Keep Your Hands Inside The Ride At All Times

Wow. So, it is late Wednesday and this roller coaster of a week so far has left me with the pressing urge, desire and want to run away.

I know I'm not the only one that has ever felt this way. When it all goes wrong or there are difficult tasks ahead or just in facing daily obstacles that slam you right in the face often times can make a person want to turn tail and run.

I've been fighting this the past few days.

Few things have gone right so far this week. And by right, I guess I should say "as planned." When my life gets crazy busy, I'm a planner. I make lists and even my lists have lists! But add to all the normal craziness a looming magazine deadline, illness, the beginning of the second semester of nursing, having to suck it up and take the heat for a situation that is someone else's responsibility....blah blah blah...words words words. Life.

Yeah, life is like that at times. I have found it so easy to be discouraged in these past few days and thankfully the Lord allows me to stop, take a breath and look at the bigger picture. Why am I discouraged and defeated? Because I'm focused on me. I'm focused on the problem. I'm focused on what that person did to me that I didn't "deserve." I was not focused on the One who held the problems, who allowed all of this to occur to grow me and teach me and bring me to the end of myself...again. To draw me nearer to Him. How wonderful to know I can turn to my Lord and His Word and find instant peace and comfort in knowing he's saying, "I got this." (as my friend Rhonda says.) God's got this!

"...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

My mind and my heart have been meditating on this verse from Joshua today. So many others have faced such greater trials than I could ever imagine. Yet from big trials to the small ones, we can be strong and courageous. We can carry with us, for those that know the Lord, that comfort and knowledge that God has gone before us. He directs our path. For His glory.

At this point I am just going to add my little disclaimer that these are late night ramblings. The overflow of an overworked mind and a burdened heart. No real purpose in this blog post tonight other than to give sentences and paragraphs to the continuous thoughts and meditations of my mind from the past few days. And basically to preach to my own heart these truths. If you happen to benefit from these words - to God be the glory!

Where my mind has been today is in fighting this urge to run. In grappling with the reality that running does not solve anything, more often than not, it adds to and complicates and invariably delays the inevitable.

And then there was the gentle reminder from the Lord that He is to be my refuge. No mountain top or snowy trail or secluded cabin can bring me the peace that only my Heavenly Father can.

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him." 2 Samuel 22:31

"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you." Psalm 5:11

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2

"The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:22

"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah" Psalm 62:8

Oh man! I love that one! "Pour out your hearts to him" What an invitation!

"But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds." Psalm 73:28 (emphasis mine.)

It is good to be near God. Such true and wonderful words.

So after reading those verses, running away to some secluded space doesn't seem to be such a pressing need for me now, when really what my heart desires is to run to Christ. Beautiful mountain views and birch wood forests are just that, beautiful. But there is such joy, life and peace in trusting and taking refuge of our mighty and Sovereign God.

My Refuge. My Strength.

I will have more to say about the reason I am posting this passage of scripture in the near future (I hope!) But I really wanted to pass this along, as every single word in Psalm 73 speaks to where I am in the Lord.

Psalm 73

BOOK III : Psalms 73-89

A psalm of Asaph.

¹Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.

² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.

³ For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴ They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.

⁵ They are free from the burdens common to man;
they are not plagued by human ills.

⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.

⁷ From their callous hearts comes iniquity ;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

⁸ They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their arrogance they threaten oppression.

⁹ Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.

¹⁰ Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.

¹¹ They say, "How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?"

¹² This is what the wicked are like—
always carefree, they increase in wealth.

¹³ Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

¹⁴ All day long I have been plagued;
I have been punished every morning.

¹⁵ If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
I would have betrayed your children.

¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me

¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.

¹⁸ Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.

¹⁹ How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!

²⁰ As a dream when one awakes,
so when you arise, O Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.

²¹ When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,

²² I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.

²³ Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.

²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.

I am so very thankful that He, by His mighty yet tender, patient and loving hand, has drawn me nearer this day. And thankful that He alone is my refuge and strength.

Finished Art project and Birthdays

I finished another print in my four-series art print. I don't have an image yet for my fourth one, but I want something green to balance out all the blues and yellows. And since Spring is just around the corner, this gives me the perfect excuse to plan a photo day for myself where I hop in my car and photograph whatever catches my eye. It has been so long since I've done that!

Before I pack it in for the night and head to bed to read for a bit, I wanted to share a verse that I read today that speaks worthy words of praise to a Mighty and Wonderful God!! Oh! That those who do not know Him would be called by Him this very night! And experience the saving grace of Christ.

Psalm 40:5

Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.

