Pursue~Peace!!!

The Fruit Comes Afterward

The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. – Nah 1:3 KJV

I recollect, when a lad, and while attending a classical institute in the vicinity of Mount Pleasant, sitting on an elevation of that mountain, and watching a storm as it came up the valley. The heavens were filled with blackness, and the earth was shaken by the voice of thunder. It seemed as though that fair landscape was utterly changed, and its beauty gone never to return.

But the storm swept on, and passed out of the valley; and if I had sat in the same place on the following day, and said, “Where is that terrible storm, with all its terrible blackness?” the grass would have said, “Part of it is in me,” and the daisy would have said, “Part of it is in me,” and the fruits and flowers and everything that grows out of the ground would have said, “Part of the storm is incandescent in me.”

Have you asked to be made like your Lord? Have you longed for the fruit of the Spirit, and have you prayed for sweetness and gentleness and love? Then fear not the stormy tempest that is at this moment sweeping through your life. A blessing is in the storm, and there will be the rich fruitage in the “afterward.” —Henry Ward Beecher

The flowers live by the tears that fall 
From the sad face of the skies;
And life would have no joys at all, 
Were there no watery eyes.
Love thou thy sorrow: grief shall bring 
Its own excuse in after years;
The rainbow!—see how fair a thing 
God hath built up from tears.
—Henry S. Sutton

When is the time to trust?

When is the time to trust? 
Is it when all is calm, 
When waves the victor’s palm, 
And life is one glad psalm 
Of joy and praise?
Nay! but the time to trust
Is when the waves beat high,
When storm clouds fill the sky,
And prayer is one long cry,
O help and save!

When is the time to trust? 
Is it when friends are true? 
Is it when comforts woo, 
And in all we say and do 
We meet but praise?
Nay! but the time to trust 
Is when we stand alone, 
And summer birds have flown, 
And every prop is gone, 
All else but God.

What is the time to trust? 
Is it some future day, 
When you have tried your way, 
And learned to trust and pray 
By bitter woe?
Nay! but the time to trust 
Is in this moment’s need, 
Poor, broken, bruised reed! 
Poor, troubled soul, make speed 
To trust thy God.

What is the time to trust? 
Is it when hopes beat high, 
When sunshine gilds the sky, 
And joy and ecstasy 
Fill all the heart?
Nay! but the time to trust 
Is when our joy is fled, 
When sorrow bows the head, 
And all is cold and dead, 
All else but God.
—Selected

Whatever The Cost

Gen:

 22:16-18 :

" And said, 

By myself have I sworn, 

saith the Lord,

 for because thou hast done this thing, 

and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

 That in blessing I will bless thee, 

and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, 

and as the sand which is upon the sea shore;

 and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

 because thou hast obeyed my voice."

And from that day to this, men have been learning that when, at God’s voice, they surrender up to Him the one thing above all else that was dearest to their very hearts, that same thing is returned to them by Him a thousand times over.

 Abraham gives up his one and only son, at God’s call, and with this disappear all his hopes for the boy’s life and manhood, and for a noble family bearing his name. But the boy is restored, the family becomes as the stars and sands in number, and out of it, in the fullness of time, appears Jesus Christ.

That is just the way God meets every real sacrifice of every child of His.

 We surrender all and accept poverty; and He sends wealth. 

We renounce a rich field of service;

 He sends us a richer one than we had dared to dream of. 

We give up all our cherished hopes, and die unto self;

 He sends us the life more abundant, and tingling joy.

 And the crown of it all is our Jesus Christ. 

For we can never know the fullness of the life that is in Christ until we have made Abraham’s supreme sacrifice.

 The earthly founder of the family of Christ must commence by losing himself and his only son, just as the Heavenly Founder of that family did. 

We cannot be members of that family with the full privileges and joys of membership upon any other basis. 

{C. G. Trumbull}

We sometimes seem to forget that what God takes He takes in fire; 

and that the only way to the resurrection life and the ascension mount is the way of the garden, the cross, and the grave.

Think not, O soul of man,

 that Abraham’s was a unique and solitary experience.

 It is simply a specimen and pattern of God’s dealings with all souls who are prepared to obey Him at whatever cost. 

After thou hast patiently endured, thou shalt receive the promise.

 The moment of supreme sacrifice shall be the moment of supreme and rapturous blessing.

 God’s river, which is full of water, shall burst its banks, and pour upon thee a tide of wealth and grace.

 There is nothing, indeed, which God will not do for a man who dares to step out upon what seems to be the mist;

 though as he puts down his foot he finds a rock beneath him. 

{F. B. Meyer}

Source: Daily Streams

What a wonderful day to Celebrate!!!!

Psalm 
124:8 "our help is in the name of the LORD, 
Who made heaven and earth"

 125:1 "Those who trust in the LORD Are like Mount Zion,
 Which cannot be moved, but abides forever." 

 126:3,5-6 "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad;
 Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy; 
 He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, 
 Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him." 

 127:1,3-5a "Unless the LORD builds the house They labor in vain who build it; 
 Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain; 
 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. 
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth.
 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them:
 They shall not be ashamed," 

 128:1 "Blessed is every one who fears the LORD Who walks in His ways."



 These are some encouraging words from the Lord today.

