The Preceding

The letting go always precedes the grace. Always. The breathing always precedes the living. Humbleness precedes the vessel's use. Brokenness precedes the healing.

I ask for the latter, not taking into account that the former comes with it.

I cannot except God's grace unless I first let go of my own pride and strengths.

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

I cannot live without breathing.

Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

I cannot be a vessel ready for use if I am not humble.

2 Timothy 2:21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

I cannot be healed unless I am broken.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

These are truths. Do I really believe them? Then I will no longer pray just for the results, but also for the process--God's life changing and character building process. His truth will change my life. The heart-believing precedes the life-change.

Romans 10:9-10 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus

Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus 

Helen H. Lemmel

O soul, are you weary and troubled?

No light in the darkness you see?

There’s light for a look at the Savior,

And life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting

He passed, and we follow Him there;

O’er us sin no more hath dominion—

For more than conqu’rors we are!

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;

Believe Him, and all will be well:

Then go to a world that is dying,

His perfect salvation to tell!

Alive in Christ - a thankful thursday

701: chocolate cherry goodness for desert - and watching Titus eat his own special cup

702: golden light and "photo-bombers on bicycles"


707: eight verses memorized in Romans eight (The Romans Project)

709: school on the sunny grass

711: little hands clinging "sit by me!"

723: this alive in Christ promise

Scripture & a Snapshot

Hope in Christ - a thankful thursday

696: new green growth - spring is near
697: waking up fully alive
698: this time today
699: freedom from perfectionism
700: this hope within me

Peace ...as I trust Him

It has been really quiet here the past several months. Lots of changes have been going on in my life and there are even more in the near future. I would like to continue to blog, but I'm not sure how consistent I'll be at  posting. I'll be graduating in a month, my family is moving across the country, and I have to make decisions about what I'm going to do this next year and the ones to come.


Yet I know my Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. I may be uncertain of what the future holds, but I am certain of Him. My eyes have been opened to the glory of God and His grace is sufficient to meet my every need.

Psalm 61:1-4
Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
He has always been faithful to me in the past, and I know He will continue to be faithful in the future. His love never fails.


In every change / He faithful will remain

Scripture

Waiting Upon Him

Isaiah 64:4
Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

Psalm 37:7a
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

Psalm 46:10a
Be still and know that I am God
I will be exalted among the nations
I will be exalted in the earth.

His Presence

I met God in the morning, 

when my day was at its best

and His Presence came as sunrise

like a glory in my breast,

All day long His Presence lingered,

all day long He stayed with me

and we sailed in perfect calmness

o'er a very troubled sea,

Other ships were blown and battered,

other ships were sore distressed,

but the winds that seemed to drive them

brought to us a peace and rest,

Then I thought of other mornings

with a keen remorse of mind,

when I too had loosed the moorings

and His Presence left behind

So, I think I know the secret,

learned from many a troubled way

you must seek God in the morning

if you want Him through the day.

-unknown

The Light of Christ - a thankful thursday

 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

467: a bright moon reflecting the sun to all the earth

469: movie night as a family

470: a safe drive home through the snow

471: reminders of love

472: lost things found

474: an old--but ever true--hymn of faith 

475: long road trips and the rushing back of memories

I am resolved...

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." - 1 Corinthians 2:1-2

 "I resolved to know nothing..except Jesus Christ and Him crucified!"

I am resolved no longer to linger,

Charmed by the world's delight,

Things that are higher, things that are nobler,

These have allured my sight.

I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free,

Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee

I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free,

Jesus, Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee

I am resolved to go to the Savior, 

Leaving my sin and strife;

He is the true One, He is the just One,

He hath the words of life.

I am resolved to follow the Savior, 

Faithful and true each day;

Heed what He sayeth, do what He willeth,

He is the living way.

I am resolved to enter the kingdom

Leaving the paths of sin;

Friends may oppose me, foes may beset me,

Still will I enter in.

