When Your 10 Year Old Sweetheart Decides to Be Baptized

The phone rings {or was it an email?} and we get the most delightful news that our tender gentle-spirited ten year old granddaughter has decided to be baptized.

In five days.

So we put the finishing touches on the house as we get it ready to sell, tie up loose ends here and there, and shift around a few plans.  After this past week's rather windswept breathless days, we pack our bags and jump into the car for the five hour trek to Annapolis.

For this, the sacred, matters.

It's right up there with the day she was born.  And her someday, far off wedding.  It's that earth shaking, that meaningful, that precious.  Yes it is.

This, her decision to honor to Christ by letting everyone know in a very public way, that her life belongs to Him and Him alone.

I will remember this evening always, surrounded by family and many friends, eager little cousins straining to catch every glimpse of water sloshing over the side of the tank.  Her story of salvation read aloud, her parents, brothers, and sisters gathered 'round the sacred pool, her dad asking her the most meaningful of questions before he oh-so-gently lowers her under the water and raises her up, symbolizing sin put to death, new spiritual life come to dwell forever.

We give her the Bible that was given to me in 8th grade, our own words of love side-by-side with the original inscription.

And all I can do is thank God for this sacred mercy, to see yet one more granddaughter proclaim her forever love for Jesus in a pool of warm water.

The tears pool in my own eyes as I smile with a peaceful joy, as I release another huge sigh of gratitude.

And for the millionth time this week, I can't help but praise the God I adore, whose blessings never seem to come to an end.

* Yes, Kathryn's our sweet girl who created that little video that just about went viral around here, the one welcoming her six month old brother Tyler home from the hospital for the very first time ...

*  Sharing joy with Kelly  .  Mary  .  Holley  .  Lyli  .   Susan

3 Cherished Little Guidebooks

Devotions.

That sacred little quiet time with God has gotten a bad rap along the way.  Instead of a winsome invitation from the Lover of our souls that woos us deeper into His arms of grace and mercy, it's too often morphed into a heavy, cumbersome discipline that we run from.

For many of us, it's become a guilt-induced labor filled with shoulds and oughts instead of a sweet respite, a nest of solitude and silence that overflows with delight and strength-giving power.

Truth be told, we've all struggled with creating those sacred minutes that impact us at the soul level.  I don't know a single person who's arrived and is fully satisfied with how they connect with the One that loves them best.  

Sometimes a new little guidebook or a fresh translation of the Bible, a crisp-paged journal or figuring out a better time / location can make a world of difference.

A few weeks back, I scooped up a few of the devotional books I've collected over the years and snapped this photo.

I love these little guidebooks that have been gathered along the way.

But my all time favorites?  Probably these three.

Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith ~ Henri Nouwen
Just a few paragraphs speak so deeply into your soul that you're kind of left in awe.  That's who Nouwen was, that's what this book offers.  Spending a quiet minute at his site has become a bit of a sacred breath in my morning online routine ...

'The table is one of the most intimate places in our lives. It is there that we give ourselves to one another.  When we say, 'Take some more, let me serve you another plate, let me pour you another glass, don't be shy, enjoy it,' we say a lot more than our words express.  We invite our friends to become part of our lives.  We want them to be nurtured by the same food and drink that nurture us.  We desire communion . . . Every breakfast, lunch, or dinner can become a time of growing communion with one another.'

Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence ~ Sarah Young
I often read one of Sarah's offerings to a client at the end of a difficult counseling session when we've gone deep and unearthed pain.  She often can't believe that the words weren't written just for her, for they speak peace and hope to her weary heart.

And now the book is not only at my office, but also on my desk at home in the form of one of those perpetual calendars which keeps me company when my computer's dragging its feet getting where I want it to go.

'Talk with Me about every aspect of your day, including your feelings.  Remember that your ultimate goal is not to control or fix everything around you; it is to keep communing with me.  A successful day is one in which you have stayed in touch with Me, even if many things remain undone at the end of the day.  Do not let your to-do list {written or mental} become an idol directing your life.  Instead, ask My Spirit to guide you moment by moment.  He will keep you close to Me.'

One Thousand Gifts Devotional: Reflections on Finding Everyday Graces ~ Ann Voskamp
Ann's original 1000 Gifts book changed my life upside down, propelling me into a gratitude focused mindset that slowly but surely impacted the dailyness of my life.

