how great our Lord is.

church today was pretty edifying. pastor aow was sharing with us from ephesians 5:1-21, and somehow the sermon really spoke to me. sometimes we truly forget that we ought to be living as God intended us to live; we tend to take the easier way out, because, well, it's easier. i was caught between this feeling of extreme guilt and thankfulness for the reminder throughout the sermon. God really does prompt each and every one of us in the smallest of ways to reflect on what we've done.

one hymn that was stuck in my head after the service:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, Who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, Who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

Praise to the Lord, Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, who, when tempests their warfare are waging,
Who, when the elements madly around thee are raging,
Biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace,
Whirlwinds and waters assuaging.

Praise to the Lord, who, when darkness of sin is abounding,
Who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding,
Sheddeth His light, chaseth the horrors of night,
Saints with His mercy surrounding.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

one particular part of the song that really remained with me was: "what need or grief, ever hath failed of relief? wings of His mercy did shade thee." i keep forgetting how GOOD God has been to me. He's protected me from so many things that others have been susceptible to. i truly have led a blessed life, and sometimes i'm just too caught up in my own mini-melodramas that i forget how BLESSED a life i've been given.

today i watched two new lives being brought into the world. [don't ask how come, because i'm not allowed to tell you.] but man, it was miraculous. seeing little eyes opening, taking their first gander at the world they've been brought into. [even though i know they actually don't see anything until they're about five days old, it was still a very moving experience for me.] especially when a little baby girl's eyes flickered open for the first time and those black pupils fixed themselves [or seemed to fix them] on my face. there was this strange curdling in my stomach and an awesome new appreciation for the beauty of life. perfection in those little, fragile human beings. God's creations.

it overwhelms me.

ciao.