Stay Close to the Light

Stay close to the Light,

And follow His lead,

Because in the night,

His guidance we need

Stay close to the Light,

When questions arise,

The way, truth, the right,

May come as surprise

Stay close to the Light,

-Our Savior and Friend-

Or wander we might,

In tide or in trend

Stay close to the Light,

For safe is His way,

His lamp, it is bright,

While near it we stay

Stay close to the Light,

Yet, faith must still grow

In trusting His sight

For what we don't know

Stay close, my dear friend, to the Light!

Trust

Could we peel away the sky,

Could we answer every "Why",

Could we plumb the waters deep or ocean wide

Could we look into the realm

Of the waves that overwhelm, 

Or explain the ebb and flow of lunar tide

Could we answer every doubt,

And describe our total route,

Could we map our lives from genesis and on

Could we always, fully know,

Would we ever fully grow,

In the faith that sees at night the morning dawn? 

For the faith that has it's sight,

And is strengthened with the night,

When tested, proved, comes forth a brighter gold

Through days of darkness now,

With trusting we can bow,

And with thanks, commit to Him what's yet untold!

The Potter's Plans

I know that there are those anticipating my blogged updates from the other side of the planet and the other hemisphere...but I am still north of the equator, this side of the pond. Nevertheless it is due that this dusty blog come out of the coma it went into when yours truly plunged into the deep end of nursing school.

God does not see as humanity sees. (Amen?!) He doesn't plan like us either. Why would you? If your vision was not limited to time and space, and your plans had creative power, why formulate any idea only within the box of here and now? It wouldn't make sense. After all, what kind of plans would we devise?

What kind of plans would we devise,

Who have but mortal minds and eyes?

Who cannot see the greater scheme,

Nor conjure an immortal dream?

How would we plan from day to day

(When we cannot discern the way

That circumstances often take)

And not be left to our mistake?

Whose thoughts can think beyond this realm?

Whose arm can handle his own helm?

Whose goals are broad enough or high 

As His whose stars still trace the sky?

Could we record the sands of earth?

Or figure out the code of birth?

Could we design our very breath?

Or somehow stop the work of death?

Then how do we suppose we may,

Now orchestrate ourselves our way

And from a human point of view

Contrive a life that's worth debut?

How can we think that if we could,

We'd work things out just as they should,

Preventing all the bumps and rain,

And getting all we reckon gain? 

Do we forget that One whose heart

Has held us from the very start,

Whose fingers fashioned us -the clay,

Is also Potter of each day?

Do we now think that in His hands

Our life's in danger at His plans?

When every turn the Potter makes

Produces what He undertakes?

This is the One who's Authored life,

Who knows the controversies' strife,

Who walked this earth in Heaven's will,

From manger to Golgotha's hill

This is the One whose love would dare,

Almighty bonds to cut and tare,

And God from God Himself to break,

In my behalf, for His love's sake

Then how can we not trust to Him:

The future which we see so dim;

The turns beyond finite repeal;

When they are of the Potter's wheel?

And can we not discern and tell,

That He who "doeth all things well",

Does not forget His chosen clay, 

But purposely leaves it to lay?

That through each change the Potter's hand,

May work out that which He had planned

And one day to His Father bring,

A vessel fit to serve the King.

Sensing His Presence...

I have liked this quote for a long time, and I thought it would be nice to make it a rhyme. :)

"Only the sense of God's presence can banish the fear that, for the timid child, would make life a burden...Let him read that wonderful story of Elisha in the mountain city, and, between him and the hosts of armed foemen, a mighty encircling band of heavenly angels. Let him read how to Peter, in prison and condemned to death, God's angel appeared... Let him read of that scene on the sea, when to the tempest-tossed soldiers and seamen, worn with labor and watching and long fasting, Paul the prisoner, on his way to trial and execution, spoke those grand words of courage and hope: “Be of good cheer....

These things were not written merely that we might read and wonder, but that the same faith which wrought in God's servants of old might work in us. In no less marked a manner than He wrought then will He work now wherever there are hearts of faith to be channels of His power." Child Guidance pg. 42-43.

