Easter Weekend 2011

We are enjoying a relaxing Easter weekend.  We have a visiting pastor this weekend and we are being fed some wonderful messages focusing on Christ's work.
On Friday afternoon, we went up to Orillia for a little visit for Oma's birthday and we enjoyed a time of visiting and one of Oma's famous turkey dinners.
We spent Friday night at a Hampton Inn together with the kids.  They enjoyed the pool and I enjoyed watching them enjoy the pool.
Today Rick and I went for a wonderful spring walk by the lake.  I took my camera and captured a few pictures.  It has been a blessed weekend and I have been thankful for the time we could spend with family and in meditation on Christ's death and resurrection.  We have an awesome God!

Life According to His Plan, Not Mine

Well here is something I've been struck with...again. It's amazing how patient God is with me. The longsuffering of God towards someone who needs to learn lessons over and over is striking.
Isn't it amazing at how when looking back upon your life you can see God's leading?!?  I must confess that I don't always feel it in the moment, but I do try to live trusting that He does all things for my good.

In recent days, I have just been pondering the idea that my life isn't going according to my plans.  Before you get the wrong idea, you should know this is a good thing.
There were thoughts that I have had ingrained in my mind for years and years, put there by none other than myself: thoughts about what I would be doing with my life. I have to admit that it's not exactly what I had pictured when I first got married. That is not to mean that I don't love where God has led me. It's just that I didn't plan for all of this: where we would move, what churches and friends would influence our spiritual growth, what little communities we would live in, what schools my kids would go to, what I might be doing once my kids were all in school, and the list could go on and on. I would never plan to have myself go through rough patches...but God did. It was all His plan, not mine.

And you know what? It's a wonderful, beautiful, amazing plan! I have loved the places we have been to. I have loved the Christian brothers and sisters, our "family" we have been blessed with. I have even grown to appreciate the difficult times because they have taught me lessons I would otherwise have never learned. God is a loving Father and it is a comforting fact to know that I might make plans, but God is the director of my life.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art

High King of heaven, my victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all

link:  kyschenk - Be Thou my Vision

The "Being" One

I had a blessed Lord's Day this past weekend.  I had the privilege of playing the organ again, and do the people in Trinity ever sing!! Some Sundays their singing just blows me away.  Such power and volume and praise from those lungs.  Not only that, the words of the hymns were beautiful to meditate on.

It was another day of encouragement from God's Word and in the evening Carl spoke about the Majesty of God.  I was drawn to those thoughts earlier Sunday afternoon, when I didn't really even know he was going to speak on that theme.  He is preaching through Habakkuk in the evenings, and this week we looked at chapter 2:20.  "But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him." Our thoughts were directed to focus on the many attributes of God.  His transcendence and omnipotence, His omnipresence and omniscience.  His holiness.  The "I am".  I didn't write down who this particular term came from, but Carl read from someone who spoke about God as the "Being" one.  I like that...the "Being" one.  God always has been and always will be.  He is always the same.  He never changes.  Awesome thoughts.

We thought about how God is completely present wherever He is.  All that He is, is everywhere, where God is.  He is the high and lofty one.  We thought about Jesus being at the right hand of God, in Majesty.  How man makes plans but the Lord directs his steps and our times are in His hands. 

I have to confess that often my thoughts of God are too small.  The more I think about Him, the smaller I feel and the more I realize I don't know much about Him.  There's so much to learn.  The older I get, it seems the less I know...

It was wonderful to think about how certain words in scripture are repeated for emphasis.  Repeated so that we won't miss the point.  Like when Jesus would start something by saying, "Truly, truly I say unto you..."  You know the repeat is there for a very good reason. It should cause us to pay close attention to what comes next.  Or it is like saying it's "Cold, cold" outside.  It means it's really cold out there.

And so we contemplated that and thought about the holiness of God and the references in scripture to those who are before the throne crying out, "Holy."  Not just one holy, but "Holy...Holy...Holy."  God is thrice holy.  So pure, without blemish, absolutely light, no darkness at all.  To think that the Holy, Holy, Holy God loves......me.  To think that this God in fact, lives in me with His Spirit...humbling thoughts.

Some day, we who are His children, will see Him as He is.  We will see Jesus face to face.  It causes me to quietly reflect, but it also fills my heart to want to cry out and sing to Him.  It is cause to rejoice for what He has done, and it is also cause to trust.  To trust Him...our majestic God who keeps His promises...always.

Isn't it wonderful that while we go through the ups and downs of life, we have a majestic God who is the "Being" one.  He is steadfast and doesn't change.  He has given us a Bible full of promises and He has promised to keep us to the end, to never leave us or forsake us, to never give us more than we can handle, and to be there with us when we go through this "vale of tears."  Some day...no more tears. 

We have an awesome God!

Well, on Sunday afternoon I put some of my pictures to the music of one of Chris Tomlin's beautiful praise songs, "Majesty of Heaven."  I hope you enjoy the video and glorify God for what He has done for us.  I pray the words will touch your heart.  He's given us these things to enjoy...so give Him the glory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QWBR5ti1Gk

Kid's Club Pumpkins

David started kid's club this year, so every Wednesday, David, Levi and I head off to TBC to enjoy an evening together.  This past Wednesday I also did the lesson.  I told Levi I would try not be be too long.  After it was over Levi whispered, "that was still a long lesson"... sorry Levi.  I didn't think it was that long, but I'll try to be shorter next time.  On a positive note, he did assure me he learned something... 

We decorated pumpkins.  No carving knives involved, so it was relatively safe....although I did hear a few kids exclaim, "ouch!" once in a while from the hot glue guns... 

Anniversary Weekend at TBC

Trinity Baptist Church celebrated 38 years of God's goodness this weekend.  We had a lovely time together as church family, enjoying fellowship and worship, amazing singing and edifying lessons from the Word of God.

Our visiting pastor from Coconut Creek in Florida, Pastor Bill Hughes, gave us some wonderful messages.  We were challenged to be the salt and light God wants us to be and to have GREAT faith.  The focus on our Heavenly Father and the home He has for us in heaven gives us perspective while we go through difficulties here on earth. 

At times, the "tough times" seem to be everything and all-encompassing in our lives, but as we were reminded again, these are just "light afflictions" and they pale in comparison to what God has prepared for us in glory.  We were reminded to keep eternity in perspective and heaven before our eyes..."to have heaven in us now, before we are in heaven."  Deep things to meditate on and put into practice. 

I'm so thankful for men like this who have such God-given gifts to open up God's words and "thoughts" in a way that our feeble minds can understand and our hearts can be encouraged and built up. It was awesome to sit under the Word again.  Isn't it amazing how our Father in heaven always gives us what we need to hear, when we need to hear it!?!  We came to church hungry and we went away fed.  I believe this weekend was another foretaste of heaven.  God is so Good!

We learned a new hymn this weekend and I suppose it was our "theme" song:

O God beyond all praising, we worship you today

and sing the love amazing that songs cannot repay;

for we can only wonder at every gift you send,

at blessings without number and mercies without end;

we lift our hearts before you and wait upon your word,

we honour and adore you, our great and mighty Lord.

Then hear, O gracious Saviour, accept the love we bring,

that we who know your favour may serve you as our king;

and whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill,

we'll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless you still;

to marvel at your beauty and glory in your ways,

and make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.

Michael Perry 1942-96