Pray

Yesterday I found out from a co-worker, that her friends 12 year old son had gone missing on Sunday. We put his "Missing" picture up in our office after she told us. Earlier today we found out that his body was found in the woods a block and a half from his house. Foul play is suspected, but I'm not sure if they know anything for certain. Because of my friends connection with the boy and his mom, we have been hearing stories about them for months. This all comes as a complete shock. I am praying for God's peace and comfort for the family during this terrible time. We do not always understand why things happen, but God is sovereign over every moment under heaven.

"For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you....Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended." -Isaiah 60:2 and vs 18-20

Morning Reflections: "Being Well Thought Of For The Sake Of Christ"

"Life is too short to spend time and energy worrying

about what others think of us. Or should we care

about what others think precisely because that

really matters in this short life?" - John Piper

I've often wondered how exactly to balance not caring what others think while maintaining a good reputation for the sake of the gospel. But through reading scripture, I've come to see that not caring what the world thinks doesn't have to be a cold and indifferent attitude. If we are truly striving to honor God with our lives, than we will behave in a manner that is kind toward others while still living for an audience of One. Our desire for a good reputation will not be for our own sakes, but for that of Christ's. In the stories of Daniel he made it clear whom he served and that he did not care what others thought. The way he lived his life in God brought him favor with kings, and as a result, some of the kings men became jealous and sought to discredit Daniel. "...but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him."-Daniel 6:4. How then is the tension between not caring what others think and being "well thought of by outsiders. 1 Tim 3:7" to be navigated? John Piper says the answer to this is "By realizing that our aim in life is that Christ is magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. In other words, we do care, really care, about what others think...of Christ. Their salvation hangs on what they think of Christ. And our lives are to display His truth and beauty. So we must care what others think of us as representatives of Christ. Love demands it."

I'm sure I will still struggle with wanting others approval for purely selfish reasons, but I am sobered when I consider who's reputation I have been entrusted with. May this prayer from Life Is A Vapor be my prayer O Lord!

"Father, at times the way of Christ is complex to our sin-stained and finite minds. Forgive us for the times we have justified our vanity in the name of a good reputation. O Lord, grant us, in this brief life, the wisdom and courage to please others, or not to please others, for the sake of Christ alone, and not our own praise. In Jesus' name, Amen."

A Legacy

Saturday was my Abuela's eighty-seventh birthday! Around lunch time my family drove down to the little town where she lives. It was a reunion of my dad's side of the family. My dad's oldest brother and his family were there, as well as my dad's younger sister and brother. A traditional Puerto Rican feast soon followed our arrival. At the end of the meal my Abuela stood up and wanted to give a gift to everyone there. On her birthday, she wanted to bless others. She started by praising and blessing God for His goodness and faithfulness to her. She then read a list of about twenty prayers of blessing that she had been praying for all of us. Some of them were specifically for the "grandchildren", but most of it was for everyone. In that moment I was struck with the legacy that this godly woman was leaving all of us. She is leaving a legacy of a life lived for God. A word rarely leaves her mouth that is not laced with praises for God or wisdom from His word. She has had a profound impact on all who know her and I am so thankful that God has blessed my life with a treasure such as her.

I want to leave a legacy. How will they

remember me? Did I choose to love?

Did I point to You enough? To make a

mark on things? I want to leave an

offering A child of mercy and grace

who blessed your name unapologetically

And leave that kind of legacy

~Legacy by Nichole Nordeman~

Morning Reflections: "Make The Water Flow"

