The Means of Grace are in My Hand

I found this hymn in the book, A Portrait of Paul (excellent book which I highly recommend).  In the particular chapter the hymn came from, the authors wrote to their fellow pastors about the subject of the apostle Paul's ministry -Christ.

"It is Christ alone whom we are to preach and Christ only who can enable us, by His Spirit, to preach in this way. Do you feel the weight of this duty? Good! Then we are ready to fall on our faces and plead with God to equip us in mind and heart and soul and strength to serve His glory by exalting His Son, Jesus Christ."

The whole book is filled with great quotes, I could hardly stop underling! It is a great book for church member and pastors. We went through this book as a small group study, at a friend's house.

The Means of Grace are in My Hand 

The means of grace are in my hand
The blessing is at God’s command
Who must the work fulfill;
And though I read, and watch and pray,
Yet here the Lord directs my way
And worketh all things still.

I cannot speak a proper word,
Nor think aright, but from the Lord
Preparing heart and tongue;
In Nature I can see no good,
But all my good proceeds from God,
And does to grace belong.

I see it now, and do confess
My utter need of Jesus’ grace,
And of His Spirit’s light;
I beg his kind and daily care;
O Lord, my heart and tongue prepare
To think and speak aright.

Prepare my heart to love thee well,
And love Thy truth which doth excel,
And love thy children dear;
Instruct me how to live by faith,
And feel the virtue of Thy death,
And find Thy presence near.

Prepare my tongue to pray and praise,
To speak of providential ways,
And heavenly truth unfold;
To strengthen well a feeble soul,
Correct the Wanton, rouse the dull,
And silence sinners bold.

           - John Berridge     

I stumbled upon a christian blogger from the Philippines who had posted this hymn. Tell me what you think.                                      

The Valley Song

"The Valley song" really covers, essentially, what this song is about. There are times when we go through the valley but,

"I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy"

I've always like the name "Jars of Clay", as it is based off of the verse in 2 Corinthians 4:7, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to know that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." Actually, just read the entire chapter, it's good. :)

The Valley Song

You have led me to the sadness
I have carried this pain
On a back bruised, nearly broken
I'm crying out to You

[Chorus]

I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy

When death like a gypsy
Comes to steal what I love
I will still look to the heavens
I will still seek your face

But I fear you aren't listening
Because there are no words
Just the stillness and the hunger
For a faith that assures

[Chorus] 2x

Alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia

While we wait for rescue
With our eyes tightly shut
Face to the ground using our hands
To cover the fatal cut

And though the pain is an ocean
Tossing us around, around, around
You have calmed greater waters
Higher mountains have come down

[Chorus]

-Jars of Clay (2003)

The tune to this is, like a lot of Jars of Clay's music, different. 

Allow me to make note about these composers/artists that I have been linking to:

"...just because we link to them does not mean that we endorse everything on the site.
The final authority is the holy and applicable, word of God..."

Likewise, I like a lot of Jars of Clay's music, but I don't necessarily agree with everything they write and believe.

                  

The April Days...

This past April was filled with a lot of driving, loud music, and talking.
We spent Easter weekend in Austin, where we celebrated my Grandma's birthday (who proudly turned 69) and my own birthday. On Sunday we went out to lunch with some dear friends. The restaurant was one of a slew of trailer stands parked in a little nook in the busier part of Austin. The food was little bit pricey, but the environment and chips made it worth it.

Becca and Tita.
Dear Becca, she's gotten so big!

Emily and Jacob (note Emily's cheesy pose).

Sweet 16...oh, and those yummy beet cupcakes.

Eva and I had a little photo shoot on the living room floor.

Dominic and "Gendpa"

Dom was quite concerned that there wouldn't be enough chips for him.

The familia.

Behind us was a shake stand. They sold shakes that had real cake blended in.

The Ragamuffin. 

Reminds me of this pin

A delicious Thai dinner in Bryan, TX.

We spent the day with our friends the Loyd's, cleaning, organizing, and reading books from their massive library. We went over  to Mr. Loyd's brother's house, for a Thai dinner and dessert.

Lovely arrangement for my surprise party.

The girls "threw me for a loop", and pulled off a surprise party the week after my birthday. They took me to a local cupcake shop where a few of my friends were waiting. Yes, I was surprised.

We had a crawfish boil one fine Saturday, with a few families.

Us and our Cajun friend's put together a little crawfish boil at our house. Though I'm not a big fan of fishy foods, I do enjoy socially eating crawfish. I stuffed myself silly. But as each batch came out I just felt so inclined to keep eating.

