"Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name"
Bro. Dennis and Mrs. Carrie are expecting a baby, due December 10th.
I am overwhelmed.
SOLI DEO GLORIA!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Having Patience When Life Seems Unfair
"When Life Seems Unfair"
Read: Psalm 73
Focus Verse: "For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." - Ps. 73:3
Have you ever felt that life is unfair? For those of us who are committed to following the will and ways of Jesus, it's easy to get frustrated when people who don't care about Him seem to do well in life. A businessman cheats yet wins a large contract, and the guy who parties all the time is robust and healthy - while you or your loved ones struggle with finances or medical issues. It makes us feel cheated, like maybe we've been good for nothing.
If you've ever felt that way, you're in good company. The writer of Psalm 73 goes through a whole list of how the wicked prosper, and then he says, " Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency." (verse 13). But the tide of his thoughts turns when he recalls his time in God's presence: "...then understood I their end." (verse 17).
When we spend time with God and see things from his point of view, it changes our perspective completely. We may be jealous of the nonbelievers now, but we won't be at judgment time. As the saying goes, what difference does it make if you win the battle but lose the war?
Like the psalmist, let's praise God for His presence in this life and His promise of the life to come (verses 25-28). He is all you need, even when life seems unfair. -Joe Stowell
All wrongs will one day be set right
By God Who sees both bad and good;
All motives and all deeds will then
Be fairly judged and understood. -D. De Haan
Spending time with God
puts everything else in perspective.
Every morning except Sunday, Mom, Trissy, and I usually do the daily devotional from Our Daily Bread (Dad's usually at work by that time). The above was today's devotional, and it seemed directed specifically to me and how I envy the wicked who have many children but do not appreciate them, while people like Bro. Dennis and Mrs. Carrie have none, but would love them and raise them for the Lord.
Below is the one from another day, that we did not do on that day, but that I saw when flipping through the book.
"Patience To Be Patient"
Read: Psalm 130:1-8
Focus Verse: "I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope." - Ps. 130:5
Children want things now: "But I want dessert now!" "Are we there yet?" "Now can we open our presents?" In contrast, as we get older we learn to wait. Medical students wait through training. Parents wait in hopes that the prodigal will return. We wait for what is worth waiting for, and in the process we learn patience.
God, who is timeless, requires of us a mature faith that may involve delays that seem like trials. Patience is one sign of that maturity, a quality that can develop only through the passing of time.
Many prayers in the Bible come out of the act of waiting. Jacob waited 7 years for a wife and then worked 7 more after being tricked by her father (Gen. 29:15-20). The Israelites waited 4 centuries for deliverance; Moses waited 4 decades for the call to lead them then 4 more decades for a Promised Land he would not enter.
"My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch fro the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning." wrote the Psalmist (Ps. 130:6). The picture comes to mind of a watchman counting the minutes for this shift to be over.
I pray for the patience to endure times of trial, to keep anticipating, keep hoping, keep believing. I pray for patience to be patient. -Philip Yancey
They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
and they shall walk and not faint. -Isaiah 40:13
God seldom does great things in a hurry
Read: Psalm 73
Focus Verse: "For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." - Ps. 73:3
Have you ever felt that life is unfair? For those of us who are committed to following the will and ways of Jesus, it's easy to get frustrated when people who don't care about Him seem to do well in life. A businessman cheats yet wins a large contract, and the guy who parties all the time is robust and healthy - while you or your loved ones struggle with finances or medical issues. It makes us feel cheated, like maybe we've been good for nothing.
If you've ever felt that way, you're in good company. The writer of Psalm 73 goes through a whole list of how the wicked prosper, and then he says, " Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency." (verse 13). But the tide of his thoughts turns when he recalls his time in God's presence: "...then understood I their end." (verse 17).
When we spend time with God and see things from his point of view, it changes our perspective completely. We may be jealous of the nonbelievers now, but we won't be at judgment time. As the saying goes, what difference does it make if you win the battle but lose the war?
Like the psalmist, let's praise God for His presence in this life and His promise of the life to come (verses 25-28). He is all you need, even when life seems unfair. -Joe Stowell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every morning except Sunday, Mom, Trissy, and I usually do the daily devotional from Our Daily Bread (Dad's usually at work by that time). The above was today's devotional, and it seemed directed specifically to me and how I envy the wicked who have many children but do not appreciate them, while people like Bro. Dennis and Mrs. Carrie have none, but would love them and raise them for the Lord.
Below is the one from another day, that we did not do on that day, but that I saw when flipping through the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Patience To Be Patient"
Read: Psalm 130:1-8
Focus Verse: "I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope." - Ps. 130:5
Children want things now: "But I want dessert now!" "Are we there yet?" "Now can we open our presents?" In contrast, as we get older we learn to wait. Medical students wait through training. Parents wait in hopes that the prodigal will return. We wait for what is worth waiting for, and in the process we learn patience.
