Often times in the Bible, God would do something significant in the life of someone, and in turn, they would offer a song of praise, straight from their heart to Him.
For instance, when God parted the Red Sea, and the Israelites crossed it. Afterward Miriam offered a song of praise to God. We also see it after the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her that she was going to be with child. Mary turned and offered a song of praise to her Heavenly Father.
One day, a couple of weeks before Christmas, as I was getting ready for work, I was thinking about Christ’s birth, and what that means to me. I thought about the awesome relationship that I have with Him. I thought about all that He’s done in my life, and as I pondered all of that, I thought, “Jesus, I am so glad you came to this earth.”
As I soaked up the awesomeness of Him, who He is, and what He’s done, this song of praise came forth, straight from my heart to Him. I thought that you might be able to relate to it too. Worship with me.
“I’m So Glad You Came” copyright Melissa Milbourn 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
That's the last time I say I'm bored
Last night Denny, Maren and I were sitting in the living room talking about how bored we were when we got a call from my stepdad. "Missy", he said. "I've got your Mom over here at the hospital. We think she might be having a heart attack." That ended the boredom pretty quickly.
We quickly changed out of our jammies, and made a mad rush to the emergency room. When we arrived she was still in quite a bit of pain, but her vitals seemed pretty good. They had given her nitro for the heart, and morphine for the pain. She was able to carry on a regular conversation with us.
We went back over this morning, and found her in MUCH less pain, and much more like herself. Josh was being really funny while we were in there, and it was cracking her up. All the way over, Josh kept saying, "when we get there, I'm not saying anything. Even if she talks to me, I'm not saying anything." He was really nervous about talking to his Grandma in the hospital.
However, once we got there, he was anything but quiet.
For some reason, he wanted to know if she could go to the bathroom okay. I guess because she was hooked up to so many wires, he wasn't sure how she could get there with all that apparatus attached. She told him that they didn't really want her up, but she could get up to go to the bathroom. Then he wanted to know, if she got caught, would the hospital police come get her. We chuckled at his question, but he replied, "well, I don't know, I've never been to the hospital before." Which, thankfully, is true. So, we appreciated and respected his questions, and tried to answer them as seriously as possible.
He must have been in a questioning kind of mood, because after that, we went to the mall, and he continued to ask me questions like, "how did they put this floor down?" I answered, "one square at a time." then he asked, "How come that wall doesn't go all the way to the ceiling?", I said "i don't know Josh." He determined that maybe they ran out of wood. He was funny today.
Anyway, my Mom is back home now. All of her tests came back negative for heart attack. So she has to go back to the doctor later this week for more blood work and a stress test. Please keep her in your prayers.
We quickly changed out of our jammies, and made a mad rush to the emergency room. When we arrived she was still in quite a bit of pain, but her vitals seemed pretty good. They had given her nitro for the heart, and morphine for the pain. She was able to carry on a regular conversation with us.
We went back over this morning, and found her in MUCH less pain, and much more like herself. Josh was being really funny while we were in there, and it was cracking her up. All the way over, Josh kept saying, "when we get there, I'm not saying anything. Even if she talks to me, I'm not saying anything." He was really nervous about talking to his Grandma in the hospital.
However, once we got there, he was anything but quiet.
For some reason, he wanted to know if she could go to the bathroom okay. I guess because she was hooked up to so many wires, he wasn't sure how she could get there with all that apparatus attached. She told him that they didn't really want her up, but she could get up to go to the bathroom. Then he wanted to know, if she got caught, would the hospital police come get her. We chuckled at his question, but he replied, "well, I don't know, I've never been to the hospital before." Which, thankfully, is true. So, we appreciated and respected his questions, and tried to answer them as seriously as possible.
He must have been in a questioning kind of mood, because after that, we went to the mall, and he continued to ask me questions like, "how did they put this floor down?" I answered, "one square at a time." then he asked, "How come that wall doesn't go all the way to the ceiling?", I said "i don't know Josh." He determined that maybe they ran out of wood. He was funny today.
Anyway, my Mom is back home now. All of her tests came back negative for heart attack. So she has to go back to the doctor later this week for more blood work and a stress test. Please keep her in your prayers.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
This Christmas...
This morning as I’m up and at ‘em at 5am, I was sitting here in my quiet time pondering Christmas. This Christmas was actually pretty relaxing for me, at least once the Christmas Eve Service was behind us. I appreciated our Pastor, John’s, comments to me after the service when he said this, “There are three programs, the one you plan, the one you print, and the one that happens.” I chuckled at his remark, because it totally summed up that particular service. Things went AMAZINGLY smooth, just not as planned. But Christ was praised, and hearts were changed, as we celebrated the birth of Jesus.
Christmas Day started for us at around 5 am. We opened presents, and then I had a little cooking to do to before going to my Aunt and Uncles at 11 o’clock. There we spent some time with extended family members, and had a GREAT meal. We got home around 2, and then I took a three hour nap. Wow. I woke up and Josh was asleep beside me, so at some point during my nap, he must have decided to join me.
