We Are Loved

We Are Loved

Jackson Hole, Wyoming is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever had the opportunity to visit.

The view across the open prairie looking up towards the Teton Mountain Range is breathtaking.

we are loved

This unforgettable landscape is just one of countless stunning examples of God’s glory on display.

His creation is truly a miracle.

I stand amazed . . . and thankful.

The whole universe reflects His majesty

How extraordinary is it that Creator God, who made Heaven and Earth, thought the world needed you and me before we were even born?

It’s a powerful truth, the depths of which are beyond our human comprehension.

What’s even more amazing is that God cares for us.

He knows when we’re filled with joy, and He knows when we’re hurting.

God isn’t influenced or moved by anyone’s fame or status.

He knows exactly who we are and we are loved.

Lessons From Creation

God cares about every aspect of your life.

We were made in His image.

Remember the powerful words of Jesus during His Sermon on the Mount.

We are much more valuable than the birds of the air. One more magnificent reason we should delight in God.

Fellow Christian writer Louis Gander wrote a lovely poem about God’s grace that I wanted to share with you. The last line, for me, “God holds” is very comforting.


An Amazing Miracle

by Louis Gander
04/01/09

Creation.
An amazing miracle.

A miraculous life as faith in God grows.
The greatest forest withstands the storms –
but when an acorn falls, God knows.

Creation.
An amazing miracle.

A miraculous life of piloted prayers.
A flock of birds protect each other –
but when the sparrow dies, God cares.

Creation.
An amazing miracle.

A miraculous seed crushed under strife.
The tomb was dark, the stone was sealed –
but God delivers eternal life.

Creation.
An amazing miracle.

A miraculous life as grace unfolds.
A family weeps, kisses, and loves –
but when their father sleeps, God holds.

# # #


Poem copyright 2019 by louis gander. Poetry for sermons, story poems and more…If you love story poems, then you’ll love ganderpoems.org / no ads, no sign-up, no tracking.  Just free inspirational poetry.

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Gifts Of God

The Ultimate Gift of God’s Grace

We are blessed.

Truly blessed by an immeasurable gift from God.

The skeptic says,

“What gift?

What has God ever done for Me?”

He has given every single one of us access to His Grace – a grace that only He can give.

How can people not see what a blessing that is?

This is life-saving, transcendent grace.

It’s the type of grace that we can’t even fully understand the magnitude of it until, as Christians, we enter into eternity to be with Jesus in Heaven.

I am sad over how easily a growing number of people will reject His offer.

Can we honestly look at the beautiful creation all around us and reduce its grandeur to an imperfect, godless theory full of holes invented by man?

The Giver of all Blessings

Because of His infinite grace, our Creator God sent His beloved Son Jesus to reach the lost here on earth.

Jesus is coming back someday, and every knee will bow.

In the meantime, we have glimpses of God’s perfection in His breathtaking creation and we celebrate the One who created it.

Thankful for the Gifts of God

A fellow Christian writer, Stephen Wong, wrote a beautiful poem “Gifts of God” I thought you might enjoy.

Evidence of God’s majesty is everywhere.

Gifts of God

Gifts of God

by Stephen Wong
07/04/13

The gifts of God are in the green of our gardens,
the triumph of the mountains reaching
for the skies,
reflection in our awestruck eyes,
a thousand candle lights, dancing
in a night sky,
while roaring seas
rest upon their soft yellow bed.

The gifts of God are in a delicious afternoon tea,
a warm steaming beverage,
the mesmerizing smells
of chocolate sweets
drifting,
as a blanket of bread
spreads out fresh
from the oven.

The gifts of God are found in our hearts,
every kiss, every warm embrace,
every sparkle of kindness,
affection,
every costly sacrifice
says the words “I love you”.

The gifts of God we breathe in deep,
the sun smiling,
the wind greeting our faces,
sounds of dancing,
echoes of laughter announcing
we are still alive.

Then come times of great tribulations,
dark storms
tossing us off
life’s comfy sofa,
temptation
lurking at every corner,
urging us to give up
all hope.

Yet when we feel lost in misery,
weary
from daily struggles
falling down,
the tears flooding,
on our knees begging,
we should remember,
that from life’s grueling tests,
we learn invaluable lessons that are also
the gifts of God.

# # #


*Poem shared, courtesy of Stephen Wong, from article url: https://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=185177

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Andrew Peterson Music

A Good Surprise

Do you like surprises?

I sure do!  

When they’re good surprises, of course.

That’s why I was so thrilled to stumble across the music of Christian songwriter, Andrew Peterson.

