Love Lifted Me

I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore,
Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more,
But the Master of the sea, heard my despairing cry,
From the waters lifted me, now safe am I.

Refrain

Love lifted me! Love lifted me!
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me!

At the Gospel Jamboree that Little Guy and I went to last week (with Grandpa and Grandma and an aunt and uncle - and no other 40-somethings, much less 2 year olds), one of the songs we heard was "Love Lifted Me."

I was immediately transported to my high school days and a celebration commemorating Uncle Martin's 55th or 60th anniversary of his arrival in Tennessee as a mountain missionary.  In addition to cake and punch and testimonies and a devotional, we sang.  All the songs sung were ones that were written before his arrival.  In my memory, we sang, "Love Lifted Me." Perhaps we didn't. :)

The same lady who sang "Love Lifted Me," also sang, "Until Then."

My heart can sing when I pause to remember,
A heartache here is but a stepping stone.
Along a trail, that's winding always upward,
this troubled world, is not my final home.

Refrain
But until then, my heart will go on singing,
Until then, with joy I'll carry on,
Until the day my eyes behold the city,
Until the day God calls me home.

2
The things of earth will dim and lose their value,
If we recall they're borrowed for awhile;
And things of earth that cause the heart to tremble,
Remember there, will only bring a smile.

Wine & Cheese Party

For those of you who know me in real life, the title probably shocked you. :)

We had some special tween and teen friends come stay for a weekend (sans parents), and when we stayed up late (i.e., past Little Guy's bedtime), playing games, I dubbed our late night snack our "wine & cheese party."

Menu:

Ginger Ale

crackers

cheese

grapes

:) 

Today during Little Guy's nap time I'm having my version of Wine & Cheese Party -

Menu:

a cup of hot, strong, black tea

green grapes

Ghirardelli dark chcolate sea salt caramel 

What's on the menu when you have a wine & cheese party? 

Unsettled

I have been blessed this week by reading Crossway's 14-day devotional series.

Go here to read Day 8, titled "Unsettled."  It should also give you an opportunity to read prior days' and/or to subscribe yourself to the emails.  

Today's is by Gloria Furman, one of my recent favorite authors, on the topic of home, a hot button for expats in general (which Furman is) and this former expat in particular. 

Just to whet your appetite, consider this nugget:

Our home is not our refuge; God is our refuge. The consequences of forgetting this are grim. In our quest to consume enough stuff to make our home our refuge, we are consumed.

Or this one:

When we seek the city that is to come, we free our homes from the shackles of being our refuge. We will model to our children that home is where Christ is. Our homes will be less like retreats and more like networks of foxholes for planning and hosting kingdom advances into this present darkness.

I think one could argue that homemakers, especially Christ-following homemakers, are to make our home a refuge ... for our family and also for all to whom we show hospitality.  (See Edith Schaeffer's The Hidden Art of Homemaking.)  But there is a very fine line between making it our place to retreat from it all (and forget the war that wages) and making it a place of respite & retooling as we advance the kingdom. 

I'd love to know your thoughts on how you balance that fine line.

Summer

Summer is for spontaneous trips to the park!

• on your way to get milk at IGA
• after getting more books at the library
• after a 6 PM "mom's sanity" trip to the library
• after running errands in the next town west
• after a concert in the next town south
• when on vacation

Summer is for stopping by the ice cream shop every day while on vacation. 

Summer is for going to a concert with Mommy while Daddy works late in the fields.

Summer is for gas station supper!  2 slices of pizza and a free large drink :)

Summer is for eating supper at the ball game concession stand (see spontaneous trip to the park above).

Summer is for staying up past bedtime (and hopefully giving Mommy a little time to sleep in!).

Summer is for reading lots and lots of books.

Summer is for making memories of more relaxed times ... especially in the long evening hours!

1000 Gifts, Vol. 5, #17

161.  the fathers who raised us, provided for us, prayed for us, and pointed us to Jesus

162.  Jim, who does the same for Little Guy

163.  whirlwind trip to St. Louis - the Arch, the zoo, the art museum, and rubbing shoulders on the sidewalk with random IMB personnel there for the Southern Baptist Convention

164.  weekend at the lake with family - ice cream shop, throwing a ball in the backyard, playing in the sand, mornings at the coffee shop

165.  14 days of devotionals (and coordinating wallpaper) from Crossway

166.  friends who brought out a ride-on tractor for Little Guy to play on while visiting!

167.  safety in a night of tornadoes a bit north of us

168.  allergy shots - reaching the 2/3 mark on the way to maintenance 

169.  summer reading program at the library - and evening trips to the library to save my sanity

170.  our speech therapist and music therapist and, as we begin the steps to transition away from Early Intervention and to the school district's services, our special ed director

Only in lovingkindness and tender mercy

"My path has been rough; but I have not had one trial which my heavenly Father could, in faithfulness, have spared me. He has dealt with me only in lovingkindness and tender mercy. I have not a doubt now, I shall see hereafter, that all His dealings with me have been for my good." 

Susan Huntington, 1791-1823, suffered from lifelong physical afflictions.

"In 1817 she lost both of her parents only months apart; in 1819 her husband died when she was eight months pregnant; and in the fall of 1821, two of her children died. In all these afflictions her suffering was intense, and she felt as if her feeble frame could not sustain her. But her merciful Father, who taught her that her strength was made perfect in weakness, upheld her, and she looked to Him as her only portion in life." 

From: Seasons of the Heart: A Year of Devotions from One Generation of Women to Another; Reformation Heritage Books

Getting up with the sun

Today is the longest day here in the middle of flyover country.  


The sun will rise at 5:27 AM and set at 8:33 PM on June 21st.

In contrast, the shortest day here (December 22nd) goes from 7:19 AM to 4:34 PM.
  

Summer in the Tokyo metro area of Japan starts with a 4:26 AM sunrise on June 21st and a 7 PM sunset.

The shortest day in Japan (December 22nd) goes from 6:48 AM to 4:32 PM.  Those short days (which feel long) leading up to December 22nd, always found me counting down to December 22nd!


My hometown's longest day is a 6:11 AM sunrise and an 8:51 PM sunset.

The shortest day there begins with sunrise at 7:37 AM and ends with sunset at 5:17 PM.