Images of the Past 48 hours

Lining up for the last time to leave kindergarten, complete with fairy dust in their hair to turn them into 1st graders. Interesting to note, all the moms were standing up with me and crying. For many of us this is our last walk through kindergarten (until, Lord willing, grandchildren.)

Elena's classmates playing catch with water balloons...

the innocence of bubble blowing...

swimming with the cousins...

smiling with some of the family (missing Joey and Kevin)...

(l-r, Jacob, Nate, Stephanie, Emma, Elena, Ryan H., Jenna (mojo), Ryan

Psalm 118:24

Sojourning over here today. Taking a look at Psalm 118:24....come on over.

A Year to Remember

My youngest came home with a memory book of kindergarten today. This teacher is something special. She is the number one reason we made the educational choice we did for our youngest this past year. This memory book has monthly pages of art work, writings, pictures, handprints...well, memories.

It starts with this letter from her beloved teacher:

As you turn the pages, you can relive with your little one, the memories of a school year that will never again be equaled--in its joy, its warmth, its innocence.

The book ends with this poem from her teacher:

To The Parents of Elena,
I've worked with your flower,
And helped it to grow.
I'm returning it now,
But I want you to know...

This flower is precious,
As dear as can be
Love it...take care of it
And soon you will see
A bright new bloom with everyday
It grows in such a special way.

In September...a bud,
Mid-Term...a bloom;
Now...a lovely blossom
Come home to you in June.

Remember this flower
As dear as cam be,
Though rightfully yours,
Part...belongs to me!

Happy Birthday, Elena!

The day started like this...

but ended like this...get up Zeke!!

A little Pinata fun...

they always love the trampoline...

food always helps...

thank you gifts...

chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate...

She turned 6 today. Our mighty one. She is tender and strong in spirit. She understands grace better than I do. She has a level of trust in the Lord's word which seems to go beyond childlike faith. This is the first scripture I read after she was born...I read it every June 6th.."I delight in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." Isaiah 61:10

Happy Birthday, honey...

Lord You're Holy

Do you know this song? If not, you should....it is awesome. Just meditate on the words. I love the tag which describes Him in so many ways. Good stuff...(I listen to this via Travis Cottrell and the Living Proof Ministries Praise team)

Lord You're Holy

Helen Baylor

As I look around and I see
All the works that Your hands have made
The awesomeness of You
And how Your love will never fail
Mere words cannot express what I feel
inside
I can’t describe Your glory divine
But as a token of my love
This is what I’ll do
I lift my hands and cry holy

Lord, You’re Holy
Lord, You’re Holy
And we lift You up
And magnify Your Name
Lord, You’re Holy
Lord, You’re Holy
And we lift You up
And magnify Your Name

There’s not enough words that I can say
To tell you how much I appreciate
All the wonderful things You’ve given me
Your loving kindness
Your tender mercies
It’s my desire to praise You
And tell you how much I love You
You’re worthy of all the honor
Lord You’re worthy of all the praise

I don’t know how
You can love me
How You could give me
So much mercy
You didn’t have to suffer and die for me
Way back on Calvary
But I just wanna thank you

Wonderful, Glorious, Holy, and Righteous
Victorious, Conqueror, Triumphant and
Mighty
Healer, Deliverer, Shield and Defense
Strong Tower and My Best Friend
Omnipotent, Omnipresent
Soon Coming King
Alpha, Omega, Lord of everything
Holy, holy, holy is Your Name

The Road Not Taken

Do you ever find yourself taking the road less traveled? The path is seemingly smooth ahead as many have walked it, yet you take the other path. Robert Frost knew about this...

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

...Robert Frost

Jesus knew about it as well..."12As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; 13and they raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 14When He saw them, He said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they were going, they were cleansed. 15Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine--where are they? 18"Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" 19And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well." Luke 17:12-19

I've always been one to take the road less traveled. For me, I think it is an exercise in faith. I want to be the person in the above scripture who turns around and thanks the Lord for His grace and His Mercy. Not the one who keeps walking with the crowd. It is interesting to note that the phrase "Go show yourselves to the priests" was the way to re-enter society. Given a clean record of health, these former lepers could enter back into the society they were cast out of. They were in a hurry to re-enter...forgetting the one who had cleaned them. Where are you today? In a hurry to join the crowd or in a hurry to praise and thank the Lord?

