O Come O Come

My heart is longing for You.
Jesus, to sit at Your feet is what I want.
You share with me Your care.
You smile as You look at me.

I reach out to touch.
I tell You my secrets.
There's nothing hidden in this light.
Tenderly, You remind me that I am safe.

A familiar song crescendos--it proclaims
How Deep is the Father's love.
How Vast Beyond All measure.

I long to be pure.
For he who hopes in You purifies Himself, You say.
O Come, O Come.
O Come, O Come.
I'm aching for You.

Seasons in Passing: Unfading Hope

I am thoroughly excited for my favorite season's hastening. Thank the Lord for fall. It's the foliage, the change in the weather, and the spiritual symbolism of this time that I appreciate. There is a change from flourishing newness to shedding the past. And though believers in Christ are always in process of this change, seeing it happen before my eyes in such a tangible way makes me think of its implications.

This season, I am in school. The next season, I won't be. This season, I am financially dependent. Next season, I will be financially independent. This season, I am learning God's character. Next season, most likely will be clinging to Him. Process. Change. Excitement. Nervous. Ready. Yearning.

"Holy design--this place in time. That I might seek and find my God, my God. Lord, I want to yearn for You. I want to burn with passion over You, only You." --Shane and Shane

I am graduating, and I am really happy! But, there is a lot ahead of me, and there are still many unknowns in the midst of a general outline.

General outline: Called to Campus Crusade for Christ staff.

Where I will be? Don't know.

Will I be accepted? Lord willing, yes. Or, Lord willing, no.

The most important thing about this process, this change, this passing is this: that I may die to gain Life. Die everyday to myself, to my will, to my fears, to my demands in order to "gain Christ and be found in Him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but a righteousness that comes from faith in Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3). One thing thing to say it, another to live it. It's one thing to pray it, and then another to submit to Him.

Praise God that I am submitting to the Holy One, the good Father, the Author and Perfector of my faith.

It's a season.

Where are you? What's your season? What has God called you to? What are you learning? What needs to die? May you know that no matter what circumstances God has called into your life and has ordained for you now, your soul is secure. Your hope is unfailing and unfading because He is living in you.

The Father's Heart

Something really precious was revealed to me.

I love movies. And, one of my favorites is A Little Princess. The version I am speaking of is the Warner Brothers Version, made in the mid- to late '90s. It was the first movie that I cried over. Before that, I had heard people saying, "I balled in that movie!" But, I never knew the sensation.

Most of the movies that my friends cried in were dramatic love scenes, when one lover was ripped apart from the other. These scenes do not quite have the affect on me that the touching images of a father and daughter or father and son have upon me.

The story for those that are unfamiliar goes like this: A little girl is sent to boarding school by her father, the only living relative she has. The time is set during World War I, and she is being shipped to a boarding school in New York. Her father comforts her and confides in her what every girl desperately needs to hear: You are and will always be my little princess. She believes him. And, this belief is not taken away from her, even when her father is reported to her as dead; even when she has to become a laborer for the boarding school to earn her keep; even though she is left all alone in the world. She spreads the love that her father deeply planted into her heart: she tells other girls who struggle to believe in their significance that they, too, are princesses.

Sarah's father, discovered as not dead but suffering from a serious case of amnesia, is brought back to the United States and is housed right next to Sarah's boarding school. But, even when he comes face to face with Sarah, he cannot remember her and believes that she isn't his daughter.

The final scene is this: the headmaster, who emotionally abuses the girls at the school, accuses Sarah of stealing. She calls for the police to come and arrest Sarah for stealing. In a very dramatic moment (right as Sarah is being taken away by the police), Sarah's father remembers that Sarah is his daughter, and he is her father.

He calls her name: "Sarah!"

She runs to him and replies: "Daddy!"

The tears start rolling in a continuous sequence down my cheeks. Every time.

The reason this story is so precious to me is because it speaks to the deep longing I have to be known my Father; to be sought after by Him; and to be able to cling to Him as a loving, constant, and fierce protector of all that I am. And, unlike Sarah's father in the film, my Father doesn't forget me. And, all who are found in His Son, he doesn't forget you.

"You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by which we cry, "Abba! Father!" His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." (Romans 8:15-16)


Arise and be comforted.

The Father knows you and loves you.

"Lift up your hands in [His] sanctuary." (Ps. 124, my note added)

Coming Back to Eden

Coming Back to Eden
Mary Beth Hough

You invited me back.
Back to Eden.
I forgot who You were.
But, You said You knew me.

