Rejoice

 


It has been an extraordinarily good week for our family.  

Sometimes I almost feel guilty when good things happen to me and my family because I know so many other deserving people who may be suffering.  

Psalm 9:1-2

"I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High."

But I want to embrace the joy and goodness that comes into my life.  I want to share it with others and let them know how truly wonderful our Heavenly Father is.  

So I will make this commitment.  I will praise Him with my whole heart.  I will be glad and rejoice. I will thank Him more fully.  

Tonight I thank Him for Ella's heart healing.  He continues to hold her in His palms and I am grateful for each and every day. 

Thank you to all of you who have joined us in rejoicing.  We know the trials will keep on coming but for a night I will catch my breath and appreciate it.  

What can you be glad of? Let's rejoice together!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Kingdom of God

Image
  This local story caught my attention and has had me contemplating who and how I serve and share the love of God. "The Elkhart County Jail Ministry held its first-ever hymn-sing inside the Elkhart County Jail. A local Amish choir from Middlebury made rounds throughout the jail, singing two hymns in each ward. Hearing the slow, melodic songs reverberating off the concrete walls and ceiling had a calming and soothing effect on all of us. There were standing ovations, hands raised in worship, men singing along to songs they recognized from their childhood, requests for favorite hymns being shouted from the back of the room...and tears. This is what the Kingdom of God sounds like." Why?  Why were they singing- in spite of their current situation? Why were they requesting their favorites? Why were they brought to tears? Because of the magic of music and how it aids in feeling the Holy Spirit and whispers to our souls truths we once knew.  Even if life cho...
Read more

Humble Seeker of Happiness

Image
  We are traveling west and as I looked over the map I realized my friend, Patti, lives not far off our route.   We've taken this route before and each time I think about her.  But this time I reached out and messaged her.  Not only could we stay there, but she would have dinner waiting.   Watching her come down the sidewalk with a big smile and welcoming me into her arms was a moment of pure joy mixed with a bit of disbelief.  22 years is a long time. Ella thought it was a bit crazy.  "But these are strangers!"   By the time we left this morning she agreed she now also had an acquaintance in South Dakota. People are worth taking the chance on.  It won't always work out.  I have some friendships that have fizzled out.  Others that take a lot of work.  Some that my insensitivity has eroded.   But this one was beautiful.  I'm so thankful I accepted the assignment to be visiting teaching partners with her so m...
Read more

Details

Image
  I was staring out the window as we flew over the European Alps this morning. I was eating a decent meal of scrambled eggs and roasted cherry tomatoes and feeling the warmth in my belly.  It was toasty warm on this flight- so much so that I never even opened the blanket they gave us.  Then I noticed at the very bottom edge of my window a bit of frost on the outside.  Under magnification I could see the intricate pattern of nature in the crystalline fingers stretching from the tiny crystal.  I realized in my comfort inside the plane I hadn’t even thought about how cold it was outside. At 10,000 m up, the air is bitterly cold and that is true even if I can’t feel it.   Even if it doesn’t match what I am personally experiencing. But when I stop to look for the evidence it is there in intricate and beautiful patterns.  Sometimes in life we aren’t feeling God’s presence or love at the moment. It doesn’t seem to match what we are personal...
Read more