Faith is believing that God is present when all we hear is silence
When we love the least of these......
Click on the link for "Audio Adrenaline", King & Queens:
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
We offer our heart, oh God, completely to You
Is there some problem in your life to solve,
Some passage seeming full of mystery?
God knows, who brings the hidden things to light.
He keeps the key.
Is there some door closed by the Father's hand
Which widely opened you had hoped to see?
Trust God and wait - for when He shuts the door
He keeps the key.
Is there some earnest prayer unanswered yet,
or answered NOT as you had thought 'twould be?
God will make clear His purpose by and by.
He keeps the key.
Have patience with your God, your patient God,
All wise, all knowing, no long lingerer He,
And of the door of all your future life
He keeps the key.
Unfailing comfort, sweet and blessed rest,
To know of EVERY door He keeps the key.
That He at last when just HE sees is best,
Will give it THEE.
Anonymous
Russian adoption agencies are shut down in Moscow today.
Listen to "The Stand", Hillsong United on the link below:
God will find a way to use this situation.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Psalm 39:4-5, 7
"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered - how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath." Psalm 39:4-5
My greatest treasure of all - God's amazing love. This is what holds me up; especially on the really hard days when we are having to do some really hard stuff.......like unpacking Carter's things that have been packed away for two years. God's amazing love and goodness. It is He who holds me up. Thank You, Father!
"And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you." Psalm 39:7
I spent the entire weekend in Carter's clothes, looking through his old school days, and looking at his little earthly treasures. I smelled every piece of his clothing, hoping and trying to find his smell.....just a tiny, tiny bit of his beautiful Carter smell. I remember it. I miss him so much. The difficult journey of a grieving parent is a heavy load. But with God by our side, He will carry us through and hold us up until we are all together once again.
Bless the Lord, o my soul - I'll worship Your holy name.
Heavenly Father, help me to use my pain for Your glory.
Click on the link to listen to: "10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)", Matt Redman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51fQIiHlu8Q
My greatest treasure of all - God's amazing love. This is what holds me up; especially on the really hard days when we are having to do some really hard stuff.......like unpacking Carter's things that have been packed away for two years. God's amazing love and goodness. It is He who holds me up. Thank You, Father!
"And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you." Psalm 39:7
I spent the entire weekend in Carter's clothes, looking through his old school days, and looking at his little earthly treasures. I smelled every piece of his clothing, hoping and trying to find his smell.....just a tiny, tiny bit of his beautiful Carter smell. I remember it. I miss him so much. The difficult journey of a grieving parent is a heavy load. But with God by our side, He will carry us through and hold us up until we are all together once again.
Bless the Lord, o my soul - I'll worship Your holy name.
Heavenly Father, help me to use my pain for Your glory.
Click on the link to listen to: "10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)", Matt Redman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51fQIiHlu8Q
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Please pray with us...
From the Joint Council Update:
In what we can only describe as a tragedy, earlier today President Putin signed the ban on intercountry adoption. The law goes into effect on January 1, 2013 and while some details remain unclear, it is being reported that the law supersedes the bi-lateral adoption agreement between the US and Russia. The status of the adoptions currently in-process is not assured at this time.
The news is all so overwhelming for us. How sad it is for the many, many children and families that are waiting for their forever home. There are simply way too many orphans in Russia that need loving families to go home to, for Putin to sign a ban like this. It is all so heartbreaking. The children will never survive in the country's orphanages without having the international adoptions -- there are too many children. Please pray for Putin - that someone would intervene and could make a difference - that Putin would have a change of heart. The numbers are all too saddening. The conditions of the orphanages are all too saddening. This is all so sad when there are children in the middle of a political game. It breaks our heart.
Please read the article below on "Russia's Adoption Ban is Cruel and Vindictive to All.":
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/29/russia-s-adoption-ban-is-a-cruel-and-vindictive-to-all.html
In what we can only describe as a tragedy, earlier today President Putin signed the ban on intercountry adoption. The law goes into effect on January 1, 2013 and while some details remain unclear, it is being reported that the law supersedes the bi-lateral adoption agreement between the US and Russia. The status of the adoptions currently in-process is not assured at this time.
The news is all so overwhelming for us. How sad it is for the many, many children and families that are waiting for their forever home. There are simply way too many orphans in Russia that need loving families to go home to, for Putin to sign a ban like this. It is all so heartbreaking. The children will never survive in the country's orphanages without having the international adoptions -- there are too many children. Please pray for Putin - that someone would intervene and could make a difference - that Putin would have a change of heart. The numbers are all too saddening. The conditions of the orphanages are all too saddening. This is all so sad when there are children in the middle of a political game. It breaks our heart.
