He Is Enough

He Is Enough

That moment when you realize
That all you have learned isn't enough.
All that you have walked through,
All you have felt,
All you are.

When the heart is trampled and torn,
weary and worn,
Raw;

When the tears are silently streaming,
or coming in torrents,
Falling;

Then, oh my soul, 
Look up! 
Behold Your God! 
Trust.
Rest.
Believe.

He is enough. 
He is enough. 
He is enough. 

No More Lies!

No more sorrow. No more tears. 

No more goodbyes. No more fears. 

Endless Joy, 

Boundless, free. 

This, with Christ, 

Is Eternity.

These are all beautiful thoughts we have about our eternal home, heaven. And they are all true! What an amazing reality we will have one day. But I would add some more things we don't usually think about, that are all similar: 

no more lies. 

no more deception. 

no more falsehood. 

I was reading Psalm 63 last month and this verse practically jumped off the page at me: 

But the king will rejoice in God;

Everyone who swears by Him will glory,

For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

Psalm 63:11

I read it over and over. Could it really be? One day the mouths of all liars will be stopped? I became downright giddy over this thought and almost broke out in the doxology! For some reason, whenever i thought of heaven, i had not thought about this truth.  I mean, i knew it, but how often do you hear this specifically?  This one verse filled me with so much hope and joy that morning!

This truth hit me so hard because i have been surrounded by lies and deception throughout my life. I have heard more lies than the average person, and that is not an exaggeration. I will not go into detail here, but i can tell you that it is exhausting.  

And it happens among professing Christians.

Just today i stumbled across something that someone had written that was full of lies, falsehood, slander, and full of malice...and it hurt. It hurt that people i love dearly were accused wrongly. It hurt that this person lashed out at the very people who had loved them, including me. 

But then i remembered God.

I remembered that He is the righteous Judge. 

HE IS TRUTH. 

And one day, the truth will be known. That situation where you have been falsely accused, lied about, slandered, deceived? He knows! He is your Shield and Defender! Even if it is never sorted out while you trod this earth, the truth will be made known that final day. Entrust yourself to Christ Jesus!

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;   1 Peter 2:21-23

This verse (Psalm 63:11) is also very sobering, because if there will be no lies, falsehood, or deception in heaven, that means that those who lie and slander and do not repent are going to be separated from Jesus Christ forever. It motivates me to pray for them, to pray for their eyes to be opened and for them to repent and come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I pray that they will turn from their sin and turn to the Saviour. 

For those of us who are in Christ, we can rejoice that there is no falsehood in Him. We can trust Him completely. All His words are life and truth. We can turn to the living Word of God (Hebrews 4:12) and find rest, encouragement, exhortation, love, and TRUTH. And one day, we will be in the very presence of PERFECT TRUTH forever. 

No more sorrow. No more tears. 

No more goodbyes. No more fears. 

No more lies. No more falsehood.

No more deception. All is TRUTH.

Endless Joy, 

Boundless, free. 

This, with Christ, 

Is Eternity.

Take My Life, updated by Jadon Lavik

The hymn "Take My Life" by Frances Ridley Havergal is one of my favorite consecration hymns. She wrote the hymn in 1874 after a wonderful time of realizing that "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7. What a glorious truth! I had a moment like that last October, and my life has not been the same since. Here is an updated version of that great hymn that a friend sent to me :)

Kindness Extended

Strength to Breathe

I love, love, love this song by Plumb.

The Falling Rain

The song i am about to share is just raw. It is raw and beautiful, open and honest. I wonder how long he sat in silence before the Lord, crying out for the rain to stop, before he finally put the pen to paper? I wonder if the rain is still falling. This song has left me in tears every time i have heard it. I pray that this song will minister to you, as you and i travel this hard road home to heaven.

Peace. Be Still. 

Always

I always love this song.

If You Want Me To

There are times for me when a song is just so much better than all the words I could put here. This is one of those times.
But this song...
Just listen.
and pray.
and walk, one step at a time.

Sunday Song

This song has been on my mind for a couple weeks.




Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee.
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shall be.
Perish every fond ambition,
All I’ve sought or hoped or known.
Yet how rich is my condition!
God and heaven are still my own.

Let the world despise and leave me,
They have left my Savior, too.
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like them, untrue.
O while Thou dost smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate and friends disown me,
Show Thy face and all is bright.

Man may trouble and distress me,
’Twill but drive me to Thy breast.
Life with trials hard may press me;
Heaven will bring me sweeter rest.
Oh, ’tis not in grief to harm me
While Thy love is left to me;
Oh, ’twere not in joy to charm me,
Were that joy unmixed with Thee.

Go, then, earthly fame and treasure,
Come disaster, scorn and pain
In Thy service, pain is pleasure,
With Thy favor, loss is gain
I have called Thee Abba Father,
I have stayed my heart on Thee
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.

Soul, then know thy full salvation
Rise o’er sin and fear and care
Joy to find in every station,
Something still to do or bear.
Think what Spirit dwells within thee,
Think what Father’s smiles are thine,
Think that Jesus died to win thee,
Child of heaven, canst thou repine.

