Greg Loves Sarah

For the which cause I also suffer these things:
nevertheless I am not ashamed:
for I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day.”
2Timothy 1:12

“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:10,11

“According to my earnest expectation and my hope,
that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always,
so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body,
whether it be by life, or by death.”
Philippians 1:20

I am PERSUADED, SURRENDERED, RESOLVED. You?

Thanks to my precious friend Neal (who is growing so fast at a whopping 3 yrs old) my desk is a happier place! :)

I love my picture, Neal! It looks SO GREAT hanging on the wall over my desk. You are an excellent artist!!! Thank you very, very, very much! I miss you!! :)

I love finding simple things that when pondered speak volumes and create pictures of realities (of heart and mind and soul) that are sometimes hard to express or grasp otherwise. I love things that take matters that can be so complicated and sum them up in simplicity. Or sometimes that just help me to laugh at myself…

Things that do this for me: children’s books, Calvin and Hobbes comic strips, quotations…

Children’s books can be so simply profound. Among my favorites is Guess How Much I Love You. That one is just an amazing portrayal of our Heavenly Father’s love…

As for Calvin and Hobbes, its pretty sad how much I like them. I can read the same one over and over and laugh all over again. And sometimes, I see a bit of me there. Makes me smile… :)

As for quotations, I so enjoy them. Discovering them, collecting them, passing them on…At times, a good quote is like a sermon in a nutshell. I love them.

The other day, I came across this lovely one:

“The pages are still blank,

but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there,

written in invisible ink

and clamoring to become visible.”

~Vladimir Nabakov

I have often found myself writing. Whether that be for my blog, or for the Children’s Institute, or in my work at ALERT.

Have you ever sat there ready to write, or needing to write something, and the screen before you insisted on staying blank? Or have you ever had something on your heart that was so a part of who you were that when it came time to express it with words, there were none adequate? Words…

This quote also gripped me on a completely different plain – that of faith and hope and trust.

Here I am in life, not knowing what tomorrow holds. I look towards the days to come and, in a sense, they are blank pages. I could get frustrated, discouraged, impatient…

BUT…

When I stop…

There is this MIRACULOUS FEELING that the Father is writing a lovely story. That what I may not be able to see now, is already reality – written in invisible ink clamoring to become visible. Visible in HIS PERFECT TIME.

This is Faith: The substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.

This is Hope: Not some vague “maybe-thinking”, but a KNOWING that God IS working. That He has only great things in store for His children. That, in following Him, my future is secure and miraculous.

This is Trust: The resolve to REST in what I KNOW to be Truth.

You know what? . . . When I stop and turn my eyes to Heaven. When I cease from leaning on my own understanding. When I acknowledge the reality of God’s presence and sovereignty. . . I get that miraculous feeling .

He is Author and Finisher. God is GOOD.

Just in case y’all were wondering…

Thanks to dear Mr. and Mrs. Bogner, I had THE CUTEST feets on the campus of the International ALERT Academy today. :)

They said “Irish for the day” :)

The Camps and Conferences Dept. at ALERT is a busy place to work. It’s a good thing and I love it. Lately, we are working really hard at balancing out our hours and not putting in overtime. SO, if I have to work over the weekend (because a conference is scheduled) then I have to take that amount of time off during the week. Sometimes, this can be challenging – like when one (me!) is in the mood to work or has the motivation to tackle a certain project or just has a ton to do. Other times (like this very moment!) it is a delight to escape right smack in the middle of the week and do whatever my heart desires! It’s like a little vacation.

This Wednesday afternoon, I am sitting at a park in Tyler. This pretty little park is my most recent discovery of favorite places to be. There is a Starbucks on the way too :)

Here I am with my laptop, a lousy wireless connection, a plate of Chinese take-out, a grande solo (shot of espresso) mocha Frapp, a patchwork quilt, and sunshine – lots of sunshine. By the way, $4.76 is an absurd price for a drink! Gratefully, its price was covered by a friend in the form of a gift card. Ah…praise the Lord for friends!

I have such a wonderful dad. Ok…that was a change of subject I know. But hey, it works for me and its my blog :)

My dad has always, always, always shown his love for his girls in such sweet ways. As Catherine and I grew, Dad knew what a great joy it was for his daughters to be able to give. Particularly at Christmastime, this was always on Dad’s heart. He knew that our greatest joy at Christmas would not be in the things we received, but in being able to have gifts for others – for him.

But there was one dilemna for us girls. Catherine and I were POOR.

And so, Dad would reach into his wallet with a glad, loving heart and give his girls “spending money”. Ah, what a grand Christmas it was then! Catherine and I could shop! Not for ourselves, but for those most dear to us.

Christmas morning, Dad and Mom would open their gifts from each of us and smile and hug us – Wow, it was great! Never mind that Dad had actually PAID for his OWN GIFT! That didn’t matter to him. It didn’t matter to me.

Dad didn’t mock my or my sister’s poverty. He rejoiced in the fact that we gave from our hearts (though it was from his pocket). And, you know what?…Our poverty itself proved to be a gift – for that very lack created the need for Dad to step in, for us to see with our eyes and hearts his love for his girls, and allowed us to give back not out of our plenty but out of our dependence and love.

So, here I am with my Heavenly Father. I long to give Him everything that I am. But what specifically can I give? He has given so much to me. There are things to give that I can see easily: my talents, possessions, my future. But are there other things that He’s given that I haven’t yet learned to see as gifts???

What has my Heavenly Father given me that I can give back? At times and in some ways, I feel so poor. But maybe, in this case as well, the poverty itself is a gift. Maybe…I can give this to Him as well.

Maybe just as it is with Dad, my lack, my hunger, my poverty are gifts. Maybe they are among the most precious gifts of all – those that cause us to see HIM for all that He is.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)

In giving these humble things back to the Father, He doesn’t mock our poverty. Rather, He rejoices with us that we gave because He gave first. This is what makes even the smallest of gifts PRICELESS.

SO. Like I said…I have such a wonderful dad. And these two girls – who will always be Daddy’s girls – are grateful for a dad who, as a father, is constantly being a picture of Christ’s love for His children.

I love you, Daddy.