Monday, March 24, 2008

the justice of my cause...it's a long one!

I  wrote a short little post the other day saying something about a verse that caught my eye during my devotions and said i would post about it... so here i am posting about it!!! 
Psalms 37:6
"He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, 
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."

Honestly i was reading, but not taking in the meaning of anything in the first 5 verses of Psalms 37 and then out of the blue, this small sentence jumped off the page and slapped me and said, "pay attention!". So i started over at the beginning of Psalm 37 and these few verses is where i got stuck:

 "Delight yourself in the LORD 
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
 Commit your way to the LORD; 
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, 
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; 
do not fret when men succeed in their ways, 
when they carry out their wicked schemes."

Let's just admit it, we all LOVE verse 4"...he will give you the desires of your heart."  I remember a few years ago this was the verse that held my attention. I wanted the desires of my heart, but i stuggled with the idea that i could have them and they be what the Lord wanted. The basics of verse 4 and 5 are easy to understand. Delight in the Lord and Trust in Him. living it out is where we get distracted and scatter minded. Back to verse 6. Verse 6 had a flashing light and was calling out for more attention than the others. And for the last few days it has held my attention and snuck into my thoughts and dreams.  

"He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, 
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."

Have you ever been awake at dawn? Better yet; have you been awake at dawn and seen the sun shine over a mountain hit the lake and seen the ducks fly away? The first light of morning is AMAZING!!! In the house i used to live in i had a window facing dead-east! Last summer was full of amazing sunrises hitting my face and telling me that the new day starts NOW! I enjoyed a lot of those sunrises hidden under my covers, my body begging for more sleep. No matter how tight i closed my eyes and how many blankets or pillows i covered my face with, the sun still snuck in! 
What would the world around me look like if my righteousness shone like the dawn? I don't think of myself as a righteous person. I try to be right. I see Jesus' Righteousness and strive for it. However if i am committing my way to the Lord and trusting him; then i am pursuing righteousness. If the quality of those things were the shining around me i know i would see things differently. I would surely see people in a different way and i would most likely treat them in a different way. My righteousness needs to shine so bright that people around me want the pillow over their head or the shades drawn around me. I want them to look at me and say, "wow she is different." or "what is it that makes her life so different?".

Now the next part of the verse is the kicker. The Justice of My Cause... like the noonday sun! WOW. Here in Central Oregon the noonday sun can be very bright! What is the justice of my cause? What is my cause? If i have a cause is it just? If it is a just cause is it shining like the sun?  How do i find the right cause? Justice? These are just a few of the questions swirling around in my head the past few days. I looked up this verse in a few commentaries and they didn't really help me out at all. I finally realized i do have a cause. It's the cause of Christ. Please don't zone out here and think i am going to be cliché. Not at all. We all are called to the cause of Christ... the trouble we have is mixing up what we want and what He wants for us. Some of us are called to that cause in Politics, some in Business, some in Entertainment, and still some in the church. Now here's where my mind doesn't quite get it all... the Justice of that cause. I know little pieces of why i am here and what God wants for my life. I know even more clearly what i am supposed to focus my cause on right now.... still the JUSTICE of that cause is what trips me up. 

jus·tice [juhs-tis] Pronunciation Key –noun
1. the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause.
2. rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason: to complain with justice.
3. the moral principle determining just conduct.


Wow.... this is from dictionary.com and it says it all. Check it out in the #1 the word righteousness is there... i think that's just neato. Are we taking what Christ has given us as a cause and making sure it is just? Or are we just holding it in our pocket and pulling it out for show? People who believe in a cause(or a new president) hold signs, mail card, buy adds, knock on doors, and make phone calls all for the sake of a "just cause". What are we doing with the cause Christ has trusted us with??? The light of the morning and the noonday sun. This is what it should be like. Both so bright. Justice and Righteousness in me compared to a BRIGHT SUN!!! I love that each of these verses bring us back to each other. They each hinge on the one above... try reading Psalm 37 backwards and you'll see what i mean. Try figuring out your cause... if it is in line... if it is His heart's desire alive in you. It will shine. You won't even know it's shining. It just will.

Friday, March 21, 2008

the Diacogiannis' from the outside in...

hey all,
I just read a great blog post about my family.... and laughed a lot... check it out if you are curious about the d's from a perspective other than the very biased oldest sister!
check out this link



http://vickymarie.blogspot.com/2008/03/diacogiannis-dee-ock-ee-ah-niss-its.html

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Hosanna Joy Diacogiannis

Photobucket
I LOVE THIS GIRL!
I just got off the phone with this amazing 11 yr old! If you haven't had the pleasure of having a conversation with this amazing girl, you are missing out!!! She is such a special chic! I can't imagine life without her, and wouldn't trade her for the stars! She is a little firecracker... and i'm so blessed that she is in my life to keep me humble, girly, and goofy! She's even a september baby....which makes her extra special.... when i turned 11 it was the best gift God could give me.... a little sis.... a roomate... a friend. I love her to the birds and back plus million and two. She is so funny. I wish everyone could know her and experiance the Joy of the Lord in this amazing 11 year old! I love how honest she is. She can pretend to be shy when you first meet her, but after 20 minutes she will be joking around, giving you a nickname, changing your age, and career path; for example my friend Heidi is now 35 and going to be president! Hosanna has a servants heart, a worshipers voice and a mind that seeks to know more about God and the big world she lives in. I pray God's protection and blessings on her always. 

