Well, it's been a while. Sometime ago, I finally broke down and got myself a Facebook page and I have been posting there for the last year. Someone suggested that I put some of those posts here for safe keeping. I logged into the site and they have upgraded the enviroment with some cool new features, including a format suited to mobile devices. I decided that I would give my blog another try.

I must warn you in advance that there is a possibility that these post contain names that have not been changed to protect the innocent. Having said that, nothing here is worth hurting anyones feelings over and I have made efforts to anonymize the characters mentioned in my blogs. You'll especially appreciate that if you look funny or have any unusual ticks.

At this point I'm not sure if I can date these post to appear in the order they were written, thus I will keep the original name, "Random Thoughts" for this blogesphere.

blogesphere is a cool word I saw on the Internet. If I spelled or used it wrong I will claim creative rights, thus inventing a new word.

There aren't any members here yet and you won't see a lot of comments. Don't feel obligated to join or make any but feel free.

(I have elected to violate your right to free speech and have my blog set so that I can censor your comments before they appear on my blog.)

So.... Enjoy!

or not....

 Daddy Sang Bass.      

A few days ago I was on the web looking at worship songs. It’s a regular thing for me to go online and locate scripture references or scriptures that relate to a characteristic of God expressed in the songs we sing at my church. It’s just part of the way I prepare to lead worship in our weekly services. This particular night the song I was looking at was “I am nothing without you” by Bebo Norman. I launched Google and keyed in the phrase “I am nothing”

 

The results that came from that search broke my heart.
Included were hundreds of links to random message boards where people in despair from all over the world were crying out to anyone for answers to some pretty tough situations.

Here are a few samples:

I'm 21. I'm living in the basement of my in-laws with my husband and 3 month old daughter. I have zero self-esteem and self-confidence. I'm not very attractive and I have no talents. In fact, I'm not good at anything. I don’t trust anyone and I don't know why. I can’t concentrate, which makes me appear to be stupid. I can't afford a counselor so I will never be able to get help and I'm too much of a coward to kill myself. I'm a total loser who should have never been born. I am nothing...

I have an addiction and as a result I now have a ton of other physical problems. I think perhaps that my guilt and shame about myself may be creating many of them. BUT: when I even think of stopping I feel really empty and I have nothing inside. If I am not distracted by the drug then I feel nothing but misery and pain....AND EMPTY!! The truth is that without the buzz I am nothing...

My husband of 19 years died. Now I am a 39 year old single mother of four teenagers. I realize he’s never coming back but I didn't think it was possible to think about someone as many times a day as I think of him. It's been almost two years but it never gets better. I almost cried in front of my boss today. My husband was a part of me. Actually, there was no me. We were us and now, I am nothing...

I also found a Facebook page named “I am nothing without my friends”

Have you ever felt like this?

I have.

There was a time when I measured my value by things like my social status, where we live, my friends and relationships, my job, or the kind of car I drove. I became resolved that there were limits in my life that were set by my biggest mistakes.

Let's just say that after blasting off like a rocket after High School for the next 20 years, I finally ran out of rocket fuel and found myself in a free fall for a while.

But through my Lord Jesus Christ, I have come to realize that even though I still know pain, I still get hurt, I fear (not any of you of course!). I experience grief and disapointment... and all sorts of other despair. But in these things I also understand that I am far from being nothing. I know that I am always worth something to God.

That goes for you too. We're all the same.

One of my favorite singers sings a song that says:

If you judge us by our elements then you might think He failed.
We're not copper for one penny or even iron for one nail.
And a dollar would be plenty to buy 20 of us
until true love is added to these handfuls of dust.

God’s love makes the worthless - priceless.

and he Loves all of us.
 
Through God’s very own words we learn that we are so valuable to the God of the universe that he would lay down his own son to save us so that we can be with Him forever.

Read John 3:16 and see for yourself.

And we also learn that not only does he save us….when we honor God with our lives, He honors us.

Those who honor me I will honor
1 Samuel 2:30

Think about that….God will honor you.

What does that mean?

Psalm 91:14-15 reads:

Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high because he has known my name. He shall call upon me and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.

God promises to honor us by delivering us, by lifting us up, answering our prayers and being with us when we are in trouble.

I don’t know about you but after reading that I can hardly wait to get into trouble!

Part of our worship of God  is a celebration of our deliverance from our nothingness to a fellowship with the Almighty God who offers us far more than anything we seek.

BUT WAIT... There’s more!

God also celebrates this fellowship with us.

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord Our God is with us, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you and he will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.

I think it would be really cool to hear God sing.

Cover of Paul Baloche's "Your Name" (click play button to listen)
Bass Guitar, Piano, and Synth Track were purchased from Lifeway Worship.

Acoustic Guitar is my Seagull S6
Vocals - Chris and DeDe Mason
Background Vocals - DeDe Mason
We didn't like Lifeways drum tracks so we recorded a replacement kit.

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.

Psalms 65:8