The memories of my failure.
The doubts of Your grace.
The lies I believed for years swelled within me.
You don't care.
You don't want me.
You won't catch me.

I sat and pondered.
You said, Don't you remember?

With a hoe in hand, You started at the ground.
Dig. Dig.
I have loved you. I chose you anyway.
You can't escape me. I love you too much.
Dig. Dig.


With hestiation, I start to You.
And, You wait.
The mess on my shoulders and in my mind starts falling down with sloppy plops on the ground.
I see you keep working the hoe. The ground gets easier.
Dig. Dig.

You say, Child, there will be more.
But today's trouble is enough for today.



"I love the Lord, because He hears my voice."

"For the Lord longs to be gracious to you. He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for Him to help."

Truth from the Heart

Psalm 3:

1O LORD, how my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2Many are saying of my soul,
"There is no deliverance for him in God." Selah.
3But You, O LORD, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
4I was crying to the LORD with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.
5I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the LORD sustains me.
6I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about.
7 Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God!
For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the LORD;
Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.

Psalm 3
Mary Beth Hough

Verse 1:
Arise, O LORD!
Come rescue me!

Arise, O LORD!
Come rescue me!

Verse 2:
The enemy pursues me.
He says, "You won't break free."

Arise, O LORD!
Come rescue me!

Chorus:
You are a shield about me,
My Glory,
and the Lifter of my head!

You are a shield about me,
My Glory,
and the Lifter of my head.
You lift up my head!

Verse 3:
I lay down and sleep,
for You're watching over me.

I will not be afraid of ten thousand enemies!

Chorus

Bridge:
Salvation, Salvation, Salvation belongs to the LORD.
My Salvation, Salvation, Salvation belongs to the LORD.

Salvation, Salvation, Salvation belongs to the LORD.
My Salvation, Salvation, Salvation belongs to the LORD.



Honesty. Transparency. Realness. This is what God desires.

Psalm 51:6: "Behold, you desire truth in the innermost place--You teach me wisdom in the secret heart."

Jesus said, "God is Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).

The Lord didn't say true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in striving or in Spirit and in obligation. He said, "Spirit and in truth." There is something so beautiful with this thought for me. Jesus is talking of God the Father desiring worshipers who will worship Him in Spirit and truth. One requirement is that we must have the Spirit of God living in us to worship Him--His Spirit that is given only through accepting Jesus' payment for sin in our place and believing that He is alive now. Then, the second component in this marriage is to worship Him in truth. In the context of why Jesus is saying this, the Samaritan woman at the well has just asked Him about where is the correct place to worship God. Jesus goes to the heart of the matter, by saying (essentially), "Woman, it's not the place. It's that you are marked by Me and sealed with My Spirit and that you are honest enough to let me change you." Why it is that I think (I could be wrong) Jesus says this is because the Samaritan woman, like me, has junk in her life. It needs to be dealt with, and the only way that happens is through communicating honestly with God--letting Him meet us where we are.

For so long, I believed that God wanted me to fake it. I thought He wanted a good and righteous outward appearance. More than that, I thought that God wasn't able to accept how much I have failed. I have failed His expectations--but, most of them were my expectations. Deep down, I believed that He was seriously disappointed in me. I was simply too much. Since the time that Jesus ambushed me, His grace has given me a glimmer of hope that maybe God really does love me. And maybe, just maybe, He can change all things.

God can see right through my failed attempts to please Him; my failed attempts to fake it; my failed attempts to be right before Him; my failed attempts to find the significance that I so desire. And, attempt I do everyday. Many moments throughout my day I make these vain attempts.

The truth: I need Jesus. I need Him. I need the Son of God, who alone is able to save me. I need Him to continuously save me; redeem my false ideas of God; and cut to my core...for that's the kind of worship that the Father wants: Spirit and His truth from the core.

These are pictures of the mountains of Israel. I pray that Israel, you may live forever! You, whom the LORD loves.



One of the most beloved Psalms of all time (besides Psalm 23) is Psalm 121. This is one of the Songs of the Ascents--most commonly thought of as a song sung by Israelite pilgrims making a journey to Jerusalem in order to celebrate the feasts unto the Lord.

I have struggled to rest upon the right sound and the right lyrics for Psalm 3. So, one night, at the suggestion of a father-like mentor, I just opened the Word to Psalm 121; started to play my guitar; I sang. This is what came.

Oh, how I want the Word to live on the inside of me in such a way that these Words would be more than mere words. I want them to be alive within me--piercing to the bone and to the marrow. For, God's Word is alive, and He is alive and well. I pray that this psalm would spur you on to the LORD, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. May you know Your keeper is watching over you.

