Guest Blog: Angela W.

Hey kids.
I asked my sweet new friend Angela to share with you today as I'm swamped with work...
She is a delight and I did not pay her to say nice things, I promise! Please share the love of Jesus with her as I think she is pretty incredible.
Love,
Lauren

Hey guys, this is Angela, a fellow stalker reader of Lauren’s blog! Miss Lauren so kindly asked if I would consider writing a guest blog, so here I am…in all my glory no less! And, let me tell you, I am so thrilled and honored to be sharing with you. Isn’t Lauren awesome? She’s truly a gift from the Lord and what a blessing it is to call her my sister in Christ. Lauren suggested I share a “That Girl” moment with you and/or an insight I’ve received. So, I shall do both… First, a little background…I’m “that worship leader girl”. I lead worship each Sunday at my church and am not at all immune to “that girl moments” both on the stage and off! Last December, in one of my on stage "moments" I was leading the congregation in a Christmas hymn, and accidentally sang the wrong words to the song… The real lyrics were, “the shepherds feared”. And, I, being ‘that worship leader girl” sang, “the shepherds farted”! Nice huh?!?! At least I was honest (not to mention totally embarrassed!) I mean seriously, don’t ya think the shepherds had GI issues from time to time just like the rest of us? I have yet to find any scriptural evidence, but still believe it to be true... Sigh… yep, I’m THAT worship leader girl…


Have you ever gone through a period of discouragement? A season in which you just feel totally deflated? Not that I asked for a show of hands, but if you could see me now, you'd see my hand in the air (permission granted to put yours down now)...and if you knew me dear friends of the most awesome Lauren, you'd also know when the rain comes, I’m fast to run to my friends or update my Facebook status , but I'm not always so quick to "tweet" to the Lord in prayer. Instead, I turn to others to make me feel better. While friends are wonderful gifts from God who love us and offer encouragement, there are times, we need to be still and know that He is God. And, this, folks, is something God has been laying on my heart lately...the aforementioned "insight", so to speak...

Throughout the Bible, God is described as "gracious and compassionate; slow to anger, abounding in love." When expectations go unmet and when discouragement and disappointments come our way, I pray you and I will keep pushing forward, with our eyes fixed on the Lord...cause the heavenly rewards are far greater than the earthly ones. I am so very thankful for a gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, love abounding (and not to mention, patient and forgiving!) God who sees and knows everything. God knows exactly where we are at this very moment. He knows our every thought, every joy, every heartache, and even every thing we just shoved in our mouths (not necessarily a great thing if you're a stress eater like me! Forgive me Lord for that extra large Frappacino with the ginormous chocolate cookie on the side).

We don't even have to find the words to tell God how we are feeling, or explain to Him why...He already knows. How awesome is that? We can just be still, rest in His almighty arms, allow him to love us and wipe our tears and give us the strength and clarity to carry on. So, if you're feeling discouraged and overwhelmed, take heart in knowing that we serve a compassionate and loving Lord. A God who tells us if we wait upon Him, He will renew our strength. A God who has plans to prosper us and a God who also tells us in Galatians 6:9, "...at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." I don't know about you, but that sure sounds good to me...I mean, after all my "gun show" could sure stand some divine strength, and a harvest? Do tell! Does this harvest involve a Frappucino with a cookie on the side or possibly even some Ben and Jerry's? Can I get an amen?

Much love to you my brothers and sisters in Christ. May you find renewed strength, peace and comfort in our gracious, compassionate and love abounding Lord.

Psalm 141:8 - "But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge."


Angela