The greatest love that anyone could ever know
That overcame the cross and grave to find my soul
And ’til I see You face to face and grace amazing takes me home
I’ll trust in You

With all I am I’ll live to see Your kingdom come
And in my heart I pray You’d let Your will be done
And ’til I see You face to face and grace amazing takes me home
I’ll trust in You

I will live to love You
I will live to bring You praise
I will live a child in awe of You

You are the voice that calls the universe to be
You are the whisper in my heart that speaks to me
And ’til I see You face to face and grace amazing takes me home
I’ll trust in you

You alone are God of all
You alone are worthy Lord
And with all I am my soul will bless Your name

a powerful and freeing truth

..is to know that the only person you can control is you.

i confess that i oftentimes spend my energies trying to control what others think of me, what I think i know is best for others… and with that comes such wasted frantic energy spent on doing something so fruitless…

even God does not try to control us.  God is just responsible for being God.  (thank God) In turn, the most powerful and freeing truth for me is to know that I am just responsible for being Diana Lee.

I simply cannot blame other people for things that I am responsible for — my faith, my response to conflict, what i spend my time on, etc!

i see why now the popular prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr is called the serenity prayer (it brings so much freedom and peace): here it is mixed my own translation below

God grant me the serenity (peace) to accept the things i cannot change (in myself, in others, in circumstances), the courage to change the things i can (we do have a responsibility and choice to walk forward in the person we want to be) and the wisdom to know the difference (there is always a balance to everything!)

just wanted to encourage you all to live with this freedom and power !

p.s.  I am running my first 5k to support World Vision in January!  Please check out the website below if you want to know how you can partner with me!

http://www.firstgiving.com/dianalee1

Come Lord Jesus come

All who are thirsty
All who are weak
Come to the fountain
Dip your heart in the stream of life
Let the pain and the sorrow
Be washed away
In the waves of his mercy
As deep cries out to deep

 

Abiding in Christ

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ~ John 15:4-5

Abide = Remaining.

Lately, God has been showing how I can do nothing apart from abiding in Him.  I had a thought this morning that when I am abiding in Christ, I am picturing myself in a sense being enclosed, centered, almost inside of something.

and i thought…wow, the more I abide in Christ, the more I’ll be less like myself, and more like the One in whom I’m abiding.  and the fruit I produce will be for His purposes, not for my own!  Just wanted to share this thought with you all

“ Every day the choices you make, say what you are and who your heart beats for” ~ It’s Your Life by Francesca Battistelli

“come, follow me”

i’m reading an article for my class, and this quote really struck me:

“Jesus issued was not “receive Me,” but “follow Me.” Receiving far too often attends to what we get out of the relationship, inadvertently perpetuating the cultural narcissism of the age. However, Jesus’ call to “follow him” leads instead to a cross –a cross that moves our understanding of vocation from elevated individualism and self-absorption to sharing God’s burden in working for the world’s redemption.”

it struck me because I think Christianity has become, “what can I get out of this?”  “Ok God.  I performed for you.  I did this for you.  Now can you please give me some blessings?”

Yet… I think what we often forget is that “follow me,” does not necessarily mean what we want it to mean.  Follow me doesn’t mean..follow me so you can feel good about yourself.  follow me so you can get what you want from life.

Follow me means, are you really going to surrender e v e r y t h i n g to me?

God says, come, take up your cross, and follow me.

that means we must say “God, you are more than enough.  there is NOTHING else i want more than to fully trust my life to you, surrender to you, abide in you..so that I may now live for YOU, and not for myself.”

everything i once held dear, I count it all as loss

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross

family therapy

i am taking a family therapy/pastoral counseling class in which i am learning SUCH important things about myself:  here’s something i wanted to share with you all:

 

Differentiation of Self

Families and other social groups tremendously affect how people think, feel, and act, but individuals vary in their susceptibility to a “group think” and groups vary in the amount of pressure they exert for conformity. These differences between individuals and between groups reflect differences in people’s levels of differentiation of self. The less developed a person’s “self,” the more impact others have on his functioning and the more he tries to control, actively or passively, the functioning of others. The basic building blocks of a “self” are inborn, but an individual’s family relationships during childhood and adolescence primarily determine how much “self” he develops. Once established, the level of “self” rarely changes unless a person makes a structured and long-term effort to change it.

People with a poorly differentiated “self” depend so heavily on the acceptance and approval of others that either they quickly adjust what they think, say, and do to please others or they dogmatically proclaim what others should be like and pressure them to conform. Bullies depend on approval and acceptance as much as chameleons, but bullies push others to agree with them rather than their agreeing with others. Disagreement threatens a bully as much as it threatens a chameleon. An extreme rebel is a poorly differentiated person too, but he pretends to be a “self” by routinely opposing the positions of others.

