Your Light Shall Break Forth!

 Where in the world has the last week gone to?  I have been a busy little bee.....but trust me, I have loved every single minute of it. (Well, except maybe the part I made 2 trips to the girls' dentist office an hour away!)  Anyway!  It's a fantabulous Tuesday afternoon and I am loving the weather!  I have a big pot of stew simmering on the stove and just a bit of time to spend with you before I have to get back on the road again to head to guitar/piano lessons.

This morning, the girls and I volunteered at the Hope Women's Resource Clinic.  We worked in the "Boutique" organizing and sorting baby clothes, blanket, and bottles.  They gave us a tour of the whole facility, and we got to meet all the staff.  They were beyond wonderful!  I just can't wait to go back.  As time will allow, I hope that maybe I will be able to become more a part of what they do there.  I was invited to come and train to do some one-on-one counseling, so hopefully after the first of the year I can. There are so many opportunities for volunteers there!  The picture below was taken with my phone, so it is terrible quality, but you can still see how excited my girls were just to be there!

 

Tomorrow morning, we were invited to lead worship for the Chapel service at First Baptist Academy.  There is something so sincere about watching little ones worship Jesus!  They don't know how to fake it or put on a show!  Eeeekkkk!  Busy, Busy, Busy!   

 

An update on the fundraiser (bake sale) that Naomi Chance and I did for Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes.......wait for it..............we raised $515.00.  Wow!  I would just like to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who ordered our baked goodies and donated to this great cause.  There is nothing more moving than watching the videos of children opening their shoe boxes and getting to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I will try to remember to post pictures of our finished boxes on here. (And yes, just typing that, I started crying!  Thank you again!)

 

So today, in my time with the Lord, I read Isaiah 58.  Do you have a few more minutes to spend with me?  I hope so!

 

⁶ “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?

⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

⁹ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

¹⁰ If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,

And your darkness shall be as the noonday.

 

¹¹ The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

¹² Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

 

This is what I am learning: If you want to move the heart of our Great God, become an advocate for justice and mercy.  If you want righteousness to go before you and the GLORY of the LORD to follow, be His hands and feet on this earth to those in need.  When you are saved, God has taken up residence inside of you.....thank you Holy Spirit!  If you stir up the Holy Spirit inside you, a little bit of service to God is never enough.  You start getting hungry for more.  You want to be in action.  Your life, your things, your time becomes easy to sacrifice when you are following hard after Him!

 

I want to be like the woman in Matthew 26 with the Alabaster Jar, the costly perfume, that she willingly poured out all over Jesus!  The disciples saw waste, but oh, Jesus saw love and worship from a sincere and grateful heart.

 

May my life be like that perfume as I pour it out before my Savior!  May no possession be more valuable than Him.  God let my heart be willing to make any sacrifice that will bring me closer to your feet.  Oh God, guide me continually and satisfy my soul.  Let the Light of Christ break forth like the morning every where I go! 

Father, increase your power and anointing on those who follow hard after You because with You, all things are possible.