"...only have so many revolutions around the sun ..."

"We only have so many revolutions around the sun and every day is about overturning the dark.

In this world, there is One heavenly dream Who comes to life, to give life, a
dream we pray always to dream, even in our darkest nightmare, so we wake to the Light forever, all our weary hopes fulfilled.

There's a dream we pray to dream where we turn and open to the Son above and all the dark forever burns away.”

-Ann Voskamp

“Posterity will serve Him; it will be told to generations about the Lord; they will come and declare His righteousness to a people yet to be born, that He has acted. (Psalm 22:30-31 MEV)

"Our children will serve Him; future generations will hear the story of how the Lord rescued us. They will tell the generations to come of the righteousness of the Lord, of what He has done." Psalm 22:30-31(VOICE)

“Hope of all hopes, dream of our dreams, a child is born, sweet-breathed; a son is given to us: a living gift...The Dear Father everlasting, ever-present never-failing …Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 VOICE


“A light has come on, and everything is interesting!” (Jim Lovelock, rediscovering childhood at the age of 101.)

"...You crossed the distance..."

  "You can't understand most of the important things from a distance... 

You have to get close,"

- Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson

 "You reached through my darkness

To pull me in

You stood in my place

And became my sin.....

When I couldn't do it

You crossed the distance

Your love pushed harder

Than my resistance"

LOVE Outran me

"...just a snapshot in time …

 Snapshot memory

“…photography…

Oh, I suppose it’s just a way of trying to fix things as they go past. To keep what’s vital from being lost.” (Rory Lomax in The Dig)

Although, I recall our grandchildren’s conversation this summer day, I don’t remember what the cousins were chatting about but I do remember the sound of them talking , the laughter, the breaking waves, salt water on their faces and in their hair; and the sunshine shimmering on the ocean, the light wind, the empty net, the holding of the beach hat against the ocean breeze.

They have been together since they were born. They crawled together, vacationed, learned to ride waves , learned to maneuver distance together, joy and loss together …

“Our understanding is just a snapshot in time … and new memories replace old memories”

At a later age they may be talking about the breaking waves, and how they will withstand life‘s challenges together, or possibly the wind ‘how they faced struggles head on together and got to the other side ’ or recalled memories with family on beach vacations decades ago.

But this moment and day - it was only standing in the waves near end of day,attempting time after time to catch something with the net he held, both knowing in their ♥️’s the next time they were going to succeed , - resilient and encouraging one another to not give up, just enjoying the moment- not a care in the world.

 Life keeps moving forward and similar conversations and loving memories surely happen between other cousins, siblings,family, over other generations and lifetimes, I’m sure. 

“You are in the air I'm breathing

You are in the night time sky

You are in the storm retreating

You are in the first sunrise 🌅 

You are in the firm foundation

You are the life to seek”

(You Are by Citipointe)

“God knows all about us, and He knows what is best for us. He sees the dangers we face, and He also knows the joys we could experience. 

But God not only knows what is best for us, He also wants what is best for us.

 The reason is simple: He loves us." 

- Billy Graham, The Journey

"...Don’t argue along the way.."

Read this this morning and was challenged. Did some study

We each have so much in life but it’s so easy to compare ourselves to others. So today just realize that God has blessed you abundantly and that our “sacks are full”.

We all have a journey ahead and I’m so thankful for a family that we always pull together.

"So he sent is brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, 

See that ye fall not out by the way."

Genesis 45:24 KJV

"Then he sent his brothers on their way. As they were leaving, he gave them one last piece of advice. Joseph: Don’t argue along the way!"

Genesis 45:24 VOICE

"Then he sent his brothers off. As they left he told them, “Take it easy on the journey; try to get along with each other.”

Genesis 45:24MSG

“Consider, again, the great mercies you have all shared together… See that you fall not out when you have so many mercies. Joseph has filled your sacks, but if he has put some extra thing into Benjamin’s sack, do not quarrel with Benjamin about that, but rather rejoice because your sacks are full. You have all got enough, you are all secure, you have all been dismissed with a blessing.”

CHS Sermon #49

“To learn after all these years that the brother they sold into slavery has become one of the most powerful men in the world takes time to process. The famine, the journey from Canaan, and a shock of seeing him again have taken a toll on them. Now they have to go back, get their families, and return. The road home leaves plenty of time to worry about what might become of them, plenty of time for nerves to fray and anger to stir. Joseph knows they have hard journey ahead, and they need to pull together and not apart.”

