A Young Girl's Prayer

Something the Lord gave me a few days ago. (Edited by Anna )

~ A Simple Request: My Prayer~

Dear Lord of Heaven and Earth,

Grant me Thy special care

For this journey to Heaven 

Is strenuous and hard

And many oppose my journey there.

Grant me Thy loving hands to hold my heart.

Thy voice to lead me on

Thy tender eyes to watch o'er me

As the darkness around slowly turns to dawn.

Grant me courage for every fear,

Strength for every fight

Give me laughter thru streaming tears

And Thy pure light in the midst of darkest night. 

For Onward shall I walk

Though torrential storm and winds prevail,

And overcome the vicious enemy

And overcome each lie he tries to tell.

Til' the day when Thine voice I hear, 

"Come for all things are prepared", 

and joyfully, collect the sheaves

And Fruit I sowed with tender care.

That Day when every knee shall bow,

Out shall ring the thunder of Angels praise,

For Thou art King and King alone

to Thee, my heart, I shall forever raise. 

written by Rachel of Cheerfulquill.blogspot.com  2015

Update on Anna

Anna went to the doctor on Tuesday! She got a good report--everything is looking like it should! yay! The skin graft is taking. Most of her staples were taken out, so she can move about a little easier now. She can also lay down on her side, instead of just her tummy. yay! She goes back again next Tuesday to get the rest of the staples out. I am hoping that after that she can start sitting down again...or at least walking normally... it would things so much easier for her.

She has been such a trooper. I couldn't ask for a better patient. haha. I am now lovingly referred to as "The night nurse" or "Reggie." Reggie being the most appropriate British name Anna could come up with on the fly for her "butler" *ahem* me. We have had some hilarious times together being roommates again, these past 3 (almost 4) weeks. When you're running on lack of sleep and wake in the middle of the night, well, let's just say that everything is hilarious.

In some ways, I am understanding a teensy bit of what new moms face. Yesterday I thought of posting a status like this "Anna slept the whole night through. yay for sleep! She is also doing really well on tummy time. I mean, pretty consistently for 3 weeks. She also ate really well yesterday....." etc...

Overall, God is sustaining us amazingly. Some days are a lot harder than others, but He gives us the grace to keep going.

We are super blessed by all the love and encouragement we have gotten from family and friends. Last night our Community group gals all came out to our house for our usual Wednesday night meeting so Anna could participate. She went to bed saying, "I am so happy!" That was a blessing!

Thanks for your prayers!

Thankful for a coffee date with a friend last week!
It was such a blessing...and so nice to get out of the house for a bit!

Cheers,
{Reggie}

"for whom did you carry the stone?"

I wrote this as an email today, but just had to share with others on here. 

I just finished reading a book called "These Strange Ashes" by Elisabeth Elliot. Ah! So good. I would definitely recommend it to all of you. It's about her first year as a missionary in Ecuador. (Before she and Jim got married). This excerpt at the end of the book really ministered to me, and I wanted to share it!!!!

 

"A story is told of Jesus and His disciples walk one day along a stony road. Jesus asked each of them to choose a stone to carry for Him. John, it is said, chose a large one while Peter chose the smallest. Jesus led them then to the top of a mountain and commanded that the stones be made bread. Each disciple, by this time tired and hungry, was allowed to eat the bread he held in his hand, but of course, Peter's was not sufficient to satisfy his hunger. John gave him some of his.

 

Some time later Jesus again asked the disciples to pick up a stone to carry. This time Peter chose the largest of all. Taking them to a river, Jesus told them to cast the stones into the water. They did so, but looked at one another in bewilderment. 'For whom,' asked Jesus, 'did you carry the stone?' (pg 148)

 

**Even though throwing the rocks into the river made absolutely NO sense to the disciples, they did it. Jesus asked them to simply carry a stone for Him--no other instructions. They had to follow Him, carrying their stones, whether big or small, until He gave the next command.

 

 If God has asked us to do something, to carry a "stone" for him and then throw it in the river, we must do it, if for no other reason than because of who He is. Because He has asked. Because He is God. Even though it seems weird. Even though it seems like people would think we are crazy. Even though, if I were Peter, I would have thought, "Are you kidding? I want some bread! I am hungry! Do you know how heavy that rock is that I carried? And now I have to throw it in a river? Why?"

 

I want to carry my stone for Jesus. To be willing to do whatever He asks, even if it is throwing it in the river. Even if the stone is actually something more valuable to me. To give it all for Him. My heart is so hard and I am so unwilling.... Oh Lord, help my unwillingness.**

 

 

Thankful.

Tonight I am overwhelmed. 

After a week of really struggling, being sick again, my ankle still recovering, thus not being able to run still, and several planned things falling through, God really showed Himself to me today in simple, ordinary things. 

Aimee and I drove into town together today so I could pick up my car from the shop and so she could go to a doctor's appointment. I dropped her off...

First stop: Starbucks--to see my friend, Emily. She works there ALL the time and when Aimee has appointments near there, I go and grab a drink, see Emily, and read my Bible for a bit. I wasn't planning on getting anything because I was going for coffee later in the day with a friend. Em asked if I wanted a   "sample of something"? In my mind sample=small cup. a little amount. way less than a normal beverage. WRONG. Em fixed me a tall peppermint mocha! It was delicious. She's such a dear.

