Five Minute Friday Free Write: Worship

Doing something new and fun!  Another link-up.  It's called "Five Minute Friday Free Write," here is a description of what it is and what to do if you want to join!

The word this week is: Worship.

Go.

Worship.  When I think about it now, my heart melts.  I want to be in that place all the time.  I wrote once in my journal that if I could live all in music and lights it would be the most wonderful thing in the world!

But then the hard times come.  How do you worship then?  I have no idea.  Somehow, recently, God has given me the joy and the desire to worship Him even in the times that are so impossible looking.

I've struggled with what worship in church looks like.  Does it look like someone standing with their eyes closed and hands lifted?  Does it look like someone weeping on their knees?  Or dancing with all their might?  I guess however you do it, it looks beautiful to God.  He is so pleased when we truly pour out ourselves in worship and sacrifice every day of our lives.  Is that worship, sacrifice?  It sounds right, because I have to sacrifice looking at myself and my agenda to look at the most beautiful, most loving, most worthy One in the universe!

Harvest is now

It began today.  Another season.  Another harvest started.  This year we're doing something new, something that I have never actually seen being done in my life (I think they are quite common, we've just always had upright silos or grain bins).  We are putting up 4 ag-bags for our silage.  Two will be finished today and hopefully two will be done tomorrow (hoping the rain holds off).

Such a beautiful day for working in the fields!

Praise the Lord for a great harvest!  The harvest is now!

"When he [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field'."  ~ Matthew 9: 36-38

The Heavens declare the Glory of God!

Who would have thought that a day that was breezy and cool (last week) would turn out to be the best day to go skiing!?!?!

This was us in the morning, bundled up (and Josiah stayed that way for most of the day)

The water was very choppy in the river and most of the bay.  I think there was a small craft advisory posted for the day.

But we managed to find a great spot to ski that was smooth and mostly fisherman free!

Josiah (somewhere behind the spray)

Josiah showing off his trick for this year

And the sky was just amazing!  I seriously get giddy looking at these photos and remembering just how awesome the sky looked that day!!

Charise & Kristen skiing

Kristen jumping the wake board

My dad

Kristen & I skiing

I thought this looked like jellyfish floating in the sky.

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words;

no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heavens

and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is deprived of its warmth."

Psalm 19: 1-6

Circuit Riders Lancaster

Circuit Riders Lancaster is going on this week!  Evening sessions (7pm-9pm) are free to the public and street parking in Lancaster City is free after 6pm!  So if you're in the area, you should really check it out!!  Freedom Hall at the Penn Square Marriott in Lancaster, PA.

Seriously.  If you can, you should come.  The Holy Spirit erupted at in Freedom Hall tonight!  It was awesome!!  45 minutes of spontaneous celebration for Jesus!!  He is alive!!  We are destroying passivity in our lives and stepping into courageous initiatory leadership!

"Alive, alive, alive forevermore.  My Jesus is alive!  Alive forevermore!

Alive, alive, alive forevermore.  My Jesus is alive!

Sing Hallelujah!  Sing Hallelujah!  My Jesus is alive forevermore!

Sing Hallelujah!  Sing Hallelujah!  My Jesus is alive!"

What I learned In July

This is the first time that I've posted a "things that I'm learning" post.  These posts will be about pretty much anything, silly, serious, about myself, whatever, that I learn each month.  Hopefully I can keep this up every month!  I got this inspiration from Emily Freeman at Chatting At The Sky.

1.  I like foreign languages.  I think I would be good at learning new languages, because I find it interesting and exciting, but I'm too scared to actually speak them once I learn because I'm a perfectionist and I don't want to say something wrong.

2.  It is easiest for me when I have a routine and do something day after day.  For example, exercising, I feel great and look forward to exercising when I do it every day, but when I take a day off it is so hard to start back up again.  Same goes for devotions and journaling, and a lot of other things probably.

3.  I was reminded of what "Ebenezer" means.  Reading from 1 Samuel 7, I found this word again.  I'm pretty sure I thought it meant something else before.  1 Samuel 7: 12, "Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen.  He named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far has the Lord helped us'."  So it means 'stone of help.'  Interesting.

4.  My grandma has only one sibling (a sister) living... and she is/will be 100 this year!  And my grandma just turned 91!!

They both look super!!

5.  A special day isn't made special by what you do, but who you spend it with!  Josiah and I celebrated 4 years of marriage yesterday and had a wonderful day with our families!  I couldn't have asked for anything better.

6.  It is great to get away every once in a while.  It's refreshing and makes working so much more enjoyable.

7.  Forgiveness is really the first step to healing a relationship.  It might take a long time, but I'm praying for grace to forgive every time words or thoughts pop into my head reminding me of a past hurt.

8.  Zucchini is amazing!  And this recipe just made it even more so!!

9.  There is such a thing as sea lice.  Apparently, it is a parasite that causes itchiness and rash.  Gross.  Kind of makes me freaked out to swim in the ocean.

10.  It's a lot harder to make a list of things I learned each month than I thought it would be.  I just don't think, "oh, I just learned something new."  I file it away and usually forget about it.  But today I felt inspired because I feel like I learned a lot in July.  Probably a lot more than I can remember and write on this list right now.