My soul will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name.

This last week and a half has been the most difficult experience of my admittedly short and blessed life. The interesting thing is that because it is so difficult, it is easier for me to trust God! I have what seems to be an impossible situation, thus only God can help me. As Bob Pierce said, it's the concept of "God room." Only when something is not humanly possible does it require faith. We need to confess our inadequacy. We are only strong in Christ.

I've been singing this song by Casting Crowns, particularly last night when I drove back to Anaheim with a long week ahead. I know God will use me not because I am so fabulous but because He uses broken and humble people, and He is transforming me to be one of those. I've always liked songs that talk about how we must choose God. We must choose to praise Him, we must choose truth, we must choose to die to ourselves. Now I'm really living it! Ginny Owens has some encouragement along these lines as well if you're looking for musical verse. BTW, the part at the end of this song below is from the Psalms, I believe.

Praise You in This Storm

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

I particulary like the part that says "and as Your mercy falls, I lift my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away" as well as "I will lift my hands for You are Who You are, no matter where I am" and "though my heart is torn, I will praise You in this storm." Okay, I realize that I just quoted half the song, but I did leave out the second verse from the post. Just like in "Blessed Be Your Name" I like the part--well, I like most of the parts--that says, "You give and take away; my heart will choose to say, 'Lord, blessed be Your name.'" This paragraph is a punctuation nightmare, but you catch my drift.

Church camp started today with Sa-Rang church, and I was blessed to meet the head pastor. It has been such an encouragement to me to watch this church began to love their community. Two weeks ago, the social work intern and I found three more kids at one of the notorious motels who were eligible, and they all showed up this morning! Praise Jesus for how He is going to use this.