2012

Last year, God gave me the perfect verse that He knew I would need for the year. As this new year came around, I started thinking about a verse for this year. As the days have gone by, not one verse has stood out to me and screamed "Here I am!" But I believe God uses other means of speaking to our hearts that are Scripture based. The song that I have heard over and over that reverberates in my mind day in and day out is "Blessed Be Your Name."

Blessed be Your Name

In the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name

When I'm found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name

When the sun's shining down on me

When the worlds all as it should be

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering

Though there's pain in the offering

Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord blessed be Your name

The hardest part of this song for me to sing is that last part. You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name. That part gets me every time and I often have to stop singing and say "God, do I really and truly choose to bless You for everything?"

Four years ago tomorrow, I gave birth to my sweet Toree. Last year, we said goodbye to my daddy and niece. Yet somehow, I must choose to say "Lord blessed be Your name." I don't understand. I don't know why. I wish it were different, but yet I bless Your name. That is not an easy thing to do.

So this year, I choose to say "Blessed be Your name."