Monday, March 28, 2011

Where your treasure is....

Reading John Piper, The Dangerous duty of delight, I can't help but be blown away by his passion for Christ.

He challenges me to "make much" of Christ and to live a life where Christ is prized and treasured as my greatest gain!
I want to treasure Christ in my heart so that I can say with the apostle Paul "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" and to "count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ"

I want the all satisfying treasure Christ. Only He can fully satisfy our very lives. He is magnified as a glorious treasure when He becomes our unrivalled pleasure.
In a world where we seek to fill our lives with meaning and satisfy our desires with stuff, sex, drink, drugs, and anything that is NOT God. (Even as Christians!) We will always fail to fill that longing in our hearts. We will never be completely satisfied, we will always want the next big thing, latest craze, most fashionable items until we make Christ the thing that we long for! Then and only then will we find full and complete satisfaction. If we make Him our treasure, our hearts will find rest from the turmoil that life throws at us and we will be able to say with confidence "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!"

Holland

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a AUTISM - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. Michelangelo's David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

God made Holland and Italy and He give the gifts to enjoy both.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Hard Pressed

I'm going through a Lou Fellingham phase! but this song really just describes my life at the moment! My head is all over the place in regards to many things. But God is good and faithful. He has given me strength, peace and Grace to cope with the stuff going on in my life. He is amazing and most definitely my Rock!

Couldn't find the video :-(

Hard Pressed

I am hard pressed on every side but Iʼm not crushed
I feel pulled to pieces but inside I know Iʼm not
Feels like the worldʼs caving in, find it hard to breathe
The water is rising, wonʼt you come and rescue me

Iʼm on my knees
O God please come to me
I fall into Your loving arms
You wrap me up, and Iʼm secure
Patiently You whisper to me You have a plan
To hold on it wonʼt be long and you understand

Sick inside again today, Iʼm struggling to pray
And my head is spinning, cause I cannot see the way
Iʼm in need of direction, everything seems so unclear
O my God are you out there, or is this falling on deaf ears?

Iʼm on my knees
O God please come to me
Miracles You will do, as I come and put my hope in you

Lou & Nathan Fellingham and busbee
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music/The Livingstone Collective/
kingswaysongs.com

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Build this house



All I have and all I am is Yours
Thereʼs nothing that I have on earth that doesnʼt come from You
I lay aside my pride and worldly worth
To serve You is the greatest thing that I could ever do

For unless You build this house
I am building it in vain
Unless the work is Yours
There is nothing to be gained
I want something that will stand
When Your Holy fire comes
Something that will last
And to hear You say “Well done”
Giving Glory to You Lord
Glory to You Lord

So easy to desire what others have
Instead of seeing all the gifts that you have given me
So help me fan the flame, which You began
And burn in me a love for You that all will clearly see

Lou & Nathan Fellingham and busbee
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music/The Livingstone Collective/
kingswaysongs.com