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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Seventeen

I was immature when I was 17. Believe me. Just this evening, I was sorting through a few old things in my personal files here at work, and I came across a chat I had with a guy I liked back then. Oh my! It makes me cringe just reading it. Surely I must have been crazy! So flippant, flirtatious, mindless...

I am so amazed at the way God works with me. He has brought me so far, and yet there is so much still wrong with me. I'm glad there is so much RIGHT with Him!

It reminds me of a quote I read this morning that was a big encouragement to me:

"If you delight to dwell upon the plan of salvation, upon the glorious manifestations of the divine character, if your heart, in contemplation of the love of God, glows with thankfulness and joy, you may be sure that you have been illuminated by the beams of the Holy Spirit, and heavenly agencies are bringing your character up to maturity of Christian life" (Signs of the Times, March 27, 1893).

I think this speaks for itself. I am so thankful that God gives such promises as these!

I plan to keep growing, through His infinite grace. How about you?

Monday, March 28, 2011

A Shift of Perspective

When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.

Today was a busy one - and still is! I have yet to go home and finish as many responsibilities as I can before bedtime. Is it just me, or does everything big happen all at once? Everything I have to plan for, all the trips I have to make, all the neighborhood drama . . . it all seems to plop into my lap at one time. But then again, maybe I'm looking at it from the wrong perspective. Shift that, and I can see just how powerful God is, in helping me through it all, and giving me strength to meet the demands of life.

Just before lunch, I took some time out at "my" cabin, my favorite spot in the whole of YD camp. Its tiny porch overlooks the lake, and since it's not inhabited by campers this time of year, it's a perfect place to spend a few minutes with God before I go back to eat. As I stood there and told God all about what was happening and causing me stress, a quote came to mind, one that encourages me every time I think of it:

"Worry is blind, and cannot discern the future. Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In every difficulty, He has a way prepared to bring relief. Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service and honor of God supreme will find perplexities vanish and a plain path before their feet" (The Desire of Ages, page 330).

Amazing isn't it? That one simple principle opens up this path of life like nothing else. As we truly serve and honor God in everything, He will take care of the rest. Our God has knowledge that goes above and beyond our highest expectations. He is so powerful. He is so big. And yet He takes pleasure in helping me in my majorly-tiny-compared-to-His trials. He is truly my hope and stay!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Blessings

My new favorite song. Apparently it's everyone else's, too... but oh well. The words are worthy of repeat, and good to think about.


Blessings by Laura Story


We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
But long that we'd have the faith to believe

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home,

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise