Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Psalm 103:1-5

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Life threw a semi curve-ball last week, and the struggle has been real to see it as a good thing. My prayer for today is to not forget the incredible mercies of the Lord. He forgives our sins, heals our infirmities, comforts us in our sorrows, sanctifies us, and loves us with unending and limitless mercy and grace. My prayer is to find complete satisfaction in Him, the Giver -- and source -- of all good things!  As I recently read in James, every good and perfect give is from above -- "perfect" not meaning "fabulous" or "fun"; "perfect" meaning that regardless of what is happening, it is bringing us to perfection in Christ, that we may be presented mature and complete! 

Give Me Jesus 

Take the world, but give me Jesus,

All its joys are but a name;

But His love abideth ever,

Through eternal years the same.

Refrain:

Oh, the height and depth of mercy!

Oh, the length and breadth of love!

Oh, the fullness of redemption,

Pledge of endless life above!

Take the world, but give me Jesus,

Sweetest comfort of my soul;

With my Savior watching o’er me,

I can sing though billows roll.

Take the world, but give me Jesus;

In His cross my trust shall be,

Till, with clearer, brighter vision,

Face to face my Lord I see.

2019 Edition of "Warning: Contains Images of the Hunted Looking...Hunted"

The past month has been loaded with activities, including our church's high school camp and young adult retreat, but the focus of this entry is our family's annual archery hunting trip. This year was perhaps our most successful year, and showing pictures of all of the "fruits of our labor" might be a tad distasteful for a random blog-surfer. Out of the nine hunters, eight of us bagged animals -- which means we may actually have enough venison in the freezer to last until next year!

Every year, the highlight of the hunting season is spending time with family and in God's beautiful creation. Sunrises and sunsets in the mountains never get old. Creation truly sings the praises of its Creator!

As my dad says, hunting is called "hunting" and not "getting" for a reason; the enjoyment is in the entire experience, from when we start practicing shooting in early summer to butchering the deer on our dining room table.

Here are some pictures to document the time (not in chronological order, unfortunately). One thing that really stood out as I was going through our (hundreds) of hunting pictures, is that my dad is always there, always helping and encouraging us, even when it's pouring rain and he's exhausted. Ready to teach (you'll see one where he is instructing me in the ways of field dressing; even though I've done it before, I'm still not confident). 

 Pollywog's deer.

Mozzarella's deer. 

 Baby Ems came along with her mommy and daddy several of the days. She's a champ.

 Group picture of all the hunters!

 Mini-man (13) and his deer.

 Sweet Pea and her deer.

 Our daddy, so patient to teach us everything he knows.

 Mozzarella (20) and Gubby (15) being fabulous.

 Gubby and Sweet Pea (18)

Ephesians 5 - the Inner Happenings of a True Believer!

The following will be reminiscent of recent posts.

Lately, God has really been challenging me to be transformed, from the inside out (transformation isn't entirely passive). I have been struggling with feelings of anxiety and self-pity (that's a horrible word, self-pity). The day-to-day struggles of life, imperfect relationships, pain and suffering in the world, and life decisions with no apparent answers are dragging me down. 

Ephesians 5 kind of slapped me in the face (or heart) last night: "...but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord in your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." Ephesians 5:18b-21 (English Standard).

"Singing and making melody to the Lord in your heart..." I have not been singing and making melody to the Lord in my heart. I've been dragged down with anxious thoughts and haywire emotions that cause me to feel numb, wanting to be joy-filled and at the same time wanting to succumb to selfish sullenness. As a Christian, we should have inner JOY that will not be shaken, despite life circumstances.  I can literally feel the conflict within myself, and it's frustrating and encouraging at the same time. Christ is working! 

This entry is very scattered, I think, like my brain at the moment, but my prayer is that Christ will permeate my heart completely, helping me to deny ungodliness and selfish desire. One final, incomplete departing thought: The above passage points to "one another"; Christians aren't sanctified in a vacuum. 

Food for Thought from the Screwtape Letters

I'm reading C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters (again), and the following excerpt grabbed my attention: "Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing."
C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters 34-35 (1996). 

