Saturday, January 30, 2010
Hannah Jacklyn Weaks....She's 16!!!!!!
Our baby girl turned 16 today! I can't hardly believe it. The years have passed soooo quickly! I remember so clearly giving birth to her on Super Bowl Sunday 16 years ago. I remember her head full of dark hair and that tiny 6lb 2oz, 18" body of hers! She looked just like a baby doll! We were so proud of her...some things never change. We are still proud of her. She is a beautiful young lady who knows Jesus as her Savior and has a heart as big as Texas! Her laughter is contagious and her smile will warm the coldest heart. She has a love for fashion and a passion for chocolate....your typical girl! lol Here are a few pictures of her on her special day. We got about 10 inches of snow on her birthday...Wow! She was scheduled to go to Boone for the weekend with all her girlfriends but that had to be rescheduled for later in February. We LOVE and ADORE you Hannah! HAPPY BIRHTDAY!!!!!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
He's Coming.......
Psalm 13
How long will you forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long wil you hide your face from me? How long must I lay up cares within me and have sorrow in my heart day after day? How long shall my enemy exalt himself over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God lighten the eyes (of my faith to behold Your face in the pitchlike darkness), lest I sleep the sleep of death. Lest my enemy say, I have prevailed over him and those that trouble me rejoice when I am shaken. But I have trusted, leaned on, and been confident in your mercy and loving kindness; my heart shall rejoice and be in high spirits in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
This song is a plea of David during a no doubt difficult time in his life. He has been pouring out his heart to God with seemingly no response. He is still struggling with this trial and hurting and feeling overwhelmed and still...no answer. No relief. He says "How long will you forget me, O Lord?". Wow...how many times have I felt forgotten? How many times have I felt like my prayers weren't going any higher than the ceiling? How many times have I felt overwhelmed, discouraged, defeated and defenseless?...Many! BUT...here's the good news...God was right on time...EVERY TIME! And I have experienced his loving kindness, I know what it is like to sing and praise him for his bountiful goodness! Hallelujah!
I can't help but think of all the examples in God's Word about His children that felt that way. David we know often felt discouraged and alone. Moses I'm sure didn't think he could stand to hear one my Israelite grumble and complain, Joseph couldn't stand the thought of staying in that prison one more day, Elijah wanted to die under the Juniper tree because he just couldn't fight one more battle, Gideon wanted to hide in the winepress to thresh wheat he was so afraid of the enemy, and the list goes on and on. But precious ones, WE HAVE THE END OF THEIR STORIES!!!! We KNOW God showed up and showed out right on time! He brought relief to his children and glory to himself. They stood back and beheld his power and the realization that no one but God himself could have provided the answer. Wow!! What a God we serve.
Trust in His mercy. Trust in His loving kindness. Rejoice and let your spirits be high in His salvation. If you've prayed...you've sent for Him....beieve me, He's coming!
How long will you forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long wil you hide your face from me? How long must I lay up cares within me and have sorrow in my heart day after day? How long shall my enemy exalt himself over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God lighten the eyes (of my faith to behold Your face in the pitchlike darkness), lest I sleep the sleep of death. Lest my enemy say, I have prevailed over him and those that trouble me rejoice when I am shaken. But I have trusted, leaned on, and been confident in your mercy and loving kindness; my heart shall rejoice and be in high spirits in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
This song is a plea of David during a no doubt difficult time in his life. He has been pouring out his heart to God with seemingly no response. He is still struggling with this trial and hurting and feeling overwhelmed and still...no answer. No relief. He says "How long will you forget me, O Lord?". Wow...how many times have I felt forgotten? How many times have I felt like my prayers weren't going any higher than the ceiling? How many times have I felt overwhelmed, discouraged, defeated and defenseless?...Many! BUT...here's the good news...God was right on time...EVERY TIME! And I have experienced his loving kindness, I know what it is like to sing and praise him for his bountiful goodness! Hallelujah!
I can't help but think of all the examples in God's Word about His children that felt that way. David we know often felt discouraged and alone. Moses I'm sure didn't think he could stand to hear one my Israelite grumble and complain, Joseph couldn't stand the thought of staying in that prison one more day, Elijah wanted to die under the Juniper tree because he just couldn't fight one more battle, Gideon wanted to hide in the winepress to thresh wheat he was so afraid of the enemy, and the list goes on and on. But precious ones, WE HAVE THE END OF THEIR STORIES!!!! We KNOW God showed up and showed out right on time! He brought relief to his children and glory to himself. They stood back and beheld his power and the realization that no one but God himself could have provided the answer. Wow!! What a God we serve.
