Filling the Void....

I have been soooo restless lately. Unsettled in life about things I wish were different, things I dont know how to fix. . Feeling empty. Like I'm starving. Like something is missing. Wanting to fill the voids but at a loss to know how to do so.
And then this hit me. Music being practiced over and over and over by my daughter in preparation for a performance, but just now the words are penetrating my soul.

"Jesus is all the world to me, my life, my joy, my all;
He is my strength from day to day, without Him I would fall...."


Is He REALLY? Is He really the world to me???? My life, my joy, my all? Then why do I so quickly run to other things, other people..to try to fill the emptiness, the restlessness, the voids...?

Oh how I long to live out the words to this hymn. That Jesus would indeed be ALL the world to me..
My LIFE...that I would live to serve and please Him always...
My JOY...that my life would be a reflection of my trust in Him....beaming with joy inexpressible!
My STRENGTH...that it would be Him that I run to when I am empty and weak...
My FRIEND...He is indeed my closest friend. The One I love most and long most to be with. Oh how I need to go to Him with everything..all the restlessness, emptiness, and desires. Who better to guide me and give me counsel than my very best friend?

There is NOTHING/NOONE this world has to offer that is better than Jesus!

Thank you for the reminder Mikayla! Your music is music for my soul!

Jesus IS all the world to me!

 Lord, show me how to live it!

Jesus is all the world to me, my life, my joy, my all.
He is my strength from day to day, without Him I would fall.
When I am sad to Him I go, no other one can cheer me so;
When I am sad, He makes me glad, He's my friend.


Jesus is all the world to me, my friend in trials sore;
I go to Him for blessings, and He fives them o'er and o'er.
He sends the sunshine and the rain, He sends the harvests golden grain;
Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain, He's my friend.


Jesus is all the world to me, and true to Him I'll be;
O, how could I, this friend deny, when He's so true to me?
Following Him, I know I'm right, He watches o'er me day and night;
Following Him be day and night, He's my friend.


Jesus is all the world to me, I want no better friend;
I trust Him now, I'll trust Him when lifes fleeting days shall end.
Beautiful life with such a friend, beautiful life that has no end;
Eternal life, eternal joy, He's my friend!

I Am in Awe!!!

As I anticipate the arrival of my family from Massachusetts.....just one week from today!!.....I am in absolute awe!! In awe of Gods wonders, His answers to my prayers, and His mercy toward my family. My heart has just been melting the past few days as I think of how He has cared for us!!
Amber's little body is so fragile, and we know that each month, each week, each day of breath for her is a gift from God. Over the past year we have prayed that God would allow us to enjoy specific occasions with Amber. We prayed that God would give Amber health and strength so that our entire family could rejoice in the celebration of Noah and Sarah's wedding!

We prayed that we would be able to celebrate Amber's second birthday!

 

We prayed that Amber would be able to enjoy the pleasure of being a big sister!

My most recent prayer has been that Amber would be able to come to Grammy and Pappy's again....this time with her brother! To be quite honest, I have doubted. Their last trip to Pa. was in the beginning of Oct. 2011. Amber has been so sick since then....once at Thanksgiving and again just recently in Feb. and March, and each time I have thot Amber will never be strong enough to make the trip again. But look what God has done! She is strong, she is healthy, and they are preparing to be here in one week!
 I have wanted the joy of having both grand-babies in our home, and maybe this sounds silly, but I long for Amber to swing on Grammy and Pappy's swing again. Last year at this time, we rejuvenated our old swing set and made it all ready for Amber, and she was able to enjoy it one time so far.

As I look forward to next week and the extravagant joy of having my whole family together, I am in absolute awe of how God has answered our prayers and granted the deepest desires of my heart. These words have been flooding my mind for days, and so I take this day to praise God for what He has done!

Psalm 40:5...Many, O Lord, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thots toward us cannot be recounted to You in order. If I would declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbered!

Psalm 139:17-18...How precious also are Your thots to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand!

The Place I MOST Want to Be!!!

"As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed Him and made Him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word He said. But Martha was pulled away by......" Luke 10 The Msg.


I was thinking about Mary and Martha this morning. Wondering, what does it mean to sit at Jesus feet? Who else in scripture did so? And what in life distracts me and pulls me away from doing so?


The only other direct reference I found to someone sitting at Jesus' feet made me melt inside. It was in Luke 8:35..."They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had been sent, sitting at Jesus feet."
 It was the man who had a legion of demons that Jesus cast out and into the pigs! After being healed, this man was found sitting at Jesus feet!
  
What does it mean to me to sit at Jesus feet?
...it is to spend time with Him
...to listen to His Word
...to not be pulled away from/distracted by..all the things in life that seem more important but really aren't!
...I am sitting at His feet every time I read about what He has done, read the words He spoke....
...every time I pray
...every time I curl up in my favorite chair and need His counsel, wisdom, comfort, encouragement, strength....
...every time I long for His presence and listen for His voice
...sitting at Jesus feet is being still before Him
...it is to be in awe of who Jesus is...(imagine the awe that the demon possessed/now free man must have felt!)


Sitting at Jesus feet is to realize there is NO place I would rather be - NOTHING I would rather be doing!
This is where I want to begin every day of my life - sitting at Jesus feet!

Living With Eyes Wide Open!

"Your eyes are windows in your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!"...Matt 5 The Msg.


   We need to open our eyes WIDE to see God's blessings - His wonders - His gifts. Sometimes God's blessings are sooo evident, but at other times they are small gifts wrapped within an ugly package that we would not have chosen. We have to embrace what God has given! Be willing to accept and unwrap the package to see the beautiful gifts within!

 Don't live life squinty-eyed, not trusting....but enjoy and be thankful for what God has given. Live life with eyes WIDE open to see God!!

On my recent trip to Massachusetts, God opened my eyes to soooo many sweet gifts. His blessings....wrapped within the not-so-pretty package called I-cell Disease. I am so very thankful for the way He has opened my eyes to see His grace, His goodness, His wonders.....

..in my son and his wife... the way they love, laugh, maturely handle the difficult, and sweetly enjoy the simplest pleasures of life each day!

...Vin and Jodi, Skyes parents...

 the love, sacrifice, care, compassion and commitment they offer my family day in and day out!

...a knock on the door, a woman who physically looks like me, whose name is Joyce, whose arms and heart were filled with love and compassion and practical gifts for my son and his family.  God allowing me to see with eyes wide open the way He answers the prayers of my heart......

...the endless revolving door of caregivers who help to meet the needs... and do so, not with duty, but with abounding love and tenderness!

 How could words ever begin to convey what God has taught me already thru these two precious lives?

..that life is to be treasured...every sweet expression, every breath a gift

...that a smile could be the biggest blessing of my day

...that so much in life can be communicated without any words at all!

 Who would ever guess that some of the greatest joys in life could be found in watching one sleep?

...or to have them look in your eyes

 ...caress your face

...and giggle!

 Live Simply!!!!

 Treasure life!!!

Embrace each day with eyes wide open to see Gods wonderful gifts!!

Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted in order. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered!...Psalm 40:5