Songs Of My Heart - I LOVE YOU

I love YOU, I love YOU, I love YOU, Jesus I love YOU
I love YOU, I love YOU, I love YOU, Jesus I love YOU
I love YOU, I love YOU, I love YOU, Jesus I love YOU
I love YOU, I love YOU, I love YOU

I love YOU, I love YOU, I love YOU, Jesus I love YOU
I love YOU, I love YOU, I love YOU, Jesus I love YOU
I love YOU, I love YOU, I love YOU, Jesus I love YOU
I love YOU, I love YOU, I love YOU

I love YOU, I love YOU, I love YOU, Jesus I love YOU
I love YOU, I love YOU, I love YOU, Jesus I love YOU
I love YOU, I love YOU, I love YOU, Jesus I love YOU
I love YOU, I love YOU, I love YOU

About a month ago, I attended a Sunday morning service where two different denominations came together to worship our Savior and Head of the church, Jesus (House of Wisdom Non-Denominational Church and Hope In Christ Christian Reform Church). It was a beautiful exchange and interaction of the body of Christ. Pastor Westbrook, The minister who preached started by talking about the need to have a love song for Jesus. That stayed with me. And the words above are my love song to Jesus. Sing a simple song...

I write much; stories, poetry, and even a few songs, but I will always remember why I sing this. Sometimes I just get so filled up, that all I can say is "I love YOU." So why am I writing this today? I read an article this morning, in Tracie Armstrong's SPIRIT Magazine about a child who was praying. It's so beautiful to hear a child pray. I'm awed to my bones as I listen to my grandchildren talk to the Lord. Okay Jay, get back on track... the article talked about a child praying, and the words "I love You" slipped out. Not I love God or I love Jesus, but I love You. So personal, so precious, so cool that our heart cry can be so audible throughout Heaven and the universe in "I LOVE YOU JESUS."

When I sing to Jesus burdens are lifted, the joy of living is rejuvenated, the cares of the day seem so small, and I know that whatever I'm doing today, or will face in this day - Jesus is there with me. He said I will never leave or forsake you, I am with you always, and I am more than the world against you, and as the Father has love Me, so I love you.

I LOVE YOU JESUS!!

Songs Of My Heart - LOOK WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE

MY TESTIMONY: An old song that expresses daily the love and power of the Lord.

Many of you have prayed for and with me over the weekend about my back. The testimony of the healing was so long I couldn't put it on the Facebook page, so I'm back to the blog. Not only in my life, but as the Lord works in, works out, heals and touches we must tell it.

About five years ago I fell over one of the cement parking thing-a-ma-jigs downtown and a lower disc in my back was moved out of place. I was preparing to have surgery on my shoulder and didn't want surgery on my back, so I went into physical therepy for it. Well it only bothers me about once a year and sometimes not that, but when it does, it's pure pain, and I'm laid up for about a week. This weekend it happened again. I didn't go to church Sunday, stayed home and nursed it real good (ice, pills, etc).

There was a minister coming to Pastor Anthony Westbrook's, House of Wisdom Non- Denominational Church, and I was planning on going. The minister is Kevin Ford, and he was going to speak on healing. Just where I should'a been right? I stayed home. Well, I got through Sunday, and went to work Monday, gingerly working and moving so as not to be in too much pain. Monday night I did go to the service. I tell others that there is healing in our praise, but I wasn't practicing what I preach. I was on the praise team, singing, moving a little bit, but to be truthful I wasn't giving Jesus my all, my mind was on my back.

I had met Pastor Kevin and his wife once before like introduction, hello, welcome to Bellingham. So I really didn't know much about him, and until I saw him again Monday, his name didn't phase me. After we sang and he got up to give his message, he talked about how the Lord healed him from various addictions, brought him out of homelessness (living in a box, delivered him from a lot of "ism's = I, Self and Me" to using him in His service, restoring his life, and giving him another family, while restoring past relationships with his previous family - The Lord Heals.

