Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Daddy Love

"Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express."
- Joseph Addison
Thankful this Tuesday for a husband who cherishes his family. 


I hope that one day I can take beautiful photos like her.
Check out her site!!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

It is Well

My sin, 
oh, the bliss 
of this glorious thought! 
My sin, 
not in part 
but the whole, 
 is nailed to the cross, 
  and I bear it no more, 
praise the Lord, 
praise the Lord, O my soul!
 
HYMN HISTORY:
This hymn was written by a Chicago lawyer, Horatio G. Spafford. You might think to write a worship song titled,
'It is well with my soul', you would indeed have to be a rich, successful Chicago lawyer. But the words,
"When sorrows like sea billows roll ... It is well with my soul”, were not written during the happiest period of
Spafford's life. On the contrary, they came from a man who had suffered almost unimaginable personal tragedy.

Horatio G. Spafford and his wife, Anna, were pretty well-known in 1860’s Chicago. And this was not just because
of Horatio's legal career and business endeavors. The Spaffords were also prominent supporters and close
friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1870, however, things started to go wrong. The Spaffords' only
son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, it was fire rather than fever that struck. Horatio
had invested heavily in real estate on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 1871, every one of these holdings was
wiped out by the great Chicago Fire.

Aware of the toll that these disasters had taken on the family, Horatio decided to take his wife and four
daughters on a holiday to England. And, not only did they need the rest -- DL Moody needed the help. He was
traveling around Britain on one of his great evangelistic campaigns. Horatio and Anna planned to join Moody in
late 1873. And so, the Spaffords traveled to New York in November, from where they were to catch the French
steamer 'Ville de Havre' across the Atlantic. Yet just before they set sail, a last-minute business development
forced Horatio to delay. Not wanting to ruin the family holiday, Spafford persuaded his family to go as planned.
He would follow on later. With this decided, Anna and her four daughters sailed East to Europe while Spafford
returned West to Chicago. Just nine days later, Spafford received a telegram from his wife in Wales. It read:
"Saved alone."

On November 2nd 1873, the 'Ville de Havre' had collided with 'The Lochearn', an English vessel. It sank in only
12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people. Anna Spafford had stood bravely on the deck, with her daughters
Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta clinging desperately to her. Her last memory had been of her baby being
torn violently from her arms by the force of the waters. Anna was only saved from the fate of her daughters by a
plank which floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up. When the survivors of the wreck had
been rescued, Mrs. Spafford's first reaction was one of complete despair. Then she heard a voice speak to her,
"You were spared for a purpose." And she immediately recalled the words of a friend, "It's easy to be grateful
and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God."

Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved
wife. Bertha Spafford (the fifth daughter of Horatio and Anna born later) explained that during her father's
voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and
I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio
then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of his great hymn.

The words which Spafford wrote that day come from 2 Kings 4:26. They echo the response of the Shunammite
woman to the sudden death of her only child. Though we are told "her soul is vexed within her", she still
maintains that 'It is well." And Spafford's song reveals a man whose trust in the Lord is as unwavering as hers
was.

It would be very difficult for any of us to predict how we would react under circumstances similar to those
experienced by the Spaffords. But we do know that the God who sustained them would also be with us.

No matter what circumstances overtake us may we be able to say with Horatio Spafford...
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul!

It is well ... with my soul!
It is well, it is well, with my soul
.
 
(Courtesy of Bible Study Charts)

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Laugh


Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
 Romans 12:2


Sophie's version:
"Do not be deformed to the pattern of the world"
(minus all the "r's")


Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Gifts

Have you read

"one thousand gifts" by Ann Voskamp yet?

You won't regret delving into this thought provoking book.

Want a taste of what's inside?

"How I want to see the weight of glory break my thick scales,
the weight of glory smash the chains of desperate materialism, 
split the numbing shell of deadening entertainment, 
bust up the ice of catatonic hearts.
I want to see God,
who pulls on the coat of my skin and doesn't leave me
alone in this withering body of mortality.
I want to see God,
who gives gifts in hospitals and gravesides
and homeless shelters and refugee camps and in rain falling on sunflowers
and stars falling over hayfields
and silver scales glinting upriver
and sewage flowing downriver.
Eucharisteo (to be grateful, to give thanks) is everywhere
and I want to see eucharisteo everywhere and

I want to remember how badly 
I really want to see."

"All beauty is only reflection."

"And whether I'm conscious of it or not,
any created thing of which I am amazed,
it is the glimpse of His face to which I bow down.
Do I have eyes to see it's Him and not the thing?
Satan came in the scales that gleamed,
a thing of beauty,
and he lured the first woman and she was deceived.

Do I have eyes to see His face in all things so I'm not merely dazzled
by the trinket,
glitzy bauble dangling for the ogling,
till it flakes and breaks
and I strain for more to lie prostate before?"

You will NOT be disappointed.

Have a blessed day!!


Sunday, July 10, 2011

BeSt

“The happiest people 
don’t have the best of everything, 
they just 
make the best of everything.”

Friday, July 8, 2011

Still I Will Praise

This link will lead you to a courageous yet heartbreaking journey
of a woman battling the final stages of breast cancer.
Even in the valley of the shadow of death
she still praises God.

NEVER LET GO

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won't turn back
I know you are near

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

(Chorus:)
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We'll live to know You here on the earth

(Chorus)

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

Saturday, July 2, 2011

You were RIGHT



 For those of you who guessed praying mantis...

Right on!


By any name, these fascinating insects are formidable predators. They have triangular heads poised on a long "neck," or elongated thorax. Mantids can turn their heads 180 degrees to scan their surroundings with two large compound eyes and three other simple eyes located between them.

They use their front legs to snare their prey with reflexes so quick that they are difficult to see with the naked eye. Their legs are further equipped with spikes for snaring prey and pinning it in place.
(National Geographic facts)