Good Reminders

If you follow my Instagram feed, you saw this last night. (That's my friend, Sarah's head).

I attended an old fashioned hymn sing at my church. We've been in the Psalms this month and to cap things off, we sang tonight in response to the Psalms' call to worship an amazing God. Afterwards in the gallery an artist showed his artwork depicting the psalms and playing were Psalms that musicians in our church had put to music. I love our church, by the way.

It was a good night to rehearse truths from the Psalms. You see, things have been rough around here for the last three and a half years. And that's putting it lightly. If you're following along, you know I'm going through some changes (again: understatement). I've described these last few years in our life like I keep getting hit by waves (not the ones that lick your toes mind you; the ones that knock you down) and just when I'm struggling to get up, another one rolls in and crashes around me. That's the thing about life in a broken world, it just keeps coming. A few nights ago I was reading these verses in Lamentations:

Hope has been my theme for awhile. Because the truth is, my heart is aching in the midst of the waves. I long to make sense of where I've been and long to know where I'm going. But I'm reminded that He is good to those who wait for him, to those who seek him. He is faithful, he is my portion, and therefore, I will hope in him.

And singing these songs tonight did something more than reading them. Songs can go deep into your heart, into the places you need truth to really sink in.

So there I was, with a little boy sleeping on my lap, a little girl standing next to me singing at the top of her lungs and worshiping, and me with one hand raised and tears streaming down my cheeks. We sang one of my favorite songs. It's worth the read:

The Lord is My Joy, Nathan Partain

The Lord is my Joy, the Lord is my Joy

When all that I have is lost,

The Lord is my Joy.

The Lord is my strength, the Lord is my strength,

When I am too weak to go on I find,

The Lord is my strength.

My all in all is he, My healing King

My Master tends to me,

For him my soul shall sing.

The Lord is my rock, the Lord is my rock,

When all I have faith in fails,

The Lord is my rock.

The Lord is my delight,  the Lord is my delight,

Above all the joys of life,

The Lord is my delight.

My all in all is he, my breath, my song.

In him I have everything,

To him my soul belongs

I wait, and wait upon you, To come for me in rescue.

Give strength, my heart is failing, Yet still, my lips will praise you.

And with his wings he covers me, He keeps his watch when I’m asleep,

I offer all my thoughts and dreams, I give my savior everything.

You who gave your only son, I dare not doubt your steadfast love.

Come, I beg you take my life, if am yours then all is right.

My all in all is he, my closest friend.

I put my trust in him,

On him my soul depends.

You can listen here and even download for free. Good words about a good God.  

I'm glad I went to the hymn sing tonight. It turned out to be good reminder for my soul.