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HE FILLED OUR MOUTH WITH LAUGHTER

               A NEW JOURNEY!

AS I TELL YOU OUR STORY,

I KNOW YOU WILL SEE THREADS OF YOUR STORY,

FOR WE BELONG TO THE SAME WEAVER,

WHO WEAVES THE FABRIC OF OUR LIVES.

AS I PONDER THE WAYS OF THIS WEAVER,

I ASK YOU TO COME ALONG, AND PONDER WITH ME,

THAT YOU MAY KNOW HIM AND LOVE HIM BETTER,

AND BECOME MORE OF WHAT HE HAS CALLED YOU TO BE, NO MATTER YOUR CALLING IN LIFE.

HE IS A WONDROUS GOD WHO HAS DONE GREAT THINGS,

EVEN AT TIMES, FILLING OUR MOUTH WITH LAUGHTER!

fOUR WASHER WOMEN
HE FILLED OUR MOUTH WITH LAUGHTER (PSALM 126:2)

In the summer of 2010, all three of my daughters and my only daughter-in-law gave birth to baby girls. When the four mothers appeared together in public, each carrying a newborn snuggled in a sling, questions would fly from curious onlookers:

            “Quadruplets?”

            “No – they’re cousins. We’re sisters.”

            “All four of you? You mean, four separate births in one summer?”

             Smiles. Nods.

            “Gracious! Girls? Boys?”

            “All girls.”

             “Oh my! Did you plan this?”

            They’d laugh and shake their heads, thinking how impossible that would have been, how surprised they each were, and how there was so much to this story that only the Lord could have orchestrated.

Beth and Katherine, Sally and Sadie, Julie and Octavia, and Annie and Miabelle
Beth and Katherine, Sally and Sadie, Julie and Octavia, and Annie and Miabelle

            As we have pondered what He did, we have found ourselves plumbing the depths of the ways of our mysterious God. The sorrows and joys we face are common to man, and God urges us to seek Him every step of the way. We face the mysteries of life and death, and of marriage and family. We may face challenges of infertility or fertility. If God blesses us with children we have the God-given responsibility of naming, training, loving, and releasing them to the Lord. It is my prayer that our story will help you understand God better and respond in this journey of life in a way that brings Him great glory.

            Some of you may have already guessed I’m working on a new book. My working title is The Year of the Babies. I am going to give you excerpts here, and eager to see how you respond, for you have become an important part of my writing. Some stories you will have heard before, but as part of the tapestry, I must share them again. (I will endeavor to keep them fresh!) Some Scripture passages you may have studied before, but I know God’s Word is ever new. Though this story winds around family, its center is God, and knowing and loving Him more, so I need single women here to help me keeping that focus.

         Psalm 126 (which we will study in depth next week) is a psalm that shows us how important it is to remember the mercies of God, both minor and momentous, for it builds up an underground reservoir for the desert times. Here the Israelites are in a time of sorrow, but they are remembering a time that was so joyful that they were “like those who dream.”

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
    we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
    and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
    we are glad.

Psalm 126:1-3

            When Sadie (the first of the babies to be born) turned three, she began asking her parents for a puppy, but they weren’t ready and told her she must wait. On her fourth birthday, they gave her a battery operated puppy that barked (unfortunately), rolled over, and sat up. She played with “Robo” constantly. Then, a few days before her fifth birthday, her parents surprised her with a trip to the pound to pick out a real puppy: “Honey.”  (“A real live puppy, Grandma!” she told me breathlessly. “Honey will never run out of batteries.”) Sadie’s life was catapulted into joy! A few days into the exciting journey, her mother overheard her say to her three-year-old sister: “Claire – don’t you hope we aren’t dreaming?”

SadieandHoneywalking
“Claire, don’t you hope we aren’t dreaming?”

