Monday

When Christ asks you to give something up for Him it's never easy and its rarely quick. But obedience always brings about the glory of the Lord and the presence of His Spirit. Sunday I visited a church and heard truth which refreshed me and encouraged my soul. It was pulled from I Samuel 16. The preacher talked about how David, after he was annointed king, was still content to be herding sheep according to his father's orders until Saul sent for him. The preacher contrasted the obedience of David with the disobedience of Saul and the result is in verse 14 where the Spirit of the Lord departing from Saul (a scary thing to think about and btw - I don't think this is a case of someone losing their salvation). A side note of his sermon was taken from verses 15 and 23 about how music was the answer to the depressing, evil, tormenting spirit that troubled Saul. Worship was the servant's answer to the oppression Saul faced. The power of, not just music, but worship as a response to our trials is something I forget.

So I pulled out my guitar Sunday afternoon and sang praises to God. While the phone calls flew around and my family faced this thing, I praised and He strengthened me for the act of obedience I face. I fear division in my close-nit clan of siblings, I fear losing someone dear to me. I fear God more, the greater fear disobedience.

In all, this weekend was a reprieve for me. I played two hours of ultimate fribsee in freezing rain Saturday morning. I was drenched, muddy, and numb but to be able to expend that much energy felt good, to push myself until I felt as physically exhausted as I had been mentally was actually nice; it restored some proportion to me :-]. Sunday evening, I had the pleasure of being escorted by an exceptional young man named Luke on a group valentine's day date. There were ten of us and we had a blast. Complete with flowers and a fancy resturant, the gentlemen were truly impressive [Plus, Luke gave me choclates :-]. It was a platonic event so don't get any ideas. Btw - did you know that a right-side up flower on a man's lapel means he's dating the woman he is escorting and an up-side down flower means he's not? I had not idea either. :-]

Praise the Lord for His everlasting love.