Image by Lawrence OP via FlickrMy apologies for yet another absence on here. I’ve been in somewhat of a “blogging slump” of late. No absence of ideas on what to blog on but an absence of clarity of thought in order to put them together. Of course, one of the things I do LOVE about this blog is it’s smaller, more intimate community that allows me more freedom to just blog and see what comes out.

There are times when having multiple blogs can be like a millstone around my neck. BUT, they all have a separate purpose and I use them all differently. It just means I can’t always blog to all of them all of the time.

Yesterday was my first time worship leading this year. I’ve been a worship leader for quite a number of years in our church. Over that time, things have changed a little in what is expected of the worship leader. And I guess I’ve grown and changed in how I worship lead.

To be completely honest, it’s not something I can really say I look forward to. I do enjoy it when I’m actually “in the moment”. And I know that God uses me when I worship lead (most of the time at least). But a lot of the time I find it a hard slog.

I still get nervous before I worship lead. But I think it’s a different kind of nerves to the “I have to stand up in front of a group of people” kind of nerves and more of a “this is a big responsibility and I’m pretty sure I’m not up to the task” kind of nerves. Or a “I hope I’m not doing this in my own strength because if I am I know I’m going to fall flat on my face” type nerves.

The good thing about those nerves is that they send me straight to the arms of the Father. I know without a doubt that without Him, I am nothing.

Sometimes I try too hard to have the exact right words to say. Sometimes I try to say too much.

This week was particularly hard. I haven’t been feeling all that great and we’d been out all day Saturday. We’re getting toward the end of the term and our four year old is extremely overtired right now. It makes him much less amicable to doing what we ask him to do.

Others around me were stressed with the rush of getting to church Sunday morning and expressing their stress to any and all who would listen. Stressing over things like getting the urn filled and turned on.

There really are so many things that distract us from focusing on God aren’t they?

It’s not that those things don’t matter to Him. Of course they do. But not when they get in the way of focusing on Him and the real reason we come to worship.

Interesting that the first song I had chose was this one:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

So simple and yet so powerful and so true.

Where are your eyes right now?

Are they on the things of earth or are they on Jesus?

Dear Lord, Forgive me when I take my eyes from you and focus too much on the day to day things of life here on earth. Help me to simply turn me eyes upon you and drink in your wonder and your grace. Amen