Have you had moments in your life of such high joy that you felt like you might be dreaming? That’s how I felt when Steve Brestin first took notice of me. Really? This man of my dreams is pursuing me? And I felt that way again when I first came to Christ. And can it be? That Jesus is really real and died to set me free? And though it is rare, there are times when an answer to prayer is so dramatic that I cannot explain it away as coincidence, and my heart is overwhelmed as I realize: Despite my sinfulness, the God who made the stars and sea has bent down and been mindful of me!

How important it is that we keep records of praise, documenting both the modest and momentous mercies of God in our lives, for we are such forgetful children when sorrows come! Here, in Psalm 126, the Israelites are facing a sorrowful time, feeling as barren as the desert of Negeb (also called Negev). This is the harsh desert that makes up sixty percent of Israel’s landmass, yet it can bloom like a garden when it rains. Why? Hidden underneath this desert is a huge underground reservoir that rises to the surface when the rains come, watering the barren land with life-giving streams, and giving life where it seemed there was no life.

desertbloom

How can you have an underground reservoir? By remembering, recording, and reflecting on God’s mercies. We’ll get help from Ann Voskamp this week, who has enlightened so many concerning the importance and the simplicity of building up our reservoir.

Sunday

1. What stood out to you from the above and why?

2. Share a moment from your life when God’s mercy to you “made you feel like those who dream.”

Monday – Friday (Bible Study and Short Sermon)

REMEMBER, RECORD, REFLECT

Each day this week I want you to look back on the day before and record one mercy of God. Then, I also want you to take that mercy and reflect, if possible, upon the One who gave it and what it teaches you about Him. For example, instead of just being thankful for time with a friend, or a butterfly, or an answer to prayer, let it cause you to ponder Jesus. Sometimes you won’t be able to do it, and it’s fine just to record the gift, but see, if sometimes, it can cause you to see something more about Jesus. Here’s a few examples with the gift in blue and what is caused me to see in red.

1) A fairly good night’s sleep 

You give your beloved sleep.

2) I woke to a pink sky as your sun rose

Your mercies are new every morning.

3) Though a door has not yet opened for my book on The Song of Songs yet, I am knocked down but not knocked out.

You are my identity, my meaning, my life.

4) Lyle brought me fresh fruit from Green Bay — plump raspberries and blueberries.

You have transformed this 75 year old man and now he longs to be a blessing.

3. Now you try it — and keep doing it all week!

We’re going to look at a familiar story on giving thanks this week, but truly, I think you will learn something new from the help of the Holy Spirit, and also Charles Baylis and Ann Voskamp! This week we will begin with the sermon, for Charles Baylis helps us see more deeply into this story. His sermon is only 17 minutes. (A little side-note on Charles Baylis, a leading professor at DTS. A dear friend who teaches BSF in Chicago came home from the conference in Dallas that prepared BSF teachers to teach Revelation this year. She was thrilled at how gifted men who knew the Lord but held a variety of perspectives were so united, and so determined to keep “the main thing the main thing.” Reformed teachers were there as well as those that hold to a dispensational viewpoint. Of Charles Baylis, Beth said, “he was worshipping while he was teaching — he couldn’t help himself.”)

Cured-Leper“Ingratitude is really a true indication that something is missing in your life, no matter your claim of spiritual victory. When you live as a person who doesn’t understand gratitude, it is a symptom of the leprosy of which eats at the soul, the mind, and the heart.”
(Pastor Randy Winfrey)
Listen or watch this short sermon:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXvwIOORaP8

4. What stood out to you from the above and why?

5. Baylis felt the other nine lepers were also thankful — but what did he think made the one different?

And I know I can’t do a blogpost about thankfulness without drawing upon Ann Voskamp. When I first heard about One Thousand Gifts I thought: So she’s keeping a list of what she’s thankful for. What’s the big deal? Why all the clamor about this book — this writer?

Onethousandgifts

And then I read it and understood. God has anointed Ann with the tongue of a poet, a heart of discernment, and a remarkable transformation. And it all happened as a result of keeping a list of daily mercies. One day, as she stood in her friend’s kitchen cutting cucumbers, her friend commented:

“You’ve changed.” She turns to me, and I turn to catch the words.

