Burdens I can't bear

Lord, today has brought some burdens,

 that seem more than I can bear, 

My heart is aching for Your children, 

You have given me this care,

But Lord, I thank you for this weight

 and I give it back to You, 

I thank for these burdens, 

that make me lean on You. 

So Lord, I lift Your children,

and I give them back to You. 

Your arms are great enough to hold them,

And to hold me too.

Angry brow
Clenched fists
hidden behind a mask of smiles and "its all-rights"
Hiding the heart that has once again turned love to anger

You see, its easier to be angry
To put up walls
to not let You in

But really its harder in the end
And as I sit here and listen to Ann share the road to joy
paved in thanks, thanks in all things, because You are in all things
And You are always good
And what You have given me right now is very good

I want, O Lord a heart that is always giving thanks but I know that in my sinfulness, anger often takes its place. 

Lord forgive me and change me
transfigure me by Your grace
Let me never forget what You have given me

You gave Yourself upon the cross
How can I ask for more
I lust and hunger for lesser things 
wondering why they do not fill

Yet You continue Your grace to out-pour
You give me breath for one more moment
You give me tears to wipe away the pain
You give me heartache that my heart might ache for You!!

You give me nieces and nephews
You give me love of dear friends
You give me salvation--once and for all!

You give me Yourself, on Your name I call
You give me grace upon grace
and still give me more!

Your name I will praise. You I adore!
Lord You have saved me; You have loved me
You have and You will

You are the I am
the unchanging ever present God! Lord I thank You!

Where are you?

"Where are you?" the whisper comes, 
I cringe,and I hide. I wonder, "should I run?"
Like my mother Eve, I don't want to be found,
I hide in a corner, afraid of the Sun. 

"Where are you?"  the voice is heard!
He is coming closer, the living Word.
I quake inside, afraid He will see, 
the horrible mess inside of me!

"Where are you?" I hear Him say
His voice is gentle, and kind. 
I almost move from my hiding
but shrink back remembering the chains that are binding

Then suddenly the night is ablaze with light, 
My heart is exposed as His glory shines down!
I quake and I tremble, now with great fear and awe
The angels proclaim "Peace on Earth" and skies are filled with Heaven's sound

"Where are you?" I hear the words ring in my heart
The words seem spoken now right in my heart
I bend over the manager and the tears start to flow

"Here I am" He speaks to my heart
as His love breaks my walls
and the chains come apart

Immanuel, came down to dwell with us
He came as a babe, humble and small
A Gift given once, for one and for all

"When the morning stars sang..."

Since Your Advent the stars have sung--
as there in the sky that bright star was hung!

Your birth proclaimed to the wisest of sages, 
Your coming foretold from the dawn of the ages. 

The star shone its brightest when it announced You had come!
Salvation declared! peace for everyone!

For thirty-three years the stars sang Your praise
Announcing: He's here! The Ancient of Days!

Then one day the stars went out
As the Savior gave a mighty shout!

As the One who made them hung and died
the sky went silent--the heavens cried. 

One early morn, the sun shone bright!
The Lord rose triumphant and death lost the fight!

And now today a new sign is seen
There to be viewed by eyes made keen

In the southern sky a cross was hung
Hope for the hearts where Your song is sung

Until that day when again You come
the Southern Cross reminds us that the work is Done!

Dedicated to T.L who inspired these thoughts from his own experience seeing the Southern Cross on a cool clear night on the deck of a naval vessel during World War II. 

So remember

Ann Voskamp said it this way, "remembering with thanks is what causes us to trust--to really believe."

Theses words rang in my ears as I slipped into my worn plastic chair yesterday in the chapel--chairs filled with people--brothers & sisters in Christ ringed the room. Centered around one thing: the remembrance table that held the bread and wine.

Jesus instituted this on the night He was betrayed--it was His final instruction before He went to the cross. "And He took bread and when He had given thanks,broke it and gave it to them saying, "This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me." 

Remembering with thanks. This is the call of the communion table.

Every week we gather to remember--because we are a forgetful people. 

I forget my need for Him. I look to myself and when I do I watch my world crumble. 

Like the Israelites of old I need to hear again "look & live!"

Like the 3 on the Mount--open my eyes that I may see Jesus only!!

153

“You count every single grace that He gave through the long dark night, and you see that there are more than 153."

The past 6 months have been for me the long dark night. I have struggled, and I have wrestled, I have sinned, and I have repented, but I have wallowed in guilt.

But He giveth more grace--
He never gives up on me
I am surrounded by His people
He speaks His truth into my life even when I am not always listening or obeying
He relentlessly pursues me
He reveals His truth to me
He walks between the sacrifices alone--resting the full weight of the covenant on Himself
He breaks open the sky
He is my Peace
He reminds me of His faithfulness
He still loves me
He is good to me 
He gives strength
He gives grace
He is LORD
He rescued me from my sin
He redeems my life
He crowns me with loving-kindness and tender mercies
He restores my soul
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake
He changes me
He will not leave me as I am
He is always good and all His gifts are good

"looking unto Jesus!"

Why I love Camp

I found a picture of the old chapel barn on my computer a few nights ago and it got me thinking about how wonderful camp is and how many great things God has done there. 

Camp for me is a bit of a heritage. My grandparents have been a part of camp since almost day one. My mom and dad met there and so you could almost say that without camp I wouldn't even be here. 

But the best thing about camp is that when I was 4 years old we went to family camp and there for the first time that I can remember (probably more because I was just then old enough to really remember, not because it was actually the first time) I heard that old, old story of Jesus and His love. 

I remember sitting in the tepee and learning this chorus:

"My heart was black with sin, until the Savior came in.

His precious blood I know has washed me white as snow, 

and in God's word I'm told, I'll walk the streets of gold.

What a wonderful, wonderful day, He washed my sins away!"

I remember going home from that week and not long after walking into the kitchen and asking my mom how I could be saved. I may have been little, but I knew full well that I was a sinner in need of a Savior.

I praise the Lord for the work of camp in my life--first and foremost to point me to salvation, and secondly for all the years of discipleship and service that the Lord has given me there. 

And so when people ask why I love camp--that is why, because it was there that I met Jesus!