He Is Risen

The earth shook with the news. He is not here; He is risen! And in that moment, joy replaced despair, hope pushed past fear, and life conquered deathnot just that day, but for eternity. We celebrate the resurrection of Christ for what it meant then and what it means for us every day a sacrifice that brings forgiveness, renewal, and peace to any of us who put our faith in Jesus.

No matter where we are or what burdens we might be carrying, we have reason to give thanks and praise for the unmatched love of our Savior

As we celebrate the blessings of Easter, may we experience a rebirth and renewal that courses through our hearts and minds, spilling over into our lives and our communities throughout the year.

He is risen indeed.

הר הזיתים



Mt of Olives Jewish Cemetery

My husband and daughter just returned safely home from the most amazing adventure of a lifetime. Visiting the Holy Land.

Seeing God in everything

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

—Ecclesiastes 3:11—

I read this devo from a WOF email by Sheila Walsh. It was just so good I wanted to read over and over.

"Nineteenth-century theologian Charles Finney said, “A state of mind that sees God in everything is evidence of growth in grace and a thankful heart.” When I came across that statement, I wrote it in my notebook, and it became a daily challenge for me. Like me, do you also acknowledge that God is in everything but struggle to see God’s hand in everything that is happening right now, in your daily life?

This is exactly why I have become devoted to express worship weekly by keeping a list of gratitudes. Through that discipline I've truly learned to see God in even the smallest of things like a dewy leaf in a parking lot.

What are you dealing with right now that you don’t remember signing up for? I think of those waiting for medical test results—for themselves or a loved one, maybe even a child—that may well determine the path their lives will follow. I think of a female soldier during the war in Iraq who wrote to say that listening to Women of Faith audiotapes was sometimes the only thing that kept her sane when she saw friends die.

This year has been somewhat of a harsh reality for our family. Filled with healths ups and downs...admittedly more downs.


Harsh realities that intrude into our lives can make it hard to recognize the fact that our God is always present. But some of the greatest surprises to me on this spiritual journey are those moments when it becomes clear that God has been faithfully cultivating my heart—those times when things don’t go as planned but I do see God is in control.


These moments don't have to be extreme, life-and-death situations. Often it’s in the little things that we see God's work. That is grace, and it is a gift."

~Sheila Walsh~

Let's not waste a day

 

He has not given us a spirit of fear

I tend towards fear. I'm not sure when this occurred but I think it coincided with my first pregnancy.

Irrational...even silly things. Everything from A-Z
I've decided I'm just going to devote a whole post to the craziness.
For now I rehearse that He has given me a sound mind and a spirit of power and love.
I sit here to what has become my favorite part of the week, Reminiscing and celebrating on how I'm doing better than I deserve and giving great thanks to the One who provides.

Solar flare. Courtesy of Nasa.gov

Aurora over Tromso Norway by Robert Korizek just days ago

Jewels and bangles at JoAnns

#342-354

• My Revlon square tip tweezers. I have an irrational fear of becoming the bearded lady. (post to follow soon:)
• JoAnn Fabrics (I don't sew but still spend hours meticulously going through every isle)
• A massive solar flare ( I love His mysteries and when His creation shows off for us) The solar storms started hurtling at Earth on March 6th from a massive solar flare. This is the biggest solar storm the Earth has seen since 2004 and sent charged particles speeding towards us at 600 miles per second.
• Trader Joe's Chocolate
• Signs of spring
• Watching and listening as my Rebecca and Reece make amazing music
• HGTV House Hunters International...even though I've discovered the secret that the home is already picked out before filming. I still get excited and love trying to figure it out
• My sweet husband who is up for just about any adventure
• A groovy blog friend Nicole who spiffs things up in this space for me. She is a genius!
• Reliable top notch health care. We are very blessed in this country!
• A new realization of Invisible Children the the movement Kony 2012
• Sparkly things
• Watching my Reece run like the wind

Take Root and Bear Fruit

Staying true to the premise...

1st thought and 5 minutes.
Taking the plunge with Lisa-Jo and a throng of other fun women for 5 min of writing. Come what may, come what might.

Our word this week:


EMPTY

go

A Bible student went to a wise man and said, "Will you teach me what you've learned about God?" The man invited him into his house and replied, "I'll be glad to, but first let me pour you a cup of coffee." The young man held out his cup as the man poured it until it was full, but kept pouring until it was overflowing.

The student said, "Stop! The coffee is spilling out. The cup can't hold any more." The wise man said, "This is your first lesson. When you are full of yourself, there is no room for God. If you want God to fill you up, you must first empty yourself."

EMPTY... "Lord help me empty myself of ME. Help me be entirely full of You".

Through emptiness we can come to a full relationship with Him.

It is allowing ourselves to give up our pride and make our hearts truly a place in which Christ can abide. Then allow the love of Christ to flow in.



If we find that we are unhappy, discouraged, bitter, angry, etc, it is likely that this is the direct result of being full of ourselves.

I read recently that there is a clear connection between self-centeredness and the inability to experience joy.

Only if we are emptied of self can the word of God take root in us, bring us understanding and then bear its fruit.

stop

Still waters

1,000 Word Thursday
 


Thumb Lake Michigan

He leads me beside the still waters...

Psalm 23:2

40 sextillion stars

Wednesday's Word

Milky over Ontario by Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn

Milky-Way Nasa.gov

Isaiah 40:26

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.

Our solar system has approximately 40,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars. In other words 40 sextillion stars. H O L Y!!!
Not only did He create them...each one, but He knows them each by name!
If that doesn't put things in perspective then nothing will.
He knows our names, our needs, our desires, our struggles, our fears, our longings, our humor and funny bone, our dreams and aspirations, our motivations, our goals, our physiology and so on and so forth.

I don't know about anyone else but i will say this, I am stilled, paused, in awe and in Love with God Almighty the Creator of a vast universe who flung the stars into the heavenlies and knows me, my inward parts and my name.
Praise be to Him...I love you Dad!

The only people for me

Tuesday's Quote

The only people for me are the mad ones,

The ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time,

the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing,

but burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars...

~ Jack Kerouac~

Blessed better than I deserve

Another year wiser...I pray.
Blessed better than I deserve. Rich with family, breath, friends and a warm home. Any food I could dream up, shoes on my feet and cars that faithfully take me about.

As a continual act of worship I count my gratitude with a posse of other women over at Ann with out the fanciful 'e''s place. Join us... Grab and run

♥

# 325-341

• Comrades that become sisters then love on my family
• Friends that will drive 150+ miles to celebrate my life
• Mascara that promises great things
• Dress up and makeup
• Making cute blogs HERE

along with

• Free Pretty Things for your blog
• Cakes that look like cupcakes
• March snow
• The Buffalo Exchange
• Portland at night
• Funny glasses and hats
• "Do you have any questions"..."Yes I was wondering where your dressing room is"..."Oh I don't work here I was just wondering if you had questions"....lol
• Pretty necklaces
• Pay it forward cards
• "Honey, when I said to bring over a hot dish, I was not talking about a green bean casserole."
• Flowers Flowers everywhere
• Colorful tissue paper