Finding Your Voice - Part Two - Friday Foto Friends #45

Yesterday I wrote this post, "Finding Your Voice - Part Two", and then somehow I accidentally deleted it! I guess you could say I "lost my voice"...well, temporarily.  Not too sure that the same post can be totally reproduced, but maybe that was God's way of saying that perhaps something else ought to be said instead.

This post was to be a follow-up to the one written a few days ago, "Finding Your Voice" (Click HERE for that post).  After publishing that particular blog, I was surprised to see that the Christian contemporary singer Natalie Grant had written a new book with the exact same title!  Click HERE for more about that!

So it seems as though this is a message that God is trying to get across to us...and to each individual it may be a little bit different approach, but the idea is still the same..."Find Your Voice" and use it for the glory of God.  Whether it be a voice of ministry, teaching, singing, writing, creativity (crafts, art, photography, quilting, ceramics-many voices there)...a voice of kindness, encouragement, compassion, exhortation, counseling... Whatever your voice...speak boldly and with confidence!

In thinking more about this topic I was led to the following scriptures regarding voices with a message for all of us during these days of decision, confusion, and concern regarding the future of our nation and world...

Isaiah 40:6-8

"The voice said, 

'Cry out!'

And he said, 'What shall I cry?'

'All flesh is grass,

And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, 

The flower fades,

Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers,

the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever!

Behold your God!

To sum up these thoughts...we have a message to give to the nations...and to the people around us. Whatever God is placing upon your heart...do not be afraid to speak out. 

Pray first, seek His voice most of all...and then, as the Lord leads you, do your part to be a messenger for God's glory here on earth.  Nothing is too small or insignificant when God is in it. Your voice matters. Our days here on earth may be numbered...and the message we have to share needs to be heard.  There may be someone right around you just waiting to hear what you have to say! 

P.S.:  I almost forgot that in my original post that got deleted I had included this song, "O Zion, Haste".  This is an old hymn that I am sure many of you will remember.  Put on your sound and enjoy singing this beautiful hymn with me...and pay attention to the words as you sing.  Such a message here!

O Zion, Haste - You Tube Video


I am linking up with Deb at Friday Foto Friends today.  I hope you will join in and see what others are sharing as well. 

Finding Your Voice

Finding Your Voice

I don't know what this little deer was trying to say to me, but it appears that she's definitely trying to find her voice and tell me something important!

This past Sunday in our Bible Study time we were challenged to think about different people in the Bible who found their voice.  Our main study was in the book of Amos...the prophet who said

"I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, 

but I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit.

Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, 

and the Lord said to me,

'Go, prophesy to My people Israel.'"  Amos 7:14-15

And so he did!  Read the book of Amos for the powerful message he gave to Israel, as per the Lord's instruction.

Think about some others in the Bible who "found their voice"...Moses, when he told Pharoah to "let my people go" (Read the book of Exodus for this story). There was the Apostle Peter, a fisherman who left all to follow Christ and became a great leader in the establishment of the Christian church, (see the book of Acts),   Queen Esther (click on the link for another post about what she had to say), and certainly King David as he wrote most all of the Psalms, and don't forget all of the prophets, both major and minor...the apostles who wrote the Gospels, Paul who found his voice after he was struck blind on the road to Damascus, (see Acts 9), The Apostle John, who wrote the Gospel of John, I, II, & III John as well as the Book of Revelation...and the list goes on and on.

But what about you and me?  In what ways have you or I found our voices?  And what is our message?

I can honestly say that when I discovered the way to write this blog, God helped me to find my voice. And then, when I received probably one of the very best gifts ever...my camera... that opened my voice even further...to be able to share pictures of God's beautiful creation with the world...and to have the opportunity to express the messages that God impresses upon my heart through His creation by sharing them with you here...Wow! What a blessed way to "find my voice".  

Perhaps some of you have found your voice through the gift of singing, or teaching, or praying.  There are many of you who have the gift of counseling and sharing God's love and compassion through your messages of hope and encouragement.  Maybe even some have found their voice in the ability to bring healing through God's healing hands in the application of medicine and care-giving.

You may have found your voice by being a testimony of Christ's love and saving grace to those around you, whether in the work-place, community, church or home.  Finding your voice in your home to share love and hope and encouragement with your children and your spouse is a wonderful gift.

I know that there are some who are just getting the courage to speak up about injustice, abuse, and the lies of the enemies of our souls.  It takes a lot of courage to speak out against the darkness...but fear not, God is with you, and He will give you the words to speak when it is the time to speak. 

"But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak.

For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak;

for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you."

Matthew 10: 19-20

You know, if you are a believer in Christ, you have much good news to proclaim! In whatever way you are led to do so, find your voice and proclaim the Good News!

"How beautiful upon the mountains 

are the feet of him who brings good news,

Who proclaims peace,

Who brings glad tidings of good things,

Who proclaims salvation,

Who says to Zion,

'Your God reigns!"

Isaiah 52:7

Mt. Washington, NH, photo taken in 2013

Click HERE for a continuation of this topic- "Finding Your Voice-Part Two"