Today we are celebrating our youngest daughter in her accomplishment of SUCCESSFULLY finishing her Eighth year of Education, and will be "Stepping Up"

in a few weeks, into the final Four years of Schooling in our home. 
Those are bittersweet words, what memories flood my mind and heart as I think about these past years and all that it contains. 
 She has never seen the inside of a public school room, she has excelled GREATLY in ALL areas despite those that wanted to label her at a very young tender age as "special". 
Oh, she is special alright, just not the label that would have been placed on her had we caved to the pressure and gave in.

 Don't get me wrong.. there were moments we questioned ourselves and worried and fretted over "were we doing the right thing?"
 So thankful for the MANY who cheered us on, 
gave us hope, tools, and support to keep going and trust God to fill in the gaps. 
Many, many, many, days and nights of prayer and tears and yes,
 even sweat have gone into these past years.
 Anxiety over fears of "will she get this?"

  
When we turned it ALL over to the Lord and trusted HIM to fill in the gaps in our children's lives, oh the joy and peace that took the place of anxiety and fear .
Oh I still pray over it, it is a battle the enemy wants us to loose. 
But we must NOT give in or give up!!!!

 I am thankful to be on THE very BEST team in this world. 
Jesus, my Husband, our Girls, and I..
 Doesn't get any better than that!!!

 We have watched our dear little one grow into a beautiful young lady
 that has a heart to serve Jesus and others,
and strive by Gods grace to work through her struggles in different areas...
 of learning and just life in general. 
When the world wanted to label her and define her in a box,

in mercy Jesus gave the strength and grace needed to push past that and keep reaching and working through it..

So it is with great joy I sit here just hours away from her ceremony where friends and family will come to join us as we cheer her on to be recognized for her
 HARD work and GREAT determination. 

Am I emotional? (if your reading this you probably know that answer*smile*) 
    
YESSSSSSSSSSSS and YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSs and YESSSSSSSSSSS, 
I am emotional, but that blog will come later. 
Today, I am soaking it all in!! 

                            So Kaitlyn, today we celebrate all that Jesus has helped you do,
                                         thanking Him and giving ALL the glory to HIM!! 

                                                   Stay tuned for, the rest of the story!!!
 

God Has Chosen Me

Isa 48:10 KJV - Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Does not the Word come like a soft shower, assuaging the fury of the flame? Yes, is it not an asbestos armor, against which the heat has no power? Let the affliction come—God has chosen me. Poverty, thou mayest stride in at my door; but God is in the house already, and He has chosen me. Sickness, thou mayest intrude; but I have a balsam ready—God has chosen me. Whatever befall me in this vale of tears, I know that He has chosen me.

Fear not, Christian; Jesus is with thee. In all thy fiery trials, His presence is both thy comfort and safety. He will never leave one whom He has chosen for His own. “Fear not, for I am with thee,” is His sure word of promise to His chosen ones in “the furnace of affliction.” —C. H. Spurgeon

Pain’s furnace heat within me quivers,
God’s breath upon the flame doth blow;
And all my heart in anguish shivers
And trembles at the fiery glow;
And yet I whisper, “As God will!”
And in the hottest fire hold still.

He comes and lays my heart, all heated,
On the hard anvil, minded so
Into His own fair shape to beat it
With His great hammer, blow on blow;
And yet I whisper, “As God will!”
And at His heaviest blows hold still.

He takes my softened heart and beats it;
The sparks fly off at every blow;
He turns it o’er and o’er and heats it,
And lets it cool, and makes it glow;
And yet I whisper, “As God will!”
And in His mighty hand hold still.

Why should I murmur? for the sorrow
Thus only longer-lived would be;
The end may come, and will tomorrow,
When God has done His work in me;
So I say trusting, “As God will!”
And, trusting to the end, hold still.
—Julius Sturm

The burden of suffering seems a tombstone hung about our necks, while in reality it is only the weight which is necessary to keep down the diver while he is hunting for pearls. —Richter

Source: Daily Streams

This is where time has went!

So we have been in: wrapping our school year up, planning an 8th grade graduation for our youngest, and looking into the final year for our eldest, and dealing with life. 

We feel so incredibly blessed! 

God is so good to us and we thank him and give all glory to him!!! 

A HUGEEEE miracle took place towards the end of June, the girls and I went on a road trip, just the four of us!! 

We went for the weekend of PalmDale Camp in CA and wow! What an adventure it was, and blessing. Several huge blessings in our family and witnessed victories in others as well. God is still on the throne and in control!!! 

 Every mile there and back Jesus was in the drivers seat with me.. Yes you read that right. For the first time in several years I drove all the way there and back! 

 Sure we had to pray every mile and stop and pray but GOD was in control and gave me driving grace and kept His hand of protection upon us. 

  This trip wouldn't of happened if God hadn't ordained it and opened every door and took down every obstacle. 

 Praise His name!!! 

It was hard leaving my dear hubby home alone but thank The Lord for FaceTime! 

  Here are a few pics of our trip... 

Okay- DISCLAIMER: we were in the hotel elevator and decided a "Group Selfie" was in order.. Not realizing the back drop! 

So, NO we did not go to a rock concert!! 

That's enough for now. 

Enjoy this little update. 

Stay tuned for "The rest of the story"