Trust in His mercy. Trust in His loving kindness. Rejoice and let your spirits be high in His salvation. If you've prayed...you've sent for Him....beieve me, He's coming!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
How much warmth does it take?
After a few weeks of really, REALLY cold temperatures it got into the 50's today! Wow...it felt sooooo good to get out of the car and not have every muscle in my body to tense up from the cold air. It was nice! I got off work at 2:30 and right before I got into the car to come home Mary sent me a text saying that I should go for a walk and enjoy God's creation. You know what?....I thought that sounded like a GREAT idea! I have not taken any time for myself in a while and I needed some alone time and she knows how much I love the outdoors. I had 2 1/2 hours before I had to pick up Travis form wrestling practice so I ran home changed clothes and headed to Chinqua Penn trail.
I pulled up in the familiar gravel lot and got out of the truck with nothing in hand. No cell phone, pocketbook, school books, or anything else that would weigh me down and even though I haven't ran in a couple of months I decided I would just see how far I could jog without falling over..lol. As I began to run the trail...I began to run my mouth to the Lord as well. You've heard the term "spilled your guts"...well, I did just that. I told the Lord how I felt, how disappointed I was in the way some things were going, how hurt I was about other situations and how angry I was concerning others, how "I" wanted things to work out. And when I got it all out...I realized I had almost ran the whole trail and was still jogging. I began to look around at the scenery and it was beautiful. As the sound of my feet were pounding across the wooden brige I noticed that the water was still frozen. I noticed snow on the side of the bank that has now been there for a month! It is still white and clean...no footprints or tracks in it, still in tact. I got to thinking about how warm it had gotten today and yet it surprised me that this ice and snow were still present. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said .."How warm does it have to get to melt your heart?" At times we have places in our hearts...the "banks in the shade" if you will, that get cold with bitterness, jealousy, disappointment, broken promises, etc. and the ice and snow...just don't melt that easily. We may have warmth from a message or devotion or song that begins to warm and melt away the snow...but because we have it tucked so deep into the recesses of our heart...it remains cold and frozen. You see after I voiced all my complaints to the Lord...it was then I noticed his creation. It was when I got "quiet" that he used this illustration of nature to warm my heart...to remind me of How GREAT He is ...and how small I am. To remind me that he has given me blessing after blessing, handfuls of puropse many, many days of my life.
As the coldness of my heart began to soften from the warmth of his love and conviction the Holy Spirit also showed me this. As I jogged around I noticed how barren the trees were and how you could see through them and far beyond what you'd be able to see come spring when the leaves filled all the open spaces. The Holy Spirit showed me that is exactly the way the Lord is with us. It is during our barren times...the coldness of life..the "winter" of life that even though circumstances may be confusing and we see no clarity whatsoever...there is one who becomes very clear...the Lord Jesus himself. When we are forced to our knees, when we cry out to our Father for help...it is then that we see farther spiritually than we ever had. When the trees are green and lush and thick with leaves and life is good...we sometimes forget who those blessings come from. God help me to allow your Word to melt the coldness of the deep places of my heart...illuminate every part of me with your light and help me to recognize the times of difficulty as a time to know you better than I ever have. Thank you for a friend who obeyed a prompting by you to tell me to go for a walk/run. Thank you for speaking to me through creation and most of all thank you for listening and loving me.
I pulled up in the familiar gravel lot and got out of the truck with nothing in hand. No cell phone, pocketbook, school books, or anything else that would weigh me down and even though I haven't ran in a couple of months I decided I would just see how far I could jog without falling over..lol. As I began to run the trail...I began to run my mouth to the Lord as well. You've heard the term "spilled your guts"...well, I did just that. I told the Lord how I felt, how disappointed I was in the way some things were going, how hurt I was about other situations and how angry I was concerning others, how "I" wanted things to work out. And when I got it all out...I realized I had almost ran the whole trail and was still jogging. I began to look around at the scenery and it was beautiful. As the sound of my feet were pounding across the wooden brige I noticed that the water was still frozen. I noticed snow on the side of the bank that has now been there for a month! It is still white and clean...no footprints or tracks in it, still in tact. I got to thinking about how warm it had gotten today and yet it surprised me that this ice and snow were still present. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said .."How warm does it have to get to melt your heart?" At times we have places in our hearts...the "banks in the shade" if you will, that get cold with bitterness, jealousy, disappointment, broken promises, etc. and the ice and snow...just don't melt that easily. We may have warmth from a message or devotion or song that begins to warm and melt away the snow...but because we have it tucked so deep into the recesses of our heart...it remains cold and frozen. You see after I voiced all my complaints to the Lord...it was then I noticed his creation. It was when I got "quiet" that he used this illustration of nature to warm my heart...to remind me of How GREAT He is ...and how small I am. To remind me that he has given me blessing after blessing, handfuls of puropse many, many days of my life.