The Saturday Thing

Remember I am over at Sojourner's Journal for posting on Saturday's. Come on over and have a read with us...

A View from the Top

Hiked up San Luis mountain this morning...

making a wish...

happy to be at the top...

wahoo...her first time to the top without being carried!!

Pondering Life Without Him

My neighbor died last Wednesday. Not unexpected as he had been fighting a brain tumor for 15 months. The memorial service was yesterday and it left me hollow. Not surprising knowing my neighbor didn't know the Lord. The grief of that for me is deep, so very deep....

It has been a long time since I have attended a memorial service in which the Lord was not the focus. I sat in an auditorium filled mostly with men. Architects, Engineers, City Planners. Affluent, academically arrogant and morally indifferent. My neighbor was one of the top men in his field worldwide - city and regional planning. You would never have known that in meeting him. He was as humble and real as they come. A true Renaissance man. Smart, bright, warm, loving, caring. In love with life. I wish he had been in love with the Lord.

I listened to speaker after speaker talk about his humanity, honesty, warmth of spirit, joy in living, love of his wife. One person described him this way, "He was exquisitely expressive and wonderfully restrained." Another said, "He reflected purity in others." Oh how much more meaning those words would have if he knew the creator of all those attributes.

I kept asking myself 'I wonder how many of these people (approx 400) know the Lord?' 'How do you reach men (not my calling, I love on the women) who are so lost and blinded by satan's lies that they believe in their self glorification? The lack of hope in the room was oppressive, yet it was in stark contrast to the love and connection with my neighbor and the life he lead.

His wife is an amazing women. And no, she doesn't know the Lord. Pray for her. She has amazed me these past 15 months. She took care of every detail of life, stepped away from her profession, was a 'stay at home' wife, never complained, whined or whimpered. Faced the reality of death with courage and strength that only comes from the Lord. Oh how I wish she knew that. She is now left to walk on without her life partner of 30 years. She and I seem to end up talking out on the sidewalk, looking to the big sky to our west. I remember the day she and her husband unexpectedly arrived home from oversees 15 months ago. She looked at me and the tears started flowing down her face - the prognosis was not good. She and I ended up on that same sidewalk last week. He was taking his last few breaths and she was creating as much 'good-bye' time for family and friends as possible while tending to his minute needs. No tears this time - just the bitter reality of death and trying to justify it with a life lived.

"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." Rev. 22:12-13

Don't let opportunity to share Him pass today...one day all will give an account and may it be for His glory.

Where Am I?

Where Am I...? Posting over on the Devotional Blog Sojourner's Journal. Saturday is my day to contribute....check it out and find out where your gaze is this morning.

Deep Sadness

As all of you are already aware, the Steven Curtis Chapman family suffered great loss yesterday with the accidental death of their 5 year old daughter, Maria (sitting in her daddy's lap in the above picture). It seems everyone I have spoken to today has mentioned it (Christian or not). I don't know the family except through their daddy's music, but it hits to the very core of ones personal faith. I was very moved by the Holy Spirit on a couple of different blogs today which spoke to the loss for this family. One in particular was the Beth Moore Living Proof Ministries entry. Very touching and how Mighty the Word of the Lord is!

I Will Trust In You

You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With songs of deliverance
Whenever I am afraid
I will trust in You
Let the weak say
I am strong
In the strength of the Lord
You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With songs of deliverance
Whenever I am afraid
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
Let the weak say I am strong
In the strength of the Lord
I will trust in You

An Invitation

I wanted to share with you a project I am involved with. Myself, along with a few others are contributing to a new devotional blog. The name of the blog is Sojourner's Journal, but the actual web address is www.slowomenofgrace.blogspot.com. Today you will find a welcome with daily devotionals starting tomorrow. The Lord has blessed already. Come join the journey and tell your friends.

