Unspoken Blackbird Utterance

As I sit and sip my amazing Irish Cream Latte from Blackbird Coffeehouse and looking out the window on this beautiful, sunny day - it makes me feel very blessed and content. Life is Good. I have an amazing husband whom I deeply love and he loves me. We both love God and seek His best for us. I have an amazing family who have taught and raised me in the way I should go (not saying I always did lol). I have an incredible church family at Southern Fellowship Church. They are such a great group of people! I work with such wonderful people and I very much enjoy my job overall. We are like one big dysfunctional family! Haha. I live in a great City and live in a very nice apartment. I am blessed to live in a country where I have freedom to worship and live. I am blessed to able to attend SEU online. The Lord knew I have always wanted to go there and He provided! Above all, I am most blessed to be able to call God - Father. Daddy. Lover. Comforter. Healer. Alpha & Omega. Jehovah Jirah, My Provider. My safe Refuge. My Strength. My Savior. I could go on and on about describing who God is to me, but I think that would take up WAY too much space that no computer in the world put together could hold its capacity.

It has been a while since I have written, but it is good therapy for me. It makes me sit down and actually think and dwell on a lot of things. Including all my blessings. I know I am not perfect, but my God is perfect and the life He gave me is - even in it's imperfection. That's what makes a life a beautiful one. Having a life that is surrendered to God and how God always seems to overlook our faults, insecurities....but instead sees our possibilities through Him. "It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." (Ps. 18:32 NIV) God took my lifeless, insecure, unworthy, and sinful being and breathed life into my dry bones and brought a future, a hope, endless possibilities, unconditional love, and for me - He gave His only Son to die for MY sins. To drive this point a little further, God gave His only Son to die a beyond painful and humiliating death for me. Just me. If I were the only sinful person in this world, I think He would still do it anyway. I am not dis-counting anyone else or sounding self-centered in this. But think about it. He died for you personally. He died for me, Abigail Joy Richardson. What greater love is this?

Last week at Saturday Night Worship, we played a song called "Majesty". There were certain lyrics in this song that struck me sooo incredibly hard.

Here I am humbled by Your Majesty,
Covered by Your grace oh friend.
Here I am knowing I'm a sinful man,
Covered by the blood of the Lamb.

Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine,
Since You laid down Your life,
The greatest sacrifice.

Majesty, Majesty.
Your grace has found me just as I am,
Empty handed but alive in Your hands.

Here I am humbled by the love that You give,
Forgiven so that I can forgive.
So here I stand,
Knowing that I am Your desire,
Sanctified by glory and fire.
And now I've found the greatest love of all is mine,
Since You laid down Your life,
The greatest sacrifice.

When it says "Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine," BECAUSE HE LAID DOWN HIS LIFE. Because Jesus Christ died for me, the greatest love that anyone could ever feel, know, experience, and give is now mine. Ours. Yours. WOW. I have access to God's love. GOD'S LOVE. GOD'S LOVE. GOD'S LOVE!!!! WE HAVE ACCESS TO GOD'S UNCONDITIONAL, ALL-POWERFUL, SUSTAINING LOVE!

The song then goes on to say "Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am / Empty-handed, but alive in Your Hands." This still gets me. Last Saturday, that is how I truly felt. An empty-handed sinner in need of love and grace. Because of His grace, he found me even in my state of sin and emptiness. HE FOUND ME. And if I fully place my life in His Hands - I am ALIVE! Even as I write this, I am in awe of God and how much He loves me and wants me to succeed in this life. I want to succeed in this life - for Him, my Daddy. I feel like a little girl who wants to just curl up in her Daddy's loving, strong, secure arms and for Him to say he loves me and is proud of me and help guide me for what's next. (NOTE: I have a great, loving earthly father whom I deeply love! He is amazing just so you know - I was never deprived of love or affection growing up.) Having these feelings are I think good for me because it's a realization that I need to get back on the gravel road the Lord has me on and out of the grass right next to the road if you know what I mean. I have a terribly hard time keeping my priorities straight. God more often than not, gets pushed back on the back burner. It's never always intentional or necessarily noticed. It reminds me of something I read in my devotional one day. It talks about how we have so much pride to think that we can live, survive, and thrive in life if we think we can go without reading the Bible, praying, and worshipping on a daily consistent basis. Never realizing this, I had that mentality subconsciously. When I say this, I am guilty of it right now. I haven't spent much time with God lately and it really affects everything you do. We (esp me) tend to let other things take up our time, thoughts, and energies - instead of resting and being in the presence of God. I want to be in His presence daily, hourly, every minute and every second of the day. I NEED that. How do I expect to be able to give people who are dying and hungry "fruit" if I am not doing what I need to do to produce and maintain the "fruit"? This goes back to the song. "Empty-handed, but alive in Your Hands."

Well, I think I have typed your eyes off. If anything else, I am saying this all for me. It's like when you are talking with people and giving them godly advice or wisdom, sometimes you need to hear it more than them. Thanks for bearing with me through this journey.

I was in Southern Market last week and say a wooden sign that I just absolutely love. It said "Enjoy the Journey". So, I am choosing to enjoy this journey the Lord has me on, whether good or bad. In the end, it's not about me, but Him. So, enjoy the Journey the Lord has you on and keep pressing on towards the ultimate prize: Oneness with God, our Savior.

Blessings,
Abby