Thank You

Just this today,

Just these few repeated lines,

These few simple rhymes,

Inspired by a quote I found here.

Thank You
inspired by a quote by Ann Voskamp

It's so hard
Sometimes.
It's so hard
Sometimes.
Will things be
Alright?
Will things be
Alright?

It's so hard
Sometimes.
It's so hard
Sometimes.
Will we be
Alright?
Will we be
Alright?

If I believe in You,
If I believe in You,
Then I must believe in what You said.

If I believe it's true,
If I believe it's true,
Then it's still true when the storm's overhead.

If I believe in You,
If I believe in You,
Then I must believe the promise You gave.

If I believe it's true,
If I believe it's true,
Then I know somehow You will save.

And I know it's all grace.

It's so hard
Sometimes.
It's so hard
Sometimes,
When the silence
Is so wide,
When the pain is
Too high,
When I'm harried
And weakened,
When I'm troubled
And broken.

But in the silent times,
I will seek You.
In the painful times,
I will praise You. 
In the harried times,
I will hallow You.
In the troubled times,
I will trust You.
And at all times,
At all times,
I will thank You.

Thanking Him today and always for neverending abundant grace.




The bold, italicized words are the lyrics to the song "Thank You" by Mary Schieferstein, ©2011 Mary Schieferstein.

Linking up over here today!

Feel free to look at some of the other Walk With Him Wednesday posts, links to which can be found at the bottom of this page.

Thanks for reading!

  

Time for Christmas Music!

It's that time again,

Time to get into all the Christmas traditions.

They were bringing things down before I got out of bed this morning,

Stacking boxes in the family room,

Cleaning walls and sweeping floors,

Wiping off the wooden boards.

After all, today is the day after Thanksgiving.

That means it's time to start getting ready for Christmas.

After Mom and I completed our shopping expedition,

Had some lunch,

They started bringing more things down,

Getting ready to decorate the tree

That Dad had set up while we were gone.

I had asked Dad to put on the Christmas music,

After all, we always listen to Christmas music while we're decorating the tree.

He hadn't gotten around to it yet,

So I abandoned (temporarily) the remainder of my dessert

In search of CDs.

I put in some of the CDs I've listened to every Christmas for as long as I can remember,

Amy Grant,

The Carpenters,

The Beach Boys.

I also grabbed a newer one,

The Sara Groves Christmas album I got sometime last year.

I put them all in the CD changer,

Turned up the music,

And returned to eat the remainder of Mom's delicious apple pie.

It wasn't long before I heard it from the other side of the door,

"Mary found the music."

People came in carrying boxes and boxes of decorations,

Noting that I had put on the music,

Yet hadn't been worried at all about the decorations.

"What can I say?" was my reply.

"I have a one-track mind."

It's always about music with me,

Heading straight for the CD section at the Christian bookstore,

Opening Windows Media Player while I'm doing homework,

Singing in the shower,

Practicing piano and guitar in the spare time I really don't have.

I can't help it.

It's who I am.

I live music.

I breathe music.

I can't

Stop

Making

Music.

He's given me this gift,

This language of music,

And it really is all my one-track mind can think about.

How could I ever keep from singing?

People don't always understand this about me.

I didn't understand it myself, at first,

But now I do (for the most part, at least).

I understand how this passion burns inside of me,

This desire to sing,

To praise and thank my Creator.

I understand how good it feels to give in,

To make the music,

To sing, hum, drum, anything to express what I feel in my soul,

And it feels a little crazy sometimes,

(Maybe it is crazy,)

But He made me this way for a reason,

This is part of the masterpiece He's creating,

So I don't hold it in,

I let it all out,

Join my voice in the song . . .

You don't have to be an angel

To sing harmony.

You don't have to be a child

To love the mystery.

And you don't have to be a wise man

On bended knee.

The heart of this Christmas is in you and me.

The heart of this Christmas is in you and me.

Sorry it's been awhile.  Busy week!

The question "How could I ever keep from singing?" references the hymn "How Can I Keep From Singing", specifically the version preformed by Ginny Owens. 

The bold, italicized words are the lyrics to the song "The Night Before Christmas" preformed by Amy Grant - one of those great songs I've listened to every Christmas for as long as I can remember.

Many blessings this holiday season!

 

Waiting for Hope Anew

The heartache comes,

Then He brings peace,

Even in the midst of not understanding,

Of trying so hard to understand.

Then I start to analyze,

To think,

To worry,

And the heartache creeps back in again.

I'm trying to be hopeful about a distant future,

Trying to be hopeful in spite of circumstances looming,

And it's hard.

I want to be where He wants me,

I want to be obedient,

But right now I don't know what that looks like,

Or what that will look like for the next half of a decade.

I need to remember that He has it all in His hands,

That patience really is a virtue,

That waiting on Him is always worth it,

Because His timing is always perfect.

I have so many thoughts today,

And not enough words,

So I'll do what I usually do when I have this problem,

And turn to music.

I wrote these lyrics last week,

Some of my more poetic ones,

Thoughts about where I've been lately,

What it feels like,

Trying to find hope,

Trying to remember that He holds the future,

That He has a plan -

And it's a good one,

Better than I could ever, ever come up with.

Hope Anew 

Bury me under
The leaves of last summer
And I'll lie in wait beneath the moon.

And the days that are ending
Might just be beginning
When springtime brings hope anew.

The sun has set long ago,
The summer birds have up and flown
Away.

The final leaves fell last month,
The covered ground is huddled up
In wait.

All of my hopes and dreams
That sparkled in the sun
Seem long gone.

All the days of happiness
Are so far past
I'm barely holding on.

The gentle breeze holds only chill,
The morning frost lingers still,
Unmoving.

