Mary Margaret May

I have really been getting into pro football recently. Most of the time I just watch college football but this season I have watched more football than I ever have! I have loved watching Tim Tebow and I am sad the Broncos didn’t make it to the playoffs. His Christian witness has just been unbelievable. Has there ever been a pro football player as outspoken about their faith as he is?? I am just so thankful that young people today (and adults for that matter) have a positive role model to look up to in the midst of all these reality TVs show characters and crazy celebrities. How refreshing is it to see such a pro football player have his number one motivation not be fame or fans but winning people to Christ? It’s just amazing. I hope the Lord keeps him strong because I’m sure the Devil loves to attack him since he is so public about his faith.  And it really seems to be a genuine faith too.  I really think he is the same way on the field as he is off (I hope I am not just wanting to think that haha!).  But seriously, he has a look in his eyes that looks honest.  You know what I mean?  The eyes reveal so much…who was it that said “the eyes are the window of the soul”? I think Tim has that look in his eyes.

Just recently I heard that every week during the season he would seek out a person with a debilitating illness and spend time with them during that week and visit with that person and their family before and after the game. How amazing is that?? I mean, I have a hard enough time as it is socializing with people before I have to sing a big concert and here this guy is, about to play a huge game with loads of money at stake on national television, and instead of drilling plays and what-not, he is investing in the life of someone else less fortunate. Wow. I hope the Lord continues to bless this guy and allows his Christian witness to remain constant, even when the critics are rising up against him.  The Lord is really working through Tim.  He has been such an encouragement to me not just to be a better person, but to be a better witness for the Kingdom and to see every moment here in the light of eternity. To do everything here to the glory of God because He is the one who gives us the ability to be and do anything in this life. Tim Tebow seems to know where is faith and talents come from.

Here are some of my favorite things that he has said:

If you’re married, and you have a wife, and you really love your wife, is it good enough to only say to your wife ‘I love her’ the day you get married? Or should you tell her every single day when you wake up and every opportunity? And that’s how I feel about my relationship with Jesus Christ is that it is the most important thing in my life.

On the field I’m trying to play for the glory of God but then also I’m trying to give everything I have and win and compete. And so I think more than just winning or losing, I think He cares about where our hearts are when we’re playing.

But – but the greatest way to witness is by walking that straight and narrow and also realizing that you’re going to mess up. That’s what grace is for. We’re going to fall, but we’ve got to get back up. And you’ve got to improve. And that’s what I’m all about.

Wow! I actually didn’t intend for this post to be about Tim Tebow but it just went in that direction! I was going to talk about how much I LOVE football but I ended up talking about something else…but still related to my initial idea. I am praying for this guy and I hope the Lord continues to use him in a big and mighty way!

Well to start off this new year, I decided to start a new devotional book.  I really want to try to be more consistent about reading it everyday because last year I started a devotional book in January and quit reading it around March. I don’t want to do that this year!  I picked up Calvin’s Heart Aflame which is a daily reading from Calvin’s Commentary on Psalms.  First of all, I love the title. It really grabbed my attention. Hey, I want a heart aflame! I also really like the forward by Sinclair Ferguson because he starts off by admitting that Calvin’s name is not usually the first name that pops into one’s mind when looking for some light, inspirational material to jumpstart your day. His writings are very deep and theological and require lots of mulling over and contemplation.  However, the way the excerpts are edited (still using Calvin’s exact words for the most part) makes for a very appropriate way to start the day.   Included in each daily entry is just enough Calvin to get the day going.  He starts in Psalm one and goes all the way to the end of the book.  Right now I am on day 13 (yay I am actually keeping up to date!) and we will have spent yesterday, today, and tomorrow on Psalm 8.

