I have really been hearing God lately. It amazes me how creative He is in finding ways to speak to me. I am excited that I have learned how to not miss the moments when He talks to me. Like I said before, He has been talking to me about relationships. He has talked to me through a fiction book I just recently read, people in my life, and through my song that I wrote. I have been reminded of the importance of just "being" in relationship with God. I have been made aware of the fact that I have been placing a lot of time and energy in trying to get close to Him by pleasing Him. I have learned another important fact, that after you let Jesus into your heart you have to learn how to let Him go. What I mean by that is, I have been keeping Jesus all to myself, not letting Him out to shine, not sharing Him with others.
He brought this to my attention while I was practicing my song one day. I have always had a fear of talking to others about God and Jesus. I have never really understood what I was a afraid of. Why AM I afraid to share Jesus with others? I believe God shed some light on that while I was reading that book, by the way it is titled "The Shack". I have never had a fiction book talk to me so much. This might sound kind of weird, but while I read that book I wrote down like 6 pages worth of sentences from that book into a notebook, just things that really inspired me or talked to me in someway. Anyway, there was one part that talked about how fear is just our imagination of the future and rarely is God ever a part of it. That just got stuck in my head. I don't really know that I completely understand it yet. I think some of my imagination of the future is about a fear of disappointing God and people around me. Then there was another part of the book I believe God used to tell me something, and that was that God expects nothing of me and therefore can never be disappointed in me. I believe just like every other step that I have taken in my spiritual walk, letting go of Jesus is a learning process, too. I am determined to complete this lesson with flying colors. I believe that is part of what my song is about. The day I sing it in church is going to be an opportunity to really let Jesus shine through me. Mark reminded me that singing my song is a way to bless someone. That I need to just let go and bring emotion into my singing so that it might touch someone who is listening.
I have to go get pick up my kids from school. Talk to you soon.
Have a blessed day!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
POSTED TIME
I noticed at the bottom of each of my posts it gives a time that it was posted. The times are completely off. I did not post the last blog at 3 in the morning, I was sound asleep in my bed. I don't understand why the times are off. Oh well, just thought it was weird.
CONFIDENCE
I practiced my song with Mark yesterday. He is giving me some very helpful tips on how to improve my singing. This is really a lot of fun and exciting. I am getting a crash course in singing. He is also determined to get me to put my emotions into this song. That is something that I have really been working on. I want to have the self-confidence to get up in front of people and show my emotions when I sing. I want people to feel my song and be touched by it. I really don't do well with expressing my emotions openly. The only time I cry openly is after I have bottled things up so much that I lose control.
I have worked really hard at overcoming things and putting them behind me. The one thing that I can't seem to get past is my lack of confidence in myself. I have been wondering and praying about how to get pass that. I think that is were this song fits in. I believe that is why God inspired me to write the words to a song that I would not be able to find a karaoke CD or sheet music to. Now, I am working with someone who has just as much passion as I do to make this song great. He keeps saying this is my song, but it is really half his, and I don't blame him for wanting to make this song great. He has a gift a bringing someones words to life.
I don't want to be afraid to shine for God. I truly love and appreciate what my Father has done for me. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice so that I can have an intimate relationship with God. It really bothers me that I allow fear to stop me from being completely comfortable with openly expressing my love and appreciation for God. The thing is, I am not really sure exactly what it is I am afraid of.
I was reading an article yesterday written by John C Maxwell. He spoke a little bit about legacy. He wrote, "People will summarize your life in one sentence - pick it now! Don't make your friends and family guess your life's purpose at your funeral. Start living today the legacy you want to leave. Life is short, History is long. It is up to you to spend your time on pursuits that will outlive you." That brought back the memory of a book I read a little while back. The title is, One Month to Live by Kerry & Chris Shook . One part of the book asked you to write your own obituary. It is an exercise to help you think about the legacy you want to leave behind. Here is what I wrote about my legacy...
She was a stay-at-home mom for many years then she became a Medical Transcriptionist. While working in the MT field, she pursued her new passion of becoming a sign language interpreter. Tammy and her family attended Dodge Park Church for many years, she called it her second home. It was her husband that helped her start her journey to Christ. She was an active member in her church, and she influenced a lot of people with the guidance of God. She touched the lives of may with her prayer shawl ministry, and she reached out and encouraged many women in need, and she will be missed.