God, who is timeless, requires of us a mature faith that may involve delays that seem like trials. Patience is one sign of that maturity, a quality that can develop only through the passing of time.
Many prayers in the Bible come out of the act of waiting. Jacob waited 7 years for a wife and then worked 7 more after being tricked by her father (Gen. 29:15-20). The Israelites waited 4 centuries for deliverance; Moses waited 4 decades for the call to lead them then 4 more decades for a Promised Land he would not enter.
"My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch fro the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning." wrote the Psalmist (Ps. 130:6). The picture comes to mind of a watchman counting the minutes for this shift to be over.
I pray for the patience to endure times of trial, to keep anticipating, keep hoping, keep believing. I pray for patience to be patient. -Philip Yancey
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Recent Happenings
So, before anything else really happens, I wanted to record a few of the things that have been going on lately.
First off, I am SO thankful to be done with yet another semester of school! Lord willing I only have one more (this Fall) and I'll be done for good! YAY!!! :)
The Lord was good, and gave me A's in all my classes, too. I've done well, as far as grades, but I want to finish off the rest of what I have to do, with all A's.
We have a busy summer ahead though! Right now, Trissy and I are trying to get ready for the mission trip we're planning on taking. Several people from our church are planning to be going on various mission trips this summer, and our church itself is planning two of our own. Trissy and I are planning on going on the first one, which is just a little less than three weeks away!
Last week Jaylyn helped us get set up with a Skype account, so now we can talk with them when they go back to the mission field! We're really excited. But they'll be another continent away... that seems so far, yet with the blessings of modern technology, not nearly as far away as when The Grandparents were missionaries overseas!
Mrs. H said for us to keep her incubator over the summer and try to hatch some more chicks. We'd tried right before the end of school, and had put more than twenty eggs in, but not one hatched! We've got thirty-one this time (including eight eggs she gave us from her chickens), and we are hoping and praying they all hatch, are healthy, and are mostly hens! Our hen population is down to three, and Mom is missing getting to do all her cooking with 'home-grown' eggs.
The ones in the first picture are two of the ones from Mrs. H. She gave us four of the little tiny white banty eggs, and four others that are real small, but I don't think completely banty.
The ones in the next picture are the two sizes we put in.
The last picture just shows a comparison of all four sizes together.
(Sorry about the marker on the shells. We wrote the date we gathered each egg in Sharpie on the shell, so we could tell later how the age of the eggs affected how likely they were to hatch.)
Uncle David came over for a week-or-so's visit, and The Grandparents have been thrilled to have him here! His whole family was hoping to get to come right after Christmas, and the funeral of the oldest uncle, but were not able to afford the plane fare for four people across the ocean. Someone in their sponsoring church, though, gave an offering of enough for Uncle David to come and see his parents. He is so hyper and fun and joking, and yet so willing, hard-working, and one of the most respectful-to/of-his-parents people I know. It's been good having him around to 'increase our endorphins', and we can tell The Grandparents have really 'perked up' to have his lively spirit around.
Yesterday, was Justice and Noel's wedding. The bridesmaids wore black dresses, and the groomsmen wore black suits. The women carried red roses and the men wore red rose boutonnieres. Justice's coat was white to match Noel. Somehow I did not end up taking a single picture! Oh well...
We ended up going to two weddings yesterday. Justice and Noel's, and then one of a young man whose family we have known since the kids were just little bitty. They are home school friends, and we were part of the same home school group for years. I did take a few pictures there.
Lindy and her family used to go to church with their family, so she was there too, and sat with us.
While we were in town yesterday, we went by Lifeway and I picked up 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' that I had pre-ordered before it came out. Dad took Trissy and me to see it in the theater - Mom was sick, and couldn't go with us :( - and that was the second time Trissy and I had been to a theater (the first was for Fireproof). I would NOT want to go regularly, but I'd like to support good movies. We hope to go and see Courageous when it comes out in September. But anyway, Dad really liked 'Dawn Treader', so Trissy and I are going to give it to him for his birthday :) .
While I was there, I also got 'Pendragon' which I have been wanting ever since I saw it several months ago. If you want something good, clean, imaginative, and exciting to watch, (not including Sherwood Pictures movies) I would recommend this! It is excellent! Uncle Alvin's are supposed to come down tonight, and Jaylyn and Jewel have been wanting to see it again, so maybe we can watch it after church.
Toby hurt his knee playing basketball a couple of weeks ago, and the doctor thinks he may have torn his ACL. If he has, he'll have to have surgery to fix it, and may not get to go on the two mission trips he was planning on being a part of this summer. Lindy said he's pretty discouraged about that, but still hopeful. He has an MRI on Tuesday, to find out for sure what's wrong, and after that, he and his parents can make a decision on what he's going to do.