Yesterday, we were supposed to leave for Indy at around noon to pick up Will’s friend, Jon Rudy, from the airport. Jon lives in Pennsylvania, and what he wanted for Christmas was a plane ticket to come see Will. So, that’s what he got! However, I think he got a little more than he bargained for. His flight, which was supposed to leave at noon, didn’t end up leaving until about 5:30...so poor Jon had to spend about 7 hours (or more) at the airport.
However, because of his delay, I was able to get my music room in order. I got a new keyboard for Christmas. So I got it all hooked up, and made great progress as far as learning it’s various functions. I wanted a keyboard that would act as a “workstation” for me, so that I can do a better job of arranging and recording songs that I’ve written. I am loving this keyboard!
I get to enjoy one more day of holiday vacation before heading back to work tomorrow.
Christmas Day started for us at around 5 am. We opened presents, and then I had a little cooking to do to before going to my Aunt and Uncles at 11 o’clock. There we spent some time with extended family members, and had a GREAT meal. We got home around 2, and then I took a three hour nap. Wow. I woke up and Josh was asleep beside me, so at some point during my nap, he must have decided to join me.
Yesterday, we were supposed to leave for Indy at around noon to pick up Will’s friend, Jon Rudy, from the airport. Jon lives in Pennsylvania, and what he wanted for Christmas was a plane ticket to come see Will. So, that’s what he got! However, I think he got a little more than he bargained for. His flight, which was supposed to leave at noon, didn’t end up leaving until about 5:30...so poor Jon had to spend about 7 hours (or more) at the airport.
However, because of his delay, I was able to get my music room in order. I got a new keyboard for Christmas. So I got it all hooked up, and made great progress as far as learning it’s various functions. I wanted a keyboard that would act as a “workstation” for me, so that I can do a better job of arranging and recording songs that I’ve written. I am loving this keyboard!
I get to enjoy one more day of holiday vacation before heading back to work tomorrow.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Merry Christmas!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS from The Milbourn's, or as our friends the Scott's call us, The Wilburn's! Praying that you'll have a BLESSED holiday!!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Relationships - Part 2
When I wrote last night’s post, I figured there would be a part 2…and there is, but it looks a lot different than what I thought it would. God changed the look of it today, with one e-mail from a client. Before I actually tell you what the client said, let me first give you some history of my relationship with this particular gentle-man.
I lose track of time, but I’m going to estimate that about five years ago, I started doing business with this client who owns a local retail outlet. The reason I attained the account was because he and his current sales rep weren’t getting along. They had a disagreement, and this client was very upset with both his account rep as well as with our television station. So they switched reps and gave the account to me. That’s where our relationship started. I was the “clean up” crew. My job was to go in and mend fences, so to speak.
To be honest, it was a fairly easy job, simply because this guy is a good guy. He was not happy with his former rep, but he did not hold it against me. After our station management went in and apologized, the slate was wiped clean, and I was off to a fresh start with this client.
For whatever reason, we seemed to really hit it off. From the beginning, I could not get in and out of his office in less than an hour because we would always end up having some great conversations. A lot of times his wife would be there, and sometimes his kids would be running in and out, so we got to know each other on a personal level. Often times, our conversations would turn to “spiritual talk”. He knew who I was, and I knew who he was. And who he was spiritually, was a self-proclaimed agnostic. He was bold about it, but never cocky, and never argumentative…nor was I. I would listen to his thoughts on spirituality, and he would listen as I talked about my relationship with my best friend, Jesus.
I could tell he was searching. He knew WAY more about other religions than I did because he had researched nearly all of them. Mormon’s, Hindu’s, Islam, you name it, he knew about it. As the years went by, I saw a gradual increase in his “openness” toward Christ.
A few months ago, we had one of our best “spiritual” talks ever…and he seemed different this time. I could tell he was more open than ever. He talked about how he had recently gone to a funeral, and he felt God’s presence…I don’t know that he used those exact words, but that’s what he was saying. We talked for nearly two hours that day, and I left him with my “Blue Like Jazz” book.
We’ve had a couple of conversations since then, and they were SO good. It definitely seemed like there was something different. His searching seemed to becoming more intense, and I sensed him rounding a spiritual corner toward Christ. His constant searching touched my heart, and I began to pray more fervently for him. His mother was having some health issues, and she began asking him questions about God, so now, he wasn’t only searching for himself, but for his mom.
So, this brings me to today. Today, I walked in from lunch and checked my e-mail. I had an e-mail from him, that made me cry, no, weep. He was responding to some business info that I had sent him. Here’s what the e-mail said: (I copy and pasted it)
Thanks for the info. I have finished your "blue like jazz" book. It is at the store and you can stop at your leisure. I enjoyed it a great deal. Good to know others have walked a less traveled path. I will give you a good one from another book I am finishing. A quote from Pascal that there are two kinds of reasonable people"those who serve God with all their heart because they know Him, and those who seek Him with all their heart because they do not know Him" Keep that one and think of me. Merry Christmas Melissa.