If you loved the book, the devotional will take you back to that place where gratitude abounds, even in the midst of the ugliest or saddest of circumstances.  I just finished it last week and I've already started paging through once more.  It's that good.

'It is the astonishing truth that while I serve Christ, it is He who serves me.  Jesus Christ still lives with a towel around His waist, bent in service to His people ... in service to me as I serve, that I need never serve in my own strength ... He calls us to serve, and it is Him who we serve, but He, very God, kneels down to serve as we serve.  Spend the whole of your wild and beautiful life investing in many lives, and God simply will not be outdone.  God extravagantly pays back everything we give away and exactly in the currency that is not of this world but of the one we yearn for - joy in Him.'

Let's talk about the devotional books you cherish

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your struggles with a quiet time

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and rewards of those nestling-with-God experiences

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In Which We Are Invited . . .

'So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this Child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart ...'
Luke 2:16-19.

*   *   *

 

These final days of Advent.

This is when we are invited to step away from our ordinary routines.  So that we can fully step into His extraordinary story.

For some, this venturing away from business as usual happens gradually, almost imperceptibly.  For others, it requires a clear decision made that invites the possibility of a holy awe to settle in and over and somewhere deep within our beings.

We ponder the story of the birth of the Holy One, our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

And His young God-chosen mother.

For Mary is living out an unbelievable holy saga as her simply unexplainable pregnancy and the scandal that surely swirled around her take on a life of their own.

Literally.

The grueling journey by some beast of burden takes place in her final days of pregnancy.  At their assigned destination, does panic descend as she realizes that there is not a decent room to be had? 

And what does she do with the stark realization that she and Joseph will be settling into an animal shelter, a shed jam-packed with an assortment of creatures whose owners have also joined the town's throngs?

As labor pains begin to grip her body with a burning frequency, the surreal reality hits her and her husband-to-be.  Her birthing suite would be right in the midst of manure-littered straw with cumbersome, noisy animals staring as they chomped on their feed ... and no woman friend or relative to gently guide her to the culmination of this, her virgin birth.

The Spirit who brought Jesus into her womb never leaves her side as she delivers the Son of God into a fallen world that's just as messy as the shed in which He took His first earthly breaths.

 

Miraculously, the Spirit quiets her young wise soul even as the Holy Child's first visitors include a random assortment of shepherds and more than a few curious bystanders who've caught wind of this unusual sacred drama. The ragtag company heads off in awe to spread the incredible heavenly news. 

 

And Mary is somehow able to pause.  In the midst of all that has swirled around her in a short period of time, she gently rests with her Savior-Baby and processes all that has happened.  Does she once again offer up those early pregnancy praises recorded in Luke's first chapter?  Or does she simply contemplate her own private thoughts during these first hours with the Son of God in her arms, at her breast?

 

Fast forward a couple thousand years. 

 

In the midst of our own whirlwind of emotions, travel plans, unexpected circumstances, glorious surprises, and deepest disappointments, we, too, are offered a compelling invitation to lay aside all that's ordinary and dwell on the sacred extraordinary.  We, who have been offered eternal hope and everlasting joy, are invited to ponder the remarkably glorious news that Jesus Christ is born.  And meditate, once again, on the miracle of our salvation and promise of heaven for those who claim Him as their own.

 

Just like the young virgin mother did all those generations ago.

 

I'm heeding that winsome invitation to take a bit of a break from business as usual.  Sweetest Advent blessings to you, my friends.  Be sure that I'll see you a bit further down the road ...

 

Comfort & Joy ~

 

Wildflowers * autumn nesting delights

A voice says, 'Shout!'


I said, 'what shall I shout?'


'These people are nothing but grass, their love fragile as wildflowers.


The grass withers, the wildflowers fade, if God so much as puffs on them.


Aren't these people just so much grass?


True, the grass withers and the wildflowers fade, but our God's Word stands firm and forever.'
- Isaiah 40 {The Message}

Oh Dear God ~

 

In many ways our lives are so very fragile.  The very next breath we breathe just might be our last.  That's a little unsettling.  To say the least.

 

But when all is said and done, we know deep within our hearts that our birth days, our death days, and every hour sandwiched in between our arrival and departure from this planet are completely in Your most wise and capable hands.  And although we sure would like to call the shots and control the timetable of each second that defines our existence here on this earth, the span of our years is completely out of our control.

