SONday Musings, Here I Am, Lord.

 Good SONday morning, Friends.  I hope you are having a blessed and beautiful day of worship and rest.  I am doing both.  Listening to the following song and message for today, as I am at home instead of at church.  I've been battling a sinus/allergy/laryngitis issue all week long.  It's been rather "quiet" here at home as a result.  But you know I chose the word "Listen" for my "One Word" for 2023, or rather I believe the Lord chose that word for me...either way, I believe it is a word that God wanted me to pay attention to at this time in my life.  Listen...

Here I Am, Lord

I, the Lord of sea and sky

I have heard my people cry

All who dwell in dark and sin

My hand will save

I have made the stars of night

I will make their darkness bright

Who will bear my light to them?

Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord

Is it I, Lord?

I have heard You calling in the night

I will go, Lord

If You lead me

I will hold Your people in my heart

I, the Lord of wind and flame

I will tend the poor and lame

I will set a feast for them

My hand will save

Finest bread I will provide

'Til their hearts be satisfied

I will give my life to them

Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord

Is it I, Lord?

I have heard You calling in the night

I will go, Lord

If You lead me

I will hold Your people in my heart

I will hold Your people in my heart

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Dan Schutte

Here I Am, Lord lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Isaiah 6:8 

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send,

And who will go for Us?”

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

God also speaks these words back to us through His Word again in Isaiah 58...read on:

Isaiah 58:6-9

“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.’

As we listen to God's voice and obey His Word, He will reveal Himself to us and say, "Here I am..."

It's a two way street...we listen and call out to God, and He hears us and responds.  What a Mighty God we serve!  As we listen to Him, He listens to us...as we respond to His call, He responds to our call. 

If you continue listening to the video above, the pastor's sermon is from Matthew 11, entitled, "Don't Doubt in the Darkness What God Has Shown You in the Light".   It really seems to go along with this this same theme...as we listen to God's Word, we are to believe His Word and trust Him to do exactly as He has promised.  Don't doubt what His Word has revealed to you...walk in faith believing...answer His call on your life..."Here I am, Lord...send me."

I'm not entirely sure where all of this will lead me...I know in the past, when I've truly surrendered my will to God's will and humbly said, "Here I am, Lord...send me..." , we've ended up being sent to some pretty interesting places.  We are at an age now where I don't expect God will be "sending" us anywhere new or different...but then again, one never knows.  One thing I have learned in life, 'never say never'.  As long as we have breath in our bodies we have life and purpose, and God may have some new challenge for us to accept.  But today I can't imagine what it could be.  Right now I just want to feel better...I've got this shoulder/arm issue that I 'm dealing with as well as the sinus/laryngitis issue. These are minor things compared to what many others are going through, and I am thankful for that, but nonetheless they are issues that need to be healed before I can move on to the next part of this journey.  One day at a time...with God, All things are possible...

Okay, that's all for today folks. I don't have any new pictures to speak of. Well, maybe one or two.  Last night our "kids" came over for some homemade beef vegetable soup that I made yesterday. I've been craving it and finally, with the weather cold and windy again and me not feeling quite up to par, I sent hubby to the store to buy some stew beef so I could make the soup. I made such a big pot of it that we invited the kids over to share it with us. I meant to take some pictures of the soup, but forgot.  But I did take some pictures of our grandpuppies, "Sugar and Spice", as they were watching out the glass doors toward Still Waters Pond to see what they could see...

They were watching for squirrels, cats, birds and geese.  They may have seen some or all of the above, but thankfully they were safe inside and unable to go chasing after them.

And with this sweet picture I will say good bye for now. Going to drink another cup of hot tea and maybe take a nap before hubby gets home from church

"Here I am, Lord...

Is it I, Lord?

I have heard You calling in the night..."

The Secret Garden Chronicles - "Here I Am" ~Updated for 2018

I was just reminded by my friend Martha Jane Orlando in her timely post "A Blessed Lent" (Click HERE), that tomorrow is not only Valentine's Day, but it is also Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent...that 40 day season of preparation for the celebration of Easter.  I must admit that I was caught off-guard a bit to realize that we are already approaching this time of fasting, reflection and renewal...I've been too busy doing, and not reflecting.  I haven't spent any time yet this year in the Secret Garden due to weather and other interruption of life, but it is calling to me...and I believe this season of Lent will be a wonderful time to get back to where the Lord and I can walk in the garden together...

So here is a post written last year from the Secret Garden that speaks to my heart today. Perhaps it will speak to you as well as we begin this 40 day journey toward Easter tomorrow.  Let's see where the Lord will take each of us during this time, okay?  Sounds like a good plan.

Lord, help me to use this time to draw the closer to You, to truly seek this "renewal" You've been reminding me of lately...

Here's a few Camellia Blossoms gathered from The Secret Garden yesterday 2/12/18. Yes, the Lord is walking in the garden...I need to meet Him there...

Original Post 3/5/2017:
Okay, I have to admit that I've been struggling with this particular post for several days. I started on it Friday, and here it is Sunday, and it is as though God won't let me walk away from this without giving it another hearing.  It's one thing for me to struggle with a passage in the Bible because I can't quite figure out what the Lord is trying to say to me...and then wouldn't you know, that is the exact same passage that my husband decided to preach about this morning in our Home Bible Fellowship!  I thought, "Okay, Lord.  I got the message! You are NOT going to let me ignore this passage any longer.  You want me to hear what You have to say...and then do something about it!"  I still haven't quite figured that part out yet...but You've got my attention, Lord...so here we go!

