Hi all! We are fresh back from our summer Ohio trip. We arrived back in Evans at 8:15 this morning. Our trip home was much smoother than our trip up there last week. Dave traveled to central Louisiana or CENLA, as the locals refer to it, for work on Monday and Tuesday. Our plan was for him to fly to Atlanta and me to drive to Atlanta to meet Tuesday night. We were then going to meet and drive together to Ohio. Dave's flight was delayed twice and his arrival time was very late. He was concerned the flight would get cancelled. He decided to keep his rental car and head north. He did research on rental car return locations that would be convenient to meet at. He drove nine hours to Chattanooga and I drove four. We met at the airport at 3 a.m. and took off for Ohio. We arrived about noon on Wednesday. Dave drove 12 hours straight and was in the car for 17!
We had things to do though! We had to get to Ohio. For one Eli had been there the week before visiting grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles. We missed our little guy. The other reason was that my sister was getting married! Christy and I had things to do! One of our favorite things we did was time at the salon getting a pedi/mani courtesy of our awesome dad!
There was one word that kept coming to my mind the entire time we were in Ohio. The word is redemption. Romans 8:28 is probably one of my favorite verses in the Bible.
Romans 8:28) And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
Let me explain the connection between the events in Ohio, redemption, and Romans 8:28. What
I witnessed was a love story. We all have our own personal love story, but the one I witnessed was something a bit different. The characters in the story are very personal to me. My sister is my best friend. She's an inspiration and an encouragement. She and I leaned heavily on each other as we navigated the unchartered waters of burying a parent too soon. We are just very close.
Christy and Shane first met in the early days of high school in the mid-1980's. They dated and even went to homecoming and prom together. I remember Shane being at our house often. He even was lucky enough to work for my dad bailing hay! That is a hard job!!! Christy went off to college and they drifted apart. Life marched on. Christy got married. Shane got married and had children. Fast forward 20+ years.
Christy and Shane reunited after each of their marriages failed. I won't go into details on that, but both of them went through incredible pain and stress. Christy was moving on after her divorce and the death of our mother. Shane was busy raising three amazing kids. Their paths crossed and their destinies were changed forever. Both of them have a faith that only comes through fire. They both have a clear understanding of pain and continuing to do the right thing. God knew back in 1987 that on July 20th 2013 they would be married. How tremendous is that?! God allowed the circle of life to return back to Shane and Christy's beginning. Shane and Christy each love God and are living for Him. They are truly seeking His plan for their marriage and the raising of children. God has redeemed two lives in more than an eternal sense. He has blessed Shane with a graceful wife who loves his three children as if they were her own. Christy is a Proverbs 31 woman. God has given Christy a husband who will protect her from the harsh world. What I love about Shane is how he can make her laugh. He truly gives her joy. He will be the leader of the household.
Redemption is an awesome word. He has made each of their lives new again. They are whole. How true is this for any of us?! What we think is too big of a mess isn't too big for God. He can take bad and make it good. He can take brokenness and mend it. When we obey God He can make something beautiful out of ugliness. Obeying God is loving God. Being called according to His purpose means that we are seeking God's plan over our own. Christy and Shane are testaments to this way of thinking.
As our dad walked her down the aisle I had so many things going through my mind. The first thing I thought of was that Christy looked so beautiful and my dad looked so handsome. I then glanced at Shane. His smile was HUGE. As my dad passed her off to Shane I knew in my heart she was safe with him. My dad took his seat and I couldn't help but think of our mom. In my mind she should have been there, but God knows best I suppose. I could literally see her sitting next to Dad. She always loved Shane. My mom told me several times that Christy would be the best mom. It just didn't work out that way so we thought. Mom would be so proud of the mom that Christy is now.
Someone at the wedding told me that she lives every day like its her last and she wants to make the most of every day. While I would agree with the premise there is a problem with it. The problem is when we live every day like its the last we can mow over others. If our only goal is to be happy than we risk running over others. God doesn't tell us to be happy. He tells us to be holy. He wants us to be set apart. Romans 8:28 tells how to live our life. We are to obey God and live according to His
purpose. When we do that He will make all things new for us. He will redeem our situation for our good and His glory. That is what I saw happen Saturday night and it put such joy in my heart.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Monday, July 8, 2013
A Promise
Hey everyone! I hope this finds you all doing well. Things here in Georgia are...wet. The rain is crazy! I actually don't mind it though because I haven't felt like I was missing out on any summer sunshine as I recover from my hysterectomy.
