We just recently had a dear one make a comment concerning the behavior of kids in church. Now, I realize that this may be a biblical doctrine in many fellowships, so I do not wish to offend. I also agree that kids should be taught discipline and self-control. When one sees a family with children, especially small children, sitting quietly, hands folded, through an entire service, it is truly an impressive sight.
However, all opinions aside, let us see what Jesus says,
"Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But, Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Gooey
I must write about Gooey. He is a precious little eight month old boy. He has the most beautiful smile. He is sweet and good-natured. Even though we have only known him for a short time, God knew him before he was even thought of. God loved him before he was even conceived. God knew, before the foundations of the world, that "Gooey" Gus David Genn would be born with a heart defect. God planned, before any of us held Gooey in our arms, that he would have open heart surgery today. Surgery on a heart the size of a golf ball? Amazing, who can imagine. God can. Who can guide the hands of those highly trained surgeons? God can. Who can give peace and rest to anxious parents and loved ones? Only God can. Who can heal this beautiful little boy and cause him to grow into a man who loves and serves the Lord. God can and He will.
He is the Lord...
Well, that whopper of a day, and that whopper of a week is turning into a whopper of a month!
We have had 7 full days of rain. I was starting to think that I knew exactly what Noah felt like. The relentless pattering on our roof finally caused a leak to spring, in the middle of the night, directly over our wonderful lab's bed. And I thought she kept waking me up because she had to go to the bathroom.
Before the seven days of rain, we made a trip seven hours east to Saskatoon, where Blue's parents live. We had not driven Blue's big diesel truck for awhile, due to insane diesel prices, so we were unknowing to a serious problem lurking beneath the hood. To make a very long and gory "car trouble" story short, we stayed a few days longer that planned in an attempt to temporary fix the problem so that we could return home. We almost made it. About thirty minutes from our house, the good attempt failed. We sat on the side of the road, and the inside of our cab was completely silent. By the way, that was amazing. The silence, I mean. We were discouraged, beat down, wondering what in the whole, wide world God was trying to teach us, and there was nothing to say.
As Blue walked across the street to phone a tow truck, I looked at his slumped shoulders, and wondered how much more that wonderful man could take. I remembered Samuel telling Eli that his two sons were going to die because of their disobedience, and Eli said, "It is the Lord, let Him do what seems good to Him."
Yes, Yes, Yes!!!!! Bring it on!!! No matter what happens, IT IS THE LORD, and He is good, and I WILL praise HIM!!!
We have had 7 full days of rain. I was starting to think that I knew exactly what Noah felt like. The relentless pattering on our roof finally caused a leak to spring, in the middle of the night, directly over our wonderful lab's bed. And I thought she kept waking me up because she had to go to the bathroom.
Before the seven days of rain, we made a trip seven hours east to Saskatoon, where Blue's parents live. We had not driven Blue's big diesel truck for awhile, due to insane diesel prices, so we were unknowing to a serious problem lurking beneath the hood. To make a very long and gory "car trouble" story short, we stayed a few days longer that planned in an attempt to temporary fix the problem so that we could return home. We almost made it. About thirty minutes from our house, the good attempt failed. We sat on the side of the road, and the inside of our cab was completely silent. By the way, that was amazing. The silence, I mean. We were discouraged, beat down, wondering what in the whole, wide world God was trying to teach us, and there was nothing to say.
As Blue walked across the street to phone a tow truck, I looked at his slumped shoulders, and wondered how much more that wonderful man could take. I remembered Samuel telling Eli that his two sons were going to die because of their disobedience, and Eli said, "It is the Lord, let Him do what seems good to Him."
Yes, Yes, Yes!!!!! Bring it on!!! No matter what happens, IT IS THE LORD, and He is good, and I WILL praise HIM!!!
Monday, May 19, 2008
yet I will rejoice...
I had a whopper of a day, actually a whopper of a week. It is so difficult to compare our lives to the trials of others. Being the self-absorbed human that I am, it is not possible that anyone's life could be as tough as mine. I am listening to someone tell me of their awful experiences, and I feel that familiar thought creeping in, "you have no idea..."
I am presently doing a Bible study on the fruits of the Spirit. Of course, God brings all things into our lives for a purpose, but is it truely necessary to be tested in every area in the course of one day?
I once heard the metaphor that we are like tea bags and when placed in hot water, what is truely in our hearts will come out. There is so much truth to that statement. I am often chagrined to see that it is not the big things that make me stumble, but often a little incident will cause me to stumble and disappoint my Lord.
Well, the hot water was boiling this week. I was proud to see that I was leisurely doing the back stroke smoothly through, and then a little drop lands on my cheek and I lost all self-control. As the shame and guilt settled in, I lost even more, if that was possible. My husband knelt by the boiling water and held out his hand in grace. I was undeserved, which is what made it grace, and in humility I accepted his hand and allowed him to pull me out. I saw Jesus in him. When you see Jesus in another person, it is truly a beautiful thing.
The following day, I looked back on the situation to try to see where I went wrong. I went over the period of events that caused me to "lose it", and even though I felt that I was justified, I realized I took a wrong turn when I believed that I desperately needed someone to talk to and tell them my sad story. I ignored my Lord when He said "Cast your cares upon me." I opened His Word, His love letter to me, and I found a familiar verse that He has so often spoken to me in the last few months
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places."
When casting my cares upon Him, the One who can truly say, "you have no idea.." never says that. Instead He lovingly says "I will work all things together for good, and nothing will separate you from My love."