Only the sense of God's comfort and presence
Can banish the fear of the timid and shy,
That knowledge alone to them is a defense,
Removing fear's burden that grows up so high

Let them remember the angel from heaven
Who camps round about all the children of Light,
Let them remember the promise that's given—
He's there to deliver them by day or night

Let them reread of that wilderness prophet
Who was with his servant behind Dothan's gate,
Though horses and forces surrounded them, yet,
God's army was bigger, the Scriptures relate

Let them review how from heaven to Peter,
Though chained, and though guarded, and deep in his cell,
Was sent a strong angel, to safely deliver
The servant of God from that dark citadel

And then there's the scene on the tempest tossed sea,
Of Paul telling sailers to 'Be of good cheer',
Revealing to them and to us heaven's key
For weathering storms and for conquering fear

You see, God had spoken a word unto Paul
That there would not even be one loss of life,
And so when in fear on God's promise we fall,
We'll find safe at last a strong tower in strife

Whenever, wherever we become afraid
We have but to turn to the Tower of Christ,
For faith cast upon Him cannot be betrayed
Nor trust at all placed on His Word sacrificed!

Butterflies and Psalm 46:10

      03:17. It’s dark out, I muse as I cocoon myself in the covers. Wait! I’m awake! ...thank You Father. You are so faithful. My only alarm clock since the nursing retreat has been a still, small voice calling me to commune with Him, but this black morning was no time to be late. My doubts of the previous evening take on their proper appearance. With 163 minutes till our first clinical, the first lesson is hitting home. God is faithful. There are no qualifiers, no footnotes, and no fine print in the matter. Even “if we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13.
      Scissors, keys, stethoscope, name tag... Butterflies. Oh the minutia of which to be mindful! How will I remember it all? Again, the calming balm of Gilead settles upon the restless waters of my heart. Trust Me. If I care enough to wake you up for extra time with Me on this particular morning, do you think I will care enough to see you through this particular day?
      He cares enough- enough for the sapling of faith in this heart to sink down her roots. He cares enough to tenderly stretch me far enough, but not to breaking. Surprisingly the butterflies seemed to get lost between Weimar and Westview. Perhaps it was too early for them, but I knew that I knew that our God would see me through.
      ...and He did too. 

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  

My mind saunters back through the scenes of the past year. A year ago, this was a thought- an impression. One to which I was not altogether open. Yet, the thought would not go away. At every roadblock the signpost read go forward. The more impossible things got, the stronger came the call. What started out looking like a "light thing" quickly changed shape into one of the loftiest, most challenging summits I have yet to meet. It became quite clear that if God wanted me in the program this fall, He would have to do something extraordinary. Or rather, some things extraordinary. 
      ...and He did too.

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  

      So I wonder if someone might be facing such a paradoxical situation. Maybe everything is piling up on the "no" column, except for that essential vote. Impossible situations are precious opportunities for God to make perfectly clear what is His will in the matter. That is what we want, is it not? To know that God is in this thing?
      Difficulties always come, but when you know that your power did not get you to those challenges, you can also rest that His power will get you through those challenges. It is then that we can be still and know.

Every word

Do you have a burden you can't carry?

Do you have a sorrow you can't bare?

Look to Jesus, not your adversary,

Even sparrows do not lack His care

Do your problems rise up like the mountains?

Do your questions seem to never cease?

Rest your case beneath the living fountains

For they overflow with heaven's peace

When your daytime seems as black as midnight,

When you cannot see a way to go,

Turn to Him who's brighter than the sunlight

In His time your pathway He will show

::Refrain::

Trust in Him, whose goodness changes never

Take His word in calmness or in storm

Every promise given, stands forever

Every word He's able to perform

God Rules Above

Though most of the time spent near this little garden was full of very wearying pursuits, the pictures paint portraits of peaceful moments spent in the garden. How often are we very near to the garden, but not there, still not with the Gardener. Those moments with Him are better than the "necessities" of life. The word is life to those that find it. Burdens lighten, stresses dissolve, for humanity can see that there is One who orders the affairs of men. One who orders things right. 

God rules above.

Why be anxious oh my soul?

God rules above.

And He holds supreme control,

Yet reigns in love.

For the times when all seems grim,

Let us only look to Him,

And those troubles will grow dim,

God rules above.

Circumstances may look bleak,

But trust His hand

For He leadeth still the meek,

To better land.