Mrs. Shannen, Bro. Earl's wife, recently learned she has a hole in her heart, and she's going to have surgery this week, Lord willing. A week or so ago, she was at work, and one side of her face went numb, and she felt lightheaded. After alot of tests, they found out that the hole in her heart that all babies have when they're born had never closed up, and it was letting little clots through, and causing minor strokes.
It kind of gave us a scare, but she seems fine now, she's just going to have to have it closed up.
Bro. Earl's got laryngitis, so he couldn't preach this morning. Bro. Dennis preached for him, and it was excellent as usual. He preached on what true success is, and how to obtain it. Success is not health, wealth, and prosperity. Success is being satisfied with where the Lord has you, and doing your best for Him in the situations you find yourself it.
That's the sermon in a very small nutshell :) .
About halfway through the sermon, the electricity went off! I mean everything, the microphone, the lights, the recording machine, everything. He was just talking along, and all of a sudden there was kindof a snap, and the whole big auditorium went dark. Nobody missed a beat, just 'rolled with it' as they say, and Bro. Dennis just kept preaching and would say something like, "Now, if you can see your Bibles, please turn to this scripture reference" every now and then.
It was actually kind of cozy :) ! Some of the men got up and opened the doors into the hallways and the foyer, to let the sunlight in, and we just kept going. I am just sad that the recording machine couldn't work, because I had wanted a copy of the service to re-watch later.
"Austin and The Band" as Bro. Mike calls them (our young people who play and lead the singing for the youth class on Wednesday nights) led our music this morning and did an excellent job. I suppose they did the music because Bro. Dennis was preaching and couldn't do both.
They are getting better and better. They're all good musicians, but when they first started, they sounded like they were just starting, if you get my drift ;) . Now they blend and seem to play off each other really well. It seems like they're better every time I hear them just about! They usually pick out really good music and songs too, which of course, is half the thing, right there. And they use their great talents to glorify the Lord; that's the best thing - knowing these kids want to love and serve Christ - that's so rare these days in young people. These are such a blessing!
Dad had made hamburgers Friday, and we had them for left-overs today for lunch. Mom usually likes us to cook a 'Sunday dinner', but with all the running around and other things that have been happening lately, and since we had plenty, we just decided to do left-overs today. Trissy started fixing Dad's burger, then she called me over and showed it to me and said, "I'm going to call him to finish it!" :) .
She's real cute with things like that.
Well, I think that's about it. Besides, Trissy and I need to scoot on off to choir practice. Bro. Dennis let us all have a couple of weeks off after Easter :) .
I just wanted to record a few of the things that have been happening around and to me.
This morning church especially was SUCH a blessing and refreshment from the Lord! I can never cease to thank Him for leading us to this place, and the wonderful family He has given us, and the lessons (both easy and hard) He has taught us here. He is so amazing; so good.
{Zig-zags courtesy of Jones Design Company}
First off, I am SO thankful to be done with yet another semester of school! Lord willing I only have one more (this Fall) and I'll be done for good! YAY!!! :)
The Lord was good, and gave me A's in all my classes, too. I've done well, as far as grades, but I want to finish off the rest of what I have to do, with all A's.
We have a busy summer ahead though! Right now, Trissy and I are trying to get ready for the mission trip we're planning on taking. Several people from our church are planning to be going on various mission trips this summer, and our church itself is planning two of our own. Trissy and I are planning on going on the first one, which is just a little less than three weeks away!
Last week Jaylyn helped us get set up with a Skype account, so now we can talk with them when they go back to the mission field! We're really excited. But they'll be another continent away... that seems so far, yet with the blessings of modern technology, not nearly as far away as when The Grandparents were missionaries overseas!
Mrs. H said for us to keep her incubator over the summer and try to hatch some more chicks. We'd tried right before the end of school, and had put more than twenty eggs in, but not one hatched! We've got thirty-one this time (including eight eggs she gave us from her chickens), and we are hoping and praying they all hatch, are healthy, and are mostly hens! Our hen population is down to three, and Mom is missing getting to do all her cooking with 'home-grown' eggs.
The ones in the first picture are two of the ones from Mrs. H. She gave us four of the little tiny white banty eggs, and four others that are real small, but I don't think completely banty.
The ones in the next picture are the two sizes we put in.
The last picture just shows a comparison of all four sizes together.
(Sorry about the marker on the shells. We wrote the date we gathered each egg in Sharpie on the shell, so we could tell later how the age of the eggs affected how likely they were to hatch.)