“I have?” She’s caught me off guard. I’m thick-tongued and the cheeks flame and I reach for the pitcher, to pour the cups full and distract from her catching me trying to take wing.

“Yes…you’ve changed.” Shelly sets her pot on the trivet, her eyes on me, and I can feel them and I just set out the glasses.

I don’t say it, but I am thinking she may be right and I had felt it for months, the maturing, the swelling, the something different that had begun to happen. But I had thought the re-creation was still embryonic, a bud of hope. I hadn’t thought it had fully bloomed. I hadn’t thought that anyone could see the light in the eyes.

“It’s that list you’ve been writing, isn’t it?”

I concentrate on pouring the water steady into each empty cup…

”Yes…” There.  A moment. And yes. “It’s the List.”[2]

Amazingly, practicing gratitude has the power to fill our hearts with joy, even our mouth with laughter.

Ann’s story is riveting (so read it!) but she has also blessed us by her insight into Scripture, her life of obedience, and her amazing photographs, which are part of her journey of gratitude.  She quotes Erasmus who says:

One nail is driven out by another. Habit replaces habit.

So Ann’s camera is her “hammer,” recording moments of gratitude, so that gratitude can replace ingratitude. If you are unfamiliar with her blog and her photographs, take a look. A Holy Experience

I also receive new insights from familiar passages from Ann on  the Ten Lepers — one we may be convinced we understand. The lesson, we think, is to be thankful. But wait — there’s something more, something big. I want to see if you can find it.

leprosy16. What do you think it would be like to have leprosy? How might being healed make you feel “like those who dream?”

7. Read Luke 17:11-19 and make observations. Do you see anything you hadn’t seen before? If so, what is it?

(Remember to keep your list of thanks, and if possible, what it teaches you about Jesus.)

8. Clue: Why did Jesus tell the thankful leper he was “made well?” Hadn’t he already been made well?

9. Watch the following and then comment.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC129pDaIUI

Saturday

10. What is your take-a-way and why?

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338 comments

  1. My mercies for today:
    1. Avocado-they are plentiful in the Philippines as a snack but they are expensive here in the Midwest. I bought one on sale yesterday and enjoying it right now. “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  He who did not spare his son but gave him up for us all, how can he not freely give us all things? All good things come from you, Lord ( and thank you for gifting me with something that reminds me of my homeland.
    2. For waking me up so we won’t be too late for my conference that was 5 hours away! We set our alarm for 3 AM so we can leave leisurely at 4. I woke up with a startle and the clock said “4:34”! I thought I was just dreaming. My alarm failed. Jesus, you will never fail us. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. So we jumped out of bed and showered and was out the door in less than 20 minutes. Hubby had to book it at 70-75 and we made it by the hair of our chinny-chin-chin! LOL God you have such a wonderful sense of humor. “He determines the times set for them…”
    3. For a loving husband who puts up with my crazy schedule. I take him for granted so often but he loves me just the same. Jesus is the lover of my soul. My husband may/will not be there all the time for me but Jesus will be. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
     

    1. Bing!   I love this post.  The humor and the sentiment.  🙂   My husband grew up with an abundance of avocados in CA also and it IS a treat to find good quality avocados that are not terribly expensive in the Midwest.  With the drought in CA, even more so.  Much to enjoy and for which to be grateful!  

  2. My gratitude(s) for Friday:
     
    Not a big fan of rain, but if it has to rain, I like it to be a warm one! This is what we had yesterday. I was grateful to have my rain boots with me, and the leaves were SO colorful because of the rain! 
     
    Being exhausted from working 2 jobs yesterday. Two jobs means extra money and I know Jesus handed me the second job a year ago, so I am extremely grateful to have it. 