All we have may be too small,

But 'tis then we must recall,

That One ruleth overall,

God rules above.

When confusion weighs the mind

Which way to go,

When the eyesight seems so blind

It cannot know,

Then on bended knee behold,

As our Guide will there unfold,

All the map that we can hold,

God rules above.

RD//On the Road//Picture Post//Day 5

             Raw Apple Crisp

            Dining out in RD style 

      Tried out waitressing today...

Or if your not in the mood for rice, you could try Pizza, Pasta, Mexican, and Fast Food. Anyone hungry?

         Final lecture- Choice and the Will

               Elated and exhausted

Philippians: 116 Sufficient

“The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:” Philippians 1:16

There were people in Paul’s world

Who didn’t know the gospel,

Who, yet it’s gonfalon unfurled

To burden the apostle.

These worked from strife and envy

To cause another grief,

But Paul of Tarsus knew the key

To find happy relief.

He dwelt amid thanksgiving.

He looked beyond that day.

He thought on Christ’s own suffering

For what he couldn’t pay.

And so, let’s learn the lesson

Of patience, as did Paul.

For Christ has drunk for everyone

The cup of woe and gall.

We need not dwell in shadows

When Jesus shines with light,

And from Him peace and gladness flows,

Sufficient for the night.

Philippians: 108 Defendant

“For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:8

Record - Strongs 3144 - a witness (literally (judicially) or figuratively...); by analogy, a "martyr":-- martyr, record, witness.

God knows you my friend,

The longings you carry.

His own He’ll defend

From His calm sanctuary.

He saw faithful Job

Who was tested and tried.

That one on the globe

Who with Him was allied.

God sees and knows all

When others do not,

Or when heaven’s call

Is past our own thought.

Yes. He is our judge,

Our witness, defendant,

Who will not begrudge

Help to one dependent.

Philippians: 103 Remember

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” Philippians 1:3. 

The Philippians? Really? Maybe some of those memories, but every remembrance?

Philippi was the home of Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened. - Acts 16:14. Certainly the memory of kindred souls in the faith could have made Paul to thank God.

Of course, remembering the damsel that was freed from the spirit of divination surely brought rejoicing to the apostle. But this very joy could have been overshadowed, or even obliterated completely by black recollections. Missionary work is not for the fainthearted. It was in Philippi that Paul and Silas were beaten, imprisoned, and tortured like anybody’s worst nightmare. And yet, the apostle thanked God.

Was it the dawn of new life in Christ that eclipsed the darkness? Was it the eye of faith, seeing triumph in apparent tragedy? Was is that souls were reached, who could not have been in another way?

Did every memory of the Philippians remind Paul that God can overrule circumstances? That something so bad could actually result in good— devoted, stedfast, and whole-hearted believers? Did the thought of their faithfulness strengthen him to trust in trial the character of his Creator? 

We likely face nothing akin to what Paul and Silas did, but from the planet we call home, let us give thanks. Let us remember that the character of God has not changed. He can still bring beauty out of ashes, and gold from the fire. 

Let us remember, and let us give thanks. 

Simple Song - Unfathomable God// pt. 5 Valley of Victory

There’s something about being in a valley. Everything else is uphill. Valleys have the tendency to keep drawing you downward too. No matter that a valley floor leads to a valley side, which does actually lead to a mountaintop. The valley is like quicksand. Lofty heights are obliterated by dense green forest. Azure blue sky is textured with needle studded silhouettes. The trail is dark. The eyes strain to see it. Shadows come quickly and leave slowly. Every cracking branch is magnified into some great big hungry creature, seeking whomsoever it may devour. 

•  •  •  •  •  •  •

He had been to the top. He had seen that the mountains belonged to God, but this was something else. Mile after mile he ran. Just to get somewhere, anywhere, perhaps nowhere. Nowhere where his enemies would follow. 

So he runs down to the valley of discouragement. Hungry, exhausted, afraid. He presses on, but this leads him only to a deeper basin: self-pity. 

Having seen the glory of God displayed in such magnificent grandeur upon Mt. Carmel, Elijah should have known that God had not left His throne. But the lesson is for us. 

We all have days after a mountaintop. The trail continues beyond each peak, but while we have the option of plunging to the lowest low, we don’t have to do that. There is a higher plain. A plain found through faith, prayer, and work. 

