Sunday, September 14, 2008
Another Semester, oh joy! :D
People ask me if I'm enjoying it, and I'll say, "well.. seriously... ummm...."
"not really?"
It's not that I don't like learning. It's not that I don't want a degree, it's not that I'm lazy. Well, not often lazy. :) It's not that I don't like balancing a job and school and homework and studying and church music ministry and and still trying to stay connected with my family.
No, no, not that I don't like it... ;)
I have to say though, I don't understand how working mothers do it! I don't! The most I try to manage my balancing act the more I am impressed with how working mothers keep their sanity. Like Sarah Palin, for instance. Now how can a woman have five kids and run for Vice President? I like her views, I appreciate her stances, I am very glad for a prolife candidate, but at the back of it all I wonder, how does she do it?
Gotta wonder.
Yeah, I like being back in school, I like staying busy. But you'd better believe that by the time I've started a family, I will be more than ready to let go of it all.
Yes. :)
Well, I'm off to finish my income tax and marketing study assignments. Not sure when I will post again but I will do my best to be more regular than I have been. Oh, and that last sentence was for you, Ginger. And for you, Aunt Laurie. ;)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The Miracle of the Sunrise
Today I got up early, and sat before my open bedroom window and watched the sun rise up above the hills and trees. Its light was softly glowing, long before it actually could be seen, and then suddenly, it burst forth upon the mountain tops, down into the valleys and into my window to shine across the room in such a radiant way that one could not help but feel the warmth shine right into the deepest parts of the heart.
It reminded me of another kind of sunrise: the sunrise that broke through one of the darkest and deepest of moments of my life. The sunrise that came slowly at first, so much slow that I could hardly dare to hope it would ever really come, and then, as if in time with a great unknown orchestra, it broke forth, sending it's bright and warming rays to the farthest corners of my heart. It did not take all the pain away, no, for pain is not a part of darkness, but the darkness, the deep black that blinded my eyes from seeing beyond the moment, was gone, and as I sat, quietly thinking of the road that I had travelled in the dark, I realized that it is true. Had it not been for the darkness, I could never have rejoiced as I do now in the breaking forth of the sunrise. Had there not been moments when by faith, I held on to what I knew was there but could not see, the sunrise would be but common place and ordinary. It was then that I realized that “We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness” (Unknown)
God has promised that every dark night has an end. There will be a sunrise, a glorious, beautiful sunrise someday. It might seem like the night will never end. Perhaps you'll only see the glorious dawning in the place where He makes all things beautiful, all wrongs right, but the morning will come. The darkest is before the dawn. Just hold on a little longer, because the morning is coming, and the sunrise will be worth it all.
- by Chantel Harding
(From the ylcf blog) http://blog.ylcf.org/2008/08/miracle-of-sunrise.html
Saturday, August 2, 2008
His House
But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to?
The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come in and live in it Himself."
-C. S. Lewis
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Refuge in the Heat
-Psalm 31:19
"Trust in Him at all times, O people;
-Psalm 62:8
Saturday, June 14, 2008
All Day, Every Day
for you I wait all the day long."
-Psalm 25:5
"About Benjamin he said:
'Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him,
for he shields him all day long,
and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.'"
-Deuteronomy 33:12
"All day long there is the pressure of life, and perhaps some inner strain to the spirit known only to God. But all the day long, too, there is the lovingkindness of God. And so all the day long there the peace that passes all understanding."
-Amy Carmichael
We often speak of how quickly time goes by. Yet there are many days and seasons that just seem to drag slowly. It sounds ironic, but the years that seem to pass in the blink of an eye are comprised of many long, long days.
Sometimes we just need to take a deep breath, and realize that it's only one day at a time. And throughout each day we are sustained by His lovingkindness and shielded by His hand.
And one day we will look back and marvel, both at how His hand helped us...
and by how quickly the time flew by! ;)
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Further Adventures of Gideon: In Which Gideon Attacks the Bumblebee
Later I told my sister Megan about his strange behavior. "He was probably stung by the bee and wanted to protect you from it." she explained. "You think so?" I asked. "Because it was... already dead."
Awww. The gallantry of the timid dog attacking his greatest fear for the sake of another person. Only he was wasting his energy. The bee was already dead.
Sound typical?
