Lyrical Friday - Made Alive

Happiest of Fridays to You! 

There is one portion of scripture that can prepare our hearts for today's lyrical post. 
Ephesians 2:1-10:

 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. 

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

I don't have much to say in light of God's word. Only, "Thank You my Lord!" Thank You! Thank You!

Made Alive, Citizens


I once was dead in sin alone and hopeless
A child of wrath I walked condemned in darkness
But Your mercy brought new life and in Your love and kindness
Raised me up with Christ and made me righteous

Chorus:
You have bought me back with the riches of
Your amazing grace and relentless love
I'm made alive forever with You, life forever
By Your grace I'm saved, by Your grace I'm saved

Lord, You are the light that broke the darkness
You satisfy my soul when I am heartless
If ever I forget my true identity
Show me who I am and help me to believe

Bridge:
My sin has been erased, I'll never be the same
My sin has been erased, I'll never be the same

Sentence Tuesday

The more touched you are by people's praises, 

The more devastated you will be by their criticisms. 

-Ben Courson 

photo credit 

Fireflies - God Knows Me!

Hi Lovlies!
A week ago a good friend of mine took a step of faith and began a ministry called Fireflies. Here is a brief description:

"A group of wonderfully made 3rd-5th graders looking to shine our light. The Firefly girl knows that beauty radiates from the inside out, and that real beauty comes from serving others."

How could I not accept the invitation to be a part of this group!?
The Fireflies gather together the first Saturday of every month to do a craft, play a game, work on an outreach project, and (my favorite part) learn about God. My lovely friend hosted the meeting and deligated each portion of the meeting to another lady invited. I had the awesome privilege of teaching God's word to the beautiful fireflies. I was asked to teach from Psalm 139 (YES!!!). These are my notes:

God Knows ME!

Psalm 139:1-4
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.

Here we read that God sees you. Our GREAT and BIG God sees the whole world, including you. He is with you sleeping.

He is with you awake.
He is with you when you sit down.
He is with you when you stand up.
He is with you when you walk.
He is with you when you run.
He is with you when you play.
He is with you when you sing.
He is with you when you read.
He is with you when you are alone.
He is with you when you are with your family.
He is with you at school.
He is with you everywhere you go.
He knows your thoughts.
He knows when you are afraid.
He knows when you are sad.
He knows when you are happy.
He knows what makes you happy.
He knows your heart.
He knows you, everything about you.

Psalm 139:5
You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. He is all around you on every side protecting you.

Not only does God know everything about you, He also promises to bless you and protect you. Nothing about your day catches God by surprise.

For example, He knows if you have to go to the doctor’s office, He knows if you have to take a test in school; he knows if you have a sports activity to go to. He knew along time ago that you would be in this room today. He knew about Fireflies.

Day and night God is aware of everything that happens to you. Day and night He protects us from harm. He protected all of us on our way here. He protects you and your family and your friends because He knows them too.

Psalm 139:6
Such knowledge is too amazing for me,
Too great for me to understand!

It is difficult for me to understand God’s mind. When doubt fills my mind I have to remember that I won’t always understand all of God or why He does so many amazing things for me, a sinner. The little knowledge that I know about God is enough to quiet my doubts. Here are four great truths that are amazing:

God knows you.
God loves you.
God blesses you.
God protects you.

Psalm 139:9-12
If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you

Two things we see here that are so good for us.
One) No matter where you are, or how far you are, God will be with you to guide you. God is strong and will help you with every problem. He will help you and support you.
Two) Darkness and Light are the same to God. Have you ever been in the dark? It’s scary!!! When you are in the dark, you can’t see anything, but God can see everything in the dark. He can see you and be with you. God isn’t afraid of the dark. Remember, you are never alone.

Have you ever been lost in the day time or in a store? That too can be scary, even though it isn’t darkness. God still sees you and is with you. He isn’t afraid of anything. No matter where we are at, near, far, or lost, God can see us and is with us.

Next time we meet I will share with you more about God’s love for you and how much He knows about you. There is so much God wants us to know about Him. He has given to us His own words to know Him by. It’s called the Bible. It tells us EVERYTHING we need to know about our awesome God. All the pages speak of His greatness. They give us knowledge and make us more like God. I would like for all of you to read your Bible and learn more about the God who knows everything about you!

After the Bible study we split into small groups. These were my sweet, spunky, and gusty gals:

back from uth camp

RCamp was yet another great experience. Lazy days, crazy games, and girl time. Ben Courson and Jesse Lusko were our key speakers, and boy were they on key. Here are a few pics:

B L U E    T E A M, my team

Walk the Plank. Lot's of team work for this game. and we won! yay! 

TP TANTRUM. 

MESSY BACON . Beastmode

Battle of Middle Earth 

team blue being fabulous!

Cabin 9A, night time reflection 

braids, braids, and more braids. 

Cabin 9A, my cabin, after their cabin performance. ha ha ha 

it wouldn't be camp if we didn't play games in the Oasis 

Sentence Tuesday

If we are growing holier,

We are growing kinder. 

— Andrew Bonar

a guarantee of blessing

The simple action of committing your day to God is a guarantee of blessing. 

-Jack Hayford

[photo credit]

Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Deuteronomy 6:4-6 

Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge. Proverbs 23:12

prayer request

With a great heaviness upon my heart I come to you for prayer.

Yesterday morning my friend Shessy's brother passed away. This is the second family member to pass away in a matter of three days. Please pray for the Pacheco family, Rosa Maria (Mom), Aldo Sr (Dad), Shessy (sister), and Victor (brother in law). In the midst of great heaviness there is great comfort in the hope that all those who call on the name of the Lord will see Aldo again.

Be a blessing to those around you and you will be blessed.

Lyrical Friday - How Great Is The Love

Happy Friday Lovelies!

Today's post will be a combo of a devo I just read that ties so well with today's lyrics. 

Devo by Jack Hayford from Praise in the Presence of God // YouVersion Reading Plan

Lyrics by Meredith Andrews // Vertical Church Band

Boaz, a marvelous Old Testament picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, reveals his love for Ruth, an equally beautiful picture of the Church, that is, of you and me. As they are about to become engaged, Boaz expresses his commitment to Ruth by asking her to spread out her shawl (see Ruth 3:15–18). Into its folds he pours out six ephahs of grain—a total of about seventy pounds of barley!

Now catch the picture. Can you see our Lord Jesus saying the same thing to us, His bride?

“I don’t want you to go through life empty-handed. I want you to know My abounding provision for all matters of your life.” Jesus is saying, “I will fill the biggest pocket you’ve got! I’ll fill it with love and everything else you need as well.” That’s His promise!

Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His loving-kindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments. Deuteronomy 7:9 

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. John 15:13

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39

Thank You for the way that You love us
How You love us
Thank You for the way You have made us

We were created
For Your pleasure, for Your presence
For the glory of Your name

Thank You for the way that You love us

Jesus, faithful King
Lord, with grateful hearts we sing
How great is the love
How great is the love
Of our Savior
The weight of the cross, the curse of our shame
You carried it all and rose from the grave
How great is the love, how great is the love
Of our Savior

Thank You for Your grace that has saved us
You forgave us
Thank You for the way You have freed us

We have been ransomed
We've been rescued, we've been purchased
With the price of Your own life

Thank You for the way that You love us

Jesus, faithful King
Lord, with grateful hearts we sing
How great is the love
How great is the love
Of our Savior
The weight of the cross, the curse of our shame
You carried it all and rose from the grave
How great is the love, how great is the love
Of our Savior

Thank You for the way that You love us
How You love us