The colors have faded to gray,
Still day follows dreary day,
So empty.

All that I know I need
Has been pushed to the side,
Abandoned.

All my longings to follow
Have nowhere to go.
What I feared most has happened.

So bury me under
The leaves of last summer
And I'll lie in wait beneath the moon.

And the days that are ending
Might just be beginning
When springtime brings hope anew,

Hope anew.

Trying so hard now to hope in Him.
 


The bold, italicized words are the lyrics to the song "Hope Anew" by Mary Schieferstein, ©2011 Mary Schieferstein.

Linking up over here again today, trying to learn how to walk with Him in everything.

Please take the time to read some of the other wonderful posts for today that can be found at the bottom of this post.

 

You Don't Understand

I love you,

I really, really, really do,

But you don't understand.

I know it seems like I'm crazy,

I know you're worried about money,

I know you want to protect me,

But you really don't understand.

It's not about money,

It's not about what's safe,

It's not even about me -

It's about Him.

You don't understand passion -

That this is what I love to do,

That this is what I was created to do,

That this is what I can't stop doing,

That every single other option could never, ever hold a candle to this.

Nothing else cuts it.

Nothing else is where I desperately need and want to be. 

You think it's all about the money,

That jobs should be chosen based on steady income,

Not heart and desire.

You don't understand that some people choose jobs they love,

And why can't I choose a job I will love, too?

You don't understand my logic -

That I really am aware of all the potential problems,

That I know I'll probably need a second income,

That I know what a crazy industry I want to get into,

That I realize all the strain that it comes with (though, admittedly, not fully).

You don't understand that I live for something different than you -

That if I never marry it won't be the end of the world,

That if the Lord never blesses me with children it will be okay,

That none of that is as important to me as serving Him,

And that I truly believe He wants me to serve Him through this.

You don't understand my impatience -

That I'm sick of this already,

That I'm willing to put up with a couple more years

Because I know how important that piece of paper is for survival.

But I don't know if I can stand two years on top of that,

Another year of practice,

Two huge tests to study for,

The promise of having little to no free time,

Little to no time to write,

For several more years?

Oh, I know I need to learn patience,

I know I need to learn to wait,

And maybe He's trying to teach me that through this,

But could you please just try to understand?

Moreover, you don't understand calling -

That He really does have a plan

And that He calls me to take part in it.

I have spent almost two years praying,

Searching,

Waiting,

Trying to understand where He wants me.

I found it.

I am certain I found it,

And now that I have I want to follow that,

To serve Him with all that I have in me,

To go, now, and do what I love and give Him the glory.

I know you don't understand this,

That you probably never will,

But I do

And, somehow I am going to end up there,

Even if I am obedient to you and wait the several more years,

Even if I give up all the time I want to spend writing to study and learn things I don't care about,

Even if I do exactly what you want until I'm out of school and I have my degree and I'm certified,

Eventually I am going to end up there.

Will you understand then?

Oh, I love you so, so much,

I really, really do,

But it is so hard for me right now

Because you don't understand,

And now I don't understand,

For the only thing my heart desires is to be where He's called,

And I know He desires me to be where He's called,

Yet you are asking me not to go that way,

Or at least to wait those several more years,

And He has also said that I need to be obedient to you,

And how do these things fit together,

And how does it all make sense,

And why can't I understand?

Oh, God, please help me,

Please show me how to understand,

Please teach me to be patient

And teach me how to hold my passion with open hands,

That if You should ask me to wait,

Even if You should take this away,

I would still serve You.


Teach me how to be obedient to you,

Especially if doing so involves being obedient to those who would ask me to do things I don't want to do,

Things that take me in a direction other than Your calling.


Oh, God, I need Your help so much right now.

Please get me through this.

Please help me to somehow understand,

Even just a little.


More importantly,

Most importantly,

Please be with me,

Walk with me,

And help me to walk with You,

No matter what.


Teach me to praise You

Even in this.


I love You

So, so much.

Linking up here today

In my struggle to walk with Him.

Oh, it's all so hard right now,

But praise God for grace!

Also, please read some of the other amazing Walk With Him Wednesday posts, links to which can be found at the bottom of this post . . .

And Christa Wells has an amazing post over here today about writing music (gee, I wonder why I like it so much).  Oh, it is so, so true!  I'm sure she would feel blessed if you would read it - and it might bless you, too. 

 

Nowhere Without You

Just this today,

Just these thoughts from this Tuesday,

Thoughts inspired by Scripture read,

Thoughts about how I want to live.

Nowhere Without You 
Exodus 33:12-18

My Strength,
My Hope,
All that
I know.

My LIfe,
My Song,
To You I
Belong.

And I have done
Absolutely nothing
Worthy of You.

And I am
Absolutely not
Deserving of You.

But You set me apart,
Your hands mold and shape my heart.

If I could find
Some favor in Your sight,
Unworthy as I am,
I would humbly ask
That You would lead,
That You'd walk with me.

My Lord,
My God,
The One I
Count on.

Each breath,
Each step,
Every
Moment.

I don't deserve
Even just a glance,
But You see me anyway.

I haven't earned
Anything at all,
But You offer grace.

And You're alive in me,
Worth more than the air I breathe.

If I could find
Some favor in Your sight,
Unworthy as I am,
I would humbly ask
That You would not make me leave
Unless You'll go with me.

Lord, I want to follow through,
But I can't make it without You,
So, in all I say and do,
Let me move and breathe in You.

I'll go nowhere without You.
I'll go nowhere without You.
I'll go nowhere without You.
I'll go nowhere without You.

 
The bold, italicized words are the lyrics to the song "Nowhere Without You" by Mary Schieferstein, ©2011 Mary Schieferstein.