As the coldness of my heart began to soften from the warmth of his love and conviction the Holy Spirit also showed me this. As I jogged around I noticed how barren the trees were and how you could see through them and far beyond what you'd be able to see come spring when the leaves filled all the open spaces. The Holy Spirit showed me that is exactly the way the Lord is with us. It is during our barren times...the coldness of life..the "winter" of life that even though circumstances may be confusing and we see no clarity whatsoever...there is one who becomes very clear...the Lord Jesus himself. When we are forced to our knees, when we cry out to our Father for help...it is then that we see farther spiritually than we ever had. When the trees are green and lush and thick with leaves and life is good...we sometimes forget who those blessings come from. God help me to allow your Word to melt the coldness of the deep places of my heart...illuminate every part of me with your light and help me to recognize the times of difficulty as a time to know you better than I ever have. Thank you for a friend who obeyed a prompting by you to tell me to go for a walk/run. Thank you for speaking to me through creation and most of all thank you for listening and loving me.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Are you standing on the edge?
Let me tell you a story......"A father and his two small daughters are at play. He's in the water; they jump into his arms. Let me restate that: one jumps; the other ponders. The dry one gleefully wathces her sister leap. She dances up and down as the other splashes. But when her dad invites her to do the same, she shakes her head and backs away."
Wow....how many times has the Father called me to "jump" and I shook my head and backed away! What about you? Are you wanting to enjoy the Christian life and the peace and joy that you know comes from total surrender to him but yet you are to fearful? You know you should obey and sing that song...or you know you should tithe, you feel him leading you to witness to that person at work, you feel his leading to volunteer at the homeless shelter or the nursing home, or just befriend the new member at your church that seems to be all alone. Whatever it is...are you standing on the edge of the pool? There are real fears in this world born out of legitimate concerns. Yet left unchecked they metatstasize into obsessions. We can almost become paranoid. You'll find yourself ignoring faith, never taking the plunge. Happy to experience life vicariously through others. Preferring to take the no risk rather than any risk. For fear of the worst, you never enjoy life at its best.
The one sister by contrast, jumps! Not with foolish abandon, but with belief in the goodness of a father's heart and trust in a father's arm. Oh dear sisters...Hasn't the Father proved himself enough?....You can trust him...you can believe in his goodness and trust his strong arm!
The sister in my story.....I'm happy to report that she belived in her father. After extensive coaxing from her dad and coaching from her sister, she held her nose and jumped. Last tally, she's taken at least a dozen plunges. Good for her. Another fear has fallen victim to trust.
****portions from Max Lucado's book fearless...other portions from what God laid on my heart****
Wow....how many times has the Father called me to "jump" and I shook my head and backed away! What about you? Are you wanting to enjoy the Christian life and the peace and joy that you know comes from total surrender to him but yet you are to fearful? You know you should obey and sing that song...or you know you should tithe, you feel him leading you to witness to that person at work, you feel his leading to volunteer at the homeless shelter or the nursing home, or just befriend the new member at your church that seems to be all alone. Whatever it is...are you standing on the edge of the pool? There are real fears in this world born out of legitimate concerns. Yet left unchecked they metatstasize into obsessions. We can almost become paranoid. You'll find yourself ignoring faith, never taking the plunge. Happy to experience life vicariously through others. Preferring to take the no risk rather than any risk. For fear of the worst, you never enjoy life at its best.
The one sister by contrast, jumps! Not with foolish abandon, but with belief in the goodness of a father's heart and trust in a father's arm. Oh dear sisters...Hasn't the Father proved himself enough?....You can trust him...you can believe in his goodness and trust his strong arm!
The sister in my story.....I'm happy to report that she belived in her father. After extensive coaxing from her dad and coaching from her sister, she held her nose and jumped. Last tally, she's taken at least a dozen plunges. Good for her. Another fear has fallen victim to trust.
****portions from Max Lucado's book fearless...other portions from what God laid on my heart****
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