"Live for God and serve Him with such a passion

that all the hosts of heaven stand back in awe

of what God can do in a

surrendered and available life."

A challenging thought

"To aim at loving instead of a being loved requires sacrifice. Love reaches out, willing to be turned down or inconvenienced, expecting no personal reward, wanting only to give."

~Elisabeth Elliot

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.

But the greatest of these is love."

"God comforts us not to make us comfortable,

but to make us comforters."

~John Henry Jowett

I have learned to be content what ever the circumstances...(Phil 4:11)

Paul while being denied every comfort, wrote the above words from a dark prison cell.

A story is told of a king who went to his garden one morning, only to find everything withered and dying. He asked the oak tree that stood near the gate what the trouble was. The oak said it was tired of life and determined to die because it was not tall and beautiful like the pine tree. The pine was troubled because it could not bear grapes like the grapevine. The grapevine was determined to throw its life away because it could not stand erect and produce fruit as large as peaches. The geranium was fretting because it was not tall and fragrant like the lilac.

And so it went through out the garden.

Yet coming to a violet, the king found its face as bright and happy as ever and said, "Well, violet, I'm glad to find one brave little flower n the midst of this discouragement. You don't seem to be the least disheartened." The violet responded, "No, I'm not. I know I'm small, yet I thought if you wanted an oak or a pine or a peach tree or even a lilac, you would have planted one. Since I knew you wanted, I 'm determined to be the best little violet I can be."

Others may do a greater work,

But you have your part to do;

And no one in God's family

Can do it as well as you.

People who are God's without reservation have learned to "be content what ever the circumstances." His will becomes their will and they desire to do for Him whatever He desires them to do. They strip themselves of everything, and in their nakedness find everything restored a hundredfold.

~Streams in the dessert

I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

Lam. 3:24

Could it really have been two weeks....

..since we left for CYIA???

Well...we are home again!!! And I can't wait to (spend a whole day getting caught up on blogging) share about all the wonderful times we had!!!

A huge thank you to all of those who sent packages and letters!! (I even got some from people who I didn't even know!!! Thank you SO MUCH!!!!)

The LORD was definitely with us at camp and He taught me SO many things!! Thank you to everyone who prayed...they made a difference: )

He cares!

"Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; 

       burst into song, O mountains! 

       For the LORD comforts his people 

       and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

  But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, 

       the Lord has forgotten me."

  "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast 

       and have no compassion on the child she has borne? 

       Though she may forget, 

       I will not forget you!"

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; 

       your walls are ever before me."

Isaiah 49:13-16

I was feeling very discouraged the other day and the LORD gave me this verse!

In the Valley

When you lead me to the valley of vision

I can see You in the heights

And though my humbling wouldn't be my decision

It's here Your glory shines so bright

So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown 

To be low is to be high

That the valley's where You make me more like Christ
Let me find You grace in the Valley

Le me find Your life in my death

Let me find Your joy in my sorrow

You wealth in my need

That You're near with every breath 

In the valley!

In the daytime there are stars in the heavens

But they only shine at night

And the deeper that I go into darkness

The more I see their radiant light

So let me learn that my losses are my gain

To be broken is to heal

That the valley's where Your power is revealed

My Anchor Holds

Tho' the angry surges roll, on my tempest driven soul, 

I am peaceful for I know, wildly thought the winds may blow, 

Iv'e an anchor safe and sure that can evermore endure.

 And it holds, my anchor holds, Blow your wildest then, O gale,

On my bark so small and frail, by His grace I shall not fail, 

For my anchor holds, my anchor holds!

Troubles almost 'whelm the soul; griefs like billows o'er me roll, 

tempters seek to lure astray, storms obscure the light of day.

But in Christ I can be bold, I've an anchor that shall hold!

"We who have taken refuge would have strong 

encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure 

and steadfast and one which enters within the veil."

Hebrews 6:18b-19