Grace

Indescribable grace fills this heart until it is bubbling over. His grace saturates and illuminates the life of this unworthy sinner. And the words won't come. No mere words to pour out this uncontainable joy and gratitude and thanksgiving. Just tears of bliss trail down my face. These tears are my offering, my praise to the Giver of life. I pray that these tears express the words I cannot speak.

Levi Joseph

gift from God ...
healthy...
beautiful...
precious son of my beloved daughter

"Grandchildren are the crown of the aged..." Proverbs 17:6

Three Questions

Lamb of God

Promises with Patience

Patience. It brings such blessings in life, yet living it out can be a struggle to achieve. We aren't the first to face the challenges patience brings. Sarah wanted a child so badly, but she began to doubt that God would fill this void in her heart. Because of the doubt, she decied to take matters into her own hands. Making a dire compromise, she caused herself more heartache. Through her mistake we learn a vital lesson. God's best comes in God's time, not ours!

The Lord has a plan and purpose for our lives, and we trust that He is attentive to each detail. We rest in the promise that He will give us the desires of our heart. Of course, those desires will be met according to His sovereign plan. Being the carnal creatures we are, we would like to know the timeline He has lain out. Our lives revolve around time. From birth to death, wake to sleep, we tend to get wrapped up in clocks and calendars. We like an element of predictability in the spontaneity of life.

Sometimes, after we have prayed that the Lord will grant us the desires of heart, we begin to think He isn't listening. I'm guilty of stumbling into this state of mind. But like Sarah, I've learned that God is listening, He does care, and He has a perfect plan for each of us. That's what I want, His best. I trust in His promises. I pray for great patience.

Autumn is Whispering

Yes, the leaves are green, though not as crisp in color as I observed a few weeks past. As I sit this evening, gazing out my closed windows I can almost hear the leaves rustling as wind caresses each tree. Long shadows are cast on the already browning grass. I picture the sun setting, dipping below tall trees and finally disappearing behind the dried stalks of corn.

It is all too delightful to let what my eyes drink in quench all five senses. I pick myself up and, one by one, I open each window in my red farmhouse. The breeze of this 73 degree evening embraces me as a companion at the end of a long absence, greeting me with refreshing familiarity. I notice the air smells not of summer anymore, but that leafy, early fall scent floats in and soothes me as I inhale deeply.

Though this autumnal visit may be brief for now, it's as if autumn is whispering, I'll soon return to bring you breezy days and cool nights, scents of burning leaves and mulled cider, and the beauty of colorful trees, rustling, all exclaiming the majesty of the LORD.

Jessica

The Heart Revealed

"...for out the the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." -Matthew 12:34

“It’s not so much what you say

As the manner in which you say it;

It’s not so much the language you use

As the tone in which you convey it;

"Come here!" I sharply said,

And the child cowered and wept.

“Come here”, I said –

He looked and smiled

And straight to my lap he crept.

Words may be mild and fair

And the tone may pierce like a dart;

Words may be soft as the summer air

But the tone may break my heart;

For words come from the mind

Grow by study and art –

But tone leaps from the inner self

Revealing the state of the heart.

Whether you know it or not,

Whether you mean or care,

Gentleness, kindness, love and hate,

Envy, anger, are there.

Then, would you quarrels avoid

And peace and love rejoice?

Keep anger not only out of your words –

Keep it out of your voice.”

~Author Unknown