oh, how I love Jesus....

Oh, how I love Jesus!

 

Master.... Savior... LORD

 

He reaches down with His mighty arms and rescues me when I feel hopeless.

 

He reaches out with His loving arms and embraces me when I am weary.

He stretches forth His nail scarred hands and issues healing when I am in need.

 

He is Powerful.

Mighty.

Strong.

 

He sees broken hearts. He is aware of shattered spirits.

He tenderly touches the tears upon my face and wipes away the evidence of grief.

 

My God, the God who can walk on water;

 raise the dead;

 give blinded eyes their sight;

make the lame to walk and the deaf to hear.

 

He takes what is wrong and makes it right.

 

He cares about our hurting souls. He listens to our wounded cries. He hears the despairing utterances of our lips.

 

He knows.....

He knows the problem. He knows the pain and agony. He knows the outcome, because....

 

He is....

He is the first and the last.

He is the Almighty.

He is all Sovereignty and all Authority.

 

Master of the Sea.

Keeper of the Stars.

Creator of all things.

 

He is Maker. Redeemer. Righteousness. Ruler of all.

 

He is seed to the sower. Bread to the eater. God of the whole earth.

 

He knows the way that we take. He is our souls delight!

 

When we cry out in our frailty and deep need,

He extends sweet mercy upon us and responds.

 

Our unknown is known by Him. Our blindness of spirit becomes His surety as we follow Him.

 

He is HOPE.

He is LIGHT.

He is GRACE.

He is TRUTH.

He is FORGIVENESS.

 

The God who formed the earth and all that is in it,

 

loves us,

tends to us,

comforts us,

heals us,

saves us...

 

He is the great I AM. The beginning and the end.

 

He is faithful. He is true. He is peace. He is Holy.

 

The mere knowledge of who He is becomes our refuge.

 

We can trust without fear because He is our strength and our song and our salvation.

 

He leads us and guides us and never forsakes us.

 

He is the WORD. Perfect and Holy and Righteous.

 

Reaching down to lift me up. Reaching down to fill my heart.

 

Loving.

Caring.

 

He is my all.

 

Oh, How I love Jesus.

Master... Savior.... LORD....



He wakes me up

My God awakens me in the early hours of the morning. Sleep alludes me and I know that He is beckoning me to rise and get still before Him. 

My heart is so hungry for a Word from His Holy lips. I seek and I desire a revelation deep in my spirit. Open my eyes, LORD. I'm ready to listen. I'm ready to hear.

You are Jehovah! You are the mighty God! I look unto you, Oh LORD, for my strength. I depend upon you for my every breath. You are my sustenance. You are my everything.

My heart begins to grieve over the rebellion in my spirit. God, circumcise it from my heart. Help me to deny 'self' and desire only to walk in your ways. I want to please you! I want to submit to you and your will for my life. I desire to surrender all!

Lead me into the ways of holiness. Stir up my spirit to walk in godliness at all times. Empower me to push aside those fleshly desires and wants that threaten to seek victory in my life.

Teach me your ways. Help me walk in truth. Make the desires of my heart match the desires of your heart. I want a heart like yours, Oh God!

Hear my cry in the night. Anoint those in need. Bestow healing and restoration to my loved ones in body and spirit.

Obedience. Trust. A heart of Faith. Grant me these things from your Holy Hill. Help me to keep my eyes on you. Help me to see that it's all about you, God. I worship. I exalt your name above all others. Oh, how I love You! You fill me with joy unspeakable. Peace unfathomable settles in and praise flows from my lips to Your Throne.

Thank you for sweet mercy and grace. Thank you for the gift of eternal life that cost You the life of Your Son at  Calvary.

May I never trample on that grace but may I be ever mindful of the saving faith I possess because of the price Christ paid to redeem me from the pits of hell.

I'm overwhelmed. I'm overjoyed. I awaken to spend time at the feet of my Savior and now He gives me rest.

