West

Sometimes you may have a dream...

a prayer...

that's been with you for what seems like forever...

(view from the car)

long carried hopes...

long awaited prayers...

(first day out West!!! ID)

in the expanse of the LORD'S time and plan,

they have not been too late,

nor have they been

unanswered...

(view of the mountains, that seem to be everywhere!)

His understanding and wisdom is unsearchable...

His faithfulness unending...

(View from Oregon Trail)

In every season of life,

whether in waiting...

(Oregon Trail)

or in answered hopes...

dwell with Him and feed on His faithfulness,

because...

He is Good.

(Favorite view of mine)

"Trust in the Lord, and do good;

dwell in the land,

and feed

on His faithfulness." Ps. 37:3

When He opens His hands

Oftentimes...

I lift my hands up,

to be filled,

or to give.

I know this now,

or at least I should have learned this by now...

and so I do it,

maybe after a great struggle,

or a "sometimes it's just easy to bend" struggle of the wills,

either way...

I want to do this...

I want to be open to His will,

but sometimes,

sometimes,

what He brings, or what He shows,

or what He gives,

it overwhelms.

My hands lay at my sides,

because that is all that I can do.

How can this be,

when He opens His hands.

I deserve nothing,

but He gives from the depths of His riches,

His goodness,

His mercy

and love...

How He acts on our behalf,

I am in awe,

my heart can only beat it's thanks sometimes,

because words do, so often, fail.

Sometimes,

sometimes,

I...

but

always,

always,

He...

These all look to You,
to give them their food in due season.
When You give it to them, they gather it up;
when You open your hand, they are filled with good things.

Psalm 104:27-28

Saturdays...

Saturdays are for

cleaning,

baking,

mending,

creating,

preparing.

Looking back,

and looking forward.

An ending of the past week,

and yet, a stepping stone

into what lies ahead.

They are simple days,

where no one sees...

they are crazy days,

where lives are shown.

These are times for living life,

and doing what is shown...

looking forward to what lies

ahead and what is not seen.

Pressing on in the normal,

the tiresome,

the same,

same,

same...

because that's where

we are tested.

That's where our colors are proved...

that's where it matters,

where it counts.

“I the LORD, search the heart

and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways,

according to the fruit of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:10

Saturdays are for living...

for breathing in and out,

for thanking Him for every moment,

for not turning back,

for pressing on,

for trusting in His goodness,

for remembering,

for loving,

for living...

Open Hands

Photo credit, not mine :)

There it is again...

that picture in my mind,

that feeling.

I run my hands, those hands that

momma said were so gentle, so tender...

and I say,

so

empty.

I run them through the sand. Warm on top,

cool and dark underneath.

The sand is cupped within my two hands...

still and soft

but then,

I begin to open...

That feeling,

it seeps between my fingers,

falling,

falling.

That feeling when my fingers loose their grip and the

sand just melts away,

blowing in the breeze.

The feeling of openness...

open hands.

It is with me a lot these days;

that feeling

that picture.

I see the sand, as it blows away in the wind...

My natural instinct is to clench my fists,

to roll them into a tight ball.

Then comes defiance with the feeling of loss...

If I cannot be filled with what I desire,

then let me be empty!

I must open my hands to emptiness.

Oh, how fragile I feel.

I must open my empty and barren places,

to be filled.

Oh, how helpless I feel.

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away,

blessed be the name of the Lord."

taken from Job 1:21

Open hands,

willing to receive from Jehovah our Provider,

and to give freely back to the Great I AM.

Clenching will not help.

There is a beauty and peace that comes from open hands

before our God and a knowing...

that He is good.

But in the filling,

the growth and swelling...

it must give.

It must give with groans of pain,

pressing through with every ounce of strength.

To be filled, you must give.

Fullness, I want it.

I yearn for it....

and I have found,

that He fills.

Sometimes I rail against His filling.

"Not there Lord! Here! Here!"

But I do know that He cares and that He wants

to fill.

Perhaps not the exact place where we want it,

but fill nonetheless.

He desires us to bear,

to bring forth life,

fruit for His glory.

To swell with His goodness...

open hands,

ready to let go,

to give,

and to be filled

again.

"... to know the love of Christ

which passes knowledge; that you may

be filled with all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:19

(written February 2011)

Small Towns, Big Memories

Pultneyville, NY

There is just something about small towns that draw me in.

Maybe it's their simplicity, or maybe it's just because

what you see, is what you get.

Whatever it is,

I have always loved them.

I'm a small town girl.

This town, on the edge of Lake Ontario, is just that.

Farm land is on every side of this quaint little town

that curves along the edge of the shore.

The Americana colors are everywhere,

along with the smell of the water and the warm breeze that

is always present in the summer.

It owns some of the most beautiful sunsets as well...

colors so sweet and smooth, rich and changing.

I have always loved to look out across a Great Lake or ocean

and just look and look,

as far as I can.

It makes me realize how small I am, and how big

He is.

How vast His creation is, what an artist He is,

how beautiful...

He is.

I want to see the Lord's beauty and goodness in

everything.

The "small"...

towns,

people,

days,

lives,

jobs,

chores,

dreams,

hopes,

sorrows,

joys,

pains...

and the "big".

His care is evident. His wisdom is written across the sky.

Press on...

to know

Him.

"So let us know,

let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.

His going forth is established as the morning;

And He will come to us like the rain..."

Hosea 6:3

From Where I've Been

Looking Back...

from where I've been,

remembering

what

He

has done.

It's a new year, and

I have so many ideas and plans and dreams

and hopes for this new year,

but,

I also have a few doubts and misgivings and fears

and frustrations that,

while just looking ahead, make me wonder,

but,

it's in the looking back where I find

hope for the future.