Remember that there was a valley before victory at Ai. That place of earlier defeat and discouragement was still to be conquered, and of all things, Israel had to march through a valley to get there. Talk about daunting. Notice however, that victory is not gained by evading all valleys. As the Psalmist said, Yea, though I walk through the valley…

            …I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me… 

Elijah was not loved less of heaven when he felt brokenhearted and rejected by men and God, then when God sent fire from above in answer to his very own prayer on Mt. Carmel. The mountains belong to God, but so do the valleys. 

Perhaps you find yourself in a valley today. Maybe it plunges beneath the valley of victory. Perhaps it’s a valley of discouragement or defeat. Or perhaps it’s a valley of test and trial. 

Take heart. You are not loved less. With Christ, a valley is a place of victory, and a place of peace. If God led you here, His dream is that you conquer Ai. If, like Elijah, your pit is despair, God’s longing is that you leave it in the arms of faith. The victory is in getting up, and going back to work. We can’t conquer Ai, or climb out of self-pity with finite arms. We need help. We need a great.. strong.. mighty.. God.. 

      …a God who rules the valleys too. 

Simple Song - Unfathomable God// Part llll 7 Minute Layover

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty,

There’s nothing my God cannot do.

It could end there, but it doesn’t. 

The mountains are His,

The valleys are His,

The skies are His handiwork too.

Ding! 

“Ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated with your seat belts securely fastened. We are still in active transit to our gate. Thank you.”

My flying companions ruefully settled back into their seats for the few remaining moments of our “active transit.” We were all in the same boat, or rather, we were all on the same plane. Wintertime travel + plane de-icing = —time. It is impossible to roll toward takeoff exactly an hour after schedule, and not make for subsequently tight connections. 

We jerk to a stop. I had been tracking our tardiness beside the schedule. By that word, our arrival would be 5 minutes after the door of probation would shut. I look at my phone: 12:48. This left room to hope. 7 minutes of it.That’s 7 minutes for our door to open, everyone in front of me to wrestle their bags out of the overhead bins, and me to get to the other end of the opposite terminal. This is impossible. …But… 

The mountains belong to God. Those things that tower over us in massive defiance, threatening to topple upon us any moment. Those things that we cannot conquer, though we try. Those things, belong to God. In the face of sure defeat, we are to put our trust in Him who owns the mountains. 

Though He is well able to, God does not give us eagle’s wings to soar away from our difficulties in blissful flight. What He gives us is strength as our days. Strength to climb the mountains. Every ounce of our will power may be taxed, but the strength of God is as sure as the mountain. So we must run. 

And run I did. The whole way. My best efforts alone could not guarantee that flight, but neglecting the little humanity could do would guarantee failure. I have half a mind to leave the story there. The rest doesn’t matter. God has a plan for your life, and for mine. If He sees best that we miss a flight, that our plans get messed up, or that our hopes must find their rest deeper in Him, what difference is it? God’s plan is better. 

But I won't do that. :) Catching my breath in seat 31F, 7 minutes later, I marveled at the greatness of my God. 

The mountains.really.are.His.

Simple Song - Unfathomable God // Part lll Prerequisite to Power

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty,

There’s nothing my God cannot do.

Nothing. This defies defeat. Reason, sight, gravity, all come to a crashing halt before the God of the impossible. He makes beautiful the things which are not. He finishes what He began. He is not limited by our limited comprehension of Him. 

He moved the sun backward…

…and made it stand still

He made water pile up on itself… 

... and an axe to float

He made people to walk on a lake... 

...and He fed thousands with one person’s lunch

The sun may appear to have set in your life, but God can make it move backward.

Life may seem to be drowning you in it's tide, but God made dry land in the middle of a sea, and iron to swim in the Jordan river.

If your heart is a gaping hole and you cannot satisfy it’s hunger, remember that God who fed thousands with one lad’s lunch, can feed one with the resources of all heaven.

There’s nothing my God cannot do...

This is hope enough for me. 

But He waits. Hungering as only a Father can for His child's heart, He waits. With longing, knowing that He has the satisfaction for every heart cry of humanity, He waits. For an invitation. A choice. A decision cast in the solitude of the soul. A surrender laid deep and whole. A simple word in answer to a simple question.      Will you let Me be your God?

