a rainy night
Yep it's raining outside, and my ceiling was leaking drip drip drip, but the dripping has stopped, though the drizzle persists. I'm trying to study, but talking to people online is more tempting a proposition, and playing from itunes on my laptop is the "city on a hill- the gathering" cd that I just got from wesley owen's bargain pile today. And this is the song playing on repeat... beautiful. Sacrifice and obedience- but there is none greater than Jesus Christ's complete obedience to the Father, His sacrifice on the cross for us.
Holy is the Lord
Wake up little Isaac
And rub your tired eyes
Go and kiss your mama
We’ll be gone a little while
Come and walk beside me
Come and hold your papa’s hand
I go to make an altar
And to offer up my lamb
I waited on the Lord
And in a waking dream He came
Riding on a wind across the sand
He spoke my name
“Here I am,” I whispered
And I waited in the dark
The answer was a sword
That came down hard upon my heart
Holy is the Lord, holy is the Lord
And the Lord I will obey
Lord, help me I don’t know the way
So take me to the mountain
I will follow where You lead
There I’ll lay the body
Of the boy You gave to me
And even though You take him
Still I ever will obey
But Maker of this mountain, please
Make another way
Holy is the Lord, holy is the Lord
And the Lord I will obey
Holy is the Lord, holy is the Lord
And the Lord I will obey
Lord, help me I don’t know the wayThis song tells the bible story of Abraham's sacrificing his precious son Isaac, as recorded in Genesis 22:1-18. It speaks of Abraham's unwavering trust and obedience in his Almighty God. An obedience rooted in such faith, placed in an eternally faithful Lord. Lord I will obey, Lord help me I don't know the way.
if i stand
It's past midnight. Things are pretty overwhelming right now, and for no apparent reason! The complexities of human relationships, mixing laughter and tears, looming (economics and statistics, epistemology and metaphysics) examinations maybe? But above all, a sense of not being able to stand strong. So, a song that aptly expresses my deepest wishes at the moment.. sung by Jars of Clay.
IF I STANDthere's more that rises in the morning than the sun
and more that shines in the night than just the moon
there's more than just this fire here that keeps me warm
in a shelter that is larger than this room
and there's a loyalty that's deeper than mere sentiments
and a music higher than the songs that i can sing
stuff of earth competes for the allegiance
i owe only to the giver of all good things
so if i stand let me stand on the promise that You will pull me throughand if i can't, let me fall on the grace that first brought me to Youso if i sing let me sing for the Joy that has born in me these songsand if i weep let it be as a man who is longing for his homeand there's more that dances on the prairies than the wind
and more that pulses in the ocean than the tide
there's a love that's fiercer than the love between friends
more gentle than a mother's when her baby's at her side
and there's a loyalty that's deeper than mere sentiments
and a music higher than the songs that i can sing
the stuff of earth competes for the allegiance
i owe only to the Giver of all good things
so if i stand let me stand on the promise that you will pull me throughand if i can't let me fall on the grace that first brought me to youand if i sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songsand if i weep let it be as a man who is longing for his homeso if i stand let me stand on the promise you will pull me through
and if i can't let me fall on the grace that first brought me to you
and if i sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
and if i weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home
and if i weep let it be as a man who is longing for home
Written by Rich Mullins and Steve CudworthCopyright 1988 Edward Grant, Inc.All rights reserved.
To every matter there is a bright as well as a dark side
To every matter there is a bright as well as a dark side. Rachel was overwhelmed with the sorrow of her own travail and death; Jacob, though weeping the motherâs loss, could see the mercy of the childâs birth. It is well for us if, while the flesh mourns over trials, our faith triumphs in divine faithfulness. Samsonâs lion yielded honey, and so will our adversities, if rightly considered. The stormy sea feeds multitudes with its fishes; the wild wood blooms with beauteous florets; the stormy wind sweeps away the pestilence, and the biting frost loosens the soil. Dark clouds distil bright drops, and black earth grows gay flowers. A vein of good is to be found in every mine of evil. Sad hearts have peculiar skill in discovering the most disadvantageous point of view from which to gaze upon a trial; if there were only one slough in the world, they would soon be up to their necks in it, and if there were only one lion in the desert they would hear it roar. About us all there is a tinge of this wretched folly, and we are apt, at times, like Jacob, to cry, âAll these things are against me.â Faithâs way of walking is to cast all care upon the Lord, and then to anticipate good results from the worst calamities. Like Gideonâs men, she does not fret over the broken pitcher, but rejoices that the lamp blazes forth the more. Out of the rough oyster-shell of difficulty she extracts the rare pearl of honour, and from the deep ocean-caves of distress she uplifts the priceless coral of experience. When her flood of prosperity ebbs, she finds treasures hid in the sands; and when her sun of delight goes down, she turns her telescope of hope to the starry promises of heaven. When death itself appears, faith points to the light of resurrection beyond the grave, thus making our dying Benoni to be our living Benjamin.
âShe called his name Benoni (son of sorrow), but his father called him Benjamin (son of my right hand).â ~Genesis 35:18
Charles Spurgeon
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This evening devotional that I read yesterday night, struck me as being particularly apt. There has been too much talk of sadness and bitterness in people's lives. Too much striving and little contentment gained, too much hurt, too much anguish that has resulted in a spreading cynicism. What is it with second-guessing flawed human motives? Why should tainted beauty no longer be as precious? Why allow darkness to suffocate light? No one knows all the answers unfortunately.
But, to whoever is feeling oppressed by the incomprehensibility of the world and mankind, maybe it is not for you to understand, you are no wiser for agonising over what you do not know, only to shut out what you can know in simple faith.

three little rascals. i miss them so!