THANKful thursday - a heart full....

Joining Greg at http://www.gregsgeneralstore.blogspot.com/ once again for a day of thankfulness. Stop in at his place and join in - it will really lift your spirits!

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* I am so very thankful that when I cried out to God this week on behalf of my daughter, He heard me. And He had mercy on Melissa and healed her body from the sickness that was threatening her. He has given her the strength to persevere and for that I am thankful!

"In my distress I cried to the Lord, And He heard me" (Psalm 120:1)

* I am so thankful that I have such awesome bloggy friends and when I send out an SOS for prayer, they are all so faithful to lift up my needs! Thank you so much my precious friends. You mean the world to me.

"A friend loves at all times..... " (Proverbs 17:17)

* I am so thankful that the 5 amazing little ones that made these 5 precious handprints, are my sweet grandchildren. Oh, how blessed I am for the Lord to allow me of all people to be their "Nana" and have the privilege of teaching them about Jesus. Thank you Lord. May I always be an example of Christ to them in all I do and say. 

* I am thankful that in 11 days or less, another litttle handprint will adorn that bottom tile. I am thankful that the Lord has protected Megan and the baby and kept them healthy. I am thankful that Mercie is excited about having a little brother. (for now, that is....)

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" 

(Psalm 139:14)

*I am thankful that we serve a God who not only redeemed us but that knows us intimately and calls us by our name. Oh, how amazing is that! He knows me! He knows my name! Thank you Lord that I am yours and that You are mine...

"...fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name, You are Mine."  (Isaiah 43:1)

With a thankful heart,

Beth

resting in His peace

These past few days have found me learning how to rest in His assurance. The assurance of His love. The assurance of His peace. The assurance of His presence.

I just love the way the Word of God is full of scripture that teaches us time and time again about peace. His peace. The peace that He alone gives us. The peace that is ours because of Jesus. The peace that He so desperately wants us, His people, to experience.

We can take a deep breath of His peace when we choose to surrender to His authority. When we choose to acknowledge that He is God. The Creator. Our Lord. Our Redeemer.

The river of peace that is ours to experience comes from our intimate relationship with God. Our obedient relationship with God. Through the power of His Word and the communion with Him in prayer, we can tap into the streams that are flowing with His unending peace.

That peace is what has been my saving grace these past few days. That peace is what has held me. That peace is what I have planted down deep in my heart and grasped with all of my strength.

In experiencing that wonderful, awesome, powerful peace of Christ, I have enjoyed His amazing presence. I am learning to trust in the assurance of His presence when the evidence of it isn't so readily recognizable. Learning to trust His Word. Learning to rely on what I KNOW from experience and choosing to BELIEVE what I know is the TRUTH. Choosing to BELIEVE He is with me because of the promise of His Word.

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by your name;

You are Mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they shall

not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire,

you shall not be burned,

Nor shall the flame scorch you.

For I am the LORD your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;"

(Isaiah 43:1-3)

Thank you Lord, for calming me when the storms around me were raging. Thank you for allowing me to experience the wonder of Your Peace. Lord, I place Melissa in Your Loving Arms and I ask that You cradle her with your tender mercy and grace. Bestow such amazing love and healing upon her body and spirit that she is astounded by your power. That she is surrounded with your presence. That she is blown away by You.

Thank you for friends who lift me up in prayer and who strengthen me when I am weary.

You are my peace and I love you with everything that I am,

In the mighty and saving and amazing name of Jesus,

Amen

tears....

When I picked up the phone, I recognized the number on the caller ID indicating it was from Bolivia. As I answered, I heard the faint sound of crying and a timid, quiet voice saying "Mama?" My heart stopped beating momentarily and them it just plummeted to the depths of my soul. There is nothing worse than the anguished sound of your childs voice. Especially when that voice is in another country.

My heart is aching so for Melissa. Hurting way down deep into the very core of my being. Nothing rips into my heart more than one of my girls when they are hurting.

When Melissa was in Africa for those 10 long weeks last fall, she was pretty much sick over half of the time she was there. Very sick. Of course, we now know that the main reason for her extreme illness was that she had malaria during the latter part of her trip. Malaria that went undiagnosed and just worsened those last few weeks.

Ten days after Melissa landed in the United States,  she was laying in a bed in ICU literally fighting for her life. (you can read the beginning here)

Even though she recovered by way of a miracle from our awesome and mighty God, her stomach hasn't been the same since her illness. She does okay for a week or so and then her stomach starts hurting and she stays sick for a short period.

Right now, while she is in Bolivia, she is having an extremely hard time and is feeling so bad. It seems like everything she eats causes her stomach to hurt. Really hurt. And makes her feel nauseous. She is hurting. She is feeling down and depressed.

Due to unreliable and sporadic internet connections, our contact by phone has been minimal. I was hoping that she was finally getting better, but today she was able to call me after 5 days of no contact and she was not feeling good. At all.

Tears flowed. Emotions faltered. My 24 year old girl reverted back about 15 years and just wanted her mama to make it all better.

Hard. Emotional. Tugged at my heart strings. Feelings of sadness. Hopelessness. Helplessness. Frustration.

I just want to whisk her home and make everything okay again. I long for the days when a kiss from mama could make everything better. But the childhood magic of those days is long gone. The little girl who used to think that I could make any hurt go away, now knows it isn't so. But she still wants to think that it's true.

This mama does too. I long to hold her close and kiss her sweet head and whisper, "it's okay precious. Mama's here. Everything's gonna be alright."

