time for a little smile...

this is absolutely amazing stuff!!

only GOD could have done this!!!

Be fearless!!

now... about fear...

here are a couple choruses i learned as a child...

i hope to be able to teach these to you
the next time A'po and I are in the States...

today's theme... MUSIC

i'm still hoping and praying that at least one of you, 

my magnificent 9, will learn to play the piano...

English is so confusing...

may God bless you with GREAT friends who will point you always to GOD!!!

i love it that many of you are already BOOKWORMS like your Oma...

 

thought for the day...

TRUST HIM FIRST (Our Daily Bread)

“Don’t let go, Dad”

“I won’t. I’ve got you. I promise.”

I was a little boy terrified of the water, but my dad wanted me to learn to swim. He would purposefully take me away from the side of the pool into a depth that was over my head, where he was my only support. Then he would teach me to relax and float.

It wasn’t just a swimming lesson; it was a lesson in trust. I knew my father loved me and would never let me be harmed intentionally, but I was also afraid. I would cling tightly to his neck until he reassured me all would be well. Eventually his patience and kindness won out, and I began to swim. But I had to trust him first.

When I feel “over my head” in a difficulty, I sometimes think back on those moments. They help me call to mind the Lord’s reassurance to His people:  “Even to your old age… I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you (Isaiah 46:4).

We may not always be able to feel God’s arms beneath us, but the Lord has promised that He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5). As we rest in His care and promises, He helps us learn to trust in His faithfulness. He lifts us above our worries to discover new peace in Him.

Abba, Father, I praise You for carrying me through life. Please give me faith to trust that You are always with me.

God carries us to new places of grace as we trust in Him.

DEALING WITH DEEP GRIEF by Lysa TerKeurst

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

Losing someone you love can cut into your heart so viciously it forever redefines who you are and how you think. It’s what I call deep grief.

It strains against everything you’ve ever believed. So much so, you wonder how the promises that seemed so real on those thin Bible pages yesterday could possibly stand up under the weight of this enormous sadness today.

I once stood at the side of a casket too small to accept. Pink roses draped everywhere. And I watched my mom as she lay across the casket refusing to let go. How could she let go? Part of her heart lay within, so quiet and so still.

I stood paralyzed and stunned. Just days ago we were laughing and doing everyday things and assuming that all of our lives stretched before us in spans of many, many years. And then suddenly—it all stopped.

In the flurry of funeral plans and memorial services we all operated on automatic. People were everywhere. Soft chatter filled in the gaps that our stunned silence could not. And people brought in enough food to feed the whole neighborhood.

But eventually people went back to their own lives. The soft chatter dissipated. The food stopped coming, And we were forced to carry on. Only we had deep grief wrapped about us that made our throats feel strangled and our feet stuck in mud.

I remember around that time when I tried to go to a drive-thru to order some food. But I couldn’t. I sat there with the speaker spouting words at me I couldn’t process. The cashier kept asking if she could take my order.

Yeah, I had an order. Take away my bloodshot eyes. Take away my desire to hurt the doctors that couldn’t save my little sister. Take away my anger toward God. And then take away my guilt for being the one who lived. “I'll take all that with no onions and extra ketchup, please.”

I drove away sobbing. How dare they offer happy meals! No one should be happy today. Or tomorrow. Or next year.

This is the reality of deep grief. Even when you love God and believe in His promises. Even when you know without a doubt that some day you will see your loved one again. Even when you know hope is still there. Even when you know He is near.

It takes time.

It takes wading through an ocean of tears.

It takes finding a possession of your loved one you thought was lost and realizing God did that just to comfort you. It takes discovering one day that the sun still shines. It takes being caught off guard when you catch yourself smiling, only to realize it’s okay.

It takes prayer. It takes making the decision to stop asking for answers and start asking for perspective. It takes telling people to please not avoid saying her name—you want to hear it, over and over and over again.

Then one day you take off the blanket of deep grief. You fold it neatly and tuck it away. You no longer hate it or resist it. For underneath it, wondrous things have happened over time. Things that could only have come about when Divine Hope intersects with a broken world.

And finally you can see years stretching before you once again. You look up, blow a kiss, wipe a tear and find it’s still possible to dance.

Dear Lord, thank You for assuring me that Your promises hold true even when life seems to betray me. You are my strength and my hope. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Psalm 30:11-12a, “You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.” (NLT)

thought for the week--TRUST GOD

on Saturday, 10/13/18, a friend of ours, Joval Labata, was suddenly taken home to heaven. he was only 57... he collapsed after he had finished directing the choir's special number, "I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel," during Light of the World Evangelical Christian Fellowship's 16th anniversary celebration. despite resuscitation attempts, he never recovered...

i heard that 7 of you were there at the anniversary celebration and saw him collapse, but it may not have crossed your mind that it was pretty serious...

even though to us it seemed too sudden and too soon, to God, it was perfect timing... what's interesting to me is that earlier that day, i had posted this from Charles Ryrie's "Basic Theology" that i found to be thought-provoking, not knowing that i would actually have to believe and claim it in view of Joval's sudden passing...

my heart goes out to Joval's 4 kids who have now lost both their mother and father in the span of two years... i know they are loved by many, but it's sad to think that, though barely in their teens, they are now orphans. 

so, my thought for the week has been revolving around TRUSTING GOD... despite all the situations that come our way when we can't wrap our heads around what is happening and why, we should STILL choose to TRUST that God knows exactly what He's doing; that all that we're going through is part of His divine and perfect plan for our lives; that when we get to the other side of these uncomfortable, annoying, sad, distressing, and difficult situations, we will see that God DID know what's best and that if we put our full and complete faith and TRUST in Him, He will make everything work out for our good and for His honor and glory!!

So... in everything that comes your way, my awesome grandkids, ALWAYS TRUST GOD!!!

lots of people have lots to say about life...