Since I’m a huge fan of faith-based movies and music, I frequently search online to read about the latest-greatest.

Several days ago, I was checking out a popular Christian music website which gave a five-star rating to Andrew Peterson.

Five stars!

 Andrew Peterson Is He Worthy

 As you probably know, YouTube comes in handy sometimes.

It’s an easy way to “dip your toe” into a new album and decide if you want to take the plunge and buy it or not.

 

A five star artist is worth a look, right?

 

I searched Andrew Peterson and the first song that came up was the very moving, “Is He Worthy?”

 

Trust me, crank this one up and play it when you need a dose of blessed assurance and hope.

 

Doctor’s orders!

Andrew Peterson Music

“Is He Worthy” appears on Peterson’s “Resurrection Letters, Volume 1” album.

After playing it several times, I knew I had to buy it.

I’ve been listening to it ever since.

Peterson’s tender vocal stylings, complimented by a stirring piano melody and beautiful choral harmonies, completely won me over.

Still Dancing

My husband and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary.

It seems like just yesterday we were holding hands and saying, “I do!”

Looking at all the old wedding pictures and reminiscing brought up some very happy memories for us. Memories of the challenging times came up too. Prayer and God’s grace sustained us through them all.

When I first heard the song, “Dancing Through The Minefields” – I was stunned at how beautiful it was and that the title of the song went straight to my heart.

After all these years, my husband and I are still dancing, knowing that God keeps His promises.

Andrew Peterson Tour

Would you like to see Andrew Peterson in concert?

You can find information about his tour dates here: https://www.andrew-peterson.com/tour.

My hope is that these songs kindle a new longing not only in hearts, but down to our very bones and sinews—a tangible longing that we were made for this, for this coming redemption, for God dwelling with his people in a more profound way than he did even in the garden.Andrew Peterson, Christian musician and author.

###

*Andrew Peterson quotation, [website]. Retrieved from https://www.andrew-peterson.com/about., n.d., para. 19.

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No Time For Patience

Confession Time

Ssshhh, let’s just keep this private between you and me.

I have no time for patience.

It takes too long.  🙂

Seriously, practicing patience is hard.

There’s my timetable of when I think things should happen, (silly human), and then there’s God’s timing.

We know Who controls the outcome of everything in our lives, and it isn’t you and me.

Hurry Up, And Wait

As hurried and busy as we all are, it still seems we do a lot of waiting.

Waiting on this person, waiting on that thing.

It doesn’t matter what it is, even the little stuff sometimes.

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

Years ago, I worked for a female executive who was very generous with her gift-giving. That’s a good trait for a boss to have, right?

I’ll never forget one birthday of mine.

She gave me a nice gift certificate for a facial at a fancy beauty salon.

I was excited.

It wasn’t just any facial. It was nine layers!

Facials come in nine layers?

Who knew?

nine layer facial

I’ll never forget it. The day arrived, and I lay there on the salon table in a small backroom as the esthetician smoothed each layer on my face. There were layers of seaweed and clay, plus lots of other rejuvenating, moisture-producing, ingredients mixed in.

It felt good, and it smelled good.

Time to close my eyes and relax.

This facial is great.

Aaahhh, so great.

Truly.

#reallygreat.

The Reveal

The tech told me to relax for the next hour as the facial mask did its work.

She then abandoned (I mean left) me alone in that little room.

Everything was fine for a few minutes, and then the ingredients started to harden on my face.

The nine layers stiffened up like concrete.

My head, weighing about a thousand pounds now, started to hurt.

The new age music she piped into the room began to creep me out, and the blanket on top of me was getting all kinds of warm.

Where was she? How long has it been?

I tried to move my concrete head. 

Fear took over.

The Bible says many times not to fear.

No time for patience

Does that command include suffering through a nine layer facial mask?

Where was she?

What if they all leave and forget about me back here?

After one of the longest hours of my life for the sake of beauty, the tech finally came back and took off my constricting layers.

I silently assured myself that I would never go through that again.

No Time For Patience? Practice Makes Perfect

I am not a fan of feeling out of control.

Roller coasters scare me.

On a serious note, how often does that happen to us in life?

We go into a situation, and it doesn’t quite turn out the way we planned. In fact, things can go terribly wrong. Layer builds upon layer of disappointment and we feel suffocated in misery.

Turn Your Impatience Into A Strength

We can get ourselves into so many predicaments, and then we want God to bail us out.

It could take awhile.

While we’re waiting, whether it’s a few minutes or even years, God hasn’t gone anywhere.