I WILL REJOICE!!!
I am presently doing a Bible study on the fruits of the Spirit. Of course, God brings all things into our lives for a purpose, but is it truely necessary to be tested in every area in the course of one day?
I once heard the metaphor that we are like tea bags and when placed in hot water, what is truely in our hearts will come out. There is so much truth to that statement. I am often chagrined to see that it is not the big things that make me stumble, but often a little incident will cause me to stumble and disappoint my Lord.
Well, the hot water was boiling this week. I was proud to see that I was leisurely doing the back stroke smoothly through, and then a little drop lands on my cheek and I lost all self-control. As the shame and guilt settled in, I lost even more, if that was possible. My husband knelt by the boiling water and held out his hand in grace. I was undeserved, which is what made it grace, and in humility I accepted his hand and allowed him to pull me out. I saw Jesus in him. When you see Jesus in another person, it is truly a beautiful thing.
The following day, I looked back on the situation to try to see where I went wrong. I went over the period of events that caused me to "lose it", and even though I felt that I was justified, I realized I took a wrong turn when I believed that I desperately needed someone to talk to and tell them my sad story. I ignored my Lord when He said "Cast your cares upon me." I opened His Word, His love letter to me, and I found a familiar verse that He has so often spoken to me in the last few months
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places."
When casting my cares upon Him, the One who can truly say, "you have no idea.." never says that. Instead He lovingly says "I will work all things together for good, and nothing will separate you from My love."
I WILL REJOICE!!!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
our little sunshine
You love shoes, dresses and the color, pink,
You must have been adopted, I often think.
You can be sunshine or rain in the course of a minute
Upon hearing a familiar song, you will yell, "mommy, sing it!"
You love to color, paint, and create,
Passionate, determined and helpful are your traits,
I love your laugh, the way you sing, and slip your hand in mine.
I love the way you make your mommy walk the line.
When you pray to Jesus, my heart leaps,
Close to Him, I hope you'll always keep,
For just like the song you sing at night,
Jesus loves you, and will never let you out of His sight.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Our litte boy
Balls and ballons, planes and trains,
these are a few of his favorite things,
To be in the water, or to be outdoors,
These are the things that make his heart soar.
That all humans are born as sinners
I know to be true
But, if there were a contest for earthly angels,
He would surely be among the winners.
For his curly blond hair and his eyes so blue,
Must surely be heaven-sent, my heart tells.
His spirit is gentle and kind at best
His smile could melt the hardest heart.
Yet, life so far, for him has been a test,
By worldly measures, he is not smart.
But, we do not weigh him on an earthly scale,
Our prayer is for him to know Jesus,
and His great love
And when our little boy stands in that light from above,
All earthly measures will pale.
Thank you, Father, for entrusting us with this great gift.
For you know, he will soon be six.
Monday, May 5, 2008
You have not, because you ask not...
My brother recently asked for prayer stories to be sent via email so that he could post them on his church blog. I have to be completely honest, my immediate thought was, "God hasn't answered any prayers for me lately." Whoa!
I will have you know, God's Spirit within me instantly gave a rebuke. For the next unmeasurable amount of time, His Spirit reminded me of all the times God has answered my prayers, and all of the times He has answered prayers that I haven't even spoken.
Do I get up every morning, and pray that my husband will make it safely to work. I regretfully say 'no', yet by His grace, he does. Do I drive my son to school everyday, knowing the vehicle carries my three most precious possessions, and beg God to get us to the school in one piece. I wish I did, but He does. Do I sit with my morning coffee, and ponder that today might be the day that I am diagnosed with a terminal illness. Do I beg God for His grace and strength to make it through such a difficult time? Sadly,I don't, but I know He would.
I have a two-year old daughter who talks a lot. At any moment during the day, I know her basic needs, because she tells me. Sometimes she asks quite politely, and other times she is very adamant that what she needs, she needs right away. My son is very quiet and asks for very little. Because I have known him very well now for five years, I often know his needs before he even asks. Both of them are my children, I love them both the same, and I love them very much.
My Father loves me very much. Sometimes I come to Him in desperation, adamantly begging Him for His help. Other times, He knows my needs before I even ask Him, and He answers those too.
I want to praise Him "for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
I will have you know, God's Spirit within me instantly gave a rebuke. For the next unmeasurable amount of time, His Spirit reminded me of all the times God has answered my prayers, and all of the times He has answered prayers that I haven't even spoken.
Do I get up every morning, and pray that my husband will make it safely to work. I regretfully say 'no', yet by His grace, he does. Do I drive my son to school everyday, knowing the vehicle carries my three most precious possessions, and beg God to get us to the school in one piece. I wish I did, but He does. Do I sit with my morning coffee, and ponder that today might be the day that I am diagnosed with a terminal illness. Do I beg God for His grace and strength to make it through such a difficult time? Sadly,I don't, but I know He would.
I have a two-year old daughter who talks a lot. At any moment during the day, I know her basic needs, because she tells me. Sometimes she asks quite politely, and other times she is very adamant that what she needs, she needs right away. My son is very quiet and asks for very little. Because I have known him very well now for five years, I often know his needs before he even asks. Both of them are my children, I love them both the same, and I love them very much.
My Father loves me very much. Sometimes I come to Him in desperation, adamantly begging Him for His help. Other times, He knows my needs before I even ask Him, and He answers those too.
I want to praise Him "for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
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