Kevin asked if anyone was having back pain, I was one of several who raised our hands. He came over to me and asked permission to take my hands, then he knelt down in front of me. He asked if I had one leg longer than the other, I told him, "Not that I was aware of." He took my shoes off (I was glad I had done my toenails), and then as we looked at my legs I saw that one was longer than the other. He assured me he was not going to yank or twist, but that the Lord would heal. He asked the congregation to come and see, they did. He just gently held both my legs over him arm.

As he held my legs, Pastor Kevin talked of healing, he talked of the love that Christ has for us, he talked about the Word, and the power in speaking the Word of God - he didn't pray, preach or beg for God to heal. At times he would say something funny, making us all laugh a little. As he held my legs, to our amazement - the shorter one became longer until it was even with the other. NEVER IN MY LIFE, had I EVER seen anything like that or experienced this. He asked me to stand, and then asked me about my pain level. I told him it was about a 7 when I came in, and that right now it was about a 3. He asked me to bend over and touch my toes. I used to do Modern Dance, so I was used to being able to put the palm of my hand on the floor with my legs straight. Now at 63 years old, it has been many a year since I could even come close to doing this, but I did. Not once or twice, but about 20-30 times, all the way up and all the way down. LOOK WHAT THE LORD HAD DONE - HE HEALED MY BODY.

Not only did he heal my back, but my shoulders were without pain, and my knees were bending like they had not in years. HE HEALED MY BODY, HE TOUCHED MY MIND, HE SAVED ME IT WAS JUST IN TIME - I'M GONNA' PRAISE HIS NAME, HE'S EVERMORE THE SAME, I'M GONNA PRAISE HIM, LOOK WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE.

When the praise team (including me) returned to sing, I was able to dance, dance, dance. Those who know me know I don't do a lot of bouncing around, but Jesus touched my body and gave me a dance. Today is Wednesday and I am without back pain, even the morning pains I usually wake up with. I spent a lot of years ignoring the Lord and doing my own thing with the energy He gave me. I know He is giving it back, and I will expend much energy in serving, praising, worshipping Him. My Father God loves us so very much, and He makes His presence known in our lives everyday. LOOK AROUND AT WHAT THE LORD IS DOING!

Songs Of My Heart - AT THE CROSS

John 11: 25,26 ...I am the Resurrection, and the life; he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Believe you this?

Words: Isaac Watts, Hymns and Spir­it­u­al Songs, 1707; Ralph E. Hud­son wrote the re­frain in 1885.

Watts’ fa­ther was Non­con­form­ist im­pris­oned twice for his re­li­gious views. Isaac learned Greek, Latin, and He­brew un­der Mr. Pin­horn, Rec­tor of All Saints, and head­mas­ter of the Gram­mar School in South­amp­ton. Isaac’s taste for verse showed it­self in ear­ly child­hood, and his prom­ise caused a lo­cal doc­tor and other friends to of­fer him a un­i­ver­si­ty ed­u­ca­tion, as­sum­ing he would be or­dained in the Church of Eng­land. How­ev­er, Isaac de­clined and in­stead en­tered a Non­con­for­mist Acad­e­my at Stoke New­ing­ton in 1690, un­der the care of Thom­as Rowe, pas­tor of the In­de­pen­dent cong­re­ga­tion at Gir­dlers’ Hall; Isaac joined this con­gre­ga­tion in 1693.

Watts left the Acad­e­my at age 20 and spent two years at home; it was dur­ing this per­i­od that he wrote the bulk of his Hymns and Spir­it­u­al Songs. They were sung from man­uscripts in the South­amp­ton Cha­pel, and pub­lished 1707-1709.

The next six years of his life were again spent at Stoke New­ing­ton, work­ing as tu­tor to the son of em­i­nent Pur­i­tan John Har­topp. The in­tense stu­dy of these years is re­flect­ed in the the­o­log­ic­al and phil­o­soph­ic­al ma­ter­i­al he sub­se­quent­ly pub­lished.