Please read the article below on "Russia's Adoption Ban is Cruel and Vindictive to All.":
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/29/russia-s-adoption-ban-is-a-cruel-and-vindictive-to-all.html
There are too many orphans and not enough families with the ban on intercountry adoptions...
Please join us and pray for a change of heart in Putin....
Please pray for the many children that need homes....
Please pray for the families that are waiting to bring their babies and children home...
Here is an amazing story of a letter written to Putin about his adoptive family....
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Christmas Prayer
Heavenly Father,
We are so thankful to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We are so thankful for Your precious gift to us - the gift of Jesus - the gift of salvation! For it is Jesus that gives us hope and Light and a future. A future with You, Lord.
We are thankful for the family that could be with us today and fill our home with people, noise, love and laughter. We are also thankful for our families that could not be with us today. We pray for peace and love in their lives.
We thank You for the wonderful food and everything that You provide for us. Thank You for being alive in our lives and help us to never forget Your presence.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
We are so thankful to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We are so thankful for Your precious gift to us - the gift of Jesus - the gift of salvation! For it is Jesus that gives us hope and Light and a future. A future with You, Lord.
We are thankful for the family that could be with us today and fill our home with people, noise, love and laughter. We are also thankful for our families that could not be with us today. We pray for peace and love in their lives.
We thank You for the wonderful food and everything that You provide for us. Thank You for being alive in our lives and help us to never forget Your presence.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
Happy Birthday, Jesus!
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
Isaiah 7:14
Immanuel - God with us
Click on link for "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus"
Monday, December 24, 2012
Christmas and the brokenhearted
By Karen Ehman
"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families ..." Psalm 68:5-6a (NIV 1984)
"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" The loudspeaker blared out the joyful lyrics of the familiar holiday song that snowy Christmas Eve afternoon.
Everywhere I glanced, people were searching for last-minute gift purchases, holiday baking ingredients or that one final string of twinkle lights that would make their Christmas downright Norman Rockwell perfect.
However, as I stood in line paying for the ingredients for my assigned Cheesy Potato casserole for our family gathering, a lump formed in my throat. Soon my lips quivered and hot tears fell onto my wind-chapped cheeks.
How can everyone be so happy? Why is the world going on as if nothing happened? My friend Julie died last night leaving behind a husband and eight children who need her. Doesn't anyone care?
I wanted to scream. And I wanted Christmas to be cancelled that year. There was no holiday cheer in me and I thought the rest of the world should follow suit and just 'humbug' the whole celebration.
Our family made it through that holiday. My young children, although sad about their friends' mother's death, perked up Christmas morning, eager to open their gifts. My husband and I carried on with our normal life and, over the next few months, tried to help lighten the load of our now widower friend.
Several in our circle of friends made meals on a weekly basis. A college girl offered to clean their home. One of Julie's sons joined our homeschool for kindergarten a few days each week. Although we still experienced great heartache knowing our friend wasn't coming back, lightening her husband's load and cheering the children made us feel as if we were fulfilling the mission God had for us.
Ever since that year, our family has become even more aware of the fact that for many, Christmas isn't the most wonderful time of the year. It is downright painful.
Loneliness looms. Depressions darken. Even suicides soar. While scores of us delight in the season, drinking the sights, sounds and smells, others are numb from pain and despise the season.
And so I'm reminded of what a sweet neighbor of mine once told me, "Christmas is an excuse for making someone's life better." She was so right! There are souls waiting to be encouraged and included at the holidays. If only we would cease our own sometimes self-focused hustle and bustle long enough to see!
After that sad season, we've made it our mission to reach out at the holidays more than we play the commercialized "gimmee game."
Christmas is not about getting. Its very essence is giving.
When our family has been intentional about being Jesus' hands and feet at the holidays, He has allowed us to brighten the lives of many. We sing Christmas carols to shut-ins, decorate homes and address Christmas cards for widows, shop for the needy, bake for the brokenhearted, and often include the lonely in our normal Christmas activities as if they were part of our family.
Because really, they are. Maybe it is your family God wants to set a lonely soul in this year.
Let's vow this Christmas to make someone's life better, richer in love, and fuller in the comforts of knowing they are noticed and cared for.
Dear Lord, at this time when You sent Christ to earth, may I too reach out to make someone's life richer, fuller and far less lonely. I want to be Your hands and feet. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)