Do Your will, O Lord -
Align our wants with Your own;
Let revival come.

Your way or nothing,
Your plan to be done through us,
Let us not flounder.

Let Your glory come,
Your Word put forth to change hearts;
Your Spirit to save -

God - mighty to save!
Our help and our salvation!
Lead us with Your love.

Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.
(Psalm 42:11)

God is working. It feels slow, but it really isn’t–it’s just that the uglier things in myself He is showing me make it feel more drawn out. But I know He’s revealing such things only to make me more Christ-like.

I want my desires and the things I delight in to be what He wants me to delight in. I want to become the woman of God He is molding me into. I want to be a vessel open to His leading, to be used by Him however He seeks.

God is blessing too, though it can be harder to see at times. Sometimes it takes a while to listen to what He’s telling me will help; not just spiritually, but physically and emotionally as well so that I can be fully prepared to be used as He seeks. Finally I’m doing something about the layers of muscle tension that built up due to a former job that was hard on my body physically. It’ll take a little time, but hopefully not as long as I spent injuring myself.

God is also blessing me with people in my life who are helping me in different aspects of the way, even some of you! We don’t even know each other that well, but I so cherish all of you in the blog/Twitter world who inspire and reach out and who keep me, my family, and the church I serve in your prayers.

I pray for God to open my eyes to truly see how He is working in even the tiniest details. I want to see, hear, and perceive as He would have me to, and thank Him all the more for every single thing He is doing.

I want Him to continue doing surgery on this vessel, that I may become truly usable for His glory alone & to truly seek Him and His kingdom first. I don’t want to only glow for Him, I want the light to be a flood, touching every person who God puts in my path.

I don’t get so much of this Christian walk, but God is ever faithful. Despite all my worries and doubts I know that He will do all and more as He promises in His Word. I trust that He will give me the grace to be content in whatever His will is, however it pans out.

I was without internet yesterday, so Compassion Friday comes on Saturday this week! Nonetheless, here is Nat:

Nat is a five year old boy in Thailand, & has been waiting for over six months for a sponsor. For only $32/month, you can contribute to showing him God’s love. Your letters to him will also show him how much God cares. Is God leading you to help Nat?

Nat lives with his father and his mother. His father is sometimes employed as a farmer and his mother is sometimes employed as a farmer. Nat works at home caring for animals, running errands and cleaning. There are 2 children in the family.

Soccer, playing with cars and singing are Nat’s favorite activities. In kindergarten his performance is average and he also regularly attends church activities.

Please remember Nat in your prayers. Your love and support will help him to receive the assistance he needs to grow and develop. (from Compassion.com)

Sponsor Nat now, or search for other children in need.

This is a question especially for fellow worship leaders. I would love your feedback on this!

What do you do when you get requests for this or that hymn or praise song?

I’d love to hear anything you have to say about this topic, but some specific concerns I have are:

#1. How do you respond to the person (as in a member of the congregation) requesting, particularly when you don’t want to give them a “yes” or “no”?

#2. What about hymns/songs that don’t work corporately in worship, or that are theologically off? How do we approach this person (if needed) & let them know that the hymn/song is problematic, etc.?

This post was brought on because of requests I’ve received myself & also this post relating to the new Baptist Hymnal & how LifeWay Worship focused on checking the theology of hymns & praise choruses included.

This is Daysi, a seven year old girl in Ecuador, who has been waiting for over six months for a sponsor. Daysi turns eight on August 24. Help her know God’s love & kindness through your letters & monthly $32 contributions via Compassion.

In her home, Daysi helps by caring for animals, washing clothes and helping in the kitchen. She lives with her father and her mother. Her father is sometimes employed as a farmer and her mother is employed as a farmer. There are 4 children in the family.

Singing, playing with dolls and hide-and-seek are Daysi’s favorite activities. In primary school her performance is average and she also regularly attends church activities.

Because of your sponsorship, Daysi will have new opportunities to learn and grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. Thank you for your concern and prayers.

This child has been waiting for a sponsor for more than six months. (from Compassion.com)

Sponsor Daysi now, or search for other children in need.

I wanted to share some blog posts I’ve read recently that are definitely worth checking out:

• Why Jordan Hates Patriotic Songs in Worship > worship trench :: Hooray! I’m not the only one who feels this way! I’ve never understood why we sing them when we’re supposed to be worshiping God, unless they relate to God’s role in it.
• Blasphemous Hymns and “Too Loud” Organs > Thoughts of a Worshiper :: This amuses me because it seems like now this could be replaced by Blasphemous Contemporary Christian Songs & ‘Too Loud’ Drums & Guitars. I love all styles of worship! I love having even more avenues through which to worship God. More on the organ’s intro to church music posted here.

