Music Review

This is some of the music that is resonating with my soul lately and helps me be in God's presence and helps my joy...

In the car yesterday, we had a PureNRG CD in. I have heard it 100 times, but never really heard the words to this song. It so hit home! (I know it's a kids' CD, but it is truth!) It is called "Pray" and here are the first lines... (or see it, hear it here.)

Overwhelmed and uninspired
Miscommunication breakdown
I'm in an ocean
Trying to start a fire
Burning out

I know what I've got to do
Take my time and talk to You...

...I see clearly
Every single time I
Close my eyes and
Pray

I so needed that reminder!

And then there is Travis Cottrell's newest album Jesus Saves Live. It leads me to worship everytime I sing with it! My favorites..."Do It Lord" and "In Christ Alone (with the Solid Rock)." I can't listen to that one without tears coming to my eyes. Oh, and "My Inheritance." If you went to Beth Moore's Living Proof last August in San Antonio, you will especially love that one too. You can get a glimpse of each song on Travis' website. (In the middle is a player, it starts automatically.)

Of course I couldn't talk about music without mentioning Steven Curtis Chapman. He has a new project coming out soon. It is an album that he did this year in the struggle of living after the death of his daughter, Maria. He talks about it in a blog video here. And here is the first single released.



So what is on your playlist lately that helps with your joy?

Joy Seeking Instruction

Down in My Heart Kind of Joy
Lesson 4
Seek Instruction

If you could have lunch with any living person who would it be? That is a “get to know me” question that is often asked. There are some I would like to spend time with because I think they would make me laugh, like Anita Renfro, the lady who sings “The Mom Song.” But most of the people on my list are wise people I would love to learn from and just a few hours to ask questions would be great!

I have a uniquely personal opportunity to meet each and everyday with my Creator. Sometimes we do laugh. Sometimes I cry. Most of the time, I learn something. We all have this wonderful opportunity. What will we do with it? Part of the joy of being in God’s presence is seeking His instruction and learning from Him.

Read Jeremiah 15:16.

The New Living Translations says “I devoured them.” When was the last time you devoured a chunk of God’s Word? In Psalms 81:10 He promises that if we open our mouth wide, He will fill it!
David spoke of the commandments or Word of the Lord bringing joy to the heart. And meditating on His Word is one way we spend time with Him in His presence.

Read Psalm 19:8 and Psalm 1:1-2.

Proverbs 8:33-34 Listen to My [Wisdom’s] instruction and be wise. Don’t ignore it. Joyful (NIV says blessed) are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home! For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord. (NLT)

God is wisdom. Am I listening to His instruction? Am I spending time in His Word? Even if I am hearing it, am I doing it, or ignoring His teaching? Do I watch for Him? Am I waiting for Him?

Proverbs 2:6-11 For the Lord grants wisdom! From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to Him. Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. For wisdom will enter your heart and wisdom will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. (NLT)

While we are on this treasure hunt, let’s pick up some common sense! Wisdom will enter your heart and fill you with joy. And there is the presence of God again—in His instruction!

Psalm 94:12 Joyful are those You discipline, Lord, those You teach with Your instruction. (NLT)

The last time I checked, my usual response to discipline was not joyful. Chris Rice has a song that says “I’d take no for an answer, just to know I heard Your voice.” That is so true! I have to be in His presence for Him to teach me and discipline me. It is confirmation of God’s presence and His working in my life. Hebrews 12:7 says “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?” That is how I can be joyful and feel blessed by discipline.

Psalm 119:92-93 If Your instructions hadn’t sustained me with joy, I would have died in my misery. I will never forget Your commandments, for by them You give me life. (NLT)

The NIV has the phrase “been my delight” for “sustained me with joy.” Either way God’s instructions—His Word—is what gets me through the day. It is my life, my delight, and my joy to be in His presence studying the Words He gave me to live by.

Read Proverbs 3:13-18.

More profitable than silver, better returns than gold, more precious than rubies, blessed, joyful, peace…if that doesn’t make you want to seek His instruction, I don’t know what will! I’m going on a treasure hunt!

Heart question:
So what will you do with your uniquely personal opportunity to be in God’s presence every day?

In Jill Savage's post today she talks about having just a snack with God or having a meal with Him. It is an interesting concept. You can read it here.

One of the perks

Dad and the kids walking/biking to school...it's one of the perks!

After they left for school, SweetTate and I left for Wal-mart...45 minutes away! That is not a perk! :) So we have to count what is good!

Seeking Joy

Down in My Heart Kind of Joy
Lesson 3
Seek Joy

We have established that being in God’s presence produces joy. Just like any other positive outcome, now I will have a desire to actively seek God’s presence because I want it! Beth Moore says all the time, “There ain’t no high, like the Most High!” And unlike anything else I can pursue, this comes with satisfying promises.

Read Psalm 70:4.

Remember that God promises that He will be found by those who seek Him. This is a promise that we find evidence of over and over in Scripture. Even when the soldiers were seeking Jesus to arrest Him, He was found. Here is a familiar verse in the New Living Translation.

Matthew 7:7-8 Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to
everyone who knocks. (NLT)

Don’t quit! Keep on searching for Him. Keep on reading His Word. Keep on talking with Him in prayer. Keep on knowing Him in your situation. He is not trying to play hard to get. He wants to be found! Look what else we find when we seek Him.

Read Psalm 105:4.

