Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

If you travel in Christian circles at all, you have undoubtedly heard somewhere along the line that God has a plan for your life. You may have even heard that God has a wonderful plan for your life. Only problem is, our definition of wonderful is not the same as God's. How do I know?  Experience. We're American.  So our idea of "wonderful" has been molded by idealistic dreaming - as long as you are living the American  dream, you are doing well. But is that God's idea of wonderful?  What exactly is God getting at with His plans for our lives? Our hearts. Pure and simple. He wants our hearts. The seat of life, emotions, dreams, hopes, affections, desires - these are what our hearts hold. Once our hearts belong to Christ, His plans are able to fully work in and through and for us. He has and wants good things for us because He is a good God. But if we've lived any length of time, somewhere along the way - either frequently or not - our hearts have been broken, b

Did your flesh prick just then?  "Hey!  They are MY desires!  I can want whatever I want!" Are you in the habit of yielding to Jesus on everything?  If not, then yes, the title of this blog will prick your flesh. Am I serious?  You betcha! When you think about it, it's our desires that either lead us into good or bad choices.  Problem is, the bad ones can feel  good in the moment. So what's a girl to do? Run it by Jesus!  Jesus, is this desire of and from You?  Or is it only me? Or worse, the enemy? Desires, wishes, and feelings will come against us from our own deceitful hearts!  Yes, even those of us whose hearts are indwelt by the Holy Spirit can be led astray by our desires. Now to be sure, God can also lead us through our desires.  Most Christians have Psalm 37:4 memorized.   But we're complicated creatures.  We've been programmed by so many sources throughout our lives, not all of which were in our best interest. How to we truly discern between good and