 

That, too, can be more than a little unsettling.

 

We are Yours.  And when that peace-laden truth finally settles in afresh to our oft' worried, anxious hearts and minds, we, with faltering lips, can only pray, 'Thy will be done.'

 

Give us a strengthening grace to live that prayer out moment by moment, with a holy joy that just can't be explained ... or taken away.  Especially when loss and grief threaten to overwhelm. 

 

For Jesus sake.  For Your glory.

 

Amen

 

 In honor and memory of my parents' three loved ones

who've passed away in the last few weeks.

 

Come quickly, oh blessed Comforter, come.

 

//

 

Leave a prayerful thought on this post and you'll put yourself in the the running

for one of the two giveaways of Myquillyn Smith's book, THE NESTING PLACE. 

 

Click here for the details of the giveaway and the links to all the series' posts.

 

 Sabbath's purest, kindest blessings to you, to yours.

 

//

 

>     nesting with Barbie & Lisha & Courtney     <

Living Wide-Eyed

 'No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. 

 

It's put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they're going.

 

Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. 

 

If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light.

 

If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar.

 

Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don't get musty and murky. 

 

Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room.'

Luke 11 {The Message}

 

 

 

Precious Lord ~

It's so easy for us to get blase or nonchalant when it comes to our faith.  And truth be told, there are more times than we'd care to admit that we've lost that wide-eyed childhood wonder at Your amazing salvation and wondrous daily presence. 

Beckon us to gaze at You with a loving adoration that comes from hearts overflowing with gratitude. 

In Jesus Name ~ Amen.

 

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Not One Single Thing

 

Nothing. 

 

Absolutely not one thing can separate us from the vast depth of His love.

 

Not the ugliest of our sins.

 

Nor our calendars when they get way too full.

 

Not the posturing and maneuvering of church politics.

 

Or really scary financial woes.

 

Not our never-ending guilt trips, authored by the enemy of our souls.

 

Or our health issues, as terrifying as they seem.

 

Nor our shame, the heavy mantle that renders us immobile.

 

Our embarrassing family dramas and our sad or sordid pasts won't get in the way.

 

And neither can our addictions no matter how deep they sink their poisonous fangs.

 

Nothing.

 

Because when all is said and done, His love conquers all.

 

*

'None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us.  I'm absolutely convinced that nothing -

 

nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low,

 

thinkable or unthinkable - absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love

 

because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.'

-   Romans 8 {The Message}   -

 

 

 

*     spending a bit of time with Holly     *

Wrestling with Those First Books

I've always been a New Testament girl. 

 

Born and bred.  I love the stories of Jesus, the letters of Paul.  They speak deep into my soul, there are whole passages of Scripture that I lean into with all my mind, soul, and strength.  Heavily.  Words of trust and peace flow from the sacred pages into my journaled musings, holy words woven into the dailyness of life, the breath I breathe.

 

I'm aware that the Spirit mysteriously weaves the beautiful strength of God's Word into counseling conversations with passages spoken from somewhere deep within my being.  Golden words that talk of the power of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.  Needed calls to speak the truth in love and forgive yet again and to let our 'yes be yes' and our 'no be no.'  Warnings about the danger of making decisions from a place of fear or reconciling without wisdom.  And compelling invitations to trust deeply in the midst of pain.

 

Healing words that meld together, streaming powerful redemption light to life's tragic brokenness, long hidden secrets, and paralyzing shame.  For we so badly need that freedom from the chains of sin that hold us hostage to the past.

*

Truth be told, I am not an Old Testament girl. 

I love the deep treasure troves of Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.  But honestly?  Everything within me cries out against the violence within so many of these early books of Scripture.  There is much about the actions of God that I can not wrap my hands around.  And passages that I simply shy away because I don't have a clue what's going on.  The history gets away from me, leaving my eyes a bit glazed over, with lists and laws, kingdoms and battles.

But that huge section of Scripture has been placed between those leather bound pages for a reason.  I know that there is a whole picture that must be viewed.  There is a complete story that must be told.  Because the powerful beauties of redemption that I so deeply embrace call for a magnitude of reasons why that redemption was so necessary in the first place.  And purchased at such an unfathomable price.

And those stories of our ugly, sin-filled natures, that part of us that shakes our puny fists in the face of a mighty God, do not make for easy reading, do they.

