Day 158 - All in All

Generally, before I begin my day, I spend time reading the word of God, sitting in His lap, talking about he needs of others, praying, seeking, knocking...but, this morning I was in a rush to get out the door as I felt compelled to get to church regardless of my physical feelings. It wasn't easy, but, although a bit late, I made it. There were only a few people there, staggered across the small chapel, but the Spirit of God was present. Children were not present, but the spirit of a child was there. Vacation Bible School begins in the sister church this week, followed next week by the church here in Velarde. A missionary team from Texas is sent each year to minister at the church, and although the turnout is sometimes less than the year before, I pray that this year we rock the house and the village! God is the God of the impossible!

I returned home, and thoughts were here and there as I remembered things from the past. In church we sang some simple praise songs, "Majesty," "Glorify Thy Name," and "You Are My All in All." Listen to the words of "You Are My All in All:"

You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all

Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord, to give up I'd be a fool
You are my all in all

Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name 

Jesus, Lamb of God 

Worthy is Your name
Oh, Your name is worthy

Taking my sin, my cross, my shame
Rising again I bless Your name
(I bless Your name)
You are my all in all
(Oh yes you are, yes you are)

When I fall down You pick me up
When I am dry You fill my cup
(You fill my cup)
You are my all in all
(My all, Lord, hallelujah)

Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
(Oh, Your name, Your precious name is worthy, Lord)
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name

You're my everything
The beginning and the end
The first, the last You are
The great I am

Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
(Oh, my Jesus, my precious Jesus)
Worthy is Your name

Worthy is Your name
Worthy is Your name

This is another one of the YWAM songs from early days that floods my soul with praise. Nice memories.I posted the song on FB so you can enjoy them if you feel so inclined.

My mind wanderings have been varied today, but tonight as I finish up my reading before going to bed I find another memory from the beloved author of Anne of Green Gables:

"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find

out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive - it's such an 

interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we knew all

about everything."

Lucy Maud Montgomery

I'm with Lucy on that one...life is interesting, and we still have so much to learn. I hope I never run out of things to experience in this life, and I hope I never get too tired or feel too old to learn. You know my inspirations well enough from my blogs, so I know I will always be reading as long as I can see, and I'll always be trekking the back roads as long as I can drive or walk or crawl.  I want to live my life to the fullest, never afraid to try something new, aware of my surroundings, and always open to a move of God. I'm waiting for revival, and it's coming! Ready or not, Jesus is on the move!

I never tire of listening to Brennan speak about the love of God. Today he was sharing about Jesus walking up to me or you saying:

"I know your whole life's story, every skeleton in your closet. I know every moment of sin, shame, dishonesty, and degraded love that has darkened your past. Right now I know your shallow faith, your feeble prayer life, your inconsistent discipleship. Nothing is hidden from My eyes. And My word is this: I dare you to trust that I love you just as you are and not as you should be, because you're never gonna be as good as you should be."

Wow! Isn't it nice to lay the pretenses down at His feet?! He sees EVERYTHING, and He love us still! Being real. Refreshing! Reminds me of another memory, something I've shared before from another "friend," something that embodies the entire concept of a ragamuffin lifestyle, or so I think it does....

“The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." 

"I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled.

"The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always.”
― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

During the course of a lifetime we build up so many memories, some so wonderful they play over and over in our minds. Others, not so great, we need to lay down at the foot of the cross, as Jesus is the only one who can carry those loads. He died to take all the garbage and bury it once and for all. I try not to visit those places in my mind. Little good can ever come of nursing old wounds, allowing them to bust open and re-fester.

Today I am going to sleep thinking on the good, the pure, the lovely, the things of a good report. So tomorrow I can wake up renewed and strengthened, relying on my All in All Sufficient One to carry me. Thank You, Abba, for the memories.