Our Lips For Him

Our Lips For Him

The lips of the righteous feed many...The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable.

   Proverbs 10:21, 32

The days are past forever when we said, "Our lips are our own." Now we know that they are not our own. And yet how many of my readers often have the miserable consciousness that they have "spoken unadvisedly with their lips!" How many pray, "Keep the door of my lips,"when the very last thing they think of expecting is that they will be kept! They deliberately make up their minds that hasty word, or foolish words, or exaggerated words, according to their respective temptations, must and will slip out of that door, and that it can't be helped. The extent of the real meaning of their prayer was merely that not quite so many might slip out. As their faith went no farther, the answer went no farther, and so the door was not kept. Do let us look the matter straight in the face. Either we have committed our lips to our Lord, or we have not. This question must be settled first. If not, oh, do not let another hour pass! Take them to Jesus, and ask Him to take them. But when you have committed them to Him, it comes to this--is He able or is He not able to keep that which you have committed to Him? If He is not able, of course you may as well give up at once, for your own experience has abundantly proved that you are not able, so there is no help for you. But if He is able--nay, thank God there is no if on this side!--say, rather, as He is able, where was this inevitable necessity of perpetual failure? You have been fancying yourself virtually doomed and fated to it, and therefore you have gone on in it, while all the time His arm was not shortened that it could not save, but you have been limiting the Holy One of Israel. Honestly, now, have you trusted Him to keep your lips this day? Trust necessarily implies expectation that what we have intrusted will be kept. If you have not expected Him to keep, you have not trusted. You may have tried and tried very hard, but you have not trusted, and therefore you have not been kept and your lips have been the snare of your soul (Proverbs 18:7).  ~ Frances R. Havergal

Be Not Weary

Be Not Weary.

Yes! He knows the way is dreary,

Knows the weakness of our frame. 

Knows that hand and heart are weary

He, 'in all points,' felt the same.

He is near to help and bless;

Be not weary, onward press.

Look to Him who once was willing

All His glory to resign,

That, for thee the law fulfilling,

All His merit might be thine.

Strive to follow day by day

Where His footsteps mark the way.

Look to Him, the Lord of Glory,

Tasting death to win thy life;

Gazing on 'that wondrous story,'

Canst thou falter in the strife?

Is it not new life to know

That the Lord hath loved thee so!

Look to Him who ever liveth, 

Interceding for His own:

Seek, yea, claim the grace He giveth

Freely from His priestly throne.

Will He not thy strength renew

With His Spirit's quickening dew?

Look to Him, and faith shall brighten,

Hope shall soar, and love shall burn;

Peace once more thy heart shall lighten;

Rise ! He calleth thee, return !

Be not weary on they way, 

Jesus is thy strength and stay. 

~Frances Ridley Havergal

Is God Nice?

What Comes After....

Light after Darkness

By Frances Ridley Havergal

Light after darkness, gain after loss,
Strength after weakness, crown after cross;
Sweet after bitter, hope after fears,
Home after wandering, praise after tears.

Sheaves after sowing, sun after rain,
Sight after mystery, peace after pain;
Joy after sorrow, calm after blast,
Rest after weariness, sweet rest at last.

Near after distant, gleam after gloom,
Love after loneliness, life after tomb;
After long agony, rapture of bliss,
Right was the pathway, leading to this.

Confused?

I have a very confused flower in my garden. It is a beautiful Iris. It bloomed wonderfully for me in May, and has now decided to grace us with beautiful blooms at the end of.... October!

We have had a freakishly warm October, and it is certainly confusing some little plants :).

Since this picture was taken, the flower has had 2 beautiful blooms open up fully, which then were used to grace the inside of our home! Now, there are 2 more blooms ready to go !! 

So grateful for simple pleasures, like an Iris blooming unexpectedly. 

This Good Day

Today, I got in the van to go to the library with the kids, and turned on the disc that was in. It was Fernando Ortega (a favorite around here). I went to his song "This Good Day" and it was just perfect. Rain clouds come. Cold winds blow. But i know Who is in charge of it all... my heavenly Father.

okay... here is a cool side note: This video here is from his dvd "Live in St. Paul". Guess who is in the audience? Yep... Brian and I :). We own the dvd, and have spotted ourselves in it. I was about a week out from my due date with our 3rd child at the concert! 

Fernando Ortega - This Good Day Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Morning sun, morning glories
Pouring down the hill
Through my window
I can feel the ocean breeze

Noisy sparrows fill the oak trees
Swallows can't stay still
And in the glad commotion
Lord, You speak to me

If rain clouds come
Or the cold winds blow
You're the one who goes before me
And in my heart I know

That this good day, it is a gift from You
The world is turning in its place
Because You made it to
I lift my voice to sing a song of praise
On this good day

I will walk to woodman's cove
The fishing boats are leaving
Seagulls follow just above the water

I will wait until the sunset
Brings them home again
Rigging lines and anchors in the harbor

If rain clouds come
Or the cold winds blow
You're the one who goes before me
And in my heart I know

This good day, it is a gift from You
The world is turning in its place
Because You made it to
I lift my voice to sing a song of praise
On this good day

If rain clouds come
Or the cold winds blow
You're the one who goes before me
And in my heart I know

This good day, it is a gift from You
The world is turning in its place
Because You made it to
This good day, it is a gift from You
The world is turning in its place
Because You made it to
I lift my voice to sing a song of praise
On this good day

Songwriters
ORTEGA, JUAN F./SCHREINER, JOHN ANDREW

Blowing in the Wind

from freevector.com

I have been taking walks in the morning for about 5 weeks now. It is a time i need. A time for me to gather my wits about me for the day ahead. A time to pray. A time to think. A time to plan.

