To Those Who Wait by Bethany Dillon

I heard this on Pandora this morning and just cried.  This is the song of my heart today. 

"To Those Who Wait"

I am waiting on You,
I am waiting on You.
You say You’re good to those who wait.

My heart’s discouraged,
So I come to You expectant.
You say You’re good to those who wait.

Lord, today You know what I need to do,
But You can do more in my waiting than in my doing I could do.
So I won’t run anymore.
I’m waiting on You.

Oh, wretched man that I am!
Free me from my distractions.
You say You’re good to those who wait.

Then confession and repentance
Find me in the quiet.
You say You’re good to those who wait.
Now I know You’re good to those who wait.

Lord, today You know what I need to do,
But You can do more in my waiting than in my doing I could do.
So I won’t run anymore.
I’m waiting on You.

Oh, my soul,
Wait upon the Lord.
Keep your lamp filled with oil.
Oh, my soul,
Be not deceived!
Wait for Him.
Don’t be quick to leave.

Lord, today You know what I need to do,
But You can do more in my waiting than in my doing I could do.
So I won’t run anymore.
I’m waiting on You

Francis Frangipane

"We come to Christ and a new day begins. Yet with the Lord the day does not start at sunrise; it begins at evening (Gen. 1:5). It is here, as evening turns to night, that some panic. Yet, it is during this night that God teaches us to walk by faith not sight. It is during this time, where we can hear but cannot see, that we learn to live by God’s word, which He whispers “in the darkness” (Matt. 10:27). Dawn will come, beloved. When it breaks, you will see how God has made you a true person of faith. And the word you heard whispered in darkness – that still small voice – you will proclaim “in the light.” For what changed you, will change others also."

"You are now in Heaven and Heaven is in you -- You are simply on loan to demonstrate Heaven on earth, the immeasurable riches of His grace."

-Georgian and Winnie Banov 

Bread and Wine

This was taken at the old military fort that overlooks Sarajevo, which was used to bomb the city during the war.

      

There she stood with large, warm, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks.

“All of this time I’ve been standing beside her, mourning with her, as if she were dead,” she said to us after service.  She was talking about Sarajevo, the city that she loved.

   

      The woman standing before us was a long-term missionary serving in Sarajevo, Bosnia.  She spoke to us of how she had been caught up in the spirit of mourning that hangs heavily in the air over the city.  She had become weary from years of ministering to a generation of people scarred by war.  A people who believe that the war is not over, but that it’s just not happening now, and who daily relive past horrors in their hearts and minds.  A people who walk around as if they were unable to awaken from the nightmare of a deep sleep.       

    

     The night before we met this woman, the Lord spoke to us about all of these things.  We were in our room settling in for the night.  It was a warm cozy room on the top floor of a church, nestled into the hillside.  Adam was reading Mark chapter six when he was overcome with excitement.

“Chris, I think God is showing me something about Sarajevo! Come read this!” 
 There we sat, together, reading and praying.

     The story before us was about a twelve-year-old girl; which ironically had been the number of years that had pasted since the Bosnian war had ended.  In the story the girl had been presumed dead.  Mourning was in full swing, people were crying and wailing loudly.  They even laughed at Jesus when he said that she was only asleep.  Then he took the girls parents into her room, held her hand, and told her to get up.  Immediately she arose and Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

    

     That night the Lord spoke into our hearts that Sarajevo, like the girl, had been presumed dead.  Although many were mourning for her, she was not dead, only asleep.  They were a generation who were walking around in a daydream needing to be called out from their slumber.  A generation who was in desperate need of something to eat, in need of the bread of life and cup of salvation.

-Just one of many moments we experienced while on outreach with our DTS in 2007.

Stunning . . . you may need some tissues, I did.

The Gospel in 4 minutes.

"This relationship, this love thing, this oneness thing 

– it must be
worth it. 

There is a way to heal when hurt happens – His name is Jesus.

There is a way to trust again – His name is Jesus. 

There is a way to
work out our disagreements – His name is Jesus.

There is a way to be
vulnerable again – His name is Jesus. 

When I get hurt, I have two
choices: to heal or to hide."

                                -Taken from the article, The Power of Oneness, by Karen Slaughter

                                                                     

Through God's eyes.

I cherish the moments when God gives me the eyes to see myself the way He sees me.  He takes away the fear I feel and keeps me from shrinking back.  He gives me strength to move forward with courage and confidence.

When God looks at me He sees who He has created me to be and not how I might be feeling about myself in the moment.

When I see myself through God's eyes I'm compelled to become the person that He knows I was born to be.

Some of the greatest lessons I've learned from the Lord happen at the strangest times.  A few nights ago He gave me a glimpse of how He sees me and all who bear the name of Christ.

We share a bathroom on our floor in what use to be an old hospital.  I'm an old lady now and I often get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  It can be a little spooky at night but luckily there are motion detectors that automatically make the lights come on in the hall.   

This particular night I had spent a little too much time in the ladies room and when I came out it was pitch black.  Right away I started to get that feeling up and down my spine.  Then I entered the hallway and the lights came on and as I moved I heard the Lord speaking in to my heart.

He gently whispered, "just your presence in this dark place causes there to be light."  Immediately peace flooded over me. 

Since that night when God used the motion lights as an illustration I've carried myself differently.  I've had confidence and courage, fully knowing that Christ's light shines through me, at times when I would normally be fearful and shrink back. 

 Just that small phrase that God spoke into my heart has done so much to liberate me from the fear that tries to creep in and hold me back.  Before it was just head knowledge, that Christ's light shines though me.  Now it's heart knowledge because I've seen myself through God's eyes.

Night time view from our room.

“Our
deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we
are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that
most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of
God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing
enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure
around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to
make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some
of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we
unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are
liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates
others.”

