CatHouse Chat

Blessed Be Your Name

I'm driving up from Florida on my way home, and I was listening to the contemporary Christian songs I have on my iPod. One of the first songs was "Blessed Be Your Name," sung by Tree63. It's a beautiful song - but it's difficult.

Here's what I was thinking (.wma file) as I drove on I-95... And here are the lyrics:

Blessed be Your  name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

God gives many blessings of ease and comfort and prosperity. We need to remember that these are gifts from HIM, and we need to use them wisely. He gives these things for us to enjoy and to give us pleasure, yes, but we should never forget the Giver. These are His gifts, and He expects us to steward them for His glory and our good.

Blessed be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

God sometimes - often! - allows trials to come into our lives. He doesn't do this because He's a mean and miserly Person, but because He desires our good. He desires to teach us, to guide us, so that we become more like Him. As we grow stronger in our faith through these trials, we can walk confidently into the world and proclaim all His wondrous works in our own life. We can extol His faithfulness, and our lives can be a testimony to His power and love.

Our life can be evidence of the existence of the omnipotent, loving and gracious Creator of the Universe!

And so, as we grow in Him, and gain more and more practical experience of His faithfulness and goodness, we can sing out the rest of the words of this song:

Every blessing You pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be Your name

The Curse and the Gift

Romans 5:12-19 discusses the contrast between the consequences of Adam's sin and the blessings of Christ's obedience... This is my meditation on it for Sunday Thoughts with Kat, broadcast on Wide Awakes Radio on 14 January, 2007...

EX-cellent interview!

Following up on my previous post, I went over to Politics Central to listen to Glenn and Helen Reynolds interview Orson Scott Card... it's so good, I've downloaded it.

Thoughtful, entertaining... just excellent!

Testing Evoca

Well... Apparently several of my friends have been having trouble with the Evoca "messenger" I just put in to the side bar.

That one. Right over there. ---------->

*I* attempted to record something, too. It appeared to go through (I did have to click an "allow this" button), but it's not appearing on the messenger window, and it didn't get sent through to my Evoca account/homepage, much less get e-mailed to me.

Here's something I recorded on the Evoca site. It won't let me post directly to TPad (yet), but it does offer HTML code. Will it work....? (UPDATE: Apparently so - and it's a cute little player, too)

Well, we'll just have to see... Nevertheless, I'm going to need to contact Evoca and/or TPad to figure out why the widget isn't working [pout].

New Year's Eve message from Kat

"Joy to the World" and the "Hallelujah Chorus" are not JUST Christmas songs... They are reminders that, just as Christ was born in a manger, 2000 years ago, He will return...

So..  What are you going to do about it?

Have a listen, and at least tell me how my voice is! ;-)

Best blessings for a joyous, safe, and prosperous New Year to all my friends and readers. May God show Himself mighty in your life, and may you give Him the glory and rejoice in His generosity!

2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become NEW!" (emphasis mine)

(Crossposted to Wide Awakes Radio)