29 May 2013

it just isn't possible...

"We cannot be intimately exposed to God's heart and remain complacent." (H. Blackaby)

25 May 2013

hope

"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." (Martin Luther)

10 May 2013

embracing sovereignty

"Choose to bury your face, even your tears, in the mystery of His sovereignty. It's a hard choice, but one you will never regret. ... The choice we have is whether we are going to submit to a sovereign God or shake our fist and demand answers not intended for this life. ... I am going to humble myself before God and believe He has a purpose I will someday understand. I reject bitterness and hard-heartedness, and I choose to become submissive and wait. ... When you willingly take from God's hand whatever He allows, believing that eternity will prove His wisdom and goodness, even though you can't see it now, you are embracing sovereignty at the deepest level. And you are preparing your life for a joy so immense that few ever truly experience it."
Josh MacDonald, Gripped by the Greatness of God

09 May 2013

I am a daughter of Abraham

Now the LORD said to Abram,
"Go forth from your country,
and from your relatives
and from your father's house,
to the land which I will show you;
and I will make you a great nation,
and I will bless you, and make your name great;
and so you shall be a blessing;
and I will bless those who bless you,
and the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
(Genesis 12:1-3, NASB)

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed
by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance;
and he went out not knowing where he was going.
(Hebrews 11:8, NASB)

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants,
heirs according to promise.
(Galatians 3:29, NASB)

Was reminded this morning of sitting on the floor of a friend's house, struggling through the reality of moving away from all that was familiar just three years ago.  Amazed, as I again read these words, that this promise is no longer a future promise... it is REALITY.

Peter began to say to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You."
Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life."
(Mark 10:29-30, NASB)

Amazed. Overwhelmed by wonder. Grateful.

07 May 2013

What we do not have is an excuse...

Thankful for this brother's stirring words of conviction and perspective.

Heehee...

In the last couple months, I've welcomed 3 new staff members to Africa... :-) And they are slowly discovering that the most important part of transitioning to a new country/language/culture is to embrace this attitude towards life. ;-)

06 May 2013

Grace is the face love wears...

“Grace is ... the face that love wears when it meets imperfection, weakness, failure, sin.  Grace is what love is and does when it meets the sinful and undeserving. It enables us to see beyond one another’s faults so that we can love one another without reference to whether that love has been earned or deserved.  It’s what God does when He reaches out in love–sinful as we are–and welcomes us into a relationship with Himself.” (J. R. Cooke)

01 May 2013

You know my heart... let it bring You praise

So many things in my heart these days, but feels impossible to express... such sweet comfort in His love and purpose even in the never-ending fight against the enemy's lies... he doesn't get to win this one. I don't have to understand what God is doing to praise Him... I can praise Him simply because He IS God and He is WORTHY... regardless of my energy & health, my circumstances, and my feelings. They are all subject to Him... and He may choose for me what He wishes. Lord, let it bring You praise! You have meaning and beautiful blessing in this season... have YOUR way.