Redeemed...

The dictionary says Redeemed means

• deliver: save from sins
• restore the honor or worth of

And I like that!! This year has been a trying one for many many reason for me personally, for my family and for some of my friends and as of late I have really been growing in my walk with God especially in this whole area of "being redeemed". I have known for a long time (growing up in a Christian family, attending church, a Christian school etc) that I am redeemed by God's blood and grace but I don't think I have really ever tried to understand what that means. I really like the second part of the definition "restore the honor and worth of". God through His shed blood has made me worthy of something and honourable. I have been blog slacking of late because for one this summer has been crazy busy with weddings, buying a house, moving my sister, cottage holidays etc but also because I have been trying to spend the time I would be blogging and spending it focusing on my "blogging" or my chatting with God. I donno about you but I find it so much easier to just give God my 20 minutes a day for a short devotional but I can sit at my computer for hours reading about your lives etc and oh how ashamed I am of that fact and yet it's easy to just recognize it but that won't fix it I have to do something about that and so I have been.

This is not to say I was not spending time with God before this I was just I don't think I was giving Him enough time if you know what I mean. I'm finding such a sweet peace inside me and I feel like my relationship is growing so much stronger and I'm excited about that. This year I have seen a friend loose her husband, I saw a horrible disease (cancer) take my grandma's life and I saw her fight so hard and bravely to beat it but she didn't, I have felt the pain and longing to be a mommy and yet am not yet pregnant, I have felt and experience the joy and pain of friendships, I have experience the joy of buying a house and the nervousness and anxiety that brings I have suffered my own personal health issues and the fear and uncertainty they bring.

I read something the other day that really moved me and I feel obligated to share.“...Our healing begins when we participate in the suffering of God. When we don't avoid it but enter into it, and in the process, enter into the life of God. When we see our pain not as separating us from, but connecting us to our Maker...” Oh how true that is. As I heal not only physically but emotionally I can only do that through connecting to the Master Healer. I truly believe that my suffering is a rare opportunity from God to showcase how awesome He really is - and He is really awesome!!
and that suffering has a way of connecting people…sometimes in weird circumstances…but the result is usually for the better. I was listening to Selah ( a group whom I love dearly to listen to) and they have a new song out called "unredeemed" and I encourage you to listen to it.
*On a side note as a musician myself I am continually at "awe" at the gift Selah has in writing songs. I have studied many different forms of music song different styles and listened to millions of different songs yet none as talented as the group Selah and their song writers - one day I pray I can be half as talented. * I am so glad that God takes me and all my brokenness and he uses it. I am really trying hard to remind myself each day that this could be my last. I know sounds like a horrible thought but I truly believe that if we thought that way each day we would live our lives differently. We are not guaranteed tomorrow it is by God's grace we have tomorrow. I am continually challenged as I look at many others out there suffering so much more or differently than I am and yet their faith and strength is so strong. I guess I say all this and it might not make any sense as I'm very exhausted and writing this very late but its just all floating in my head and I wanted to get it out. So I leave you with these lyrics by someone who is much more gifted with words then I am

" When anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord just watch and see it will not be .... unredeemed".

What a promise and truth those words hold. I am hoping to start blogging again my frequently but not at the expense of my time with God ( or my husband and my family cause I love them dearly to) ... now to start catching up on all your blogs...