I hope to post the pictures from Madison's birthday party at Nana's tomorrow. I'm too tired to look through more pictures and post them tonight. Something to look forward to!

I Can't believe Madison is now 11. It seems just like yesterday we were sitting in the waiting room anxiously awaiting the arrival of the first child, first grandchild (both sides) and first niece/nephew (we didn't know it was a girl until she was born.) What a blessing that beautiful little girl has been!

Search Me, O God, And Know My Heart

Thanks to some caffeine and a really achy back, I find that I cannot fall asleep yet, so what better time than now to update this thing : )


I have recently discovered the joys of Reformation Heritage Books (I love to read and I absolutely love books!!) So I ordered a new one titled "The Christian Lover" by Michael Haykin. Don't worry, it only sounds scandelous but it is a collection of love letters between husbands and wives from such Christian forefathers as Calvin, Luther, and a few others. I've read just a bit of it but loaned it to some friends who I know would enjoy it. (I am eyeball deep in studying Anatomy & Physiology and knew I needed to remove any literary temptations right now : ) I will treat myself to reading it after my next exam.)

Anyway, the reason I brought this up was because with my order came the RHB newsletter. The cover featured an article titled, "The 'Humble' Side of Sin" and had some good stuff in it:

"For both the skeptic and the Christian, the neglect of the indwelling evil stems from the same source: the very sin overlooked. one of Satan's strageties is to draw our attention to evils outside of us so that sin can have its grand work unhindered where it does the most damage. Sin is like a mastermind that gets its job done without attracting attention to itself. It is most successful when attention is not on itself. Sin could almost be considered humble, were it not for its corrupting abuse of virtue."

"We must not be satisfied with pointing out the evils around us. We must also do the hard work of crying out with the Psalmist, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24.

I think all too often, and I know in my own life, it is so easy to see the evil and sin that surrounds us whether in the workplace, our family, TV, or society in general, and dismiss or completely overlook our own sin.

This was made very evident in just the past few days when a situation arose that presented a lot of temptation to take my focus off the Lord and on someone else. When talking to a friend I pointed out that I saw the timing in this situation and the red flags were going up that it would not be a good thing - but was nothing more than Satan attempting to play into to a fear of mine. I said, oh so arrogantly, "I scoff in the face of Satan!"

How dare I!?!?!??! How dare I be so arrogant as to think I have one-up on Satan and am totally immune to sin. And now, before I knew it, I found myself in the very position I didn't want to be in, and praying for wisdom on how to undo the situation, while also repenting of the horrible arrogance that plagues me on so many levels.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24.

I am so unbelievably thankful that the Lord continues to teach me, show me my sin and move me to repentance.

Lead me Lord, in the way everlasting.

This post leads me to my next possible book purchase: The Doctrine of Human Depravity by Arthur Pink. It looks like a good one.

Grace and Peace.

Mightier than the sea!

Psalm 93:4 (English Standard Version)

4Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the LORD on high is mighty!

In my quiet time this morning I read this psalm and verse 4 wrapped around me and made me think of a picture I saw recently. The picture above was taken by NASA from the International Space Station and it is actually a picture of hurricane Ike. I saw this image while looking through news image galleries and just had to save it to my computer. It is now the background image on my screen. I shared with a friend recently that I would LOVE to travel to outerspace. I can't imagine beholding a view like this! What a wonder!! To take in a wide-angle view of God's creation! This image will be the closest I ever get - but still, every time I see this image, I just have to praise the Lord for his creation!! AND for His love - because on that ginormous terrestrial ball - is little tiny 'ole me and the Lord has lavished His love and His grace on my life and brought me to repentance and salvation through Christ - me. A teeny tiny speck on the timeline of eternity. Amazing!

So that's not really what I wanted to write about - but still it amazes me. So, I read Psalm 93:4, thought of this image and was reminded that through all the destruction that Hurricane Ike brought - wiping out towns completely along the coast, redefining the shoreline....God is STILL mightier than that! This verse brings me comfort because the last two days have been one crashing wave after another - honestly this whole month has been one crashing wave after another and yet He is mightier!! The Lord is on high! His hand determines the waves and drives the winds and allows them to fall where He ordains. It has been an incredible reminder to me that even in times where I feel I am going crazy because I am so overwhelmed - I am still hidden in the shadow of His wings, I can rest in the Almighty and know, I am His and I am in His sovereign will and His perfect plan.

I love that the Lord reminds me of these things when I need him most. I guess that's why he's mighty and in control : )

...and the waves continue...my mom is coughing up blood this morning, she is having such a hard time recovering from the surgery. Please, if you will, keep her tucked in your prayers.

The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. Exodus 15:2