*

I just finished reading the Old Testament today. 

It took many months to read through this section of the Word.  God knew my heart when He led me there, and He had some lessons in those 1429 pages for me to grab hold of.

Lessons like not picking and choosing which books I want to embrace.  You get the whole package, whether you understand each detail or not.  Lessons like trusting the character of God more implicitly than ever, even and especially when you just can't fathom what He is allowing or what He is doing.

Discovering what faith looks over the long haul ... the evidence of things hoped for, not seen, not understood, not easily handled.  That's why it's called faith.  For He is God and I am not.  He gets to call the shots, orchestrate the big picture, create the final game plan, know the end from the beginning.

I don't have to understand every nuance along the way.  But love Him more than ever, stand on His holy Word, cherish and trust His mighty justice and lovingly wise character? 

An unqualified yes.  From somewhere deep and strong inside this New Testament girl's oh-so-grateful heart. 

And someday I'll see Him face to face.  I will fall down and worship the triune God with everything in me.  And He will gently take me by the hand and make all things clear to this trusting soul whose wrestlings have only drawn her closer to Himself.

 

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*   sharing faith with Laura  .  Beth  .  Kristen   *

People 101 : : Day 23 : : Kingdom Kids

 

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

One by one they come to the Savior of their souls.  Young ones, the older ones, accepting His gift of salvation and life eternal.  They become children of the King.

Alexa in August.  Brooke, just this week.

Thank You, powerful Spirit of God, for drawing them to Yourself.  The angels are rejoicing big time.  And oh, sweet Jesus,  so am I ...

 

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

 

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People 101 : : Day 4 : : Jesus-Lovin' Schoolgirl

Back-to-school night it was.  That hour and a half when parents cram the halls, paperwork in hand, wedging tired bodies into tiny seats, hoping against hope that the teacher/student connection will be a win/win, praying that the year will be relatively painless for all.

 

Artwork and essays line the freshly painted cinder block walls.  And the young mama spies her daughter's creation.  Tears of laughter, pools of joy spill over as she reads her daughter's writing, her bold, yet oh-so-natural testimony carefully printed out for all the world to read.

'I'm lucky to have a best friend like Jesus.  We have some things in common like how we look.  We both have white skin and we both like to read the Bible. And something we like to do for fun is play with little kids.  Even though we are alike in ways we are also different in ways.  He has shorter hair than me and I have longer hair than him.  He lives in Heaven and I live on earth.  I'm shy but he is brave.'

 

This is what Back-To-School Night looks like.  In a public school.  Where an 8 year old girl can tell the world that her best friend is Jesus. 

 

Yes, I'm overflowing with gratitude that Jesus is alive and well in our neighborhood schools.  But I only wish that I would be as courageous as my granddaughter in proclaiming loud and clear, with not an apology in sight, that Jesus is my best friend, too.

 



 

~       ~       ~       ~       ~

The Multiple Book Giveaways!

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Five Minute Friday 

Fresh Strength

 

'God doesn't come and go. 

God lasts.

 

He's Creator of all you can see or imagine.

 

He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch His breath.

 

And He knows everything, inside and out.

 

He energizes those who get tired,

 

gives fresh strength to dropouts.

 

For even young people tire and drop out,

 

young folk in their prime stumble and fall.

 

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.

 

They spread their wings and soar like eagles,

 

They run and don't get tired,

 

they walk and don't lag behind'

- Isaiah 40 {The Message}.

 



 

A Crystal Clear Cleansing

He's been working like a crazy man these days.  But what else is new.  Determined he is and there's no stopping him now.  He gets like that when there's a goal to reach.  Tunnel visioned and fully absorbed, he's all about taking care of the business at hand. 

 

 

 

Power washer dragged out of hiding, it's up and running loud, hard spray attacking the accumulated moss glued to roof shingles, loose paint on front stairsteps, and mildew on porch railings, gutters, and that side of the house that gets no sun. 

And then he tackles the windows' sheer surfaces, and a year's worth of storm-driven filth and spring's bountiful greenish pollen is thoroughly washed and squeegeed away.

 

 

 

And I can't help but think that this delayed spring cleaning task is simply a reflection of what's too easily true about the state of our souls.  Busily absorbed in the dailyness that defines our routines, a slow fade can so easily occur.  And untended to, our innermost beings can so easily head south, a build up of sin's filth gathering around our hardened hearts, numbing us to the warm sunlight of our Savior's holy presence.