In one word.

Yes.

Simple Song - Unfathomable God // Part ll Of Strength and Mountains

My God is so great…

Really now! Mental image pops up: wide-eyed, awestruck youngster, stretching his arms wide for all he’s worth. My daddee's bigger dan dat! The words ring with finality, perfect confidence, perfect trust. 

Yup! Buddy, you’re right. Far more right than many who are rich in years. For that simple, that child-like faith knows: My Father’s bigger than that.

MmmHmm. And it doesn’t end there.

…so strong… Yes?

When my thoughts take to flight like an army of horses, I need a strong God. When selfishness rises up as an unconquerable mountain, I need a strong God. When love must come out of my most unlovely heart, I need a strong God. 

You do too. I don’t know your mountains, but I know your need.  

Courage my friend: A horse -even an army of them- is a vain thing for safety, but God is our refuge and strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary when climbing high mountains, but they that wait upon the Lord… shall mount up with wings as eagles. Even the strongest in this life cannot conquer the grave, but love is strong as death.*

And God.is.love.

For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death. Psalm 48:14

Simple song...

Unfathomable God...

...to be continued...

* Ps 33:17, Ps 46:1, Is 40:30-31,Ecc 8:8, Song of Solomon 8:6

Remember

Let distractions, delusions, deceptive delights, and disarming duplicity be forgotten. Despite the cost, there is but one Desire worth desiring. That "one thing" the psalmist sought. A closeness with the Man of Sorrows, the Master, the Redeemer, the Conquering King.  

"...Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great." Revelation 19:5.

•  •  •  •  •  •  • 

When afflicted for My sake

Remember Me.

When oppressed and soon to break

Remember Me.

When rejected on this earth,

Don't forget to Me you're worth

Every cross I bore from birth.

Remember Me.

When your duties seem severe

Remember Me.

When like mountains they appear

Remember Me.

When your burdens are too great,

When they have a dreadful weight,

Then My own cross contemplate.

Remember Me.

When you'd shrink from the ordeal

Remember Me.

When too great the pain you feel 

Remember Me.

For I live to intercede,

I, who answers human need,

I, who also in this lead.

Remember Me.*

*See the book, Desire of Ages page 659.2

Every Word...

Do you have a burden you can't carry?
Do you have a sorrow you can't bare?
Look to Jesus, not your adversary,
Even sparrows do not lack His care

Do your problems rise up like the mountains?
Do your questions seem to never cease?
Rest you case beneath the living fountains,
For they overflow with heaven's peace

When your daytime seems as black as midnight,
When you cannot see a way to go,
Turn to Him who's brighter than the sunlight,
In His time your pathway He will show

• • • • • • • • • 
Trust in Him, whose goodness changes never,
Take His word in calmness or in storm
Every promise given, stands forever,
Every word He's able to perform!

                      Every word... ;)

...Nothing to Fear... pt. 6

      My silent cry did not fall unheard by the One who knows the depths of human need. The Same has greater concern that our need of Him be supplied, than that we be shielded from difficulty. He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but from His calm eternity He orders that difficulty will not destroy His children. God does not grapple with giants. He knows no defeat. I knew this was ground I needed to go over, and intellectually, I knew that God, for me, in this instant, was trustworthy. But intellect is not enough. God wants us to experience.

      Turning I noticed, as if simply appearing from thin air, a man sitting inside a glass cubicle. I approached and asked if I could get a ticket to Colfax. The man stared at me blankly. “Cofax? Where’s dat? I’ve neve herd’of it.” I had this sinking feeling in my stomach. “Uh, it’s beyond Sacramento… You are supposed to be able to take the train to Sacramento, and then a bus—” “Oh, ye’ need Amtrak.” I nodded my head vigorously. “That’s ‘cross the bridge t’ward ‘a stadium.”  “How do I get there?” I asked, wondering if I could beat the steady progression of time.

      Following the man’s directions, I eventually came to the few benches and awnings that comprised the station. Intense minutes of waiting later and Amtrak paused for those of us desiring passage. 

“When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straightened”, the Lord reminded me. Trust Me… Just trust Me. You have nothing to fear with Me by your side. Nothing.