The Song of the Beautiful

The broken, weary and poor
Finding…You are the cure
The weak and dying, glorifying, You in it all…

It’s the song of the beautiful, Jesus loves me…
It’s the song of the beautiful, Jesus saved me…
The song of the redeemed, the echoes of those made free,
It’s the song of the beautiful, Jesus loves me…

The fallen back on their feet
The fatherless now complete…
The innocent suffering, rising from wounding, to find…You were there all along!

It’s the song of the beautiful, Jesus loves me…
It’s the song of the beautiful, Jesus saved me…
The song of the redeemed, the echoes of those made free -
It’s the song of the beautiful, Jesus loves me…

Oh how He loves me
Oh how He loves me
Oh how He love me…
The broken, the beautiful….

The prodigal running home…
The widow never alone…
The one who is waiting, rising and singing, “You…Jesus, You are my all!”

This is another new favorite from Christy Nockel’s cd, Life Light Up.  It emphasizes the beauty of redemption even as it acknowledges the brokenness that precedes it. 

Truly, none of us is beautiful in and of ourselves; we are marred by the brokenness of sin and in need of the deep love of Jesus to make us beautiful.  We don’t usually get to see beauty until we see brokenness, perhaps to remind us of our need for Jesus to be our all.

Hold onto your lederhosen!

That’s what April told me a few days ago as I finished sharing a story of God’s grace in my life.  She had seen me, listened to me, prayed for me, and let me cry on her shoulder as I realized more of my own brokenness the day before.  We reflected on Jesus’ offer to bring healing in both of our lives, despite the differences in situations. 

I don’t always know what healing looks like, and I rarely know how the healing will come.  The man at the pool certainly expected to be healed via the pool, and Jesus surprised him by asking if he would be made whole.  (You can find the whole story in John 5.)

April extended Jesus’ offer to me, asking if I would be made whole.  As we reflected on another step toward wholeness, she passed on this advice:

When tell Jesus that you want to be made whole, hold onto your lederhosen!

That’s the kind of advice I needed to hear.  It’s faith in living color.

By our love

Brothers, let us come together,
Walking in the Spirit, there’s much to be done.
We will come reaching, out from our comforts
And they will know us by our love.

Sisters, we were made for kindness
We can pierce the darkness as He shines through us.
We will come reaching, with a song of healing.
And they will know us by our love!

The time is now
Come Church arise!
Love with His hands;
See with His eyes.
Bind it around you;
Let it never leave you,
And they will know us by our love…

Children, you are hope for justice,
Stand firm in the Truth now, set your hearts above
You will be reaching, long after we’re gone,
And they will know you by your love!

I’ve been listening to this song by Christy Nockels, from her album Life Light Up on repeat lately, and it convicts me every time!  It’s based off of Jesus’ words in John 13:35:

By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

This was our family verse when I was little; for that matter, it probably still is! We talked about how love between us would show those outside our family Who Jesus is. 

Love is not passive; this song emphasizes the reaching that comes out of love.  When we truly love one another, and when we are truly disciples of Jesus, love for one another leads us to reach out to others.  When we love our children and teach them to love, they will continue “reaching, long after we’re gone.” 

May we see both “ourselves” and those in darkness with His eyes and love with His hands.

Reminded…

That if I walk in step with my Father, I’ll get where He’s going right in time.

So often, I want to plan out the route in advance.  (You’d think I would have quit this by now; Candi’s been telling me for 6 years that “There’s no 10-year plan!”)  I can get stressed about who, what, where, when, and mostly, how God will accomplish His purposes. 

Last night, though, He gently reminded me that as I keep learning to walk in His ways, and as I keep learning to walk in step with Him, I won’t have to worry about getting there in time.  I won’t have to worry about getting to the right place, either.  I won’t have to worry about how, because His ways are perfect and far above mine. 

So far, He’s been more than faithful in the face of my weak faith.

Why?

Maybe someday, I won’t need the constant question.  For now, I need to reflect on the why of my actions, lack of action, and words often.  I’ve been challenged by Jesus’ example (as recorded in Luke of action motivated only by His Father’s purposes and love. 

• vs. 21- He risks offending His earthly family to make a statement valuing His spiritual family.
• vs. 22- He directs a trip across the lake that He knows will involve a storm, goes to sleep, and challenges His disciples’ faith while commanding peace.
• vs. 26-38- He heals a man filled with demons and gets kicked out of the village.
• vs. 40- He returns to a crowd of people waiting for Him.
• vs. 45- He stops on an emergency healing trip to make personal contact with and extend peace to a woman He had already healed.
• vs. 56- He requests silence from the parents of a newly resurrected girl.

Rooted firmly in the love of His Father and His clear calling, Jesus acted.  His identity was set; His motivations were clear.  Whether loved or hated by others, He loved them well.

Oh, to walk in His ways!

On duty and grace

The tiniest detail in which I obey has all the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it.  If I do my duty, not for duty’s sake, but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience the whole superb grace of God is mine through the Atonement.

-My Utmost for His Highest, June 15

When duty is done in faith, there is grace.  When duty is done in lack of faith, there is frustration.  Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief!

Family Pictures

Last night, we had family pictures taken by a friend and photographer, Tara Malouf.  She was fabulously fun to work with, had tons of fun ideas, went with our fun ideas, and willingly laid down on the gravel repeatedly to get the right angle for a shot.  She’s put up a few on her blog (RedThreadPhoto.com), but I pulled a few to post here.

And a few with Dad’s Father’s Day gift: a badminton set!

Bicentennial…or not?

How long would you like to live, given the option of living forever?  I’m talking about life on earth- life in which the people you love die, and you just keep trucking.

I watched Bicentennial Man on Sunday night and wondered about the misery of such a life.  In the movie, an android (robot that looks human) develops human emotions over the course of his 200-year life.  He only dies when his body (with a lot of work) becomes more and more human-like and less electronic.

Earlier in the day, however, I had been looking at new laptops.  My current laptop is about 3.5 years old, and it’s getting s-l-o-w.  It either needs a time investment to clean up some of the junk it has acquired over the past few years, or it needs to be replaced.

By the time I finished the day, I was considering the huge assumptions that had to be made for the movie to work.  First, you would have to assume that something electronic could continue to function for 200 years.  How could an electronic item as complicated as a robot (turned android) not become so outdated and obsolete let alone be supported anymore for two centuries?  Second, it would have to be able to heal itself- to get rid of any bugs, to fix any pieces that happened to break, and to keep its software running.

I’m no robot or android expert, and yes, I do understand that the movie is fiction.  It did, however, leave me with a great sense of gratitude for the great work of our Creator.  He did create bodies that lasted over 900 years; our bodies even now heal themselves naturally of an amazing range of illnesses.  I was also convicted that I need to take care of myself.  In comparison with the greatness of His work, caretaking is a small job!

Ooh…ah…fire!

We burned christmas tree #1 of 2 last night.  We all backed up, my dad lit it, and the flames went somewhere near 25 feet high.  The leaves of the tree were singed, and the heat was enough to keep us a fair way back.

After a few minutes, it looked more like Charlie Brown’s tree.

There’s still another one left.  Let me know if you want to come watch it go up in flames!

A year in review

I’m wondering what this review will hold.  I’m looking forward to finding the lessons that have been hidden until now.  I’m aware of the lack that will most certainly be revealed…and I’m ready to experience the grace of God in a deeper way than before.

He’s always been faithful.