"Once you have made the word an end, and faith a means..." How many Christians today - perhaps unknowingly - make faith a means to having the World? "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Philippians 3:8 (English Standard). I'm certainly convicted and guilty. 
"Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." Romans 7:24-25 (English Standard).

Anxiety: the Pride of Not Letting Go? (NOT an Advocation of Disney's "Let it Go")

Anxiety: "Apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness usually over an impending or anticipated ill : a state of being anxious." Merriam Webster, Anxiety.

While I wouldn't call myself anxious in the "clinical sense," dwelling on the unknown and "freaking out," so to speak, has been a significant struggle lately.  Last night, our small group met and studied 1 Peter 5:5-11:

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility with one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the god of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:5-11 (English Standard). This passage covers a lot of ground and could take up several publications, but a point that hit home last night was the connection between humility and anxiety. We, as Christians, are to live our lives in utter dependence on Christ, and if we are being anxious, aren't we failing to relinquish control to Him? When I am anxious, it's often over what I can't control but wish I could. It is internal turmoil about what I should do to either fix the problem or avoid a disaster. It is pridefully thinking I am ultimately responsible for the outcome of my life.

Certainly, we are accountable for our decisions, but, as I noted in a July post, God is the one Who ultimately leads us, and who works everything for our good (see Romans 8:28); our duty is to live faithfully for Him, trusting in His promises to sustain us.

So, when we are being anxious, are we, in a sense, not submitting to God and - out of pride - trying to take control of our lives? We are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and cast all of our anxieties on Him because HE CARES FOR US.

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 6:28-34 (English Standard). If we can trust God for salvation from our sins and for eternal life with Him in heaven, how much more should we trust Him in the "smaller," temporal things such as where to go to school, what career path to take, whom to marry, or even where to live! 

Hold fast to Jesus!

Sonia

Sweet Memories From Our July Family Vacation

A few weeks back, our parents, all siblings/their spouses and kids (except Munchette and her fiance) were able to spend time together camping, hiking, and even doing a little water skiing. While it was only a three day weekend, it was so nice. Definitely a high-light of the month, and one worth looking back on at the end of the year.

Waiting on God: Not Growing Weary Waiting for His Wisdom

Lord Jesus, please give me wisdom. I don't know what to do or even how to feel. I pray that you would make it clear what I am to do.

This, in various forms, has been a prayer of mine over the past several months. It is still a prayer now. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel weary and like giving up at times. Sometimes I wonder how long it will take for God to reveal His plan and make His path for my life clear. I keep trying to hold on to His promises for providing wisdom to all who seek it with a humble heart, His guarantee that He will never leave me or forsake me, and His assurance that He has my best in mind; and yet, I'm still waiting for answers. At least, the answers I'm looking for, in the form I want them. 

He is constantly reminding me to continue to wait on Him, to do my best to be faithful to Him, and to cast all my cares on Him. He is showing me that I can't even understand myself, much less how to handle various life situations. And He is reminding me that His grace is sufficient. While He hasn't revealed his specific will in certain aspects of my life, He is showing me a different kind of wisdom.

I'm currently reading Knowing God by J.I. packer, and the chapter I read two nights ago, on wisdom, was encouraging and rebuking. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. The following paragraph sums up the chapter on the wisdom of (and from) God.

Thus, the kind of wisdom that God waits to give to those who ask him is a wisdom that will bind us to himself, a wisdom that will find expression in a spirit of faith and a life of faithfulness.  Let us see to it, then, that our own quest for wisdom takes the form of a quest for these things, and that we do not frustrate the wise purpose of God by neglecting faith and faithfulness in order to pursue a kind of knowledge which in this world it is not given to us to have. 

 J. I. Packer, Knowing God 108 (1973 20th ann. ed. 2009).

Yes, I am waiting for answers to my specific life situations. But, He who promised is faithful. My duty is to is to live a life faithful to Him, with the present wisdom that He gives now. I must not, as I have been tempted, neglect faith and faithfulness in order to pursue answers He has not given me to have. Pursuit of these answers becomes nothing less than an idol. 

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." Colossians 3:1-2 (English Standard).

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice . . . do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:5-7 (English Standard.

I have no idea what the future holds, but, as the cliche goes, I know the One Who holds the future.

Hold fast to Jesus!

Sonia