Monday

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.  1 Timothy 4:12

Today was the first day of Vacation Bible School for Rachel and her brothers. It seems they had a really good time but more importantly, they learned some valuable lessons about God and who He is. I enjoyed listening as they shared from their Bible story for today: Acts 9:1-9, and look forward to hearing more as they return for more truth and fond memories.
Their memory verse for the week is 1 Timothy 4:12(cited above) and they already have it memorized. Tonight i had them write it down and we discussed what it meant to "be and an example in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity". Whether they realize it or not, i learn just as much from them as they learn from me...maybe even more at times. I am truly grateful for my children and the zeal they have for God. I pray that their passion continues to grow as they mature.
And i thank God for VBS. It may last a week but it leaves an impression that lasts a lifetime!

In the Quiet

Butterflies are fun to watch but not so easy to photograph. That is where patience and stillness come into play.

To get this picture i had to sit for some time and make very little movement. In time the butterflies came around-attracted by a small puddle of water. I was practically holding my breath the whole time, making every effort to make as little sound as possible. It was only after they had gotten comfortable and frolicked for a while that i started taking pictures.

As you can see, the effort paid off.

This is true of my quiet time in the mornings as well. It isn't always easy to get up in the morning while everyone else is still sleeping, even more difficult when i haven't slept so well the night before or have a big day ahead. But it is always worth it!

It is not always easy to sit quietly and put away distractions long enough to sit and listen to God. But when i am still it is much easier to hear God when He speaks and it is so worth the effort.

The more time i spend quietly with God the more my faith grows and the more my faith grows the more my patience grows. With this growth comes the eagerness to get up in the morning and spend time with the Lover of my soul. After my time with Him i am much better equipped to face the day and handle whatever comes my way because i have invited my Lord to spend the day with me. I realize i can not make it without Him.

It is also in the quiet moments throughout the day that He continues to teach me-like those moments when i am watching butterflies!

A Prayer for Restoration

Where is my faith? Where is my peace? Where is my joy? And where is my hope? All i really want, all i truly need can only be found in You. Apart from You i have no faith, no peace, no joy and i have no hope.

Why am i so fearful? Troubled? Downcast? Why do i feel so anxious?

Instead of running to You i find myself running from You.

I ask myself why i do this when i know that anything i put before You will only rob me of my joy and steal my peace. You want to restore these things to me and revive in me a calm heart and quiet spirit.

Still i find myself running...running away from You.

All i have to do is call Your name and You are there but the distractions are too much for me to bear. I wasn't meant to bear them alone but i keep trying...and it is a losing battle and i know it.

Finally i find myself, weary from the struggle. So tired of doing on my own-only to fail again.

Lord, i am calling on You now. My voice is weak but i know You hear me just the same.

Please lift me from this pit i have dug for myself and put my feet back on solid ground.

I need You, Lord. The battle is Yours and i am Yours too.

Wings

God whispers on butterfly wings

and tells me He has given me wings too.

With my wings He says to fly,

and color the world around me

with faith, hope and love!

“As you therefore have recieved Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6&7

If we are rooted in Christ we will bloom wherever He plants us!

The Calling

Here i am again. Right back where i started. A place i never wanted to return. Yet i am the one who returned. It was my choice to turn from Your way and step out on my own. Now my walk has become a stumble and the road has turned to mud. My feet of clay sink deeper and deeper into the mush and slime. Though the trip wearies me so and i know it doesn’t have to be this way, i trudge along anyway. Pride and unbelief weigh me down, making me sink deeper into the miry ground.

I hear You calling my name but the tears in my eyes sting and remind me it was my folly that got me in this mess. Covered in this mud that is my shame, i doubt that i could ever be in Your presence again. As these thoughts fill my mind another thought comes. Only this thought does not condemn but it gives me hope and restores my faith. No, this isn’t my thought at all-it is Your voice that i hear!

You tell me that You knew the choices i would make and the wrong turns i would take. You knew the day would come when my heart would stray til i became painfully aware that nothing else i pursue could ever take the place of You. When i could no longer bear the pain and there was nowhere else to turn You would take me back with arms wide open. Because of Your great love for me You allowed me to stray but You have never taken Your eyes off of me. Now You are calling me back. From my marshy pit i cry, “Father, frogive me for my rebellious pride that has brought me to this awful place. Bring me back to Your embrace and keep me at Your side!”.

Already i feel my strength returning as You lift me from the mud and set my feet on solid ground. Thank You, most precious Heavenly Father!

If

Staring ahead, seeing nothing. Surrounded by sounds but i don’t hear anything. The sun is shining but i don’t recieve it’s warmth. Thoughts flood my mind but i refuse to think. If i see…if i hear…if i recieve…if i think…then i feel. If i feel i will hurt and if i hurt…i become vulnerable. If i trust You with the hurt will You earn my faith…or will You turn me away? Is Your love truly greater than my sin? My hurt? My shame? Will Your love be enough to take away my fear?