Psalm 121 (NASB)

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8 The LORD will guard your going out and your comin in
From this time forth and forever.

(FOREVER!!! PRAISE YESHUA! My note: Emphasis added)

Psalm 121
Mary Beth Hough

Verse 1:
I lift my eyes up to the hills,
where does my help come from?

I lift my eyes up to the hills,
where does my help come from?

(Repeat)

Verse 2:
My help comes from the LORD above,
Maker of Heaven and Earth.

My help comes from the LORD above,
Maker of Heaven and Earth.

Chorus:
You will not let my foot slip--
You do not slumber.

You are my shade by night and day.
You are my strength, forever.

(Repeat Verse 1 and Verse 2)

Bridge:
You are watching over me!
You are watching over me!
You keep watch over me!

You're the guarder of my way!
You're the guarder of my soul!
You are keeper, watcher of my soul!

Repeat Verse 1

How much we need to know Him...in every changing season, in every uncertain territory, He is our help. May our hearts lift up to Him.

I was made for another world. I was made for another world. I was made for another world.

My mind has been constantly thinking.

God's pursuit of man is ridiculous; the way that I defend my sin is despicable; my unwillingness to lose control is futile. I can fight the surrender, but it makes for a miserable experience: Because all of my efforts amount to pride--an unreasonable trust that I am able to satisfy myself. But, I can't.

I am a well--a deep, yet finite chasm that longs to be filled.

Proverbs 4:23
"Above all else guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life."

Proverbs 20:5
"The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out."

Psalm 42:7
"Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me."

There is only one whose glory has such a weight that the chasm becomes complete.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

The consuming nature of God's love is something that the more and more that I come to the LORD in keeping remembrance of the gospel, the more and more I "taste and see that the LORD is good" (Ps. 34:8).

Fire consumes. It's deadly. It burns.
It ruins houses, strips forests, and can bring great devestation. But, it is also a natural part of nature's course. It is actually ecologically needed to sustain this world in which we live. We can't live without fire, liturally and metaphorically...the heat, the passion, or the renewal that it brings.

There has been fire in my day...but, the fire has been in the form of what Paul writes as "flaming arrows of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16). I was feeling useless, ineffective, tired, and confused. Why was this happening? Why do I feel so dreary? What's the matter with me? Why can't I be stronger?

My good friend said to me, "This is the anthem for the rest of my life: I fail, but the Cross is greater."

Today, I was realizing my failure: my failure to believe, my failure to hope, my failure to pray, and my failure to trust in the work of Christ to save me from my tormenting selfishness.

So, this is why I post this:



Jesus. Crucified. The Son of God absorbing the wrath of the Father who loved Him. For me. For me.

Oh, let my anthem be:
"Here I am without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me.
And, Thou hast bid me come to Thee...
OH, LAMB OF GOD, I COME."

Psalm 2 (ESV)

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against His anointed, saying,
3 'Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.'

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the LORD holds them in derision.
5 Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them in His fury saying,
6 'As for Me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.'

7 I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, 'You are My Son; today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.'

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
lest He be angry, and you perish in the way,
for His wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

***Okay, so that God would even invite us to know the Son, to kiss the Son with our allegiance is brilliant and wonderful to me! What a God! Oh, let us not delay our kiss upon Him who is worthy!

My Song:
Psalm 2

(This is probably my favorite song that the LORD has given me a melody and words for recently.)

Verse 1:
We, in foolish pride,
Stood against the LORD.
We took the yoke for our good
And tore it all apart.

Chorus:
Now, we're without protection
Before a Righteous God.
We deserve to be consumed
In the fury of His wrath!

Verse 2:
God has walked among us
To find is there's any blameless left.
There's no one who does good--
No, not even one.

Chorus:
Now, we're without protection
Before a Righteous God.
We deserve to be consumed
In the fury of His wrath!

Verse 3:
The issue of the LORD,
to the sons of man:
"I've delivered a Holy Son!
Now, take refuge in Him!"

Chorus 2:
Now, we have protection
before a Righteous God!
And, now we deserve to be consumed
in the fury of His love!

Now, we have protection
before a Righteous God!
And, now we deserve to be consumed
in the fury of His love!