"here's to looking at you.....(hosanna joy)" 

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Verse of the Day!

I hopped on BibleGateway.com to do some research on a verse i found in my devotions(more on that later) today and saw that the verse of the day was this:
Romans 15:13
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

I don't even have much to say about it... partially because it by itself it amazing, and partially because i haven't had more than 5 minutes to think about it beyond WOW! So i guess at a moment other than now, i will write some insightful thoughts about this one.. and the verse from my devos that prompted this blog... 

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

tears.

It's seems that in the past week i have cried more than i have in the past 3 months combined! When i stop and think about the tears, they fall into a few reasons/ catigories... so here they are nicely lined out:

Happy Tears. I love happy tears, mostly because; they're happy! But also the most common reason i cry happy tears is because God has in that moment whispered in my ear, spun me around, squeezed my hand or just looked at me and smiled. Last weekend was 180 Winter Camp at Wildhorse Canyon. Friday and Saturday night i had at least one of those moments each night.

Sad Tears. Not so fun. they make my contacts move around... they are hard to see through, and mostly the situations that cause them are hard to understand;
-My dad has been in Ghana for 5 weeks battling for a piece of paper! My mom came home to releave us here... but the weight of the situation with her husband and kids a million miles away still ways heavy on us. Then we think they are coming, and then they are not... but others are.
-I work hard and try to be wise, yet money/finaces are hard to handle.
-I drive carefully and take car of my car, yet the Check Engine light still comes on and nearly makes me want to scream!
-I see students love God, feel Him close, hear His voice; and they still get tricked by the enemy. They still trade the Joy of the Lord for the cheap thrills of this world.
-I go the extra mile, and still fall short.
-I wait (sometimes patiently) and still see nothing.
-I go to buy milk, and lock my keys in my car.

Last night it was the keys locked in my car that put me over the edge. I lost it. right there in the Westside Safeway. Tears. Sad Tears. This past month has been so overwhelming. And the silly keys locked in the car were the last straw. Praise the Lord for an amazing friend(and roommate) who found my extra key in my desk and came to my rescue... and sat and prayed with my while i cried.

As i drove back to the house i am sitting(along with 4 kids and a dog). I cried. I turned the music loud and sobbed and cried out to God. I prayed so hard that my parents and new siblings would all come home together; and they didn't. I save and save and save; and still the bills are hard to pay. I pray over my car and thank God for it; and it still costs money. I cry out for students to turn back to God and they only cross their arms and frown. I go the extra mile and i still fall short. I wait and pray, and reach out for wisdom, i run after righteousness and still i feel forgotten. I go to buy milk and i lock my keys in my car.

I cry. i let the tears hit the floor. I sniffle and sob. And then i realize...

I AM. HE IS.
He hears my crys.
He catches my tears.
He provides.
He whispers my name.
He heals their hearts.
He knows my thoughts.
He waited for me.
He loves my heart.
He pours out.
He squeezes my hand.
He unlocked my life.
He IS. i am not.
He is the great I AM.

After tears uncontrolable. He whispers to me;
"Get my perspective. See what i see. Look beyond your small circle and see My heart. I know what's ahead. I know your desires, i see your needs. I AM and I will."

and so i look. I look ahead. I press on. I fall back on my knees i pray one more prayer. and i strain to get God's perspective. His persepective makes weeks feel like days and months feel like weeks. His perspective, makes the reward of waiting sweeter than a popsicle on a hot summer day. His perspective unlockes my life once again.

Tears. This time of happy-aweness. I'm in awe. I stand amazed. and the tears fall.

Saturday, March 01, 2008

I Still Believe.

Scattered words and empty thoughts
seem to pour from my heart
I've never felt so torn before
seems I don't know where to start
but it's now that I feel Your grace falls like rain
from every fingertip, washing away my pain

Chorus:
I still believe in Your faithfulness
I still believe in Your truth
I still believe in Your holy word
even when I don't see, I still believe

Though the questions still fog up my mind
with promises I still seem to bear
even when answers slowly unwind
it's my heart I see You prepare
but its now that I feel Your grace fall like rain
from every finger tip, washing away my pain

The only place I can go is into your arms
where I throw to you my feeble prayers
in brokeness I can see that this was your will for me
Help me to know You are near


I feel like there are so many things that these words relate to in my life right now. I'm not even sure if i can write a blog about it, because the words above do such an amazing job expressing my heart.

Lord, help me know (live/believe/hear/see/feel) You are near.