Word of the Week: JOY

Joy. Pure joy!

She ran, skipped, and jumped along the path through the ‘jungle’.

The spark of joy revealed in her eyes at the sight of the flower-strewn path was absolutely priceless.

I could feel her excitement as clearly as I could see it on her face. If the essence of pure joy were to ever be bottled, I think it would contain energy dispersed by two year old children at play!

The third candle of advent is JOY.

I’ve anticipated this holiday trip that we are currently on for many months. I counted down the weeks and days with excitement. Each moment of the 27 hours that we spent journeying to Australia from Belize was worth every second. Our time of traveling brought us to a place of hugs, laughter, smiles, story times, climbing towers, pushing swings, dressing stuffed animals, and baking cookies.

The trip was long, the wait was hard, but the joy we felt upon arrival erased the aches and pains of all the miles that separate us from family.

Many years ago, before our children were born, Tom’s grandmother Sharp baked Christmas cookies for us.

Tom’s mother picked up the tradition for our kids, and now it’s my turn with our son’s children.

Our children are 30 and 27. Our youngest was home with us for Christmas for the last time in 2012. We have only put up a tree once in the last five years. It’s been hard to find joy in an empty nest at Christmas.

Here, with our granddaughter, the joy is infectious. My heart swells with anticipation as we awaken each morning to discover what songs and stories she will enlighten us with for the day. I relax as my heart rises above the emotional hardships and the years of longing to grandparent in real life.

Joy creeps in as I marvel at the wonder in her eyes and cherish the hope born from her laughter.

I understand why a candle of JOY is needed as we countdown the days until the celebration of Christ's birth. Light cannot be overcome by darkness and the light of His joy is powerful enough to penetrate the human spirit.

I am grateful for my encounter with joy as my husband and I wait with our son and his family for the birth of their second child!

May God also fill your eyes with wonder and light up every corner of your life with His joy as you await the celebration of our King!

Word of the Week: LOVE

Love: A complex word comprised of four letters.

The second week of Advent is about LOVE.

Today, December 13, 2017, my husband and I celebrate 36 years of marriage.

As we spend our day traveling I can rest by his side and enjoy our time away together. The past few weeks were a chaotic whirlwind for us. I’d been rehearsing for our Belizean Christmas concert, preparing for speaking engagements, working in the counseling office, and promoting the concert on radio and tv. Between early morning commitments and late night practices I noticed it was getting hard to spend time soaking in God’s loving presence.

As the day of the concert drew near I felt like I was running on empty. With tear stained eyes I reached for my keys to head out the door once again. I stopped to cry for a moment on Tom’s shoulder. My body was wracked with pain as I stood there telling him how tired I was. He comforted me with soothing, understanding, and encouraging words. And then he sent me out the door with the emotional strength to do the next thing on my long list of to-do’s.

I’m grateful for those occasions when I can see, feel, and hear the loving voice of God speaking through my caring husband.

I’m grateful that though my husband's love in action I have seen God's unfailing love each and every day.

I’m grateful that Christ came to earth in human form to reveal to us what real love is.

I’m grateful for this Advent season, for this time of solitude, and for the depth of prayer that Jesus continually offers on our behalf before the Father.

It is so easy to get caught up in the busyness of ‘doing’ that we can miss out on ‘being’.

Slow down, lean in, and listen for His loving voice. That’s what I’m doing today...won’t you join me?! I wrote this song during a time of leaning in closely to listen to His voice.

Watch, sing along, and share it with someone who needs to take time out to seek God and worship Him!

Word of the Week: Exalt

 

Come let us tell of the LORD’s greatness;

let us exalt His name together.

Psalm 34:3 NLT

As we exalt the name of God together, we give honor to Who He is, What He has done, What He can do, and Why He cares for us.

I wrote this song to give honor and glory to the name of God.

As I penned each verse various names came to mind from the Word. When I finished the song I went back and counted the names of God that I had used.

I was astonished to discover 25 names of God in the song.

That means that there are:

25 ways to tell of His greatness.

25 ways ways to tell of Who He is.

25 ways to get to know Him more intimately.

25 ways to exalt Him!

Each time I sing this song, each time I talk about this song, my desire is to exalt Him. My desire is to know Him more deeply and make Him known.

How well do you know Him?

He is:

Yahweh
Creator
Sustainer
Deliverer
Almighty God
Marvelous
Way Maker
Counselor
King
Rock of Salvation
Amazing
Friend
Worthy
Foundation
Way
Truth
Strength
Alpha
Omega
Ancient of Days
Anointed One
Consuming Fire
Immanuel
High Priest
Lord of Lords

Let’s aim to know Him intimately and exalt His name together!

Created, Chosen, and Called for a Purpose

Your thumbprint testifies that you are a one-of-a-kind human being. Have you ever celebrated your uniqueness? Or have you doubted it? Or maybe feared it? Or felt alone because of it?

Psalm 139 is one of my absolute favorite passages. Probably because it reminds me that we are wonderfully complex individuals. I get excited pondering how David was compelled to praise God in verse 14 saying, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” God’s workmanship is us! And we should give praise to Him for the incredible, marvelous, complex way we are designed.

Treasuring ourselves is so difficult. If you’re like me you may have been taught to be humble. To let others sing your praises.

But, what happens when you go unnoticed

and feel unloved and invisible for too long?

How do you practice valuing yourself when no one seems to notice who you are? Our brains are wired for connection with others. We care more deeply about what others think than what we think at times. Belonging is one of the core desires of our soul. We long to feel wanted. To feel a part of the club.

