Overwhelmed

Wow - how many times I have wanted to sit here again and share my heart with you... I had so many things to say and write about - but for some reason the Lord just wasn't giving me the green light.  I would share with my friend Eleanor, who visits me at work from time to time, how much I wanted to start writing again... she encouraged me by saying to wait on God, that He would let me know when...

Yep well its 12:29am and I got the green light... Yay!!!!

For some time my blog was titled Deletiate... Delight in Spanish - it is the main word in my life verse: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
Oh how wonderful and beautiful it is to find our delight in the Lord... its overwhelming, beautiful!!

Well, last month I went to a conference in Boston with my awesome hubby -

it was such an extraordinary blessing... The theme was Relentless Grace and one of the sessions was about ordinary grace... that session spoke so much to my heart.  Sometimes we feel we have to do something extraordinary, mind blowing... when in reality there is nothing wrong with ordinary - and mind you I consider myself to be a "nutty ordinary". So as I waited for the green light - I pondered on changing the name of my blog, asked for suggestions,  did some doodling and as I started typing - Ordinary Life - Together, is what came about - yes - you and me and can't forget -
Jesus... doing extraordinary things in our ordinary (nutty) lives...

One of the words that come to mind when I think about an ordinary life is overwhelmed...

Dictionary.com defines overwhelmed in the following ways:
1. to overcome completely in mind or feeling
2. to overpower or overcome, especially with superior forces; destroy;crush
3. to cover or bury beneath a mass of something, as floodwaters, debris,or an avalanche; submerge
4. to load, heap, treat, or address with an overpowering or excessive amount of anything
5. to overthrow.

When we hear the word - its easy to think about being overwhelmed in a negative way - think about it: being a woman, our responsibilities as a mom, a wife, working, school, expectations, illness, unanswered prayers, finances... lets be real... there are times when these things can be overwhelming... when we just want a break - just a little one... to be able to breathe, catch our breath - inhale and exhale before going back in again...

But lately I've had this song Overwhelmed by Big Daddy Weave on replay... (praise God for digital or my record would have been scratched by now)...

There is a line that says:
I delight myself in you - in the glory of your presence - I'm overwhelmed by you
And God I run into your arms unashamed because of mercy....
I'm overwhelmed by you

WOW! What a great line!

My dear friend reading this... yes this life can be overwhelming with all its challenges, all its ups and downs and sideways... but in those moments when its too much - let us find that delight in Him... let us run like a child - unashamed - into the arms of our loving Father - and breathe...

I love what it says in Psalm 61:2 - "From the end of the earth will I call unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I." How remarkably beautiful is that... that when we feel the pressure of whatever it is that we are enduring that we can know that "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2

Let us take the definition of overwhelmed and apply it to our relationship with the Lord... let us find delight in Him by reading His word and going to Him in prayer,

In a couple of days we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving... in the midst of the preparations - let us take a moment and find something that He has done that we are thankful for, that He is doing in our lives now that we are thankful for, and something that we are thanking Him in advance for what He is going to do - by faith...

I want to leave you with these verses... this is how much we mean to Him, this is how much He love us

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us,we also ought to love one another.1 John 4:9-11

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-21

Listen to this song... read the words... Oh our Lord is truly just so overwhelming...