be the prayer of us all, really. I know I have seen and read about people who have lived and walked with the Lord and their stories have gone down through generations to get to us! I'm not saying I necessarily want to be one of those people, but I want to be like them. Follow their examples, and walk in their footsteps to becoming more like Christ! "Guide me gently, safely o'er To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore." Okay, I'm going to be practical. None of us know what heaven looks like. We can't even begin to imagine what God has planned for us after this life. I know we sometimes joke about eating pizza and drinking Mtn. Dew, (or maybe that's just me and my friends....) but really. God has created a place, a place beyond all expectation of any man or woman, that we are going to spend eternity. And I dont think we're going to go around like the world we live in now. Because we're going to be in such awe, we will fall at the feet of our creator!! How absolutely amazing it will be to be able to not only worship Him, but to be able to talk to Him, and walk with Him! Indescribable.

 So maybe I'm completely boring you with things you already knew, but I felt as if I should share what God has shown me today! Keep on living for Him....