There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is simply to try to get rid of the trial, and be thankful when it is over. The other is to recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing than we have ever had, and to hail it with delight as an opportunity of obtaining a larger measure of divine grace. -A.B. Simpson
For all the little girls -and big girls- who have felt they are not
pretty enough
popular enough
pleasing enough
pure enough….
Winter forces the earth to rest.
Sometimes rest is one of the attributes of God we find most difficult to understand. He is at rest. And He wants us to enter His rest.
To be honest, I find one of the most difficult things to do, especially in crisis, is to rest. I’m not just talking about sleeping, which I am notoriously bad at, but about resting spiritually, like a soothed child in my papa’s lap, trusting him to look after me, and waiting for his instructions. Some of the worst messes I have created have been when I’ve tried to control my anxiety by “doing something.”
Today my dear friend is in the ICU after emergency surgery. Again, I feel the frenzied urge to “do something.” Again I am snapping at my husband over trivial things, knowing full well my anxious thoughts are the cause, and not his human foibles. Again I hear the still small voice telling me to enter His rest, to give my time and attention to the One who loves my friend more than I do.
Resting my heart and mind in Christ, entering His presence with thanksgiving and allowing His peace to stand guard is like feeling the gentle snow calm my anxious thoughts, cool my embarrassing temper, and hush my worries. It’s about trust.
Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
This song has been going through my head like a prayer today.
If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I’d like to do
Is to save every day
Till Eternity passes away
Just to spend them with You
If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I’d save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with You
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I’ve looked around enough to know
That You’re the one I want to go
Through time with
If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by You
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I’ve looked around enough to know
That You’re the one I want to go
Through time with
They’re a tough breed, these ranch country people. A walk around town today revealed such contrasts, the broken and the restored, the old and the new, the open and the closed, the cold temperature and the warm hearts.
Mural
Hampton Hills by frosty fields
Superman’s barn
Filming “Heartland” at -11 degrees. One of the crew took me to a place to watch where I wouldn’t I wouldn’t be in the way, then offered me a hot cuppa tea.
“One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity. ”
-Albert Schweitzer
God of our life, there are days when the burdens we carry
chafe our shoulders and weigh us down;
when the road seems dreary and endless,
the skies grey and threatening;
when our lives have no music in them,
and our hearts are lonely,
and our souls have lost their courage.
Flood the path with light,
run our eyes to where the skies are full of promise;
tune our hearts to brave music;
give us the sense of comradeship with heroes and saints of every age;
and so quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage
the souls of all who journey with us on the road of life,
to Your honour and glory.
-Augustine of Hippo
Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.
-Lewis B. Smedes