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"...He wakes me up in the morning. Wakes me up, opens my ears to listen as one ready to take orders. The Master, GOD, opened my ears..."

(Isaiah 50:4b) The Message

what a week

This has been an amazing week. It started out with the miraculous birth of my 7th grandchild. A precious, beautiful, angelic baby girl. She entered this world with a head full of dark hair and a dimple on her chin, stole all of our hearts and is quickly wrapping every one of us around her darlin' little fingers. I am blown away by her each time I lay eyes on her. She is perfection.

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She has certainly done a number on her big brother Bryton. He thinks she is the best thing ever! He wants to hold her all the time and just can't quit looking at her and touching her little fingers and her little feet. He is so sweet with her. Sawyer loves her as well, but he isn't quite as enamored with her as Bryton is. She is one blessed little girl to have two big brothers to look after her.

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I was able to spend some time enjoying those precious boys this week while their parents were in the hospital with their new little sister. We played in the water to try and cool off in the 100+ degree weather. Thank you, Lord for little pools and sprinklers! And for little boys!

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I am getting to enjoy time with Melissa this week. She is between semesters at BU and so she was able to fly home for her niece's birth and spend some time with her family as well. We miss her a lot and Boston is a long way from home, but I am thankful that she is happy with what she is doing right now.

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I have spent much time holding this sweet slice of heaven...

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I managed to find time to sit on my back patio and sip some great coffee while eating the bread of life. I also added to my '1000 gifts' journal.

I've been studying how God's name used to be so revered!  The people wouldn't even say the name "YHWH" because God was so respected and reverenced they didn't feel like they could even utter His name.  Instead they used the Hebrew word for 'the Name' which was "Hashem". I love that! Oh, that we would reverence Him like that today!!

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Laylah didn't have her eyes open very many times this week, but today I managed to get a picture of these gorgeous eyes while she had them open for just a little while. 

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I've experienced God's goodness and faithfulness this week in a mighty way. He is always so loving and He is always so present in our lives that sometimes we forget to be thankful. I am so grateful to my Father in heaven who has bestowed me with mercy and grace to overflowing.

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I am really missing my daughter and 4 grandbabies while they are in Pennsylvania working. I love to talk to them on the phone, but it just makes me want to wrap my arms around them in a big way! Oh, how I miss my babies!! Mikaela, Eli, Mercie and Silas need to come home!!

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I am just basking in God's abundance tonight. He supplies all our needs and He is more than enough...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"From the rising of the sun unto the going down

of the same the LORD's name is to be praised"

(Psalm 113:3)

a great week

I've had a great week. We had VBS at our church and my girls and grandkids stayed here all week to make it easier for them to attend each morning since they live about 25 miles from my house. It was a week full of joy and a week full of lots of sweet but loud, small voices . What I like to refer to as joyful chaos. I think I swept my floor a thousand times, washed a million loads of clothes and bought a small fortune worth of groceries. At least. But it was a lot of fun and God used this week to speak to my heart in lots of ways.

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I have a room that I do my bible study in and the smaller grandchildren call it my 'bible room'. I went in this morning to have my quiet time and saw this index card among the others.  Mercie had made a card just like Nana. You will never know how that touched my heart when I laid eyes on it.

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Eli had called me outside yesterday afternoon to take a picture of him in a tree. He said, 'Nana, my second favorite thing to do is climb this tree. My first favorite thing to do is Praise Jesus.'  My heart just melted right then and there.

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As I was reading in Hebrews this week, this verse ushered in strong conviction to my heart. 

"So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."

(Hebrews 3:19)

Oh, Lord, let me not be guilty of unbelief. Let me taste the goodness of You and see my worth made possible through the precious blood of your Son. May I trust only in You.

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As we were unpacking Melissa's things from Baton Rouge and repacking them for her move to Boston, I found this letter that Mikaela had written her Aunt Melissa earlier this year. It just made me smile to realize how close our family is and how much love there is to go around. 