Psalm 1 (ESV)

1Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. 4The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 1
Composed by: Mary Beth Hough

Verse 1:
How blessed is the man who knows You (who knows You)
How blessed is the man who knows You as LORD (who knows You as LORD)

He will not stand in the counsel of the wicked (in the counsel of the wicked)
He will not go in the way of sinners (in the way of sinners)

Chorus:
You are the Keeper
You are the Keeper,
YAHWEH

You are the Keeper
You are the Keeper
Of my way

Verse 2:
His delight is in You (is in You)
On Your law he meditates day and night (day and night)

He is like a tree, whose leaves never wither (never wither)
His color remains a lively green (lively green)

Chorus

Bridge:
The LORD regards the way of the righteous
The LORD esteems the way of the righteous

Chorus


That's the song! I wish that I had the ability right now to post it in video form so that you could actually hear what it sounds like. But, Lord willing, that will come later.

1 Psalm down. 149 more to go. But, I will enjoy this process.

Blog Project.

Look at this broken piano. The ivory keys are broken. There are some that are still worth saving, but others that look like they've seen their last days.

Some of the keys are so beaten down, but others stand upright. If one were to play the keys of this piano, it is likely that the tune would match its appearence.

I think that this picture is a mirror image of me in some respects. I, too, have been played. Some of my keys have been so beaten; others stand upright. The voice that I sing with, though I believe would be in better tune than this piano, comes from a broken instrument. But, it is true that most instruments with age and wear are those very ones that produce the best sound...they've been around and they've seen and they've played. They've sang, they've cried, and they've been loved.

Look again at this picture. The lighting of it is beautiful. Because of the light, the piano, though broken, is attractive, intriguing, and distinguished. There is something in me that says, Oh, but this piano will play again!

My project: To be like this piano...broken but touched by the Light...and make music.

As I have been spending more time in the Songs of God's Word, I really want to know what it means to worship the Lord...moment to moment, day in and day out, and with each breath that I take.

So, in order to accomplish this project, I am creating for myself the task of writing songs from the Psalms. I have begun with a song based on Psalm 1. There are 150 psalms. My deadline: December 31st, 2010.

I want to write a song for each Psalm. Now, pslams do not need to be reinterpreted: I am well aware. That is not my aim in the least. But, what I do hope to do is to compose music to the words that Israel sang in worship at feasts, in their homes most likely, and in their hearts to God. My hope is to bless others by merely singing God's word.

So, I am going to post the lyrics of the music, along with the Psalm...and I hope that at some point, that I can make videos and post them here.

Wherever this blog meets you in your journey, I would appreciate your feedback!

Today is a day to remember...a day to remember the Lord. His goodness, His promise, and His Life. I love that the Lord lives and reigns on High.

I have been studying the book of Hosea. Period.

In chapter four of the Text, and God's disdain and His broken heart for Israel is clear. At different times in the chapter, God speaks that Israel had "departed from the Lord," "forsaken the Lord," and "forgot the Law of God." And, what a question to ask myself throughout my day: Am I remembering the Lord? Am I remembering His law of liberty and His freeing commands? Is the Lord the first love of my heart?

Not in a way where I will constantly feel condemned under the weight of those questions, but so that I may depend more freely upon the Lord to draw me to Himself--let that be my prayer.

I am looking forward to this summer: Many things on the horizon! Exciting, too. In no particular order, I will be studying at school, working (Lord willing), recording a CD (Lord willing), spending time with a new guy in my life, and ministering to friends and family.

In everything, I call to remembrance God's Sovereignty, His unfailing and fathomless love, and how faithful and truthful He has been. I love You, Lord, with all of my heart and soul, and I want to love You more.

Dear friends, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength!

What is Garden Fellowship?

Everything exposed.
Known by the Creator.
That's it. And, there's nothing wrong with it.
The fellowship was breached by disobedience and fear.

There's so much to hide, right?
There's so much that's so wrong; it's easier.
It's easier to hide from Holiness.
Easier to run from True Love.

Garden fellowship was perfect.
And, Garden fellowship is perfect.
The road to return is treacherous...
But, fellowship without the Garden context is none at all.
If there's no Garden-like dwelling (the nakedness, the beauty, the vulnerability), then what is life?

It's simple!
It's glorious!
It's so crazy!
It's the heart of the Creator that is simple, glorious, and crazy.

Everything exposed.
Known by the Creator.
That's it. And, there's nothing wrong with it.

Do you want it?
I know that I do.
So, I am willing to return.
That's why I write on Garden Fellowship.
There's no more shame anymore. The breach has been filled!

By God, Himself...He became my disobedience. He became my fear.

That I might live in His glorious garden, and hear Him say...

"O you who sit in the gardens, My companions are listening for your voice--

LET ME HEAR IT!" (from the Song, that is Solomon's).

--Mary Beth Hough, May 5, 2010