the winner of the against the grain calendar is commenter #3! who just so happens to be jasmin, who is looking forward to being collected from the airport by her man after being apart the entire year. yay, jasmin! i will be emailing you today.
********
some sweet blog friends of mine have shared their word for 2011.
a word they hope to, with the Lord’s help, live out this year.
i have prayed over my word and how He would want me to grow this year.
praise to my King who is worthy of it, regardless of my circumstances.
let me say that again.
regardless of my circumstances.
what a testimony it can be to walk worthy.
there are times i struggle with a daily intimate relationship with Christ. times when i should be praising Him and i’m not even acknowledging Him. what is holding me back from being fulfilled by Him and only Him? i love the Lord with my whole heart. and there are times in my life that my walk with Him is the sweetest thing, as it should be. but, the fact is that, many times, i get very set on checking things off my list. read my bible, pray with kids throughout the day, and especially at this time, this time, and this time. make sure caleb and i pray together before bed. go to church, lead small group, and have fellowship time. so many times i am doing something to check it off the list and not to spend some time with my creator. not to spend time praising my Savior. a lot of times my problem lies in letting go of everything else, in order to handily praise Him. we only praise things that we honor, things that we hold on a pedestal. when i place the Lord where He should be in my life, in the highest state of adoration and admiration, it is easy to praise Him.
my prayer for this year is that i will praise Him, at all times, in all things.
as of lately, i feel like i am trying to fulfill so many things on my own while the Lord is trying to tell me slow down, my precious child. focus on Me. you can’t do those things on your own. submit yourself to Me and I will do it.
*******
shauna shared her heart and inspired me to do so, too.
she suggested that we share a little bit of our stories with others, so to help someone else who is walking that road as well. these are some things i wish someone told me.
on emotional purity: if you are a single woman and reading this right now i will tell you that emotional purity is just as important as physical purity. guard your heart and wait on Him.
on birth: unmedicated labor and delivery are an out of body experience. for me, it was more life changing and amazing than painful. when i surrendered is when everything became much smoother. be prepared for a hard physical and emotional transition after giving birth. there is really nothing anyone could have told me to explain how i would feel and how hard recovery would be. but i wish someone would have at least said that.
on hard family relationships: there are times when we (read: i) need to just let go and give these relationships over the God. the power of prayer will show itself when you are faithful to Him. keep praying.
for loved ones who are grieving: acknowledging the sorrow that someone you love is facing is always the first important thing to me. be there, be present, pray, love, hold, cry, just be WITH THEM. i think so many times we feel like what should i do? i don’t want to impose when someone is hurting. we are the body of Christ, let us be His hands and feet, and love like He does.
on family {marriage & motherhood}: i have three guys in my life that make my heart swell. i believe my first ministry right now is being the wife and mother that i need to be. i love this role that the Lord has blessed me with, i wouldn’t change it for the world. but, i need to daily remind myself that i only have them because of Him. even though they are wonderful blessings and good things, they can become idols when i place them before my King.
daily reminder.
0
this was such a beautiful, honest post. thank you for opening your heart and sharing your story. here's to 2011. may it be filled with praise for Him!
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oooh, this is such exciting news! Thanks soooo much!!!
Oh, and thank you for this beautiful and sincere post – I completely understand your struggle with giving God the neccesary praise. I also struggle with this as I get so caught up in life and then forget about what really counts!!!!
In case you dont have my email (i dont think its on my blog, I should add it) – its truchenv[at]gmail.com
Once again, thanks so much! You gave me one more reason to praise today 🙂
J
I love everything about this post 🙂 I deal with the same issue sometimes.
thanks so much for the honest post.i think this is something most of us as believers struggle with daily. i know i do-i find myself just trying to cram in time with God while my girl naps and not really focusing on His word and beauty. the speaker at our church this past sunday spoke about this same thing. here is the link if you feel like listening some time. thanks again 🙂
http://www.austinstone.org/resources/sermon/beholding_the_beauty_of_the_bible/
I needed several of those reminders today. Thank you for posting!
Yay for praise! It so fits you, I think. And also, it feels like a weapon you are arming yourself with for when the unhappy circumstances come. Can't wait to see how it shines in your life this year. 😉 Liked your list too. great stuff!
I want to be better at this too! I think I am going to just live vicariously through all of your words hahaha. Everytime I read a new word of the year on my favorite blogs I think "I want that word too" so being the indecisive girl that I am I'm not going to pick just one word..at least not for now (I have been known to change my mind). ps. I love coming to your blog and listening to your music..I love it…makes me want to go out and buy a new cd (yes I'm like the only person who still loves cds and hasn't gone to the darkside, I mean to the ipod side)
Thanks for your lovely posts!
Such a good word! I need to work on more praise as well. Love your heart Danielle, thanks for sharing it with all of us 🙂
love this, very inspiring! thanks for sharing your life so honestly with us!
Your heart is beautiful. I love all that you shared and the love behind it.
thank you for your sweet comment yesterday.. so fun to find your little blog too…
love this.
Im a little gunshy at picking a word.
Last year I picked refine…
and boy were we ever…
praise God.
But still. gunshy…
Everytime I try to, the Lord gently whispers… Joy.
So maybe its been picked.
i adore this post, you are a truly beautiful woman
thank for sharing your heart. so inspiring and something to contemplate for sure. praise Him indeed! 🙂
you know my word <3
praise is a good word. for the past two years praise isn't something i have done much of…begrudging much?
something God has taught me through all this is putting my faith to work. i expected my faith to look so different than it does today. i expected it to be all pretty and neat and something i wanted to set on a shelf to display.
but it's not. it is quiet and not always pretty and is shown through my actions…i guess that is why i chose {love} as my word.
thanks for sharing your heart.
this is a lovely post….wonderful reminding to share from the heart…. 🙂
what a great word for the year. and i completely agree with you on unmedicated child birth, amazing experience for sure.
I will have to think on a word for myself – these things take time for me, but I must say as your mom I am very proud of you and how you share your heart. I love you! Mom
I must say I stumbled upon your blog from a linky party where you posted your yarn wreath last year. Random but indeed meant to be. I am going to have to think on a word for the year but a word for me after reading your blog is: inspired. First, I <3 JJ Heller and her music was playing when I arrived to your blog. Second, I'm a child of God seeking encouragement and your blog revealed He is always in the details-even in blog reading! Thank you for sharing your heart and truth in your post. Third, I'm expecting my first child in March (a boy!) and just feel like your honest sharing will benefit me in the future as a mom, wife, daughter and friend. I thank you…
thank you for this post. I agree with Casey– you truly are a beautiful woman.
thank you for sharing your heart. my word is JOY. finding JOY in the everdyay.
i agree!
I'm praying my next (natural birth) experience is an amazing out of body experience as well!!!!!
*hugs*