Nothing...Absolutely Nothing!

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans8:38-39

As well as i think i know myself-past and present-there is One who knows me like absolutely no one else can. He knows my past, present and future. Even in His unlimited knowledge of me He loves me still. God’s love for me is perfect and extravagant. He lavishes His love upon me!

Still, i doubt. Things i have said and done come back to haunt me. When these memories play in my head my heart begins to question how God could still love me. Somehow i can see how God might love others but not me.

It all boils down to pride in my heart. Yes, pride. At first i tried to deny it but the truth stared me in the eyes until i could deny it no more. In my pride i convinced myself that i was beyond God’s love and grace. I was basically calling Him a liar.

Now, as God has been showing me my selfish pride He has done it out of His faithful love. I don’t know how many times in the past few days He has brought me to Romans 8:38&39 but i have learned that when God continually brings certain Scripture or thoughts to my attention i better listen closely! And i am so glad i did because as i read and meditate on Romans 8:38&39 i too am convinced that NOTHING can seperate me from God’s unfailing love. Not even my failure or my foolish pride-NOTHING!!

Isaiah 40:21-31

As i had mentioned earlier, Rachel and i have been trying to decide on another passage of Scripture to pore over and memorize in the next few days. I was leaning toward something in Isaiah but hadn't said anything to Rachel yet. So when she suggested Isaiah 40:21-31 i knew it was meant to be.

Isaiah always has been one of my most favorite books of the Bible. Like Psalms, Isaiah is filled with so much wisdom and imagery. It is a book i would love to study more closely and know better. That is one of the many neat things about the Bible, every book offers so much and if we will only take the time to read a little at a time we are all the better for it.

Where the past two passages we have learned recently were 6 verses a piece, this passage from Isaiah is 11 verses-almost twice as long as previous passages! It may take me twice as long but that is okay. It is time well spent and it is always so fascinating to see how God uses it and illustrates it in my life.

And now i give you, Isaiah 30:21-31:

"Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,

And its inhabitant are like grasshoppers,

Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

He brings princes to nothing;

He makes the judges of the earth useless.

Scarcely shall they be planted,

Scarcely shall they be sown,

Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,

When He will also blow on them,

And they will wither,

And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

'To whom then will you liken Me,

Or to whom shall I be equal?' says the Holy One.

Lift your eyes on high,

And see who has created these things,

Who brings out their host by number;

He calls them by name,

By the greatness of His might

And the strength of His power;

Not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob,

And speak, O Israel:

'My way is hidden from the Lord,

The Creator of the ends of the earth,

Neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the weak,

And to those who give have no might He increases strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary ,

And the young men shall utterly fall,

But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up on wings like eagles,

They shall run away and not be weary,

They shall walk away and not faint."

What's Next?

"Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:6

With Psalm 23 hidden in our hearts, Rachel and i are now ready to decide on our next passage of Scripture. We hope to have that decided within the next few days and when we have i will post it here.

Let me just say, i am really enjoying this! I love writing the Word, meditating on it and visualizing it. Rachel and i love reciting for each other and helping each other when help is needed. This has been a wonderful bonding experience for us.

God's Word is so rich in so many ways. The more you get into it, the more you get out of it and the more you long for it. I am really looking forward to memorizing our next passage.

I hope you will stay tuned...

Arise, Shine

“Arise,shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” Isaiah 60:1

Thank You,God,for guiding me to this Scripture. As soon as i read it i knew it was what i needed to hear. God, You gave me my love of writing, art and other forms of expression and for awhile i really did enjoy writing and drawing whenever and on whatever i could. That was mostly as a child. As i got older i started looking at others and measuring myself against them. After that nothing i ever did was good enough in my eyes. Then fear set in so that even when i wanted to write or draw i wouldn’t because i had convinced myself i couldn’t do it-at least not the way i thought it should be done. Now i look back, all these years later, and i am filled with regret. Because of my regret i find myself trying to force creativity and that is just as bad as stifling it. I also still struggle with my crazy self-expectations. The trash can is filled with art that did not meet those expectations. Notebooks are filled with papers that contain words i have written but won’t share because they don’t sound “right” to me. These words from Isaiah really speak to me today because they remind me it is all it is all about You and not me. You give me what i need to rise and it is Your light that makes me shine. It is for Your glory that i am to write and create. Your hands guide the pen and pencil or whatever medium You desire. You are inspiration! This is what i have forgotten and i thank You, Father, for reminding me. Help me to remember.

