Prayer Closet

March 31, 2009

"Believer, closet prayer will be found to be but a lifeless, comfortless thing, if you do not enjoy communion with God in it. That should be the very soul of all your closet duties, therefore press after it, as for life; when you go into your closet banish every thing that can hinder your enjoyment of Christ."
THOMAS BROOKS

Honk!

March 31, 2009

Bill took Mirielle to see one of my students perform in the musical Honk! on Sunday. I was home with bronchitis :(.

Bill and Miri said Abigail Moore did a fabulous job! Here are some of the pics...

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Last week fun

March 29, 2009

Miri and I watched two of our favorite kids last week while their mom and dad were out of town. Though our week ended sadly with everyone getting sick, we had a wonderful time! Here are a few pictures :).

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The Lord's Prayer

Is there anything cuter than this? Please pause my music player :)

Kept by the power of God

March 25, 2009

"Are you not at this hour a monument of God's faithfulness? Where would you have been, had not the magnet of His grace kept you, and drawn your fugitive affections towards Himself? From how many temptations has He rescued you- laying hold of you on the precipice, when about to plunge headlong down; employing, sometimes constraining grace, at other times, restraining grace- making this your brief history– "Kept by the power of God," and overruling all- ALL for His own glory, and your own good? " JR MacDuff

Everything I need

March 22, 2009
“God’s grace means that I can rest assured that I’ll have everything I need to be what he wants me to be and to do what he wants me to do in the situation in which he’s placed me.
I’m no longer restricted to the limits of my own strength and wisdom. By his grace, I’ve a new identity and a new potential. I’m a child of God; the risen Christ now lives inside of me. I need no longer fear people or circumstances; I don’t have to feel weak in the face of suffering or temptation, because I no longer rest in the resources of my own ability. I’m in Christ and he’s in me.
This new identity gives me new potential as I face the realities of life in this bent and broken world. God’s grace gives me reason to ‘take heart.’”
—Paul David Tripp

The Grace of Jesus

March 19, 2009

"You who are tried in worldly circumstances, who have to endure the hard lot of poverty—"My grace is sufficient for you." You who are tempted, day by day, to say or do that which conscience testifies against—"My grace is sufficient for you." You who are harassed with family troubles and afflictions, and are often drawn aside into peevishness (irritability) and fretfulness—"My grace is sufficient for you." Our weakness, helplessness, and inability are the very things which draw forth the power, the strength, and the grace of Jesus! Believer, your case is never beyond the reach of the words—"My grace is sufficient for you!" Philpot

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Almost a heaven

March 18, 2009

"Let the weakest and the humblest remember that in his daily course he can, if he will, shed around him almost a heaven. Kind words, sympathizing attentions, watchfulness against wounding men's sensitiveness, these cost very little, but they are priceless in their value. " FW Robertson

"Small kindnesses, small courtesies, small considerations, habitually practiced in our social interactions, give a greater charm to the character than the display of great talents and accomplishments" Kelty

Omnipotent Grace

March 17, 2009

"I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be in another world. But still, I am not what I once used to be! By the grace of God, I am what I am!" John Newton

"Let none conclude that they have no grace, because they have many imperfections in their obedience. Your grace maybe very weak and imperfect, and yet you may be truly bornagain, and be a genuine son of God and heir of heaven." (Hopkins, 1670)

"The omnipotent grace of God can change and transform the worst and most hopeless; quicken those who are dead; and animate the groveling spirit with . . .new motives, new principles, new tastes, new feelings, new aspirations! John McDuff

That sweet grace~

March 16, 2009

“If you think of this world as a place intended simply for our happiness, you find it quite intolerable: think of it as a place of training and correction and it’s not so bad.” CS Lewis

"We learn humility, not merely by a discovery of what
we are, but also by a discovery of what Jesus is.

We need a glimpse . . .
of Jesus,
of His love,
of His grace,
of His blood.
When these two feelings meet together
in our bosom . . .
our shame, and the Lord's goodness;
our guilt, and His forgiveness;
our wickedness, and His superabounding mercy;
they break us, humble us, and lay us, dissolved in tears
of godly sorrow and contrition, at the footstool of mercy!

And thus we learn humility, that sweet grace, that
blessed fruit of the Spirit in real, vital, soul-experience."
Philpot

Florida pictures

March 15, 2009

Miri and I were so glad we could visit with Mom and Fred for a few days. Here are a few pictures!

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A trust beyond all measure

"Father, I abandon myself into Your hands. Do with me what you will. Whatever You do, I will thank You. I am ready for all. I accept all. Let only Your will be done in me, as in all Your creatures, And I’ll ask nothing else, my Lord. Into your hands I commend my spirit; I give it to You with all the love of my heart, For I love You, Lord, And so need to give myself, to surrender myself into Your hands With a trust beyond all measure, Because You are my Father."

Amy Carmichael

We're back!

March 12, 2009

Miri and I had a wonderful time away! We will post more pictures and quotes soon :). Thank you Mom and Fred for a fabulous week! We love you!!

Enjoyment of God!

March 6, 2009

"The enjoyment of [God] is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams. But God is the ocean."

JONATHAN EDWARDS

All grumbling aside...

March 3, 2009

I haven't been on the MetroLife Mom's blog in a while and I'm thankful that Lindsay told me about what they're doing! They're calling all readers to put all grumbling aside for 7 days :). Let's join them!

Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Leave the future to Him

March 3, 2009

"It has been well said that no man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load yourselves so, my friends. If you find yourselves so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing, not God's. He begs you to leave the future to Him, and mind the present." George MacDonald