We had the praise and worship night, with a few games beforehand to get to know one another and to make things less awkward. It continually amazes me how a bunch of people who don't know each other can come together as Christians and praise our Lord together, because we are united in Him. Praise Jesus! I was so blessed tonight, and felt that God was glorified through our worship to Him! I only hope that He was pleased with our acts of worship. Two of the Resident advisors gave their testimonies, ones that must have taken great courage and much prayer to share. They were both very encouraging, and showed a window of vulnerability that is so often present at this school. That is what I love, how we can be open with one another in our struggles (within the right context, of course).
While we were singing a song, I became overwhelmed with emotion. The song is called "The Stand" by Hillsong. Here are the lyrics:
You stood before creation
Eternity within Your hand
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand
You stood before my failure
Carried the Cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon Your shoulders
My soul now to stand
So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You
So I'll walk upon salvation
Your Spirit alive in me
This life to declare Your promise
My soul now to stand
So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You
So I’ll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
So I’ll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is YoursThe part that stuck out to me the most was how we sang,So what can I say, what can I do, but offer this heart o God completely to you.
I became unexpectedly aware of how true that was. We had just been singing about God`s sovreignty and how he placed the world into motion, how He created us. He is in control of everything. My heart was in the mix of all that back in April. It is my heart that he was, and still is, in control of. With tears streaming down my face, I understood how powerful God is, and how much he deserves my heart. He healed me and saved me when I was in the hospital for a reason: to serve Him, and Him alone. I owe him everything, even my very life! So what can I do but offer my heart completely to Him? And so I stood before Him with my arms in the air, my heart abandoned and my soul surrendered because all I have is HIS, and all that I am is HIS.
Wow. OUR GOD REIGNS!!!!
AMEN!
Love,
Ashleigh
2 comments:
My darling
I have just had the time to re-read this blog and my emotions as I did so, were much the same as they were last night when you first sent it.
I am almost crying with you as you recount your feelings as you begin a new semester and had a time of interaction and worship with the new and returning students.
The testimonies of the two Resident Advisers sounds like they were encouraging to those who heard them and the song that you shared the words to, are very powerful.
Even though I was not there with you, I am sure my thoughts and recollection of those days when you were in the hospital would come flooding back to me as well and we can only praise God and thank Him for touching and healing you, comforting all your family and friends and bringing you back to us again.
Continue to draw your strength from Him.
Listen to His guiding and He will direct your paths in the way He wants you to serve Him.
I love you so much and I will close now but as I went back to check some mail that just came in, I received this reading.
I thought it was an appropriate note to leave you with
XOXO NAN
Point the Way
+++++++++++++++++++
Dream big dreams, and set magnificent goals that take your
Breath away.
When the going gets rough, the small,
Relatively meaningless goals are too easy to abandon.
The big, authentic dreams, on the other hand, will compel
You to move forward.
They give you solid reasons to work
Persistently through whatever challenges may come.
You can choose which dreams to follow.
So make those dreams
Big enough to overpower any difficulty.
Make them dreams that faithfully express who you truly are.
Make them dreams that resonate perfectly with your highest
Vision of the best that life can be.
When you get knocked down by disappointment, it's important
To have a dream that will compel you to get right back up.
When obstacles block your path, be sure that you're carrying
A dream that will show you the view from a higher
Perspective.
Move constantly toward the best you can imagine.
Hold on to
Those dreams that point the way there.
Ralph Marston
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