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There were times this week when I was praying for some peace and quiet. But now that they have all gone home, I am left with a silence that reminds me of the joyfulness of the chaos! I found a little pair of Silas' overalls in the dryer this morning. I found a little stuffed dog that Sawyer left behind. I discovered Mikaela's American Girl horse on the bed where she slept.  I found multiple fingerprints on my glass tabletop.

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 There are at least two ways you can tell if someone -  who will remain unnamed-  has been in the curio cabinet playing with the nativity sets. One way is that the donkey is in the spot where baby Jesus is supposed to be...

and another way is that the poor shepherd is taking an unscheduled nap beside the wise man.

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We found Sawyer one morning wearing his papa's glasses and doing a good imitation of "Preacherman".  I pray that God will have a distinct calling upon his life and that he will hear and obey. If have four grandsons so far - perhaps one of them will be a preacher like their Papa.

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I was overwhelmed several times during bible school at the graciousness of our Lord. As I saw 50 or more children each day coming to the church and having the privilege of learning about Jesus and not being afraid of persecution, my heart just filled up with such gratitude for God's mercy on our nation so far. I pray that our country will realize how blessed a people we are and that we will recognize our sin, turn from our wickedness and fall on our faces in repentance and in surrender to our God and King. He is truly worthy of our praise and our honor and all glory....

"And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen"

(Revelation 7:11-12)

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Mikaela is such a great big sister. She is such a loving and sweet girl and I thank the Lord for her every day! She is a precious gift from God indeed!

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Bryton did a great job during commencement last night. He got up on stage and sang his little heart out with his class and I was so proud! After Eli's class sang, he said "Nana, Eli did a great job!"

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Any time I start to wonder "why?" I read this card. My heart has been so heavy for the people devastated this past week by tornadoes. We live in an area that is known for tornadoes and we were in the path of several ourselves and only by the grace of God missed any terrible destruction. I pray that those affected find peace and comfort in the loving arms of our Savior.

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"My flesh and my heart faileth; but God

is the strength of my heart, and

 my portion for ever." 

(Psalm 73:26)

Thank you, Lord for the amazing privilege of being a wife, mother and grandmother. May I bring only honor to what you have called me to do and may I always show others You with my words and actions. Thank you for your grace and mercy in my life.

new mercies, motherhood, new grandchild...

"It is of the LORD's mercies that
we are not consumed, because his
compassions fail not. They are new
 every morning; great is thy faithfulness"
(Lamentations 3:22-23)

I love the fresh start of a new year. I awoke this morning really feeling the immediate awareness of some new mercies today. New mercies that I so desperately need. New mercies that I certainly don't deserve. But nonetheless, new mercies that a gracious and loving God has generously bestowed upon me. For that I am thankful.

I love being a mom. I was blessed with 3 pretty amazing daughters. They are now 25, 24 and 21 years old and I love them. I have been blessed to be loved by them as well. I haven't been a perfect mother. I have made mistakes along the way, but they still love me and are always quick to champion me and assure me of my fabulous motherhood skills. Even though they are grown and 2 of them have families of their own, I still mother them when they don't really need it (or they don't think they do..), and they love me through it.

Ashlie and the boys spent the day over here and left at bedtime. They got home to a power outage in the country and were lighting candles until the lights came back on. Of course, I had to remind her not to go to bed with candles burning...  She was sweet about the mothering advice and assured me she knew better than that. I had to laugh a little while ago when I got a text from her. "lights back on. candles are all out.. :)" She knows me well and knew I wouldn't rest until I knew no candles were burning.. I love my girls, they love me and for that I am thankful.

I love being a Nana. Eight years ago, I was just getting the hang of the grandmother thing and was enjoying it with all my heart. I never dreamed that over the next 7 1/2 years, my 2 girls would add 5 more grandchildren to the equation giving me 6 of those precious babies. I had grandchildren born in 2002, 2005, 2007,2008,2009 and 2010.  Nothing on earth brings me greater joy than those precious grandyoungin's. I love them all with a fierce love that I could never have imagined possible. Each one was brought into the world with this blessed Nana witnessing each miraculous moment of each birth. There is nothing like it. 2011 won't be any different. Sometime in August, my youngest daughter, Ashlie, will bring her 3rd baby into this world. And I will welcome my 7th grandchild into my arms with great delight. For that I am thankful.

