i surrender all...

(i woke up with this song in my heart...)

it is a very old song that was played almost every sunday in church.
at the end of the church service, there would be an altar call,
where the pastor asks everyone to close their eyes and raise their hand
if they'd like to ask Jesus into their heart,
and then asks all those who raised their hand to come forward, down to the altar,
where there would be someone who would lead them in prayer.
sometimes the altar call was for those of us who had
'forgotten their first Love'
and wanted to renew their intimate relationship with Jesus.

but, regardless of why we raised our hands,
regardless of how nerve-wracking it was to walk down the aisle
in front of everyone else,
regardless of how much easier it would be to just stay in your seat...
once you get there, once you reach the altar,
you never want to get back up again.
and you just can't believe how you lasted this long
without that precious relationship with our divine Brother, Jesus.
does this sound familiar?

did you walk away from Jesus to pursue another path?
when you're the only one still awake at night and you feel
a familiar ache in your heart of hearts, but you just can't place it,
do you feel regret for the choices you've made?

the thing is, if we've just met Jesus or if we desire to renew
our relationship with Him all over again,
He is right there at the door to your heart,
waiting for you to just open up.

no human being can ever fill that demanding void within us...
it belongs to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
and if you've just met Him and asked Him into your heart to be
your Lord, Savior, Brother and closest Friend,
or you really want to but don't know how,
please feel free to email me at: laineyrose7@yahoo.com -
i would love to pray with you...

and if you already know Jesus but have walked away from Him,
please remember it is not too late to turn around...
He's right there, He's still right there,
He's always there...


I SURRENDER ALL
"All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In his presence daily live.

I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to thee,
my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me Jesus,
take me now.

I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to thee,
my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

Lord I give to You
All I ever had
And everything I was
And everything I am
And now I lay it down
I lay it at Your feet
To Your grace
To Your power
I surrender all...
God i give myself to thee...
fill me with thy love and power...
let thy blessings fall on me...

I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to thee,
my blessed Savior,
I surrender all...

All to thee,
my blessed Savior,
I surrender all..."

on bended knees...

Please, dear Father,

heal Your children...
heal the hurting
heal the broken
restore us unto You
re-build
renew
and refresh
we need You so desperately, dearest Father...
unite us
heal us
gather us together once again
'once for all'
wash our hearts
til they are white as snow
mend our broken bones
and broken spirits
help us see Your hand outstretched
help us drink from Your cup of cool water

and like this song -
help us surrender all
on bended knees
with humbled hearts
and listening ears

You, who is the only One who truly knows and loves us...
we freely admit that we can't live without You...

help us remember:

just as i am
refiners fire
upstairs prayers and Bible studies
sharing tears and triumphs
coffee and silly philosophy
kneeling before the Great I Am
keith green
worship-team
praising You, our One and greatest First Love
united, not divided
found not lost
hopeful not hopeless...

we love You, precious Father of us all...
we love You, dearest Brother Divine
we love You, blessed Holy Spirit

and in the end,
we belong to You all

we are Your children and we need You Father 
today, tomorrow and for always...

where He is...

Today, my morning devotional reminded me to do a lil self-inventory
and remember all the wonderful things God has done and been in my life...
to look back and remember all the prayer requests He has answered.

and I am thankful...
there have been many times that my prayer requests have been answered.
all sorts of requests as minute as helping me with my yard work all the way to
keeping my children safe and sound in His arms.

sometimes when we pray and pray over a particular request, and we don't see
any results, we can start to become embittered towards our Father.

we ask Him:

why won't You help me???
You can see what this means to me -
You can see my absolute heartache -
you can see my overwhelming weariness!

we want to yell into the vast silence:

WHERE ARE YOU, GOD ???

so, I write this for us all...

He is there...He is alive...and He loves you so very much!

our Father is honestly doing so many things
"behind the scenes"
that we simply cannot see or comprehend.

He is not sleeping, on a coffee-break or vacation.
He is not indifferent to your cries, pleas or heartache.
He feels everything you feel...your joys and sorrows both.
He has not forgotten you or any of your petitions before Him.

He is our Father...
Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient.
(All-powerful), (All-present - yesterday, today and tomorrow) & (All-knowing).

He loves you.
you can trust Him, with your dreams, fears and your very life,
because all you are and ever will be,
lies within His all-capable hands.

He'll never turn His back on you.
He will always forgive you when you are repentant.
He will always protect you when you need protecting,
save you when you need saving
carry you when you need carrying
and encourage you when you need encouraging.

Whatever trial or circumstance you're going through right now,
please know your Father is right beside you every moment of every day...

because that's just who He is.

if you've given up...

I know there are children of God who have given up...
who've lost their way and lost their faith.
and who somehow have come to believe that God has lost his faith and given up on them.

i just want you to know that it's not true.
no matter where you are today or where you'll be tomorrow, He is still there with you...
wherever you may go.

please don't give up...

if you've come to Him and prayed and prayed over something or someone who's broken your heart -
and you've yet to see any results,
please know that any delay in answered prayer is only because His timing has to be extraordinarily precise.
He hasn't forgotten you, your prayers, your sorrows or your pain...

Let me say it again...
He hasn't forgotten you.

He loves you and will never leave or forsake you...
so, if you've 'had enough', walked away and are too weary to pray anymore...
that's okay, because He hasn't.

He's got strength enough for the both of you.
lean on Him, today and remember,
if you feel forsaken, forgotten and unseen
the proof of His enduring and everlasting love is right there for all to see and remember...

He watched His blameless, spotless, only begotten Son, die -
so that we might live in eternity with Him...

and He did that
                         just
                               for
                                    you...