Joy Comes in the Morning.....

 

Psalm 30

¹ I will exalt you, Lord,
    for you lifted me out of the depths
    and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
² Lord my God, I called to you for help,
    and you healed me.
³ You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
    you spared me from going down to the pit.

⁴ Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;
    praise his holy name.
⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment,
    but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
    but rejoicing comes in the morning.

⁶ When I felt secure, I said,
    “I will never be shaken.”
⁷ Lord, when you favored me,
    you made my royal mountain^[c] stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
    I was dismayed.

⁸ To you, Lord, I called;
    to the Lord I cried for mercy:
⁹ “What is gained if I am silenced,
    if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
    Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;
    Lord, be my help.”

¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing;
    you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
¹² that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
    Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

 

 

 

God is always with us....even when it seems as though

 He has left us.

In those moments last week when things were so hard and so unclear He was with me.

I believe that in those moments when I was trying so desperately to "DO" I was

only relying on myself. My own strength and my own capabilities. 

God does not expect me to do it all on my own. 

He knows that I cannot..... Sometimes I forget that I cannot...

God used one of my devotion books to remind me that I need Him to DO things.

He also used my own words to give me a vision of what I look like!

 

 

Beloved, this should be a typical scene in the life of everyone who has been transformed.  If God has called us to His highest and best, each of us will have a time of crisis, when all our resources will fail and when we face either ruin or something better than we have ever dreamed.  But before we can receive the blessing, we must rely on God's infinite help.  We must be willing to let go, surrendering completely to Him, and cease from our own wisdom,  strength, and righteousness.  We must be "crucified with Christ" (Gal.2:20) and yet alive in Him. 

 

God knows how to lead us to the point of crisis, and He knows how to lead us through it!

 

Many times I am always reminding Levi that he doesn't have to be "as smart" as his older brothers.  He so desperately wants to be "like Sam and Jacob".  I tell him to just be 6!  No one expects him to be as wise as a 14 yr. old.  You are the only one who thinks you should be that wise.!

OUCH.... how much am I like my little boy

Thinking I can "know all" and "handle" everything on my own.

God must just smile every time I speak those words to my little boy.

Hello! Laurie....are you listening!?!

 

 

In my heart and soul I know that God allowed this time of trial in my life to draw me unto himself. 

I have been there before in different aspects...

but for me, it is all about letting go and allowing God

 

letting go of another piece of myself

letting go of another piece of my life that I am trying to fix

letting go of not being labeled "adequate"

allowing Him to lead the next step

allowing Him to direct the day

allowing Him to complete me and make me "whole"

allowing me to "allow" Him everyday!

 

As I have said, He is so very good!  I am most thankful for being able to "hear" Him. 

I want to be a child of God first and foremost in my life.

The rest will follow if I am putting Him and me first!

He is always refining me and I am so thankful for that....

and for the wrestling He is willing to do with me!

That He loves me enough to not let me have my way on my own.

 

Another slice of wisdom from my time with the Father this week...

 

We cannot claim to know anyone intimately whom we've not known in the

intensity of both agony and elation. 

Anyone with eyes willing to truly "behold" Jesus will at times be confused and shocked by what he sees.  You see, if we're willing to be taken to the extremes of His

glory where intimate knowledge is gained, we will undoubtedly see things of

Him we cannot explain and that sometimes disturb. 

 

When we give our lives to Jesus, we are His!

When we call out to Him He is there (James 4:8)

There is nothing that can separate us from Him. (Romans 8:38-39)

As new born believers we desire Him  (1Peter 2:1-3)

He uses all circumstances to show us Himself (Romans 8:28)

 

He is there....

Don't try to go it alone

He is there....

 

In His Embrace,

laurie

 

 

 



He Speaks.............

Sometimes it seems strange to me that God would prompt me to post while I am spending my time with Him..... in His Word.....seeking Him....and pouring it all out to Him...... then it hits me....

It is all about Him

It makes perfect sense to share about Him

He is in it all

 

 

 

Here are some of my random thoughts from this yesterday and this morning.....

AND some of His purposefully, gently spoken to me...

 

I am laying here in the dark... wishing I did not have to do this another day...

I don't want to....

it is hard...

what will today be like

OH I SO HOPE NOT LIKE YESTERDAY!

 

God I don't like me

I do not like who it seems that I have become in the past few days...

(I bet that little boy can top me with feelings of self loathing)

This cannot possibly be who YOU want me to be

It isn't suppose to be like this

I AM trying....

I want to "take a break" like the therapist says

What in the world does that look like?  He never takes a break!

Really God ( I said this out loud), you would give me more of your most precious treasures to take care of when you see me like this!

Oh do I have to get out of this bed and start all over? 

Maybe I can go back to sleep... sleep will help

Oh rats..... can't do that... yesterday God spoke to me.... Don't sleep PRAY

My readings were about how Jesus went to pray and asked those closest to him to stay awake

and PRAY!  Oh how many times I want to just sleep.... I can't anymore... I need to pray...

 

Please Father....take all of me out of this day.... make me all and only you.....

(interesting that in these past few days... I am up early, wile it is still dark, able to get the day going and have my much needed Me time.  Thank you Lord)

 

 

He speaks....