I am resolved, and who will go with me?

Come, friends without delay,

Taught by the Bible, led by the Spirit,

We'll walk the heavenly way.

You Are Loved

(These are my notes from one of my favorite chapel services this past summer at the ranch--Sunday morning, July 29, 2012. This message was so challenging to me then and it still is a wonderfully challenging message to me today--even though my notes don't do it justice. The photo is also from this past summer.)

John 14: Three Fundamental Truths

1} You have a Savior! (verses 1-3)
      - Why would Jesus tell them not to be troubled?
           -because He was on the way to the cross
           -because Peter (the strong one in the group) was told he was going to deny Jesus
           -because they were told that one of them would betray Him
         *-because Jesus' preparing was His cross bearing
2} You have a Father! (verse 21)
      - John 17:23: The Father loves me, Emily Grace, just as He loves Christ!
3} You have a Helper! (verses 16-18, 23)
      - Romans 8
      - we will never be alone

Boils down to this: YOU ARE LOVED!
       - so you're weary--YOU ARE LOVED
       - so you're going home to circumstances you fear--YOU ARE LOVED
     *- so you failed this past week--YOU ARE LOVED
       - so you_______--YOU ARE LOVED

So what are you going to do?

Philippians 3:8-11 {1}
       - Your knowledge of your fears/mistakes makes you ineffective, so press on and strive because the Savior has made you His own!

Matthew 7:7-12 {2}
       - the terrible burden of caring for yourself has been lifted by the Father!

Romans 8:26 {3}
       - know that the Spirit intercedes for you, so cry out in the simplest of ways!

This is the Love for which the world was made.

"Love well this week--give it your all--because YOU ARE LOVED!"

We love because He first loved us.

Breathing His Name - a thankful thursday

456: family time in the car - "always bring a flashlight!"
458: words from a brother -"Thank you for suggesting to play a game with Titus when he was just sittin' on the stairs bored. I remember that!"
459: late night games with little siblings


460: giggles late into the night
461: early morning light and snow dusted branches


463: cold prayer walks - even though they are hard
464: breathing His name - YHWH

"The letters of the name of God in Hebrew.. are infrequently pronounced Yahweh. But in truth they are inutterable...

This word {YHWH} is the sound of breathing.

The holiest name in the world, the Name of Creator, is the sound of your own breathing. That those letters are unpronounceable is no accident. Just as it is no accident that they are also the root letters of the Hebrew verb 'to be' ...
God's name is of Being itself."

- Rabbi Lawrence Kushner (read on a holy experience)

The Sound of Our Breathing - Jason Gray

465: grace gifts
466: reminders to be intentional  in everything
462: daily putting on 'love' - a physical reminder through this necklace to share His love to those around me

Tuesday's Tips - Customizing Gadget Heading Format

Gadget Headings are the titles for each item on your sidebar/lowerbar. 
To customize the gadget headings format you're going to look for this code in your template:

h2 {

The CSS inside the brackets {} following that code will control what your gadget headings(ie. on your sidebar/lowerbar/or above your posts) look like.
You can customize the code however you'd like--be creative! You can use my CSS Basics posts on Borders, Backgrounds, Text, and Padding & Margins for specific codes. If you have any questions on how to do something specific, ask in a comment and I'll get back as soon as I can.

For example, my current gadget heading code looks like this:

h2 {
background:transparent;
background-image:url();background-repeat:no repeat; background-position:bottom left;
color: #70543e;
font-family: Perpetua;
line-height:20px;
text-transform:none;
letter-spacing:0px;
text-align:center;
font-size:20px;
font-weight:normal;
font-variant: none;
letter-spacing:2px;
padding: 8px;
}

So Much More

436: Sometimes the Lord tests us and asks us to give up something in order to teach us to get our priorities right. If we pass, He lovingly gives back that something and so much more. 


Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the Lord
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:3-4