    1. For the rain…Jesus washes our sins away.
       
      For work: in Proverbs (somewhere!) it mentions something about idle hands being the “devils” work. Here it is….“Laziness casts into a deep sleep, And an idle man will suffer hunger.”
      ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19:15‬ ‭NASB‬‬
       

  3. My Saturday gratitude:
     
    My sister, whom I have never really been close to, is insisting she come a few weeks after the baby (my grandchild) is born to help out! She is terrified to fly, but is sacrificing her fear to be with us 🙂 we have spoken several times about her coming, so I know it is for real! Our mother used to come and spend a few months with us when we had our babies, and now that mom isn’t here, I think she feels compelled to follow suit. I think I am supposed to mention Christ in these gratitudes, which I haven’t been doing 🙁 I’m so slow sometimes…..
     
    You will always be with me, even though earthly people are not.

    1. Oh Laura so happy for you that your sister is coming to visit. Love your Jesus connector.

    2. Oh Laura, this is so sweet that your sister is going to come, doing for you what your mom would have done. And that you’ve never really been close to her, but this sounds like the start of something wonderful! And yes, the Lord has provided this for you!

    3. Laura,  How nice that your sister is taking that role this time.   I remember the first year after my mom died, I sent my aunts Mother’s Day cards.  I just had to fill that space somehow.  So, she may feel sorta like that.  May it be a good time of getting closer.  And I love your simple reference to ‘sin being washed away’ when we have rainy days!  It’s been good to see how different things speak to each of us.  Uplifting to hear the connections!  

  4. I’ve been doing the lesson but not posting…sometimes it’s good to be “quiet”. You all have shared such rich posts this week…a few highlights for me: Cyndi saying that we can have leprosy of the heart, a heart with a hard wall around it that makes it hard for us to really love…Jackie sharing about how leprosy is the model in the Bible to demonstrate the reality of our sin in a physical way.
     
    I really enjoyed Charles Baylis; he was new to me and I could see his emotion as he talked about Jesus. I liked his approach to finding out what the story of the ten lepers means by “interviewing” the ten lepers, and asking them, “What was the greatest day of your life?” The nine said that it was the day they were healed and had everything restored to them, but the one said it was the day I met the Man who healed me. Baylis emphasized that Jesus is different, He is unique…like Baylis said as a young child coming away from Sunday school, “That Jesus…He’s really something.” Yes, that’s it!
     
    What I noticed in reading the story of the ten lepers that I hadn’t considered before, was how did they know who Jesus was? They called out to Him, “Jesus, Master…” What did they already know about Him and believe about Him? They asked Jesus to have pity on them. What did they already believe Jesus could do for them? Had they heard about how He healed people? Who got the word about Jesus to them? When Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests, I imagined that one or more of them might have been disappointed in this statement, wondering, “Why didn’t He say you are healed? What’s this about going to the priests?” But they obeyed and started on their way, and the healing happened as they went on their way. They had to act on His words, so there had to be some faith there.
     
    Some things I have been grateful for this week:
     
    Two nights this week, after dark, I went for a walk around my neighborhood. It was dark, no one else was around, and I saw the stars and constellations in the sky and had a wonderful musical “orchestra” made up of crickets and I don’t know what these other creatures might be – frogs, maybe? My praise: Lord, YOU not only put the stars in the sky but You made them into pictures, too…like the Big Dipper. YOU are an Artist. YOU give songs in the night, music made by mere insects and frogs!
     
    My son is interning at the same hospital where I work, and I got to see him one day this week. My heart leaped when I ran into him, and I marveled at my now grown son, so handsome in his shirt and tie and white coat…his smile and his dimples, and I am thankful. Lord, YOU gave me the gift of this son, and I am thankful that YOU are allowing me to see him fulfilling his dream of becoming a doctor, that YOU are making the way for him!
     
    Last evening, I was upset and fretting about many things. I was grouchy, impatient, rude with my family. Complaining, griping, feeling put out. Lord, I am thankful that YOU are a forgiving God, that I can come to YOU and say I”m sorry for acting that way, and ask YOU to change my heart.