I will still be posting regularly here on captivated-by-the-mystery, but thought some of you might enjoy reading the devo blog as well.

Sights and Sounds

Here are some sights and sounds of the past few days...

beautiful 'thank you' tulips from my ladies...

Words heard this week..."I'm 98% meat and 2% bar-b-que sauce." directly quoted from a 7th grade boy whom I was taking with other 7th grade boys to youth group. They were discussing food - very differently from the way us gals discuss food....those who use the most catsup seem to be the winners.

Oh, it was hot...evening run through the sprinklers for the kiddos..

Story of the week...our worship leader at bible study sharing this...."My preschool daughter asked me if we would be home when Jesus came. Why do you ask that, I said to her. Well, she replied, you know....because of the song. Which song would that be I asked? She said, "Be home, Be home, I stand at the door and knock, knock, knock. She was a little confused. It isn't Be home, I explained to her. It was "Behold, behold..." She then looked puzzled and asked how old you had to be to go to heaven. She had thought I said, "Be old....be old..."

Are you beholding Him today?

Are we insignificant....no.

"For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me, with all your heart. I will be found by you." declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you.' declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile."
Jeremiah 29:11-14

When Life Gives You...

You know the saying, "When life gives you lemons....make lemonade." In our house it is

When life gives you trash cans....

make tanks (with guns and stuff...)

Happy Mother's Day

"Nothing can compare in beauty and wonder and admirableness, and divinity itself, to the silent work in obscure dwellings of faithful women bringing their children to honor, virtue and holiness."
Henry Ward Beecher

"O Lord, lead me in Thy righteousness...Make thy way straight before me." Psalm 5:8

F.R.O.G.

I received an email during my work hours today that had a sign off that said, F.R.O.G. and then this after it...Fully Rely On God. Now, I'm going to apologize right now if this is a copyright of anyone. It wasn't marked that way and I am not claiming it, but I did enjoy it. Fully Rely on God. It reminded me of lots of things, but the frog analogy was compelling. Do you know the story of the two frogs...it goes like this:

Two frogs fell into a can of cream
Or so I've heard it told
The sides of the can were shiny and steep
The cream was deep and cold.
"O, what the use?" said No. 1
"Tis fate-no help's around!
Good-bye, my friend!
Good-bye, said world!"
And weep still, he drowned.
But No. 2 of sterner stuff,
Dog paddled in surprise,
The while he wiped his creamy face
And dried his creamy eyes.
"I'll swim awhile, at least," he said
Or so it has been said...
It wouldn't really help the world
If one more frog was dead."
An hour or two he kicked and swam
Not once, he stopped to mutter,
But kicked and swam and swam and kicked, then hopped out,
via butter.

In my bible study group today we looked back on a year of study together. We realized that while our prayers went up our circumstances did not necessarily change - but our hearts did. God is always faithful. The frog analogy above is a good reminder that we can mutter and give up or we can Fully Rely on God, pursue His face within our circumstances and have unexpected blessing when God takes our creamy circumstances and turns them into butter.

"O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"
Psalm 34:8

To Dump.....

So glad to do this.....

and this...

it seems others are equally happy as well....i'm sure there is life application in this...

Worth the Repeat

(We are about at the end of our year long study of the book of Daniel. This was the post I put up when I finished reviewing the study this past summer....enjoy the re-read)

"they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads..."
"Yes, I am coming quickly."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Rev. 22:4, 20

I just finished up 12 weeks of deep study in the book of Daniel. It is without a doubt the best bible study I have experienced. Life Changing.... Beth Moore says it this way, "No, Scripture doesn't let us see God described in this final scene. No words can depict Him. Instead, Revelation 22:4 pictures man finally looking at God. Yes, right at His face. What's is that on their faces? Look up with your minds eye at their foreheads and picture His Name. There isn't any room for any other name."

Praise the Lord.

Excuse me?!

