Thank God for Pain

Thank God for pain. Thank God that my muscles ache and my joints groan when I move. Thank God I have feeling in my body. A day may come down the road when I long to feel pain, feel something, anything. Someday I may be lying in a bed, unable to move, unable to feel, unable to speak.

Thank God that I can move my lips to praise Him. Thank God that I can lift my arms to dance for Him. Thank God that I can see His creation and hear the songs in the wind. Thank God I suffer the trials of living on this earth. Thank God that it will not be like this forever.

Someday we will be transformed. Someday, yes, someday SOON those who have accepted Jesus into their hearts will go to heaven and be like Him. We will know the truth for what it is. All the questions we ever had will be answered, once and for all. And we will praise God.

In the midst of trials, in the times that tears run down our faces and we beg for answers that never come, we can find comfort. As we seek to cover our heartache and grief with artificial smiles, God still sees our pain. In our sorrow, He comforts us. And He blesses us on this earth by giving us trials. With heartaches, we grow closer to Him. With physical aches, we grow our bodies into deeper submission, growing stronger.

And so today, as my muscles ache and my physical body cries out because of the demands I place on it, I thank God for pain. I thank God I can walk, and I thank Him for the pain I feel. If I could not feel pain, something would be wrong. If my body never hurt, never ached, never became tired and sore, something would be very wrong. Thank God for pain.

25 random things about me

1. Someday I will drive stick-shift
2. I used to sew anything from aprons to doll clothes on my sewing machine
3. I love chocolate. And cheesecake.
   
4. I almost died from an appendix rupture-they told me it was the flu
5. Someday I will own a horse(s)
6. I hope to go skydiving some day
7. I've never flown in a plane
8. I hate math and science, love reading and writing
9. I randomly begin writing poetry when I don't know what to write for a school assignment
10. I use the same purse until it wears out and/or breaks. I can't stand getting used to a new purse, so never switch till I really have to.
11. I've never been hospitalized in my life except for two months ago with my appendix
12. I had two extra wisdom teeth-six total-so I had to have surgery to get them out
13. I've never broken a bone
14. I have a really cool apple tree in the backyard I still climb
15. I can't stand the smell of fish-I detest working during Lent season
16. I have half a dozen brothers, five younger than me. And they know karate. Take that.
    
17. Coffee has one of three effects on me: it doesn't do anything, it makes me hyper, or I fall asleep.
18. I always order the same dish when I eat Chinese-Sesame Chicken
19. I look for cool shapes in the clouds
20. I have no relatives living closer than 3 hours away
21. My hair refuses to cooperate. When I want it straight, it curls, and when I want it curly, it poofs.
    
22. I love road trips
23. I am exactly 4 1/2 years minus two hours older than my sister
    
24. I love Aussie, British, Scottish, and Irish accents
    
25. I love God and the Bible more than anything else.
    

Frozen waterfall at Apple Canyon Lake

Church Hoedown last fall

Saved By Grace Alone

Saved by Grace Alone

I cannot face the morning tides
And I run my way to the other side
Weeping, praying, ever longing
For an answer I am calling

Can there ever live truth again?
Can love reach to the farthest one?
Does trembling fear, mourning all
Turn against the weaker son?

My heart! My love, my life, my all
Cruelly cast to dogs of slaves
Hanging off the court side wall
I cannot see true light again

My eyes blinded by lies therein
I give all to grief and pain
Mercy, kind mercy! Touch my brow but once
Let me hear the savior’s name


Cleanse me with the balm you hold
Wash me new with heavens light
Lift me up with wings of dawn
Let me dance in Jesus’ might.

Victory! All dies not the end
Merely, I believed the lies of men
But truth still speaks all clearly
Through God’s own mouth the promises He penned.

Pre-FaithWalkers 2008

Oh, the peaceful sounds of rain pouring down in torrents. The blissfulness of walking outside in a tee shirt instead of bulky layers of coats. Smelling the smells of springtime in dead winter. Such is life when you attend FaithWalkers, a Christian conference hosted by Great Commission Churches Northwest, in Osage Beach, Missouri. We left home a day early for the day-long ride to the resort because of fore-casted bad weather on the horizon. Thankfully we escaped it, and the further towards our destination we traveled, the warmer it got. We arrived to balmy weather of 63 degrees. It even smelled like spring! After much laughter, talking, and what-not last night, we settled down for an uneventful night of slumber. Early this morning the sun cheerfully arose, but as we sat out on the porch and watched the lake and sky awaken to a new day, dark clouds began accumulating. It wasn't long before that wetness commonly called rain came, and it has now been pouring down in torrents for over an hour.

All matters of weather aside, I feel very grateful to attend the conference. Even in the hospital, with everyone telling me to take it easy and rest, I still wanted to go. (I also thought I would feel much better at this time as well. For goodness's sake, its been nearly 3 weeks since surgery) (Side note: more to come on my hospital stay later...)
Attending these conferences throughout the year help to fill me up when I hit a low. Rich, insightful teachings increase my Bible knowledge and challenge me to go beyond the mundane living I find myself falling into at times. I come away from teachings renewed and inspired, eager to grow deeper in my relationship with Jesus Christ. I have once again been reminded by God the importance of living for HIM alone. HE ALONE is worth living for. When I live for myself, satisfying desires of the flesh and not caring for other people as I should because I am too focused on myself, nothing I try to do for Christ will reach its fulfillment. I must do everything wholly as to the Lord, seeking not my own good but the good of others. I feel grateful to the Lord for allowing me to attend these conferences and learn more about HIM. I pray that as the conference begins tonight and goes for the next few days that God will teach me more about Him and help me to grow in my relationship with Him. I look forward to seeing everyone from Chicago as well, and spending time with everyone.
Yes, because of my "invalidism" or "wounded-ness" I am devoid of things I wish I could do, such as swimming with the young people, or running all around this vast resort. Unfortunately, many good things must come to an end when your appendix ruptures. At least, for a while. Who do these teenagers think they are, running around and swimming and never getting tired? Ah well, I shall soon be back to my old self. As it is, I can't get out of bed without assistance or life anything over 15 lbs. I probably look really goofy when I walk, because I keep one hand close to my belly in case anything starts pulling on it, and bend my back at the waist. Even as I do this, I try to keep my back as straight as possible and walk as rapidly as I can. Yes, I must look goofy indeed. :)