At the time I wrote that I hadn't thought about the possibility of using my love for singing or writing to touch peoples lives. I was a dream in the back of my head, but I believed that was where it would stay. But you know what, anything can happen. My Pastor also gave me the idea of using that obituary as a goal statement. It hangs up on the wall next to the computer. So, I guess the sentence I would pick would be... "She worked really hard to reach people for God, and she wasn't afraid to be herself".
Have a Blessed Day!
I have worked really hard at overcoming things and putting them behind me. The one thing that I can't seem to get past is my lack of confidence in myself. I have been wondering and praying about how to get pass that. I think that is were this song fits in. I believe that is why God inspired me to write the words to a song that I would not be able to find a karaoke CD or sheet music to. Now, I am working with someone who has just as much passion as I do to make this song great. He keeps saying this is my song, but it is really half his, and I don't blame him for wanting to make this song great. He has a gift a bringing someones words to life.
I don't want to be afraid to shine for God. I truly love and appreciate what my Father has done for me. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice so that I can have an intimate relationship with God. It really bothers me that I allow fear to stop me from being completely comfortable with openly expressing my love and appreciation for God. The thing is, I am not really sure exactly what it is I am afraid of.
I was reading an article yesterday written by John C Maxwell. He spoke a little bit about legacy. He wrote, "People will summarize your life in one sentence - pick it now! Don't make your friends and family guess your life's purpose at your funeral. Start living today the legacy you want to leave. Life is short, History is long. It is up to you to spend your time on pursuits that will outlive you." That brought back the memory of a book I read a little while back. The title is, One Month to Live by Kerry & Chris Shook . One part of the book asked you to write your own obituary. It is an exercise to help you think about the legacy you want to leave behind. Here is what I wrote about my legacy...
She was a stay-at-home mom for many years then she became a Medical Transcriptionist. While working in the MT field, she pursued her new passion of becoming a sign language interpreter. Tammy and her family attended Dodge Park Church for many years, she called it her second home. It was her husband that helped her start her journey to Christ. She was an active member in her church, and she influenced a lot of people with the guidance of God. She touched the lives of may with her prayer shawl ministry, and she reached out and encouraged many women in need, and she will be missed.
At the time I wrote that I hadn't thought about the possibility of using my love for singing or writing to touch peoples lives. I was a dream in the back of my head, but I believed that was where it would stay. But you know what, anything can happen. My Pastor also gave me the idea of using that obituary as a goal statement. It hangs up on the wall next to the computer. So, I guess the sentence I would pick would be... "She worked really hard to reach people for God, and she wasn't afraid to be herself".
Have a Blessed Day!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!
I know that I have not written anything in a while. Things have been so busy lately. I fear that things are only going to get worse. I have a lot on my calendar, some things are getting ready to just start up. They are all things that I love to do, well most of them. There is one thing I think I will end up giving up. I sometimes wonder if I should be giving some things up, it would be hard to chose. I just don't want things to become an item just to check off of my things-to-do list. I don't want my days to become so cluttered at the end of the day that I wonder where the day went or where was God today. I am seeing it happen now. This is where God's word FOCUS is still coming into play. The thing that stresses me the most is work. I have been studying for three years now to get a job in the Medical Transcription field, and I really do want and need to find a job. I have not worked since before my girls were born, I am scared. I have never had to juggle a job with a husband AND kids. I know that having a busy, fast-paced life is just the norm these days, but I truly want to make the most of each day and savor every second of them. I want to make sure that God stays a very important part of each day. My prayer is that I stay FOCUSED on the important stuff and that I can hear God's guidance on what activity to keep and which to ditch.
I wanted to share an update on the song I wrote. I have spent some time practicing it and I am feeling pretty comfortable with it. I have sang it in front and some family and one friend so far. I am going to sing it in front of Mark, the guy who wrote the music, today. I am getting one step closer to being able to sing it in my church and Mark's church. I am really anxious to share it with people, and I hope to bless someone with it.
Well, my girls' alarms are going off. That means I need to get them up for school.
Have a blessed day.
I wanted to share an update on the song I wrote. I have spent some time practicing it and I am feeling pretty comfortable with it. I have sang it in front and some family and one friend so far. I am going to sing it in front of Mark, the guy who wrote the music, today. I am getting one step closer to being able to sing it in my church and Mark's church. I am really anxious to share it with people, and I hope to bless someone with it.
Well, my girls' alarms are going off. That means I need to get them up for school.
Have a blessed day.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)