I opened my computer today to blog, but had no idea what I was going to blog about. As I read through my previous blogs about my surgery and the backgrounds to my favorite hymns I had an idea. I hope it makes as much sense on your screen as it does in my head!
Assurance. What does that word mean? I love using a simple dictionary to make more sense of the Biblical texts that I'm reading. Sometimes I'll be studying my Bible and will come across a word that I think I know the definition of, but when I go to write it I'm at a loss. This happened last night during my study on patience. What does patience really mean? The best definition I found was this, "the state of endurance under difficult circumstances." The definition went on to talk about how a patient person perseveres in the face of a delay without acting out in annoyance. To have endurance means to maintain the power to last through an unpleasant process. Um well, maybe I'm not as patient as I thought. Back to the word assurance. I love this definition; pledge or promise: a declaration that inspires or is intended to inspire confidence. This definition came from the Bing dictionary.
Blessed Assurance was written by Fanny Crosby in 1873. She is probably one of the most famous hymn writers of all time. I remember as a little girl thinking the name Fanny was funny. Hey, I was eight! Fanny's heritage stemmed form the earliest Puritan settlers in the New World. Fanny became blind as a six week old baby. She began writing poems at age eight. The quote that I am including comes from Fanny being asked if she wished she hadn't been blind. Her response is unbelievable! "It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me, " Fanny Crosby. Fanny was saved in 1850 and continued on her path of hymn writing. She was married soon after and gave birth to a baby girl who died soon after birth. This broke Fanny's heart. The rest of her life was spent writing poems, hymns and doing mission work. Please read her Wikipedia entry for additional information on her...there is a lot!
Blessed Assurance
vs,1
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
vs.2
Perfect submission, perfect delight!
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)
vs.3
Perfect submission, all is at rest!
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with his goodness, lost in His love.
(Refrain)
A blessed promise. A blessed pledge. When I substituted one word for another the song's title took on even a greater meaning. One blessed pledge that I have clung to throughout my health ordeal and the death of my mom was the promise that He's always with me. I remember I was doing a study quite a few months ago on this topic. Read Joshua 1:9 below.
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua helped return the Jews to their Promised Land. In the Promised Land God helped the Israelites conquer the enemies and make this land their home. There is some Biblical context for you. It's always important to read verses in their context then branch out and see how it applies to your life or in the lives of your loved ones. In the midst of this study I literally said out loud, "so what if your with me...this still STINKS." The last two years have been THE most frustrating and scary out of my whole hormonal hell journey. It's been downright hard...no way around it. I will say that it could all have been worse, much worse. I'm not complaining and please don't think that I am. My point is I was going through some of the hardest times of my life and was doing a study on how God's always with me and felt a little frustrated with God. Your with me, but this appears to not be getting better? I prayed and asked God to help me make sense of the questions that were in my heart. He said something very simple to me. I heard with my spirit's ears, "just think if I weren't with you...how hard would it be then?" Yep. It was like the most basic answer ever and I have never forgotten it.
He doesn't promise us a rose garden. Isn't that an old country song? In this world we will have trouble. John tells us this in John 16:33. I spent a great deal of my prayer time begging God that He remove this cup. I have begged and pleaded that He take it away. Instead of taking away my health problem He has promised His presence. I begged that He would take away the cancer from my mom's lung and brain, but He chose to take her Home to heal her. I don't get it. What I do get is that His presence is His blessed assurance. My mom clearly understood this principle. Lately I have been spending more time in prayer not begging for the cup to be removed, but for Him to place His wisdom on me so I don't miss one single lesson He has for me as I endure and persevere. I have focused less on what I want and more on just being with Him. It is true, no doubt, that Fanny's words ring true. "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood," are beautiful poetic words. In essence they are at the root of my point. Because of my faith in God I have this blessed assurance. Because I am His and He is mine I don't have to face pain and heartache alone. His presence doesn't always take away the thorn, but His presence means I don't have to endure without it.
