Today

This morning I read Psalm 111: "Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart... The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them." I am so delighted to be studying God's creation with my children this year. They are so very cute as Rebecca especially wants to know if this leaf or that leaf fits into "Botany".

"You fill me when I'm empty. There is nothing else. You are all I need....You are all I need when I'm surrounded. You are all I need if I'm by myself. You fill me when I'm empty. There is nothing else. You are all I need." Bethany Dillon. I love her songs.

Today we visited our friends church here in L. Their girls and ours did a very wonderful dance to "Shine". Our friend preached, and I was so touched by something he said. He spoke on Matthew 4, "The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” He described the darkness of the verse was very much like our 911 except that the people stayed and occupied the land.

He talked about how Jesus will shine in your life if you have encountered Him and allowed Him to shine His light in you. He went on to talk about the evidence left behind by the disciples following Him and the evidence that Jesus had touched these places of darkness (found later in the chapter). He asked what evidence has Christ left behind in our lives? I thought about that. So many times the only thing I have left at the end of the day is frustration. Or I wake up already in despair. And then I remember that we need to constantly be filling ourselves with His Word and with prayer. If we do not do that the light weakens. Sin gets in the way, and eventually we don't even see the need to repent. I have been in that state over the past year or so. I really feel God allowed these sicknesses to draw us back to Himself. I am so thankful for the suffering. It has been a catalyst to draw near to Him. Thank you, Lord. Somehow through suffering he works His righteousness in us. We need to remind ourselves daily through His word of the great things He has done for us, the sin he has rescued us from, the person we used to be but are no longer, and the new man we are meant to be. "We are a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come." By filling ourselves with His light (the Word) we cannot help but SHINE.

"Lord, let your light shine over us...that we may have light to find our way in the darkest night...let Your grace fall over us....let Your love come over us...that we may be saved....that we may have life....to find our way in the darkest night....Let your love come over us."