Choices/ Hear It on Sunday. Use it on Monday

I sit reading my little daily devotional and, as so often happens, a random thought like a tiny bolt out of the blue crosses my mind. It has nothing at all to do with the scripture in front of me, but there it is. And I know it will stay with me - for once entertained these thoughts are loathe to leave on their own.

"Why," the little voice in my head asked, "didn't the Lord just crush satan like a bug the minute he puffed out his chest and declared he wanted to be like Him?"

Hmm....why indeed? Think of all the heartache and suffering it would have saved. Imagine living in the perfect garden with no one to tempt them to evil. How would the story have unfolded then?

But the Lord didn't crush Him. He allowed satan to choose the path he would follow and his choice set the clock ticking. There is always, it seems, this matter of choice.

Last evening our Pastor spoke on heaven and hell - a sermon topic guaranteed to either draw a crowd or offer up lots of empty seats. We are, apparently, a brave lot, and the church was filled.

He spoke of heaven, with its unimagined beauty and joy. He spoke of hell and the unimagined torment and agony. He didn't pull any punches. He taught that heaven is real and apart from Christ we will spend eternity there. He used Luke 16 and the story of Lazarus and the rich man.

Then he asked the inevitable question - the one we have all heard and perhaps secretly wondered about:

"How could a loving God send people to hell?"

In answer he quoted from one of Max Lucado's books:

"He doesn't. He honors their choice."

There it is again - this matter of choice. It is of such great importance to the Father that He has wrapped it in eternity. He will not settle for coerced children. He is holding out for love.

He holds nothing back - not even His only Son. He has poured out His great heart, and now He waits. Everything of value is available to us...everything. He isn't willing that one should perish, but He waits. We have a choice. We always have choices.

I'm joining Michelle for Hear it on Sunday. Use it on Monday.



Blessings,
Linda

All Your Anxiety

Lieut. Col. Edward Henry Joy, an officer in the Salvation Army, wrote a hymn called "All Your Anxiety" in 1920. This morning, in 2011, I woke up with its gently encouraging words running through my mind.

One of the reasons I've been doing this series on hymns is the timeless messages they hold. While I have grown to love our contemporary praise music, I think we will have lost something of great value if we let these hymns fade from memory. Just reading through the verses is like reading the most beautiful inspirational poetry. I would like to preserve this timeless treasure for future generations.



Is there a heart o'er-bound by sorrow?
Is there a life weighed down by care?
Come to the cross--each burden bearing,
All your anxiety--leave it there.


Refrain:
All your anxiety, all your care,
Bring to the mercy seat--leave it there;
Never a burden He cannot bear,
Never a friend like Jesus.

No other friend so keen to help you,
No other friend so quick to hear;
No other place to leave your burden,
No other one to hear your prayer.
Refrain:


Come then at once--delay no longer!
Heed His entreaty kind and sweet;
You need not fear a disappointment--
You shall find peace at the mercy seat.
Refrain

"Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6,7

Blessings,
Linda

I'm posting this early because I'd like to stay quiet on Sunday (I'm even giving the lap top a rest.).

Five Minute Friday - Still

I have come to look forward to these Friday prompts at Lisa-Jo's. I click over to her blog with anticipation, wondering which word she has chosen this week. Today the word is:

Still

Still immediately conjures up images of quieting my heart and finding a peaceful place to rest and think deep thoughts, but for some reason my mind won't go there today. Rather I am thinking about the long waiting.

We are still waiting to see our home. It has been such a long time since the contract fell through, and I looked around at all the packed boxes and all the hopes and dreams and began the wait.

Years have gone by. We pray, fervently, daily. We wonder if it is right, this continued dream. We pray with open hands and ask if we should set the dream aside. Just when we think it is surely a definite "no," the phone rings with hope, and we show this place that has been home for 28 years to potential buyers.

We still wait...knowing that all things are in His hands, that He gives us good things, that we can be content in the waiting for He has given us so much.

stop

Any thoughts on "still?" Come join us.

photo: Our land where we hope to one day build our new home.

Blessings,
Linda

Wholehearted Looking

There are no two snowflakes exactly alike. I have driven through blinding snowstorms, flakes racing toward the windshield, and I can hardly believe the miracle of it. Each one unique. The thought comforts me when I wish to be more like someone else. I am uniquely designed - a pattern that will never be repeated.