So, this is where I was on Friday, sitting in the Secret Garden...and the first thing I wrote down was:

"So Lord, Do You have something to tell me today?  Here I am, waiting to hear Your voice..."

And then I turned to the book of Isaiah, chapter 58.  I've been thinking a lot about Lent...and fasting, and other ways to observe this season prior to Easter.  Isaiah 58 has a lot to say about fasting...and here are some of the highlights that spoke to me...

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 the 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."

Okay, Lord, I guess I asked for You to speak...and You did.  Now I need You to show me how to do this...Give me wisdom and direction...for this sounds like a difficult thing to do in my own strength.

But You promised in verses 10-11:

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."

Oh Lord!  I want to be this strong, "well-watered garden" person...Help me, Lord, to be what YOU want me to be.

So, here is a song that came to my lips as I sat in the garden praying about these passages and trying to open my heart to the Lord's message to me today...  

"I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go" 
(click on this link for the song)

by Mary A. Brown

1 It may not be on the mountain’s height,

Or over the stormy sea;

It may not be at the battle’s front

My Lord will have need of me.

But if by a still, small voice He calls

To paths I do not know,

I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine,

"I’ll go where You want me to go."

Refrain:

I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,

Over mountain, or plain, or sea.

I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord.

I’ll be what You want me to be.

2 Perhaps today there are loving words

Which Jesus would have me speak;

There may be now, in the paths of sin,

Some wand’rer whom I should seek.

O Savior, if Thou wilt be my Guide,

Tho' dark and rugged the way,

My voice shall echo the message sweet,

I’ll say what you want me to say. 

[Refrain]

3 There’s surely somewhere a lowly place

In earth’s harvest fields so wide

Where I may labor thro' life’s short day

For Jesus, the Crucified;

So, trusting my all to Thy tender care,

And knowing Thou lovest me,

I’ll do Thy will with a heart sincere,

I’ll be what You want me to be. 

[Refrain]

I'm sure most of you have heard and sung these words at some time in your Christian life.  I know I have many times...and many times in response to this very song, the Lord took me at my word, and soon off we would go into some new ministry.  

One thing I've learned in this life...if you truly don't want to go anywhere for the Lord or do anything for Him, then don't sing these songs or pray these kinds of prayers...because God will hear you...and He will take you at your word...and you may find yourself on a foreign mission field...or praying with a neighbor who has just had some bad news...or who needs to know the Lord...or you may be taking food to the hungry or sick or lonely...or leading a Bible study, or teaching a Sunday School class...or helping the elderly or sick or lonely...or inviting people into your home from the neighborhood for a bar-b-que or tea party or luncheon...or just to visit and be a friend.  But I can assure you, if you are sincere in your desire to serve the Lord, He will never take you anywhere that He will not go with you...He will lead you every step of the way, and even go before you and prepare the way...and you need not fear where He will lead.  He will never leave you alone or on your own.

Back to the prophet Isaiah...and early in the book, chapter six, verse 8:

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying:

"Whom shall I send,

and who will go for Us?"

Then I said, 

"Here am I! 

Send me!"

Okay, Lord, I think You've gotten Your message through to me today.  I know I tried to wiggle out of this and not put it out here for the world to read...but now that we've gone this far...Here I am...send me...wherever You please...and to do whatever You ask.  I know You will go with me, so there is nothing to fear. Thank you, Lord, for not giving up on me. Amen.

Meanwhile, back in the Secret Garden...the Chickadees are busy preparing their nest in the birdhouse.  Here's mama (or daddy?), with a mouth full of nesting material, sitting patiently on the branch of the tree overhead, waiting for me to leave so she can safely go about the business of building the nest. Daddy bird showed up after a while to ask why she was still waiting there. She sat there the whole time I was writing this, and finally when I got up for a minute she flew into the birdhouse to deposit her nesting twigs. I guess I need to be more considerate of their building schedule and try not to interfere...

The End...for today.  Stay tuned for further developments.

(Click HERE for a link to a previous post from Isaiah 58)

"It Is No Secret!" - Reposted

This is a repost of a blog that I wrote about this same time last year.  Somehow, it seems good to repeat it again this year.


Original Post written 10/24/2015:
I'm not alluding to the song, "It Is No Secret What God can do..."  even though that is a wonderful old song and certainly true.  But what has been impressed on my mind lately has to do with darkness and light...hidden and revealed. Read on~

Luke 12:2-3

"For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops."

Luke 8:16-17

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light."

Proverbs 28:13

 "He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."

Photo via Internet

I started this post a couple of weeks ago, and then just let it sit on the back burner and simmer a while. Not sure if I am ready to tackle it again or not.  It is a deep subject. Maybe I should just let God's Word speak for itself. I certainly cannot do it any better than that.  God's Word encourages me to press on:

Isaiah 58:1

"Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins."

Isaiah 55:6-7:

"Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,

And He will have mercy on him;

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon." 

Isaiah 58:6-9

"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?

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?

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, 

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; 

You shall cry, 

and He will say, 'Here I am.'" 

Isaiah 55:10-11

"For as the rain comes down,

and the snow from heaven,

and do not return there,

but water the earth,

and make it bring forth and bud,

that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Isaiah 55:12~

"For you shall go out with joy,

And be led out with peace;

The mountains and the hills

Shall break forth into singing before you..."

So be it, Lord, I pray, even as You have spoken.

Amen.