.....shootings, fires and chemotherapy.... DO NOT FEAR.. for I am with you...

someone I know lost her baby 40 minutes after she was born 2 days ago.
there was a shooting at my daughter's law school on Thursday night.
a dear friend's nephew almost died in an apartment fire Friday morning . two of his friends didn't survive.
a friend was rushed to hospital two nights ago.
a little boy with aggressive cancer struggling to make it through most aggressive chemo.

and that's just my little world.

2 more marriage break ups in my close circle.
another few fighting cancer.
a little girl talking about how she will kill herself to a friend, who is a counsellor in school. far too young to be that hopeless..

and so it goes on.
and that's still just my little world.

praying without ceasing for them. lifting them up to the Almighty God. trusting Him for them.

 Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

 When you pass through the waters,

    I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

    they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

    you will not be burned;

    the flames will not set you ablaze.

 For I am the Lord your God,

    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior

Isaiah 43: 1-3

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

Romans 8:28

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 

 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39

"just" some scriptures, Words from God to us. Jesus comforting us, considering He is the Word, become flesh.. this world. a tough place. sin and sickness and darkness and pain. no one can escape it. at some point, in some way. it will touch us. and not just once.

and yet. we have hope. because of Him. Him alone. comfort and hope and peace. always right there.

praying for my brothers and sisters going through such difficult times. I know He loves them more than I do.

#SoliDeoGloria

..Love so amazing...

it's been an emotional weekend..
Friday night, "Son of God" the movie....

it's almost 20 years ago now that my Father in Heaven took away the blinders from my eyes, unstopped my ears and revealed Himself to me.

since then I have been walking this path, this journey, with Him. feeling overwhelmed by His love.. more and more.
seeing this movie on Friday... being reminded who He was / is, what He did, for me... the emotions have been running high.. what can I say...

amazing 4 hour seminar at church yesterday, worship service this morning and a Christian concert tonite..

my morning time alone with my Daddy in heaven, wonderful as always... deep satisfaction and delight. a never ending fountain of love, encouragement, wisdom, strength and joy...

my heart bursting with love and gratitude..
gratitude for that even before the beginning of the world, He chose me, to be His beloved, holy and blameless.. because of what He would do for me...

choosing to be living for Him, passionately, loving, forgiving and serving Him, enjoying His presence as I go about my day... that's the only way to respond to a love like this...

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:12-14

SOLI DEO GLORIA

... just let me do this ....

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

Colossians 3:5,10

With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.  Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.  They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,  throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.  Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

Ephesians 4:17-24

this week's scriptures  had me thinking this morning ... all action words ... put to death ... throw off ... put on ... 

but let's remember what it says in Colossians 3:1 

"Since you have been raised to new life with Christ" ..... so, it's a done deal, if you believed .. you now are a new creation, the old has gone...

living this out, working this out in your life ... it's a process, decisions, choices .... choices possible because of what Christ has done ...

nothing new here ... yet ... this is what stood out to me...

it's the Spirit that renews my thoughts and attitudes ... those that lead me to make choices according to my "taken care off" old nature ...

ha ... now that's amazing, I think ... I just need to "let" the Spirit do that ... and because I choose to draw near,  I am being renewed, I am putting on my new nature ... and... and this is HUGE.... that new nature is created to be like God... righteous and holy...

last night... when reading through my last blog, I thought for a moment I heard the still, small voice saying... " you just have to let me do this "....  as I have been meditating on these passages for the last two days I guess the Spirit had been testifying to my spirit.. and even before it hit my mind, it already had penetrated my heart... and there it was...

I just have to let Him, the Holy Spirit, do this........ as I choose to draw near, He IS doing it.........

now that is encouraging and very exciting.. for me anyways...

I shall never cease to praise Him for who He is!! Father, Son and Holy Spirit... 

Soli Deo Gloria

... comfort supplied by Jesus... :)

"It is quite useless knocking at the door of heaven for earthly comfort; it's not the sort of comfort they supply there." - C.S. Lewis, Letters of C.S. Lewis

just read this and it so fits with what has been going through my head the last few days...
been a bit stressed out with listing my house, getting it ready to show and all that... trying to juggle all  this includes.. my new place, the financial aspects and all that.. got an offer and things are moving along well, so I hope, all thanks to the Lord of course..  I was thinking today ( exhausted as I was ) that it would just be so nice to share this with someone ... oh, and then I had to stop myself right there..

later on there was some friction between me and my child, and again... the same thought..
had to take it captive, because that's the whole point of this new thing that He is doing in me...

when things are exhausting, when things are hard, even when things are amazing and exciting..
instead of thinking this way, like I was, and by that going back to that " I am only ok when there is someone in my life", someone that would share this like none of my most well meaning, closest friends ever will or can...  I should be turning towards my Lord and give Him all that exhaustion, that feeling of being overwhelmed and that excitement... rather than looking / longing for a substitute..

because, and this is where this C.S. Lewis quote hit me... the comfort "heaven" has for me is not that limited earthly comfort.. ( and don't get me wrong, I would not say "no" to it if He was going to give this to me at some point in time ) "they" do supply something very different... and maybe it is a little difficult to change my focus, maybe it will take some time to exchange the old habit and thinking with the new... but.. it's still worth it......