One of the things that makes this "snowflake" unique also renders me the person law enforcement officials would least like to have as the only witness to a crime. I would be no help in recalling the details - none. I am one of those people who can spend hours visiting you in your home and not remember what color the carpeting was. I may not even remember what you were wearing. I often wish I could be different, more observant. I feel as though a little piece is missing from my makeup.

I will, however, remember you. I will absorb your feelings and remember your words. If there is an underlying sadness in our conversation I will sense it - even if you say that all is well. If there are others in the room I will know if there is an unspoken tension or something amiss. I am bombarded by sensations of the heart. Perhaps it is the reason I feel exhausted when I arrive home and long for a quiet space.

I love to be with others - need to be with others. It is just that I invest heavily and need that time alone to breathe deeply.

I have been "stuck" on a verse for some time now. It is found in Jeremiah. His words often linger in my heart.

"And in those days when you pray I will listen. If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me."
Jeremiah 29: 12,13

Do I look wholeheartedly? The question sits heavily. What does it really mean? Surely He isn't making it difficult for me to find Him. Perhaps... perhaps it is simply doing what He has already graciously programmed into me - to focus on Him to the exclusion of all the things that surround me. To look into His face and see, not color of eyes or shape of nose, but who He is. To listen to His words and not be distracted by a thousand other things.

I know that when I do this, this wholehearted looking, I am not exhausted or depleted or in need of alone time. I am filled and refreshed. He gives me more than I can ever give Him in return. He waits...I simply have to look.

Blessings,
Linda

Thoughts Over Breakfast

Thoughts over breakfast (while gazing out the window):

What a cute little bird. I hope she can reach the water. I need to get out there and refresh the water.
Oh - it's okay. She's getting right down in there for her morning bath.
Here comes one of the big doves.
Aw - no more leisurely bath. There she goes.

It's funny. I tend to think that when the Bible says the Father cares for even the little sparrows it is implying that they never have any troubles. But that isn't so. There are all sorts of difficult circumstances they face on any given day.

I tend to smile at the way they take so long to take a drink - hopping from one side of the bird bath to the other, looking in all directions before daring to dip low and scoop up a bit of water. In truth, they are always on the lookout for danger that could come from any direction at any moment.

They don't get to spend their days just soaring above the trees taking in the beautiful view. They must work to find food. It isn't delivered to the nest that they painstakingly built one tiny bit at a time. When the storms come, they must seek shelter from the wind and rain. It is true, the Father cares for them, but that doesn't mean life isn't fraught with struggle and pain. It means He is watching over them. Knowing that, they can fill the air with sweet liquid notes and glide on the wind.

So it is for me. The Father has not promised a life of perfect happiness and comfort. He has promised to be with me in every circumstance that comes my way. Knowing that, I can choose to give Him my worries and cares and soar on wings of faith.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will."
Matthew 10:29

"When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze."
Isaiah 43:2

Blessings,
Linda

Hear it on Sunday. Use it on Monday.:Rejoice!

"In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents."
Luke 15:7

In the fifteenth chapter of Luke, Jesus uses three different parables to give us insight into the heart of the Father concerning the lost. He tells of a sheep, a coin and a son. Each of them was lost; each of them was found, and there was great rejoicing. In the same way, Jesus tells us, there is great rejoicing in heaven when even one sinner repents.

The third parable, the one about the prodigal son, is the one that pierces my heart. We have a prodigal in our family, one who has chosen to walk away and remains silent and distant. They have left heartache and sorrow in their wake. Not a day passes that we don't miss this one and pray for a return.

However, I must make a confession here and admit that at one time I identified with that older brother. The one who resented the great celebration when his little brother finally returned home. He was angry, bitter, and jealous at all the attention given to one who had hurt their father and the rest of the family so deeply. He had been the faithful one and resented the fact that no one had ever celebrated his loyalty and love.

The father in this story gently reprimands this bitter young man:

"Look dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!"
Luke 15:31-32

Jesus doesn't tell us how the older son responded, but I imagine he felt much the way I did when I looked my own anger in the face. After years of praying and trying I began to feel a coldness in my heart toward this one - a resolve to never allow them to get close to me even if they should return. I pictured in my mind the scene of rejoicing and the feeling of resentment that had grown as I was left to deal with all the difficult circumstances they had walked away from. And I knew it was wrong.

