Working to Worship

    I have a confession to make: I'm not always in the best mood on Sunday mornings. If you saw me at church, you'd never guess it. I'm always smiling and singing, and smiling and talking, and smiling and hugging everybody in sight. If you just walked up on the scene, you'd think, "That girl looks like she's never been in a bad mood in her life!" And yes, as someone who feeds off of the energy of music and talking and being around other people, I'll admit that I really am as happy and excited as I look when 10:00 rolls around and the sanctuary starts filling up. But if you want to see what I mean when I'm talking about being in a bad mood, just flash back to 5 hours earlier....

  It's 5 a.m., and I feel like I've been hit by a truck. My sister, ever the annoying morning person, just woke me up, and even though I'm still under the covers praying that it was just a dream and that I can sleep for another hour, I know I need to start getting ready so I can make it to church by 7:00 for band practice. I sit up, stifling a groan as my feet hit the floor, and it doesn't take long before I come to a dreadful realization: it's cold outside today. And if there's one thing I hate, it's being cold. I shuffle into the bathroom like a zombie, fighting the urge to crawl back into bed and  hide. Then I put in my contacts, hoping that being able to see will make me feel a little more alive. It doesn't. I go upstairs to eat breakfast but it's too early to eat. I try to get ready but the tile floor in the bathroom is too cold on my bare feet and it's... you guessed it, TOO EARLY. (Can you tell I'm not a morning person?) So here I am just barely making it out the door on time, communicating in unintelligible grunts like some kind of irritable cave man and showing my family the not-so-fun side of me. But somehow on the 10-minute ride to church, I start to perk up a little, and after a few minutes of playing music and laughing with everyone at band practice, I'm back to my old self.

  Now you may be thinking that the moral of the story is that even though I'm always tired and ready to get back in bed on Sunday mornings, I still go to church and for that I'm rewarded with feelings of joy. But although that may be true, I want to take it a step further. Yesterday a very talented man at my church named Brother Darryl Hamaker filled in for our pastor because he wasn't feeling well. Brother Darryl did a great job as he always does, but there was one thing he said that really stuck out to me. He said, "Worship on Sunday mornings should start long before you walk into these doors." Then he went on to say that our attitude all day long, even outside of church, is a big part of our worship. In that moment, I felt God telling me that my attitude when I wake up on Sunday mornings isn't exactly the most worshipful. Instead of welcoming the day with a smile and knowing that I'm about to feel the warmth and love of both my God and my church family, I usually spend the morning pouting and grumbling about feeling cold and tired and just plain miserable. Now I'm not saying that since I've come to this conclusion I'm going to wake up every morning running around, cleaning up the house and dancing and singing like some kind of Jesus-happy Snow White (although I'm sure my mom would definitely appreciate that!). I'm probably never going to be a morning person, and I know that God is ok with that. But that doesn't mean that I can't try a little harder to put some worship into my least favorite part of the day. Colossians 3:23 says, "And whatever you do, work heartily, as if doing it for the the Lord and not for men." Even though I'm not always very happy about waking up on Sunday mornings, I know that I'm "doing it for the Lord," and I need to "work heartily" to be in a better mood while I'm doing it. Because of every action or thought, no matter how big or small, is an act of worship. And even though I will never be a perfect worshipper, I want to be known as someone who, in every situation, gives glory to my Jesus with my whole heart.

A New Year's to remember.......

Well 2016 did not start the way we expected it would......... We rang in the new year with anxiousness, tears, and unexpected news. I have felt more emotions in one day than I have in a week. From tears of sadness to tears of thankfulness, 2016 has already made an impact on me. Much more is in store this year and in times like this it can make you scared of what is to come.
Around 11:00 o'clock last night our New Year's Eve took a turn for the worst. The youngest member of our family fell off of a toy box and broke his arm. So there we are at midnight driving frantically to get him x-rayed. As we were waiting in Children's hospital around 1:00 this morning, I slowly took a look at myself. What else was there to do? My phone battery was dying.  I don't know what it is about late night hospital visits, but they sure do make you see things differently. I have never been one to trust in untrusting times. When the storm rages I don't face it with grace, but rather with anger and confusion. But as I sat there,  the loud silence of the waiting room stinging my ears, I felt something I don't believe I have ever felt in uncertainty............... PEACE. I felt God near me, I felt him holding my sweet, baby brother's hand as he sat amidst his pain. And in that moment I saw what He's been trying to show me all along. Jesus is the best thing that has ever happened to me and the only thing that will eternally matter. When bad times come, and they will, nothing and I mean nothing will overcome the hurt and pain better than Jesus. He is our life purpose and can never be taken away from us. He is my comforter, my security, and my friend. Life consists of more that what is seen in my eyes and I know that now. Isn't it funny that the times you see Jesus the most can be times like this? I am so thankful for all the doctors and nurses who helped my brother last night and most of all I am thankful  for the greatest physician of all, my Jesus. This is a New Year's Eve I will never forget. With the bad and the good, God has blessed us. And last night was just a reminder.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” 

                                                                     -Isaiah 40:28-30

-Heather Grace