Archive for 2014

All My Delight.

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"All my delight is in you Lord, all of my hope, all of my strength..."

 I delight in a warm cup of tea. I delight in fresh cut flowers. I delight in being wrapped in blankets, in thunderstorms and in the smell of freshly baked bread. 

 The other night during a weekly prayer meeting at our church, the band began to play the song, "None but Jesus". As I began to worship, I was drawn to my knees.

"All my delight is in you Lord, all of my hope, all of my strength..."

These words cut deeper into my soul with every note. 


I delight in so many things, yet when it comes down to it, is all my delight found in the Lord?
My immediate answer was yes, yet as I pondered, my answer became a little less sure. 

 It is easy to find delight in the Lord when the sunshine warms my skin, when everything seems right in the world, when a smile is on my lips and when worry seems a thousand miles away.

 All, however, means all. Is my delight in the Lord all the time?

 When I feel lonely, when things don't go my way, when I'm struggling to make ends meet, when I'm tired, when my hope seems fleeting and joy doesn't seem to come; does my delight fade too?

 As I pondered, a verse filled my heart.
It was written of Jesus in Hebrews, "...because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame..." (Heb. 12:2)

 In the most bleak of circumstances and in the face of death, it was Jesus' joy to endure the cross for my sake. Why? Because of His delight in us. 
Jesus didn't deserve death. We didn't deserve our place taken. Yet God had set us as the object of His affection. For no reason we could have given Him, God took delight in us. He deemed relationship with us worthy of His Son's death. And it was Jesus' delight to do it, knowing His sacrifice meant our freedom.

 In light of Christ's sacrifice, it seems strange that my delight can fade so easily. I realized it is when my eyes are on my circumstances, my delight will change based on what I see. Yet when I fix my eyes on Jesus, my delight is fixed in Him. Emotions and circumstances may change, but if my hope is set in Christ, my peace and my joy remain secure. 
Jesus is my delight.
"There is no one else for me, none but Jesus. Crucified to set me free, now I live to bring Him praise."


"For the Lord your God is living among you.
    He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.    With his love, he will calm all your fears.    He    will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
 Zeph. 3:17


Contending Contentment

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I honestly had no intention of dropping this blog. So much has happened in the last year and a half of life, I am surprised I never documented it!

In the past year, I married my amazing husband Geno. We courted for 11 months and were wed on August 2nd, 2013. It was one of the most amazing days of my life. Geno has brought my life so much joy these past almost 2 years now that we have been together. He is kind, selfless, hard-working, and he loves the Lord with all his heart. He has such a pure heart and he continually finds so many ways to bless me.

 We honeymooned in the Napa Valley and have since been living in a small apartment here in Medford. Today, Geno was already at work and I was at home; cleaning, getting a crock pot meal ready for dinner, and making myself a cup of tea when I sat down to do my devotions.

I was reading in Hebrews, chapter 13 when I came across this verse.

 "Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,“The Lord is my helper, I will not fear; what can man do to me?”' Hebrew 13:5-6 

 I began to ponder. In the past year of marriage, I regret to say that I did not spend our first months well. The first month, I was just happy to be married,  to get to try out my recipes and decorate our new home. But as the weeks and months progressed,  discontentment slowly tightened his sickening grip on my heart. 

 I began to feel restless; I was tired of our small home, tired of the daily challenges it presented, and well, just plain tired. I thought that if only I had a bigger house, a little more room, I might be happier.

 That's what we all want isn't it? To be happier? Yet it is in what we determine will make us happier that the real trouble sets in. Discontentment is not a difficult friend to find, he's always waiting for you to just start the conversation. 
Last night, Geno and I sat down to watch a documentary we had heard about on Netflix called "Tiny". It features people across the country who have embraced the new trend of "micro-living" and we were pleasantly surprised with what we found!  These people live in houses that are 200 square-feet or less! Crazy right?! And yet, very few of them did it for the reasons I thought. Most of them did it purely because they wanted to simplify their lives, build better relationships and focus on what really mattered in life. It was truly quite beautiful.

 After watching this documentary, Geno and I began to discuss all that we are thankful for and how much God has blessed us. It was such an encouraging time!  I feel ashamed for having spent so much time considering all the things I didn't yet have rather than being grateful for what I did. 

 Today, reading those verses in Hebrews, I couldn't help but thank God for His goodness in my life. It is so easy in our culture to forget how blessed we truly are. We are so easily distracted to set our eyes on everything we don't have that we miss what truly matters. 

 I have found that in contentment, there is so much peace. In the arms of contentment, I can rest in the knowledge that I have a God in heaven that knows the desires of my heart, that knows my situations, and that cares.   

 While discontentment brings his friends fear, jealousy, and frustration, with contentment comes peace, joy and a grateful heart. I don't have to fear the future with my God. With a thankful heart, I can wait on Him, trusting that He has my best in mind. 

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