This weekend our Pastor taught on this chapter. In speaking of the return of sinners to the Lord he said:

"When a sinner comes back rejoice, and you will be in the presence of angels."

There is no judgement or self-righteousness involved - simply rejoice. So simple, but it encompasses so much. I have been forgiven everything, how can I not forgive in return? I am loved when I am at my worst, how can I not love others?

I want to dance in the presence of angels - selflessly, lovingly - when the prodigal returns home.

I am joining Michelle today for Hear it on Sunday. Use it on Monday.



Blessings,
Linda

I Need Thee Every Hour

Annie S. Hawks, born in Hoosick, New York on May 28, 1835, was thirty-seven years old when she penned the words to "I Need Thee Every Hour." Her poems had been published in local newspapers when she was just fourteen years old. She married in 1859 and moved to Brooklyn with her husband Charles. Together they attended the Hanson Place Baptist Church where writer and composer Robert Lowry was Pastor.

Here in Annie's words is the story of how she came to write this hymn:

"I remember well the morning many years ago, when in the midst of the daily cares of my home, I was so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master. While wondering how one could live without Him either in joy or pain for any period of time, these words, 'I need Thee every hour,' were ushered into my mind-the thought at once taking full possession of me. Seating myself by the open window in the balmy air of that bright June day, I took up my pencil and the words were soon committed to paper, almost as they are sung today."

A few months later, Robert Lowry put her words to music and added the chorus.

The hymn was to become a great comfort to Annie when her beloved husband Charles died years later. She went to live with her children in Bennington, Vermont until her death in 1918.

I need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.

Chorus:
I need Thee, O, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour,
Stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power,
When Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide,
Or life is vain.

I need Thee every hour,
Most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed,
Thou blessed Son.



Blessings,
Linda

Five Minute Friday - Full

Another week has flown by, and it is time for Five Minute Friday at Lisa-Jo's. She is home and filled with so much to share, hence this Friday's word :

Full

start:

There have been times I've pushed away from a table spread with a bounty of delicious food so full I thought I would never be able to eat another bite. However, in only a few hours time I begin to feel the rumblings of hunger and know that what was once full is now empty.

So it is with my heart. There are times when I feel so full of Him I feel I am complete - like I could run on this "dose" of Holy Spirit for the rest of my life. However, it doesn't take long - sometimes only a matter of minutes - before I realize I need a fresh filling.

I am filled so that I might be poured out; filled so that I might live in a way that brings honor and glory to Him; filled so that I can serve others and die to self - moment by moment.

I am constantly in need of filling. There are pin holes that leak. There are times I want desperately to do what is right and quickly realize that I am trying to run on empty. Without Him, my best intentions fall short.

stop

Please come join us at Lisa-Jo's. I would love to read what your heart has to say about "Full."

Blessings,
Linda

Master Tailor

He does all things well-
taking needle and thread,
the perfect hue,
carefully stitching
mending hearts
torn and tattered.

He does all things well-
using thread
woven of mercy and grace
He stitches together
the gaping holes
and frayed edges
making all things new.

Joining the very last One Shot Wednesday gathering (sigh)
and Emily's imperfect prose



Blessings,
Linda

Thanks In the Time of Drought

When the days drift by in a haze of unrelenting heat and sun, it is all too easy to let the heart become a bit melancholy. Even those of us who perpetually see the glass half-full tend to get weighted down with the dull sameness.

We long for change - for the refreshing rain to fall, to wash away the dust and lift the heavy blanket of scorching heat. When billowy clouds hide the sun, we look upward daring to hope, but it is only a temporary reprieve. In such seasons it is easy to lose focus - to fail to see the blessings. They are there, despite the cracked earth and dry grass. He is always there, if we have eyes to see:

- cardinals, a half dozen or more, playing in the bird bath

- a fresh breeze first thing in the morning, to make the morning walk pleasant

- little wild flowers growing on the side of the road

- a house kept cool with air conditioning

- ice cubes crackling in glasses of iced tea

- fresh fruit

- star-filled nights

- people gathering to pray for rain

- music to lift the spirit

- the promises in His Word

- time spent with friends

- telephone calls from Paris

- a letter (a real live letter in the mail box and everything!) from a friend

- the beautiful Crepe Myrtle trees so full of flowers

- the spirit and heart of ranchers and farmers facing the loss of everything dear to them

- knowing, knowing by heart, that God is good

Joining with the community at Ann's today.

