I thank God in all my remembrance of you...

When I was six years old, and my family had just moved to California from Colorado God was gracious enough to ordain for me to be in the same dance class as two very sweet sisters. Though we were only six so our ballet skills weren't much we became friends, danced at our recital to the "Under the Sea" song from The Little Mermaid, and I invited those two sisters to my 7th birthday party. They came to my birthday party, but after that they stopped danced and we lost touch for about 4 years. When I was 11 I started skiing every friday during the winter with a homeschool skiing group. Again, God so graciously ordained for those two sweet sisters to come back into my life. Through skiing, and having mutual friends we started to hang out, and became almost inseperable. I love recalling those memories just because I see God at work, His sovereign perfect plan placing those two girls in my life who God used to help lead me to Christ.

All my best memories from the ages of 13 to 16 include these two girls. I praise God for the friendship they gave, and they way God eventually used them to bring me to Christ. I especially praise God for Abby, the younger of the two sisters. Her friendship to me is so special, God used her so much over the years of our friendship to make me realize my need for a Savior, and she was there the night I was saved. She has been with me through so much; good, bad, silly, adventurous. We've seen the best and the worst of eachother, and I praise God that we have remained friends through it all. She is such an encouragement to me, and I will continually remember and praise God for her all my life. She has been a faithful encourager and servant of the Lord. Praise God! I just wanted to write something on here and dedicate it to her because the Lord has used her so much in my life. Thank you Abby for your friendship, and encouragement as a sister in Christ. I praise God for you, for the way He has used you so many ways in my life, for the continual encouragement you give and for the work He continues to do in your own life. It's incredible. God is so awesome in the way He uses people, and continues to sanctify them. Praise God for friends whom He uses in amazing ways in our lives.

"I thank God in all my remembrance of you"

- Philippians 1:3

"But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."

-Hebrews 3:13

Songs that teach.

While at the Resolved conference Bob Kauflin was their "Surprise guest", he is in charge of Sovereign Grace Music which is an amazing music ministry that I love. One thing that he said at Resolved that I really loved is that songs can and should teach us something. That may seem like a simple statement, but living in a generation where music is an almost constant especially in a teenagers life I thought it a good thing to keep in mind.

With the music industry bursting everywhere, and with all the various kinds of music out there I definitely have to use discernment in what music I put on my ipod. That's not to say that I never listen to anything secular, because I do. I enjoy artists such as Jack Johnson, Coldplay, Owl City, Michael Buble and Norah Jones. However, I think it's very important to ask myself if what I'm listening to is causing me to think on "whatever is true, whatever is lovely..." (Philippians 4:8). Music does teach us, and its always a good thing to ask whether it is feeding your soul teaching about Christ Jesus the Lord, or if it's feeding lustful sinful desires.

There are two songs right now that have been such an encouragement to me, and I praise God for the blessing of living in a time where I can have an ipod and download music from itunes.

The first is called, "All I Have is Christ" written by Bob Kauflin's son. I love it because it is filled with rich biblical truth. I also love it because it is a reminder that it is a joy to give our lives away to the Lord. Singing "Hallelujah, all I have is Christ!" is not a lament over having nothing but Christ. It's a rejoicing because we have been saved by Christ's blood, loved by the Father, and can now rejoice in Christ. Nothing, absolutely nothing in this world compares to Him, He is so much more wonderful and greater than anything this world has to offer.

The 2nd song is by Sovereign Grace Music from the album "Come Weary Saints", and it is called "Every Day". I love that song because it's such a great reminder that God ordains every single day for a specific purpose, and if we are saved we know He works all things for good for those who He has called (Romans 8:28-29). It's just such a reminder that through all crazy circumstances of life, the trials and the hurt that He has ordained it all, He's faithful & we can stand firm in Him. We can rejoice in Him no matter the trial we're going through, because He's ordained it and He's working it for our good. The joy of the Lord really is our stregnth! Praise God for that!

Here's the lyrics to both these great songs.

