How He loves us so!

Last night, our church did it's monthly worship night. I love attending those because the people who come really want to be there and the time of worship is just amazing. Last night, we spent some time sharing what fears hold us back from "raising our sails" to let the Spirit fill them and direct us where He wants us to go. We also continued the message from earlier that morning on our "One Sentence." What is my life summed up in one sentence? Challenging question that I'm not sure I can answer right now. We spent time in prayer, repenting of our unbelief and asking for Him to help our unbelief.

My heart has been full of fear, even though it wouldn't be apparent to anyone outside. I know God's been calling me to share Jesus and be intentional about being bold in my faith. Yet I've held back because of my fear of man, fear of rejection, and fear of failure. I'm praying now that God replaces the fear of man with the fear of the Lord, the fear of rejection with the the knowledge of my Identity in Christ, and the fear of failure with Trust in Christ.

After a few more songs, we all came out of our pews and gathered at the front. We sang this song, How He Loves Us, to each other. It's easy to sing it and think about yourself, but we sang it over one another. Oh, how He loves YOU.

Our worship pastor, Travis, commented that it is hard to stop singing this song. I was feeling the same way. "Don't stop," he said. "Don't stop singing this song. May it be the tune of our hearts. May they know we are Christians by our love."

He is jealous for me
Love's like a hurricane
I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight
Of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these
Afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me

Oh how He loves us so!
Oh how He loves us!
How He loves us so!

Yeah He loves us!
Oh, how He loves us!
Oh, how He loves us!
Oh, how He loves!

We are His portion
And He is our prize
Drawn to redemption
By the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean
We're all sinking

Then heaven meets earth
Like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently
Inside of my chest
I don't have time
To maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

Yeah He loves us!
Oh, how He loves us!
Oh, how He loves us!
Oh, how He loves!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCunuL58odQ&feature=related

My friend, Oh how He loves us! How He loves us so!

Only Jesus

Whatever you're striving for in life often feels necessary. It's as if you don't grasp it as you desire to, then you might as well forget it... because it was essential to life. We often live in pursuit of things as if our lives depend on it.

Whatever you're striving for...

• Will it fix the problem?

• Will it last forever?

• Will it love you back?

The only thing worth pursuing as if our lives depend on it that can answer these three questions with a resounding "yes!" is Jesus.

Only Jesus.

Celebration night!

Today, Roy finished his second semester at DTS! He is halfway through his ThM! To celebrate, we went to Piggie Pies, one of our new favorite pizza places! I got my favorite, the Milano pizza, that has artichokes, olives, tomatoes, feta, mozzarella, olive oil and spices. It is SO good! Roy got his usual "cheesy bread" pizza :)

After dinner, we decided to take a walk at White Rock to enjoy the beautiful evening. We had a few great finds.

The barn swallows hung out on the bridge, offering us some good opportunities to take their picture!

We also saw this Baltimore Oriole high up in the tree! I love the color!

And my favorite...

The yellow-crowned night heron! I love this guy!

It's been a great night together, enjoying the fact that it's Friday night and the beginning of summer for Roy! We're really thankful to God for the blessings of milestones, pizza, and birds :)