No Longer Silent

I actually wrote this post yesterday morning but was not able to finish it due to my little's getting up and needing my attention. I am currently snuggling with a little girl in my lap but am determined to post this morning. She brings such joy and smiles to my face. What a blessing God has given me in this little precious life. 

November 29, 2017

I am amazed each morning as I do devotions as what the Lord reveals to me. Each time I hit the publish button on my blog I wonder at when the Lord will want me to write next. I have doubts about what I post and whether it is touching people. Then I have mornings like this morning when the Lord just solidifies for me that my writing is exactly what he wants me to be doing. I need not worry about what any one says or feels about what I write, as long as I am obedient to what the Lords wants me write.

And so, I continue to write.

I continue to walk in a path of obedience to the Holy Spirit.

I usually do my devotions in the morning and then give myself some time before I write a blog post. This morning though the Lord asked me write immediately after my devotions. So here I am hoping and praying that my children will stay asleep a little longer, so I can finish my thoughts.

Today I turned to my November scripture writing and wrote Psalm 30:11,12. It brought such a smile to my face.

¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
    you have loosed my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness,
¹² that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

My thoughts turned to my sweet Asa. It normally does this time of year as I put up decorations to celebrate the season. I think of how old he would be. He would be almost 3 now. I would have had to put all the decorations up high on the tree as he would be trying to get each one. Instead I bought an ornament with the word JOY on it. I wrote Asa Rend Trautman on the back and August 2014. That is when the Lord decided to take Asa from us. The ornament is now on our beautiful Christmas tree. Hanging it there brought JOY to my heart, not sadness.

This verse reminded that the mourning I did for my sweet boy has been turned into gladness. Not that I do not miss him every day. I do. But his loss has paved the way for a much bigger assignment from the Lord than I ever thought possible.

I am now in a time of my life where the Lord literally has me singing praises. He has called me to write more and in that my voice is no longer silent. He has paved the way and opened doors for me to touch lives of others and I am truly amazed and thankful every day at where he has me and what he has me doing.

It was a long process and it is far from over. I look back at my life during times like this and just am astounded at how everything has come to work together for my good and GOD’S GLORY. I turned in my Bible this morning to the passage in Psalms and I had written a note to Alex. The Bible I am using this year is one that I have been reading through and making notes in for Alex. I am going to give it to him on his birthday.

Here is what I wrote for Psalm 30:12. “NEVER be silent about praising the Lord and giving thanks to Him. Always remember your mom singing in the car praising the Lord.” It made me smile because every time we get in the car I am worshipping. I sing very loudly but I do not care. It is like the car becomes my own little church. I love it and I hope my children always remember me singing and worshipping in the car. There have been times where I have been having a rough day and I will just get in the car and drive around and sing songs of worship. I always return home refreshed and renewed.

That leads me into what else the Lord revealed to me this morning.

QUIETNESS

That was the focus word for the day in Preparing My Heart for Christmas Prayer Challenge. The key passage was Mark 6:31.

³¹ And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

What a great reminder of the priority we need to put on our personal quiet time with the Lord. It is so important. I wrote a quote by A.W. Tozer two days ago in my Advent notebook.

“If you do not worship God seven days a week, you do not worship Him one day a week. There is no such thing known in heaven as Sunday worship unless it is accompanied by Monday worship and Tuesday worship and so on.”

So true. I have spent many times in my walk with the Lord just worshipping on Sunday. That is not true worship of our great Savior and King. That is checking something off a to do list. Worship of God is not a Sunday thing. It is an everyday relationship with Him.

One of my favorite Bible passages is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

This passage uses words like “always” and “without ceasing” and “in all”. That does not describe someone who just has time with the Lord on Sunday during a church service. That describes someone who has a vibrant walk with the Lord every day.

My prayer this morning in my prayer journal read, “Lord, how I desire to have more time with you. The more I get away to a quiet place and spend time with You, the more time I desire to do just that. My need to have that time makes me a better wife and mother. Help me as I endeavor to spend more time with You. Help me to never stop craving more of You. All of this makes me realize that I should be expectantly looking toward Your return when I can spend eternity with You, worshipping You face to face. Afford me more opportunities on this earth to get glimpses of You and to get to know You better. Amen”

May that be my prayer every day.

The Lord then led me to John 8:12

¹² Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

In my head I have a picture of the darkest night that I could ever imagine. That is where we walk before we know Christ. Off in the distance we see suddenly see a light that grows closer and brighter the more that we walk toward it. It is the light of a candle and that light is JESUS. HE guides us in the path that we should go.

One of my favorite things to do is to watch the sunrise. I love the fact that it ushers in a new day. New beginnings. A fresh start. The old has passed away and all things are new. What an awesome reminder God has given us every day. When watching a sunset, the sky lights before the sun arrives on the horizon. The sky turns brilliant colors of pinks and reds and oranges. Then, all of a sudden, this bright light blazes into the sky. It lights up the world around us lighting up everything in its path with its blinding rays.

What a great representation of when we receive new life in Christ or even when we rededicate our lives to Him after a dry period. The brilliance of His light shines on us and we finally are able to truly see Him. His guiding rays of light show us where to go even on our darkest days.

I read a quote today by Nancy DeMoss.

“Even in the darkest night, you can still experience His peace and rest, knowing that the joy of the morning is ahead. Resolve not to let your joy level be determined by the presence or absence of storms, but by the presence of God.”

It is like when a storm comes through and the sky is dark. When the storm moves on and the sky clears we see brilliant light that never left. It was just hidden but it never went away. Even at night, when the sky clears after a storm the light of the stars and the moon shine bright. Oh, what sweet reminders the Lord has given us of who He is and the fact the He never leaves us. He is so good to us.

I wrote in my journal today: “How else can I know more of the light of the world than to read the Word more? I also need to communicate with Him through prayer. I need to walk close to Him so that I can see where He wants me to go. He is the ultimate GPS that never makes a mistake and always knows the best path to take.”

My prayer for today is, “Draw me closer to Your side, Lord. Cause there to be such a desire to spend time with You in my heart. Lead me in the way that You want me to go. Give me a heart of compassion for those whom You love and whom You desire to draw to Your side. Help me to follow You when You ask me to be an instrument in that process Lord.”

I hope you all have a blessed day. Find time today to spend time with our precious Lord. And also find time to look up into the sky and blessed by the awesome reminder that God has given us that Jesus is truly the BRIGHT MORNING STAR and the LIGHT OF THE WORLD.