Longing
“Let not our longing slay our appetite for living.”
-Jim Elliot
One Step At A Time
full moon over the fields (april 30, 2007)
Sometimes the night was beautiful
Sometimes the sky was so far away
Sometimes it seemed to stoop so close
You could touch it but your heart would break
Sometimes the morning came too soon
Sometimes the day could be so hot
There was so much work left to do
But so much You’d already done
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You’ll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days
Sometimes I think of Abraham
How one star he saw had been lit for me
He was a stranger in this land
And I am that, no less than he
And on this road to righteousness
Sometimes the climb can be so steep
I may falter in my steps
But never beyond Your reach
And I will follow You all of my days
And I will follow You all of my days
And step by step You’ll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days
And I will follow You all of my days
– bebo norman “sometimes by step”
The Passion of Patience
I will stand on my guard post
And station myself on the rampart;
And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, …
“For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail
Though it tarries, wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it will not delay.”
– Habakkuk 2:1,3 (NAS)
I will climb up to my watchtower
and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says…
This vision is for a future time.
It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.
If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,
for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.
– Habakkuk 2:1,3 (Living)
Today’s reading from My Utmost For His Highest – titled “The Passion of Patience” – was based on Habakkuk 2:3. Chambers said, “The vision of God is the source of patience… . Moses endured … because he had a vision of God.” Moses had a vision. God had appeared to Moses and spoken to him. Moses believed and acted on that faith. He acted on his vision.
Oswald Chambers pointed out that there is a difference between being “patient” and being “spiritually satisfied” (i.e. no longer having a hunger or thirst, the idea that we have “made it”). The reading ended with the sentence, “Beware of the danger of relaxation spiritually.” Beware of relaxing, yes, but do not strive on your own.
Refusing to turn our burdens over to the Lord, acting as if we are an “army of one” and can make it on our own, will result in spiritual burnout. Why? Because Christianity is about relationship, the relationship between God and us. When we act as if we are self-sufficient, God is faithful to bring us back to Himself, bring us back into intimate communion with Him.
Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!
Now your burden’s lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!
And like a newborn baby
Don’t be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall…so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!
Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!
O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can’t contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!
And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory’s side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!
– Chris Rice, “(Untitled Hymn)”
A Wedding
Today was a big day.
A wonderful day, full of joy, and yet bittersweet.
Eric married my neighbor Deann.
Her mom, Eric’s parents, two other very dedicated and loving relatives and I, decorated the hall and yard this morning. We arrived at 7 am, and were finished by 10:30 (no, we weren’t experienced, just frantic).
Gayle (the bride’s mom) was a little stressed, but enjoying every minute. Gayle loves stress, thrives on it. Deann, on the other hand, does not! But it was okay. She made it until 5:30, when her dad walked his daughter down the aisle and gave her away.
The afternoon was hot, but it made the bride and groom even more radiant. The officiating minister challenged Eric and Deann to put Christ at the center of their marriage. He challenged them to love sacrificially, as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her. They promised to be true to each other until death. God, grant that this may be so! May God bless them with a knowledge of His love, His love for them and for each other.
“A man should leave his father and mother, and be forever united to his wife. The two shall become one – no longer two, but one! And no man may divorce what God has joined together.”
– Matthew 19:5-6 (Living Translation)
Ezekiel 37:3
And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, Thou knowest.”
Another translation reads, “Lord, You alone know.”
Ezekiel did not say a quick “yes” or “no”, but “You alone know”.
I do not know, but God does.
And that needs to be enough.
I do not know what the future holds, but God does.
It is not for me to know the future, but it is up to me to walk – by faith – into that future, keeping my eyes on Christ, trusting that the One who has kept me “thus far” will keep me still.
I must trust Him, and then act on that trust, even when the outcome seems impossible, even when the matter seems foolish.
For “with God all things are possible”(Matthew 19:26) and “Is anything too difficult for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14).
Can I trust Him for the possible and the impossible?
When I cannot see, can I trust Him?
Beautiful Love
P4140034 mini rose b&w, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.
Wonderful, so wonderful
Is your unfailing love
Your cross has spoken mercy over me
No eye has seen no ear has heard
No heart could fully know
How glorious, how beautiful you are.
Beautiful one I love you
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing.
Powerful so powerful
Your glory fills the skies
Your mighty works displayed for all to see
The beauty of your majesty
Awakes my heart to see
How marvelous how wonderful you are.
Beautiful one I love you
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing.
You opened my eyes to your wonders anew
You captured my heart with this love
Because nothing on Earth is as beautiful as you are.
– Jeremy Camp, Beautiful One
What A Wonderful World
I see trees of green…….. red roses too
I see ’em bloom….. for me and for you
And I think to myself…. what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue ….. clouds of white
Bright blessed days …. dark sacred nights
And I think to myself …..what a wonderful world.
The colors of a rainbow….. so pretty .. in the sky
Are also on the faces ….. of people .. going by
I see friends shaking hands ….. sayin’ .. how do you do
They’re really sayin’ …… I love you.
I hear babies cry…… I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more ….. than I’ll never know
And I think to myself ….. what a wonderful world
The colors of a rainbow…..so pretty ..in the sky
Are there on the faces…..of people ..going by
I see friends shaking hands ….. sayin’ .. how do you do
They’re really sayin’ … I ….love….you.
I hear babies cry…… I watch them grow
You know they’re gonna learn
A whole lot more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself …..what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself ……. what a wonderful world.
Empty
“He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.”
– Matthew 28:6
– Matthew 28:6
He is risen indeed.
"Good" Friday: a day of darkness
Death Valley Natn’l Park, Easter 2006
… you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold
from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
but with precious blood,
as of a lamb
unblemished
and spotless,
the blood of Christ.
– I Peter 1:18-19
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
– Isaiah 53:11-12
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium
and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him.
And they stripped Him, and put a scarlet robe on Him.
And after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
And they spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.
And after thay has mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him,
and led Him away to crucify Him.
And about the ninth hour
Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani?” that is,
“My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?“
– Matthew 27:27-31,46
Awakening Beauty
Sleeping Beauty by Jesse Wilcox Smith
The Prince sees Beauty, and is amazed.
He gazes, enthralled by her loveliness.
Now he must decide, will he continue to gaze upon her, watching her slumber? Or will he disturb her repose, awakening her, that he might know, in a fuller and more awake sense, the one whom he has adored from a distance?
A waltz when she walks in the room
She pulls back the hair from her face
She turns to the window to sway in the moonlight
Even her shadow has grace
A waltz for the girl out of reach
She lifts her hands up to the sky
She moves with the music
The song is her lover
The melody’s making her cry
So she dances
In and out of the crowd like a glance
This romance is
From afar calling me silently
A waltz for the chance I should take
But how will I know where to start?
She’s spinning between constellations and dreams
Her rhythm is my beating heart
So she dances
In and out of the crowd like a glance
This romance is
From afar calling me silently
I can’t keep on watching forever
I give up this view just to tell her
When I close my eyes I can see
The spotlights are bright on you and me
We’ve got the floor
And you’re in my arms
How could I ask for more?
So she dances
In and out of the crowd like a glance
This romance is
From afar calling me silently
I can’t keep on watching forever
And I’m givin’ up this view just to tell her
– josh groban, “So She Dances” from Awake