Ashira l’adonai!

Has God ever placed a couple words in your head so that you will be reminded of something constantly throughout the day? Ashira l’adonai- those are the words he chose to put in my head. They are from a Hebrew song that is used in The Prince of Egypt when Israel is delivered from Egypt. I’m not completely sure of how this song came up today, but its all I could think about, even to the point of singing it constantly throughout the day. Today the girls helped organize and clean out Alex and Leah’s office (the people we are staying with), and God knew that my attitude towards organizing isn’t always a good one- usually all of the time. He also knew that when I had the chance I would look up what Ashira l’adonai meant if he kept playing it in my head enough times. Ashira l’adonai means "I will sing to the Lord." And that’s what I did, all day. Even without knowing what it meant, my mood was changed to a positive one while cleaning and singing.

It has only been one and half days and all I feel like doing is praising God. Ashira l’adonai!

Alex and Leah Perez are our hosts, and they work with Children’s Camp International. We are being put to work, hard work. Work where we are out of our comfort zones, physically, mentally and spiritually. I once heard that that is the best way to grow, between the point of adventure and peak adventure. Adventure is slightly out of a persons comfort zone while peak adventure is at the point where a person is too freaked out to take anything away from the experience. On Sunday I will be WAY out of my comfort zone. But that is fine, because God has me in his hands. The reason I am a little anxious about Sunday is that I will be separated from the group along with Jack. We will be traveling to a different town for a bit of the weekend, and living with Alex’s sister. We are expected to participate in the Sunday services where each of us will preach to a big group of people. Jack will be speaking to kids in the morning, while I will be talking to adults in the evening. As if that would ever be in my comfort zone. However, I have promised God over and over again that I would follow his lead, wherever and whatever that may be, so I must keep my promise. Today I felt him leading me to step up and go beyond my comfort. Who better to follow out of my comfort than God? Ashira l’adonai…

Please pray for Jack and myself. Pray hard. Anxiety is not something that I can easily overcome. Even as I think about Sunday and what I will talk about, I can feel my heart beating faster and faster. Its not something I can avoid, I need to be prepared. I do realize it is God who speaks through you and me, but its one thing to know it and one thing to understand it. Nonetheless, Ashira l’adonai!

A-shi-ra la-do-nai ki ga-oh ga-ah 
(I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously) 
A-shi-ra la-do-nai ki ga-oh ga-ah 
(I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously) 
Mi-cha-mo-cha ba-elim adonai 
(Who is like You, oh Lord, among the celestial) 
Mi-ka-mo-cha ne-dar- ba-ko-desh 
(Who is like You, majestic in holiness) 
Na-chi-tah v’-chas-d’-cha am zu ga-al-ta 
(In Your love, You lead the people You redeemed) 
Na-chi-tah v’-chas-d’-cha am zu ga-al-ta 
(In Your love, You lead the people You redeemed) 
A-shi-ra, a-shi-ra, a-shi-ra… 
(I will sing, I will sing, I will sing)

Ashira, ashira, ashira!

-Jessie