 

 

And this, the importance of a daily walk with Jesus becomes crystal clear.  The need for close examination, the call for a power-filled heart cleansing, the asking for and receiving of His forgiveness, a fresh start, a gracious empowering to reflect His light to a watching world. 

 

 

Kind of like those power-washed surfaces and newly scrubbed windows, sparkling clear and bright in this morning's sun.

==>  I'll see you over at Kristen's and Emily's

That 4 Word Prayer

I love that we can be who we authentically are with our heavenly Father.  This most sacred of relationships ain't no masquerade party, baby.  There's no place for masks, filters, fancy language, or pious platitudes as we gaze deeply into our Redeemer's loving eyes, when our hearts link fully to His.  When we begin to truly get that He already knows what's deeply encased in our wrecked souls and yet loves us anyway, we get one of those sparkling 'aha' moments where we are freed, standing vulnerable yet strangely unashamed before Him.  There's no condemnation for those who are in, who are with, who are owned and loved by Christ Jesus.  

And in that great grace-filled mercy that defines who He is, He invites us to place all our burdens and baggage, fears and hopes, traumas and dramas right on the table of His presence in all their raw, agonizing, ugly reality.  Naming them, each and every one, as we let go, surrender, and relinquish their powerful hold over our souls.

There have been seasons when the only thing we could do was pray.  Unspeakable tragedies, private heartaches, unanswerable questions, and major decisions seem to come at us like relentless waves pounding on a sandy beach at high tide, eroding our hope, our energy, our zest for life.  After awhile, there seem to be no more words left to speak to God.  He's already heard it all from our groaning overloaded hearts. 

Author Jan Karon's fictional Father Tim has mused often about that four word 'prayer that never fails,' the one spoken by Jesus Himself.  Thy  .  Will  .  Be  .  Done  .

I find I'm breathing that simple plea more and more these days.  I'm long past done trying to be the Savior of the world or someone's Holy Spirit.  I've run out of words, my heart empties.  I release all I hold dear to Him.

I'm thinking He must love this simple yet oh-so-powerful four word sacrifice He taught us to pray.  Because it leaves the results in His hands.  Instead of me figuring it all out for Him, telling Him what to do, how to do it, when to have it done by.

I love that about my Savior.  He knows the end from the beginning.  And time and again He has shown me this unalterable truth.  He  .  Does  .  All  .  Things  .  Well  .

He is worthy to be trusted.  He is worthy to be praised.

 ==>  Come along with me to Gail's  .   Courtney's  .  Beth's  .  Kristen's 

Far Less Tripping & Stumbling

 

 

 

'I am like a luxuriant fruit tree.

Everything you need is to be found in Me.

 

If you want to live well,

make sure you understand all of this.

If you know what's good for you,

you'll learn this inside and out.

God's paths get you where you want to go.

Right-living people walk them easily;

wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.'

      ~      Hosea 14:8 -9 {The Message}      ~

 

 



300 Seconds on Filling the Abyss

I read that there is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother. 

And for that I am truly thankful.

Because we live in a very transient world.

Where people come and go.

The yearning is there.

To know and be known.

To feel safe and loved and valued.

To experience being cherished and like we matter to someone with skin on.

And if we are truly fortunate along the way, there will be those who we get to share life with.

The ups, the downs, the joys, the sorrows, the laughter, the tears.

The whole thing.

But one thing I know for sure. 

Life changes.  People move on, in one way or another. 

And no one, no one can fill that huge, yawning, God-sized abyss that resides in our souls.

No one.  Except Jesus.

He's the Friend who never forsakes.  Never leaves.  Doesn't change.  Has only my best interests at heart.  Sees the beginning from the end.  And has the power to alter my every step.

The Forever Friend.  The Living Saviour.  The Lover of my soul ...

Pathway Lingering

'The path of right-living people is level.

The Leveler evens the road for the right-living.

 

We're in no hurry, God. 

We're content to linger in the path sign-posted with Your decisions.

Who You are and what You've done

are all we'll ever want.

 

Through the night my soul longs for You.

Deep from within me my spirit reaches out to You.'
 