 

I am here

I am here

You are not alone

You are enough just the way you are

You are complete in Me

I am enough for you

 

you must come to me

come to me

come broken

 

you cannot see it all

I am working.... you cannot see it all

You only see a little bit

You will see it all at the right time

 

you are mine and I love you

I will do this for you...

you cannot do this but I can

 

I am here

Stop trying to be someone else....

You were chosen to do this

You are good

You are beautiful

 

I am here

Lay it down

 

It is all coming together

I am working  all things together

I have the power to do this

I will put it all together

 

You are wrestling...but there will be blessing

It has to be this way, but it will get better

 

I am here....

I am with you always

 

 

Thankfully, In His Embrace

laurie

 

 

A Little of This and A Little of That......

Where have the past 2 weeks gone?!
I have a few little bits of info to share ...really just some random things to catch up on!

Saying Goodbye..

On August 3rd  we said good-bye to our friends, the Schuenkes!  They left for El Salvador to serve at Envision Wired in San Salvador.  You can follow their journey here.  There is a link to their blog Broken Vessels on the side bar of my page.

Oh how raw are the emotions when we have to say good-bye to those we love so much....

That morning when it was still dark we got up and went to the airport to say our good-byes to our dear friends who are like family to us....   They are headed out for a 2 year commitment to serving those in need, those who are broken, those who are lost, the fatherless and those without hope in San Salvador!  Never was it more true and real to say  "our loss is their gain". 

It has been a friendship that is truly more like family for all of us.  It has been years of growing together in Christ and years of being in the trenches of family life. What a treasure they are to us.  We know that God has been preparing them for this call and we are so honored to walk this journey with them!  As we look back at their lives we can clearly see how God has orchestrated the events that led up to this day of travel!  It is obvious that God has placed in each of their hearts His heart for the broken! They are not new to reaching out to the lost and broken hearted.  It is who they are...all of them.  There are many families that have been touched by at least one member of their family.  But they would be the first ones to tell you that it has absolutely NOTHING to do with who they are but WHO Christ is IN them!  They are not perfect, but they are sold out for Him!  They are obedient to Him.  They are willing.....  Oh what God can do with those who are willing! 

Last Sunday in church our pastor was talking about how we can seem "Crazy" to the world!  When we give everything to the Kingdom. When we are willing to leave in all out on the table for the Kingdom.  When we follow in obedience to what He is asking us to do!  That is how our friends are.  I pray that we will never forget the level of sacrifice they have displayed in leaving it all behind to reach those who need the Gospel! I remember one time when Lisa and I were talking about the reality of leaving their family...her parents....her brother..... all of her dear friends... She showed me a verse that brought her so much comfort....a verse God gave her a long long time ago...

 

Matthew 19:29

And everyone who has left houses or brother or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

 

 God answered her prayer...He saw her heart....He gave her His promise and His comfort!                    Oh How He Loves Us!

We grieve their missing presence in our lives....for now... We know that we will see them again and thanks to the technology of SKYPE we will see them via the net! 

 

Happy Birthday Sarah....

Would you like to bless a child on behalf of a special teenage girl?!  Our friends sweet daughter, Sarah just turned 15!  For her birthday this humble orphan loving girl was asking for donations towards bringing home a special boy also 15, who needs a forever family and is running out of time! 

You can read her blog and story here

Happy Birthday Sarah! We love you and are blessed by your heart!

 

The Storms of Life!

On Tuesday, August 6th our area was hit with 5 tornadoes!  Roger and I were awakened by the incredible winds....our windows were blown open and we had a hard time closing them.  The house shook and I said "Is this a tornado? Should we get the kids up?"  Roger said we would be ok.... And we were.... Outside things were a different story. We lost power for 2 days...lost a tree in our front yard...and parts and pieces of things on the house and in the yard...but we are all ok!  We will be blessed to have a new roof put on....completely a blessing from God! Along with a few things to be repaired and replaced!  Thankful for our trials and storms....

 

I have been hit with some sort of infection in my throat.....I have had "bouts" of this 3 times since coming home from Ethiopia...but this one I cannot seem to kick!  It is kicking me!  Up and down for a good month now.....it is hard to keep the daily routines on track.... I would love prayers for my health as we head into the new school year and the arrival of our boys!

 

Saying Goodbye part 2......

A few days ago we got word that Roger's brother had passed away.  He was 60yrs. old and lived alone about 1.5 hours north of us.  Ray was the oldest of the kids.  He lived alone and chose that...we didn't see him much...I think I have only seen him 3 times since I met Roger...21yrs ago.  So sad for the family.  We will be up there for the funeral in a few days to say a final good bye to Ray. 

 

David and Jonathan Update

Well we did not get the "miracle" we spoke of....but we are really ok.  As I have said before, I would get on a plane tomorrow if it was time, but it is so very clear to us that God is setting the pace and the perfect time for their arrival!  Most of it is about Levi....but there are other things He is working out!  We are anxious to bring them home...and that looks like it may be October...or even November...  For now we are waiting to hear of a court date...and praying for the boys continued progress in their foster home!  We will keep you all posted!

 

 

With love,

In His Embrace

laurie