Filled

Filled with the fulness of Jesus today—

That is the longing for which I now pray.

Oh to be filled up my Savior with Thee,

Come Holy Spirit, and please fill up me!

Fill me with wisdom, with patience, and love,

Bless me I pray, with all gifts from above!

Make me a blessing to those at my side,

In all I do Father, please be my Guide.

Guard me from harming or hurting a soul,

Rather to help and give hope is my goal.

Use me or not as Your purpose shall be,

Only my God, with Your Spirit fill me!

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

RD//On the Road//Picture Post//Day 4

Daniel 10:19 says, ...O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened...

  Early morning before the hustle & bustle

     Second cooking school underway

          Cooking school demo: vanilla cream and berries. 

• Easy 

• Healthy

• Yummy

 Mid afternoon exercise in the habitat of wildflowers

              "Lettuce" relish salad

          Hydro in a hospital hallway

                     Happy clean up 

RD//On the Road//Picture Post//Day 3

Often our Heavenly Father places something in our path. A smile, a need, a friend, a verse, a call, a flower. Today, all of the above, but foremost a verse.

05:38 a.m. 

_Daniel 9:22 ...I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 

No perplexity burdens Him

No trouble worries Him

No question stumps Him

No problem stymies Him

No delay keeps Him behind

And no work surpasses His ability. 

He has skill and is understanding. Though we have neither, as long as we have Him, what will we lack?

           My view from registration

                 Fresh start

   New home- cooking school prep

           Salad bar at lunch

               Diabetic ed

  Animated cooking school co-presenter

We have seen the Lord's blessing this day, but covet still your prayers. Two more days of program to go. 

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: 102 Rest

“Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:2. 

Context: Who is "you"? Verse one tells us, “all the saints in (in = relation of rest) (with) Christ Jesus which are at (interestingly, at also = relation of rest) Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.” 

This was no external rest. Humanity, Philippian or not, hunger for a rest that reaches the deepest turmoil. It is a rest in the soul that the sons and daughters of Adam lack. This rest, the Philippians found in God. Thus, they obtained rest also in their relation to life: at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons. This rest, this quietness is not an earthly commodity. It is a rest that is possible even amid earthly unrest. It is experienced only through connection with Heaven. And such a link is our only access to grace and peace. Calvary’s cross is that link. It bridges the impassable gulf between the soul and salvation. Apart from Christ, peace is as illusive as a shadow. “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” - Isaiah 30:15. 

Psalm 85:12 says, Yea, the Lord will give that which is good. And this He gives. Grace with power of change. Peace though submission to Christ. Rest that reaches the heart.

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. 

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... ;)

As thy days...

      I lay in the darkness. My heart is wrapped in a warm glow of thankfulness, joyfulness, relief. But something nags at my reverie. What if it hadn’t turned out wonderfully? Would I still be here rejoicing in the Lord’s goodness?

      Tuesday. Treadmill day. Stress-test day. For me too. Hydro-massages have definitely been my preferred arena, but treadmill day finds me in the clinic. Running the machine or setting patients up for their test are both interesting, and both have their own challenges. This time, set-up.

      No way to rearrange staff or shadow someone again. The previous night saw less sleep, but it saw prayer. A heart thirsting for trust. For me, that’s when the stress-test began.

      “Grace be unto you, and peace from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come… and from the seven spirits which are before His throne” Revelation 1:4. See Isaiah 11:2.

      The One who has seen treadmill day way before I got here says “Grace and peace.” The One who knows my limited experience and knowledge says, “Favor you don’t deserve and calmness to the sea of your soul… right now.” The One who has the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, the fear of the Lord; the One who is one with the Spirit of God says, “It’s true, you’re not a perfect offering. You don’t deserve my gift, but I give it for my love. Believe Me. You can know My peace when looking on that which is to come.”

      Worship. The words hit home: 

...Strength I find to meet my trails here

Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment, 

I’ve no cause for worry or for fear

He whose heart is kind beyond all measure, 

Gives unto each day what He deems best

As thy days… So. Shall. Thy. Strength. Be.

      God proved His faithfulness. Again. His mercy. Again. His love… again. But would I lay at night praising the Lord if things had not run smoothly at the clinic? Would I say, “The Lord hath done great things for me”, if all I could see was blackness? 

      Gentle whisper: As thy days… So. Shall. Thy. Strength. Be. If your day sees blackness, you can be assured, I will give you strength for blackness. If light, strength for light. 

As thy days… So. Shall. Thy. Strength. Be. 

Thank You, Lord. Thank You.

Prayer

When burdens press and weigh the soul,
And none can share its load
We can commit to God the whole,
To bear upon this road

In prayer, our Brother hears the cry,
Of one whose strength is gone
And says, "My child, on Me rely",
"And cease ye not with dawn"

If wisdom is your greatest need,
Our Father knows it well
Then ask of Him who gives indeed,
To those who on earth dwell

In prayer my friends there is release
From burdens that oppress
For Jesus offers us His peace
In trade for our distress

Jesus Only

Jesus only- this my need
No matter where I be
If I'm lonely- near indeed
Is Him whom I would see

Jesus only- is my prayer
To see but Him today
His face solely I would share
With others in the way

Jesus only- for I thirst
None else can satisfy
More than all- He must be first
For He my wants supply

Jesus only- I have found
No better jewel than this
In His presence joys abound
True peace and happiness

Jesus only- this my goal 
To follow Him my aim
That Christ, fully in control
May stamp in me His name

Speak Lord

Oh may I hear the whisper,
Each faintest, softest call
And quickly send an answer,
To heaven's waiting hall
Speak Lord, for Your servant hears,
Enlighten now my mind
Open now my deafened ears,
That You my soul may find

The Spirit speaks with power,
Convicting me of sin
Unpleasant though the hour,
Again I say within
Speak Lord for Your servant hears,
Please quiet not Your voice
Though it's message comes in tears,
Conviction is my choice

The voice of God brings healing,
To those who are in need
He knows with what we're dealing,
His word restores indeed
Speak Lord for your servants hear,
What are our woes to You?
You beckon to "Be of good cheer",
For You will see us through

In Christ

      Whatever environment we are in, it is changed in Christ. Wherever we happen to dwell, whatever we pass through on our journey to the Heavenly Canaan, it is refashioned by the riches of the grace of Christ.

      That which is terrifying becomes a peaceful habitation. That which is wearying to body and soul, becomes a place of rest—in Christ. A windy place becomes a sheltered spot of safety and joy. A tempestuous situation no longer is—in Christ. Christ becomes to us all things when we are in Him. He is our rest. He is our peace.

      Isaiah 32:1 says, "...a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." 

In Christ is joy and peace for life,
His service knows not gloom
Although this world is clothed in strife,
Its dread is not our doom

In Christ is joy and peace today,
Why seek a "better time?"
We have no reason to delay,

And wallow in sin's slime

In Christ is joy and peace for me,
His grace- it reaches far
Beyond all that my eye can see,
Christ shines, the brightest star