Official Live video for “Noel (feat. Lauren Daigle)” by Chris Tomlin
‘ADORE: Christmas Songs of Worship’, the Christmas album from Chris Tomlin, is available at: http://smarturl.it/ChrisTomlinAdore?I…

I determined to follow him over twenty years ago, albeit fearfully, hesitantly, and somewhat erratically. The destination was not made clear — there were no road signs along the way with the exact name of where I was headed, what I would be doing, or who I would be doing it with. I remember well the misgivings and angst that accompanied my decision to follow anyway, without knowing.

I trusted him. On days I couldn’t muster up real trust, I followed because I had committed to.

In the midst of all that uncertainty was a sense of something ahead. It beckoned. It promised. It offered circumstances that would put to rest my unmet needs. It would make sense of chronically undeveloped, frustrated qualities and yearnings within me.

I can describe it only as a sense of purpose, a destiny beyond my understanding, a calling from my familiar life into an unknown…

“Whenever God Shines His Light On Me”

Avalon Sunset is the nineteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter, Van Morrison. It was released in 1989 by Mercury Records to both commercial and critical success.

The album contains the religious ballad “Have I Told You Lately”, which became a hit single for Morrison, reaching #12 on the Adult Contemporary Charts and was a bigger hit for Rod Stewart (who was born in the same year as Van Morrison, 1945) in 1993. Often thought to be a romantic ballad, a close listen to the lyrics confirms that this song, in common with many on this album, is actually a love song to God. This song was again released on Morrison’s 2007 album, Van Morrison at the Movies – Soundtrack Hits.

Source – Wikipedia.

Artist – Van Morrison.

I enjoy the “before” and “after” photos of home renovations, like these pictures of the Kuppersmith Project from “Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford”.

While Lipford renovates homes, God renovates lives. It’s exciting stuff, having the project manager of all project managers in charge of our renovations. He has great vision. There’s nothing too deteriorated, neglected, vandalized, rotted, overgrown, or overwhelming for him to take on. He’ll transform, overhaul, overthrow, release, clean, guide, counsel … you name a problem and he has a solution. In time, our “after” photos show a remarkable transformation.

But keep in mind that any pictures snapped in the middle of renovation may not appear representative of the vision. Restoration can involve some serious demolition and removal. Outdated wiring, lead paint, and asbestos must be removed. Rotted windows and damaged drywall have to go. It sometimes looks worse before it looks better.

Cut yourself some slack…

Humans are a needy lot. Beyond imperatives like food, shelter, and sleep, we need affirmation, hope, motivation, truth, non-fragmented thoughts, noble attitudes, competence, friendships, acceptance, wisdom, and on and on and on.

Do we rely on God to meet our needs? Our areas of lack dovetail with God’s provision. Our needs are a mortise filled with God’s perfectly-fitted tenon. It is a partnership, a melding of a finite human and the infinite God.

John 15:4-  “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 

Often our needy lives merit considerable restoration. If a piece of furniture could…