He Loves us!

I know it's been a while and I hope you'll forgive me, but I've been letting this one brew a bit and I think I'm finally ready to put it down on paper, eh, computer as the case may be.  A few months ago at Encounter(a worship service for young adults my church hosts) we sang this song:  "How He loves" - By David Crowder  I have posted the lyrics, go ahead and read them and then I wanna peel them apart a bit.

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. 

(x2) 

Yeah, He loves us 

Oh, how He loves us 

Oh, how He loves us 

Oh, how He loves. 

(x2) 

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 

So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet 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 

He loves us, 

Oh, how He loves us 

Oh, how He loves us 

OH, how He loves 

(x2) 

Yeah, He loves us 

Oh, how He loves us 

Whoa, how He loves us 

Whoa, how He loves. 

Yeah, He loves us 

He loves us 

He loves us 

He loves. 

Yeah, He loves us 

Whoa, how He loves us 

Whoa, how He loves us 

Whoa, how He loves 

He loves us, 

Whoa, how He loves us 

Whoa, how He loves us 

Whoa, how He loves

Okay, good song, huh, I like it and it really pushes home the love that Jesus has for us.  He laid down His life for us in the most extreme show of love.  The line I want to focus on though is "I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us, " The reason I want to focus on this one is because we all have regrets, and I don't want to be ruled by them.   Lets look at a few of the words, 

main·tain

verb (used with object)

1.

to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain: to maintain good relations with neighboring countries.

To keep in existence, to keep, to preserve,  when I think of preserving something, I think of countless hours 

working on it, making sure it is just right.  I think of the work that goes into planting a garden, the work, the 

time. Next, let's look at regrets.

re·gret

verb (used with object)

1.

to feel sorrow or remorse for (an act, fault, disappointment,etc.): He no sooner spoke than he regretted it.

2.

to think of with a sense of loss: to regret one's vanishedyouth.

noun

3.

a sense of loss, disappointment, dissatisfaction, etc.

4.

a feeling of sorrow or remorse for a fault, act, loss,disappointment, etc.

To feel sorrow, remorse,  So if we combine them, we preserve sorrow, we keep remorse. We willingly let ourselves carry baggage.  Why?  The song is right, I don't have time to preserve sorrow or remorse, to keep it, that is work, why would I spend so much energy and time to feel bad?  I don't know about you, but I have better things to do, I have better ways to spend my time. I have been redeemed and forgiven, I have been trying to carry regrets that my Daddy already paid for and washed away. I don't want to cultivate a garden of sorrow when my Daddy has given me a priceless gift.  He gave me my life, and I can't serve Him if I am too busy pruning my rose bush of sorrow.  I am dropping the regrets I hold so tightly in my hands, and allowing my hands to be open to receive the gifts and adventures that Daddy is holding out to me.  He has an amazingly, fantastic, overwhelming plan for you.  Drop the regrets and run to your Daddy, He's waiting!

Love Jordan

Do everything?

Alright, so I know it's been a while but I've been thinking a lot and since it's 3:30am what else would I do but blog about it.  The first thing I want to look at is the following verse in Romans


Romans 7:15-25
    "¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

 ²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

I have to admit, these verses give me great comfort and hope.  They speak to me so closely right now.  It seems the closer I get to Jesus and that is my goal, the more I feel the enemies attack in many ways.  When thoughts come into my mind that I thought I had long ago wrestled I find old insecurities creeping in.  Fears that I'm not good enough or unworthy of anything good I have to remind myself of this, these verses that open my heart to the truth I need to be shown again and again and again. 

I love music and I always find songs that speak to my heart and draw me closer to my Daddy, one song that I feel works really well with this verse is, "Do Everything" by Steven Curtis Chapman.

Do Everything lyrics

by Steven Curtis Chapman

You're picking up toys on the living room floor
for the 15th time today
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost
Cheerios that got away
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips
and head out the door
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
We'll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you


Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do


OOoh ooooh oooooh


Maybe you're that guy with the suit and tie
Maybe your shirt says your name
You may be hooking up mergers, cooking up burgers
But at the end of the day


Little stuff big stuff in between stuff
God sees it all the same
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
We'll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you do


Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you
To do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace with every move that you make
And every little thing that you do


Well maybe you're sitting in math class
Maybe on a mission in the Congo
Maybe you're working at the office
Singing along with the radio
Maybe you're dining at a five star
Or feeding orphans in Myanmar
Anywhere and everywhere you are
Whatever you do it all matters
So do what you do and don't ever forget
to do


Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace as you do
Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace with every move that you make
And every little thing that you do


Ooh oooooh
Every little thing you do

I like how the song breaks it down for me, do everything to the glory of Him, everything.  The song even mentions sitting in math class which for me personally hits close because I am not a math girl.  But that isn't the point, It doesn't say do everything to His glory if you want to, it just says do and I believe that is what God calls us to daily.  It shouldn't matter if I feel like going to class, I need to go and go with the heart that says I am bringing God glory in my actions.  I need to be open to the fact that my God works in strange and wonderful ways and He has a perfect plan for me and it includes all the little things He has placed in my path.

I am human and I sin and I fall far short of who I should be, but God can and does use my mess for His glory.  He has a plan and I fit into it, my getting up and going to school and work is part of His plan and I have to fight that inner humanness, that sinful flesh nature that wants it's own way.  I have to take a deep breath and remind myself that I am His child and He controls my life and my only job is to willingly give Him everything, my will, my way, my very life,my dreams, my fears, and my thoughts and emotions, nothing is mine, He alone gives and He alone I need to surrender too.  It sucks sometimes if I'm honest but Jesus loves me, He died for me, how dare I hold anything back from Him. 

I want to challenge you all,  when you feel like you aren't enough, or when you feel like a failure, stop, take a breath and look to your Father, He will never let you down and He is waiting for you with open arms to call on Him and rest in the strongest arms.  You are so loved,  I can't wait to see what He has planned next, lean into Him my loves.