royalty

i am, at the core, a typical girly-girl.  i did not obsess about the royal wedding, but i did tivo it & watch it with a big smile on my face the entire time.  why?  because i want to be a princess!  what girl doesn't?  what is it about royalty that draws us so?  i believe it is because GOD placed it in our hearts.  in 1 peter 2:9 He says that "you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation..."  if GOD is the KING of kings & LORD of lords, and if He promises that i am an "heir of GOD & co-heir with CHRIST"...then guess what?  i am a daughter of the KING, thus a princess!  i may not wear a tiara now, but i will get mine someday. all the pomp & circumstance that the united kingdom can muster is nothing compared to the pageantry & majesty of the Kingdom of Heaven.  on that day, i will be honored to lay my tiara at the feet of JESUS and meet my KING face to face. 

wrestling with wealth

we are not what most americans would consider wealthy.  we have had moments in the past - when both chris & i had full time jobs - that someone may have considered us so.  but here lately, not so much.  and here lies my struggle.  believing that GOD had called me to quit my steady job to spend more time with my family, chris & i entered this new phase of life knowing that GOD would provide but that it might be difficult.  we were & are willing to make sacrifices for the sake of our family & the will of GOD in & through us.  but here's the thing...we have been so blessed.  all of our needs are met & then some.  but while i see the provisions of GOD in my life everyday, i still tend to worry or fret about the next thing that may need to be paid or purchased.  then about a week ago, i board a plane & return to the rural villages of honduras - for my 3rd time.  and whereas the poverty has always made an impression on me, this time it was just real.  i looked into a one room, mud hut - that is barely bigger than my bathroom - and see that there are 10 people who live there...and all 10 of them come out to greet me with a smile.  how can they smile?  how do they have joy?  i rationalize that maybe it's just because they don't know what they're missing out on, but in my heart i know that's not it.  maybe it's that they've learned, like paul, to be content in every circumstance.  i want to grasp this better. what i am understanding though, is that regardless of the american standard, i am wealthy.  maybe my bank account doesn't reflect it & maybe my home is not the biggest or fanciest, but so many people have far less than i.  i am so blessed & so thankful that i am where i am; but i am praying that GOD would continue to show me what to do with all that HE has given me.  how can i use these resouces, talents, gifts to bless others in "el nombre de JESUS"?

anointed?

so this weekend i am pondering the anointing of GOD.  as a Christ follower, i totally believe that GOD gives people specific tasks by having them anointed.  this is typically done with some type of fragrant oil. my internal conversation this weekend however stems from a comment that a pastor friend made about a song about a year ago.  he said about revelation song:  "this is an anointed song".   well, i love the song and at the time just thought he was being kind of 'preacher-y' and hadn't really thought about it much since then.  well this weekend i attended 2 very different church services.  the first was friday night - a family friendly, almost geared to kids - service.  the band is ok, but they were also missing some key players, and the congregation was only about 20 (1/2 of them being under the age of 7).  the second service was my regular sunday morning worship service.  the band is accomplished, the lead singer is a vocal major graduate from belmont university, and the congregation was fairly full (about 200 adults).  i give these details because in both services we sang revelation song...and in both services there was an almost tangible presence of the holy spirit during that song.  where as other songs were sung half-heartedly, this one was belted out.  it doesn't seem to matter how well the band 'gels' or how eloquent the singer is or who is in the congregation.  hearts are moved, hands are raised, & tears flow.  why this song?  is it the words?  or maybe the well constructed melodic/harmonic structure?  or could it be that way back in the writing process of this particular song, the composers prayed for GOD's anointing over this piece?  is it possible that GOD poured his Spirit over this melody, over these poetic phrases so that every time it is sung, whether the performance value is there or not, hearts are moved to worship the ONE TRUE GOD.  maybe my pastor friend is correct...maybe revelation song is anointed. 

i'm still processing all that this means, but in 1 John 2:27 it says "the anointing you received from Him remains in you..."  if GOD, through His anointing, can work so mightily through a song...what can He do through me?