    1. I am glad to ‘see’ you Susan!
      I wondered where you were this week 🙂

    2. I too am glad to see you, Susan, and was wondering where you were. I always appreciate your perspective and this post is no exception. Thank you for wondering out loud about the ten lepers – what they knew about Christ, why Christ told them to go show themselves to the priests instead of just healing them. Also, I am rejoicing with you that your son is fulfilling his dream to become a doctor. What a thrill to run into him in the same hospital where you work!

    3. So many gems in your post here, Susan.     Your paragraph about what you saw afresh in the Luke passage is so thoughtful.  I always like the questions you raise, because they inevitably make me think and make me see this as a REAL story.  It can be easy for me to just accept and not take time to do the deeper wondering.  And that helps me see much more is there.      How sweet that you get to be a witness to your son’s training and fulfilling his dream.  What a unique and very special bond to share the same realm of life’s work, in the hospital setting.   Such a blessing!  

  5. 7. Read Luke 17:11-19 and make observations. Do you see anything you hadn’t seen before? If so, what is it?
    -I see Jesus compassion and longing for the 9 who desired His gifts more than Him. When he asked the 10th leper who came back, “Where are the 9? Was no one found to return and give praise to God?” Think about it..He healed 10 and only 1 came back..how that grieved him! The more I soak this in the more He blows me away.  Lord Jesus…I am a sinful woman-I long for you yet I strayed yesterday and fell into the arms of my idol..I don’t want to grieve you like the 9 lepers-yet if I am to be like the 10th it is because of YOU..I am truly dark, but you see me as clean and call me lovely for your righteousness and beauty are wrapped around me…THANK YOU..Lord Jesus I am so happy that your compassions never fail..they are new every morning-GREAT is your faithfulness. Help me see today when I am not pressing into you. I love you. In your powerful, Holy name amen.

    1. Wow Rebecca…”I see Jesus compassion and longing for the 9 who desired His gifts more than Him.” Yes, His longing for the other 9! And how it grieved Him that they missed HIM! This is a beautiful prayer, Rebecca.

  6. I am thankful for a quiet morning to just sit and not have to run off anywhere. ” Be Still and KNOW that I am God”
    As I sat here I looked up at a picture of our 2 beautiful daughters that was taken at our youngest daughters wedding last year. Lord these 2 girls were a gift from YOU. But more than that I began to WEEP as I thought how ungrateful I think I have become due to the hardness of my heart, the pain in relationships, the disappointments in life. I had to confess that I am not seeing Jesus in EVERYTHING. Oh I thought I was but I was so deceived. I asked the Lord to forgive me and help me to see Him.
    I remember years ago I was a baby Christian my youngest sister was in a car accident. She was in the hospital unconscious for 24 hours before she died. I saw Jesus in a whole new way thru that horrible experience. I remember the following Thanksgiving even though it was a sad one without my sister I had the most thankful heart I have ever had. It is hard to explain but the explanation is JESUS. 
    I do NOT want to be one of the 9 lepers. Lord forgive me that I have been. Help me to see You in everything. Give me a heart of gratitude because of YOU. Open my blind eyes to SEE YOU.

    1. the following Thanksgiving even though it was a sad one without my sister I had the most thankful heart I have ever had. It is hard to explain but the explanation is JESUS. 

       
      This is so rich and refreshing, Liz.   You have had many losses.  Yet Jesus is so clearly seen through your life and has given you gain in the midst of the painful times.  

  7. Friday praise:
    I am thankful for the ability to cook tasty nutritious meals.
    I took a second position doing childcare one or two days a week for a young couple, their baby is a sweet 4 month old who is quickly worming his way deep into me heart 🙂
    I remember what it was like to be working full time, on the way home being so hungry and wishing someone was at home making dinner for me. It gives me joy to make dinner for the families i work for. This mom is nursing, the first couple time I made dinner they were so expressive of their gratitude, you would have thought I paid their mortgage for the month!
    Thank you Lord for this practical way that you’ve gifted me and for the opportunities you’ve provided for me to connect with these families.

