Legacy

Legacy-by Nicole Nordeman

I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me
And I enjoy an accolade like the rest
You could take my picture and hang it in a gallery
Of all who's who and so-n-so's that used to be the best
At such'n'such ... it wouldn't matter much

I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights
We all need an 'Atta boy' or 'Atta girl'
But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides
The temporary trappings of this world

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who
blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

I don't have to look too far or too long awhile
To make a lengthly list of all that I enjoy
It's an accumulating trinket and a treasure pile
Where moth and rust, thieves and such will soon enough destroy

Not well traveled, not well read, not well-to-do or well bred
Just want to hear instead, "Well Done" good and faithful one...

Chris Tomlin concert

"How Can I Keep From Singing" by Chris Tomlin

There is an endless song
Echoes in my soul
I hear the music ring
And though the storms may come
I am holding on
To the rock I cling

How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing

I will lift my eyes
In the darkest night
For I know my Savior lives
And I will walk with You
Knowing You'll see me through
And sing the songs You give

I can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And I fall down again
I can sing 'cause You pick me up
Sing 'cause You're there
I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord
When I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I'll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne

Last night something happened. Something happened to my mind, to my soul, to my entire being. On a smaller scale, I have personally known and experienced this certain phenomenon before. I think it can be said that these happenings are in many ways the same and at the same time, different.

What happened? Heaven happened!

The crowded amphitheater, filled with worshippers from every tribe, tongue, and nation became an extension of the Throne Room. Became the altar at the Mercy Seat. For a lingering moment in time every burden, every care, every hurt didn't exist. There was a conjoining of the Church triumphant and the Church militant, the Bride of Christ reaching out to Him, dancing for Him, lavishing Him with praise.

Words cannot adequately express the full scale of what happened. It was very real and very supernatural. It was so much more than a praise and worship concert. It was a receiving of the love of Jesus being poured out over His loved ones. It was a place where the enemy dared not enter. It was a biology lesson, astronomy lesson, and sermon all rolled up together. It was grace and mercy blanketing sinners who's likeness to Him is becoming more clear as He grows our faith. It was humbling, making me smaller and Him bigger. It was God revealing His plan to make all things new. It was all this and more. Above all, it was a momentary glimpse of Eternity, when all the angels and the saints will forevermore praise the Lamb in one accord.

I left the amphitheater praising Him; I went to bed praising Him; I woke up praising Him. I'm even sure that during my slumber I was praising Him. Twenty four hours later, I am still praising Him!

Weakness in prayer-sometimes the perfect place to be

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Romans 8:26,27

The above Scripture has been going through my mind the past few days. It is such a comfort to know that during the times that I am unable to pray, where no words will come, when all I can do is cry, "LORD!", He is in fact petitioning the Father in my stead. His prayers are perfect and He prays "in accordance with God's will." How many times have I said "Your will be done" and still struggled to maintain my will! How patient and faithful He is to bear with my folly and continue to groan on my behalf in spite of my own impatience and unfaithfulness!

My Father and my God, I thank You for the way You have made a way for the longings of my heart will be filled! And I thank You for the intercession not just for my imperfect prayers, but for the way Jesus interceded in the course of my merry and miserable journey to Hell. You bring Life to dead places. You know the dead heart of Man, and in Your people You bring these dead hearts to Life! You have taken this heart that was once a cold piece of stone and transformed it into a temple in which the Spirit now resides. Apart from You I cannot be.

Forefathers John Calvin, Robert E. Lee and my Heavenly Father

But although our mind cannot conceive of God, without rendering some worship to him, it will not, however, be sufficient simply to hold that he is the only being whom all ought to worship and adore, unless we are also persuaded that he is the fountain of all goodness, and that we must seek everything in him, and in none but him. My meaning is: we must be persuaded not only that as he once formed the world, so he sustains it by his boundless power, governs it by his wisdom, preserves it by his goodness, in particular, rules the human race with justice and judgement, bears with them in mercy, shields them by his protection; but also that not a particle of light, or wisdom, or justice, or power, or rectitude, or genuine truth, will anywhere be found, which does not flow from him, and of which he is not the cause; in this way we must learn to expect and ask all things from him, and thankfully ascribe to him whatever we receive. For this sense of the divine perfections is the proper master to teach us piety, out of which religion springs. By piety I mean that union of reverence and love to God which the knowledge of his benefits inspires. For, until men feel that they owe everything to God, that they are cherished by his paternal care, and that he is the author of all their blessings, so that nought is to be looked for away from him, they will never submit to him in voluntary obedience; nay, unless they place their entire happiness in him, they will never yield up their whole selves to him in truth and sincerity.