-Note, Voice Bible

"..empires dissolves like the white mist of the morning ..."

“The majesty of kings is swallowed up. 

The pomp of empires dissolves like the white mist of the morning before the sun. 

The brightness of assembled armies is eclipsed. He in Himself is brighter than the sun… 

Put away your gaudy pageantry, you lords of this poor narrow earth! 

His kingdom knows no bounds. Without a limit His vast empire stretches out itself.”

Above All Names

“So God raised Him up to the highest place and gave Him the name above all.”

-Philippians 2:9 VOICE

"...to accept life unconditionally..."

Lovely painting by Emily years ago as a teen, of a lovely person and life Audrey Hepburn

Few things I thought:
We watched a documentary on Netflix of Audrey Hepburn‘s life. I can’t believe I did not know much about Audrey Hepburn prior to today. We watched a few of her movies. She was amazing and so uniquely talented and beautiful in many ways. She was resilient in childhood and her life -through abandonment as a child, dreams shattered as a by WWII, marital hardships, and cancer in the end of life. She was dedicated to her family, and made a great contribution to relief efforts and towards relief for world hunger and children -UNICEF.

Our own lives pass by very quickly and I wish I would’ve show more interest in my daughter’s painting years ago. And take the time to slow things down when in the busiest times of life. I also think it’s important to learn about others even if it was from the 1950s /60’s because there’s so much to gain from learning about their lives, their struggles, and their successes that motivate you in your own challenging times that will come.
I’ve included a few of her quotes that are inspiring. So taking the time to slow down and focus on these words today.

“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”

-Audrey Hepburn

“Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book, and remembering - because you can't take it in all at once.”

-Audrey Hepburn

“People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.”

-Audrey Hepburn

“Pick the day. Enjoy it - to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come... The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present, and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.”

-Audrey Hepburn

“How shall I sum up my life? I think I've been particularly lucky. Does that have something to do with faith also? I know my mother always used to say, 'Good things aren't supposed to just fall in your lap. God is very generous, but he expects you to do your part first.' So you have to make that effort. But at the end of a bad time or a huge effort, I've always had - how shall I say it? - the prize at the end. My whole life shows that.”

-Audrey Hepburn

“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It's the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows & the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.”

Audrey Hepburn

by Emily

"..take in all the light and the darkness- living with that tension.."

"Life has it’s bewilderments, We look at things And can’t put it together it just doesn’t make sense. We have to live in the tension of the evil that is in the world and somehow God working it out for good. Maybe never understanding.

The answer may be that there is none. By answer I mean that it is going to somehow solve the problem.

I think we have to learn to live in tension. Yet, we can still figure out how to carry-on, and find meaning, still choose to love and carry the grief forward that becomes mysteriously life-giving to us and other people.

One of the secrets of life is living within that tension. Bitter ironies we must live with.

I can’t say that this will make the theological sense out of your experience therefore I won’t. There is no generic category of loss that is the same for everybody. No generic life.

“Life itself demands life from me. Pain stands on its own.”

“Postponement, deferral , part of this life …all thing considered- living is worth it.”

 Grace disguised- Jerry Sittser

Jerry Sittser: Life After Loss podcast everything-happens-with-kate-bowler

Kate mentions this tension is "Like an Aperture" (Minute 26:14), camera or your eye.

“I think of it as an aperture widening to be able to take in all the light and the darkness. My heart cracks open wider to take in both.”

Many times each day - 

And in the big scope of things there is so much beauty and then in the big scope of things there is such an unbearable amount of pain.”

“You have always been our refuge. Our ancestors made You their home long ago. Before mountains were born, before You fashioned the earth and filled it with life, from ages past to distant futures, You are truly God.

With every sun’s rising, surprise us with Your love, satisfy us with Your kindness. Then we will sing with joy and celebrate every day we are alive.

Psalm 90:1-2,14 VOICE

"..far corners of the earth to distant life-giving oceans.."

I was thinking about how i need help beyond my own strength to learn to live miles, hundreds of miles, thousands of miles from those we love and hold dear- family, relatives, and friends. How this distance is like a canyon so wide and deep ...I cannot cross at my own doing.

