Can I just be honest here?

Well… yes… technically, I can… I can write whatever I want to on my own blog, right?!

This week has been very full of discouraging and disappointing things for me, and to be perfectly honest with you, my spirits are down… way down. I’m not at all talking about a “loss of joy” here… joy resides much deeper than where these discouraging things fall. But I am talking about the kind of discouraging feelings that, if left unchecked, can lead to bitterness and a deterioration of active faith.

From discouraging comments made by a trusted leader to the ceasing of airline operations (read: a cancelled flight with no refund at this point) leaving us with no way to get home to Baton Rouge on Tuesday --- a trip that has been long anticipated, much looked forward to, and desperately in need of --- the discouragement has been piling up!

These are the kinds of things (as are all things) that simply must be given over to God because He alone is sovereign… He alone is truly loving… He alone works the details of our lives to maximize His glory (which as it turns out is always for our good)! But how do I really do that? I thought about an old hymn I love to sing… Count Your Blessings! So, I’m gonna count a few for you (but mostly for me!)…

• The flight was cancelled before we were en route. Imagine if everything would have ceased while we were already in Baton Rouge! The cost to get back home would have been pretty high, and with our Uganda Mission Trip deadline being only May 1st, that would have left us with a lot of extra costs.

• Though my real family is thousands of miles away and even though my heart is really aching right now to be with them, God has given me friends here who show God’s love to me everyday. They are family of a different kind… and they are one of the greatest blessings God has ever given me.

• Though some people think today’s generation of young adults are fickle, self-seeking, and in search of constant entertainment (and yes, some are), God has placed a few of them in my life who are proof that He is at work in the lives of this generation. They are evidence to me that God, through His Spirit, is enacting true transformation within this generation for His glory.

• Rather than travel alone to Atlanta for Passion next weekend, Brian might be able to travel with the guys from Resonate… imagine the abundant time of iron sharpening iron that can take place during their long drive!

• Brian, Dylan, and Brooklyn... my mom & dad... Lisa, Chuck, Katherine, and Audrey... Karen... Mawmaw... Bobbi... all who will also be affected by our flight cancellation

• Through our concert last night, we did raise a little bit of money to go towards the Uganda Mission Trip, and we experienced the generosity of local musicians who willingly gave of themselves.

Bottom line... my cup overfloweth with the goodness of the Lord in my life!

Count Your Blessings

Words by Johnson Oatman, Jr and Music by Edwin O. Excell

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.