From "Institutes of the Christian Religion" by John Calvin

Are you a Southerner or a Yankee?

Take this here little test-it will do either one of two things: it will confirm what you already knew to begin with, or it will suprise you at the way our beautiful Southern dialect is being polluted by the harsh Yankee tongue.

This was posted on one of my favourite forums

The Dixie War Room

I Am The South

by Louise Nettles Allen

I was born on April 12, 1861, in the Harbor of Charleston, South Carolina and the Constitution of the Confederate States of America is my Birth Certificate.

The blood lines of the South run through my veins, for I offer freedom that each State should regulate her own affairs, according to its best interest. I am many things and many people.

I Am The South.

I am millions of living souls, and ghosts of thousands who died for me. I am the Farmer-made soldier who did not turn his back during Pickett's Charge. I am the Rebel Yell that was heard across many of my rolling fields, protecting our homeland.

I am Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson: I stood at Fort Sumter and fired the shot heard through our young nation. I am Longstreet, Hood and Patrick R. Cleburne. I am General's Johnson, Beaugard and President Jefferson Davis.

I remember how we fought in Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, Vicksburg, and Atlanta. When duty called I answered and stayed until it was over. I left my heroic dead in Chickamauga, in the fields of Shiloh, on the bloody hills of Mannassas and the mountains of Kennesaw.

I Am The South.

I am the Mississippi River, and the cotton fields of Alabama and the piney woods of the Carolinas. I am the coal fields of Virginia and Kentucky, the Florida coast and the Louisiana bayou. I am Richmond, the Capitol of the Confederacy. I am the forest, field, mountain, and rivers. I am the quiet villages and the cities that never sleep.

I am the Heritage that's been forgotten, the dying memory of a way of life that is being still. You see me in the twilight and hear me in Dixie, as the past continues to fade away each year.

Yes, I Am The South, and these are the things I represent.

I was conceived by force, and God willing, I'll spend the rest of my days remembering my birth. May I always possess the integrity and the courage, and the strength to keep my Heritage alive, to remain a Loyal Southerner and stand tall and proud to the rest of the world.

Do not forget who we are, what we are and where we came from.... This is my goal, my hope, my prayer.
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Oh, I found out yesterday my sister is having another girl...Yea!!! Aunt Dessie x 2!

Vacation Details

Been a while...I realize this. OK, I am going to try to keep this more updated.

I just got back from a "vacation." I don't get many of those, and this one was especially enjoyable and relaxing.

I went to the annual Highlands Study Center conference in Abingdon, Va. and afterwards stopped by my sister's in Raleigh, NC for a couple of days.

I have been wanting to visit the Study center for a few years but it never worked out that I could get away. Well, I decided this year I was going, even if I had to walk. Well, thankfully, I didn't have to walk; in fact I bought a new (well, "new-to-me" anyway) car, so I drove. Thirteen hours in the car up there was splendid, just the Lord and me, singing and praying to Him as I drove. But by mile 600, I was so ready to be there and out of the car!

Abingdon turned out to be one of the most charming places I have ever seen. I love history and there was no short of it there. I spent some time at the Martha Washington Inn and Barter Theatre. I got to stroll along Main Street for a while, just taking in the sights and breathing the cool mountain air.

The conference began Friday evening. Of course RC Sproul Jr. spoke, along with his guests-RC Sr., Doug Phillips and his father Howard. The overall theme was "Honor", but Doug's messages really moved me, sometimes to the point of tears. I came away so convicted about the attitude of my heart at times, especially in regard to honoring my parents. Although I may honor them on the surface, many times my heart does not.

As a kid, I remember rolling my eyes and giving a big dramatic sigh, as if they just had no clue. I may not roll my eyes or heave a huge sigh outwardly, but I most certainly do inwardly. Heavenly Father, please forgive me and give me a spirit of honoring not only my parents, but all other authority, especially Yours.

