The Little Red Book

As I sit and type this, my heart screams out praises to our Wonderful King. The past few months something has been stirring in my heart and has reached every dry bone in my body, bringing life and healing through praise and worship. I am utterly blown away by the majestic presence of the Lord through music and how He has placed this desire into my inner core, my soul. Lately I feel as if He has lit a fire in my heart that continues to burn with music and praise, all for Him. Some nights I sit in solitude, singing and playing to the Lord, as if I am in His chambers feeling His sweet presence all around me. So lost I am in His Love, So lost I have become in songs of love and gratitude. Oh Lord how I will worship you all the days of my life in Spirit and Truth. To gaze upon your beauty and offer up an offering of praise.

The little red book: I had the most amazing God-incidence today. I took Claudette to buy her first guitar this afternoon (Amen!) and as she began to play for the first time on her new baby, I began to think about our prayer team. It seems that the Lord has instilled this passion in our hearts for praise and worship that most definitely co-exists with prayer. How wonderful and glorious it is to begin to understand the heart of prayer and worship, I can only imagine how much the Lord will teach us in the future, for I feel this is just the beginning. "And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." Revelation 5:8-10

*side-note: I tend to get sidetracked in my writing, so I'm coming back to the God-incidence, the little red book. :-) As we were looking around the bookstore this afternoon, I picked up a red leather-bound journal (red-4 u who know me all too well) with a pretty musical-ivy note inscribed on it reading "Praise The Lord With Gladness". I thought to myself, what better of a notebook to have to journal the music the Lord has been so graciously waking my soul with in the mornings. So it was most definitely a buy. Claudette also decided to grab a different colored one. As I came home this evening, I took out my journal and unwrapped the plastic, then opened it. To find that it was already written in with beautiful praise and worship hymns! I hadn't bought a journal; I had bought a hymn book! How the Lord does have such a sense of humor with me, but He's all together faithful in Love that he over pours. I was clue-less in my purchase but the Lord was not. It seems that His point is being made clear in every area of my life. He wants my life to revolve around praising and worshiping Him in all that I do. He wants to be a part of everything from my waking, sleeping, dreaming, thinking, speaking, working, and waiting. The list could go on, but I think I'm realizing the power of His music in my soul. How it cleans, heals, and makes me cling to Him ever so-more. As I have often carried books on me to kill the time when sub'n or bus'n it, I'm now going to be reading "my little red book."

I will praise You with all of my life - -I will praise You with all of my strength - - With all of my life With all of my strength, All of my hope is in You-- My life is in You, Lord - My strength is in You, Lord- My hope, is in You Lord- in You - it's in You It's in You

I Love You Lord - and I lift my voice - to worship You O my soul rejoice Take joy my King in what You hear May it be a sweet sweet sound in Your ear