I hope this entry speaks to you in some personal way. It flowed pretty easily from my brain to my fingers to the screen. I give all glory to God for this because I'm must His vessel that once was broken that was made whole again.
I opened my computer today to blog, but had no idea what I was going to blog about. As I read through my previous blogs about my surgery and the backgrounds to my favorite hymns I had an idea. I hope it makes as much sense on your screen as it does in my head!
Assurance. What does that word mean? I love using a simple dictionary to make more sense of the Biblical texts that I'm reading. Sometimes I'll be studying my Bible and will come across a word that I think I know the definition of, but when I go to write it I'm at a loss. This happened last night during my study on patience. What does patience really mean? The best definition I found was this, "the state of endurance under difficult circumstances." The definition went on to talk about how a patient person perseveres in the face of a delay without acting out in annoyance. To have endurance means to maintain the power to last through an unpleasant process. Um well, maybe I'm not as patient as I thought. Back to the word assurance. I love this definition; pledge or promise: a declaration that inspires or is intended to inspire confidence. This definition came from the Bing dictionary.
Blessed Assurance was written by Fanny Crosby in 1873. She is probably one of the most famous hymn writers of all time. I remember as a little girl thinking the name Fanny was funny. Hey, I was eight! Fanny's heritage stemmed form the earliest Puritan settlers in the New World. Fanny became blind as a six week old baby. She began writing poems at age eight. The quote that I am including comes from Fanny being asked if she wished she hadn't been blind. Her response is unbelievable! "It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me, " Fanny Crosby. Fanny was saved in 1850 and continued on her path of hymn writing. She was married soon after and gave birth to a baby girl who died soon after birth. This broke Fanny's heart. The rest of her life was spent writing poems, hymns and doing mission work. Please read her Wikipedia entry for additional information on her...there is a lot!
Blessed Assurance
vs,1
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
vs.2
Perfect submission, perfect delight!
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)
vs.3
Perfect submission, all is at rest!
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with his goodness, lost in His love.
(Refrain)
A blessed promise. A blessed pledge. When I substituted one word for another the song's title took on even a greater meaning. One blessed pledge that I have clung to throughout my health ordeal and the death of my mom was the promise that He's always with me. I remember I was doing a study quite a few months ago on this topic. Read Joshua 1:9 below.
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua helped return the Jews to their Promised Land. In the Promised Land God helped the Israelites conquer the enemies and make this land their home. There is some Biblical context for you. It's always important to read verses in their context then branch out and see how it applies to your life or in the lives of your loved ones. In the midst of this study I literally said out loud, "so what if your with me...this still STINKS." The last two years have been THE most frustrating and scary out of my whole hormonal hell journey. It's been downright hard...no way around it. I will say that it could all have been worse, much worse. I'm not complaining and please don't think that I am. My point is I was going through some of the hardest times of my life and was doing a study on how God's always with me and felt a little frustrated with God. Your with me, but this appears to not be getting better? I prayed and asked God to help me make sense of the questions that were in my heart. He said something very simple to me. I heard with my spirit's ears, "just think if I weren't with you...how hard would it be then?" Yep. It was like the most basic answer ever and I have never forgotten it.
He doesn't promise us a rose garden. Isn't that an old country song? In this world we will have trouble. John tells us this in John 16:33. I spent a great deal of my prayer time begging God that He remove this cup. I have begged and pleaded that He take it away. Instead of taking away my health problem He has promised His presence. I begged that He would take away the cancer from my mom's lung and brain, but He chose to take her Home to heal her. I don't get it. What I do get is that His presence is His blessed assurance. My mom clearly understood this principle. Lately I have been spending more time in prayer not begging for the cup to be removed, but for Him to place His wisdom on me so I don't miss one single lesson He has for me as I endure and persevere. I have focused less on what I want and more on just being with Him. It is true, no doubt, that Fanny's words ring true. "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood," are beautiful poetic words. In essence they are at the root of my point. Because of my faith in God I have this blessed assurance. Because I am His and He is mine I don't have to face pain and heartache alone. His presence doesn't always take away the thorn, but His presence means I don't have to endure without it.
I hope this entry speaks to you in some personal way. It flowed pretty easily from my brain to my fingers to the screen. I give all glory to God for this because I'm must His vessel that once was broken that was made whole again.
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