Haste thee on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith, and winged by prayer.
Heaven’s eternal days before thee,
God’s own hand shall guide us there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days,
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

Feel the Night

This song is exquisite.

Love

The theme lately seems to be love.
What is it? What does it look like? What does one expect?


What am i learning? Well, I am not ready to share all that here right now.
But i have been thinking. a lot.

There was an excellent sermon Sunday about 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

It was so good.
Then, we attended our Sunday School class, which is on marriage. The sermon was a perfect pairing with the session we watched in Paul Tripp's What Did You Expect video series.

All that has led to a lot of introspection. A lot of kneeling at the cross. A lot of processing in the best way.

And today i thought of this song...

Glitch

My apologies to everyone who gets an email notification of posts from here. Apparently Blogger and Google thought we all needed to re-read the post from last year on Gratitude! It was actually good for me to re-read right now!!

Make it Right

There are some days that I lose sight.
okay,
There are more days than not that i forget
That God's timing and plan
is very different than mine.

I forget that
here
in this fallen, broken world
things will not make sense.
things will hurt.
a lot.
and sometimes the pain
doesn't stop.
maybe,
just maybe,
it gets worse.

And so i cling to Christ
and He holds me fast.
He keeps me.
even when my grip
slips.


This song reminded me, once again, that in God's time, He will "take all that is wrong and make it right." It may not be until i reach heaven, but He WILL make all that is wrong right.
ALL of it.

quiet

it has been quiet here.
for sure.

but, it has NOT been quiet in life.
for sure.

so often i long for space.
time.
quiet.

to sit.
think.
write.
process.

but i have to do those things
surrounded by noise.

it is mostly a good noise.
the noise of a busy home.
children learning.
growing.
changing.

and so,
it may be quiet here.
at least for longer periods of time
than i may desire.

but know that
i, too, am thinking.
learning.
growing.
processing.

and some day
it may spill over
here.
some day.

Yes

Just, yes, is all i can say to this song.

High Falls

Last week we had the privilege of seeing the High Falls of the Pigeon River on the Minnesota-Canada border. They were just thundering down! There was mist no matter where you stood. It was absolutely breathtaking there. We enjoyed a week up North with another family, seeing the sights and exploring God's amazing creation.

Changes

pic credit

Ch, Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes....

I have to admit, i don't like change very much. It gets harder the older i get.

I DO like change when it comes to:
*the seasons
*moving furniture around
*going from dirty to clean (house, yard, room, dogs, kids, people!)
*a seed growing into a fruit, vegetable, flower

But in general, i kick at change.

Why?
Because it catapults me into the unknown.
It takes me out of my comfort zone.
It forces me to bend a little here, bend a little there.
Really,
it causes me to see my own weakness and lack of control over anything. 

And right now, i have a number of changes occurring.

and i am learning to lean in.
Lean in to CHRIST, my hiding place.
The One who NEVER changes. (Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.)
The One who isn't ashamed of me, of my flailings and my stumblings.
The One who picks me up, brushes off the dirt, and sets me back on the path.

So, i guess in a way,
i am thankful for change.
Why?
Because it causes me to draw ever nearer to my Beloved Lord.

Why Write?

photo credit

To Write, or Not to Write? THAT is the question!

I love writing. I have my own way of doing it. Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, yet it is a place for me to process the world. I write mostly in my journals. Sometimes it spills over here. I find writing privately certainly helps me figure out what i should and /or should NOT say publicly! Not every detail of life needs to be put here for the world to see. 

Suffice it to say that i have my fair share of trials and challenges. I also know that i have a Saviour who is faithful and who will never leave me or forsake me...ever.  I also have a deep well of joy that is not based on my circumstances, but is based on every promise of God's Word. 

I would like to write here more. I try to carve out time, yet it gets taken up with something else. My hope is to be able to write more of my thoughts here, as i think on and apply the Word to life in the here-and-now.  

for now, i end up quoting other people or posting songs that are encouraging and challenging to me. 

hopefully i will be able to have some more time to write as school winds down. 

(:

A Song and a Prayer

This song by Fernando Ortega has long been a favorite of mine. I first heard it back in the mid-90's and remember being struck by the simple beauty of it. It quickly became the cry of my heart.

1 Peter 1:13-16 says:

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 

This song is a prayer to be more like Jesus, to be more holy. By His grace, He will do that work in our hearts and lives by the power of His Spirit. What a beautiful song to sing and offer as a prayer to our Great Savior and our Glorious God. May we ever be growing more and more like our beautiful Jesus. May He grow more precious to us day by day.

Trusting in Jesus

One night i had been reflecting on The End, what it means to stand before Holy God... on and on. I think you get it. I can get a bit unnerved at times when thinking about it.

The next morning after my alarm went off, this song came on that had encouraged me so many other times before. How sweet and tender of my heavenly Father to orchestrate it to play that morning. I was, once again, put at complete peace, being able to completely trust in Jesus when that Day comes.