Uncle David came over for a week-or-so's visit, and The Grandparents have been thrilled to have him here! His whole family was hoping to get to come right after Christmas, and the funeral of the oldest uncle, but were not able to afford the plane fare for four people across the ocean. Someone in their sponsoring church, though, gave an offering of enough for Uncle David to come and see his parents. He is so hyper and fun and joking, and yet so willing, hard-working, and one of the most respectful-to/of-his-parents people I know. It's been good having him around to 'increase our endorphins', and we can tell The Grandparents have really 'perked up' to have his lively spirit around.
Yesterday, was Justice and Noel's wedding. The bridesmaids wore black dresses, and the groomsmen wore black suits. The women carried red roses and the men wore red rose boutonnieres. Justice's coat was white to match Noel. Somehow I did not end up taking a single picture! Oh well...
We ended up going to two weddings yesterday. Justice and Noel's, and then one of a young man whose family we have known since the kids were just little bitty. They are home school friends, and we were part of the same home school group for years. I did take a few pictures there.
Lindy and her family used to go to church with their family, so she was there too, and sat with us.
While we were in town yesterday, we went by Lifeway and I picked up 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' that I had pre-ordered before it came out. Dad took Trissy and me to see it in the theater - Mom was sick, and couldn't go with us :( - and that was the second time Trissy and I had been to a theater (the first was for Fireproof). I would NOT want to go regularly, but I'd like to support good movies. We hope to go and see Courageous when it comes out in September. But anyway, Dad really liked 'Dawn Treader', so Trissy and I are going to give it to him for his birthday :) .
While I was there, I also got 'Pendragon' which I have been wanting ever since I saw it several months ago. If you want something good, clean, imaginative, and exciting to watch, (not including Sherwood Pictures movies) I would recommend this! It is excellent! Uncle Alvin's are supposed to come down tonight, and Jaylyn and Jewel have been wanting to see it again, so maybe we can watch it after church.
Toby hurt his knee playing basketball a couple of weeks ago, and the doctor thinks he may have torn his ACL. If he has, he'll have to have surgery to fix it, and may not get to go on the two mission trips he was planning on being a part of this summer. Lindy said he's pretty discouraged about that, but still hopeful. He has an MRI on Tuesday, to find out for sure what's wrong, and after that, he and his parents can make a decision on what he's going to do.
Mrs. Shannen, Bro. Earl's wife, recently learned she has a hole in her heart, and she's going to have surgery this week, Lord willing. A week or so ago, she was at work, and one side of her face went numb, and she felt lightheaded. After alot of tests, they found out that the hole in her heart that all babies have when they're born had never closed up, and it was letting little clots through, and causing minor strokes.
It kind of gave us a scare, but she seems fine now, she's just going to have to have it closed up.
Bro. Earl's got laryngitis, so he couldn't preach this morning. Bro. Dennis preached for him, and it was excellent as usual. He preached on what true success is, and how to obtain it. Success is not health, wealth, and prosperity. Success is being satisfied with where the Lord has you, and doing your best for Him in the situations you find yourself it.
That's the sermon in a very small nutshell :) .
About halfway through the sermon, the electricity went off! I mean everything, the microphone, the lights, the recording machine, everything. He was just talking along, and all of a sudden there was kindof a snap, and the whole big auditorium went dark. Nobody missed a beat, just 'rolled with it' as they say, and Bro. Dennis just kept preaching and would say something like, "Now, if you can see your Bibles, please turn to this scripture reference" every now and then.
It was actually kind of cozy :) ! Some of the men got up and opened the doors into the hallways and the foyer, to let the sunlight in, and we just kept going. I am just sad that the recording machine couldn't work, because I had wanted a copy of the service to re-watch later.
"Austin and The Band" as Bro. Mike calls them (our young people who play and lead the singing for the youth class on Wednesday nights) led our music this morning and did an excellent job. I suppose they did the music because Bro. Dennis was preaching and couldn't do both.
They are getting better and better. They're all good musicians, but when they first started, they sounded like they were just starting, if you get my drift ;) . Now they blend and seem to play off each other really well. It seems like they're better every time I hear them just about! They usually pick out really good music and songs too, which of course, is half the thing, right there. And they use their great talents to glorify the Lord; that's the best thing - knowing these kids want to love and serve Christ - that's so rare these days in young people. These are such a blessing!
Dad had made hamburgers Friday, and we had them for left-overs today for lunch. Mom usually likes us to cook a 'Sunday dinner', but with all the running around and other things that have been happening lately, and since we had plenty, we just decided to do left-overs today. Trissy started fixing Dad's burger, then she called me over and showed it to me and said, "I'm going to call him to finish it!" :) .
She's real cute with things like that.
Well, I think that's about it. Besides, Trissy and I need to scoot on off to choir practice. Bro. Dennis let us all have a couple of weeks off after Easter :) .
I just wanted to record a few of the things that have been happening around and to me.