Us Marques, Webb, and Johnson girls had a sister slumber party. Though that was in May. :)

The first weekend in May, the Johnson girls and us (including Nicole) had set a date a month ago, to get together for the weekend. We had a great time talking, going to a Mexican market, going for a walk, watching one of our favorite movie, and talking some more!

Elena's pavlova lemon meringue. 

Elena has had some failed attempts at making pavlova, so she decided to try again but call it something else. It...kinda worked.

Dear Eva, on the day of the crawfish boil

Nicole had completely surprised us by coming down for the day and  thus attending our crawfish boil. Amusingly enough, her hubby, and most likely all her kids, are highly allergic to shellfish. No kisses that day.

Blest Be The Tie That Binds

A beautiful hymn about the unity we have with one another, being bonded together by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It reminds you of that "forward look", of being together "through all eternity". It is just a gooood hymn.
This was our church's hymn of the month last year; another Baptist Trinity Hymnal find.

" The fellowship of kindred minds, is like to that above...
" We share each other's woes, our mutual burdens bear,
And often for each other flows the sympathizing thing. "



John Fawcett, was a Baptist minister (1765) of a tiny church in Wainsgate, York (UK). He served that tiny church for fifty-four years. Though there was one noted instance where he accepted a pastoral position at a larger church in London, and would have sufficiently provided for his family, but after preaching his farewell sermon, his loving congregation changed his mind, and he stayed. He wrote many other hymns (though none which I'm familiar with) and recieved a D.D degree.
He died at age seventy- eight in 1817.

Blest Be the Tie that Binds

Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.

Before our Father’s throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one
Our comforts and our cares.

We share each other’s woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.

When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.

This glorious hope revives
Our courage by the way;
While each in expectation lives,
And longs to see the day.

From sorrow, toil and pain,
And sin, we shall be free,
And perfect love and friendship reign
Through all eternity.

-John Fawcett (1782)  

Note: I'm fully aware that there is no April 32nd, but you must forgive my tardiness.         :)

                                            

Psalm 51:3

"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me."

-Psalm 51:3 ESV

I recently began reading through an excellent book called Whiter Than Snow: Meditations On Sin And Mercy by Paul David Tripp. As I read this morning, I was struck by how much one of the chapters reminded me of the unconverted Brandon Kent in Filmodus Operandi. The chapter spoke of how sin lives in a costume, which is why it's so hard to recognize in ourselves.

"But I've realized that that was because the false Christianity he described in the email was the only Christianity I had experienced. I was conforming to what people expected of me, and everything that I might have called "Christian" in my life was geared towards self."

-Brandon Kent, Filmodus Operandi

What Brandon says in the film shows me how we're all too skilled at looking at our own wrong and seeing good. We're all so much better at seeing the sin, weakness, and failure of others than we are our own. A huge part of sin is its deception. Evil simply doesn't present itself as evil; it causes us not to hear or see ourselves with accuracy.

Yet, we also see that viewing ourselves accurately is the product of God's grace in our lives. It is only in the mirror of God's Word and with the help of the Holy Spirit that we are able to truly see ourselves. Only by God's grace in regeneration may we see ourselves clearly, so that we would not buy into the delusion of our own righteousness, and so that with a humble sense of need we would seek the resources of grace that can only be found in Him.

David experienced this same thing in Psalm 51 and Brandon experienced it in the film. We see through this psalm a contrite heart, a sad confession, an acknowledgement of David's own sin, and the holiness of God. Though it pains me every time to read about David's broken state and to watch Brandon's sad state of self-righteousness, the end of the psalm and the end of the film cause me to joy in Christ's work in me to open this sinner's blind eyes.

At the end of the chapter, Mr. Tripp poses two self-examination questions. "Do you pray for open eyes to see yourself more clearly? Is your confidence in Christ so firm that you are unafraid to pray that God would free you from your own patterns of self-swindling that keep you blind and inhibit your growth?"

In Christ, 

~Micaela Marques

P.S. You can read the original post here, and you can watch Filmodus Operandi here. 

hope, it's what the soul needs

I wanted to share with you this wonderful post from the Desiring God blog, If You Feel Overwhelmed, Eat!
Contrary to what the title might lead you to think, the writer, (Jon Bloom) takes you through the first part of Psalm 43,

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? 

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, 

my salvation and my God. (Psalm 43:5)

  

 I really encourage you to read the entire post but here are my favorite bits,

"Hope is to our soul what energy is to our body. 

Hope is the spiritual energy generated in the soul when we believe that our future will be good, even if our present is bad. 

Our souls must have hope to keep going just like our bodies must have energy to keep going...