 I then thought about years ago in my spiritual life when i did not have a hope or answers on crossing the canyon that separated me from the One who went before me and made the way.

 Lastly I thought the solution today remains the same -to live each day with hope and faith to the next great memory and time we have together and also that God’s grace will sustain us --between the tender ache of the miles. 

Canyonlands is awe inspiring. The layers of rock of the canyon far beneath the earth would not have been visible without the erosion and sculpting.

 We encounter trials, detours, and change in our lives thinking they are surprises when all along God had a Sovereign plan for our good. He often reveals one season or layer at a time of our lives and uses our lives for his glory.

Each deeper layer reveals more of the preservation and displays a history of careful design.♥

“You leave us breathless when Your awesome works answer us 

by putting everything right. God of our liberation— 

You are the hope of all creation, 

from the far corners of the earth to distant life-giving oceans. 

With immense power, You erected mountains. Wrapped in strength, 

You compelled Choppy seas, crashing waves, and crowds of people 

To sit in astonished silence. Those who inhabit the boundaries of the earth are awed by Your signs, strong and subtle hints of Your indelible presence.

 Even the dawn and dusk respond to You with joy.”

Psalm 65:5-8 (Voice)

"...between them to bring them together..."

 "That God is on one side 

and all the people on the other side, 

and Christ Jesus, himself man,

 is between them to bring them together,

 by giving his life for all mankind. 

This is the message that at the proper time

 God gave to the world."

1 Timothy 2:5-6  TLB

The Blessing 

"May His favor be upon you

And a thousand generations

And your family

And your children

And their children

And their children

May His presence go before you

And behind you

And beside you

All around you

And within you

He is with you

He is with you

In the morning

(In the evening) In the evening

In your coming

And your going

In your weeping

And rejoicing

He is for you (For you)

He is for you (He is for you)"

"..rivers in the desert...streams of water there ..."

 

"Eternal One: Don’t revel only in the past,

        or spend all your time recounting the victories of days gone by.

    Watch closely: I am preparing something new; it’s happening now, even as I speak,

        and you’re about to see it. I am preparing a way through the desert;

    Waters will flow where there had been none."

Isaiah 43:18-19 VOICE

“Do not call to mind the former things,

Or consider things of the past.

Behold, I am going to do something new,

Now it will spring up;

Will you not be aware of it?

I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,

Rivers in the desert." 

Isaiah 43:18-19 NASB

"But the Lord says,

“Do not cling to events of the past

    or dwell on what happened long ago.

Watch for the new thing I am going to do.

    It is happening already—you can see it now!

I will make a road through the wilderness

    and give you streams of water there."

Isaiah 43:18-19 GNT

"Forget the former things;

    do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

    and streams in the wasteland." 

Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV

"Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; 

do you not perceive and know it

 and will you not give heed to it? 

I will even make a way in the wilderness

 and rivers in the desert." 

Isaiah 43:18-19 AMPC

"..surprise us ..every sun's rising. .. rehearse your faithfulness..."

 

"With every sun’s rising, surprise us with Your love,

    satisfy us with Your kindness.

    Then we will sing with joy and celebrate every day we are alive."

Psalm 90:14 (VOICE)

"To speak of Your unfailing love in the morning

    and rehearse Your faithfulness as night begins to fall."

Psalm 92:2 Voice

One Thing Remans

Higher than the mountains that I face

Stronger than the power of the grave

Constant through the trial and the change

One thing remains

This one thing remains 

Your love never fails, and never gives up

It never runs out on me 

Your love never fails, and never gives up

It never runs out on me 

Your love never fails, and never gives up

It never runs out on me 

Because on and on and on and on it goes

Before it overwhelms and satisfies my soul

And I never, ever, have to be afraid

One thing remains

This one thing remains

Your love never fails, and never gives up

It never runs out on me 

Your love never fails, and never gives up

It never runs out on me 

Your love never fails, and never gives up

It never runs out on me 

Your love

In death, and in life

I'm confident and covered by the power of your great love

My debt is paid, there's nothing that can separate 

My heart from Your great love

Your love never fails, and never gives up

It never runs out on me 

Your love never fails, and never gives up

It never runs out on me 

Your love never fails, and never gives up

It never runs out on me, it never fails

On and on

Your love goes on and on

Singing your love

Your love goes on and on

His love goes on and on