Isaiah 26:7-9 {The Message}

 

 

 

 

# 47

She reaches high and gently pulls her childhood Bible off the oak shelf.  The black one, the King James Version, a cherished Christmas gift from her Grandma and Grandpa back in 1964.  She opens the front cover to trace the childish writing with her eyes and fingertips. 

And she smiles.

For there in a careful scrawl reads the date of her redemption.  All of 47 years ago.  When she came to Jesus, broken and weeping tears of regret and relief in the front pew of the church.  And He saved her from her sins.  All 10 years of them.  And far too many that were to follow.

This is Holy Week's gift.  Another milestone reached, with gratitude that overflows.  And she remembers, once again, that it was for her that His blessed blood was poured out. 

On Being Related to Doubting Thomas

I journaled yesterday morning.  About this lethargy hanging over me ... a veil of exhaustion, a distinct lack of creativity, the I-could-care-less haze that has descended.  Still recovering from some kind of bug or virus?  The aftermath of a family-filled weekend?  Too much blogging recently?  Winter weather that drags on and on? 

I mused, I penned ... Whatever it is, it's simply alright.  I allow myself to be exactly where I am.  Grace and patience start right here, and if I can't extend these gifts to myself, how on earth can I share them with others?

And as I'm writing these words, it begins to dawn on me ... this heaviness in my spirit seemed to descend on Sunday evening, while watching 'The Bible.'  Seeing Jesus' life and ministry, betrayal and upcoming death played out in all its Hollywood grandeur in my family room in living color.  Thanks to the marvels of technology and advanced screen production, this final week in His life became way-too-real in my own.

I experienced the apprehension, the dread, the sadness, the fear.  I've read The Book.  I know what's ahead.  And I am drained with the horror of His sufferings.  And I know that there's no way I'm going to be watching my sweet Savior being tortured to death during next Sunday night's commercial laden series conclusion.

Now I know why I'm feeling the way I do.  God is allowing me to get just a taste of what His precious Son and those who loved Him experienced in these days all those generations ago.  In some sense, I am there with Him.  The ugliness of human betrayal, the stark reality of sin, the horror of the violent torture to come.  And that overwhelming separation from God.

It's all too much for me to grasp. 

A week or so ago it hit me how I sometimes feel like Thomas, the doubting one.  I'm sure we must be distant cousins.  The core of his faith is rock solid.  He loves his Savior madly, his life is devoted to following Him faithfully and serving Him with every bit of his heart.  But his own uncertainties creep in, he's not always sure of what's going on, and he's got questions with no answers in sight.

I just love that he tells Jesus that he believes.  And that he needs his unbelief to be shored up.  And I am hearing his heart's cry, for it is my own.

So I come to You today, just as I am.  I am filled with awe and gratitude for that huge sacrifice that we celebrate this week.  I admit that I have questions and there's so much that I don't understand about Your ways.

And then Your Spirit gently reminds me that Your ways are not my ways, Your thoughts are not mine.  No wonder there's so much I don't have a clue about, can't grasp ahold of, can't quite get my hands around.

That's where the that solid core of faith kicks in.  Big time.

Your immense love for me, my eternal salvation, the presence of Your blessed Spirit, answers to prayers that have left me speechless, the miracles I've seen in the lives of Your children, Your plans for my life, the promise of heaven ... these truths and so many more I stand firmly on without question.

And the things that bring the wonderings, that are too lofty for me to attain to?  I join my distant cousin, my brother in the faith, in laying them all at Your feet.  A living sacrifice.  Knowing that with absolute certainty that You alone are God, and that You do all things well.

Thy will be done.

*   linking heart to heart with my sister counselor, Beth   *

Claiming Those Words



This is what I'm going to remember.  This I'm going to do.  Instead of dwelling on all that's gone wrong, everything that hasn't gone my way, disappointments and hurts and fears, I'm going to claim those words that the godly man wrote way back in the day.

I'm going to remember what is true.  Noble.  Right and pure and lovely.  Admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.  Those are the things I'm going to reflect on.  Immerse myself in.  Speak about.  Share with others.  Because it's too easy to head the other way.  Human nature being what it is.  Self-absorbed.  Negative.  Cynical.

By His sustaining grace, I'm going to live this out.  Day in and day out.  Personally and professionally.  The letter to the Philippians speaks to where I am, where we are.  Today.  In this generation.

 

- Sharing bread with the seagulls, September 2012 -

   *   *   *   linking up with my online counseling buddy, Beth   *   *   *