    Philippians 4:19 NLT

    “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus”

  8. Friday thanks: coupons to stretch the grocery dollar, little boy memories, piano and music to sing to the Savior. Each of the things could be given thanks for in a secular sense but when you know the Creator each becomes a sweet aroma of Him, so in giving thanks for these things it’s like walking through His scent and having Him right by your side…rather it’s not “like” but it is…He steps with me and walks with me, kisses from the King, always reminding me that He is right here with me, glory be!

  9. . What do you think it would be like to have leprosy? How might being healed make you feel “like those who dream?”
    An outcast, dirty, unwanted, secluded, separated, unloved. Being healed will be like someone who dream because dreams are just dreams, not reality. Something unattainable, something impossible from a human being’s capacity to see into fruition. Being healed will reverse my status- welcomed, wanted, part of a community, belonging, loved. And isn’t this what Jesus has done for me? Healed and cleansed from the leprosy of sin.
    7. Read Luke 17:11-19 and make observations. Do you see anything you hadn’t seen before? If so, what is it?
    Because of the overwhelming sense of gratitude, the thankful leper went to the Source of his healing. And in going back I believe He also believed in what Jesus had to offer and that is complete healing of his soul-his salvation. When I see life as a series of gifts from God no matter what my situation is, I keep the focus on Jesus and not the gift.
    (Remember to keep your list of thanks, and if possible, what it teaches you about Jesus.)
    8. Clue: Why did Jesus tell the thankful leper he was “made well?” Hadn’t he already been made well?
    Made well completely. The 9 were physically healed but were their souls “healed” as well? The thankful leper received the greatest gift of all. And how often I fail to see Jesus in the gift. I am often guilty of being one of the nine. I take Jesus for granted.

  10. My take away:What a week on the blog!
    I was tempted to sit this one out…oh my I am glad i didn’t!
    Just like Dawn was blessed when she went to her class reluctantly so was I here. The Holy Spirit was busy among us this week 🙂

    The Master weaver know just what He is up to and it is amazing that He invites us into the story!
    Pastor Jeff, (the same one who said we get to repent) recently compared the gospel to a huge diamond, we take turns holding it and each one of us tilts it a certain way, showing a brilliance that is only revealed by that individual to the delight of all and the Glory of God. There is no end to the depth of beauty it holds.

    I feel like we tilted the gem really well here this week 🙂

    1. What a gift your Pastor Jeff is! Does he have a blog or any sermons online?

    2. I’m so glad you were here too!  And since I’m scrolling up from the bottom, after I wrote my takeaway, I read Diane’s and now yours.  We all have had similar thoughts (yours so well said by your Pastor)  that we all bring different perspectives and experiences to understanding the ‘gem’ of the gospel!  

  11. This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving! So Happy Thanksgiving all! It is appropriate how Dee asked us to deeply think about things that God puts in our paths to be grateful this week. I am grateful today for the rich sharing that has taken place this week here on this blog. What a special privilege we have to share  what the Lord is showing us and to pray for each other’s joys and struggles here, on Facebook and through personal emails, though many of us have never met face to face. It is truly GRACE!
     
    “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’ Hebrews 4:16

    1. WOW, Diane!    I forgot it was Canadian Thanksgiving this week.  What a wonderful week for this lesson!   I see our gratitude for today was very similar.  🙂  

    2. Happy Thanksgiving Diane

  12. Note to Laura:      I happened to go back to page 1 today and saw you asked about my ‘jar full of notes’.   Well, it was a spin off of keeping a notebook on the counter.  I had this cute jar a friend gave me, that has some ‘blackboard paint’ in a square on the front, so you can take chalk and label it for whatever you want to do with it.  I thought I’d write ‘gratitude’ and just jot down notes on little pieces of paper throughout the day or week.  (I’d also seen this idea on Facebook).  To dump them out at the end of the year and read through them with family or alone.  Well, I didn’t keep up this practice either!   Now I’m back to trying to write in a journal.  Or will be after this week.  I have a very nice journal that goes through the months with a beautiful monthly bird photo (my kind of pictures!) and I thought I’d save that and start it in January.  So…..wondering if I can get in the habit before then???????

