September 29, 2008

Grace Abounding: Update on some things

I cannot express the thanks I have toward God for all who have been praying for my grandma. My dad arrived home tonight. He is pretty sad, because he lost his dad five months ago and now his mom is very ill. We have lived 8 hours away from his family all my life. We always only would visit them occasionally. Please keep praying for faith in my grandmother, that she would trust in Christ alone as her salvation. I hope to go visit her before she dies, so I will probably drive out with my siblings this weekend.

I'm still memorizing Psalm 119, although it has slowed down, since I need to make it stick. So I'm going over what I've got so far of it. I can still fly through Alef like crazy, but I'm working on keeping some other lines in my mind before moving on. With all that is going on lately, I have some things on my mind, nevertheless, my joy in Christ has been greatly increased this past week. There is nothing better than joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:11)!

There are some new things added to my internet life on the sidebar there: Pennspod (which is some audio clips of my evangelism adventures and other things which I decided to share for encouragement); Learning to Speak in Tongues (my new blog to help me perfect a gift I've requested from the Lord); and there is a song sung by Michael Card and Sarah Groves on the sidebar, called "Jubilee" (you have no choice, you have to hear it!).

In thinking on the topic of marriage according to a post from a few days ago, I thought the lyrics to this song were pretty insightful. No matter what our circumstances, these words are true for me:

These lyrics accompany the song "You're So Good To Me" from the I Stand In Awe album by Steve & Vikki Cook (Sovereign Grace Music).

Lyrics

You’ve given me so much
More than I’d ever dreamed
And so much more than I deserve
Your mercies surround me, reminding me anew
That all I have has come from You
It’s all from You

For You have crowned my days
With overwhelming grace
Lord, You’re so good to me
Though troubles fall like rain
This precious truth remains
Lord, You’re so good to me
Yes, You’re so good to me

You chose me, You saved me
And made me Your own
Promised that You would never leave
Soon one day, You’ll call me
And we’ll see face to face
‘Til then You’ve given me a taste of paradise

This is grace abounding in a world of sin and trouble (...I'm sorry, that line I just wrote reminds me of a Tupac song I used to listen to because of the words "in this world of sin" - don't ask why that just came to my mind - but now I think this way: this is grace abounding over and above sin and trouble in the promises of God's Word).

Grace to you all.

10 comments:

Angela said...

Umm...you used to listen to Tupac? That makes me laugh because now you listen to Michael Card. My mom's friend gave me a Michael Card tape when I was like 13 for my birthday. I wasn't impressed. I am praying for your grandma, Penn.

Penn Tomassetti said...

I'm not surprised you weren't impressed at age 13... but I'm glad I don't listen to Tupac anymore :) Thanks for praying.

Penn Tomassetti said...

I went from getting high and listening to stolen CDs to enjoying songs about Jesus by Michael Card called 'Jubilee' - that's how grace affects a person's life (big changes).

Angela said...

I LOVE music, so it was a little painful when I had to go through hundreds of songs and delete the inappropriate ones that I used to love..including Tupac, Biggie, and lots more..but I got through it. I think being a leader in a Bible study calls me to be even more accountable in what I take in, because I don't want to be a hypocrite. Still not sold on M.C., he reminds me of Al Boreland from Home Improvement.

Penn Tomassetti said...

Angela,
I can remember going through my CDs in front of the trash can. I didn't have hundreds though, only a few. It was that my heart had become so full of knowing Christ and being changed by grace, that I could not enjoy what I used to enjoy.

Penn Tomassetti said...

After that, I found some Christian songs I liked and the rest is history.

Stephanie said...

Al Boreland?!! Thanks for the laugh, Angela! I used to watch Home Improvement all the time.

But about Michael Card - although that style of music is not the kind I would usually listen to, his songs are so full of the joy of Christ that I can't help but love them. :)

Penn Tomassetti said...

"But about Michael Card - although that style of music is not the kind I would usually listen to, his songs are so full of the joy of Christ that I can't help but love them. :)"

That's exactly why I love these songs, too! Thanks Stephanie.

[And I thought maybe for the record I should say, I may have trashed Tupac, Biggie and Marshal Mathers, but I still listen to a couple rap songs by a guy named Curtis Allen. I think I'll put up one of his songs here on my blog, too, so it can be a little more rounded musically speaking ;)

Angela said...

I listen to lots of Christian music..I've been able to find some songs I really love. If you like rap, LeCrae isn't bad. I found a fews songs to download from his albums. I am not bashing Al, I mean Michael anymore. I know he uses his music to bless many, his style is just old-fashioned. What if he and Eminem did a song together?

Penn Tomassetti said...

assuming MC is a true brother in Christ (and his songs seem to be pretty Christ centered and Biblical), then I think putting him and Eminem together would be like trying to get Beelzebub and Michael the Angel to play harps. Anyway, I pray Eminem is brought to repentance and faith, because all the glory of being a star burns out so quickly and an eternity of the worst darkness is all that's left without Christ. Him and so many others have nothing better to look forward to, sadly. May the Lord open his eyes as He did mine!