Words to Ponder

Hosanna by Hillsong is one of my favorite worship songs right now. One of the reasons I love this song is because I feel like the Holy Spirit has used these particular lyrics to open my heart to what He wants of me:

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart from what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I go from nothing to Eternity

Aren't those words convicting and comforting? This is my "mantra" for the new year. I hope you'll join me as I seek the Lord and learn to be more Christlike.

Hosanna by Hillsong

I see the king of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes
The whole earth shakes

I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing
The people sing

[Chorus]
Hosanna
Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest [x2]

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees
We're on our knees

[Chorus]

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart from what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from nothing to
Eternity

[Chorus x2]

Hosanna in the highest

Update

I have spent the last few days ruminating on my own spiritual journey. As I have mentioned earlier, I want to grow this year. No longer will I be satisfied with just knowing about God. I am going to know Him intimately. I am seeking Him, not waiting for Him to find me. I am longing for more, and I will not wait idly by, but will actively pursue Him. My desire is to be a beacon of light for His kingdom. I have no idea where this journey will lead me, but I know that I will be in His arms.

As you may have noticed, I have joined Sarah Mae, and MANY other ladies in the 5:16 club. The purpose of this club is to get up at 5:16 am (or 5:48...) and "redeem" your time with the Lord before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. I can't tell you how much I look forward to this time every morning. Spending this quiet time in His Word and in prayer has really helped me move forward in my relationship with God.

In order to give our group direction, focus, and something in common, we decided to study in depth 1 John. If you are interested in joining this discussion, there is a forum that was started. The reading plan has been posted, as well as many other posts to encourage and to challenge.

I am also involved in another Bible Study put out by Women of Faith. It is called, "Experiencing Spiritual Intimacy." I love how God's timing is always perfect! This book is aligning perfectly with my study of 1 John!

Spiritual Growth is not without pain. Just as we suffer physical growing pains when our body grows, we will suffer spiritual pain when our spirit grows. I have seen my life in a whole new light. Some things in my life are keepers, but the Holy Spirit is revealing things in my heart that are detrimental to my growth in Christ. Therefore, I will have to make some changes. And, change is never easy.

Ladies, I feel that 2009 is full of possibilities, and it seems like the Lord is moving in a powerful way! I am excited to see what He will do in this next year! I hope that you'll bear with me through my growth, and I promise to partner with you through yours!

Next week I will be focusing my posts on Sanctification. Sanctification means to make holy, to consecrate, to separate from the world, and to be set apart from sin so that we may have intimate fellowship with God and serve him gladly.

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

I'm always amazed at how far away next year seems right now, and yet, I know it will be here in a very short time. The new year is a great time to reflect on how short our time is. Although it may seem as though we have all the time in the world, our days are numbered.

I am going to be taking the first few days in 2009 to reflect on my time and how it is being spent. I want to make sure that I am making the most of my days, and that I will leave a legacy for my family and friends. I will be taking this time to look back on my goals that I set when I first began my God's Chicks blog. I will also be looking specifically at how I can become a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, and child of God.

I will still be posting on Monday for Motivate Me Monday.

My love to you all, and here's to a blessed 2009!

My Goals

As a part of my devotions yesterday, I was asked to think about what my goals are. The purpose of this exercise was so that I was making sure that the activities that I am involved in, align with my goals, and also God's purpose for my life. I decided that I would share my goals with you, and in turn, I challenge you to write down your own goals. I will be praying daily that I will continue to walk in God's will, and that my daily activities are a reflection of that.

**SIDE NOTE**
Somethings that you are involved in, may not directly align with your goals or God's purpose. However, they are a need. For example: I have a one-year old daughter. Although it is not required by our church to volunteer in the church nursery, I do it, because I feel that this is a small way that I can help out the church. Do I love it? Absolutely not!!! Did I go home and pray about getting involved with the children's ministry? Nope. I dropped my daughter off the first time and signed up immediately - this way I wouldn't think too hard about it. I am not called to work with children (even though I was an elementary school teacher before my daughter was born.) But, I can sacrifice one Sunday a month to bless other families who get to go to church. I say this because sometimes it's alright to offer to help in a way that isn't directly related to your goals.

My Goals:
Parenting Goals: I want to raise my children so that they will truly know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I want them to have a personal and meaningful relationship with Christ. I also want them to be kind and respectful.

Marriage Goals: I want to honor my husband and respect him as the leader of our home. I also want to get the laundry done before he runs out of underpants!

Spiritual Goals: I want to continue to grow in my relationship with God, and that I would use my spiritual gifts in the ways that God has intended me to. I want to be intentional with God. I want to use prayer as my "go to" weapon, instead of the world. I want to be prayerful in my daily life, praying for my family, friends, country, you, and myself. I want to commit more scripture to my heart, not just my head.

Relational Goals: I want to be a good friend who others can always trust. I want to encourage my friends, not discourage them. I want to be a real friend, who is honest with her friends, but not hurtful. I want to show the love of Christ in all that I do.

Personal Goals: I want this blog to be a blessing to the Lord, as well as to those who read it. I don't want to get caught up with the fun of writing this, and forget why it began in the first place. I am doing this for the Lord. I want to remember to pray for the blog, as well as those who are reading it. I want all of you to feel challenged and encouraged.

That's it! Those are my goals for the next year. Next November I would like to revisit my goals and see where I am at that point. Now it's your turn. Take a miute to reflect on your life. If you're not sure what direction God is leading you in, that's totally fine. Discovering God's purpose for your life is one of the goals for this blog.

Have a great day! The next post will be all about the Just b You Chick!