Watts preached his first ser­mon at age 24. In the next three years, he preached fre­quent­ly, and in 1702 was or­dained as pas­tor of the In­de­pen­dent con­gre­ga­tion in Mark Lane. At that time he moved in­to the house of a Mr. Hollis in the Mi­nor­ies. His health be­gan to fail the next year, and Sam­u­el Price was ap­point­ed as his as­sist­ant in the min­is­try. In 1712, a fe­ver shat­tered his con­sti­tu­tion, and Price be­came co-pas­tor of the con­gre­ga­tion, which had moved to a new cha­pel in Bu­ry Street. It was at this time that Isaac be­came the guest of Sir Thom­as Ab­ney. He lived with Ab­ney (and lat­er Abney’s wi­dow) the rest of his life, main­ly at The­o­balds in Hert­ford­shire, then for 13 years at Stoke New­ing­ton.

THIS SONG has got to be in my top 10 songs of when I think about the Lord, it makes me want to SHOUT!! Knowing what a worm (yes, I said it) I was, and could be again if Jesus Christ were not in my life, brings tears to my eyes. That God loves us all so much that He sacrificed His son for us, for me. The crimes that I have done, the raunchiness of my actions, He paid for with His life. He died/I lived. His Father, my God, Our creator looked at Him and pronounced - GUILTY; God looked at me and said COME, I am forgiven, I am loved and precious in the sight of God through the shed blood of Jesus.

"But drops of grief can ne'er repay the debt of love I owe." No amount of sorrow for my actions can repay for the love that christ showed for me. I am so for real when I tell you Jesus is alive and well, and talks with us each day.

My first book, 'Meet Me At The Cross, One Woman's Testimony' (http://www.lulu.com/content/1911953) tells about going to the cross to meet the Savior. If you make the trip He will surely meet you there. You don't have to prepare, clean up, get straight - Just go with an open heart to recieve. NEVER, NEVER can I go back and take on all the burdens of my life before Christ. Whatever happens good or bad, losses or gains I know I can make it because of Christ.

Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I.

Refrain

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
___________

Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give my self away
’Tis all that I can do.

Songs Of My Heart - IT'S ANOTHER DAY'S JOURNEY AND I'M GLAD ABOUT IT

These are The Mighty Clouds of Joy. If you like group music, you'll love to hear their many, many recordings.

I don't know who wrote this song, but I'm glad they did. Many have sang it as a solo, a group, and as a choir.

When I sing it, I just love to recount how the Lord came into my life and why I'm glad about it today. When I think about going on a journey, I know I'm moving. I'm not sitting or standing stagnant, just catchin' whatever comes my way. No I'm taking action today. There is purpose in today, and I'm going to find it.

What does it profit me to dwell in sorrow, aches and pains, hurts of the past or even yesterdays mess-ups? I can linger there and become depressed, obsessed, and doubtful of today, making myself and everyone else around me miserable - or I can be glad that my Lord has given me new mercy, new grace for today. There's another song that says, "Pick Yourself Up, Brush Yourself Off, And Start All Over Again." This is what 'Another Days Journey' says to me.

The old folks used to pray, "Thank you Lord for a reasonable portion of my health and strength." I may not have it all, but I thank You for what I have. They used to say, "Thank you for clothing me in my right mind," recognizing that we could have woke up this morning totally messed up." So I'm Glad for this another day.

I don't know where some of you came from, but I know the Lord brought me from a mighty long way. Yes, from lovin' the alcohol and not allowing it to ruin my life - He brought me to sobriety. From molestation, rejection and depression - Yes, Jesus brought me, and I'm so glad to be alive to encourage someone today to KEEP ON GOING, DON'T GIVE UP. This is a new day, and I'm glad about it.

This is the Day the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in this day. I shall not die, but live and tell of His mighty works - I Am The Work Of HIS Hands, and so are you.

Blessings Y'all!

It's another days journey and I'm Glad
C: I'm glad about
L: I'm so glad
C: I'm glad about
L: I'm so glad
C: I'm glad about
L: It's another days journey and I'm Glad
C: I'm glad about, I'm so glad to be here

L: It's another day for Jesus and I'm Glad
C: I'm glad about
L: I'm so glad
C: I'm glad about
L: I'm so glad
C: I'm glad about
L: It's another day for Jesus and I'm Glad
C: I'm glad about, I'm so glad to be here