Second stop: The car shop. *groan* Who knows how much it was going to cost me this time. Oil change. check engine light. recall repair. Ayi yie yie. The cashier hands me the receipt with all the repairs. I glance at the total and try not to wince, it's $50 more than my highest estimate. We talk about it a bit and then she says, "Let me check to see if your Owners Advantage program has anything on it still...." She, in shock, turns to me and says, "It is ALL covered. You don't have to pay anything today AND you still will have some left for future repairs!!" *inward sigh of relief*

Third stop: Target. Mom gave me some money and a little list of things we needed--then Charlotte needed a birthday present for dad and Anna wasn't feeling well and asked me to pick up stuff as well. It was a little overwhelming trying to remember everything. I hoped that mom had given me enough for her and Char's things, and then I had a bit of extra cash that could cover Anna's stuff  (and hopefully  the things I wanted to get for dad.) I got to the cash register and mom & charlotte's things were a little over what mom had given me. *uuhhhh* THEN, I opened my wallet and found a $5 that mom had randomly given me last week for something I did not end up getting! It was perfect! Plus, I had just enough for the things Anna and I BOTH needed! Yay!

Fourth stop:  Five Guys. I never get burgers. ever. But I was really craving one today, so I splurged! Because of the way God had provided earlier in the day, I was able to go to lunch with Aimee. We basically never get to go out together! :) *and God has provided the past two weeks for me to do that with her, as well! So cool!*

Fifth stop: Starbucks (on the complete opposite end of town as the other!) My friend, Grace, and I had planned to get coffee together around 2:00 so I could hear the story of her engagement! *yay* Little did we know when planning that it was BOGO drink free from 2-5 pm today! Booya. I was able to get a drink for only $2.00 (we split the price of one) and bring it home to Aimee! ALSO: It was such a peaceful, fun, happy, encouraging conversation that really lifted my spirits. Thanks so much, Grace! :)

**Although these things may seem small, "God is the God of the big and small!:** 

Then Hannah G. texted me the verse of the day:

Psalm 8:4
"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that you take thought of him, and the soon of man that you visit him?"

Wedding Preview!

Two of my closest friends got married last weekend...to each other! Craziness! Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend. Enjoy!

Sweet Emma doing my hair for me!

The lovely bride and bridesmaids.
(Most of my closest friends are in this picture!)

The goofiest Bridal party you will ever meet! You should've seen our hilarious antics.

So in love! It's been a long Summer.

The beautiful centerpieces!
(I just had to add this because...well...they're beauitful!)

The morning after the wedding we all had breakfast together.
It was so nice to relax, talk, laugh, and have true fellowship for a couple of hours with people I love!

I miss you all so much!


Over all, it was a wonderful weekend. God is so good. I am thankful beyond words. :)

TRUE Freedom In Christ

I've been meditating on what TRUE freedom in Christ means. People talk about "Freedom in Christ" or "He is our liberty" all the time. However, there are times I truly wonder if they know about the freedom which the passages throughout scripture are talking about.

This freedom, true freedom, is not freedom to do whatever we want, when we want it. This freedom is not to put people down, stand up for our "rights" or the freedom to "live it up." This freedom is beautiful, sacred, true, wonderful. This freedom is the difference between slavery and walking as a free man.

As Jesus was talking to the Jews in John 8:34-36 He says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."

Those who don't know Christ, walk in the Kingdom of darkness. Unbeknownst to them, they are slaves to sin. This means that whatever temptation satan sends their way, they cannot resist it. They can't go against the flow and fight the attacks of the enemy. If someone is mean to them, they punch them, spread rumors about them, etc... They are drawn in by every evil thing that goes against the character of our precious Savior. Just as a slave has to obey it's master, so those who are slaves to sin obey their master...

When we are "transfered from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light" (When we repent of our sins, receive God's forgiveness, ask Him into our lives and turn away from sin. A redemption that is offered to anyone who would receive it!) God does an amazing thing. He breaks the chains of bondage that has been holding us SO long. Sin is no longer our slavedriver. Those who have struggle with addictions suddenly have the power to resist and turn from those things. Those who have been perpetual bullies their whole lives suddenly don't HAVE to be mean anymore.   When those chains are loosed...WOW...it's awesome!

We need to live in that freedom everyday! Think about the 10 Commandments, for instance... this freedom helps us so we don't HAVE to lust after someone else's spouse, we don't HAVE to want other poeple's things, we don't HAVE to steal from others, we don't HAVE to argue with our siblings/parents/spouse. If someone says something mean, our freedom is turning away silently. (Yes, don't stand up for yourself. God can and will take care of it.) Our freedom is that we can become more and MORE like Jesus. He gives us the power to say, "No. I don't have to fall for that temptation. I don't have to think badly of my friends. I don't have to bad mouth my spouse! God has given me freedom!!"

Just think what would happen if we really, TRULY started living in that freedom! Ask the Lord for Strength to live and walk in such a freedom that we want to do good, and not evil.

In Christ,