My Voice, My Heart, My Life

I have always found Jewish cultural and traditions fascinating. There is always a reason for the celebration, the particular food served and the activities that coincide. The cultural traditions are so intricate and specific. The celebrations are always about God's goodness to them. A time to remember just how great God truly is and the things He has done. His grace, mercy, provisions and love are all central themes in their festivals. They are joyous occasions. Today is the festival of Purim. It's not one that you've hear about, yet it's a tremendous celebration. Unlike Passover or Yom Kippur, Purim is not one of the holidays they are commanded to observe in the Torah, but they hardly need to be commanded to celebrate this festive reminder of God’s care over the people of Israel! The event they celebrate is when God used Queen Esther to save her people from an evil man named Haman. Haman hated the Jews, one in particular Mordecai, Esther's uncle, with all

There is a song by the group Lady Antebellum called "Run to You." The song imparts a lot of truth of everyday life. Even though it's essentially a love song, it's amazing how we can adapt it to our relationship with God. I changed a few words or phrases (noted in paraphrases) here in there to serve my point but the main message remains the same.  Here in this world when trouble comes I Run to You (God).   "I run from hate, I run from prejudice I run from pessimists, but I run too late     I run my life or is it running me, run from my past I run too fast or too slow it seems When lies become the truth That's when I run to you" We know the things we should do or stay away form. We know to protect our hearts from hate & prejudice. We know that we have hope through Jesus Christ. Yet there are times when we feel weak and discouraged. We feel controlled by this fallen world who insists on reliving our sinful past. The lies whispered into