There is a difference between being a loving daughter and being a joyful daughter. You can love your mom, dad, and siblings, but are you joyful being with them? Usually, due to the fact that we have spent all of our lives with the people who make up our families, and due to the fact that we've seen all their down falls and short comings, we tend to dislike being with them. Instead of taking joy in the people the Lord has given us as our family, and appreciating the protection of our parents, and the friendship of our siblings, we tend to do all we can to be away from them. Preferring instead, to be with the friends we have outside our families. To be off doing what we want to do. "Living our own life" so to speak. Sisters, this is not what God had planned when He gave us our families. Our families should be the ones we go to in our joy and in our sadness, in our frustration and in our contentment. But we have lost the desire to share with our parents and our siblings because, "my parents don't understand me. They're so strict! They don't care how I feel. They never let me do anything." or "my sisters/brothers are SO irritating! I can't stand being with them all day!".
After we've spent our whole life with our family, we start to see only the ways in which they fall short. We cease to notice all the wonderful gifts and sacrifices your parents make for us. We brush our brothers and sisters aside when they want to be with us or play with us because "I have other things I want to do with my time. Quit being a pest. Stop following me around."
Now, quite naturally, we don't want anything to happen to any of the members of our family. We comfort and help them when they're sick or hurt. We would be devastated to loose any of them. You probably love each member of your family with your whole heart. So, if we love them, why don't we take joy in spending time with them?
We need to turn our hearts back to our families. Not just loving them, but taking joy in beiong with them, loving them for who they are, and loving to be with them. I'm not saying to stop spending time with your friends out side your family. I'm saying, make your family your best friends. Take joy in being with them. Be a joyful daughter as well as a loving daughter!
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!~Psalm 133:1
First of all I've joined a choir! I love singing so I'm having a great time. I know a few of the people there and so I don't feel uncomfortable, we all just have a great time! We're working on three songs and another will be added next week. It's so funny, all the different genres; we have Southern Gospel, Mexican, Hymn, and our song we'll be starting next week is in Hebrew! My favorite one right now is our Mexican one. It's called Chili Con Carne. Here it is so you can hear it. We're having a blast singing it!
My whole family does choir so we are there from 9:20a.m. till 8:30p.m. with a half hour break for lunch at 12:30p.m. and a break between 3:00p.m. till 6:30p.m. during which we go to my Aunt Carie's house to visit and she makes dinner for us. My cousin Cali also comes over to her house to visit with us while we're there. It's great fun!
Our other exciting event was that we got to go skiing with some friends on Monday! I haven't been skiing in three or four years but awesomely, I hadn't forgotten how! I helped my two youngest sisters learn to ski for the first half of the day, and the second half of the day I was able to take a bunch of runs with my sister Heidi, and a bunch of our friends! We went to Badger Pass, and while I really enjoyed it, I'm more of a Sierra Summit snob. I'd love to go to Sierra again sometime. It's just so much bigger, at forty ski runs, as opposed to Badgers ten runs. But I have to say I did have lots of fun! though I must admit, I was sore on Tuesday (which is choir day and we were there all day so today I feel like a vegetable)
Books
Well I just finished a series called the Singing River Series by Gilbert Morris. It was a great book series and I enjoyed it a lot. Now I'm reading a great big, fat book called Christ in the Camp by J. William Jones. I haven't gotten very far but what I've read is good. It's about the American Civil War, and army chaplains who brought the gospel to many of the soldiers of both Northern and Southern camps. I'm guessing it should be a great book.
Music
Well I have been listening to a lot of stuff lately but I'd like to share the lyrics to a couple songs that have spoken to my heart.
Prodigal Like Me ~ Jonny Diaz
Joshua blow your trumpets towards the walls around my heart And you better bring your army come and tear my world apart Moses help me wander from the desert that I’ve found Cause it feels like forever since my knees have touched the ground
I never thought I would be this way To let what we were begin to fade I never thought I could say goodbye to all we had I never thought I would come to be Alone with all my apathy I never thought You could still love a prodigal like me
David grab a stone and sling it toward my giant pride Debra call the troops cause I’m ready for a fight Peter there’s a roaster did you once again deny Or am I the guilty one who can’t look Him in the eye
(…Prodigal like) me with so much sin and shame In need of such amazing grace But still I find I turn away from You
Waiting Room ~Jonny diaz
Here in this waiting room yearning for You to say go And though I’m convinced that a yes would be best This time You’re telling me no
It’s not that I don’t have an answer It’s just not the one that I’d like But through this time Lord I must keep in mind You’re always wiser than I
You have a much better purpose And You have a far greater plan And You have a bigger perspective Cause You hold this world in your hands
The things that I seek are from You Like the strong healing touch of your hand But when You say no help me trust even though There’s a reason I can’t understand
When that miracle comes cause Your answer is yes I will praise you for all of my days But when Your wisdom declares that a no is best I will praise You just the same