Food for thought: I wonder how many of my battles I fight fiercely and fearfully -- over a "dead bumblebee." How much energy do I waste wrestling over things that my Lord already has competely under His control? How much time do I waste digging up the dead bee to fight with again? How often has my Lord resolved my battles for me when yet I consider them unfinished, then drag them out to use up my energy all over again?
I'm not sure that Gideon learned a lesson from this ;), but I think I did.
Lord, grant me the wisdom to know which battles You would have me spend my energy on, and help me to leave the "dead bumblebees" alone!
Monday, June 2, 2008
See the Horse, See the Dog, See the Vet Bill
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The Post instead of a Post
So -- you may be seeing it (it meaning the aforesaid post about work and frustrations thereof - ;) ) , once my brain is somewhat less fried, and my thoughts are clearer. Hopefully it won't ramble... too much. :)
I will share the verse that has been in my head this week:
"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
-Romans 8:37 (love this whole chapter, and book, actually!)
I love the word imagery. More than conquerors. The battle is won. Through Him who loved us. Now this is a comfort - considering life and its constant and numerous frustrations!
And so we wait in anticipation, fight our battles with confidence, and live our daily lives in obedience to Him.
One day at a time.
:)
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Just for Laughs...
I finished Money in the Bank recently and had to keep jotting down favorites. Rest assured, this odd assortment does all fit together in the book! ;) And only Wodehouse could tie together a lovestruck young man posing as a detective, a forgetful uncle and his missing diamonds, a retired big-game hunter turned vegetarian and her vegetarian community, and a determined girl who is engaged to the wrong man.
Not convinced? Well, read the book, and if you still don't get it just blame my quirky sense of humor. Along with Wodehouse's. ;)
"He was still quite at a loss to understand how the ghastly things had happened. The facts seemed to suggest that he must have let fall some passing remark which had given the girl the impression that he was proposing to her, but he had no recollection of having done anything so cloth-headed."
"[She] turned her natural energies, until then expended in keeping a husband in order, in the direction of roaming, rifle at the ready, the wilder portions of Africa."
"Love, he felt, and he was a man who had thought about these things, should not manifest itself in such a strongly-marked inclination, when in the presence of the adored object, to stand on one leg and twiddle the fingers."
"It always interests a girl to re-examine a man, who, so she has been assured since her last meeting with him, has fallen in love with her at first sight. She found herself feeling kindly and well-disposed towards him. She liked people to like her - or, if they preferred it, to love her."
"It is always disconcerting for a young man to learn that he is enjoying the hospitality of a woman who is anxious to strangle him with her bare hands."
"You are being cheated out of what should be one of your most beautiful memories. Seeing me for the first time marks an epoch in most people's lives. They live over the moment again, to cheer themselves up in moods of depression."
"That, he concluded, becoming profound, 'is the whole trouble with fellers like Lionel Green. If you see one without actually wanting to kick him, you think, "This must be love."'
"I don't know how well you understand Rugby football, but I was what is known as a scrum-half. It fell to me to fling myself on the ball when the blighters wheeled and came away with it at their toes. In future, I shall collect old china."
"'And by the way, did I ever tell you how I became the hero of the school?'
'No. And I don't want you to.'
'It was during the great football match of the season against St. Ethelberta's, a girl's school...it was nearly at the end of the game and we were leading by the narrowest of margins. Then all of a sudden their captain broke loose with the ball under her arm, a large, spectacled girl called Flossie, and no one between her and the goal line but me. The question naturally arose "Will J. G. Miller prove equal to this emergency?" and all through the crowd it was recognized as a very moot point. Well, to cut a long story short I didn't. I let her through, and she crossed the line and we lost. I shall never forget that day.'
'And that made you the hero of the school?'
'Of the other school. Of St. Ethelberta's.'"
"For if we look askance at the wretch who sells himself for gold, how much more do we recoil from him who allows himself to be bought with pork pies."
"You say Anne won't speak to you. I don't suppose you give her a chance."
"It is much simpler if, when you are playing the piano, and a man you dislike extremely asks you if you are playing the piano, to go on playing the piano, so that he can see for himself."
"A woman who wishes to settle in Kent is faced with two alternatives. Either she must refrain from strangling people, or she must go somewhere else."