A person with a well-differentiated “self” recognizes his realistic dependence on others, but he can stay calm and clear headed enough in the face of conflict, criticism, and rejection to distinguish thinking rooted in a careful assessment of the facts from thinking clouded by emotionality. Thoughtfully acquired principles help guide decision-making about important family and social issues, making him less at the mercy of the feelings of the moment. What he decides and what he says matches what he does. He can act selflessly, but his acting in the best interests of the group is a thoughtful choice, not a response to relationship pressures. Confident in his thinking, he can either support another’s view without being a disciple or reject another view without polarizing the differences. He defines himself without being pushy and deals with pressure to yield without being wishy-washy.

Every human society has its well-differentiated people, poorly differentiated people, and people at many gradations between these extremes. Consequently, the families and other groups that make up a society differ in the intensity of their emotional interdependence depending on the differentiation levels of their members. The more intense the interdependence, the less the group’s capacity to adapt to potentially stressful events without a marked escalation of chronic anxiety. Everyone is subject to problems in his work and personal life, but less differentiated people and families are vulnerable to periods of heightened chronic anxiety which contributes to their having a disproportionate share of society’s most serious problems.

quote of the day

“our hearts were made for You, Oh Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you” ~ St. Augustine

no substitutes

“when you have nothing left but God, then for the first time you become aware that God is enough.”

i heard a sermon series on “thirst” that was really good.

it said that sometimes when we’re really thirsty, how many of us know the only thing that really quenches our thirst is water,

but we find ourselves wanting to drink everything but water?

we drink gatorade, coke, sweet tea, lemonade…

but find that later not only will we be thirsty again, but maybe even more thirsty…

why?  because those are just substitutes.

our bodies long for water the quench our thirst in the same way that our souls long for God

our souls are thirsty for God…

the question is, what are we quenching it with?

other people? status? school? money?

in the end..we may be satisfied for a while…but will never be satisfied..

….with substitutes.

drink from the Living Water today.

He is MORE than enough.

“little children, keep yourselves from idols (false gods) (from anything and everything that would occupy the place in your heart due to God, from any sort of substitute for Him that would take first place in your life” 1 John 5:21

want to volunteer with me??

THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS DINNERS-IN-THE-PARK

For over 30 years, Union Station Homeless Services has sponsored annual Dinners-in-the-Park on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Held in Pasadena’s Central Park, these events bring together thousands of volunteers to serve a hearty meal and holiday cheer to our less fortunate community members.

Last year we served 8,500 meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas to people who were homeless, senior citizens, alone at the holidays, or unable to afford a holiday meal.

Help make this holiday season special by volunteering or donating food or toys for our events. For more information, please call 626.240.4550 x542.

---

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Volunteer at the Event
(Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day)

• 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM: Set up
• 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM: Greet guests and serve food and beverages.
• 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Break down tables & chairs, wash dishes, clean up. (We REALLY need help here!)

NEW: Pre-Registration
Pre-Registration is not necesary, but will help us with the registraton process.

• Pre-Register online, print your confirmation, and bring it with you to
  the event.
• Please note, you will still need to go to the volunteer registration table
  at the event.
• Volunteer jobs will be determined at the volunteer registration table on
  a first-come, first-served basis. No jobs will be pre-assigned.

  Pre-Register Now!

If you wish to wait and register at the event, please proceed directly to the volunteer registration table when you arrive. Registration opens at 9:00 AM.

Volunteer the Day Before or Day After
(Nov. 25 and Nov. 27, Dec. 24th and Dec. 26th)

If you are available to volunteer the day before or day after either event, please contact Union Station at 626.240.4550 x125 for more information.

Donate New Toys for Christmas

Santa Claus gives away toys to about 1,000 children at Union Station’s
Christmas Dinner-in-the-Park. If you can donate new toys, please call us at
626.240.4550 x542 after Thanksgiving.

Donate Prepared Food

Please click here to view the full list of food items needed.

• Fully Cooked Turkeys and Hams – For instructions on safely preparing turkeys, please visit the USDA website
• Side Dishes – Side dishes must be safely prepared in disposable aluminum containers. We are in need of mashed potatoes without gravy, sweet potatoes, corn, gravy, and green beans.
• Desserts (please, no jello)

If you plan to make side dishes or desserts that will serve more than twenty people, please see our current needs list.

Food can be dropped off at Central Park on the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Del Mar Boulevard, from 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM on Thanksgiving and Christmas mornings.

He Has Made Me Glad :)

 

I will bless the Lord forever
And I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
And he has set my feet upon a rock

And I will not be moved
And I’ll say of the Lord….

You are my shield, My strength
My portion, Deliverer
My shelter, Strong tower
My very present help in time of need!

~made me glad by hillsong