It's all in the offering.

"...(Jesus) sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever."
Hebrews 7:27b-28

Honestly, this morning I was a bit confused. A lot of time the Lord will put things on my mind that just cannot escape. This morning, as it often is, God put a song in my mind. It's one that I have heard often (thanks to i-tunes...):

My Offering by Nichole Nordeman
If You made me like the grass that is green
Growing tall; covering the hills above me
Maybe I would pray for sunshine and a little rain
To fall now and then to make me lovely
I could be a place where sheep could graze
Or barefoot feet could play
And I would grow and grow and hope You'd bend down low
To hear me sing my offering

Open up the heavens, open up the skies
All of Your creation wants to testify
I have a song so let the earth sing along
'Cause I just want to praise You

If You made me to be a cloud in the sky
Found the perfect place way up high where I could hover
Maybe I would pray for skies that were blue
Or a sunset or two to show Your colors
Or maybe I might be
A mountian strong and steep
But I would try and stand as tall as I can
And I would sing my offering

Open up the heavens, open up the skies
All of Your creation wants to testify
I have a song so let the earth sing along
'Cause I just want to praise You

And the sun every morning can not wait to shine
And the stars every evening are all standing by to light the sky
Give the rocks and the stones voices of their own
If we forget to sing praises to our King

So open up the heavens, open up the skies
All of Your creation wants to testify
Hallelujah
We just want to praise you
We just want to praise you
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Lift up your voice and with us sing
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
I have a song so let the earth sing along
'Cause I just want to praise You

Yesterday God brought back to me a Psalm that we used to sing in Kenya. Psalm 146--praising God with all of our lives. Praise the Lord, Oh my soul.
It's awesome how my God ties things together. He is so perfect. I am so oblivious to things He does, but I'm glad that He sent this message loud and clear so that I can atleast half-way understand.
So, praise comes from the soul. Yes, we use our mouths to praise Him. We use our actions to praise Him...but it all starts in the soul. It's an offering. And then what did "the big G" (God) send me today? More about offering. Our praise is our offering to Him. Daily--moment by moment!

Jesus offered Himself. That means...to the best of my understanding (very limited), that it was His choice. Our praise offering--not mandatory (in that sense), but by our own will. Jesus is perfect. Eternal. And He was willing.



Shouldn't I be?

Offer up, Amanda.
(It's not yours, anyway.)