"I only do what the bear tells me to." Seriously, she said those very words. See that little white bear peeking out from the blanket...? Apparently, when you are 5 you only take directions from the bear (and really good kindergarten teachers!!) I suggested to the bear to have the 5 year old eat her breakfast...!

Inquiring Minds Want To Know

"Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Please inquire first for the word of the Lord." 1 Kings 22:5. Hmnnn.....we are an inquisitive bunch. We seem to want to know everything about anyone or anything. My husband and I have noticed (for years) that my oldest son always inquires of me - no matter what. He might know the answer, may have asked someone else, but always comes and inquires of me. We were experiencing it, but didn't quite recognize it until watching some old video footage from when he was a toddler and we saw him first hand his inquiring of me.

Where do you inquire first? The above scripture says it politely, "please" inquire first of the Lord. It is a holy habit to take all we are and all we experience to Him first. May we never move out in front of the Lord. May we always inquire of Him first, and when we fail to....Lord, make us quick to come to you to receive your amazing Grace.

Wandering and Listening

I was reviewing a bible study I had completed a few years ago recently and came across this quote, "Don't make your petition longer than your time to listen." Now that reverberates a bit. I was reading in Isaiah recently (30:18-21). I have always loved verse 21 which reads, "Your ears will hear a word behind you, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right or to the left." Both of these quotes cause me to consider my wanderings and listening ears. In our too busy, too self indulged world that surrounds us, satan is the master of causing us to wander and not listen to the true Master's voice. Where are your wandering and listening ears today? Are your petitions longer than your time of listening? Are you hearing the Lord say, "...This is the way, walk in it." Find some time today to sit at the feet of the Master.

200th Post!!!

Happy 200th Post.....thank you for reading along!!

It is fitting that this post is being celebrated today. I am just finishing a weekend of "girl time" with some "girls" I hold deep in my heart. Our local church just concluded our annual Women's Conference. I was able to soak up God's word from the inside out as it was delivered by three of the best, Liz Young, Sue Donaldson and Laurie Potratz. They collectively spoke on Colossians 2:6-7. The Lord makes Himself BIG when the word is humbly spoken....

A few take aways....Liz Young, "The Father's voice comes from the word of God", "Does Jesus have a level of importance in our lives that we always expect to see him?", "Exercise your knowledge in faith.", "Resting in His word is what it means to be grounded."

Sue Donaldson..."Growing has to do with progress and process", "Spiritual growth is developing a family likeness to Christ", "What distractions are we indulging in that are decreasing our appetite for Him?" "A good friend points you towards Jesus!", "He wants us to finish. He doesn't care what the finishing time is..."

Laurie Potratz..."God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him", "God who knows us best, loves us most", "Our (eternal) destination should make a difference and allow us to live in victory", "Lets be thankful for who God is - not for what He does"

Well done, ladies. A lot to ponder....in Howard Hendricks words..."The Lord was well pleased, the work well done, and the word well used."

Haman, Hanon and Princesses

Actual words heard from my children's mouths...

Out of the mouth of my 8 year old comes the question, "Where is the Hamon Book? Do you like doing those Hamon exercises?" Ok....he is a little confused and his older brother had to put him back on the correct trail. "It is Hanon, not Hamon." For those with piano in their background you are cracking up at the moment - those who don't are asking, "what is she talking about?" There are a series of exercise books put out by Hanon. They are excellent, they are laborious, they strengthen those fingers and perplex young struggling pianists. Haman on the other hand was a bad guy in the bible. Spend some time in the book of Esther and you will get the full impact of who this man was. Easy confusion on the 8 year olds part, both are a bit tortuous.

"The Princess doesn't like waiting for her food." Said by my 5 year old daughter. You would think it should have been said by me, but no....only one princess in our house (emma and I are the suffering servants!!) At least she could have added a thank you somewhere in there!

Do I Have To?

Gathered up the troops for a ride through the Bob Jone's Trail...

ended up at the pier in Avila Beach...

saw this on the way...

not many people soaking up sun today...too windy.

A good way to spend a Sunday afternoon...