The tears that are flowing now are mine. Tears of longing for those simpler times. Tears of sympathy for my daughters hurts.Tears of a bruised heart crying out to the Lord on her behalf.

Tears of remembrance of that terrifying night I spent in ICU by her bedside when we didn't know her prognosis.

And now, He reminds me of that night. As I sat beside her hospital bed as she was in so much pain from the malaria. I stroked her arm and prayed for God to show Himself mighty to my daughter. To manifest His presence in her life. As I sat with my head on the bed beside her, Jesus stood at the head of the bed and stroked her head. Lovingly and with her healing in His hands, he stroked her head and ministered to her body.

As I sit here thanking Him for the miracle He performed in her life just 6 short months ago, I am praying for another powerful intervention.  Oh, Abba Father, I lift Melissa up to you tonight and ask that you just cover her in your mercy and grace. Reveal yourself to her so powerfully. So real. So tangibly that she will have no doubt that it is You. Renew. Restore. Strengthen. Minister peace and hope to my precious daughter. I love you with all that I am and I thank you for your love and your tender care over her. I thank you for the healing that is taking place, even now, in her life.

"For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 30:17)

This is the verse that I prayed over her during that time in November and I am claiming this scripture over her now. I would appreciate all the prayers that you can muster up for my daughter. She has almost 5 weeks left and I certainly don't want her sick that entire time. I love you all and thank you for your prayers in advance!

Beth

In all this....

"In all this, Job did not sin or

charge God with wrong" (Job 1:22)

The "in all this" that is written in this scripture is more than most of us could comprehend or imagine.

The "in all this" reflected here is the far reaching devastation that befell Job, most likely in the time span of one day.

"In all this" signifies the loss of most of his servants, thousands of head of livestock, his wealth, his livelihood, his children. All 10 of his children. All of them...

In the mere flash of time, all that Job had worked for, all that Job had acquired, was taken from him. In one fell swoop. From power to powerless. From wealth to poverty. In an instant.

God had allowed satan to test Job. He put limits on the power that He afforded satan and he didn't allow satan to harm Job. But as far as everything else went, God said, "behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person."

So satan attacked Job and stripped him of everything imaginable. Stripped him down to nothing. Stripped him down to where he had started.

And Job? He fell to the ground and worshiped.

Oh, yeah. In full submission and humility to the God whom Job loved, he prostrated himself before Him and worshiped, saying,

"the LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;

Blessed be the name of the LORD."

 Oh, that I would be so willing to honor God not only with my lips, but with my life. That I would fall down and worship with all that I am in any circumstance. That my reverence of Him wouldn't be tied to any false expectation of Him or His power. But that I would just worship.

Job was singled out by God. He called him "His servant". He told satan, "there is no one on earth like him, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil."

I pray that God can call me His servant. I pray that I will always be eager to pursue a blameless and upright existence. May I actively seek to be a God-fearing woman. May I always strive to shun evil.

When the deep darkness comes and threatens to overcome, may my mouth be filled with His praise and my heart with His amazing love. When I face the "in all this" of my life, may I honor Him in word and deed.

Lord, help me to turn my face to You. Lift my heart in surrender. Lift my hands in praise. Fall down at your feet and just worship.  

don't let me miss the GLORY!

In second Chronicles, Solomon has finished building the temple and offers up a prayer of dedication. When he finishes praying, FIRE came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and sacrifices and the scripture tells us, "the Glory of the LORD filled the temple" (2 Chronicles 7:1-2)

In  chapter 5, they bring in the ark of the covenant and the scripture tells us that the priests couldn't continue ministering because of the cloud, for " the glory of the LORD filled the house of God".

In Exodus 24, as Moses ascends Mt. Sinai, a cloud covers the mountain and "the glory of the LORD rested on the mountain", and the sight of the glory of the LORD was like a 'consuming fire'.

I don't know about you, but the VERY prospect of seeing this kind of manifestation of the glory of God come down and fill the church or other place, excites me! I long to see the Lord's glory, the Shekinah glory, manifest like this! If His glory is going to fall, I DO NOT want to miss it!

Now, we certainly see His glory in our daily routines. In the sun, moon, stars, wind, rain, thunder and lightning. In our children and grandchildren. In the birth of a newborn baby. In all creation.  He shows Himself to us and reveals the wonder of who He is in so many ways.

Yet.... I long for more. I long to feel His presence.... To be where He is. To whole-heartedly worship an almighty and all-powerful God. And for the Lord's glory to fill me and consume me like never before.

For this to happen, we have to enter into worship with Him. We have to be seeking after His glory. We have to be communing with Him in praise, thanksgiving, prayer and bible study.

When we enter into His presence and we focus soley on Him....

He will meet with us and oh, my friends, His glory will fall. We will be consumed by His Spirit.  We will be overwhelmed.. Astounded.. Amazed...

Oh, Praise God! Don't let me miss the glory!

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In the view from the mountains... there’s a story to be told
In the crashing of the ocean ...there’s a power that no man can ever hold
All the stars in the Heavens ....decorate your handiwork
Like a mighty choir... we come to celebrate your worth

Don’t let me miss the glory... don’t let me miss the praise
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
The lightning and the thunder, will open up my eyes
Don’t let me miss the glory

In the cry of a baby.... in the laughter of love
In the dance of the faithful ..you will find the greatness of our God above
In the prayer of the righteous...in the beauty of your grace
In the brand new morning mercy ...all your memory of my sin has been erased

(Lyrics by Gordon Mote)