May His richest blessings fill your hearts,
Linda

Jesus Paid It All

Elvina Hall sat quietly in her customary pew as her Pastor prayed. It was a Sunday morning in the Spring of 1865. Thoughts of the miracle of salvation filled her mind and heart. When the prayer was over, she picked up a hymnal and on a blank page began to write. Here is the story behind the beautiful hymn "Jesus Paid It All."

Jesus Paid It All

I hear the Savior say,

“Thy strength indeed is small;

Child of weakness, watch and pray,

Find in Me thine all in all.”

Refrain

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I

Whereby Thy grace to claim,

I’ll wash my garments white

In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

Refrain

And now complete in Him

My robe His righteousness,

Close sheltered ’neath His side,

I am divinely blest.

Refrain

Lord, now indeed I find

Thy power and Thine alone,

Can change the leper’s spots

And melt the heart of stone.

Refrain

When from my dying bed

My ransomed soul shall rise,

“Jesus died my soul to save,”

Shall rend the vaulted skies.

Refrain

And when before the throne

I stand in Him complete,

I’ll lay my trophies down

All down at Jesus’ feet.

Refrain

I pray the words of this timeless hymn draw you close to the Father who loves you deeply,

Linda

No Great Loss....

I am a bit late (it's been one of those days), but here I am to take part in Lisa-Jo's Five Minute Friday.

This Friday's word is Loss.

Start:

I wonder what Caroline Ingalls would think if she knew her gentle voice echoes down through the years to encourage the heart of a woman living in the 21st century.

"There is no great loss without some small gain."

Over and over again I hear her words - in the face of circumstances that would have crippled this modern day woman. When faced with the loss of everything and the very real possibility that there would be no way to have a roof over their heads and food on the table, she was able to pull those words from the depths of her heart.

It is a measure of gratitude that puts all of life into perspective. I have found myself echoing her words when I face loss in my own life. I try to see, as she did, that there is something of eternal value even in the worst of circumstances - some glimpse of the Father's faithfulness and love even when it seems that all is lost.

stop

Come and read all the wonderful posts written on this one word - loss




Blessings,
Linda

The Symphony of My Days

I am at Laced With Grace today. I have posted one from the very recent archives. I apologize to those of you who have already read it. I just felt strongly that this was what I needed to post today.

Blessings,
Linda

Feeling Sorry For Me

This is about the way I feel right now - "exhaustified." No one who knows me well would describe me as a Type A personality. I am quite the opposite. Weeks like this one, days filled to the brim with things to do outside my home, leave me feeling depleted. I'm not quite sure how to describe myself - perhaps introvert is the word I'm looking for. It isn't that I don't like to be with people. I love to be with people. It's just that after I've spent measurable time with others, I need to have a little bit of time alone.

There are seasons that don't accommodate that need, and, I confess, I begin to feel sorry for myself. I find myself whining inwardly about all the "stuff" I have to do and what about the things I want to do and can't I have a little time to myself.... well you get the idea.

I received a gentle reprimand about the whining the other day. Have you noticed how the Father tends to do that? I was in the middle of a really great pity party when He said (through the writings of Elizabeth Prentiss):

"If you love Him as I want you to do, you will offer Him the whole use of your day, as you open your eyes to the light of each morning, to be spent in active service or silent suffering, according to His good pleasure. You will not select the most agreeable task, but His task, whatever it may be; you will not disdain humble service, or be ambitious for distinguished service; you will lie, like a straw, on the current of His will, to be swept away and be forgotten, if it pleases Him, or to be caught up by His mighty hand and transformed thereby into a thunderbolt."

"...like a straw, on the current of His will..." I love that. Have you noticed that on those days when you feel as though you simply don't have anything to give and even less inclination to try, He is there? And at the end of such a day, don't you know in your heart that you are the one who has been blessed? "Exhaustified" perhaps, but blessed nonetheless.

Blessings,
Linda

Thankful for Beauty and the Word

I am thankful - for the Living Word and the way He writes it across my days:

"I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys."
Song of Solomon 2:1

"For you will go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and the trees of the field will clap their hands."
Isaiah 55:12

"And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good."
Genesis 1:10

"The moon and stars to rule by night, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Psalm 136:10

"Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father."
Matthew 10:29

"Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Matthew 11:11

"And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God."
Psalm 42:1

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty."
Psalm 91:1


Joining the Gratitude Community at Ann's.

