painful and beautiful

I am so glad that 2008 is finally over! I have never lived through more difficult times. I would also have to say, though, that if I described the past months, I would have to admit that they have been the most painful I have ever lived, but also some of the most beautiful. How can that be?

This is what Jesus had to say: “…trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” John 16:33 The Message)

This is hard to understand…an oxymoron in nature…but it has happened in my life. The harder the world presses me, the closer I get to God. Horrible, difficult things push me into the arms of the One who loves me like no other has ever loved me…it is painful and beautiful, at the same time.

g

found in you

The song, Shadowfeet, by Brooke Fraser has spoken to me in the past few months. These are the beautiful words:

“Walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet
Toward home, a land that I've never seen
I am changing: less and less asleep
Made of different stuff than when I began
and I have sensed it all along
Fast approaching is the day
When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees,
When time and space are through,
I'll be found in you.”

It is so good to find out that when my world is absolutely upside down, and all I thought was “sure” is broken…God stays the same. He won’t leave me. He’ll be here, and I can find my true self in the surety of Him.

our hope endures

As Natalie Grant sings in “Our Hope Endures:”

“Sometimes the sun
Stays hidden for years
Sometimes the sky
Rains night after night
When will it clear
But our hope endures
The worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Our hope is unchanged
Emanuel, God is with us
El Shaddai, all sufficient
We never walk alone
This is our hope
Our hope endures
The worst of conditions
It's more
Than our optimism
Our hope is unchanged.”

Lamentations 3:21-23
“ Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

God is with us. He is all sufficient. He never changes. This, and only this, is the hope that we have. This hope endures forever.

Thank you, Father,
g

merry christmas, sister

Merry Christmas, Sister. We miss you so much.
g

decorating for christmas

Today we collected boughs of pine, sprigs of cedar, and various kinds of holly from the woods. Deb put them all together with a big, beautiful bow, and we placed them on Kathy’s grave. We were honoring the lovely, creative, and giving spirit of our sister. She would love it! We were decorating for Christmas.

g

sorrow will end

Isaiah 60:1B,20B
“Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. Your God will be your glory…and your days of sorrow will end.”

hold my heart

“One tear in the dropping rain,
One voice in the sea of pain
Could the maker of the stars
Hear the sound of my breakin' heart?
One light, that's all I am
Right now I can barely stand
If You're everything You say You are
Won't You come close and hold my heart.”

“Hold My Heart”
Tenth Avenue North