mercy reigns

mercy reigns
by shane barnard


"she hides her face, it seems too good
for Your embrace to find her
and say, "my dove, your voice is sweet
show me your form... your form is lovely"

Your mercy reigns
Your mercy comes
Your mecy falls
and rises with the sun
Your mercy reigns
Your mercy comes
Your mecy falls
and rises with the sun

its new every morning
its new every morning
its good enough for me

no ear has heard a melody
as sweet as yours for her
it seems too good, so undeserved
my heart faints now, for we are her

Your mercy reigns
Your mercy comes
Your mercy falls
and rises with the sun
Your mercy reigns
Your mercy comes
Your mercy falls
and rises with the sun

I will abide in Your love, Your love"

"My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely." Song of Solomon 2:14

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

Wow, how encouraging is that? His mercy is good enough for me....even me...so undeserving. His mercies are new EVERY morning, as hard as it seems to fathom. What an amazing God.

Here's some more really great scripture for you to drink up...be encouraged. Our God consumes us with a perfect love - allow yourself to embrace it.

"I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to THE ONE WHO SEEKS HIM; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord....For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is his UNFAILING love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.....Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven...."
Lamentations 3:24-41 (w/ ommissions)

why is it that there is always a sense of hope?

money money money money

So my friend Matt made a post about money. It got me thinking, so I commented on his post. Here is what I said:

"I couldn't agree more...money is so trivial so often...yet there is so much emphasis put on it, it often makes me sick. Have you ever seen the MTV show "Sweet 16?" I've seen it once (and only once for a reason), and it made me ashamed to live in America with these people. Seriously. 16 year old girls having birthday parties that cost thousands...even millions of dollars. You have got to be kidding me. There are too many people suffering for their to be this much wealth in our country. We seem to be becoming more and more greedy...but I'm not sure if their is a way to open people's eyes. Do you think there is? I, like you, hope that money will never blur my vision of reality so much that I cease to see those in need. I am not saying I am the greatest philanthropist in the world, or that I even come close to my part of helping people out the way that I should...and a lot of that is due to the fact that I myself am struggling to make it through school...but I can only pray that my eyes won't become blind to the things that matter most. People."

What do you think? Do you think we, as Americans, have become so greedy that there is essentially "no turning back?" Are our mindsets so skewed that we have blinders on that keep out all the 'bad stuff' in our society? I know people always say "the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer" but I don't necessarily agree. I don't necessarily think it's due to what political party occupies the White House, but the pure fact that our society has become so individualistic and so greedy. We have failed to see those suffering around us for so long, and there are people basically drowning in nothingness, that we don't even know where to begin, so we overlook them. We don't see people as people anymore, but as investments. What can they do for us? The poor aren't necessarily getting poorer, because honestly, when you have nothing how can you lose even more (materialistically speaking); and the "rich" aren't getting "richer" per se..they are just getting selfish.

so...don't get selfish.

that's my spill for now...

y'all have a good one.

Go Outside.

I am convinced that one of the greatest things in the world you can do for yourself is to go outside.

The End.

A hearts desire...

Missing someone is tough.
It is a hearts longing unfulfilled.

I miss my roomates. SO much.
They were my family...
my strength...
my encouragement...
my smiles...

I miss coming home to them everyday and getting hugs from each and every one of them. I miss lying on their beds for countless hours doing absolutely nothing but being with each other. I miss the late night conversations. I miss the early morning antics. I miss the dance parties, the singing, the random dress-ups, the cooking episodes, the pumpkin carvings, the poker games, the tv shows, the cigar smoking, the stocking decorating, the mural paintings, the holes in the walls, the "landscaping," the plumbing (wait, I just miss the plumbers...), the wrestling, the cuddling, the sharing, the studying...everything.

As my beautiful roomate Carla put it:

"its hard to miss someone so much and yet not be able to see or talk to them because you are on two completely different schedules.

its hard to read about someone who is so important to you work out so many things and have so many fears and not be able to run and hug them and lay on their bed and just be.

its hard to be changing and growing and be fearful oneself and not have someone who knows you just be there to talk to you and encourage you.

its hard to grow up."

I have been blessed with the most amazing friends I could have ever asked for or imagined. I got the opportunity to live in community with 6 of the most amazing, beautiful girls I have ever met in my life.

Aside from those I got the pleasure of living with, were my girls in the ole 377J. My home away from home. A place of refuge...a place of quiet (sometimes)...a place of comfort...a place of fun, and really good music. :-) Girls with hearts of gold. INCREDIBLE friends I wish I could have met so much earlier. My life was so far from complete until I met you...you have taught me so much, and loved me so much, and been SO incredibly amazing in my life.

To each of you...I miss you. It is a true desire of my heart to be able to spend time with you and see your hearts. I absolutely cannot wait to be able to do so. Until then, know how much you are loved.

"As I look off into the distance
Watching the sun roll on by
Beautiful colors all around me,
Painted all over the sky
The same hands that created all of this
They created you and I...
What a BEAUTIFUL God"

trembling and empty
courage trying to break through
fighting an endless fight
between my heart and my head
endless tears
unmasking fears
i never realized i had
silence penetrates
the deepest of deep
i try to run
but there is no escape
to save me from myself

calm of the storm

The rain is pounding outside tonight.
The cool drops are refreshing though.
The wind for some reason seems calming.
I want to go stand in it...
saturate myself...
enjoy its freedom.

Instead though, I will just fall asleep peacefully to the sound of it right outside of my window...there are few things better in life.

Goodnight.