He’s still in control, loving us with His perfect love, and He knows full well our real pain and suffering.

Sinclair B Ferguson quote

Restlessness Is Another Opportunity To Pray

God always has a reason and can use our trials for His glory. We may not understand the reasons for our predicament at the time, but when impatience hits, instead of grumbling about it, why not stop and pray silently?

Pray for God’s will, His timing, and His grace.

Lord, please help us with our lack of patience.

Help us to trust You more, no matter what.

Don’t Move Ahead Of God

My husband and I talk about how often, when we’ve blindly rushed headlong into making a big decision, it turns out to be wrong every time. On the other hand, when we’ve specifically prayed, waited on God’s timing, what we thought was good for us either rightly fell into place or it didn’t. We know God was with us throughout and we trust His ways are best, even when His answer is No! Perspective and perseverance are essential.

Whether it’s waiting for the right job or trusting God through our illnesses, we should seek His comfort through the valley of frustrations.

The Apostle Paul encouraged believers in the book of Romans to remain firm in their faith.

Faith is living and active. It represents our confidence in God’s grace.

**12Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. – Romans 12:12, ESV.

Keep your sense of humor, and know that the One who created that beautiful sunset outside, also created you. God never makes a mistake.

God created the sunsets

I hope this post has brought you a smile and some encouragement.

God bless you.

# # #


*Sinclair B. Ferguson quotation, public domain and as quoted from Christian quotes.info

**Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Covered By Grace

Welcoming Grace And Overcoming Fears

Have you ever felt covered by grace?

In my opinion, experiencing God’s grace is unparalleled.

You feel

Loved

Supported

Hopeful

Reassured

And prayed for 

covered in His grace

Whether it’s a request to pray for my husband and me, or something else, nothing beats the love and support you receive when you reach out to your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

There’s no other reason for these blessings, other than a gift from God.

Covered By Grace

Recently, my husband underwent two cardio-versions and a heart ablation.

The preparations for each were pretty stressful. Before the procedure dates, there were several doctor appointments, medical tests, changes in medications, and other arrangements necessary before Hospital day.

thank You for Your grace

As you can imagine, it’s difficult to see the person you love going through this.

There’s a feeling of helplessness. You can’t do anything for your loved one except be with them, make sure they follow the doctor’s instructions, and pray.

Calling On The Lord

A heart procedure? Whoaaa.

That’s a pretty significant thing.

Wait, aren’t we too young for this kind of stuff?

I needed peace and God granted my prayers.

There’s a peace that comes when you call upon the Lord.

And Grace. I can’t forget about His grace.

Grace is the gift that sustains us through every trial and challenge.

Ablation Day

We know God is in control, but doggone it, fears can quickly take over when you know a doctor is working on your husband’s heart.

How is the doctor this morning?

Did he get enough sleep last night?

I have to stop my mind from going to scary places.

What warmed my heart was knowing that many dear people were praying for us.

“How Can I Help?”

Don’t you love it when people say that? It’s like music to my ears.

We received many texts, Facebook messages, phone calls, and offers to help in every conceivable way. I know it was God’s grace.

Two of the worship pastors from our church showed up at the hospital to pray with us beforehand.

When the hospital chaplain stopped by, he saw that we were already covered. 🙂

And that’s not all.

Two other friends waited with me for hours while my husband’s procedure was going on. I was grateful to the point of tears, and I know it was God’s grace.

I know these friends have busy lives, but they were there with us anyway. My gal pals and I had lunch together in the hospital cafeteria, laughed a lot, and enjoyed some old-fashioned girl talk. I know it was God’s grace.

After several hours, the doctor came out and told me the ablation was over, and that my husband was in recovery. I was so relieved I must have shaken the doctor’s hand a million times. As soon as he left the lobby, I started to cry, and there were two friends by my side to hug me and get me laughing again.

A Little Humor

Speaking of laughing, my husband’s “call button” got stuck in the “on” position overnight. We didn’t get much sleep as nurses popped in several times and asked him, “Are you alright?”

A sense of humor helps, even with all the alarms and monitors going off!

The Future Is Uncertain

I know there will be more challenges ahead in our lives, but we will meet every single one of them head-on, knowing that God has got us in the palm of His hands.

Through every storm, there’s a lighthouse up ahead, shining its bright light to guide us through the turbulent waters.

gift of grace

Thank You, God for Your Son, Jesus Christ.

You sent Him to an undeserving world, and I know it was Your grace.

There is nothing greater.

# # #


 

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