Strangers and Pilgrims

For our family devotional time each morning we read a Psalm, or portion of one, and the corresponding entry from our daily devotional reading by John Calvin in Heart Aflame.  Actually, because we have missed a few,... okay, several, daily readings, we read two-days worth each morning that we gather for devotions.  One of these days we will catch up to the current reading by the calendar, but for now the pace is sufficient and the Lord has blessed many of the readings with a timeliness unrelated to the actual date yet pertinent to our circumstances.

So Much to Share, So Little Time.

The past year has been so very full.  Quite honestly, a quick share on Facebook has been easy to zip off when anything of substance which would require deeper reflection and more careful treatment has been neglected.  There has been much of substance in our circumstances in the past many months: much joy, and much pain.  In that neglect, perhaps some of the reflection, whether in written form or not, has also slipped to the wayside.  Perhaps,... maybe not.

I have at my bedside a small red volume which I found in a used book store shortly after we moved here.  The title is Streams in the Desert, and it is a daily devotional, compiled by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman and published in 1925.  I don't read it every day, such regularity of habit is foreign to my nature.  I did, however, pick it back up the other night and read several day's worth of passages.  They seemed to be speaking right to my heart, as if the Lord knew precisely what I needed to hear, which I trust that He does. and were a balm to my soul.  One passage followed by a poem drew me particularly in, and I'd like to share it here.

The way to peace and victory is to accept every circumstance, every trial, straight from the hand of a loving Father; and to live up in the heavenly places, above the clouds, in the very presence of the Throne, and to look down from the Glory upon our environment as lovingly and divinely appointed.

I prayed for strength, and then I lost awhileAll sense of nearness, human and divine;The love I leaned on failed and pierced my heart,The hands I clung to loosed themselves from mine;But while I swayed, weak trembling, and alone,The everlasting arms upheld my own.

I prayed for light; the sun went down in clouds,The moon was darkened by a misty doubt,The stars of heaven were dimmed by earthly fears,And all my little candle flames burned out;But while I sat in shadow, wrapped in night,The face of Christ made all the darkness bright.

I prayed for peace, and dreamed of restful ease,A slumber free from pain, a hushed repose;Above my head the skies were black with storm,And fiercer grew the onslaught of my foes;But while the battle raged, and wild winds blew,I heard His voice and perfect peace I knew.

I thank you, Lord, You were too wise to heedMy feeble prayers, and answer as I sought,Since these rich gifts Your bounty has bestowedHave brought me more than all I asked or thought;Giver of good, so answer each requestWith your own giving, better than my best~Annie Johnson Flint

The Lord has continued, as He ever has without fail, to give us better than our best.

I will share the substance or the Lord's good, wise, and better gifts soon.

Testing, testing...

Hello,... hello...  Is this thing on?

It has been so long since I have regularly posted anything here on my blog that my brain will need some limbering up.  It's not that I haven't had anything to say, I've had plenty.  The time that it takes to type anything out, edit, re-read it, make final revisions, and then finally post it has been in short supply.  (Yes, I actually edit what I put here- my typing skills are sadly deficient, so I must carefully re-read everything I attempt.)

I will be putting down some thoughts soon.  As usual, I have to run now.

This has been a test of the Grateful blogging system.

Partial Retraction

As I was washing up in the kitchen this evening, thinking over the events of the day, my mind wandered again to my previous post, Because You Are Different.  In a flash I realized that I had committed a grave error in the opening remarks to the post.  I wrote:

The letter which I labored over and revised many times became something which I not only wish someone had told me when I was 13-years old, but something which I may need to remind myself even still.

Can you spot the error?  It leaps off the screen at me now.  It's positively glaring...

Because You Are Different...

This weekend the high school girls from our homeschool co-op had a retreat where they could get some real time to fellowship with one another away from their schoolwork and share devotional time with the Lord.  The hostess for the girls asked each of the women from our co-op to write the girls a letter, all of which she would bind together into a book for each girl to keep.  What a thoughtful treasure.

The letter which I labored over and revised many times became something which I not only wish someone had told me when I was 13-years old, but something which I may need to remind myself even still.  I pray that our girls take away blessed memories from this weekend, and that they reap enduring reward from the love of God, expressed through each of the Moms in their letters to them.

Lamentation

Today on the church calendar is the fourth day of Christmas, dedicated to the Holy Innocents, the children of Bethlehem ordered to be killed by Herod when he learned that the Magi from the East had slipped the net and returned home without giving him the address of the potential usurper of his earthly throne: the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the infant, Jesus.

“Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”  ~Matthew 2:17-18

My Heart Has Grown Ten Sizes

It was a dark and stormy night.

No, really— it was!

Tuesday had been so stormy all afternoon and evening that we had flood advisories, wind advisories, and tornado watches all through the area.  The local cross country meets were even postponed— so you know it was bad.  Perfect day to hunker down and stay home.  We settled down to watch a movie at home, hoping the power wouldn't go out, casting occasional glances out the windows at the sideways driving rain.  As the movie came to the end and the rain began to lessen, I got a text from Bekah, "Do contractions feel like period cramps?"

Am I Better Off Than I Was Four Years Ago?

This question is getting a lot of play right now as the election season heats up to full boil and the opposing parties are making their respective arguments for their candidates.  Am I better off now than I was four years ago?  I suppose the answer hangs on the definition of our standards of measurement.