OK, back to Friday. I had been praying for a few weeks prior to meet people who I could connect with and possibly get to know while I was there, since I would be going solo. While I was sitting there in my seat in between breaks, a lady behind me tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was by myself. She introduced herself as Valerie and invited me to join her and some other folks for some game playing later on that night. Well, the Lord sure did answer those prayers!

I met a few other ladies, their husbands and children and we played games until about 1am. We talked about a wide variety of things, laughed and had fun. I dragged myself back to my hotel just to get back up in a few short hours.

Saturday's messages were just as awesome as Friday's; however, the one that I loved the most was RC Jr's "Delivering the Kingdom to the Father." The Wedding Feast of the Lamb. The New Jerusalem. Heaven. Events and times that many times I fail to look towards. Things and places as we know them now will oneday be destroyed. All of our material possessions, our silver and gold will perish, things that we hold on to dearly will rot. So, why then do I have a hard time relinquishing? On that day-the beautiful, glorious, awe strickening, unfathomable day of the Lord, all things will be forgotten except seeing my Lord and my God as He truely is, seeing Him through a new, unblemished set of eyes, beholding the likeness of His face and placing my fingers over His scars. In a place where "Jesus feeds me" (thank you RC Jr for that phrase that I can never forget.)

What is the Church?

I have heard several sermons regarding the "church" lately, from both good, and well, other preachers. My pastor has been doing a series on the church and what it's purpose is, in every detail.

The church is not the building where Christians meet, nor is it any one particular congregation or denomination. The bottom line is: the church is the Body of Christ presently, globaly, currently being sanctified and cleansed, for her future role of Bride of Christ. (Eph. 5:27) Therefore we must look at what Jesus wants His church to look like, versus how the world wants the church to look.

Let me start off by telling of my experience tonight. I sometimes visit a Saturday night service at a local Church of God. Even though I am reformed and would NEVER give up my reformed theology (or Sunday morning services at my church), I have friends that I love dearly and they attend this COG. Well, they had a guest "pastor" tonight, and I use that term loosely, because I am not sure if he is a pastor or not. I can tell you though, that he read maybe one verse out of the Scriptures. On top of that, the verse had nothing to do with the purpose of the church. He goes on to tell us the church as to stop focusing so much on the inward and focus outward, to stop being in a "football huddle" and be more open to the "unchurched" that come through our doors, to make the church a more accepting, friendly atmosphere where people want to belong.

Can I tell you, I wanted so much to blurt out numerous things during that "sermon." OK, I cannot completely disagree with what he said. But I declare, he missed the boat BIG TIME! Not once during the whole message did he mention that the purpose of the church was to bring praise, honor, glory and worship to our Lord! That the purpose of the Body is to edify and encourage Believers! That the reading of the Word and the sermon are FOR THE BELIEVER! No, not one time was anything like this mentioned.

You know, we should be welcoming and loving when folks come into our midst. Jesus set that example for us in many of His encounters. But we should never forget that the Bible is for the Believer. To the mind of the unbeliever, the Bible is foolishness and irrational. In His sovereignty, God the Holy Spirit of course can and does use His Word to bring an unbeliever to belief. But we should never make ourselves look like the world in order to make the world comfortable in our midst. No, in fact, the unbeliever should feel very uncomfortable in the presence of the Triune God, and in the presense of His Word. (I know, we Believers should too feel some level of discomfort, for in our process of sanctification, we are in much need of daily repentance-but that is another topic for perhaps another time. Thankfully, as Believers, the great divide between us and our Father has already been bridged. So even our discomfort is temporary.)

Also, I know we are commanded by Jesus in the Great Commission to go out and make disciples of the nations and that is a command that every church should take very seriously. So yes, the church should have an outward approach. But again, no mention of what He is doing through His church. The message I heard tonight was all about "us", the human happenings of the body of Christ. Not even a footnote on His glory, His praise, or His worship.

When we lose our "upward" focus, our "inward" and "outward" focus become out of focus and and then all we are at best is a big motivational speaker convention.

God, please continue to cleanse and prepare Your bride, that you may present her faultless and without blemish at the wedding feast of the Lamb. Amen.