I've been spending a lot of time in the Psalms recently for various reasons, but was overtaken once again with Psalm 145 which reads:

"I will extol You, my God, O King. And I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You, And I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise Your works to another. And shall declare Your might acts.
On the glorious splendor of Your majesty and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness.
They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness and shout joyfully of your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.
All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You.
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power,
To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to You, And You give them their food in due time.
You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.
The Lord keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever."

Travis Cottrell sings this Psalm almost word for word in the song Forevermore. (You can download it from itunes). After hearing the song several times I realized it was a Psalm and went on a hunt to find it - and find it I did. My mind expands when I hear or read this Psalm. That is exactly what God's word is supposed to do. When I feel satan start to stir the pot I say out loud the last line of this Psalm, "...My mouth will speak the PRAISE OF THE LORD, and all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever."

God thoughts and satan thoughts don't mix. They are like oil and water - they never bond and can't be in the same space at the same time. What are you filling your tank with when satan starts to stir....try a healthy dose of the Lord's word said out loud.

A Little of This and a Little of That

A Little of this.......

will always give you these....

and some of these....

and energy to do this...

5th grade girl Grace Church Sunday school class having some Friday Night Fun of treats and games. I love their smiles...

My emma and I went to San Diego to attend a Living Proof Ministries Live event led by Beth Moore. I have had the honor of hearing Beth Moore in person a couple of times and our women's bible study at church has utilized several of her studies. There most definitely was a special anointing this weekend. 10,000 women together worshiping our Lord and Saviour and hearing Psalm 139 taught like I've never heard taught. It was extraordinary. My emma loved it as well. The theme of the weekend could be said in two ways - "Known" and "The Divine God and the chosen you." I think Emma came away with recognizing at her 11 year old level her specialness to the Lord. Beth gave 8 points which were:
1. I am known
2. I need to be known
3. I'm scared to be known
4. I've always been known
5. I can know because I am known
6. My enemies are known
7. My anxieties are known
8. Search me and know me

All 8 points correspond to the different verses in the Psalm. She taught in depth on each point, but some of the take aways for me were: The Psalm speaks of all the Omni's of God (His omniscience, His Omnipresence, His omnipotence) - those are attributes of God, not attributes of us. We are not to be omni's, there is knowledge that is to be His and His alone (see Gen. 2), God's way of knowing us is to search us, we continually get God mixed up with people, self loathing and humility are not the same thing, "anxiety is always rooted in the need to control or a loss of control", "see if I have made an idol of my pain!"

It was a good time. It was a deep time. It was God's time...well worth the effort, fatigue, lines (don't get me started on exiting the parking structure). The Lord chooses different times and places to show himself BIG. He was HUGE this weekend!

LPL - San Diego....

This video is posted on the LPL Ministry blog as well as Travis Cottrell's blog. Just look at those women's faces....!

Having Some Picture Editing Fun....

I'm using new picture editing software called Picnik and loving it!! Had to play a bit today with it...

Jemma Leech

Beth Moore at Living Proof Live in San Diego this weekend played this video clip. I was having trouble loading the video so at the ABC home page, type in Jemma Leech in the search - it will bring up the video. Click on it to play. It will change and enlarge your view of God. When I post on Beth Moore's teaching this weekend I will explain how she utilized this clip - at this point. .....just watch it. (Grab the kleenex....)

Gone...for a good reason

I've been gone for a few days....to sunny San Diego with Emma....for this...

Always some waiting time when you are with over 10,000 women...

A quick shot of us gals....soaking up some fun and sun...

Surprised her with a visit here....

And amazed once again by this...

and this...

I'll blog on the Beth Moore event in another post. Words don't quite suffice.....yet.

Fun in the Sun

Our friend Nate Maas, rescued (not that he needed it) my husband on Sunday by scooping up my two boys and whisking them off to adventures unknown...Nate sent along these pictures. Looks like fun to me...

Joey - all smiles...

This picture so describes this young boy of mine....he does things his own way...

