Day 6: Life's Blessings

Sunday was a fulfilling day.. well kinda. This is going to be a long post so bear with me :)

I woke up this morning and got ready to go to my Grandma's church because my mom and I were doing the special music there. My grandma has been wanting my mom to play there for a while, but since my mom teaches Sunday School during the school year at church, she hasn't been able to. But alas, Sunday school is on summer break, as am I, so she asked us both to do something this Sunday. My mom and I chose to play and sing (respectively) the hymn, "How Great Thou Art".

Anyway, My mom, dad, and I got to the church around 9 and the service starts at 9:30. The regular pastor was sick (or whatever the Lutheran Church calls the pastor), so her husband read what the pastor prepared. If you are familiar with the Lutheran Church, you know there is a lot of standing and sitting and hymns and response readings. Well the first Hymn we sang was called, "Hark the Voice of Jesus Calling". Here are the lyrics:

Hark, the voice of Jesus calling,
“Who will go and work today?
Fields are ripe and harvests waiting,
Who will bear the sheaves away?”
Long and loud the Master calls us,
Rich reward He offers free;
Who will answer, gladly saying,
“Here am I, send me, send me”?

If you cannot cross the ocean,
And the distant lands explore,
You can find the lost around you,
You can help them at your door;
If you cannot give your thousands,
You can give the widow’s mite;
What you truly give for Jesus,
Will be precious in His sight.

If you cannot speak like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus,
You can say He died for all.
If you cannot rouse the wicked,
With the judgment’s dread alarms,
You can lead the little children
To the Savior’s waiting arms.

If you cannot be the watchman,
Standing high on Zion’s wall,
Pointing out the path to heaven,
Offering life and peace to all,
With your prayers and with your bounties
You can do what heaven demands;
You can be like faithful Aaron,
Holding up the prophet’s hands.

Let none hear you idly saying,
“There is nothing I can do.”
While the lost of earth are dying,
And the Master calls for you;
Take the task He gives you gladly;
Let His work your pleasure be;
Answer quickly when He calls you,
“Here am I, send me, send me.”

These lyrics are amazing! I just got thinking, what if every Christian responded "Here am I, send me, send me" when God called them to do something? Do you know what kind of a world this would be? Also, "Let none hear you idly saying, 'There is nothing I can do' While the lost of earth are dying,"... That hurts my heart when I think of it that way. There are so many things that we, as Christ followers can do to help the people around us that are "lost" and don't know God, yet we think so little of the powers that God has given us through Him. We need to realize that we CAN make a difference in this world, whether that is being a missionary, or helping in Sunday school and showing God's love to those around you. Everything we do makes a difference.

Anyway, back to the day. We finished singing that hymn, and went on to a few other reading and responses. Then we got to the Bible passages of the day, which were 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21 and Galatians 5:1, 13-25 and Luke 9:51-62. (You should read those now btw, the computer won't scroll through without you :P)

After that was read, we had the Children's Message which was based off of the last passage I mentioned. There was only one girl there, probably about 12 years old (this is a really really small church, probably 15 people there). Well she went up and his main point was when he asked her, "How could you play follow the leader (a metaphor for following Jesus) with your eyes closed?" She replied, "Listen to their voice." He then answered, "That is very true, but what if the leader allowed you to hang on them while playing, wouldn't that make it easier?" She answered, "Yea, it would." So that was the cue for them to stand up, she closed her eyes and grabbed on to his jacket and then he lead her around the church pews.

This put me in awe and reminded me not only of the amazing faith of a child, but that God always has my back. By faith, I have chosen to follow Him, and He will keep His promise to never let me out of His hold, unless I let go of Him. That was a nice reminder.

Then the sermon was spoken and after it was my mom and I's turn to perform. We went up and did well. I thought that the four verses was a little too much, but everyone thought I had a great voice and were amazed at my mom's ability to play the accordion.

After that was the prayer time, which most of they write in the bulletin, so I'm going to type that here because I think the way and things they pray for are how we should pray everyday.

Gathered together as God's people in Christ Jesus, let us pray for the church, those in need, and all of God's creation. (Brief silence)
God of liberation, lead the people of your church by your Spirit. Bring forth from us fruits of love, peace, and joy, and help us share these good fruits throughout the world. Hear us, O God. Your Mercy is great.
Send relief to people, plants, and animals around the world whenever heat becomes a burden to them. Provide shade and shelter, cool breezes, and clean water in abundance. Hear us, O God. Your Mercy is great.
Move your Spirit among leaders of nations, guiding them to honor the rights of all human beings. Make your strong presence known in places where people face abuse and are denied the ability to live with integrity. Hear us, O God. Your Mercy is great.
Open your holy reign of peace and freedom in those who are in dire need. Heal their illnesses, relieve their pain, and renew them as only you are able. Hear us, O God. Your Mercy is great.
Praising you for all theologians and teachers. We ask you impart the wisdom given the saints to all your people as we carry forth your mission in this world. Hear us, O God. Your Mercy is great.
Into your hands, gracious God, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy, through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

I just think that is an awesome way to pray.

After church we had grilled cheese for lunch and took a nap. Then we went to a family friend's 50th wedding anniversary party. I think it is just a blessing to see a successful marriage after 50 years. It was cute and you could tell that they still are in love, probably as they were 50 years ago. We sat down by an old couple who have been married for 70 years! They were so adorable and picking on each other and it just made my heart smile :).

After the party we came back home and I took another nap because I was so tired and my back was (and still is) hurting. I woke up and headed to the Bible Study at my church. We talked about how God is faithful and we should trust that. And how when we ask for healing and someone dies, that in reality if they believed in God, the person was healed and even more joyous. I just never thought of it that way.

Thats really about it, sorry the post was so long. If you are a praying person, pray for my back to be healed. Thanks for reading.

Love in Christ, Jo