Blessings,
Linda

Calvary Covers It All

The hymn this Sunday is one that was on my husband's heart. We have been praying for someone who is struggling mightily, and the words Mrs. Walter G. Taylor penned over one hundred years ago give perfect expression to those prayers.

Unfortunately I couldn't find any biographical information on this dear lady. We were disappointed. It seemed to us there must have been an amazing story connected to such inspired writing. On the other hand, perhaps it is a story common to all of us:

Calvary Covers It All

Far dearer than all that the world can impart
Was the message that came to my heart;
How that Jesus alone for my sin did atone,
And Calvary covers it all.

chorus:
Calvary covers it all,
My past with its sin and stain;
My guilt and despair
Jesus took on Him there,
And Calvary covers it all.

The stripes that He bore and the thorns that He wore
Told His mercy and love every-more;
And my heart bowed in shame as I called on His name,
And Calvary covers it all.

Chorus

How matchless the grace, when I looked in the face
Of this Jesus my crucified Lord;
My redemption complete I then found at His feet,
And Calvary covers it all.

Chorus

How blessed the thought, that my soul by Him bought,
Shall be His in the glory on high;
Where with gladness and song I'll be one of the throng,
And Calvary covers it all.

Chorus

Five Minute Friday - Grateful

You will want to read Lisa-Jo's post today. It comes to us from her heart and from a place most of us will never get to see. She transports us there with her words and lifts our spirits with her grateful heart.

The word she has chosen for this Five Minute Friday is "Grateful."






Go:
There are times when prayer is like a gentle conversation between a child and his loving Father. Other times it is rather routine - sounding to my own ears like a laundry list of wants and wishes. There are those seasons when it seems the cry of my heart never rises beyond the ceiling of my bedroom - the heavens like brass bouncing my words right back into my heart.

We have had a season of prayer that doesn't come often into our lives - a time of desperation, when prayer was a constant conversation with the only One who could help; a time when words simply would not come and the Spirit prayed for us.

Then...the longed for answer came. It came like a miracle - longed for but somehow unexpected because it was so big. And we are more grateful than words can possibly express. It is a gratitude that fills the heart and spills over in tears that course down cheeks.

stop:

Perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on "grateful" today. Please join us here. 

Blessings,
Linda

The Pride of False Humilty

So much of kingdom life
is upside-down,
Seeing right in what
once passed for wrong,
Before I saw through
His eyes.

Silent conversations
demeaning self;
Focusing on faults and failures;
Denying His truth of
fearfully and wonderfully made.
Hoping, somehow, for approval
in the groveling.

I call it humility,
this putting down of self.
He calls it pride.

linking to Ann and to One Stop Poetry today.

Blessings,
Linda

A Gift for your 4th of July!

I have a special gift for you to help celebrate The Fourth of July. I promise you will be blessed.

Just click here.

It is a beautiful story written by our Pastor's daughter-in-law Bre'anna.

Blessings,
Linda

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July! As we celebrate with family and friends might we take a moment to thank Him for the priceless freedom we have in Jesus,

"If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
John 8:36

and to pray for this precious country we call home.



Blessings,
Linda

Welcome

Our word for this Five Minute Friday is "welcome."

start:

Most days, as I move within my circle of comfort, I forget that I am shy. That little girl who stood on the outside longing to be the life of the party no longer exists. Or so I imagine.

It is when I step outside of the circle into uncharted territory that she resurfaces - filled with a shyness that renders this grownup woman a little girl once more.

I wanted desperately to be part of the women's group at the new church we were attending. I went to the Bible Study and to the socials, but I somehow never managed to find a way in. I tried - oh I tried - but the circle closed and no one seemed to notice. I finally just gave up.

However the longing to be a part of a Bible study persisted. So I ventured out once more - to a different church this time. I walked into that little room with my heart thumping wildly and felt within moments a welcome that made me want to weep with joy and relief.

The women opened their hearts immediately, and I felt I was home...

stop

Please join us today at Lisa-Jo's. It is a place of warmth and welcome.



Blessings,
Linda

picture of my violets - just because they are so sweet!