    1. wanda–love your jar too. we did that last summer–started with the first day & had the kids write something without telling anyone each day. the night before school started, it was a blessing to look back over all the “gifts”. convicted me too how easily i forget that gift that moves me from one day…the reflection upon past mercies is so helpful and weighty. remembering His faithfulness in the past–helps me keep my eyes more open to the gifts of the present, i think.

    2. oh Wanda! I love this idea! I think short stints of it would be be good instead of a whole years’ time. Maybe I will do this unail thanksgiving and then have them read on thanksgiving day. I can appreciate the back and forth of your writing; I am like you in this sense. 

  13. Takeaway:     I confess I didn’t get all the questions answered but I was aware of being grateful and bringing the gratitude back to the Giver.  A GREAT discipline that you challenged us with DEE.    I also really liked seeing how so many of you looked at the parable of the lepers again and saw so many different, new insights there.    That is my gratitude for today!  That you, sisters here lead me in fresh new perspectives to look at the WORD.   And of course, that leads me to thank Jesus who IS the WORD.  
    In the beginning was the WORD and the WORD was with God and the WORD was GOD.  The same was in the beginning with GOD. John 1:1,2
    Thinking of trying to let this sink in once again so I can recite 1-14 by Christmas Eve as I did last year.  That held some meaning for my kids.  

  14. It has blessed me to follow quietly this week , such a wealth of rich wisdom here–definitely could be my “gratitude” for every day. But I also want to say in summary just how incredibly thankful I am for the Word. I know we all are, but you know those moments when it just hits anew what a tremendous gift He has given us. I love nature, I can’t get enough of any kind of flower, and I am deeply moved by music at times when nothing else can reach my soul. But His Word is like no other gift. I have been struggling a bit the past few days–and last night, the old Maranatha song to psalm 5 “give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation…” began playing through my mind. I woke up and read through psalm 5 and was struck by verse 4,”For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.” Just the reminder that He takes no delight in our suffering. And then v. 7 “But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house.” I just feel so humbled by His love, His mercy. I know my words are weak and simple here, but I just want to claim here this gratitude for His Word–because no matter what my feelings “say”–His Word speaks truth to my feelings and brings them in line with who He is–I am convicted, I am taught, and I am comforted. Keller has quoted Augustine as saying something like ‘what we love is the core of who we are’. I realize how much I love comfort. I love things to be easy. Lord, may You alone be my core, my hope, my Love.

    1. Lizzy, so sorry you have not been feeling well this week. I am praying you will feel better soon. But I love your quiet wisdom here cherishing His Word. Peace and comfort to you.

      1. Thank you dear Diane–I have kept you in my prayers this week especially. I’ve been blessed too by your postings Scotty Smith’s prayers (I subscribe to his feed, but sometimes don’t take time to read, unless I get an extra “nudge” 😉
        I loved this from his ‘prayer for healing’: “We know you don’t despise our asking. We know you do all things well. We know you are writing stories larger than our understanding.” Amen! <3

        And Happy Thanksgiving!Do you have all 3 kids with you (+ grand)? Hope it’s wonderful!

    2. Lizzy. This post touched my heart. Yes thankful for His Word. Thank you for sharing Psalm 5. I pray you feel better.

  15. My take away:
    Remember, Record and Reflect. Lord, help me cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Incline my heart to build my “underground reservoir”  so when desert -like circumstances buffet, I will see Jesus, my source of life-giving streams. Hidden underneath this desert is a huge underground reservoir that rises to the surface when the rains come, watering the barren land with life-giving streams, and giving life where it seemed there was no life.

  16. This week’s lessons were especially meaningful and each of the posts touched me. I am thankful for this blog and each of you. though my posts have been few, my thoughts  reflect on the beautiful sermon of the leper who met the man, Jesus. Yes, the relationship that changes  the heart, and my joy is in Him.
    Hope Thanksgiving was special for you, Diane.