Soar...Run...Walk...

Last Sunday, our pastor made an observation that I had not noticed before. Whenever I have heard the text quoted below, the goal always seemed to be the "soaring like an eagle". Yet, in the order in which it is written, when we stop to renew our strength and hope in God, we first soar...then we run...and then we walk. It makes sense to me, the seasons of our life, the seasons of our journey of faith. We do soar in those mountaintop experiences and come down with the ability to run. But it is in the daily plodding, the persevering through a lengthy struggle that we walk. Psalm 23:4a says, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil,for You are with me...

The past couple of months I confess I had 'lost heart' and that is reflected in my posts or rather lack of them. I really had 'nothing' to say. I had grown faint, was lagging behind, was weak, with no energy. Something disconnected and I failed to hope, wait, trust in God to renew my strength for the long haul. I confess my desire is to let this Scripture sink in, take hold and become reflexive action (a consistent pattern),no matter how tedious (and painful) the plodding gets, and it will.

My desire is to let His Word, the Truth, wash my mind and bring life to my inertness.

Will you join me? Read the Scripture below (in 3 versions), substitute your name where you see green underlined font.

***Beth Moore has put out a challenge to memorize 2 Scripture verses per month for 2009. Will you join? Click here.***

Isaiah 40:27-31 (The Holy Bible)

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,

and complain, O Israel,

"My way is hidden from the LORD;

my cause is disregarded by my God"?
28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

(NIV Version)

~~~~~

27-31Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,

or, whine, Israel, saying,"God has lost track of me.

He doesn't care what happens to me"?

Don't you know anything?

Haven't you been listening?

God doesn't come and go.

God lasts.

He's Creator of all you can see or imagine.

He doesn't get tired out,

doesn't pause to catch his breath.

And he knows everything, inside and out.

He energizes those who get tired,

gives fresh strength to dropouts.

For even young people tire and drop out,

young folk in their prime stumble and fall.

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.

They spread their wings and soar like eagles,

They run and don't get tired,

they walk and don't lag behind.

(The Message)

~~~~~

27 Family of Jacob, why do you say,

"The Lord doesn't notice our condition"?

People of Israel, why do you say,

"Our God doesn't pay any attention to our rightful claims"?

28 Don't you know who made everything?

Haven't you heard about him?

The Lord is the God who lives forever.

He created everything on earth.

He won't become worn out or get tired.

No one will ever know how great his understanding is.

29 He gives strength to those who are tired.

He gives power to those who are weak.

30 Even young people become worn out and get tired.

Even the best of them trip and fall.

31 But those who trust in the Lord

will receive new strength.

They will fly as high as eagles.

They will run and not get tired.

They will walk and not grow weak.

(New International Readers' Version)

Join me in prayer for 2009

Heavenly Father,

“Let the morning (The New Year) bring me word

of Your unfailing love,

for I have put my trust in You.

Show me the way I should go,

for to You I lift up my soul.

Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD,

for I hide myself in You.

Teach me to do Your will,

for You are my God;

may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

(Psalm 143: 8-10, The Holy Bible, NIV Version)

=========================

(Psalm 143: 1-12 , The Message)

1-2 Listen to this prayer of mine, God;

pay attention to what I'm asking.

Answer me—you're famous for your answers!

Do what's right for me.

But don't, please don't, haul me into court;

not a person alive would be acquitted there.

3-6 The enemy hunted me down;

he kicked me and stomped me within an inch of my life.

He put me in a black hole,

buried me like a corpse in that dungeon.

I sat there in despair, my spirit draining away,

my heart heavy, like lead.

I remembered the old days,

went over all you've done,

pondered the ways you've worked,

Stretched out my hands to you,

as thirsty for you as a desert thirsty for rain.

7-10 Hurry with your answer, God!

I'm nearly at the end of my rope.

Don't turn away; don't ignore me!

That would be certain death.