This morning church especially was SUCH a blessing and refreshment from the Lord! I can never cease to thank Him for leading us to this place, and the wonderful family He has given us, and the lessons (both easy and hard) He has taught us here. He is so amazing; so good.
{Zig-zags courtesy of Jones Design Company}
"...for the LORD will do great things."
Note: This post has been compiled and added to over the course of several weeks, and is not yet a complete account. I may be adding to it.
March 14th ~
D-Now started it.
I have been receiving lots of lessons on prayer lately it seems, and have been provoked to deep thought, and encouraged by these lessons in my prayers for children for Bro. Dennis and Mrs. Carrie. I've been praying that, before Mrs. Carrie's birthday (May 1st), they will find out that they are expecting a child.
The week before D-Now, Trissy and I and Autumn were at the church working on painting and things in preparation. Autumn found a CD player, and turned it on. One of the songs was called "That's What Faith Can Do".
We were busy working, so I wasn't paying really close attention, until the chorus:
"I've seen dreams that move the mountains,
hope that doesn't ever end, even when the sky is falling.
I've seen miracles just happen,
silent prayers get answered,
broken hearts become brand new.
That's what Faith can do."
Then of course, as I've said, the series we used as our 'curriculum' for the weekend was focusing on prayer. Persistent prayer. For sake of the amount of time I have right now, I won't tell all about it, but I'll try to come back later.
During the revival then, the preacher made several comments regarding powerful prayer. Here again, I'll try to come back later and fill this area in.
Yesterday evening at church, as Trissy and I were waiting on everyone to gather for choir practice, Aron's mom came in absolutely beaming, and spoke to a couple of ladies who were also sitting visiting, and waiting on choir practice: Aron and Henley are expecting their first child after being married less than a year.
How happy I am for them! And yet oh how it tore my heart to think, as more people came in and the news spread, how dear, sweet Mrs. Carrie must be hurting amid the hub-bub. Aron's mother could hardly talk about anything except becoming a grandmother during the lulls between songs at Choir Practice. Of course, she should be excited and proud!
Yet I wondered what Mrs. Carrie was thinking, and Bro. Dennis, as he led the practice and kept us in stitches with his merriment.
How tempting it is to think, "It's not fair."
But, of course, it is - God decides what's fair, not us.
This morning during my devotional, I was struggling to stay awake after getting up earlier than usual. I've been reading in the Old Testament, and am now in Joel. For various reasons, I read only the first half or so of chapter two yesterday morning (I usually read a whole chapter), and was going to finish today. So this morning I was fighting my droopy eyelids and trying to be attentive as I read, when I came across verse 21, and was jerked to attention - it seemed the Lord called to me with that first verse, and kept speaking gently, personalizing the verses as I read them:
"Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.
(Don't be afraid, you that are Mine, because of what you think might or might not happen. Be glad! Rejoice! I the Lord will do great things.)
Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring,
(Don't be afraid, you who I take care of; the barren place is barren no longer - it is Spring! - the time of young and growing things, and they are springing to life. )
for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
(the wife is fruitful; her husband is strengthened.)
Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God:
(Be glad then, My child, and rejoice in the LORD your God)
for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain
(for He has rained blessings on you before with answered requests - He will bring down more and more)
in the first month.
(at the time you have asked.)
And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
(There will be a full reason for rejoicing - and no end to the rejoicing itself.)
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm,
(I will restore to you the years that seem to have been wasted and lost)
My great army which I sent among you.
(but I sent them - and for a reason.)
And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied,
(And you will have more than you thought or asked, and will be satisfied)
and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and My people shall never be ashamed.
And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and My people shall never be ashamed."
Joel 2:21-27
(Don't be afraid, you that are Mine, because of what you think might or might not happen. Be glad! Rejoice! I the Lord will do great things.)
Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring,
(Don't be afraid, you who I take care of; the barren place is barren no longer - it is Spring! - the time of young and growing things, and they are springing to life. )
for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
(the wife is fruitful; her husband is strengthened.)
Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God:
(Be glad then, My child, and rejoice in the LORD your God)
for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain
(for He has rained blessings on you before with answered requests - He will bring down more and more)
in the first month.
(at the time you have asked.)
And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
(There will be a full reason for rejoicing - and no end to the rejoicing itself.)
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm,
(I will restore to you the years that seem to have been wasted and lost)
My great army which I sent among you.
(but I sent them - and for a reason.)
And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied,
(And you will have more than you thought or asked, and will be satisfied)
and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and My people shall never be ashamed.
And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and My people shall never be ashamed."
Joel 2:21-27
Also today, as I was looking at the list in my dashboard of blogs I'm 'following', I noticed a post on prayer. Though the subject was a different one, at the bottom of the post was a 'quotable' that just whacked me in the face when I read it:
"God does answer prayer. All the time. Just not how you think He will."