Hope is something we only feel about the future, whether it’s ten minutes or ten thousand years from now.
We’re never hopeful about the past. We can be grateful for the past. The past can inspire or even guarantee a hopeful future for us. But all the wonderful things that have happened to us in the past will not fuel our hope if our future looks bleak.
We must have hope for the future to keep going.
That's precisely why the Bible is a book of “precious and very great promises” (2 Peter 1:4). Man was not designed to “live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). So God designed the Bible to be a storehouse of nourishing soul food for his saints...
When our soul is in turmoil, God does not want us to be passive. We must pray, yes. But sometimes we need to stop praying. We need to stop listening to our soul recite its fears. Then is when it's time to preach to our soul.
Fear is an indicator that our soul is hungry for hope.
And the only foods that will really nourish and sustain the soul are God’s promises."

We are such a forgetful people (or is this just me?)! I was so encouraged to remind myself of these truths the next time I am in over my head. What indeed do I have to fear/dread/be disappointed about in this life? Why should I fret over things that seem to go wrong? 
Probably my favorite book in the Bible is 2 Corinthians (as you already know); it's the one I frequent the most and could continually reread. If you're not as familiar with it, I encourage you to read through this book. I love Paul's words, encouraging the Believer to press on through tribulation and trials, always focusing on the eternal, "unseen" things that are only evident to the Believer. In addition to thriving on these sorts of topics, I think it's healthy to have a craving for further knowledge of truths like hope. Close to the early part of last year, I was going through some difficult times, and through my daily readings, Psalm 34 became very near and dear to my soul; after reading the post mentioned above, I was reminded of these passages dealing with hope and our soul...

    I will bless the LORD at all times;
        his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
    My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
        let the humble hear and be glad.
    Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
        and let us exalt his name together!

    I sought the LORD, and he answered me
        and delivered me from all my fears.
    Those who look to him are radiant,
        and their faces shall never be ashamed.
    This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
        and saved him out of all his troubles.
(Psalm 34:1-6 ESV)

p.s.

Yes, the photo was taken during our last few days in Dubai; yes, we miss the wonderful people there dreadfully, yes, we'd still love to go back, 

but no, we haven't tried applying the henna on our arms yet.

For the Love of God

I downloaded a free (and legal) album last year, off of Noisetrade, called Far Country. I'll admit, I had to listen to it a few times to get into it, but not I really have enjoyed a appreciated the songs. My particularly favorite songs are: Far Country, Mystery of Mercy, The Queen of Iowa, and

For the Love of God 

Yesterday we drove all night to Pittsburgh
Jamie laid her head down in the back
My little boys asleep beside their sister
They’re the best I have

I brought an old recording of your father
He was teaching men and women how to love
He carried on about his sons and daughters
Growing up

As we drove across Ohio
At the dawning of the day
I could hear the tune of truth was in his voice
And it felt just like I knew him
Though I never saw his face
Maybe that’s because I know his boys
Who live their lives

[Refrain]For the love of God
In the name of Jesus
The groom who gave his life
To love his bride

I know you thought you’d never find a woman
I never thought I’d have to write this song
But here I am and there you are together
After all

You felt like you were buried
In a city underground
All broken bits and pieces of the past
And somewhere she was searching
On the surface of the mound
She was digging for a treasure that would last
Now she’s giving you her heart

[Refrain]

Now, love is not a feeling in your chest
It is bending down to wash another’s feet
It is faithful when the sun is in the west
And in the east

It can hurt you as it holds you
In its overwhelming flood
Till only the unshakeable is left
“This new command I give you,” He said,
“Love as I have loved”
So brother, love her better than yourself
And give her your heart

[Refrain]

                                                        -Andrew Peterson (2005)

I am rather confident that you are familiar with Andrew Peterson (if not check out the links), because I know I've mentioned him more than twice. So now I can add one more post to my list.

:)

16 Things I Am Thankful For

 1. Purple rooms and comfy beds.

2. The sweet, the new, and the old, family.

3. The "greatest and bestest" of voice teachers.

4.My letter-writing friends.

5. Thrilling concerts and great chaps to join them.

6. Listening to music while washing the dishes.

7. Lonely times, when I triumph over my pity-party self.

 

8. Friends, comrades, and new acquaintances.

9. Long car rides to talk, and/or sing really loud, and/or laugh so hard that no noise comes out and you clap your hands like a seal. :)

10. Great guns and uncles.

11. Pookie and Nate Hood-Marques, and their/our family. :P

12. Good discussions with friends.

13. My loving and patient parents.

14. Chai tea, and rockin' awesome sisters.
(oops, did I say that out loud?)

 
15. Beautiful places.

16. God's grace in this sinner's new life.

Love,
       Caro :)