It is when I remember where I've been with the Lord;

how He has been Faithful in all

circumstances,

how He has blessed me immeasurably,

guided me continually,

loved me consistently,

and brought me through to a new

year, lacking nothing that He says I need.

Fear the Lord ye His saints: for nothing wanteth to them that fear Him. Ps. 34:9

This year didn't turn out quite like how

I had planned, does it ever?

But one thing that I can set my full trust upon

is the Truth of God's word and His unchanging nature.

He fails not.

He is always good.

I will trust in Him.

So...

looking back

I gain faith to look forward into this new year,

full of hope and trust in His perfect will.

He is preserving His children.

"Love ye the Lord all His saints: for the Lord

preserveth the faithful, and rewardeth abundantly

the proud doer.

All ye that trust in the Lord, be strong and

He shall establish your heart." Ps. 31:23-24

Our soul waiteth for the LORD;

He is our help and our shield.

Psalm 33:20

"And He gave them their request,

But sent leanness into their

soul."

Psalm 106:15

I have often read this verse, but not always

have I understood it in a way that I do now.

I remember reading about the Israelites

on their journey through the wilderness...

how long it took them, how they thirsted and

hungered and complained and tested God through it all.

I remember how the Lord was patient with them,

how He waited for them, and waited for them, and waited for them...

and how they could not wait for Him.

I remember how He gave them their request...

what a breath of fresh air, a relief, a dream

come true!

Finally. They got their way...

Often times, that is how I feel...

but here, in this verse, it tells me a different

story.

It tells a story of leanness, of want and

perhaps of loss. Not of gain...

except

in the sense of temporary fulfillment.

In times of waiting, we are tested.

"You have tested my heart;

You have visited me in the

night;"

Psalm 17:3a

The Lord is always watching and waiting...

"Behold, the eye of the Lord

is on those who fear Him,

On those who hope in His

mercy."

Psalm 33:18

Sometimes, we must wait as well.

I do not want leanness of soul.

I do not want my requests answered,

only to find that while I have all

of my desires fulfilled, I find that my heart

and soul are lean.

I want to receive all that the Lord has

set for me,

whether it be years of waiting

or years of fast answers.

I do not want to miss all that He may do

in my life, because I am too impatient,

selfish and grumbling...

but instead, I want to trust Him completely.

To know that He does all things well,

He is Good.

"For the word of the Lord is

right,

And all His work is done in

truth."

Psalm 33:4

I will bless the LORD who has

given me counsel;

My heart also instructs me

in the night seasons.

I have set the Lord always

before me;

Because He is at my right

hand I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad,

and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will rest in

hope.

Psalm 16:7-9

From Everlasting, to Everlasting...

My grandfather and my mother.

But the mercy of the Lord is

from everlasting to

everlasting

On those who fear Him,

And His righteousness to

children's children,

To such as keep His

covenant,

And to those who remember

His commandments to do

them.

Psalm 103:17-18

WHO TEACHETH LIKE HIM?

John 12:24

"A corn of wheat" I hold within my hand;

Bare grain it is-a hard, uncomely thing;

I let it fall into the ground and die

And lo! therefrom I see new life upspring;

A shoot; a blade; then ears of ripened corn!

What fruitage from that one small seed is born!

Which thing a parable to me becomes-

Myself, a seed- will but a seed remain

Till I consent, as did my Lord, to die

And so bring forth rich yield of golden grain.

He taught me this, by parable and cross:

My life to gain, of life to suffer loss.

Thomas O. Chisholm

As for man, his days are like

grass;

As a flower of the field,

so he flourishes.

Psalm 103:15

Our lives are beautiful...

filled with Joy...

blessings...

Love...

laughter...

Goodness...

friendships...

family...

sorrows...

pain...

heartache...

discipline...

healing...

Faithfulness...

Mercy...

Hope...

years...

months...

weeks...

days...

hours...

minutes...

seconds...

heartbeats...

For the wind passes over it,

and it is gone,

And its place remembers it

no more.

Psalm 103:16

... But life is so short...

compared to

eternity.

Teach us to number our days...

For He knows our frame;

He remembers that we are

dust.

Psalm 103:14

This verse is a comfort to me...

He knows me...

my weaknesses...

my needs...

He understands everything about me.

He is so good.

He knows that I am dust.

Truly, I am.

From dust I came,

and to dust I return.

I am nothing without Him;

by His mercy alone,

I stand.

He gives grace to the humble...

and strength to the weak.

He is our God.

He knows...

As a father pities his children,

So the Lord pities those who

fear Him.

Psalm 103:13

For as the heavens are high

above the earth,

So great is His mercy toward

those who fear Him;

Psalm 103:11

When I was a little girl,

I used to look up into the sky at night

and feel so small.

It seemed so very far away...

so high...

so distant...

I could never measure its height,

nor its depth.

It was immense,

and even at such a young age,

I knew this with

feeling.

So...

when I read this verse,

it is amazing to me.

So great is His

mercy...

He has not dealt with us

according to our sins,

Nor punished us according to

our iniquities.

Psalm 103:10

I am so thankful for this.

He has bestowed on me far more than

I ever deserve.

We often think that we don't

deserve such and such,

but the fact is, we

deserve nothing.

But...

He

is merciful.

He has given us so much!

May we always be

thankful.

He will not always strive with

us,

Nor will He keep His anger

forever.

Psalm 103:9

Sometimes in life it feels

like the Lord is

not near, or like He doesn't care...

but this, is not true.

He may be bringing His discipline

for a time,

but He will not keep His

anger forever.

He is merciful,

and He helps us grow...

closer to Him.

He works Good in

our lives.

The Lord is merciful and

gracious,

Slow to anger,

and abounding in mercy.

Psalm 103:8

This is a good thing!