Why did this e-mail touch me so? Maybe it’s because it so perfectly describes he and I. I serve God with all my heart because I know Him, and he is seeking God with all his heart because he doesn’t know Him. Maybe it’s because I can hear a passionate, almost desperate heart cry of one searching desperately for God to show Himself to him. Or maybe it’s because for years now, I’ve been on this journey with him, and he is now confessing to me, that he, a self proclaimed agnostic, is now seeking God with all his heart. The mere thought of that makes me weep because I know what comes next….The Word says this, “You will seek me and FIND me, when you seek me with ALL YOUR HEART”. Jeremiah 29:13
I’m claiming that verse for my client friend, and praying that this Christmas, he’ll get the greatest gift ever. The gift of eternal life. The gift of a relationship with Jesus. The gift of love lavished on him by our Heavenly Father, served up and poured out in only the way that our God can. If you were patient enough to read thru this, would you please say a prayer for my friend as well?
Wow. Our relationships. God cares about our relationships. Who has God placed in your life? We must be aware of our relationships. God has us in them for a reason…to glorify His name. He LOVES people.
“I sought to hear the voice of God and climbed the topmost steeple, but God declared: ‘go down again, I dwell among the people”. John Henry Newman
I lose track of time, but I’m going to estimate that about five years ago, I started doing business with this client who owns a local retail outlet. The reason I attained the account was because he and his current sales rep weren’t getting along. They had a disagreement, and this client was very upset with both his account rep as well as with our television station. So they switched reps and gave the account to me. That’s where our relationship started. I was the “clean up” crew. My job was to go in and mend fences, so to speak.
To be honest, it was a fairly easy job, simply because this guy is a good guy. He was not happy with his former rep, but he did not hold it against me. After our station management went in and apologized, the slate was wiped clean, and I was off to a fresh start with this client.
For whatever reason, we seemed to really hit it off. From the beginning, I could not get in and out of his office in less than an hour because we would always end up having some great conversations. A lot of times his wife would be there, and sometimes his kids would be running in and out, so we got to know each other on a personal level. Often times, our conversations would turn to “spiritual talk”. He knew who I was, and I knew who he was. And who he was spiritually, was a self-proclaimed agnostic. He was bold about it, but never cocky, and never argumentative…nor was I. I would listen to his thoughts on spirituality, and he would listen as I talked about my relationship with my best friend, Jesus.
I could tell he was searching. He knew WAY more about other religions than I did because he had researched nearly all of them. Mormon’s, Hindu’s, Islam, you name it, he knew about it. As the years went by, I saw a gradual increase in his “openness” toward Christ.
A few months ago, we had one of our best “spiritual” talks ever…and he seemed different this time. I could tell he was more open than ever. He talked about how he had recently gone to a funeral, and he felt God’s presence…I don’t know that he used those exact words, but that’s what he was saying. We talked for nearly two hours that day, and I left him with my “Blue Like Jazz” book.
We’ve had a couple of conversations since then, and they were SO good. It definitely seemed like there was something different. His searching seemed to becoming more intense, and I sensed him rounding a spiritual corner toward Christ. His constant searching touched my heart, and I began to pray more fervently for him. His mother was having some health issues, and she began asking him questions about God, so now, he wasn’t only searching for himself, but for his mom.
So, this brings me to today. Today, I walked in from lunch and checked my e-mail. I had an e-mail from him, that made me cry, no, weep. He was responding to some business info that I had sent him. Here’s what the e-mail said: (I copy and pasted it)
Thanks for the info. I have finished your "blue like jazz" book. It is at the store and you can stop at your leisure. I enjoyed it a great deal. Good to know others have walked a less traveled path. I will give you a good one from another book I am finishing. A quote from Pascal that there are two kinds of reasonable people"those who serve God with all their heart because they know Him, and those who seek Him with all their heart because they do not know Him" Keep that one and think of me. Merry Christmas Melissa.
Why did this e-mail touch me so? Maybe it’s because it so perfectly describes he and I. I serve God with all my heart because I know Him, and he is seeking God with all his heart because he doesn’t know Him. Maybe it’s because I can hear a passionate, almost desperate heart cry of one searching desperately for God to show Himself to him. Or maybe it’s because for years now, I’ve been on this journey with him, and he is now confessing to me, that he, a self proclaimed agnostic, is now seeking God with all his heart. The mere thought of that makes me weep because I know what comes next….The Word says this, “You will seek me and FIND me, when you seek me with ALL YOUR HEART”. Jeremiah 29:13
I’m claiming that verse for my client friend, and praying that this Christmas, he’ll get the greatest gift ever. The gift of eternal life. The gift of a relationship with Jesus. The gift of love lavished on him by our Heavenly Father, served up and poured out in only the way that our God can. If you were patient enough to read thru this, would you please say a prayer for my friend as well?
Wow. Our relationships. God cares about our relationships. Who has God placed in your life? We must be aware of our relationships. God has us in them for a reason…to glorify His name. He LOVES people.
“I sought to hear the voice of God and climbed the topmost steeple, but God declared: ‘go down again, I dwell among the people”. John Henry Newman
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