The Wallace Word: Faithfulness

My friend, Calee, posted back at Christmastime about how her MIL had them focus on fruits of the spirit at Christmas (you can read about it here) - such a neat idea! So at Bible study this week, to start the new year off right, we all chose a fruit of the spirit {love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control} - or it could be another word, same idea though - to choose to focus on for 2011. We also chose a verse or two to go along with it, and it will be fun to see how God speaks through this focus in scripture and song to each of us!

I chose FAITHFULNESS!

{the word 'faithful' means loyal, full of faith or trust; firmly and resolutely sticking with a person, group, cause, belief, or idea, without waver.}

I've been feeling overwhelmed with getting our house ready to put on the market in the coming weeks/month, moving this summer, whether to buy/build, when to make that decision, to buy/build something to stay in for the next 3-5 years, or to buy/build something to stay in possibly forever (since we want to have 2-3 more children, if we're blessed to be able to), etc...get the point?!? Not to mention having to leave a city that we love, friends that we absolutely ADORE, a place in our lives that has brought so many happy memories, a home that we spent our first years as husband and wife in and prepared for our first child, and brought him home from the hospital to...ok, now I'm just babbling... back to FAITHFULNESS!!! {Other than this slight concern, I'm totally loving being in the present, and just LIVING! So don't worry, this isn't something that totally consumes my daily joy or anything!!!} :)

BUT, this is the verse I'm imprinting on my heart this year:
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'"
-Lamentations 3:22-24
And the other verse that is sticking with me is:
"I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations."
-Psalm 89:1
I think this verse is so important to me for 2011 because Mills is really starting to take in everything around him and I want to be sure that he sees and hears about the love of Jesus and God's faithfulness from Nicholas and I, and everyone else around him.

Since Wednesday night, there are two songs of faithfulness that have been on my mind as well!
The first is He's Been Faithful (by many different artists but I couldn't find a version I really liked on youtube to share, but you probably know it, or if not should look it up and listen!)
And the second, one of my favorite hymns, is Great is Thy Faithfulness - the words to this one just say so much, and you can listen to Selah's version HERE at yahoo music.
And lastly, did anyone (in SC) watch the governor's inauguration on Wednesday? I actually watched it while I did the last birthday post on here, and it was so neat to see. I was also really surprised and excited over how much God - and "Jesus Christ" - were mentioned during the ceremony, by both preachers praying and the elected candidates being sworn-in! I actually wrote down a phrase that a pastor from Lexington said before Ken Ard (Lt. Governor) took his oath. He said, "In Jesus Christ we are more than we think we are. In Jesus Christ we can do more than we think we can do!" Amen, brother! I need to remind myself of that on a daily basis!