spring

P4230033ii, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.

wild roses
bare feet
weather that is not-warm-enough-for-shorts-but-too-warm-for jeans-so-I-wear-capris
grass that is still green, but starting to think about becoming brown again
sitting in the sunshine
enjoying the quiet
and the roses
just being still

"Be
still,
and
know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Selah

-psalm 46:10-11

marriage

P4230039ii, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.

a happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short.
- andre maurois

amazing love

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

You are my supply
My breath of life
And still more awesome than I know
You are my reward
worth living for
And still more awesome than I know
...
You're my sacrifice
Of greatest price
And still more awesome than I know
You're the coming King
You are everything
And still more awesome than I know

More than all I want
More than all I need
You are more than enough for me
More than all I know
More than all I can say
You are more than enough for me

- Chris Tomlin, "Enough"



Love that overwhelms, and makes me to stand in awe.
Love that I have dreamed of, and yet surpasses my dreams.
Love that is more.
More than enough.
I will never learn the depths of His love for me; every now and then I may see a glimpse of the vast wonder of it, but I will never be able to fully grasp its totality.
His love is always more.
It will always be more than I can fathom.
I can rest in the security of Him.

Ezekiel 37:3

And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, Thou knowest."

Another translation reads, "Lord, You alone know."

Ezekiel did not say a quick "yes" or "no", but "You alone know".
I do not know, but God does.
And that needs to be enough.

I do not know what the future holds, but God does.
It is not for me to know the future, but it is up to me to walk - by faith - into that future, keeping my eyes on Christ, trusting that the One who has kept me "thus far" will keep me still.
I must trust Him, and then act on that trust, even when the outcome seems impossible, even when the matter seems foolish.
For "with God all things are possible"(Matthew 19:26) and "Is anything too difficult for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14).
Can I trust Him for the possible and the impossible?
When I cannot see, can I trust Him?

For even the young shall grow faint and

weary

and they shall utterly fall.

But those that

wait upon the Lord

will renew their strength.

They shall mount up with wings on eagles.

They shall run and not grow weary,

They shall walk and not grow faint.

- Jeremiah 40:29-31

*sigh*

It is 4:02 am ............ and I just finished my Sociology term paper. All about China's One-Child Policy, and its negative effects on women, Chinese women to be precise.
Procrastination is a terrible thing .................... zzzzzzz Wait! I can't sleep! The caffeine won't let me. Or maybe it will ................... zzzzzzzzzz

Readiness: becoming one with our Lord

"God called unto him ... And he said, 'Here am I.'"
- Exodus 3:4

Readiness for God means that we are ready to do the tiniest little thing or the great big thing, it makes no difference. ... whatever God's program may be we are there, ready. When any duty presents itself we hear God's voice as Our Lord heard His Father's voice, and we are ready for it with all the alertness of our love for Him. Jesus Christ expects to do with us as His Father did with Him. He can put us where He likes, in pleasant duties or in mean duties, because the union is that of the Father and Himself. "That they may be one, even as We are one." ...
The burning bush is a symbol of everything that surrounds the ready soul, it is ablaze with the presence of God.
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, April 18

It's A Redhead Thing ...

I just found this website, and loved it!
It is called, Realm of Redheads, and seems to carry nothing but merchandise geared exclusively toward the 4% of the population who have been blessed with red hair. It was just amazing.
Seriously, how many T-shirts do you find that were made for people with red hair?

The sayings on the shirts just made me laugh!

Yup, you just wouldn't understand.

My favorite was the one that read: "consider the hair a big WARNING LABEL. Use Extreme Caution."

And another one:I identify with it! The Legendary Spitfire Redhead ...... :-)


I think I know someone who would wear this one with pride!

Quote For Today

Only the man who rises above the mighty influence of his own pride,
who sets the self of his own consciousness behind his back
and sets his eyes on the FATHER
is a free being;
only he breathes the air of the infinite.

~ Paul Faber, Surgeon by George MacDonald,

We have to learn to live in the grey day according to what we saw on the mount.
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, April 16

Beautiful Love

P4140034 mini rose b&w, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.

Wonderful, so wonderful
Is your unfailing love
Your cross has spoken mercy over me
No eye has seen no ear has heard
No heart could fully know
How glorious, how beautiful you are.

Beautiful one I love you
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing.

Powerful so powerful
Your glory fills the skies
Your mighty works displayed for all to see
The beauty of your majesty
Awakes my heart to see
How marvelous how wonderful you are.

Beautiful one I love you
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing.

You opened my eyes to your wonders anew
You captured my heart with this love
Because nothing on Earth is as beautiful as you are.

- Jeremy Camp, Beautiful One

Peace?

Starbucks The Way I See It #206
Peace is more than just the absence of war. People everywhere seek an inner peace that comes from the human rights to voice their views, choose their leaders, feed their families and raise healthy children. -- Jimmy Carter, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, former U.S. president and founder of The Carter Center, which works to advance peace and health worldwide.

"Peace is more than just the absence of war." Okay, I agree so far.
"People everywhere seek an inner peace that comes from the human rights[?] to voice their views, choose their leaders, feed their families and raise healthy children." Oh. Hmm. I don't like to disagree with President Carter, but is that what peace really comes from, human rights?
If he used the word "peace" to mean "freedom from care or worry", then I guess I might be able to see his point. Not agree, per se, but I can see his point. But using the words " inner peace"? Hmm. I am not sure how to take that one, except that:

• "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." - John 14:26-27

• "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace." - John 16:33

• "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand." - Romans 5:1-2

• "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;" - Romans 8:6

So, now the question is, do you have "inner peace", as President Carter termed it? I have come to the conclusion that inner peace only comes after I have agreed with God about my sinful state, confess it to Him, and invite God to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. It is only as I learn to daily live by God's grace and in His Spirit that I have true peace.

Julia had a question today:
"Mom, when are you going to retire?"

Hmm. Do mothers ever retire? I hope not!

Life Eternal - in the here and now

Death hath no more dominion over Him ... in that He liveth, He liveth unto God.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God.
- Romans 6:9-11

"Eternal life is not a gift from God, it is the gift of God. ...
"The life that was in Jesus is made ours by means of His Cross when once we make the decision to be identified with Him. ... Jesus came to give us endless supplies of life: "that ye might be filled with the fullness of God." Eternal Life has nothing to do with Time, it is the life which Jesus lived while He was down here. The only source of Life is the Lord Jesus Christ.
"The weakest saint can experience the power of the Deity of the Son of God if once he is willing to "let go." ... We have to keep letting go, and slowly and surely the great full life of God will invade us in every part, and men will take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus."
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, April 12

What A Wonderful World

I see trees of green........ red roses too
I see 'em bloom..... for me and for you
And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world.






















I see skies of blue ..... clouds of white
Bright blessed days .... dark sacred nights
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world.







The colors of a rainbow..... so pretty .. in the sky
Are also on the faces ..... of people .. going by
I see friends shaking hands ..... sayin' .. how do you do
They're really sayin' ...... I love you.





I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow
They'll learn much more ..... than I'll never know
And I think to myself ..... what a wonderful world















The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky
Are there on the faces.....of people ..going by
I see friends shaking hands ..... sayin' .. how do you do
They're really sayin' ... I ....love....you.



















I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow
You know they're gonna learn
A whole lot more than I'll never know
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself ....... what a wonderful world.

-Louis Armstrong , What A Wonderful World

Beautiful

A woman of true beauty is a woman who in the depths of her soul is at rest,
trusting God because she has come to know Him as worthy of her trust.
- Captivating, chp. VIII