Some of us struggle with the idea of standing out

because we so desperately desire to fit in.

@alidasharpmusic

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Even in the dailiness of life we aim for alikeness, doing the exact same thing day after day, work, school, Instagram, Facebook, emails, eat, sleep, repeat. The routine of life seems daunting at times. And it’s stressful to the mind. Facebook makes us envious, Instagram makes us hungry, and email keeps us working long hours. But our Designer handcrafted us for a greater purpose. A more unique purpose. My friend and music producer, Mervin Budram MD, says that “Knowing your identity is very important, however, knowing your life purpose is equally important as it charts out the road you're to take on this journey through life.”

In fact Merv feels so strongly about our purpose in life that he wrote a song about it.

And his song got me to thinking more about my purpose so I decided I needed to spend some time meditating on the word ‘purpose.’ I believe that we will comprehend the real meaning of our role on this planet when we recognize and embrace the purpose for which we were created, chosen, and called to fulfill. We will honor God in all that we do, bring Him glory through embracing all that we are created to be, when we wholeheartedly engage in living out our purpose.

We are Created for a Purpose

When we lived in Russia I crocheted quite a bit. I’m out of practice now but while we were in a colder climate I regularly made hats, scarves, and even sweaters. Each item I created was carefully planned. I made things to go with an outfit in mind, or a special event coming up, or as a gift. Each masterpiece had an intended purpose. In Ephesians 2:10 we read that each individual is a masterpiece of God, created anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things that He has planned for us. We were created with His purpose for us in mind.

We are Chosen for a Purpose

I’ve heard many people quote the passage about us being a chosen people from 1 Peter 2:9. It goes on to say, “You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” Because of who we are in Christ we are chosen to show others the goodness of God! Our lives when lived according to His plan glorifies and praises Him. What an incredible reason to live life to fullest and use each gift He graciously crafted within us.

We are Called for a Purpose

Often a look at Romans 8:28 is about trying to make sense of the painful and chaotic things that happen in life. I first heard this passage when we were grieving the stillbirth of our first child. (And just for the record that is not a good scripture to quote for someone who has just lost a baby.)

As we try to find light in the darkness of our lives we want some good to come out of the trial we are facing. And yet, I believe the last part of the verse is what reveals the priceless treasure in the passage. “Those who love God and are called according to His purpose”...that brings my struggles into perspective. I don’t have to worry or fret, or scheme or plan, He will make sense of it all because it’s a part of my calling. Because my calling is according to His purpose He will never waste a hurt or a trial that I face. He will use it to encourage, strengthen, inspire, or embolden someone else.

Our lives are our testimony of the grace, hope, and mercy of God.

Our lives have meaning and purpose

beyond what we can see.

We are created, chosen, and called for a purpose. @alidasharpmusic 

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Live life to the fullest. Live life with joy. Life your life knowing that you were born on purpose for a purpose!

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10 Reasons I Sing

Why sing? As I was reading through the Psalms I noticed the phrase 'I will sing.' As I compiled a list of verses that stood out for me they provoked me to ponder the words of an old song, “I sing because I’m happy and I sing because I’m free. His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.” I love to sing whether anyone else hears me or not, whether anyone chooses to sing along or not, I sing when I'm sad, I sing when I feel overjoyed.

And though I have many reasons to sing

they all basically fall into three categories;

to respond to God,

to recall what He has done,

and to reflect His glory.

Here are 10 reasons why I will sing His praises until my final breath:

1. Psalm 7:17    To praise Him because He is just
2. Psalm 9:2       To praise Him for filling me with joy
3. Psalm 13:6     To praise Him for His goodness
4. Psalm 40:3     To praise Him with new songs
5. Psalm 57:9     To praise Him for His forgiveness
6. Psalm 59:16   To praise Him for His power
7. Psalm 59:16   To praise Him for His unfailing love
8. Psalm 69:30   To praise His name
9. Psalm 75:9     To praise Him for His actions

 10. Psalm 104:33 To praise Him for life

There are some songs that I sing during quiet times alone with God. Just as I pray in the spirit, I also have times when I sing in the spirit. With candles lit and just the voice I cry out to Him in song.

As I lift my voice in praise I’m not worried about the notes, or what words may come. I simply repeat whatever I hear Him saying to me. Last week, after Tom had gone to bed. I got up because I couldn’t sleep. Whenever that happens I grab my bible, light some candles to avoid the harshness of the overhead lamp, and I pray. During the day I had been studying the name Yahweh. So I started reading through some of the verses I had studied earlier. I read Exodus 33:19 that God told Moses that He would pass in front of him and call out His own name.

This short video is the song that I heard God singing to me as I was seeking His face on that quiet dark night.

I'm in awe of how God chooses to reveal Himself to us. I love to sing and I love it when He writes the words of the songs. So for as long as I am alive, at all times, in every season and stage of life, God is worthy of praise, and I have a reason to sing.

Do you sing? I’d love to hear your reasons!

Life Uncommon

Check out the debut episode of our new talk show Life Uncommon!

Life Lessons from Women in the Lineage of Christ:

Life Lesson #1 from Tamar: What Are You Willing to Risk?

Life Lesson #2 from Rahab: Who Needs to Hear Your Testimony

Life Lesson #3 from Bathsheba: It's Not How You Start it's How You Finish




Life Lesson #4 From Mary: I Woke Up Like This!