What Wonderous Love Is This, O My Soul

It's been a full few weeks and I have learned so much that I feel like I've barely had time to process it all. But it's been incredible.

I few weekends ago, I did something very un-Karen-esque...totally spontaneous, and well worth the craziness. I drove to Atlanta (Woodstock actually) on a Sunday after church to see "Travis Cottrell and Friends" (Cindy Morgan and Beth Moore!) in concert and filming for a new live CD/DVD. I stayed with my friend Karen that night, and had a great time catching up. Waking up at 4am to drive back to Birmingham for work at 730am Monday morning (and pretty much risking my life because I was too stubborn to pull over and get coffee even though I was totally nodding off!?!?!) was totally worth watering a friendship, the amazing concert worship experience, and wise words from Beth Moore. All I had to write on during the concert was a Publix receipt...but here are just a few things I needed to hear from this woman:

Sometimes we resist true worship because we don't feel real...whether we are feeling betrayed, confused, doubting, etc. But our transparency is our liberty!...to come in our true state -- as broken people in need of mercy. However, we must come willing to receive. If we are honest with ourselves, there are times we just don't want to do this. In those times, we must cry out to the Lord, "HEAL MY 'WANT TO'!" Come, pour out your all to Him, so as to make room for Him to pour Himself in.
If you've been devastated and brought low because of something/someone in this world, and you stand up again, and Jesus is the only One you see...you've stood up in victory. You've won!
And lastly: Even Peter needed a "shut-up-and-listen" talking-to from God. If you want to know Who Jesus is, see what God has to say in Scripture about His own Son. "My Beloved." God declares His love for Jesus to Peter, right there on the top of Mt. Sinai (see Matthew 17) Flip over a few pages to John 15:9. Jesus is speaking to His disciples: "Just as the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you, abide in My love."

Do I 'abide' in the love that God the Father has for me, His child? Do I believe it? If I can grasp that kind of love, it will change how I see God, how I see others and definitely how I see myself. "Oh righteous Father, although the world has not known Thee, yet I have known Thee; and these have known that Thou didst send Me; and I have made Thy name known to them, and will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou didst love Me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:25,26)

"The mystery that has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory." Colossians 1:26,27

What wonderous Love is this.