Thanks be to God…. six years and ten arrows later… God’s faithfulness is still sure and His mercies are still new.
The time for singing has come, the rain is over and gone, flowers appear on the earth.
And we praise Him. This is a summer of immense blessing… again. And we are thankful. Thankful for faithfulness and mercy that overflow our home. Our cup runs over. Amen.
I may not have a Pinterest account, but I sure love coming up with new ideas for the beautifying of my home, the loving of my family, and the nutritious & delicious filling of our bellies! Enjoy a wee glimpse into a few of my recent crafty endeavors.
A filmy western sky of smoky red,
Blossoming into stars above a sea
Of soft mysterious dim silver spread
Beyond the long gray dunes’ serenity;
Where the salt grasses and sea poppies press
Together in a wild sweet loneliness.
~from “Twilight in Abegweit” by L.M. Montgomery~
We had a lovely week on the Oregon Coast with my side of the family. We had fantastic times at the beach, hours and hours in the pool, explored the tide pools, squeezed in a few fun dates, played games and played with cousins… it was a fantastic time. What good little travelers our sweet children are too! It was a blessing. Here are a couple quick glimpses of our super duper fun.
And in case you needed a little boost of my wee Joy Girl…
Everyone to whom God has given wealth, and possessions, and the power to enjoy them,
and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil ~ this is the gift of God.
For he will not much remember the days of his life
because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
Ecclesiastes 5:19
“Blessings, like children, are not ethereal and weightless. Sometimes they feel like they come at you like a Kansas hail storm ~ they might leave a welt! But if you accept your lot and rejoice in your toil, God will give you the kind of overwhelming joy that cannot remember the details. Motherhood is hard work. It is repetitive and often times menial. Accept it. Rejoice in it. This is your toil. Right here. Those are their faces. Enjoy them. The days of your life are supposed to be full of things like this. But joy is not giddy. It is not an emotional rush ~ it is what happens when you accept your lot and rejoice in your toil. So rejoice in your children. Look them in the eyes and give thanks. You will not even remember the work of all this planting when the harvest of joy overwhelms you.” (Rachel Jankovic, Loving the Little Years p102)
“The task of parenting is simply impossible.
Any sane look at what is required of parents by God is completely and utterly overwhelming.
This is why the task must be undertaken
in grace, by grace, through grace, and because of grace.”
~Douglas Wilson, My Life for Yours p. 123~
It is said that he hungers and thirsts after righteousness ~ a double description of his ardent desire for it. Surely it would have been enough for the man to hunger for it, but he thirsts as well. All the appetites, desires and cravings of his spiritual nature go out towards what he wants above everything else, namely, righteousness. He feels that he has not attained to it himself and, therefore, he hungers and thirsts for it. And he also laments that others have not attained to it and, therefore, he hungers and thirsts for them ~ that they, too, may have it.
We may say of this passion, first, that, it is real. Hungering and thirsting are matters of fact, not fancy. Suppose that you meet a man who tells you that he is so hungry that he is almost starving, and you say to him, “Nonsense, my dear fellow, just forget all about it! It is a mere whim of yours, for you can live very well without food if you like”? Why, he knows that you are mocking him! And if you could surprise some poor wretch who had been floating in a boat cast away at sea, and had not been able for days to moisten his mouth except with the briny water which had only increased his thirst ~ and if you were to say to him, “Thirst? It is only your fancy, you are nervous, that is all, you need no drink” ~ the man would soon tell you that he knows better than that, for he must drink or die! There is nothing in this world that is more real than hunger and thirst ~ and the truly blessed man has such a real passion, desire and craving after righteousness that it can only be likened to hunger and thirst. He must have his sins pardoned, he must be clothed in the righteousness of Christ, he must be sanctified! And he feels that it will break his heart if he cannot get rid of sin. He pines, he longs, he prays to be made holy! He cannot be satisfied without this righteousness ~ and his hungering and thirsting for it is a very real thing.
…C. H. Spurgeon, on the Fourth Beatitude…