"And when he thought thereon, he wept." - Mark 14:72

It has been thought by some that as long as Peter lived, the fountain of his tears began to flow whenever he remembered his denying his Lord. It is not unlikely that it was so, (for his sin was very great, and grace in him had afterwards a perfect work. This same experience is common to all the redeemed family according to the degree in which the Spirit of God has removed the natural heart of stone. We, like Peter, remember our boastful promise: Though all men shall forsake thee, yet will not I. We eat our own words with the bitter herbs of repentance. When we think of what we vowed we would be, and of what we have been, we may weep whole showers of grief. He thought on his denying his Lord. The place in which he did it, the little cause which led him into such heinous sin, the oaths and blasphemies with which he sought to confirm his falsehood, and the dreadful hardness of heart which drove him to do so again and yet again. Can we, when we are reminded of our sins, and their exceeding sinfulness, remain stolid and stubborn? Will we not make our house a Bochim, and cry unto the Lord for renewed assurances of pardoning love? May we never take a dry-eyed look at sin, lest ere long we have a tongue parched in the flames of hell. Peter also thought upon his Master's look of love. The Lord followed up the cock's warning voice with an admonitory look of sorrow, pity, and love. That glance was never out of Peter's mind so long as he lived. It was far more effectual than ten thousand sermons would have been without the Spirit. The penitent apostle would be sure to weep when he recollected the Saviour's full forgiveness, which restored him to his former place. To think that we have offended so kind and good a Lord is more than sufficient reason for being constant weepers. Lord, smite our rocky hearts, and make the waters flow.

~O Lord, may my heart be soft and my tears flow easily. Make my heart and conscience sensitive so that the slightest detection of sin brings me too my knees. May You be glorified in my life and may I bring honor and glory to Your name all the days of my life. Amen~

Morning Reflections: "Precious Promises"

This morning I read in Morning & Evening about God's "Exceeding great and precious promises". I was convicted about how I am not as quick to believe as I should. In my pride I often feel so condemned by my sin that I think God will not fulfill His promises or bless me. In that moment I am making my sin greater than God. I am basing God blessing me on works. This morning I also read in Daniel 5 about how the king sent for Daniel to decipher the hand writing on the wall. Daniel told the king that it was from God and foretold of the kings demise. That very night he was killed. I know this is not exactly the kind of promise that everyone would want to hear about, but it is another testimony of God's character in keeping His word. I pray that I will always trust in God's good and precious promise!

"Exceeding great and precious promises." 2 Peter 1:4

If you would know experimentally the preciousness of the promises, and enjoy them in your own heart, meditate much upon them. There are promises which are like grapes in the wine-press; if you will tread them the juice will flow. Thinking over the hallowed words will often be the prelude to their fulfilment. While you are musing upon them, the boon which you are seeking will insensibly come to you. Many a Christian who has thirsted for the promise has found the favour which it ensured gently distilling into his soul even while he has been considering the divine record; and he has rejoiced that ever he was led to lay the promise near his heart.But besides meditating upon the promises, seek in thy soul to receive them as being the very words of God. Speak to thy soul thus, If I were dealing with a man's promise, I should carefully consider the ability and the character of the man who had covenanted with me. So with the promise of God; my eye must not be so much fixed upon the greatness of the mercy--that may stagger me; as upon the greatness of the promiser--that will cheer me. My soul, it is God, even thy God, God that cannot lie, who speaks to thee. This word of his which thou art now considering is as true as his own existence. He is a God unchangeable. He has not altered the thing which has gone out of his mouth, nor called back one single consolatory sentence. Nor doth he lack any power; it is the God that made the heavens and the earth who has spoken thus. Nor can he fail in wisdom as to the time when he will bestow the favours, for he knoweth when it is best to give and when better to withhold. Therefore, seeing that it is the word of a God so true, so immutable, so powerful, so wise, I will and must believe the promise. If we thus meditate upon the promises, and consider the Promiser, we shall experience their sweetness, and obtain their fulfilment.
-Charles Spurgeon-