”Look around and see the love I show you. Listen closely and you will hear My voice calling to you. (Rev. 3:20) Accept My grace and let the hardness of your heart melt away. (Ez. 11:19) Bring your thoughts to me and I will give you a new way of thinking. (Col. 3:2) If you see…if you hear…if you recieve…if you think…then you will feel. If you let Me, I will heal your hurt. (Luke 4:18) Be vulnerable with Me. I’ll never let you down or turn you away. My love is so great nothing can seperate my love from you. No sin…No hurt…No shame. (Romans 8:38&39) My love is perfect and perfect love drives out fear. (1 Jn. 4:18) If you accept My love as truth the truth will set you free! “(Jn. 8:32)

Spring Blessing

Today was the first day of spring and while the day itself was rather cool the weather was beautiful! The sun was shining, the skies were blue and the birds were chirping. For awhile i was able to sit and watch the honeybees; even take a few pictures. After a few minutes the breeze became just a little too much to bear so i came back inside but what brief time i did spend outside was enough to fill me with hope and excitement about the season ahead.

Today i was given a glimpse of spring while still feeling a bit of winter's chill. What i saw and what i heard was enough to assure me that warmer days are definitely ahead. This assurance helps me to face whatever cool, gray days remain until spring prevails.

Isn't it just like God to do things like this for us ? We go through long, cold seasons in life and just when we think we cannot handle anymore God gives us signs to demonstrate His love and presence in our struggles. Sometimes He removes the situation from our lives but sometimes He allows us to remain in the hardship not to punish us, not because He doesn't care but because He sees what lies ahead, He knows what is best and He is preparing us for a future far beyond our wildest imaginations. That future is eternity with Him.

So while this life may be difficult and sometimes painful we can rest assured that He will never leave us nor forsake us(Deuteronomy 31:6). And though we won't always see our hope or feel our hope when we go through the trials in life we can have faith because our hope is in our Heavenly Father(Psalm 42:5). We can face whatever this life brings because this hope does not disappoint(Romans 5:5). Also remember that this life is fleeting where our life with God is glorious and eternal(2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Now i may not hear the birds chirping at this late hour as i write this but i do know my heart is singing! My prayer tonight is that i will remember this hope in the morning and let it fill me with joy all the days of the rest of my life, whatever the Father blesses me with. I pray too that whoever reads this will be filled with this hope that can only come from God.

O my Lord, you have said, "Ask for whatever you wish and it will be done for you." Why is it that my heart is so little able to accept these words in their divine simplicity? Oh, help me see that what I need is nothing less than this promise to overcome the powers of the world and Satan! Teach me to pray in the faith of this Thy promise.
Andrew Murray

Father, I am beginning to know how much I miss when I fail to talk to thee in prayer, and through prayer to recieve into my life the strength and the guidance which only thou canst give. Forgive me for the pride and the presumption that make me continue to struggle to manage my own affairs to the exhaustion of my body, the weariness of my mind, the trial of my faith.
Let not, I pray, any future forgetfulness of mine, or a false sense of self-sufficiency, any spiritual laziness, or doubt of thy faithfulness keep me from taking everything to thee in prayer.
And now, I thank thee that the fresh breath of heaven is even now blowing away the close, damp air of all my failure, of every doubt and fear. I ask thee for that soul tonic of prayer that shall reburnish my faith, brighten my hope, revive and rekindle my love. In thy name, I pray. Amen.
Peter Marshall

The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; Where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we recieve; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Let me tell you About my Children

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward." Psalm 127:3 Sooner or later it was bound to happen. As i have already stated and many of you already know, i am a Mama. And now the Mama in me is coming out! You have heard enough about me. Now let me tell you about my children! Yes, there are four of them and three of them are boys. Rachel is the oldest and the only girl but don't pity her, she can handle herself nicely. She is a tomboy, you see, and so proud of it! Brogan (far right) is the oldest boy who loves "Indiana Jones" and wants to be an archealogist one day. Reece (far left) is our middle man and resident commedian with a very contagious laugh. Sawyer(middle) is the "baby boy". You can see in the picture he is no baby and he isn't even the smallest but he is the youngest so that distinction is still his. He is also the one who is most likely to turn out like "Tom Sawyer". Little did we know that when we named him he would be so much like the character himself. Each child is so special and a gift from God. As they grow each day i learn a little more about their strengths and talents. They share their dreams and fears with me and i want to hear it all, to encourage them the best i can. My biggest hope for each of them is that they will be comitted Christians, bold in their faith. Jeremy and i want them to be better and stronger than we have been in our faith so we are as honest as we can be about our failures and weaknesses. We try to show them God's love so they know that nothing will change our love for them but more importantly that God's love for them is unchanging and eternal. I think they are learning quite well. For the gift of children i am grateful. Thank You, Father!