Christ Alone...

Something beautiful happened this morning in church, in my heart, and many others around me. The Holy Spirit was surely in the pews at First Church. As we began to sing our worship songs I was filled with so much joy :) (I thought maybe it was because I got to hold Maleah during the service) But I know that it was clearly the Holy Spirit putting the joy in my heart.

When we started singing In Christ Alone I knew the tears would start flowing soon! So I prepared myself and said a prayer for the congregation. I asked God to let the words of that song flood our hearts with praise and speak to us in a new way even after hearing it so many times. And so it did, with hands raised in surrender, with hearts open to Him, I could not imagine that one heart was not tugged by the Spirit. Shouts of Joy came from the back, as people began going forward to kneel at His feet at the altar. I would want to personally thank ever person in church this morning for letting their hearts be captured by our God.

It breaks my heart when I think about what Christ did for us on the cross. To know that every sin was laid on Him and to know that he took that pain for us puts tears in my eyes. But then to know that there is no guilt, no fear, no pain, because of the Power of Christ  is the most comforting feeling. Let these words speak to you as they did to me this morning!


In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand


My heart is filled with praise for The King :)


Let me tell you it didn't stop after the sining. For those of you who don't know, my husband has a gift. His gift is preaching :) I am so glad to be a part of that as his wife. He truly lets the Lord speak to him as he prepares and through him as he delivers! He spoke on the book of Haggi (Tough book to preach on, but its what he felt led to speak). He talked about priorities in our lives, and how we should make God #1. Over our families, over our jobs, over our hobbies, and over all the good things we think we are doing and that we are involved in. I think that it is really easy to say that our #1 priority is God because that is what is expected from Christians. But I can tell you that it is a daily battle to keep this true. My relationship with Jordan is so amazing that sometimes I think it would be hard to say, "Lord, I put you #1 in my life over Jordan." (You have no clue how many times i just hit backspace!) Do I really mean it? YES. I do, but I want to live it. I want to put him before our work in the youth group, my worries about student loans, before my work which I love, before my family, before everything I do and love! 

I challenge you all to look at your priorities in life and make God #1 for real :)

KRG

Back to the Beginning....

For those of you who didn’t know, Jordan is taking masters classes through IWU's new Online Masters of Divinity program! So he will be working hard for the next 3 years while he is in Seminary!!! This created an opportunity to come back to Indiana Wesleyan for a week...back to the beginning of our lives together. As our friend Chris Mieksell puts it...where the magic happened. Jordan has classes from 8:30 am- 5:00pm! Talk about a rough schedule. My schedule is quite easy and quite relaxing though. :) I have gotten up with him, taken him to school, and then I go work out for 2 hours at the Rec. I have spent the rest of my days reading by the fire place at McConn Coffee Shop. This is where I spent countless hours studying and reading for my 4 years at IWU.

So nestled in my comfy fire side chair with a nice raspberry white mocha I found myself completing my first book of the week. The Five Love Languages written by Gary Chapmen. I was given this book as a gift from Jennifer Lee who was my prayer partner at The OAKS Camp! She is an incredible woman, mother, and wife!!! She gave me this book knowing the Lord would use it in my life as I am finding out how I can better love others and how I can be filled with love more!
So getting back to the beginning of things seems to be the theme for the last few days....the author talks about how there is this "falling in love experience" at the beginning of marriage and for most couples it dies out within 2 years. I am wondering if this is the reason Jordan and I have heard so many complaints about marriage. You probably know all the jokes if you have been married or are engaged...you might even say these kinds of things!
ex. "You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into."

"You have only ____ days of freedom left!" (If you’re engaged)

"The ball and chains joke" (I never really caught on to that one)

There are so many more jokes that we have heard that are so awful. Most people might take these lightly and brush them off and hope that they will never feel that way or that it is just normal for life to take that direction. The people who tell the jokes may often end with a...."I'm just playing with you" but to tell you the truth, I doubt they really are "just playing." But maybe these jokes are told because for so many married couples their love has seemed to "die down" and that crazy in-love obsession that they once had has turned into a constant struggle to get back to how they once felt about each other. I wonder if they even know how to try to mend things the right way...the unselfish way! "Love is not about you, its a choice to love. That choice may involve something you hate to do!"

Jordan and I have talked to one another about how we can never let our love for each other get to a point of disappointment and let that fire burn out. Here is the most important lesson I got out of this book...

"We can recognize the falling in-love experience for what it was--a temporary emotional high--and now pursue "real love" with our spouse. That kind of love is emotional in nature but not an obsession. It is a love that unites reason and emotion. It involves an act of the will and requires discipline, and it recognizes the need for personal growth."

To pursue this real love experience for the rest of my life, I have realized it will take effort! Thankfully I read this book now! I have not moved out of that "in-love" obsession yet and have in no way close to letting the fire burn out...but I am happy that I now understand why I see so many unhappy marriages and have gained tools for preventing destruction from happening. I truly believe that this book could revolutionize your marriage or prepare you for a marriage full of "real love". The 5 Love Languages is in my top 10 favorite books, I challange anyone who wants to know how to love better to read this book!!!!

KRG