Extravagant Worship

You know, I started this blog for a variety of reasons: to document/share our adoptions & other family moments; to "meet" other people in the midst of their journeys; but mostly to have the opportunity to externally process different things as I continue to evolve & grow in my faith.

Maybe it's that I haven't been out of the house in a few days, maybe it's the fact that small group had to be cancelled tonight due to illness, maybe it's that I've had these thoughts that my 2-yr-old has no interest in wanting to process with me...whatever, the bottom line is I needed to get this out of my system!!!

Here's the thing...we had a really good sermon in church on Sunday about "Extravagant Worship". I think the word "worship" brings to mind singing, raising hands, "churchy" stuff. But the sermon on Sunday was an awesome reminder that it is so much more than that, which got me to doing some reading. I found some really cool stuff, so I thought I'd share it with you...it sure made me do some thinkin' & since we won't be having small group tonight to hash these things out, I'd love to hear any thoughts! (This would be me saying I have a case of ACD--Adult Conversation Deprivation!)

Some Definitions of "Extravagant": Spending much more than necessary or wise; excessively high; exceeding the bounds of reason; going beyond what is deserved or justifiable (my emphasis b/c I was especially struck by those two)

Some Definitions of "Worship":

"Worship is the believer's response of all that they are - mind, emotions, will, body - to what God is and says and does." ~Warren Wiersbe

"Worship of the living & true God is essentially an engagement with Him on the terms that He proposes & in the way that He alone makes possible." ~David Peterson

"Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose--and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable & therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin & the source of all actual sin."

~William Temple's (1881-1944) Readings in St. John's Gospel

I found much encouragement in these definitions. For me, it says that I need to strive to live my life in such a way that I am giving every bit of who I am to Him, beyond what this world deems to be normal or acceptable...

LIVING OUT LOUD,

OUTSIDE OF THE BOX,

FOR HIS GLORY!

EVERY DAY...

IN EVERYTHING...

PRAISING HIM ALL THE WHILE,

OPEN & TRUSTING TO HIS PLANS FOR ME.

Amen. :o)