I have not been knocking and asking for the earthly comfort now for 4 weeks... I am refusing to go back there... and when the thoughts come, I will, by His grace take them captive and replace them with the truth... the truth that in Him I find all that I need.... comfort, strength, attention, help, encouragement, love, affection,... flawless, eternal perfection... that's what He has... delighting in Him I am.....

so here  I am, it's snowing, AGAIN, ( I am thinking of going on a "Shovel Strike" ;) by myself, finally relaxing a little... and I am thankful, thankful for His presence and His never-ending, unfailing, unconditional, undeserved love for me ..... My Jesus ROCKS!!!

...deeply satisfied ........

If then you have been raised with Christ, SEEK the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  SET your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is HIDDEN WITH Christ IN God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3: 1-4

this has been my dwelling place for the last few days...

amazing once again, how God does indeed work out every little detail in our lives..

4 weeks ago He told me to stay HIDDEN with Him... in His heart. He revealed to me that I had made something, not something bad, but still, I had made this something my top priority even over Him.. that I had to take that down and put Him where He belongs..

I did... and I have dwelt in His presence, hidden WITH Him IN God... delighting in His love and affection, care and concern..

and now, this passage talks about just this....  digging deeper, sinking myself deeper into this, I have discovered yet a much deeper satisfaction than before in seeking Him, His face, His presence, His love, His personality, HIM....... choosing to go to HIM, snuggle in and enjoy this HEAVENLY relationship no matter where my circumstances would have me is becoming more of a habit, something I do right away...

good thing I choose to walk with Him closely... He is always right by my side, so I only have to enter into His embrace and lay down my head where His heart is.. this is and has been my favourite place for almost 4 years, when I first discovered how perfectly my head fits there....

heard something AMAZING yesterday... an add on to the "SOLI DEO GLORIA" all for His glory alone, my reason for being here... not only am I here to bring glory to Him, but also to ENJOY HIM forever .......

He makes me smile, He makes my heart giggle, my soul is radiant, because of His love for me... because of who He is.... because... JUST because.. of HIM...

His presence, seeking it, is not a thing I have to check off each day... it is my hiding place, my place of refuge , but also my most delightful place, my cozy and warm and exciting and exhilarating and fun place to be...... he combines the love we all have longed for from a parent, a child, a lover... and it is all right there... undeserved... unfailing..... eternal....

no matter how long I live, I will never quite be able to figure out the depth and width of His love... that much I already know... oh to one day see His face... until then, I will love Him and seek Him, setting my mind on Him and all things above ... putting my hope in Him and Him alone...

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace

..We love because HE first loved us...

it's Valentine's Day today. made my beautiful girls some treats 2 days ago and put it all together in  nice Mason jars, with some twine and a tag I printed out.. all creative and pinteresty... :)

2 showings today, - with the house officially on the market now, I really pray it will sell fast-, I had to evacuate and find somewhere else to go.. not my usual "day off" routine...

connected with a friend for tea and sent some love out there through cyber space to all my loved ones, friends and family

so very blessed.. gifts from God, each and every one of them.

today is not different from any other day. we love. because He first loved us.

maybe today is "special" because some people maybe need a reminder? not sure... but anyways, showing love and appreciation should be a daily thing we do.

read this: "Why love if losing hurts so much? We love to know that we are not alone." —C.S. Lewis...

truth is, He made us this way. we are wired to love. we are wired for community. 

reaching out to a troubled young mom over the last few days, praying for her without ceasing, seeing her go down that path  of destruction and trying to speak truth into her life I am so thankful she just took the first step on the way to recovery.

love. it comes in all shapes and sizes. rather than looking at myself and maybe feeling sorry for myself I fix my eyes on Him.. and on those that by His grace and provision I can love a little ...

that's what my Valentine told me today and I know it is true.

telling others is what it is all about

#SoliDeoGloria

..take heart.. I have overcome the world...

made this my Facebook cover today.. love this verse...

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

from spiritual high way out in the prairies, deeply encouraged and uplifted, to tragic news about a friend and sorrowful times in a loved ones life... it seems there is no shortage of emotions..

from vibrant and amazingly deep connection to witnessing "empty religion"..

 all in one week..

never a dull moment, that's for sure

it leaves me thankful

thankful that this is just one of the many verses that get it right

indeed,

He has told us ALL THIS in HIS WORD

so that we can have peace,

a peace,

not from this world

beyond all understanding and reasoning

not in ourselves, 

made up defences 

build up walls,

 but in HIM

that, oh yes,

don't be caught by surprise

there ARE trials and sorrows

plenty of them,

in this world

stuff we cannot control

stuff we don't like

stuff that hurts

but

TAKE HEART

be brave

have hope

don't let it steal your JOY

because

HE

and HE ALONE

has overcome it all

and so can we

not out of our own strength

but through HIM

have peace

and that peace that passes all understanding is MINE,

always,

as it guards my mind and my heart

in CHRIST JESUS

my SAVIOUR

I LOVE HIM