God is so good. He has blessed me immeasurably. He has given me grace in abundance.  I pray that in the coming year, I continue to seek Him more and know Him like never before. I desire to be found faithful. I desire to bring Him honor and glory. I want to be like Him.

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Begin to know Him now,

and finish never......

(Oswald Chambers)

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Happy New Year!

grateful for God's hand of protection

"You are my hiding place; you shall

preserve me from trouble. You shall

 surround me with songs of deliverance"

(Psalm 32:7)

Bolivia, South America is a long way from here. It seems like it is getting farther and farther as each day passes. The past 3 weeks have been filled with a medley of emotions and feelings. There has been joy and sorrow. There has been expectation and disappointment. There has been sickness and health. There has been healing. And today? Well, today there was abundant protection. God's merciful hand of protection upon my daughter and 2 of her friends.

Their group 12 (plus 5 Bolivians) traveled late last night from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba, which was about the halfway mark to their destination of La Paz. They will be in La Paz about a week building a church. They will be laboring for the Lord and helping to erect a house of worship for the glory of the Lord to settle in and minister to the lives of new christians and those needing salvation. The elevation in La Paz exceeds 12,000 feet and so the group needed to become aclimated to the altitude, so that is why they traveled to Cochabamba for an overnight stay.

When I answered the phone this evening, I heard Melissa's voice and knew something was wrong. The tentative, "Mama?" was filled with trepidation and tears. My heart just fell to the floor as I heard her telling me what had happened to her just a few short hours before. I almost couldn't catch my breath as I stood there listening to the details. I wanted to be at her side immediately, hugging her and checking her out from head to toe to make sure she was unscathed! I must have asked her 100 times if she was okay.  It's a long way from here to there when your daughter is sick. It's a REALLY long way from here to there when her life has been threatened.

As they were doing a little sight-seeing and hiking/climbing today, the group got temporarily separated on the way back down the mountain trail and my daughter, Melissa and 2 other girls were held-up by a Bolivian man at knifepoint. One of the girls actually had the knife touch her chest and was pushed to the ground before he stole their backpacks and purses. He had come out of the edge of the trail shouting and waving the knife and he scared the girls half-to-death. They are OK. They are quite shaken up and very unsettled. Melissa had actually seen the guy at the edge of the trail and said for just a minute she felt very fearful and said she immediately prayed and asked God for His protection.

As I sit here and think about it, I am angry at the man who had the audacity to attack my daughter. And steal her purse and her camera and her money and her keys. I am angry that he has stolen her trust and her security. I am angry that her joy has been temporarily replaced with sorrow. I am angry that she now has fear instead of peace.

But then the Lord tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me that HE is our peace. HE is our joy. And HE is our trust. He reminded me that the material things that were stolen, can be replaced. But Melissa and her friends lives could NOT have been replaced. And I realized that our precious Lord once again reached down His loving arms and wrapped them tight around my daughter and granted her life. His mercy was abundantly dispensed upon her today.

And I am humbled beyond words. Astounded at His love and grace. Amazed at His tenderness. In awe of the wonder of who He is.

As I hung up the phone with Melissa, they were about to go to dinner. She said, "Mama, I am afraid to go out there. But I am more afraid to stay here alone. I know I can't live in fear, I have to trust Him."

Yes, Melissa. We indeed have to face our fears. Otherwise they will overwhelm us and threaten to drown us in their uncertainties. God already has our lives planned and He already has our days numbered. He knows what will take place each step of the way. We just have to walk in His will. Walk in His ways. Be surrendered and obedient. And seek His face.

"When You said, 'Seek My face', My heart said to You, 'Your face, LORD, I will seek.'"

(Psalm 27:8)