Taking A Step Through Time

Well, I never did get around to posting today's devotions. I did get some Bible reading in, but that was about it. My morning started with getting up late and rushing to work. Once there I had to work on creating some ads to go in Saturday's paper for the agents. I normally have until three in the afternoon to do this, but I had to be downtown at one-thirty, so they needed to be in early. I had to go downtown for work to receive my "token" device and have a short class about it. This is all for upping our security for one of our programs. Anyway, that is over and I must say that I enjoyed going down to the Prime Osborn Center where we met. It use to be an old train station, I think, and is beautifully multifarious. I quite liked it! I've always been intrigued with old buildings and old train stations are a bit enigmatical. They hold pieces to the puzzles of peoples lives. They hold greetings and farewells. Love stories and tragedies. I think it would be fascinating to be able to go back in time and just spend a day train and people watching. Maybe it's the affect the old movies have had on me that make train stations seem so appealing or maybe the remarkable trains themselves that capture me, I'm not sure. Oh well, I just thought I'd share about my fun little visit...

Until next time...

Morning Reflections: "I Will Extol you, O Lord"

Psalm 30

Joy Comes with the Morning

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.

1 I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. 2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. 3 O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. 4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. 5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. 6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, "I shall never be moved."7 By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain stand strong;you hid your face; I was dismayed. 8 To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: 9 "What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? 10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!" 11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

How amazing are the truths in this psalm! His anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime! Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning!

~Thank you Lord for Your inspired word that speaks to our hearts and points us to You and Your greatness that we may give You glory and honor. In my days of prosperity and adversity, may I not be moved. May I always remember Your promises and Your steadfast love. May I sing Your praise and not be silent. May I give thanks to You forever! Amen~

Morning Reflections: "Standing Still"

Today's passage from Morning & Evening was particularly helpful for me. I cannot add anything to it so I will post it here.

"Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord." - Exodus 14:13

These words contain God's command to the believer when he is reduced to great straits and brought into extraordinary difficulties. He cannot retreat; he cannot go forward; he is shut up on the right hand and on the left; what is he now to do? The Master's word to him is, Stand still. It will be well for him if at such times he listens only to his Master's word, for other and evil advisers come with their suggestions. Despair whispers, Lie down and die; give it all up. But God would have us put on a cheerful courage, and even in our worst times, rejoice in his love and faithfulness. Cowardice says, Retreat; go back to the worldling's way of action; you cannot play the Christian's part, it is too difficult. Relinquish your principles. But, however much Satan may urge this course upon you, you cannot follow it if you are a child of God. His divine fiat has bid thee go from strength to strength, and so thou shalt, and neither death nor hell shall turn thee from thy course. What, if for a while thou art called to stand still, yet this is but to renew thy strength for some greater advance in due time. Precipitancy cries, do something. Stir yourself; to stand still and wait, is sheer idleness. We must be doing something at once--we must do it so we think--instead of looking to the Lord, who will not only do something but will do everything. Presumption boasts, If the sea be before you, march into it and expect a miracle. But Faith listens neither to Presumption, nor to Despair, nor to Cowardice, nor to Precipitancy, but it hears God say, Stand still, and immovable as a rock it stands. Stand still;--keep the posture of an upright man, ready for action, expecting further orders, cheerfully and patiently awaiting the directing voice; and it will not be long ere God shall say to you, as distinctly as Moses said it to the people of Israel, Go forward.

~Lord, help me not to listen neither to Presumption, nor to Despair, nor to Cowardice, nor to Precipitancy, but help me to stand still and know that You are God. Amen~

Weekend Adventures

A Recollected Tale of This Past Weekend:

Friday: After work some of us went to the Harrington's pool. The three other Ladies who attended and myself decided not to swim, but the Gentlemen did. After a while the Ladies proceeded down to the dock where they encountered a beautiful river scene. We had some enjoyable conversation and were then greeted by the banging and screaming sound of the "Gentlemen" under the dock. We in our female intuition had known the men would try this endeavor and so were not frightened as they had hoped. They had waded through the disgusting terrain under the dock and thankfully escaped intact, though my brother did mildly ravage his foot. Ended the day reading!

