In Christ Alone

Here is the fourth video:  In Christ Alone! 

This is one of my (many) favourite songs!  The words are very powerful!  I love how this song so beautifully describes the "Easter" story.

Enjoy!

Jesus, the Saving One!!

ere's the third "Easter" video for you to enjoy! It's from the new Starfield CD, and when I heard it for the first time today, I fell in love with it! It has a nice melody, and the words are very powerful! Some really tough things have come to my attention over the past 30 hours or so, so it was nice to be encouraged by this song.  Here are the lyrics:

What mercy was revealed
What selflessness and peace
My fate was surely sealed
Until He rescued me
His pardon for my sin
His bounty for my need
From slavery and shame
I am redeemed

And Heaven can't contain
The glory of the Son
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One
His love has made a way
The grave is overcome
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One

No fear can hold me down
Nor darkness steal my joy
For blood has been poured out
The enemy destroyed
Death could not hold Him down
The cross was not enough
To steal away His throne
For He is God!

Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved


Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved!!  How incredible is that!  It doesn't matter who they are, or what they have done, Jesus came for everyone!!  And death and the enemy could ABSOLUTELY NOT stop Jesus from overcoming the grave and rising again!!  The enemy is destroyed!!  The battle has already been won!!  Jesus is the WINNER of the battle against our lives!!!  All we have to do is acknowledge that HE ALONE is GOD!!  How amazing is that?? 

Hosanna

Here is the second video in my youtube Easter week :)

Hosanna In The Highest!!

I know I promised my next post would be a continuation on the cross, but because my week has been extremely busy I haven't had much time to sit down and write down my thoughts.  That post will be coming sometime before Easter though, so keep on the lookout for it. 

On another note, with Easter quickly approaching, I have decided to post a daily youtube video with songs about Jesus' life, death and resurrection.  I found so many incredible videos to equally amazing songs.  There are so many talented people out there, so though I don't know the creators of these videos, I want to say thank you for using your talents to give honor and glory to Jesus!!

So, without further delay, here is video #1 which I have chosen because I think it is appropriate to include a video that captures the purpose of Palm Sunday - to shout Hosanna to the King of kings!! 

Enjoy!

At The Cross

The cross is an internationally known symbol, yet it's heartbreaking that so few know the incredible meaning that the cross holds.

The cross holds death, yet it also holds life. It signifies hope and love...

Let me describe what the cross means to me. Whether you know the meaning behind the cross or not, I invite you to come with me on this descriptive journey...

I find it absolutely amazing that 2010 (or so) years ago God sent His One, and only Son Jesus into the world. Jesus didn't have to come...He's God. Yet He came because He saw me, and He saw you. He saw yesterday, He saw today, and He saw tomorrow. He saw the joy we'd experience in life, but He also saw the pain and trials that would come our way. He saw the barriers that would try to keep us from giving our ENTIRE life to Him. And because He loves me, and you, He came to earth.

Though Jesus is God, He lived a life similar to you and I. He experienced joy and love, but He also had best friends betray Him. Yet in it all, He had a mission. He didn't come here just to live a life without purpose. He came to bring LIFE.

Jesus had lived 33 years here on the earth when the time came that He came here for. It was time for Him to bring the eternal LIFE He came here to give...

It was time for the Passover, and what seemed so ordinary became the most extraordinary moment of all time. Jesus celebrated Passover with His disciples. They ate bread and drank wine together, and then they went together to the Garden of Gethsemane.

It was there in the Garden of Gethsemane that Judas (one of Jesus' disciples) would betray Jesus to the Roman soldiers. Jesus then faced a trial in front of the Jewish Council and Pilate. Pilate gave the people a choice of who would be crucified: it was between a murderer named Barabus or Jesus. The people chose Jesus.

Now that I've very briefly summarized the events that led to the crucifixion, I will continue my thoughts on the cross in my next post. Stayed tuned...

(For a more detailed description of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, see the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John)

Not in Vain

I haven't been very consistant with this blogging thing :(  Sorry.  Some days I find myself creating posts in my head, but they usually don't get written down. 

The past couple weeks have been crazy.  I'm just trying to survive the last few weeks of school, and of course this is when all the major assignments are due. I tend to procrastinate alot, which doesn't help with the whole stress issue at this time of year.  Oh well, my motto is to take things one day at a time, and not worry about when future assignments are due.  I find helps ease the stress of doing multiple assignments in one week. 

Along with being busy, I've also had my mind wrapped up in other things that I wanted to sort out before I blogged about them. 

Last month I wrote a couple of posts about baby Isaiah James May, and you may have also noticed a link on my sidebar about Layla Grace Marsh.  It is with a really heavy heart that I must say that last week both went to be with Jesus.  So needless to say, last week was a tough week for me.

Layla Grace went to be with Jesus early last Tuesday morning.  I didn't know Layla, or her family, but she touched me more than I could have ever imagined.  Her smile was so full of life and joy.  Her short two years of life seemed to be full of so much life.  And in her two years, she touched probably over 100,000 people.  Wow!  I had a really hard time when I found out she went to heaven.  There were some interesting personal circumstances that may have made the news harder to take (or may have prepared me more, or both- I don't know yet).  Though I can't share the details of what went on with me, I know that God's work for her on this earth was complete.  That He made clear to me. 

Isaiah James went to be with Jesus last Thursday early afternoon.  Again, I didn't know Isaiah, but in the short time I knew about him, he impacted me.  After praying so long and hard for him, it was hard to realize that it was God's will for him to go be with Him in heaven. 

Both of these beautiful children touched me.  Over the last week I've really struggled with the "whys" that come in situations like these.  Why did they have to die?  Why weren't they healed physically?  I know God has the power and ability to heal, so why was it His will to take them home?  I guess these answers aren't for right now.  God had a purpose for their earthly lives.  He is still using their stories to touch many more people.  In the short time Layla and Isaiah had on the earth, I've heard of stories (from their facebook pages) of people who have come to God (for the first or second time).  People have come to cherish their families/children more.  Etc.  These two adorable children's lives were not in vain.  Though I didn't know them, or their families, they are brothers and sisters in the Lord.  I will get to meet them all one day, and for that I'm extremely thankful.  And until then, Layla's family, and Isaiah's family will be in my prayers. 

I'm sorry if this sounds all mumbled.  It's been a lot to sort through over the past week. 

And to lighten the mood a little bit, my 21st birthday is in 10 days...That is SO hard to believe.  It's a milestone...one that's always held a lot of wishful dreams.  I guess I'll have to wait and see what this next year holds.  I may have dreams, but I have to remind myself that God's dreams for me are better than my dreams for myself.  It's all about His perfect timing :)

Anyway, enough thoughts and rambling from me...Time to work on homework...again!

Memories

My sister Karmin is in Guatemala right now. All her preparation for the trip reminded me of when I was down there, five years ago (I can't believe it's been that long!), and now that she's there I find myself picturing what her team is doing on a daily basis.

I'm glad Karmin has had the chance to go to Guatemala. I know my trip changed my life, and I'm sure it will for her as well. I really miss her, and the house is so quiet without her. I can't wait to hear the stories she has to share when she gets home next week!

In the meantime, I will share a few pictures I from my trip to Guatemala...