Sing To The Lord A New Song

The following is taken from "The Word Among Us" - A Catholic Devotional Magazine:

Meditation: Psalm 96:1-2,11-13

1 Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name; announce his salvation day after day.

3 Tell God's glory among the nations; among all peoples, God's marvelous deeds.

4 For great is the LORD and highly to be praised, to be feared above all gods.

5 For the gods of the nations all do nothing, but the LORD made the heavens.

6 Splendor and power go before him; power and grandeur are in his holy place.

7 Give to the LORD, you families of nations, give to the LORD glory and might;

8 give to the LORD the glory due his name! Bring gifts and enter his courts;

9 bow down to the LORD, splendid in holiness. Tremble before God, all the earth;

10 say among the nations: The LORD is king. The world will surely stand fast, never to be moved. God rules the peoples with fairness.

11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and what fills it resound;

12 let the plains be joyful and all that is in them. Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice

13 before the LORD who comes, who comes to govern the earth, To govern the world with justice and the peoples with faithfulness.

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Have you ever walked in the woods early in the morning and felt a palpable sense of joy in the air? Or rejoiced at the sight of a campfire and imagined that it was rejoicing along with you?

If you have, don’t worry—you’re not losing your mind! As the psalmist tells us, everything that exists has the potential to praise God the Creator. The seas, the prairies, even the desert wastes are no exception. If we could open our spiritual ears, we might hear them singing “Alleluia” all day long!

But notice that the earth is singing a “new” song (Psalm 96:1). It’s celebrating the news that Almighty God has come to rule the earth. The infant Jesus, whose birth we just celebrated, is the One whom heaven and earth are rejoicing over. Creation has never been neutral about him. The sea became still at his command (Mark 4:35-40). When he died, the earth quaked, and the sun grew dark (Matthew 27:45,51). Even now, creation is still proclaiming his salvation and awaiting his return.

Guess what? You are part of that creation, and this means that you are called to join in the praise of God. Jesus told the Pharisees who wanted to silence his disciples that the very stones would cry out (Luke 19:40). How can we not praise him? His kingdom is at hand. Darkness and death have been defeated. We have been given new life with new possibilities to become the people we were created to be. Every day gives us another chance to proclaim with our words and deeds the great gift of eternal life!

As you stand on the cusp of a new year, why not ask God to give you the gift of praise? Why not resolve this year to explore what it means to join creation in worshipping the Lord? Maybe you can try reading a different psalm aloud slowly every day, letting the words fill your heart. Or take time each day to recall the blessings you’ve received. Or take a moment to see the beauty in the world around you. May this be a year of blessing for all of us, as we join in the chorus of praise that is welling up all around us!

“God of the Universe, you are the source of all joy. Give me a heart of praise in the coming year, so that your joy can become my very strength!”

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Judi Lynn Lake has kept up with leading edge business trends throughout her varied and successful career. She had already had her "15 minutes of fame" over and over again before starting her family. Judi and her family now reside in South Carolina, but, having been born and raised on Long Island, NY, it is clearly evident that she will always be a "New Yorker." Today, she successfully runs her own advertising agency which handles everything from logos, branding and package design while she continues to work closely with self-published authors from design to promotion. For more information, visit judilake.com

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The following video, Come Worship The Lord, courtesy of You Tube.

When No Explanation Is Possible

Life, with its glories, indignities, hopes and quiet dreams, is the subject of the beloved song, “But the World Goes Round," by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

Similar to the song, no matter how bleak life seems at the moment, life can change instantly. In my own short lifetime, I have experienced many ‘miracles’ that have always given me hope in my ‘darkest hour’.

These ‘miracles’ have also given me faith.

For me, 1990 was my ‘big year’. I was 32 years old and an Art Director within the Music Industry. Life was hectic, exciting and immersed with relentless deadlines. I was dedicated and adapted easily to catnaps, which is probably why, to this day, I continue ‘to burn the midnight oil’.

The 1990s Music Awards were to be spectacular. The swing in music was shifting and I was given complete carte blanche as its Creative Director. Each presentation submitted was approved with fervor and praise. We were a passionate group with a mission for excellence. Fully aware that ‘you are only as good as your team,’ I was grateful for my exceptionally talented art department.

This was going to be ‘the year’ for The Music Awards.

Midway into the project, the Vice President, Diane, called me aside. “Judi, are you feeling alright? You look white as a ghost!"

“Oh, Diane, you know how it is this time of the year; it’s crazy and I can’t remember the last time I actually had a full night’s sleep. Don’t worry, I’m fine."

“Well, I am worried. I never use rank with you, but as a mother, I am telling you to go home and rest. The art department has all of your comps and whatever need’s your approval can be done by fax."

“No, Diane, we are almost done! I promise, once everything is completed, I will take a few days off, but not now, pl-e-e-eaze…." My eyes pleaded with her to let me stay. Diane shook her head as she walked away from me. From the distance, I heard her mumble, “She has got to be the most stubborn person I have ever met!"

I laughed as I responded, “Yeah, yeah, Diane, and that’s why you pay me so well!"

Diane was perceptive because I was not well and I knew it. For the past month, I had been bleeding ceaselessly and was extremely weak. I was concerned but decided to take "the Scarlett O'Hara" approach and ‘worry about it tomorrow’. I could not afford to get sick and my only focus was on finishing this project.

God had other plans for me, however. Three days before the Music Award’s ceremony, I was found lying on the floor in my office and unconscious.

With a pounding headache and needles in my arms, I awoke in a bed at the Long Island Jewish Hospital. Focusing my eyes, the first person I saw was my mother. Once our eyes met, I knew the prognosis was not good.