If you wake me each morning

with the sound of your loving voice,

I'll go to sleep each night trusting in you.

Point out the road I must travel;

I'm all ears, all eyes before you.

Save me from my enemies, God—

you're my only hope!

Teach me how to live to please you,

because you're my God.

Lead me by your blessed Spirit

into cleared and level pastureland.

11-12 Keep up your reputation, God—give me life!

In your justice, get me out of this trouble!

In your great love, vanquish my enemies;

make a clean sweep of those who harass me.

And why? Because I'm your servant.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Last night we had a most beautiful Christmas Eve service. My younger son was a 'wise man' with a wiseguy swagger and making peace signs as he ventured off. He claimed to be 'in his groove'. OK. One of our soloists was the drummer from Camp Rock and the other was a young woman with a voice from heaven. Wow! The theme was about having a 'grateful' Christmas. While the narrator talked about the consumerism and fat flying men as the focus of society in general, he asked, "should we be looking at how to erase what society has put into our Christmas story, or should we be looking at how we can put the Christmas story back into society?"

May the Christmas Story again penetrate our hearts with a new poignancy with gratitude for God becoming Man to pursue us and become the bridge that filled the gap between us and God so that we could once more be reconciled to our original relationship.

Thank You, Jesus...and Happy Birthday!

For God so loved the world, that he gave His only beloved Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish but have eternal life.
( John 3:16, The Holy Bible)

Handel's Messiah - The Biblical Message Behind the Musical Masterpiece

***Clips are long...so listen when you have the time***

Part 1 of 6


Part 2 of 6


Part 3 of 6


Part 4 of 6


Part 5 of 6


Part 6 of 6

The Christmas Story and Christmas in Trinidad

May the Prince of Peace reside in your hearts at this time.
Merry Christmas to one and all.
Love,
Sita


The following YouTube clip gives a taste of Christmas in Trinidad & Tobago. Hope you can understand the lyrics.

Then Sings My Soul Saturday

I recently found this song, And I Thank You, Lord, that has great meaning from my youth. Composed by Dan Burgess and sung by The Continentals, it was one of the most popular songs in the 70's. But the lyrics and melody are timeless in its beauty and meaning. Be blessed.

Then go to Amy's blog to hear more sings that minister.

And I Thank You Lord

And I Thank You Lord
For the trials that come my way
In that way I can grow each day
As I let You lead

And I thank You Lord
For the patience those trials bring
In the process of growing
I can learn to care

But it goes against the way I am
To put my human nature down
And let the Spirit take control of all I do
'Cause when those trials come
my human nature shouts the things to do
And God's soft prompting can be easily ignored

But I thank You Lord
With each trial I feel inside
That You're there to help, lead and guide
me away from wrong

'Cause You promised Lord
That with every testing
That Your way of escaping is easier to bear

Yes, I thank You Lord
For the victory that growing brings
In surrender of everything
Life is so worthwhile
And I thank You Lord
That when everything's put in place
Out in front I can see Your face
And it's there You belong

Extreme Christmas Lighting...

How would you like to live next to this guy?

Completely Healed!

Charlene Pysanczyn

Her Scripture: 2Corinthians 4:7-18

7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 
8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 
9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 
10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 
12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 
14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 
15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 
17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Her Memorial:
Today was the memorial service for Charlene attended by over 600 people, many former students and teaching colleagues.

In fact, the school that she had to leave 2 years ago when diagnosed with cancer, had only 5 teachers there today, all new; the rest, who had worked with Charlene, including the principal and vice-principal, were there. In front of me, was a tall black youth clutching a white rose that he later presented to Charlene's twin sister, Marlene. Two seats from him, a young blonde blew her nose constantly. Across the aisle, another young woman's face grimaced in emotion. I looked up to the balcony section with rows and rows of students allowed to participate, some with turbans, many who had never been inside a Christian church before, the youth termed 'at risk', but deemed 'fearfully and wonderfully made' by God and reinforced by Charlene.

