No other

There is a Love that has bound me to Himself. He has drawn me in with great compassion in the superiority of bold gentleness. No other Love as this to make my heart say, "It is well with my soul!". I am grateful.
:)

This rain

Today it rained. I wish that I could tell you all that ran through my mind as I thought about the rain and watched it pour down. I am sorry that I cannot rightly give words, hardly am I ever able to.

When a peoples land is in drought, danger of lack of water can become severe. The time of dryness becomes a fearful one, with uncertainty of when the rain will come again. When it does, the sound, the feel, the taste, the sight of long awaited water dropping from the heavens is sweet renewal in the burdened man waiting for harvest and in the parched roots of the ground waiting for sustenance.

Can you picture our souls.

Just today, I read of a prisoner who is chained for the sake of his faith. I read of his prosperous attitude in the midst of suffering through the knowledge that God's word is not chained and His work is infinitely prospered. This believer has received a flood of grace in rain of affliction.

It is with heaviness that I say, many do not notice the drought of their own heart. It is disgusting to me to find myself in this jejune behavior that I often face. I do not like it, at all. It brings me fallen in His presence for it is not I that can change the apathetic fatigue of my heart towards Christ, only God, Himself can bring about truth of the necessity of His gospel and means of loving it deeper. This is the rain. Rain to our souls to deepen our affections for Him who is eternally good. Because He is good and sovereign over all of time and creation, He sufficiently knows what is our good. That is why drought occurs and why rain overwhelms it. Unable to recognize our souls as parched, or even oblivious to it, we become fearfully stunned when the rain begins to pound against our heart. As the water soaks into the roots of our soul, we become aware of the fresh deliverance it brings. We can rejoice in the rain of affliction because we know it is producing a harvest in our heart of more intimate and greater love towards the One whose hand governs each drop. Yes, believer, we can rejoice! It is all for the glory of God, our Father.

Beautiful Sunshine

"Walk in the beautiful sunshine,
Smiling so cheerful and bright,
Chasing the mist from the mountain,
Flooding the world with its light.
Hark! the sweet voice of the Master
Whispers in accents divine,
“Take thou no thought for the morrow,
Only the present is thine."

Walk in the beautiful sunshine,
Falling in waves from the skies,
Gilding the streams and the valleys,
Scatt’ring the shadows that rise.
Hear the sweet voice of the Spirit
Softly and tenderly say,
“Trust for what may be tomorrow,
Live in the joy of today."

Walk in the beautiful sunshine,
Jesus thy footsteps will guide;
While thou art safe in His keeping,
Evil can never betide.
Hear the sweet voice of His mercy
Kindly and lovingly say,
"God will take care of the morrow,
Be thou content with today."
---Fanny Jane Crosby 1901

I was reading this hymn and thinking of the woman who wrote it. Fanny Jane Crosby did not know what it was like to see the sunshine or the mist in the mountains, her eyes were blinded from seeing any part of creation. Her eyesight was lost from her physical body while she was only an infant due to doctors errors. This is what she said about it, "If I had been given a choice at birth, I would have asked to be blind...for when I get to heaven, the first face I will see will be the one who died for me." Although the eyes of her face knew no sight, her heart had been granted vision into the love of our Savior and could look, by light of His grace, into the sunshine of His glory. She is reminding us to be content with today, for our Creator is sufficient in all things and has sovereign intentions as He grants new mercies each morning to walk in the truth of His glorious light.

To know the sunshine of His face. Oh, what incomprehensible beauty!

The Most Perfect Gift

As Mother's Day was approaching I was pondering things my Mom taught me, and how we desperately all try to teach our children well. The one thing my Mom emphasized in my life, and I truly agree, is that if we do nothing else the most perfect gift we can give our children is to introduce them to Jesus Christ and witness their acceptance of His salvation! He can protect our children far better than we ever could; He can influence our children for good in ways we would never imagine.

Rejoice with me as you listen to this :)

This past Sunday, we spent some time in our small group (we meet weekly with this group through our church here in Durham) talking about the role of music, songs and hymns in the growth of a believer. This discussion was sparked by a discussion of Colossians 3:16-17 which reads "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Below is a sweet hymn that tells the story of the gospel. The joy that I hear in Sandra McCracken's voice as she sings this hymn stirs up gratitude and joy in my heart as I listen. Hearing her and others praise God and sing the story of His sweet gospel makes my heart say "Hallelujah!" Be encouraged as you listen!





Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth
and followed thee

Amazing love, how can it be,
that Thou my God should die for me?
Amazing love, how can it be,
that Thou my God should die for me?

No condemnation now I dread,
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine
Alive in Him, my living Head
And clothed with righteousness divine
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown,
through Christ, my own

Amazing love, how can it be,
that Thou my God should die for me?
Amazing love, how can it be,
that Thou my God should die for me?

My sisters

These are some of the boys that my sister teaches. Please watch this video and your view and comments will count towards the total...of which they are trying to be the highest to win a contest! She and her husband spend their lives loving these precious children and teaching them for the sake of Christ. It is something that they do all days of the week, no matter what the hour.



My other sister works at a ranch where therapeutic horseback riding is given for children with special needs. She is such an asset to the organization, using her skills to help provide the necessities for the ranch to continue helping the dear children.

I am so encouraged by my sisters and so thankful for them. They use their energy for the abundant proclamation of the gospel through the way that they serve and love their community. It is such a blessing for me to be a part of this in their lives, to watch and learn from them and to be able to know and love the ones that they are serving.