I had cancer and the doctors wanted to perform an immediate hysterectomy on me. I was a ‘DES’ baby and cervical cancer is common with all DES females.

I was overwhelmed but would not give my consent for anything until I prayed with someone and, that someone had to be my dear friend, Fr. Bob.

Ironically, as Fr. Bob and I spoke, my concern was not with myself but, rather, with my mother. I loved my mother with all of my heart and didn't want her to suffer through my illness. As Fr. Bob administered Holy Communion to me, I instantly felt soothing warmth fill me from head to toe. I began to cry and was immediately conscious of the Lord’s presence. I felt His love and somehow, I knew I was cleansed and healed.

Without saying a word, both Fr. Bob and I were fully aware of what happened. I calmly told him that I would not need surgery and that I was all right. The Lord is mightier than man.

The doctors tried to persuade me for surgery, but my faith knew what man could not know. My faith also knew, contrary to what the doctors had told me, that, one day, I would indeed be a mother.

Ten years later, and cancer free, I gave birth to a healthy 8-1/2 pound healthy baby girl. Stubbornly, I packed my little angel in the car and drove to the hospital where I was diagnosed with cancer ten years previously.

As Dr. Berkowitz was holding ‘my miracle baby’, I calmly told him what I had heard many, many years ago as a child:

“For those who believe in God, no explanation is needed; for those who do not believe in God, no explanation is possible."

©2007 Judi Lynn Lake. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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Judi Lynn Lake has kept up with leading edge business trends throughout her varied and successful career. She had already had her "15 minutes of fame" over and over again before starting her family. Judi and her family now reside in South Carolina, but, having been born and raised on Long Island, NY, it is clearly evident that she will always be a "New Yorker." Today, she successfully runs her own advertising agency which handles everything from logos, branding and package design while she continues to work closely with self-published authors from design to promotion. For more information, visit judilake.com

***

The following video, "Holy Is His Name", by John Michael Talbot courtesy of You Tube.

God’s Search For You

How often do we say that something is “in God’s hands" and want to believe it?

For me, one of the most difficult aspects of prayer is that it demands so much faith and trust in God.

Do we really believe that He is listening to us? Isn’t it easier to do things ourselves than to put it in His hands? Sometimes, it seems hard enough just to stop working or worrying long enough to spend time with God in prayer, let alone having the trust to turn over our lives to Him and let Him handle our worries.

Our life with God is supposed to be an intimate relationship that works much the same as the relationships we have with others. If we feel as though we have to do everything ourselves, we find ourselves not only doing everything alone but after awhile, are very much alone. Because we lack the trust to ask for help, eventually, we become isolated and it becomes difficult to talk or listen to others.

If, however, we work with others and let them share with us, we grow in an awareness of our essential communion with other people; and because we have shared responsibilities and play, sorrow and joy, we find it much easier to communicate verbally and non-verbally as well.

From this very human fact of our experience, we should learn something about our relationship with God. Because He is the most important relationship in our lives, we should trust Him and let Him into the practical, day-to-day side or our lives. We should let God act and not shut Him out. If we do allow Him in, our relationship takes on all kinds of new dimensions. We have much to talk to Him about because He has been sharing the whole day with us. Since He’s been there with us, we can also be silent together in the day’s failures and/or successes.

In order to reach this stage, however, we have to be able to put some things in God’s hands and trust Him. For most of us, this is easier said than done.

The person who can put things in God’s hands and trust Him grows daily in the knowledge that for him who loves God, all things work together unto good. Out of the great sorrows and pain of my life come goodness, beauty and insight I never had before. French novelist, Leon Bloy (1846-1917) once said that there are places in the human heart which do not yet exist, and into the heart comes suffering, that they might have existence. Out of such a heart prayer rises naturally as thanksgiving for the wholeness of everything that is, as a hymn to God who draws good even out of what was thought as evil.

Most of our own anxieties about communing with God, I believe, come from what preachers, authors and acquaintances say they experience. The constant “high" that many share, is usually very different from the darkness and emptiness we often feel. In truth, God comes to each one of us in His own way and time and in the manner best suited to each person. He doesn’t come according to a manual or primer of prayer, but according to our need and readiness for Him.

Even when faith is low, many of us keep praying because contrary to what many “pray-ers" proclaim, common sense tells us that God is more loving and aware of who we are and what we need that those advisers in the spiritual life who are more like Job’s accusers than wise men of the Spirit. God loves each and every one of us. If only we could hold to that above everything else. We long to believe it but others sometimes make us doubt it because they don’t seem to care. And, of course, what we can see and hear and touch affects us more that what we believe. It is only when belief conquers experience that we are truly men and women of faith.

The search for God ends up in the end to be God’s search for you. You take so many wrong turns just where you might have met Him at some corner of your life. But in the end, He surprises you by finding you looking for Him in the wrong direction. God comes your way, no matter how far afield you are. That is the story of God; He goes out of His way for his children. You are that important; that is the story of man.

©2008 Judi Lynn Lake. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

###

Judi Lynn Lake has kept up with leading edge business trends throughout her varied and successful career. She had already had her "15 minutes of fame" over and over again before starting her family. Judi and her family now reside in South Carolina, but, having been born and raised on Long Island, NY, it is clearly evident that she will always be a "New Yorker." Today, she successfully runs her own advertising agency which handles everything from logos, branding and package design while she continues to work closely with self-published authors from design to promotion. For more information, visit judilake.com

***

Below video, “God Alone Is Enough” courtesy of You Tube. Written and performed by John Michael Talbot.