Grateful Day 94

I have been listening to the new Bethel album for the past couple of days and I love it! Each song speaks to different parts of my heart! The song that really does it for me is A Little Longer! Again, Jenn Johnson if you every stumble upon this I would like you to know that this song does it for me and puts things in to perspective!

The whole song is a cry, a pea asking Jesus what He would like. What He is asking of us. What would be enough to say Thank You for all He has done! Then realizing nothing could be enough to thank the Saviour of my soul and the world! Then the song changes mood and Jesus says “You don’t have to do a thing, just simply be with me and let those things go ’cause they can wait another minute. Wait, this moment is too sweet would you please stay here with Me and love on Me a little longer”. I mean bazinga!! The song is very Mary and Martha when Jesus visits their home and Mary is busy doing all these things while Martha is sitting at Jesus feet, because JESUS IS IN THEIR HOME, and listens to what Jesus has to say. Then when Mary urges Jesus to tell Martha to help do things Jesus says Martha’s choice to sit with Him is a good choice.

I am very Mary-esque. I am always doing something or I am going to do something or I am too tired or any number of reasons and I don’t give Jesus the time He wants. I forget that Jesus wants to be pursued and that He had to have His alone time with His Father so he could know the Fathers heart! Jesus just wants us to know His heart, to sit with Him and hang out for a bit. That’s all. Not too much to ask, but some times, in the midst of life it seems like a lot to ask. I’m not gonna lie, there are times when I let things take priority over my time with Jesus. I want to change that. In my life I want to become more like Martha. I want to sit at the feet of the One I love and get to know Him! I want to feel His love in quiet moments. After all, life is going to be there after my Jesus time, it just needs to wait a little longer.

Grateful Days 85 & 86

These past three days have been exhausting! Truly exhausting! I have been working on a 15 page paper due in a week so I can move on to a 5 page paper, also do in a week, then write an 800 word op-ed piece, again also due in a week! So between the few hours of sleep I get and the copious amounts of caffeine I drink to stay awake and functioning, I crash hard when I crash! Two nights ago I went to bed at 2:30 in the a.m so last night when I get home from hanging out with some people around 10:30 my body and mind were so ready for lots of rest, which I got thank goodness!!

During these times I pray for lots and lots of strength and I listen to lots and lots of music! I am a big advocate of music and I’ll listen to just about anything. But when school is super intense or life gets to be too much to handle I like to put myself in a constant state of prayers. I try to always be in a constant state of prayer, but when things get to be a bit much for me and I truly need guidance and peace on a minute to minute basis, my need for constant companionship with God increases and I make more of an effort to be in a state of surrender and openness to him. These past few weeks of trying to write my paper and then grading papers (I have a job as a grader for an old professor) and also doing the rest of my school work has been stressful!! So, to put my mind at ease I listen to music and drink coffee (or some other caffeinated beverage). Yesterday my choice in music ranged from Ed Sheeran to Twenty One Pilots (who I recently discovered because of a friend of mine) and today I’m listening to a lot of Bethel. One of the songs I’ve been listening to a lot by Bethel is this gem of a song called You Make Me Brave.

When I listen to it I think of how brave the Lord makes me. I’m not the bravest person, so when I do something that involves courage I know it was the Lord giving me courage; making me brave. My favourite part of this song goes like this “As Your love, in wave after wave Crashes over me, crashes over me For You are for us, You are not against us Champion of Heaven, You made a way for all to enter in”. I just love the fact that Jesus is my Champion! He fought for me and He made a way for every one to enter heaven and his peace has washed over me wave after wave through these stressful weeks of paper writing! Jesus is for me and He is my Champion, my Peace and my Joy in the happiest of times and in the most stressful of times!