Saturday: Saturday is my "domestic" day and so I cleaned, went to the grocery store and cleaned my car. The rest of the day was spent lounging at home with my mom! Love that. We watched movies as it stormed outside. Reading ended the day!

Sunday: Had to be at church early for band practice. Church was great and God was so faithful to speak to us through the message! I had lunch with my mom and went shopping for a birthday present for my Abuela who is turning 87! Went home and rested! And later went to spend time with friends which included: talking, playing pool, talking, trying to a dvd to work, an impromptu game of seeing who could balance on an exercise ball the longest (wow that sounds really mature when you type it out=) and more pool. Ended the day reading!

Morning Reflections

This morning while doing my devotions I was reading Daniel 2. It tells the story about when King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that no one could interpret. In his anger he commanded all the wise men of Babylon to be killed. When Daniel heard this and knew that he and his three companions were to be put to death as well, he went to his friends and told them to "seek the mercy of God of heaven" to reveal the mystery of the dream to them. When God answered their prayers Daniel "blessed the God of heaven" and then continued to bless the Lord and recite truths about Him.
Upon being faced with trouble, ultimately death, Daniel's first response was to go to the Lord for help. And the Lord was faithful to answer those prayers. Also, Daniel could have gone to the king and boasted of his skill and knowledge in being able to interpret the dream, but instead He proclaimed the name of God and humbly said that the mystery of the dream had not been revealed to him because of any great wisdom that he had. God honored Daniel through Nebuchadnezzar who placed him in a high position and bestowed gifts upon him.
This passage is definitly a somber reminder for me to always go to God first in all situations and to always give honor and praise to the Lord when He is faithful to me. And He is "Always" faithful!

The second part of my devotions came from Morning & Evening. The scripture for the morning was Obadiah 1:11 "Even thou wast as one of them." Spurgeon was speaking of the importance of distinguishing ourselves from the world, but the line that really struck me was, "Thou wouldst not desire to share their eternal doom, why then be like them here?" How convicting and how true! Why would we even dabble in the world when we know what God has called us to and what their fate is? We are called to share the Gospel with the world, but "Side with the afflicted people of God, and not with the world."

"Thank you Lord for these insights and truths. Your mercies are new every morning and your grace sufficiant for each day. May I meditate on what I've read today and walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel."

Much Ado About Nothing

Nothing much to report today. That is perfectly fine with me! Even though I do like being busy and on the go, as well as socializing, I love slow, quiet days. It gives me opportunities to think. Time to search my heart. Time to read! Time to pray. The following quote from The Deerslayer by J.F. Cooper describes my feelings on this matter very well.

"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore. There is society where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but nature more, From these our interviews, in which I steal From all I may be, or have been before, To mingle with the universe, and feel What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal"

I think it is good to have a balance of time with people and time alone. I am thankful for my parents guidance when I was younger in helping me balance social time, family time and alone time. Anyway, I'm sort of rambling on about nothing. Work is slow right now so I thought I'd take a moment to write a few thoughts down. - Oh, I just had a great idea! Well, it's probably not a "great" idea or even original, but I was thinking that it might be fun to post what I do in my devotions each day. Something like a daily devotional log. It will be a great way to be able to keep track of how consistent I am being. I'll either start this weekend or possibly Monday.

~Lana~

"One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after:that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple." - Psalm 27:4

Tempests Are Our Trainers

Faith never prospers so well as when all things

are against her: tempests are her trainers, and

lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm reigns

on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship

moves not to its harbour; for on a slumbering ocean

the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling

forth, and let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock, and her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her desired haven. No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity.

-Charles Spurgeon-

My hope is for this to be a place to write about all the good and not so good moments of life. But as my first entry I decided to post this quote from Spurgeon on how to gain some perspective on the potential trials that we all will inevitably face. I love how he uses the illustration of a ship and the ocean. It reminds me once again that in the same why we cannot control the mighty waters of the sea, we can neither control our lives. God is on control of it all. And how thankful I am for that!

Until next time...

~Lana~