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Category: hope

new every morning

new every morning

-California Sunrise-

the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases/ His mercies never come to an end
they are new every morning/ … great is Thy faithfulness O LORD
great is Thy faithfulness

I love living in California. I even love living in the San Joaquin Valley. One thing I love about living in the San Joaquin Valley of California is that we have sunrises that do not merely cause you to catch your breath and worship, but that take your breath away entirely.
The view this morning was no exception.
Of course, there are days where the mountains seem to be non existent because of the smog, but the sunrise is always stunning.
This morning’s sunrise reminded me that God is good to me, very good. His mercies are always new. He sees my need and begins to meet it before I am even aware that it exists.
He is good.



Bella

Bella

“If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”
-Jose in the movie Bella

Anna, Mom, some friends and I went to go see Bella on Monday night. It’s a good movie, a very good movie. It is a movie about despair about hope, about joy, love, about life. It is about grace. It is a movie that you should definitely consider seeing.

What plans have you made? Has God laughed?

“..you say, ‘Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, … yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. … You ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.'”
-James 4:13-15

What plans have I made? Have I considered that the result of “my” plans is ultimately in the Lord’s hands? The movie gave me things to ponder, to think about. For example, the idea that a tragedy doesn’t have to end as a tragedy, but can become a source of beauty. It can become bella.

tears and joy

tears and joy

Tonight I realized again how much it hurts me when those I love are hurting. I also remembered the joy I feel when those I love experience joy and beauty.
There are so many wonderful things happening right now. So many things that bring joy. But I – and those around me – are also learning some painful, yet valuable, lessons. I am learning what it means to hope, really hope. Not in those around me, situations, or what “might be”, but in the true constant. God never fails us, never lets us down, never disappoints, because He is the only One that truly is perfect.
When I see or feel that the ones I love are hurting, I want to take away that pain, remove their sorrow. I want them to have joy again. But I am learning that joy comes through sorrow, comes through enduring the pain. I am learning that joy comes from a closer walk with our Father. So, if I truly love them, will I try to remove their pain?
Oh, I want them to experience beauty, experience that utter joy! Nothing make my heart skip more than sharing in someone’s joy. I want to be able to experience that beauty with them.

I wanna start it over
I wanna start again
I want a new a new beginning
One without any end
I feel it inside
Calling out to me

It’s a voice that whispers my name
It’s a kiss without any shame
Something beautiful
Like a song that stirs in my head
Singing love will take us where
Something beautiful

I’ve heard it in the silence
Seen it on a face
I’ve felt it in a long hour
Like a sweet embrace
I know this is true
It’s calling out to me

It’s a voice that whispers my name
It’s a kiss without any shame
Something beautiful
Like a song that stirs in my head
Singing love will take us where
Something beautiful

It’s the child on her wedding day
It’s the daddy that gives her away–Father
Something beautiful
When we laugh so hard we cry
It’s the love between you and I
Something beautiful
-the newsboys, ‘something beautiful”

Little things

Little things

This afternoon I was in the car, coming home from a long day of classes. We took a back road instead of the main one, and it was a bit quieter, a little more peaceful, and definitely more beautiful.
We were heading towards the sun that was just starting to think of setting, and the light was filtering through the trees. Annadale (the road we took) has some stone-fruit orchards along it, as well a few cow pastures well dotted with oak trees. As the sunlight struck the orchards at a twenty degree angle they turned gold, but only as we were looking through them. If we turned to look back, the orchard had resumed its normal dusky late fall appearance.

The semester is drawing to a close, and my biology professor has only one major subject to cover before we prepare for the final: how we got here. We have covered the entire body, tip to toe, from before conception to after death, and all the wonder of it. Now we get to try to understand how such a marvel could evolve. Somehow, I just can’t wrap my mind around it.

This I Know

This I Know

Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.

Jesus loves me! He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
Thou hast bled and died for me,
I will henceforth live for Thee.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

– Anna B. Warner, 1860, “Jesus Loves Me”

Jesus loves me, this I know. He does love. He has loved. He always will, for longer than always, for eternity.
Christ’s love for me, imperfect and riddled with scars from sin, should never cease to amaze me. Yet, sometimes it does. Sometimes Christ’s love seems as expected, ordinary and commonplace as having milk in the refrigerator. But it isn’t. It is a miracle.
The love of God is what salvation hinges on.
It is unmerited.
Full of grace.
Freely bestowed.
Abundant and overflowing, overwhelming.
Never ceasing, even when I turn away.

Jesus loves me, this I know …

"If I Had to Live My Life Over Again"

"If I Had to Live My Life Over Again"


I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded. I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains. I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime. When my child kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now get washed up for dinner.” There would have been more I love yous, more I’m sorrys, but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute, look at it, really see it, live it, and never give it back.

-erma bombeck

Today I am trying to enjoy the moments as they come and revel in them, from the sunrise to the ironing, from dividing bulbs to smelling the rain to saying – and hearing – “I love you”. Because each one of these moments is a gift straight from my Father, and none will ever be repeated. Ever.

anthem

anthem

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost it’s grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Brought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

– “in christ alone” by: stuart townsend, performed by: the newsboys


But you are a chosen people,
a royal priesthood,
a holy nation,
a people belonging to God,
that you may declare the praises of
him who called you out of darkness
into his glorious light.
I Peter 2:9

“It sings because it has a song.”

What is your song? What special notes has God placed in your heart? Sing ’em! Sing ’em sweet, sing ’em strong. Just keep singing.

But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
-Psalms 5:11

The fruit of the Spirit is … joy.
– Gal. 5:22

Lead Me Closer

Lead Me Closer


Scotty’s Castle – corridor, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.

On the edge of something big and brave
Every breath is another step of faith
Part of me still likes the ground
Where I feel safe and sound
But You push me, pull me
And I finally let go

Ever closer, closer to the truth
One by one my fears fade into blue
Wherever You are taking me
Is where I need to be …

I waiver, You’re steady
I falter, You never fail
You fight for me, I surrender
To You, to You

-travis cottrell, “falling”, found

In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet
God leads His dear children along
Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet
God leads His dear children along

Some through the waters, some through the flood
Some through the fire, but all through the blood
Some though great sorrow, but God gives a song
In the night season and all the day long

Sometimes on the mount when the sun shines so bright
God leads His dear children along
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night
God leads His dear children along

Some through the waters, some through the flood
Some through the fire, but all through the blood
Some though great sorrow, but God gives a song
In the night season and all the day long

-george a. young, “god leads us along”