"It's pretty tough for girls, isn't it? They start out dreaming that some day they will marry a Prince Charming, and they wind up with fellows like me."
"'I love you' said Jeff
'That's the way to talk,' said Anne.
'I shall never love anyone but you.'
'Better and better.'
'Did you know that ants run faster in warm weather?'
'No, really? Faster than what?'
'Faster than other ants in cold weather.'"
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
You Shall Have a Song...
Monday, May 19, 2008
Update
And I wanted to leave you with a verse:
"By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life."
-Psalm 4:8
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Don't Let Me Miss It...
I've been so very tired lately. Every day I look for signs of spring; I'm longing for it. At the end of a long difficult winter the hope of spring is so refreshing... especially since it usually comes at the end of a stressful semester! I am looking ahead, wistfully, but right now the season (and the weather!) is still winter. And I am living in the present. I don't want my exhaustion and down moods and wishes and burnout to cause me to miss out on savoring life now. I want to live life to the hilt... even in a long cold winter. I want to seize opportunities, and I want to enjoy the ones that may not be there later on. I'm in a season that is fleeting, and I refuse to allow myself to slowly drag through what is left of it. There's more to life than that.
No, I don't want to miss the glory. I'm tired, yes. I'm ready for spring, yes. But this cannot keep me from adding my voice to that of all creation praising to the honor of His name. With His strength, I won't miss it.
"In the view from the mountains
In the crashing of the ocean
There's a power that no man will ever hold.
All the stars in the heavens
And like a mighty choir
Don't let me miss the glory
Don't let me miss the praise
That all creation is singing
To the honor of your name
Don't let me miss the wonder
Don't let me miss the grand design
In the lightning and the thunder
Lord, open up my eyes
Don't let me miss the glory
The cry of a baby
The laughter of love
In the dance of the faithful
In the prayer of the righteous
In the beauty of your grace
In a brand new morning's mercy
All your memories of my sin have been erased
Don't let me miss the glory
Don't let me miss the praise
That all creation is singing
To the honor of your name
Don't let me miss the wonder
Don't let me miss the grand design
In the lightning and the thunder
Lord, open up my eyes
Don't let me miss the glory"
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Today...
-Josh Harris
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
<3
Therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."
-Jeremiah 31:3
"Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored,
And I love you."
-Isaiah 43:4a
"A new commandment I give to you,
That you love one another:
Just as I have loved you,
You also are to love one another.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples
If you have love for one another."
-John 12:34-35
Friday, February 8, 2008
Peace, My Child
I know, personally, I become so caught up in daily life that I forget how all of life should be centered around Him, and I lose the peace and tranquility I could have been blessed with. That is when He gets my attention in a way that I can't miss. Usually a painful way. Usually a way that brings me to my knees in an earnest helpless seeking that I have neglected for far too long. Usually tears are involved, usually pleas. Yet through it all He gently reminds me; "Daughter, you needed this. You were forgetting about Me." And even if His answer is not the one I wanted, His peace that passes all understanding does eventually come to guard my heart and mind.
I do tend to worry far too much, and especially for a daughter who has everything in the hands of a great and loving Father. Often I need to read over the words; "In returning and rest shall you be saved, in quietness and confidence will be your strength." (Isaiah 30:15)
Rest, and quiet. Returning, and confidence. Rest of a burdened, fretting, over-analyzing mind. Quietness softly creeping back into a troubled heart. A return; to the One who in fact blessed us with this trial that we might return in the first place. Confidence. A peaceful and quiet confidence, yet still certain and boldly non-hesitant. All gifts from the Father - Who holds the answer in His hands.
Don't misunderstand; I am not saying His gift to a troubled heart is always necessarily passive. Peace is often present in activity, yet it is a serene presence. And he gives ability to remain serene through heart-wrenching pain.
But first, we need to be still...
At His feet.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Darkness - His Covering
Monday, January 7, 2008
Embrace the Joy, Embrace the Pain
-John Piper
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The Garden of My Soul
with the winds of love,
that the scents of the Christian life may be
wafted to others;
then come and gather fruits to Thy glory.
So shall I fulfill the great end of my being -
To glorify Thee and be a blessing to men."
-compiled by Arthur Bennet in The Valley of Vision