Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

 

I am so excited to share my new album with you! When you click on the album cover below, you will be able to hear clips of each song.  All of the streaming services are listed, too, as clickable links so you can stream the songs in their entirety.  I hope you enjoy them! Don't forget to share it with your friends and family! Listen here With love, Elizabeth. ❤️ p.s. Sheet music for all the songs is available here:  Sheet music

I think I figured out why some who call themselves Christians have no interest in a love relationship with Jesus.  There are wheat and there are tares in the house of God.  Jesus said so, so that is true. Wheat wants to know Christ intimately, have a close relationship with Him.  Tares want to do "good works" and are only interested in outer works, not the condition of their hearts; not in an intimate relationship with Jesus. We don't know who's who, because only God knows for sure.  However, I think I've discovered how to get a clue as to who is who! When I talk in a group of women and mention intimacy with Christ, some start nervously flipping through their Bibles looking for all the verses on serving.  They want to justify that their way is best because knowing, obeying, and following Christ as He wants (not how they want) is not what they're after. Of course as Christians we are to serve God and serve others.  But ideally, that is the outer manifestation o

Spring has sprung and it is gorgeous. We've been in our current neighborhood for seven years.  There are two trees down the street that bloomed with gorgeous white flowering blooms the year we moved in. Since then, when I go for a walk around the neighborhood, I have looked for the same trees to bloom every spring. They haven't.  Until this year. And they are as beautiful as the first time I saw them bloom seven years ago. But I waited seven years to see them bloom again!  The other similar trees bloom faithfully every spring.  But for some reason, these two side-by-side trees only bloom every seven years. It got me thinking.  There are dormant stages in our spiritual life, too.  We don't always see the "bloom" in our own lives.  We give our all, obey the Lord best we can, wait on Him, step out in faith, and still no "flowers." What is happening during those dormant years?  I have no idea, really.  But I do know that God makes every tree for a purpose an

Social media.  It is the best of times, it is the worst of times. God can and does use it as a blessing in our lives.  But we know that it has also become a source of distraction and isolation for our society, too. When we scroll through others' lives (at least only the parts they allow us to see), and we want to accomplish great things that God has put in our hearts, the temptation is to try and look like or do what others are doing in the same way. Only problem with that is that God is the ultimate Creator.  He is full of new, creative ways and ideas for each of us. Do we dare be different?  Do we dare step out of the box? If God tells us to, then yes! To be open to God's plans for us we need to: 1. Trust Him wholeheartedly. 2. Believe He knows what He is doing 3. Partner with Him in all we do 4. Expect ridicule and naysayers because "it's never been done like that before" 5. Listen to Him daily 6. Step out in faith to whatever He tells us to do 7. Not care what

One day, when feeling down in the dumps, the Lord showed me the way out of my pit by giving me a very practical list.  I am sharing it with you here in case you need help out of your pit! 1. Sup with Me.  Spend quality time with with Me. 2. Trust Me!  Believe Me again. 3. Stop looking around you and look within instead.  All of the answers are there within you because I live within you. 4. Time spent with Me changes your mindset and you realize that you are welcome at My table of plenty. 5. No one and nothing is holding you back except for your skewed mindset.  You can  think new thoughts and not project the past onto the future! 6.  NO FEAR! 7. Know that your circumstances, and how others mistreat you, cannot hold you back or stop My plan for your life. 8. Speak up and speak out with My Spirit guiding you. 9. Cease striving after validation and being understood, for your worth comes from Me.  10. You can't put old wine into new wineskins where I am leading you and calling you. 11.

My latest Scripture song to bless you and bring you into the Lord’s Presence.

I am preparing to teach a Bible study on the book of Colossians.  As part of this, the writer of the study asks us to read the entire book of Colossians out loud. So I started to read it out loud this morning and I couldn't get past verse 11 of the first chapter. It is so rich, so meaningful, so full of the mercy, grace, and the riches of Christ that "I scarce can take it in."  I could go no further.  It was simply too much to take in. It was a good kind of being overwhelmed.  Overwhelmed by the goodness and mercy of Christ.  Overwhelmed by all we possess when we are in Him.  Overwhelmed because it is just too much to fully comprehend. I thought of how I just couldn't take it all in and then remembered this verse from the hymn, "How Great Thou Art."  The lyricist is talking about Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross, and the vast love of God Who sent Jesus to die for our sins.  The songwriter could barely take it all in. Neither can I. And reading Colo

Waiting for something to happen that only God can do for you? Believing that God is working behind the scenes on our behalf, when nothing is happening in the natural, is a test of faith. We think we know when a provision or deliverance should happen.  We don't. That is up to the Lord. If you have known Jesus for any length of time, you have experienced what are known as "divine delays."  They are not meant to be understood (or even enjoyed!).   But know this.  If what you are expecting God to do is part of His plan and will for your life, it is coming! Do not see a delay as a "no" or as it not happening ever.  But see it as on the way.  This perspective will give you new hope and life as you wait on God. I experienced this recently in a very mundane way.  I placed my usual weekly grocery order for home delivery.  Normally, I am able to edit my order, remove items, add items, up until a few hours before it is delivered. But this week, there was a glitch on the we

I recently finished teaching a 6-week study on Habakkuk from Dannah Gresh's book. Here are a few takeaways that I gleaned. Habakkuk was a prophet of God. He seems to start out self-focused but eventually comes around to aim his focus on God instead. This, I believe, is the daily choice we all face throughout our faith walk with Christ. Will we choose to let the cares of this world affect us, have more import in our souls than Christ? Or will we choose to trust in Him no matter what? Habakkuk had a relationship with God. That's where it all starts for each of us. How we respond in and to that relationship is entirely up to us. Pause and think on that! The God of the universe, the One holding everything together, deigns to have a relationship with us! And most are wandering through this life without knowing Him at all. I say wandering, because if they are without Christ, they are lost. No exceptions. Habakkuk learns to cling to God. This means that he took his eyes off