What has me so excited about completing this book is what Ferguson said:  “…in these pages you will find the Spirit-inspired biblical anatomy of the Psalms and the hands of an outstanding physician and surgeon of the spirit.  Reading them (the Psalms) on a daily basis can hardly fail to bring you spiritual health and strength.”  That is what I want this year.  At the end of 2012, I want to be closer to the Lord than I was at the beginning of the year, and I am hoping that reading the Psalms everyday along with Calvin’s corresponding commentary will do just that.  I feel quite confident that they will, so I am pretty excited to see how the Lord will use this book and the Psalms in my life over the course of this year.  I don’t see how it would be even possible for me to not have changed by the end of the year.  I think that will be pretty impossible!

Some of my favorite things Calvin has said so far have been:

“…let us in circumstances of distress, have ever before our eyes the providence of God, to whom it belongs to settle the affairs of the world, and to bring order out of confusion.” (on Psalm 1)

“God principally proves his faithfulness in this, that he does not forsake the work of his own hands, but continually defends those whom he has once received into his favour.” (on Psalm 2)

“Christ collects the dispersed remnants of his people from all quarters and keeps them joined together by the sacred bond of faith, so that not one corner only, but the whole world, is subjected to his authority.” (on Psalm 2)

“Those only can be truly and perfectly happy who are interested in the favour of God, and they ought to live as strangers and pilgrims in the world, in order through hope and patience to obtain, in due time, a better life.” (on Psalm 4).

This last one has been my favorite quotation so far.  It makes me think of Van Morrison‘s song “Astral Weeks”:  “I’m nothing but a stranger in this world; I’ve got a home on high”.  This world is NOT our home! We are waiting for pearly gates and streets of gold and the everlasting presence of our heavenly Father who will wipe away tears from ALL faces.  This world is not all there is!  It gets SO much better!!!

Just reading the Psalms themselves does the heart and soul a world of good.  But I am so excited about finding out what Calvin has to say about all of them, since he described the Psalms as “an anatomy of all parts of the soul” and that “every experience, every emotion, all the heights and depths, all the joys and sorrows, all the mysteries of human life, are here (in the Psalms).”

Until next time 🙂

Thank you for checking out my blog! I am really excited to have this outlet so you all can get to know me a little better by taking a peak into my thoughts and know what is going on in my life!  Feel free to post comments!  I love hearing from you all.  For my first post, I want to share with you all my thoughts on Christmas and what it has come to mean to me.

What really happened that winter night?  Was Jesus’ birth different from any other?  Did the wise men have any real reason to think something special had happened?  They may not have fully grasped it—we may not either—but Jesus’ birth was special, even glorious.

I love Christmas because it serves as an annual reminder of the miracle of John 1, that with this baby’s humble, virgin birth, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. God came down from Heaven to do for us that which we could not do for ourselves.  He lived out the Word perfectly for us and then died in our place. Why did He have to die even though He was innocent? He died because God is a just God who requires payment for sin, and He chose as the only sacrifice capable to cover our sins – the sinless life of His Son Jesus.  All those who believe and trust in His perfect sacrifice will have everlasting life.

Christmas is at the heart of God’s redemptive plan, a plan of salvation that this baby would undertake to glorify His Father and demonstrate His love for His people.  That is why we sing at Christmas!  When Jesus was born, the depth of what He came to do had not yet been revealed.  There were no fireworks, no trumpets.  It was a silent night but a holy night indeed.  But now that His work has been revealed, we have all the reason to rejoice in song and give thanks for what this child, God in the flesh, came into the world to accomplish that first Christmas night. We rejoice that even though He could have come with all splendor, yet it pleased the Father that He enter as a tiny baby in a manger.  We rejoice in the humility of our Savior coming down to earth from His glorious Heavenly reign to take on human flesh and dwell among us, living for us because we could not live without Him.

As always, I want to thank my incredibly supportive parents and sister.  They are better to me than I deserve.  Lastly, but certainly not least, I want to thank my phenomenal producer, Larry Hall.  This product would not be what it is without his dedication to the Lord and to music, as well as his firm belief in me and the music we can make together.  The Lord is so mercifully gracious to allow me to have such wonderful people in my life to help me along the way.  It is a blessing for which I am deeply grateful.

May Jesus be the source of your joy and peace this Christmas.

With love,
Mary Margaret