There was only time for 4 people to give tributes to this wonderful woman, all former colleagues, 3 teachers, and one, a principal who called Charlene and Marlene two of the finest teachers he had ever met. She was the encourager. She looked not at the behaviour, but at the need of the heart. As such, her students and colleagues felt loved unconditionally.

The eulogy was given by her close friend, Shyamala and the family testimony by her twin sister, Marlene. I did not know her personally; she knew people I knew, including my husband who visited and prayed for her in the hospital, and my friend, Vickaye, whose daughter was a student ministered to by Charlene. For two years, as a prayer ministry partner, I have read the prayer updates and interceded on her behalf. I grew in awe of both Charlene and her sister, Marlene, who always ended her emails with a blessing, a note of praise. The medical staff who attended her were all amazed at her peace, as was I. The glory of God splashed everywhere she went directly and indirectly. Her life both amazed and convicted me.

Truly, I want to follow hard after God like she did. I want God to splash on to everyone I meet. I want to forge ahead, no matter what gets thrown at me, like she continued to lead a table at Alpha while experiencing horrendous side effects from cancer treatment; like she continued to follow hard after Him even after losing not one, but two of her children.

The Songs:
The first spells out her life: A magnificent obsession with following hard after God.


One Pure and Holy Passion

The second: In Christ Alone speaks of where Charlene found her hope and strength. There was no fear in death, the power of Christ in her!



The final song is the song of victory, You Raise Me Up.

Today Charlene in answer to our prayers is COMPLETELY HEALED in the arms of Jesus!

Her testimony:

Remembering Charlene--a teacher like Jesus

Part 1 of Charlene's story:
She had everything going for her, a wonderful husband, a daughter and son. When her son was 7, her cousin and wife were killed and and they brought their children, another boy and girl, to live with them. Her life was still under her control. No problem really. Then when her son turned 14, after a great football game in which he led his team to victory as quarterback, he fell ill. That night he was diagnosed with meningitis. By morning he was dead. She said, there is no grief like the grief of losing one's child. She discovered for the first time that her life could not be controlled by herself. It was then she started on a journey to knowing God as Christians came to her and shared. 

She said "God's goal is not to make us happy in this life, it is to make us HIS.

"Part 2 of Charlene's testimony: her second encounter with death.
After her conversion to Christ after her son's death from meningitis, her daughter was diagnosed with bone cancer at 15. She bravely endured massive chemotherapy sessions and even went to a camp for children with cancer to encourage them. However, soon after an amazing trip, her daughter succumbed to cancer. The death of one child. Now two. She never wavered in her faith and turned to God even more. Next week, she will speak about how she became tormented about her son and his spiritual state when he died and how God gave her peace.

Part 3 of Charlene's testimony:
After the death of her daughter, Charlene began to be tormented by the question of her son's salvation status. (In part 1, it was after his death that she came to the Lord). For a couple of years, she pondered and searched for the age of accountability and really came up with nothing. She remembered that he had attended a Christian camp, Circle Square Ranch, and casually mentioned it to one of 100 Huntley's hosts during a lunch at a women's conference and the struggle she had. This host, Lorna Dueck, tried to find out and even called the camp. They looked at her son's file but there was nothing to indicate he had given his heart to Christ. Then one day, Lorna called and asked her to share her testimony about how she dealt with her son's death from meningitis on air as there has been an outbreak in a community. At first, she was hesitant but obeyed God's nudging. She showed us a clip of that episode. Four hours before the show started, Lorna had been in touch with Circle Square staff. One of them went to an old shed and found a box with documents. In it was Charlene's son's profession of faith in Jesus. Two hours later, that document was faxed to the station. During the show, it was revealed to Charlene. In shock, she could only respond, "This is an answer to prayer."
A peace pervaded her soul. Never left, even now, in the present.