Afraid? Of What?

Afraid? Of What?
To feel the spirit's glad release?
To pass from pain to perfect peace,
The strife and strain of life to cease?
Afraid~Of that?

Afraid? Of What?
Afraid to see the Savior's face
To hear His welcome, and to trace
The glory gleam from wounds of grace?
Afraid~of that?

Afraid? Of What?
A flash, a crash, a pierced heart;
Darkness, light, O Heaven's art!
A wound of His a counterpart!
Afraid~of that?

Afraid? Of What?
To enter into Heaven's rest,
And yet to serve the Master blest,
From service good to service best?
Afraid~of that?

Afraid? Of What?
To do by death what life could not~
Baptize with blood a stony plot,
Till souls shall blossom from the spot?
Afraid~of that?

E.H. Hamilton

Take a Risk~Dream Big

How do I know what career I will love? Do I want a career? How will I know if I'm choosing the right mate? Will I enjoy life more if I'm single? Am I good at anything that matters? In the scope of things, do I even matter? Will God come through for me? Should I make the safe choices?

The thing I love most about college students is their unshakable belief that dreams can come true. Not necessarily for themselves, but in general. It's also the thing I love least because of obstacles like discouragement, self-doubt and fear.

After a couple of decades living a life imitating one's peers, learning to be oneself at 21 can be burdensome. New ideas, insights and choices intimidate as well as challenge young adults. Life decisions are not only overwhelming, but immediate.

Some of your choices and decisions may leave you disappointed. Accepting disappointments without losing focus on the dream is difficult. It's easier to give up, to become discouraged and even depressed when life doesn't look the way you planned.

Doesn't mean dreaming isn't worthwhile. Dreaming helps formulate goals. Be brave enough to take your dream out for a spin. God blesses from a heart of mercy and love. He is not only the Author of your faith, but the Finisher, able to do more than you ask or imagine in your life.

Your God is bigger than you think! Take a risk. What could you do with your life that would bring God to the edge of His seat? Dream big and dare to make it come true.

Tucked into Sylvie's Jacket

Holly stretched weary muscles. Cold rain continued to stream down the window pane and she shivered with dread. Over a sigh born of exhaustion she picked up the laundry basket, walked through the cluttered living room and into the messy kitchen. Dishes were piled in the sink from breakfast. Counter tops were littered with various stacks of papers, toys and books. Spilled Cheerios crunched under her feet as she sat down the laundry and folded into a chair.

"I don't even know where to start," she whispered. "Every day begins this same way."

"Mama, can we have a tea party? I'm hungry," four year old Sylvie asked, crawling onto her mother's lap.

"Sure, honey," Holly softly answered.

"With real tea and cups and cookies and stuff?" begged Sylvie.

A tear slipped down Holly's cheeks as she snuggled the little girl closer to her. "With real tea and cups and cookies and stuff, Sylvie. I think we deserve a tea party. Shall we clean up the kitchen first and start the laundry?"

Sylvie nodded eagerly and hopped down, eager to help complete the morning chores. Little helping hands picked up one end of the laundry basket, efficiently dumping the clothes into the spilled Cheerios. "Oopsie!" she giggled.

Holly smiled and took a deep cleansing breath, knowing there is always a treasure to be found tucked into the corner of each extraordinary ordinary day. Some days you just have to search for it.

The work of a home is love made visible. Tuck a happy childhood into your little ones' jacket.

You Make Me Brave



You Make Me Brave

 "You did it! I am very proud of you," I praised my piano student.

"I didn't be able to play 'London Bridge' ever before in my whole life and now I can do it," six year old Alex told me. "It wasn't even hard because you sat right here beside me the whole entire minutes!"

Alex beamed with pride, then added, "You're a really good music teacher."

"How do you know?" I asked him, always eager for six year old insight.

"Because you teached me how to do something I thought I couldn't do. Sometimes I just need someone beside me to make me be brave. Now I'm brave AND I can play 'London Bridge'. I bet not even Harry Potter can do that. But I can. You just sitted beside me and that's all. I did the whole rest of it by myself."

Who walks alongside you and makes you brave?

Who looks a little wobbly and nervous in your life? Go ahead! Walk alongside them and make them brave.

Fountain of Youth

"Moisturizer keeps skin from feeling like a desert ready to bloom cacti. I get that. But sorting through potions to erase wrinkles is beyond me," I confessed.

The lady next to me smiled, tossing jars and bottles into her Walmart cart. "Being beautiful is expensive. It takes a lot of time, doesn't it?"

"I'm not sure how this all works. Do I need to make a schedule of when to use each product?"

She laughed. "And in the end, we have to get older and die anyway, don't we?"

She accepted my offer to buy her a cup of coffee and after the usual small talk about our lives, I shared with her that I'm not that crazy about wrinkles; but the truth is, I enjoy the growth of character, the understanding, the strength and wisdom that come with age. Regardless of the reality of problems, I love living life.

Youth is elusive so why try to hold on to it? Splashing today in an eternal wellspring of life that overflows with joy and every good thing? Schedule me in for THAT beauty treatment.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

The One and Only

He is Jesus
The One and Only,
Trancendent over all else.
To know Him is to love Him.
To love Him is to long for Him.
To long for Him is to finally
Reach soul hands into the
One true thing we need
Never get enough of


Jesus.
Take all you want.
Take all you need.
Till soul is fed
And spirit is freed.
Till dust is dust
And Face you see

Jesus Christ,
He's all you need.

~Beth Moore

People to People

How do you share the love of Jesus with a lonely man?

How do you tell a hungry man about the Bread of Life?

How do you tell a thirsty man about the Living Water of the Lord?

How do you tell him of His Word?

How do you tell a dying man about eternal life?
How do you tell an orphan child about the Father's love?
How do you tell a man who's poor about the wondrous riches of the Lord?
How do you tell Him of His Word?

How do you tell a loveless world that God himself is love?
How do you help a man who's down to lift his eyes above?
How do you tell a bleeding man about the healing power of the Lord?
How do you tell him of His Word?

People who love go to people alone without Jesus.
People who see go to those who are blind without Jesus.

~William J. Reynolds