-Marianne Williamson

Source: bananneliese.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Blue Letter Bible. Encouraging word.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

October 3rd Evening Reading

 

"He himself hath suffered being tempted." — Hebrews 2:18

 

     It is a common‐place thought, and yet
it tastes like nectar to the weary heart—Jesus was tempted as I am. You
have heard that truth many times: have you grasped it? He was tempted
to the very same sins into which we fall. Do not dissociate Jesus from
our common manhood. It is a dark room which you are going through, but
Jesus went through it before. It is a sharp fight which you are waging,
but Jesus has stood foot to foot with the same enemy. Let us be of good
cheer, Christ has borne the load before us, and the blood‐stained
footsteps of the King of glory may be seen along the road which we
traverse at this hour. There is something sweeter yet—Jesus was tempted,
but Jesus never sinned. Then, my soul, it is not needful for thee to
sin, for Jesus was a man, and if one man endured these temptations and
sinned not, then in His power His members may also cease from sin. Some
beginners in the divine life think that they cannot be tempted without
sinning, but they mistake; there is no sin in being tempted, but there is sin in yielding to temptation.
Herein is comfort for the sorely tempted ones. There is still more to
encourage them if they reflect that the Lord Jesus, though tempted,
gloriously triumphed, and as He overcame, so surely shall His followers
also, for Jesus is the representative man for His people; the Head has
triumphed, and the members share in the victory. Fears are needless, for
Christ is with us, armed for our defence. Our place of safety is the
bosom of the Saviour. Perhaps we are tempted just now, in order to drive
us nearer to Him. Blessed be any wind that blows us into the port of
our Saviour’s love! Happy wounds, which make us seek the beloved
Physician. Ye tempted ones, come to your tempted Saviour, for He can be
touched with a feeling of your infirmities, and will succour every tried
and tempted one.

My friend Amy posted this on Facebook. I just love it.

A
little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a
woman," she told him. "I don't understand," he said. His Mum just hugged
him and said, "And you never will." "All women cry for no reason," was
all his dad could say. The little boy grew up and became a man, still
wondering why women cry. Finally he put in a call to God. When God got
on the phone, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?" God said:
"When I made the woman she had to be special. I made her shoulders
strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to
give comfort. I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the
rejection that many times comes from her children. I gave her a hardness
that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take
care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining. I
gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all
circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly. I gave her
strength to carry her man through his faults and fashioned her from his
rib to protect his heart. I gave her wisdom to know that a good man
never hurts his woman, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve
to stand beside him unfaltering. And finally, I gave her a tear to
shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed." "You see
my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she
wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The
beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway
to her heart - the place where love resides."

My Uncle Pat posted this on Facebook and it's so funny I had to re-post!

To
all the girls who are in a hurry to have a boyfriend or get married, a
piece of Biblical advice: " Ruth patiently waited for her mate Boaz."
While you are waiting on YOUR Boaz, don't settle for any of his
relatives; Broke-az, Po-az, Lyin-az, Cheating-az, Dumb-az, Drunk-az,
Cheap-az, Lockedup-az, , Goodfornothing-az, Lazy-az, and especially his
third cousin Beatinyou-az. Wait on your Boaz and make sure he respects
Yoaz....

The simplest ideas are often the most profound.

    When life was just Adam and I we wouldn't think twice about doing something that others considered crazy.  On two separate occasions we moved across the country without a job or place to live awaiting our arrival.  For us it was no big deal to just get in the car and go, trusting that God would take care of the details.  For what it's worth we fared quite well.  However now that there are two tiny humans depending on us for all manner of life, we had until recently, suffered from a major mental block.  Trusting in God's provision.  How could it be that we went from hoping in a car with the mindset of, "no worries, God's got us, " to nearly walking away from the biggest adventure we could ever hope for?  The answer, Remy and Micah.  It's just that simple, we're parents.  As any parent knows your kids are your priority and you want to give them the world.  All of these what ifs started creeping in.  The worst one of all: what if we're poor.  Lets be honest, missionaries don't exactly have IRAs, 401Ks and stock options.  Lets be even more honest, this little bubble we currently live in across the street from Grandma and Grandpa is pretty nice.  I love my little art studio on the porch and my ceramics proudly displayed safely out of Remy's reach.

     We had a decision to make, either be paralyzed by the fear of 'what if' or trust God.  After all if we want our kids to become extraordinary people then we need to live an extraordinary life.  I want our kids to learn how to flamenco dance in Spain and cook amazing meals in Italy and trek through the Himalayas.  Daydreams aside, when it comes to the very heart of us, what we really want for our kids is to see the reality of God on a daily basis.  Adam and I know God as our provider because we've been in situations where we have desperately needed His provision.  We have never gone hungry and we have always had a roof over our head.  We have never gone without and in fact we've always been given our hearts desire.  Fear is not an option for our family, our God has proven Himself faithful!

     Two weeks ago provision had really been on minds.  That's when we meet Brother Greg.  Yes, that's seriously how he introduced himself.  He struck up a conversation with us and was asking about our plans for the future.  We obliged him with little snippets but nothing too deep.  In mid conversation he stops us and says,

                             "You know how a kingdom works, right? When a king sends an ambassador to another nation He pays his way. The king covers all the costs and supplies the ambassador with everything he needs."

So simple and so profound!  As soon as he said it, it was like 'of course that's how it works, why have I never fully grasped that before?'  Then he gave us five dollars as a sign of God's provision and said not to spend it.  Good ol' Abe currently makes his home on our fridge atop a list of things we're trusting God for.  It's our reminder to keep trusting even when doubt tries to set in.  I don't know if we'll ever see Brother Greg again, a stranger full of encouragement, but his words helped to change our perception and that 'what if' about being poor is no longer something to be feared.  For that we are grateful.