When I seek Him, I will find Him and spending time with Him gives me joy—His strength. (Strength—hold this thought for lesson 12)

Read Psalm 9:10.

When I get to know Him, it builds my trust in Him. I love the promise that He will not abandon me!

Psalm 119:143 As pressure and
stress bear down on me, I find joy in Your commands. (NLT)

During stressful times it is tempting to not spend time with God because other things steal my time, and it shows by the lack of joy. When I am stressed, look for joy in Him! Keep on seeking Him!

Psalm 40:16 But may all who
search for You be filled with joy and gladness in You. May those who love
Your salvation repeatedly shout, “The Lord is great!” (NLT)

I want to claim the blessing of joy and gladness in the Lord in Psalm 40:16 and repeatedly shout “The Lord is great!” So I will actively seek God’s presence—His joy, strength, and security.


Heart questions:
What am I seeking?




What am I finding?

Welcome to our home

Come on in! This is the view from our front door.

This is from the kitchen.

Yea, think of your first apartment and you have the layout. But it is working for us.

It is amazing the things that make you feel like home. When we put the pictures on the wall, it made such a difference! But it is wierd things sometimes, like PBS kids. It seems like home until the commercials come on and the sponsors are from a different home town. Sometimes it makes me do a double take! Or finding the right place to plug in the vacuum that reaches the whole house! And going to Wal-mart. I love that most of them are laid out the same--it makes my life easier. But I walk out the door and my car is not parked in its usual row!

What makes you feel at home?

My Source of Joy

Down in My Heart Kind of Joy
Lesson 2
Source of Joy

Last time we looked at the fact that joy comes from being in God’s presence. His presence includes the whole Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Now, this isn’t just any joy…

Read Psalm 4:7-8 and fill in the blank.

You have ________________ my heart with ______________ joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

I just had to include verse 8. One reason is that I think there is a link between joy and peace, but I haven’t studied that yet. Keep an eye on that as you study because many times joy is mentioned, peace is near. Is that any wonder because joy comes from being in the presence of God! Secondly, it reiterates that God alone is our refuge!

OK, back to verse 7. He fills my heart with greater joy. Greater than the celebration of harvest! Greater than when there is plenty of money in the bank and the pantry is full! And He wants to fill my heart with this greater joy, not just in one area, not just part of the time—full. That means He has to have all of my heart and His presence will fill every area, all the time. In the second video of the Wising Up study Beth Moore teaches about the “Heart of Wisdom” and asks “How is your heart?”

Heart question: Is my heart full of greater joy? Why or why not? What do I need to do about it?



I don’t know about you, but sometimes I struggle with this concept. Can we really be in God’s presence? God answers through David and Elijah:

Read Psalm 116:9 and 1 Kings 18:15.

Can you think of other Bible characters who were in the presence of God? Moses, Joshua, the Disciples, and Paul are a few that come to mind. We can be in God’s presence continually. One of the classic Christian books is Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. At first, I thought sure, he is a monk! It is easy for him to practice the presence of God. How am I going to relate? Then I read it. Do you know what his job was at the monastery? He worked in the kitchen! OK, maybe I can relate! He said he prayed before he began a task and then prayed afterward to confess if necessary, thank Him, praise Him, and ask that God be glorified by what he had done.

Ann Graham Lotz was teaching this concept and she illustrated it like this. When you go for a walk with a friend, there are two rules. (I had a friend I walked with all the time and I didn’t remember there being rules to it!) She said you have to walk the same direction and at the same speed. I guess there are rules; I never thought about it that way. Prayer is a big part of being in God’s presence. It’s a two way conversation. And it is the way I check in to be sure God and I are headed the same direction at the same speed. Not only can I be in His presence, I need to be in His presence!

Heart question: So how is my walk? Am I in His presence or going the other direction? Am I in His presence or jumping ahead or lagging behind?




Watch what happens when God’s presence is gone…

Read Isaiah 16:10.

When God’s presence is gone, there is no joy even in things that usually are celebrated, like the harvests for the Israelites.

I have times that I just do not have joy. One particular time I was especially restless and discontent. In fact, if my children had been acting this way I would have sent them to take a nap! That was part of the problem—I was tired. But I was also tired of doing the same dishes, the same dirty laundry, cleaning the same… One day I was dusting and my son's nap music was praise songs. It wasn’t so bad dusting that day! I used to clean listening to music all the time, but I haven’t in a while. It made me smile to do the same cleaning jobs, but the difference was God’s presence. (Psalm 22:3 “But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” KJV) So if you find yourself grumbling or just a bad attitude in general, let God be part of it. It may not be as easy as turning on music and you’ll have to be creative, but let His presence bring joy to your situation. Remember Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Acknowledge there means to know Him. In all your situations, KNOW HIM there. Let His presence be there and know Him. Let Him bring His joy to your situation.

Heart question: Is my joy gone? Can I connect it to God’s presence being gone?


If you want to read other verses about joy coming from being in God’s presence:
1 Chronicles 16:27; Psalm 25:6; Psalm 68:3, 6; Proverbs 14:10;
Isaiah 12:6

Funny story

Sunday after church we stopped at Sonic to pick up lunch. SweetHeart pulled out into the turning lane and drove there for a little bit (I wasn't scared yet) before he realized he needed to scoot on over to the right lane. He said, "Oh, I guess I could move over." While SweetTate was saying, "Dodge and weave! Dodge and weave!" He got that from the movie Cars. I'm still laughing today! Hope it brings you a smile!