"All I Have is Christ" by Jordan Kauflin:

"I once was lost in darkest night, yet thought I knew the way

The sin that promised joy and life had led me to the grave

I had no hope that You would own a rebel to Your will

And if You had not loved me first I would refuse You still

But as I ran my hellbound race indifferent to the cost

You looked upon my helpless state and led me to the cross

And I beheld God's love displayed You suffered in my place

You bore the wrath reserved for me now all I know is grace

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!

Hallelujah! Jesus is my life!

Now Lord I would be Yours alone, and live so all might see

The strength to follow Your commands could never come from me

Oh Father use my ransomed in any way You choose

And let my song forever be my only boast is You

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life!"

"Every Day" by Sovereign Grace Music:

"In Your grace, You know where I walk

You know when I fall, You know all my ways

In Your love, I know You allow

What I cannot grasp to bring You praise

Thank You for the trials, for the fire, for the pain

Thank You for the strength

Knowing You have ordained every day

Your great power is shown when I'm weak

You help me to see Your love in this place

Perfect peace is filling my mind and drawing my heart

To praise You again

Thank You for the trials, for the fire, for the pain
Thank You for the strength
Knowing You have ordained every day

In my uncertainty Your Word is all I need

To know Your with me every day"

I praise God for the blessing of music, especially when it's songs that are theologically informed and praise the glory of Christ! Some specific artists I've been blessed by are of course Sovereign Grace Music, Keith & Kristyn Getty, and Enfield. Those three are my favorites. What a gift it is to be able to fill an ipod with songs that sing of the glory of the Lord and cause us to worship Him throughout each day.

For Christ's glory,

Willa

Blessings.

Hello blogger world,
I have not updated in almost a month, and much has happened. The Resolved conference was the weekend of the 25th of June. It was absolutely amazing! The preaching included Al Mohler, Steve Lawson, CJ Mahaney, John MacArthur, and Rick Holland. It was such a blessed time of refreshment in phenominal preaching of God's Word with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm so thankful to God that He ordained for me to be a part of it.

Recently, by the grace of God it has come to my attention that I need to put things in my life to seriously practice having a joyful and thankful heart. In my last post I wrote about how I can have joy in all things in life when my focus is the glory of God, however I have realized lately that in order for me to maintain that focus I must have daily disciplines and reminders to take joy in all things. In order to kill the sin of discontentment/selfishness and to practice being thankful and joyful in everything, each day I'm going to write down atleast 12 blessings from that day. My prayer is that by God's grace this will help me maintain my joy throughout each day, even when it is a tough one!

Here's the list from today:
1: A sweet eight year old girl who responded to the question, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" by saying "I want to be a mommy."

2: A walk through God's beautiful creation, while listening to worship music.

3: Reading a wonderful book that reminds me of what is most important: the worship of our Lord Jesus Christ.

4: Flowy white sundresses that make me feel like I'm a little girl again.

5: A rock in the midst of Lake Tahoe that is the perfect "Little Mermaid" rock.

6: Continuous laughter and smiles with a sweet girl that is like a little sister to me.

7: Good conversations with friends of all ages.

8: The crazy silly innosence of little kids. Thanks Lord for the blessing of silliness.

9: Ghirardeli dark chocolate mint bars.

10: Hidden places in trees that have a "balcony" overlooking Lake Tahoe that remind of something out of a fairytale.

11: Fun, happy, bright colors of nailpolish.

12: Shoulders that are slightly sunkissed.

13: Sermons by Steve Lawson.

14: Freshly painted bathrooms that make me feel like I'm staying in a beach house.

15: Prayer: that I can lay all things at the Lord's feet. What a loving merciful God.

I am truly a blessed girl. Praise the Lord for all these things!
I'll end with this quote from a sermon by Steve Lawson I listened to today. It's very convicting, but a great reminder! I just love it!:

"If you please Him it does not matter whom you displease. And if you displease Him it does not matter whom you please. The Christian life is simple: please the Lord Jesus Christ. Follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Obey the Lord Jesus Christ. He is Lord."
-Steve Lawson