Living with Abandon

Sunday Pastor Jeff talked about living with Abandon.  Abandon.  Merriam Webster describes the verb of abandon as to give up to the control or influence of another person or agent; to give oneself (over) unrestrainedly.  This definition brings to mind the following things:  

• To let go
• To forget that people are watching
• To live life fully according to my faith in God
  

Before you go and pass judgment on me or think that I'm too crazy with these ideas, try these scenarios on for size.  

• At the local knitting bee you let your cardigan drop carelessly to the floor, wave your yarn wildly over head, and chant "CA-BLE-NEED-LE! CA-BLE NEED-LE!"  
• At your child's school performance you run to the front of the auditorium with the video camera, knocking other parents out of the way to film your child while screaming "No one have ever been that good of a rock before!  You're gonna be a star!  Mama loves you, baby!!!"  
• On the front lines of the 0400 crowd at the after Thanksgiving sale you take your buggy (yes, buggy!) and plow over shoppers in front of you to get the very last $99.99 item.  

Those are all instances of living with abandon.  Absurd, maybe, but Abandon.  Jesus wants nothing less than having us live with Abandon for Him.  He did likewise for us.  He died a horrible death for our sins; He was perfection in the form of broken humanity, hanging on a cross, in humility, to save us.  He deserves at the minimum is for me to live each day for Him with Abandon and let the world see.  

Undignified

Pastor Jeff was on fire today with his sermon.  First of all, Consumed has been fantastic!  It has been hard hitting, direct, much needed, and right on time, at least for me. I love worship.  I have always liked to sing and praise God.  I enjoy being surrounded by people who praise and being inundated in worship with God's people but I am learning that worship is so much more.  I am learning to be consumed with worship. 

Worship is walking away from a dirty joke at work.  Worship is loving those I consider unlovely.  Worship is taking the time to sit with one of my children when my patience is growing thin.  Worship is giving up something that I want so that someone else may have something they need. Worship is not being afraid to be different.  Worship is dancing naked in front of a procession bearing the ark of the Lord.  

Oh, yeah, naked.  

King David was so excited that the ark was finally being returned home to it's proper place that he danced wildly in front of the ark.  He was so consumed with worshiping God that he lost his wife over this act of  worship.  She confronted him and condemned him for his foolish behavior in front of his people.  

David's response?  Simple:  I will celebrate before the Lord.  I will become even more undignified than this.  (2 Samuel 6:21-22)

Today, let's be undignified.  Let's live today with total love for our King regardless of what others around us think.  God will bless you; He hears the worship of His people. 

I'll close with a little treat from DCB; one of my favorite tunes from the Lime cd.  Enjoy! 

Undignified - DCB

My Father Loves Me

One of the things that I like to do when I have my quiet time is read the Psalms and pray them back to God as praise.  I do this because I am not a natural "praise-r" and the Psalms easily direct me to the good, no great, things about God that I tend to forget or take for granted. 

This morning I read Psalm 103, New Living Translation, and it simply overwhelmed me.  Let me share some of the highlights and my thoughts (in parentheses):   

• I will praise Him with my whole heart (not just part of me - first note to self)
• He forgives all my sin (enough said with this one)
• He heals all my disease
• He redeems me from death (this is a biggie!)
• He fills my life with good things (do I thank Him for these things every day or am I so busy looking at "the bad stuff" that I take these for granted???)
• My youth is renewed like the eagle's (maybe my constant battle with fatigue is because I don't let Him renew me?)
• He is slow to get angry and me and His love doesn't fail (thank God - I would be angry with me a lot if I were God)
• He doesn't punish me for my sin (big sigh of relief here)
• He is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate.  He knows that I am frail and come from dust (wow - He knows me and loves me even in my weakness)
• His love remains forever and  I should praise Him

These words may not have the same impact on you that they have had on me this morning.  This Psalm made me want to dance around the living room, coffee in hand, in the joy of the Lord.  Wow - with all of this goodness in my life why do I ever complain?

I challenge you:  take a look through the Bible and see what praises you can find that are already written and laid out for you to read back to God.  Let me know what they are and how you reacted.  I'm guessing that, like me, you will find that there is so much goodness in your life that you don't have time to be sad or downtrodden.