I don't know what's going to happen. But the Lord does.
May 1st ~
May 1st - Mrs. Carrie's birthday. Nothing.
"We Will Understand It Better By And By". "Farther Along".
Yet will I trust Him - I must trust Him, or my faith will be crippled to such an extent as I must never allow it to be while I am able.
The "Why?" question. They say people always ask, "Why?". I used to pride myself on the fact that I did not. But I haven't been able to honestly say that for a while. I do ask "Why?", though mine is more like, "WHY?!"
Why does He award children to wicked, sensually-minded, selfish, ignorant, unmarried, unashamed sinners, who then thank Him for the gift by throwing it away, when the Godly, pure, humble, faithful, patient husband and wife weep at the death of a miracle, and wait broken-hearted in tentative hope?
I do ask "Why?". I am asking "Why?".
What more could one want in a real man, than Bro. Dennis? And what more is to be desired in a real woman, than Mrs. Carrie?
Are there two people more qualified to be entrusted with the care and raising of a new soul?!
Yet will I trust Him. I MUST trust Him. What right have I not to trust Him? Am I so arrogant to pretend to know better than God Almighty?! To shake my head disbelievingly when the Maker of everything chooses to not follow my plan of proceeding?
No, I don't mean to!
So why do I doubt?
If He is Who I believe He is (and He is) then why do I feel so betrayed? So broken? Why does my hope feel mangled? My dreams mocked?
That old Serpent. Could he be tempted with faith such as what I had, and let it lay peaceful and unchallenged? Now that I think of it, this could be a very real and quite probable answer.
I did have faith. I firmly believed that we would find out today that Bro. Dennis and Mrs. Carrie were going to have a child. My mind even subconsciously envisioned the senario. And as I watched it play out in my mind, my heart would almost stop for joy!
I believed, but it did not happen.
So my belief, or faith, or lack thereof, did not cause the denial of my request.
That means God had it planned a certain way all along (well, of course He did - I'm just thinking/reasoning out loud, trying to sort things out here in my own mind).
And if He had it planned out in such a way as could not line up with mine, I wonder if it hurt Him to go ahead and do it, knowing how it would hurt me.
I'm even envisioning now a senario of finding out some time later this week, that things worked out like I asked for them to, I just didn't find out about it under the timetable I had imagined :) . Wouldn't that be funny? People say God has a sense of humor, and I hope that's not disrespectful, because I'm sure it's true!
But I have no right to expect or even hope for that. He will do things as He wants them done. And that's always the way they should be done. But OH how hard it is sometimes to say, "Not mine, but Thy will be done."
I wonder if the above type of conversation is what the Bible is talking about when it says in Proverbs, "
Ok. Boy! What is He doing?!
I was just about to say how the conversation I've been having here with myself must be what the Bible was talking about in Proverbs when it said to commune with your own heart upon your bed. So I was going to look it up to get the right wording, only it's not Proverbs, it's Psalms!! So I went to search for it in another tab, and when I realized it was Psalms, I searched again for "KJV Psalm 4:4".
The link I clicked on took me to Psalm 37:4 - nothing to do with "Psalm 4:4" except "Psalm" and "4"
"4 Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
Oh. My. Goodness.
And I just noticed, it doesn't have Psalm 37:4. It has Psalm 37:4-5
"4 Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."
I don't know what to say right now. I'll come back later. I've got to think. Without trying to type my thoughts at the same time.
May 2nd ~
I'm the last one to bed. It's fairly late. I was feeling all confused and muddled, and my soul was restless and disquieted. I'm not sure what to think about all the input I've been getting, and needed a verse or promise to 'hang on to' amid the confusion.
I sat down on my bed, reached over, and took my Bible from my desk. I opened it to Psalms, and my eyes fell on Ps. 4:1 & 4:
"Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: Thou has enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. ... Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah."
How appropriate.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
When Words Hurt
Have you ever been hurt by someone you love? Has a sharp word, an unkind remark, or a thoughtless come-back cut you deeply and left you wondering what to say or how to respond? I'm sure it has. I think it has happened to everyone at some point in their life. I know it's happened to me.
There are some people in my life who I love very much. We can have great times together - fun, fellowship, idea-sharing, games, discussion, movie-watching, you name it.
Yet, sometimes, it seems it's all a front - the goodnatured-ribbing has an ugly counterpart of brutal, biting mockery; the other side of the thoughtful discussion can be a bitter contest of wills and the conviction that "my way, my opinion is the right one"; the movie topic inspires stubborn argument over what is appropriate as far as content. At times, it seems that, really, they can't stand me, and since they are forced to share my company, they might as well make me as miserable as possible.
I know I am very strong-willed, and if I feel I am in the right, I am not going to back down until presented with logical arguments. I know I have a tendency to blurt out my opinion at times.