Jacob was the brave one who picked up the snake. My first question when told about this was, "Now, you are sure it wasn't a rattlesnake, right?" Oh no, Mom. Mr. Maas checked. I was glad to see the picture and know for sure!! Second question (or command...) Go wash your hands.

Five boys out for some Sunday fun...

Thanks for the pics, Nate. They had a great time!!

Creating

I was given the gift of a weekend to myself this weekend. Not easy to accomplish when you have a husband and 4 children. It is not only a weekend to myself, but a weekend to myself IN MY HOME. There is something very renewing to a woman to have time to herself (whether she be single or married with children). Due to circumstances out of our control my usual two weekends a year of down time has not happened for two years. I was overdue and worn out. The Lord cleared the weekend, strengthened my husband, and met me for a weekend of rest and renewal. Travis Cottrell has a song on his Alive Forever CD which the Lord gave me to contemplate for the weekend. It is entitled Search Me....here are the words:

Search me, know me, try me and see every worthless affection hidden in me.
All I'm asking for is that you would cleanse me Lord.
Create in me a heart that's clean,
conquer the power of secret shame.
Come wash away the guilty stain of all my sin.
Clothe me in robes of righteousness.
Cover my nakedness with praise.
All of my life before you now I humbly bring.

(If you have not heard this song then download it from itunes). I heard an interesting and thought provoking sermon this morning. The teaching was from Colossians 3:12-14 and was entitled "Life Together -- Forgiving One Another". Many good things were shared from this very familiar passage of scripture, but a couple of thoughts were worth more pondering. One is the use of the phrase "put-on". The phrase in the Greek refers to the immediate - not working towards putting it on, but as in it is raining, "put-on" on your raincoat or you will get wet. If you only put your coat on part way you will get wet. Another thought (always good teaching) is to look at what God's agenda is in the scripture. In this case the Lord gives it to us when He says, "put up with one another and forgiving one another..." The pastor used an illustration of sheep to get a very important point across. Sheep will do three things (always)...1. whine 2. wander (isn't there a scripture about one of those wandering sheep and the Lord seeking him...?!) and 3. wound.

Now we are talking about Christians when we reference the sheep - yep, we really do whine, wander and wound. The pastor ended the message with these thoughts: "Forgiveness is anchored in what Christ has done, it is acted out, and it is authentic in spirit." Someone asked me recently what I thought John Piper's response would be to Christians being stumbling blocks to other Christians? I think his answer from the book entitled Future Grace responds to that question. ..." All the wrongs that have been done against us by believers were avenged in the death of Christ." Beth Moore's take on the Godly result of wounding is this..."I know God did not author my abuse as He is light and that which was done to me was in darkness and God does not dwell there. So then the question always is why did God allow it? Maybe it was allowed because we need something from the healing process that would only be attained through His grace within that healing process." By the way...this applies to all wounding. Hers was sexual abuse, but the thought really speaks to every type of wounding.

Lots to think about...

It Moved

Do you ever have the experiences of studying, listening to music, a conversation with a friend, overhear someone, a pastor's message in which seemingly random thoughts by others are used by the Lord to bring a point home? I have had that experience recently and I love it when the Lord does that. It seems that everywhere I turn recently I am reading or hearing about how the Lord encircles, or encamps, or protects us. Two very recent examples are from scripture. Psalm 34:7 says, "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and he rescues them." Psalm 139:5 says, "You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid your hand upon me." Psalm 62:8 says, "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge before us."

I've heard all of those recently. This morning I was reading out of Exodus 14, specifically verse 13 and 14 which talks about not being fearful and knowing the Lord will fight for you. I was reading further, starting in verse 19 and came across something I never knew. This is the part of biblical history when the Israelites were up against the red sea and the Egyptians were hot on their tails. The verse talks about how the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. Is that amazing? The pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. The Lord moved in between the Egyptians and the Israelites. It provided a night of rest for them.

Those who know me know I don't like to be closed in (the Lord has a lot of fun with that!!). I am finding these scriptures very comforting. The thought that the Lord would enclose and surround us is amazing. For me, I need the reminder that He has surrounded me for my good. How about you?