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Sunday, October 19, 2008

The River...

By Meredith Andrews...may it speak to you as it spoke to me.

Worship...


Our church has a very "come as you are" attitude toward worship. We believe that some of the best times of worship come when you bring everything - your spirit, your self, your thoughts, your struggles, your triumphs with you when you worship God. Everyone has different ways of worshiping God. Some are quiet, some are loud. Some sing and dance and throw their hands in the air. Some are thoughtful and prayerful and prefer quiet ways of letting God know how much they love Him. I am typically a louder worshiper. I love to sing, I can't help but move my feet when I hear a great song that provides me with words to sing when I have no words to describe what Jesus means to me. Today I saw a form of worship that took me out of my comfort zone...in a good way.
As always, I was sitting in the very front pew at church, singing and dancing (just a little, it is a baptist church after all!) and I saw movement to one side of me. When I turned to look, there was a middle aged woman moving as fast as her legs would carry her to the front of the church. On her face was a look so honest, so open, so full of adoration, desperation, love and wanting...I was shocked into silence. When she got to the front of the stage, she fell to her knees and, hands raised, kept singing in worship to God.
I don't know why I was so surprised to see that. I think that alot of people have those feelings while worshipping but not all of them project it like this woman did. I could feel tears coming to my eyes as I watched this beautiful woman kneeling in awe and reverence, singing of the coming of her King. It was the most honest, open form of worship I had ever seen. She left the front of the church once the singing was over and the only thing that I could think was, "Thank You Jesus that we have the freedom to worship You in whatever way You move us to worship. Thank You that You move so powerfully in people's lives that they are awestruck in Your presence. We are a blessed people!"
We are so fully loved by the One who never fails, who sees all, who knows all. His love is everlasting! In whatever way Jesus moves you, I challenge you to worship Him with everything you are...good bad and ugly. He'll take it all. Not only will it move you to a closer relationship with Him, but it may move the people who watch you...like that wonderful lady moved me.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

I'm still here...

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. A lot has been happening around here.

For those who don't know, my Aunt is very ill. I can't go into details as I don't have permission to do so. Just know that we are praying for a miracle or at the very least, guidance so that the family will know what to do next. Her name is Jean. If you are of a praying nature, please pray for her and her family.

Training at work is done and I am officially a customer service rep for individual life insurance at Sun Life. I love my job and the people I work with. They are a wonderful, diverse group of people and I appreciate the team spirit I feel there.

The studio has been busy. I haven't been writing as much lately (I need to start again soon!) but I'm doing a concert with Ira Provost on October 22 at the Lethbridge College. It will be great to get back on stage. I'm still doing some commercials and jingles, background vocals and the like. I wish I could spend more time there...it's really where I love to be. My day job seems to get in the way.

The family (John and kids) are doing great. School is in full swing for Declan. He really likes his teacher and has 3 guinea pigs in his class! Rowan spends the days with her Dad which has really strengthened that bond and she spends her evenings with me.

I am scheduled for a hystorectomy (I hope I spelled that correctly) in November. I've been having some issues (nothing serious) with that part of my anatomy so my doctor and I decided that since I was done with childbearing anyway, it would be best to just take it out. They're going to leave my ovaries alone which will allow me to stay away from HRT which I've heard can have some crazy side effects. I'll be off work for min 6 weeks but I will be eligible for short term disability which is good. At least the bills will be paid. I'm hoping that my Mom can come help us out a little as John will still have to work and I won't be able to do much for a while. I guess that her availability will really depend on what happens with my Aunt. So I'm praying pretty hard about that and guidance on who else to ask if my Mom can't be here.

That's all the news that's fit to print for right now. Thank you to all of you who pray for me and my family. I appreciate your prayers and they have carried us through many tough times. Please continue to pray as we wait for news of my Aunt. Please pray for strength for my Mother who is there supporting the family in this tough time and pray for direction and guidance for the family as they talk to the doctors about what direction to take treatment for my Aunt.

God bless you all...