She's Home!

Rachel the weary camper is now back in our midst! Her daddy, brothers and i picked her up at church around a quarter til noon. She came bearing candy and other goodies along with a new Webkin. Also among her goodies was a trophy for "Camper of the Day", which she won on Wednesday.

Rachel's group leader, Mrs. Kelley, told me how Rachel held doors for people, waited on them and never complained. What a joy to know she has such a sweet servant's heart!

I am sure we will be hearing more and more in the days to come and i can't wait to hear it all. For the time being, Rachel is pretty tired (as to be expected) and i sent her to get a shower because she had an orange scalp and faded writing on her face-remenants of "Organized Mass Chaos Day" that took place yesterday. Even though she showered last night the paint and ink lingered.

One exciting piece of news she did share with us on the way back home was that 8 kids gave their hearts to Christ this week! Now that is something to rejoice over.

As Rachel rests and catches up on her sleep she is sure to remember and share her camp experiences with us. We are all eagerly awaiting to hear of her adventures! Until then we are just glad to have her back home. I asked her if she wanted to do it again next year and she did not hesitate to answer, "yes!".

Now Rachel's brothers want to know when they get to go to camp. It will still be a few years before Reece and Sawyer get to go but Brogan will be going next year. He can't wait!

And now i would like to share Rachel's memory verse for the week at camp:

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 1:14

Rachel's Request

Rachel asked me tonight if i would memorize Psalm 1 with her. She has been working at memorization for quite some time now but this is the first time she has tried to memorize a whole chapter.
I have memorized Scripture in the past but have not been as comitted as i would like to be or as i know i should be. I have been praying that God would help me get motivated once again. Rachel's request is, to me, an answer to prayer.
Together Rachel and i will read and review, share and encourage as we hide God's Word in our hearts. We will hold each other accountable. The memories we make together will be priceless and i hope it is something we will continue to do in the years to come. I am also very interested in the various methods we employ to maximize the learning experience. Perhaps i will even share those methods here to help others wanting to memorize Scripture!
In closing tonight i would like to share Psalm 1. It always helps me to write it (or type it) as i visualize it.

Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on His law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
nor sinners in th assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the wicked will perish.

Anyone who cares to join Rachel and me feel free to jump right in with us! And if you have any ideas to share that help you memorize Scripture we would love to hear from you.

More

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prohecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

It is only the beginning but it is enough to make me want more. More of God and His Word.
I have been praying that God would help me to hide His Word in my heart and this week i have seen Him do just that!
These verses from 1 Thessalonians seemed so easy to memorize. After a few minutes of repetition and writing it down on paper, it was imprinted on my heart. Since then i have been meditating on what these words mean and how they apply to me.
I will save that for another post. Until then i pray that whoever reads this will meditate on the words for themself and if you would like post your comments. I'd love to hear from you!

This Writer's Condition

I just want to apologize up front if i offend anyone but i can think of no better term to describe my frustration over the last month or so. It is a condition that hits me ever so often and when it does all i can think is i am "mentally constipated". In my head are all these ideas and thoughts but it seems there is no way of expressing them. Most people would probably refer to this as writer's block but constipation seems more appropriate to me. It is as if all my senses shut down while my mind goes into hyper-drive. Whether i try to speak it or write it i am met only with more frustration. So last week my condition actually came to a point where i started to really feel sorry for myself. The "constipation" was affecting every area of my life and not only was i suffering but so was everyone else who was around me any length of time. The kids had a grumpy teacher and my husband had a miserable wife. What comforted me at this time was this Scripture: "Also, the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain." Romans 8:26 What a relief to know that even as i struggled to find the words to say to God, the Spirit was speaking for me! How many times have i just thrown my arms up and said, "God, i just don't know."? How many times did i go to bed asking Him to just get me through the night? And how many times was i able to rest even though i still had no answers and words seemed to fall flat? I cannot tell you. But i can tell you this, the Spirit spoke and God sustained me. The fog is slowly lifting. It has always been my experience that there are times of fog. At these times my vision is very limited and what i can see doesn't always make a lot of sense. What i am learning through the fog is that God is still in control and He can see right through the fog. Nothing is hidden from Him. And where is He? He is guiding me every step of the way!