This morning, the walk seemed extra beautiful. The air was much cooler. It was windy. The Fall colors have been amazing the past 10 days. Today, the leaves were falling off of their trees, blowing around, swirling in driveways.

I stood amazed at the wonder of it all. Feeling small in the shadows of the great oaks and poplars, maples and elms. Thinking of how great our God is. How amazing His creation. These walks have helped me to take more time to give Him the praise and thanks due Him. How awesome He is, to paint the trees every Fall with such ardent colors!

Watching these leaves, i stood in awe. They loose their bonds from the great trees that bore them in the Spring, to make room for new leaves the next year. But they don't just fizzle away. NO! they glow, and burn, and dance on their way out. They are free. As i watched the leaves all around me, i noticed a dance. They seem to dance on their way out. Dancing and singing praise to God in their own way. Each leaf unique. Each leaf beautiful. Each leaf dying, to make room for new growth.

Today, i was thankful for walks in the morning. For time with God. For His beauty reflected in creation.

I was also thankful for freedom. Freedom to let go and to trust Christ with every detail.

Need This

Happy Consequences -or- A Disposition of Gratitude

Gratitude: The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
Disposition: A person's inherent qualities of mind and character. (thanks, google, for simple definitions.)

I am generally a grateful person. At times, i fail, as we all do. I grumble and complain that i don't have this and that. I look at what others have that i don't, and get grumpy. I can pout. i know, shocking! ;)

I notice that i can get less and less thankful for what i DO have, and more and more hungry for the things this world tells me i need. When that starts to happen, i also lose sight of the "good" in my life, as i am so focused on the negatives. I begin to major on the minors, if you know what i mean. Suddenly, the faucet in my bathroom looks ugly, because....didn't you see that really cool one in the magazine? Suddenly my closet seems to have nothing in it (when in all actuality, my closet is bursting with clothes), because....didn't you see all those really nice, new clothes at the store (and i ain't talkin' 'bout the thrift store).
NOTE: I am a very thrifty shopper and do enjoy thrift stores!! Sometimes though...

Do you see what happens so quickly? We get our eyes off of Christ, and onto the things of this world, and we get hooked. We get ensnared. We can grow a love in our hearts for this world that surpasses our love of Christ, which is idolatry by the way.

How do we combat this?

The most important way is by renewing our minds in the Word of God. We are to fix our eyes on Christ, and one great way of doing that is starting the day with a time of Scripture reading.  I have been camped out in the Epistles lately. Man! That will give you some serious perspective!
Philippians 4:11-13 says,

"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Another way is to study in Scripture what we are to "put off" and "put on". We are to put off discontentment and covetousness, and put on contentment.  We are to put off enviousness and put on the quality of rejoicing with others.

I saw this card with a friend, and purchased it. it says
Happy Birthday on top. This card captures how i
want to live my life: FREE and full of joy in
Christ, with hands opened and eyes to Him.

A great way to develop contentedness and gratefulness is with a list. This past weekend, i had one of many great conversations with a dear friend. I had asked her what all the journals were that she kept (there were four of them!). One caught my attention: it was a journal for her to list the good things in her life, and the things she was grateful for. I was honest enough to say that i just hadn't done that since it seemed to be so "trendy" for a while. Yet, when she was sharing her heart behind why she does it, something clicked. I realized that there are so many good things in my life, and that writing them down would help me to remember. To remember God's goodness, provision, blessing, help, and strength. To see just how many good things there are on any given day. I have begun my own little book, and i am calling it: Good Things -or- A Disposition of Gratitude: A Journal. It has been a most excellent exercise. Today was my 2nd day writing in it, and it was already a beautiful thing to look back over yesterday's entries.
Here are just a few things in it:

• a walk in the crisp Autumn air as the world wakes up.
• friends around our table for food and fellowship.
• our space heater!
• flowers (roses, gaillardia, tall asters, daisies, ring flowers) in the house from my garden in mid-October.
• lego creations from scratch.
• music! music! music! 
• salvation.
• my Bible
• the book of Proverbs
• a long conversation and prayer with a child: difficult and beautiful at the same time.
• walks with my husband.
• laughter. 
• sunshine and a friend.
• a new kitchen timer.

Today, i took my kids to the Dollar Tree and had them each pick out a little notebook. I bought new pens. We took them home and then i explained what they were for. I had them each start their own Good Things, or gratefulness journal. One of my kids called theirs "Good Things or Happy Consequences". We keep them in a little basket in the living room so that they don't get lost, and so they can fill them in any time they want. They keep their new pens with the journals. I think it will be a treasure to them in months to come, as they remember all the "little" things, and the not-so-little things. 

Happy Consequences. Just makes my heart smile.

Some Days

There are some days when you have to sing this song to yourself often.