Yet, sometimes it seems that these people go out of their way to hurt me. I ask a simple question, with no other motive than curiousity, and my head is bit off for my thoughtless arrogance! I'm doing a job, and I am calmly ignored, stepped in front of, and the job taken directly out of my hands with an "I am qualified to accomplish this" attitude. Or I am drawn into a conversation where I am led to believe my opinion is being sought, and then sit in speechless hurt while I am ripped to shreds.
What should be my reaction in these circumstances? I know what it should be.
I should calmly turn the other cheek. Be respectful. Walk away. Pretend they were never unkind, and treat them just as if they were never unkind, as if I had no reason not to love them completely.
But it's hard. OH so hard! I am a bold soul, and yet I shrink from being on "the bad side" of anyone. To have a living thing displeased with me - for whatever the reason, whether it really is my fault, or whether I am totally innocent - is one of the horrors of my soul. It's worse when I'm innocent, for then I cannot in good conscience appologize - I've done nothing wrong! If I was in the wrong, I can at least try to fix it by an appology. But it's dreadfully hard either way. And when it's someone I love - someone close to me - the pain becomes almost unbearable.
There is no 'solution', only to beg for the Lord's mercy to help me react, or not, in a way that would bring Him no blame.
There are some people in my life who I love very much. We can have great times together - fun, fellowship, idea-sharing, games, discussion, movie-watching, you name it.
Yet, sometimes, it seems it's all a front - the goodnatured-ribbing has an ugly counterpart of brutal, biting mockery; the other side of the thoughtful discussion can be a bitter contest of wills and the conviction that "my way, my opinion is the right one"; the movie topic inspires stubborn argument over what is appropriate as far as content. At times, it seems that, really, they can't stand me, and since they are forced to share my company, they might as well make me as miserable as possible.
I know I am very strong-willed, and if I feel I am in the right, I am not going to back down until presented with logical arguments. I know I have a tendency to blurt out my opinion at times.
Yet, sometimes it seems that these people go out of their way to hurt me. I ask a simple question, with no other motive than curiousity, and my head is bit off for my thoughtless arrogance! I'm doing a job, and I am calmly ignored, stepped in front of, and the job taken directly out of my hands with an "I am qualified to accomplish this" attitude. Or I am drawn into a conversation where I am led to believe my opinion is being sought, and then sit in speechless hurt while I am ripped to shreds.
What should be my reaction in these circumstances? I know what it should be.
I should calmly turn the other cheek. Be respectful. Walk away. Pretend they were never unkind, and treat them just as if they were never unkind, as if I had no reason not to love them completely.
But it's hard. OH so hard! I am a bold soul, and yet I shrink from being on "the bad side" of anyone. To have a living thing displeased with me - for whatever the reason, whether it really is my fault, or whether I am totally innocent - is one of the horrors of my soul. It's worse when I'm innocent, for then I cannot in good conscience appologize - I've done nothing wrong! If I was in the wrong, I can at least try to fix it by an appology. But it's dreadfully hard either way. And when it's someone I love - someone close to me - the pain becomes almost unbearable.
There is no 'solution', only to beg for the Lord's mercy to help me react, or not, in a way that would bring Him no blame.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Shelter In The Storm
The Lord is Merciful beyond measure; He will not put upon us troubles harder to bear than we are able.
At times, He puts us through sorrow and difficulty to draw us closer to Him, or to teach us some lesson that we could not learn any other way.
But so many times, He shelters and spares us from danger and sorrow of world-shaking (at least, our world) proportions, and we do not even realize it. And when we do, many times we do not even think to thank Him.
This past week, Clinton, MS, has been in the news because of the tornadoes it has been experiencing.
Toby, Lindy's boyfriend and one of our dear young men friends of our College group (he also played the part of the "Friend" in "Lost Or Found"), is big into tennis, and has been traveling around to all kinds of places for tournaments with his tennis scholarship.
He was in Clinton for a tournament this past week, and was telling us Sunday of looking out the window of his hotel and watching the tornado, and cars being flipped on the highway as it went through. The buildings on either side of where he was were either damaged or destroyed.
I made the comment later to Mom, that I wondered if the hotel where he was would have been destroyed too, if he hadn't been there in it!
Uncle Alvin's have been down visiting for a few days, and today Mom was telling them about it. I was busy around, and was only listening with 'half my brain', until Mom asked The Grandmother what the verse was that the situation had reminded Mom of? Something about, 'lest we should have sorrow upon sorrow'?
I stopped short to listen, and it hit me suddenly like a 'ton of bricks', as they say:
Toby could have been killed!
Dear Toby, who we've nicknamed "The Little Missionary" because of his rather shy ways, but passion for the salvation of his lost friends.
