He is Greater

Sitting in the lobby at church tonight I logged into my blog.  As an "inspirational" link I have the Love Your Guts site and what a true inspiration it is.  I went back to October 2007 and July 2009 and read the sweet words Sarah wrote about the birth of Gracie, Judah, and Jilly.  I literally have tears in my eyes as I write this.  Such sweet memories and an amazing testimony.  Below is a post she wrote 3 days after Gracie was born.  I hope it is as encouraging to you as it is for me.  Jesus is greater than anything we can imagine.  

Inexpressible

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Where to even start? I have so much going through my mind and somehow am going to try to convey what is on my heart. I should go back to way back when i was a kid and life was just so simple. No worries, just living the life. So many memories. I have been truly blessed with so many things in my life that i have absolutely not one thing to complain about. There is so much truth in the word of God and I pray with all of my heart that if you don't know Jesus that you will at least open your heart to listen to His sweet voice. I can promise you that He will NEVER let you down. Things won't always be picture perfect, as my journey has shown you, but a heart that is full of joy and peace that can only be filled with the Lord Jesus is something that can never be fulfilled any other way. As my journey has shown you, there have been many times that I have struggled to feel God's presence and His love and yes, it has been very hard at times. However, the power of prayer and the living, active word of God will overcome those feelings every single time. I am a true testimony to that. Take these last few weeks for example. They have literally been a blur...I don't remember much. I have noticed a decline in my health. I am weak and move slower. I have had many questions with not a lot of answers. 

My best friend and sister, Julie was pregnant and I so badly wanted to meet Gracie and to be here when she was born. She was due November 1st, but wanted to have the baby October 15th. As soon as she told me, I started praying that Gracie would come October 15th and wouldn't you know, she did? Now, tell me that's not a God thing?! It was a whirlwind...she called me Monday morning to tell me that her water had broke, so I got in the shower and Dad helped me pack. I got my pink walker and off with Jerri and Bill to D.C. I go. The other crazy thing is that my cousin Cassie goes into labor the same day and has her little girl. What another God story! My cousin Cassie and Emmy were born the day after me. So of course, we've been attached since birth. I met Julie when we moved over to the Beverly Hills area (her house was right behind mine between the dirt hill). Then the inner-circle began. Julie, me, Cassie and Emmy were inseparable. When we got the call that they were moving to Cincinnati after the 5th grade, we were all devastated. But, true friendships and family never end. To this day all three of our families are as close as can be and have shared some great, great memories and will continue to do so. Now maybe you can understand how crazy/special it was that Gracie and Alaire were born on the same day! 

The word cancer can seem so scary sometimes, but to me it has become one of the greatest blessings of my life. I hope that all of you can experience the power of the the greatest love that has ever been and will ever be in existence today and forever: God's love. 

Julie, Hutch and Gracie are finally on their way home from the hospital, so I must sign off so I can get ready for their arrival. Oh the joy of a baby! 

Love your guts! :)
sarah

Know Before Whom You Stand

Da Lifnei mi atah Omed (Know Before Whom You Stand).  This statement spoke to me this morning.  In todays message, our pastor mentioned this phrase and how in many synagogues this is written on or above the doors of the Aron Ha-Kodesh (the Holy ark in which the Torah scrolls are kept).  I drifted away from the message and started mediating on this.  Being completely transparent, I came to the realization that I don't grasp this.  And I would have to say in the American church, most of us do not.  One example, Bibles are a dime a dozen in America.  There are an average of 4.7 per household, but I would say that number is twice that in the home of "church attenders".  I counted 14 in our house, but I bet we have more.  This is not a bad thing, but if you are like me you take for granted that you have access to God's Holy Scriptures any time you want.

My prayer is this: that I will grasp this amazing reality.  That when I open the Scriptures, that I am reading the very Words of God.  That when I enter church to worship, that I am in His presence.  And ultimately, that every hour of every day that I am in his presence.  Because that is reality, He is omnipresent.  He is everywhere at all times.

Here is a great link to expand more on this: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Da_lifnei/da_lifnei.html

What Binds the Hands of Love

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. (Colossians 1:3–5)

The problem with the church today is not that there are too many people who are passionately in love with heaven. The problem is not that professing Christians are retreating from the world, spending half their days reading Scripture and the other half singing about their pleasures in God all the while indifferent to the needs of the world.

The problem is that professing Christians are spending ten minutes reading Scripture and then half their day making money and the other half enjoying and repairing what they spend it on.

It is not heavenly-mindedness that hinders love. It is worldly-mindedness that hinders love, even when it is disguised by a religious routine on the weekend.

Where is the person whose heart is so passionately in love with the promised glory of heaven that he feels like an exile and a sojourner on the earth? Where is the person who has so tasted the beauty of the age to come that the diamonds of the world look like marbles, and the entertainment of the world is empty, and the moral causes of the world are too small because they have no view to eternity? Where is this person?

He is not in bondage to the Internet or eating or sleeping or drinking or partying or fishing or sailing or putzing around. He is a free man in a foreign land. And his one question is this: How can I maximize my enjoyment of God for all eternity while I am an exile on this earth? And his answer is always the same: by doing the labors of love.

Only one thing satisfies the heart whose treasure is in heaven: doing the works of heaven. And heaven is a world of love!

It is not the cords of heaven that bind the hands of love. It is the love of money and leisure and comfort and praise — these are the cords that bind the hands of love. And the power to sever these cords is Christian hope.

I say it again with all the conviction that lies within me: it is not heavenly-mindedness that hinders love on this earth. It is worldly-mindedness. And therefore the great fountain of love is the powerful, freeing confidence of Christian hope.

-John Piper