Plain Old Jen

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

How I Am Feeling Today!!

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-
18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Today, this is what I woke up with on my lips... Praise the Lord Oh my Soul, Praise the Lord. I also had a picture in my head and I am by no means an artist but I like to think I can draw with paint on the computer...It doesn't do the picture I had in my head justice but it will do. I could just see myself on a rocky break water looking over at a beautiful sunset, singing at the top of my lungs Praise the Lord, oh my Soul, Praise the Lord... and as I do this a warm breeze comes and fills me from head to toe. I know at that moment I am in the presents of the Holy One... and I begin to be overwhelmed with peace and comfort and love...things in which I have been feeling not so much of. So it was an amazing feeling and it continues on through out my day and so does my praising.. I might not be singing on the top of my lungs on the outside but my inside is!!


Thursday, September 20, 2007

Righteous Root

Do you ever feel like you are being tossed around by the storms of life? Have you ever seen a tree in a hurricane? The winds and the rain blow the leaves from the branches, and sometimes the branches are torn off, or the tree is blown over. But the tree's roots are protected from the weather by being firmly established in the ground.
I don't know why I have been thinking about trees and roots today but I have been. And when I started to think about it, I realized that the same is true in our lives. If our thinking is not in line with the Word of God, we become vulnerable during the difficult times. But when our thoughts are in line with God's thoughts, He plants a righteous root within us. We become firmly established. Our thinking becomes clear so we can be strong and overcome the storms of life.
God wants you and I to be solid. He wants us to be steady. He wants us to have an established life and character. He wants our roots to grow deep in His Word. He wants us to be righteous in Him.
So I challenge all of us today to ask the Lord to show us any areas of our thought life that might need to be firmly planted in His word. And I assure you that as you do this, your relationship with the Lord will grow therefore you will have deep spiritual roots and stand victorious against the storms of this life.