It had not hit me like that Sunday.
Though he would be in the presence of Christ ("...which is far better:" Phil. 1:23), oh what sorrow it would be for us who were left behind! How we would miss him!
And how gracious the Lord is - He made a shelter in the storm, and protected this dear son, brother, friend, for the sake of those who love him.
Here is the verse Mom was talking about:
"For indeed he was ... nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow."
Phil. 2:27
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Thursday, April 14, 2011
Law And Grace
{To most of you who may read this, the title of this post will not appear to have much, if anything, to do with the post itself. But it has significance to me, and I have my reasons for naming it this way.}
During D-Now, as well as great triumphs, there were a couple of major disappointments. One has to do with a specific person, the younger brother of one of our dear college friends.
Even though I don't use real names here, I still hesitate to specify who it was. But it is a young man who has been raised in a family setting very similar to Trissy's and mine. When they first came to the church and we began to get to know them, we were refreshed and blessed by their Godliness and old-fashioned sense of values and living. When the three youngest kids were enrolled in the Christian Academy, and this young man became good friends with another young man in the school who seemed to be needing some Godly influence, I was so glad and thankful, and hoped the one would be that Godly influence on the other.
That was well over a year ago, and though I haven't become "close" friends with him, as I have with his older, college-age sibling, and with his two younger sisters, I've still enjoyed watching him grow into - seemingly - a maturing and God-honoring young man. As an example, he is very accomplished musically, and around that same time, another young person publicly praised his talent. He looked them pointedly in the eye, and stated emphatically, "This is for Jesus."
Though just in his early teenage years, he showed great promise of becoming a dependable and great man.
Then D-Now, and at one point I happened to overhear him make a comment to someone that, though not terrible by most standards, did not strike me as being completely appropriate, and I frowned slightly to myself, thinking that was a rather poor reflection of the general standards of his family.
Later that same evening, my heart felt as though it had been torn open, when one of the other young people made a sort of off-hand remark about a supposed incident this same young man had been involved in. I could not believe it, and though hanging on to the fact that the story was, as far as I could tell, still just a rumor, I hurt so bad to think that it actually could be true.
I hung onto my faith in this dear young brother's integrity, watching and hoping for an opportunity to verify whether the story was true, or just another silly teenager's idea of a bad joke on a friend.
I have not been able to find out for sure on that particular story, but as the weeks have passed since D-Now, incident after little incident have occurred, giving evidence that he is not the same as he once was.
He's been caught texting during at least one church service; he skipped church one Sunday night to play instruments with a friend, who also was supposed to be in church (the same friend, I might add, from the Academy who I and others had hoped he would be a 'good influence' on); during Wednesday night small-group time, he has expressed indifference; and he just generally has an attitude that seems to indicate he may be slipping from a firm foundation, to go floating off listlessly into a sea of indifferent apathy.
There are several people in the church who are very concerned about him.
Yesterday I was in Wal*Mart for something, and I kept passing young people there, and I thought, 'Who will save them from this wicked and perverse generation?! How many will fall prey to the wiles of the Devil - the Destroyer of all that is dear and precious and young and tender? If our own are 'falling away', what is to become of the rest, who have no foundation?'. And of course I understand, nothing will happen that Almighty God does not see, allow, and possibly even cause, to happen. Yet so many times I feel I am being torn apart with the realization of my frailty and helplessness to rescue the thousands, millions even, of starfish that lay dying and vulnerable on the scorching sand.
But, like the starfish story, I can help to rescue one, ten, or maybe even (if I work diligently without delay) a hundred or even a thousand.
I hope the Lord will use me greatly, in the life of this young man, and in the lives of the other struggling young people I have had the honor of influencing and knowing here at the church.
People will disappoint you - no two ways about it. The Lord will not.
And this is not 'the end'. The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and of great mercy. Perhaps this dear boy is struggling with some unseen doubt or enemy, that no one knows about, and in his confusion and hardship, he's reacting in the wrong way - pushing away the only true Help that there is.
But there is always hope. While there's life, there's hope. And the Lord works in ways we can not always see. He gives Grace.
Last night after church I was so sad over him. Before I went to bed, I opened my Bible to the book of Psalms, looking for something to give me comfort and reassurance of the Lord's presence and control.
It opened to the first chapter (there was a bookmark there), and I started to flip through it, turning the page. On the next page, in chapter 4, were some verses I'd underlined months, perhaps years, ago; they had been an encouragement in another situation, and as I re-read them, I felt comfort and hope again:
"...commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.
Selah.
...put your trust in the Lord.
...
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety."
I went back and read the whole chapter, and it all seemed to strangely apply to this situation.
To anyone who reads this: Please pray for this friend. I don't know how to pray, how to ask you to pray - just do.
SOLI DEO GLORIA!
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