Next, I want to return some favors. These are some of the top referrers to Be Thou My Vision:

• Compassion International’s Blog
• Immersion Worship
• inWorship
• Christian Women Online Blogring
• Women in Worship
• Hot Worship
• Live To Worship
• Blending Worship
• Lead Worshiper
• Billy Chia
• CEC Worship
• Chris from Canada
• Consuming Worship
• A Spiritual Oasis

Thanks to all of you!

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us.’” - 1 Samuel 7:12

God is so good. While doing the last lesson in the I AM Bible study, I was looking over past blog posts. I saw my struggles & prayers in waiting on God’s timing for the next leg of the journey in His will for me, which reminded me of how He has come through thus far & how great & faithful our God truly is!

Combined with worship this morning & evening as well as fellowship during lunch, it’s been a wonderful & impacting day! My faith has grown tonight & I trust that God is growing my passion for Him again as well. Praise God! He has been answering prayers & speaking to me & renewing me this week in so many ways, & today was a great continuation of that!

Past blog posts can serve as “Ebenezer stones” (thank you, Jon, for first telling me what these are!) They surely remind me of the times when God has come through & that He is faithful in EVERY promise He makes!

Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I’ve come… (from the hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing“)

On to chapter three of Lisa’s I AM Bible Study: I AM - Your Fame. This is lesson nine, “A Set Up for a Show Up.” Excerpt:

When an oppression is set up, whether it originated in heart of God or the hate of Satan, expect God to show up. He will. Every.single.time. Our responsibility is to make sure people know what He did for you when He got there.

“I AM your fame, and thou art mine.”

Blessed be Yahweh!

Discussion Questions

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself on how often your conversation is seasoned with the works of the Lord on your behalf? If you speak very little of Him, is there a reason you know of? If you speak often, how do people respond?

Maybe a 7… Usually, if I am sharing with a fellow Christian, they are happy with me; if with a non-believer, sometimes they come back with “well, you prepared or handled that well,” etc., to which I usually again remind them that no, I couldn’t have done it without God!

2. Have you experienced a Set Up for a Show Up when you were uncertain whether the situation was the chastisement of the Lord or a temptation of Satan?

When I was struggling with God having revealed His calling for me according to His will, but yet struggling through the fact that it wasn’t surely yet coming to pass. But it was only months later that He moved me to the next leg in the journey, which is always encouraging even through struggles!

3. Have you ever or are you now experiencing any Job trials where you can still not identify any wrong-doing on your part?

Not that I considered trials, but just parts of the progress toward the next leg in the journey.

4. Apply this principle: How can my response make my God famous? Will obedience result in my sanctification and God’s Glory?

By persevering despite feelings, down days & hardships — by keeping faith & trust despite circumstances & living this! & through this, God can continue to transform my mind & heart, so that I can truly live by faith & not by sight, feeling or circumstance.

5. Does the origin of our affliction matter in view of the fame God can gain from it?

No. All in all, as Romans 8:28 states, God uses all things for our good for those who love Him!

EDIT: Farid now has a sponsor! Wonderful! Search for other children in need.

This is Farid, a four year old boy in Mexico, who has been waiting for over six months for a sponsor. Help him experience God’s love through your letters & monthly $32 contributions via Compassion. Farid’s birthday is October 16. On this day of celebrating our independence in America, how can you help to bring hope to Farid & others today?

Farid lives with his father and his mother. His duties at home include helping in the kitchen, running errands and cleaning. There are 3 children in the family. His father is sometimes employed as a laborer and his mother maintains the home.

Playing with cars, playing ball games and running are Farid’s favorite activities. In kindergarten his performance is below average and he also regularly attends church activities and Bible class.

Your love and support will help Farid to receive the assistance he needs to develop his potential. Please pray for him.

This child has been waiting for a sponsor for more than six months. (from Compassion.com)

Sponsor Farid now, or search for other children in need.

Also, see Ingrid, whose birthday is TODAY!

Those of you who have worship blogs or podcasts, if you aren’t listed here on the Worship Blogs List (or your link is incorrect in some way), give me a shout!

Also, if you have me linked in your blogroll, let me know so you can be linked in mine (in the sidebar to the right).