Whatever He Says

I was at Becca's soccer game the other night. It was a little oasis for me, Daddy home with the boys and me on the bench alone, watching...and to my surprise listening. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You; because he trusts in You"(Is 26:3 NKJV). Is that You Lord? The voice was quiet, but a firm prompt to listen. Then the prompt took shape as I watched the game. The children were running hither and yon, kicking the ball like mad, dashing to the next position and then the ball came at them again. The field seemed full of shots, in every direction, as two games were played at separate ends. It could be overwhelming to the onlooker, or the player, if you weren't prepared. It felt like my life...tested, tempted, attacked from every angle, like the enemy was using me for target practice. Yet in this quiet place on the bench, I heard His voice again, "Do you trust Me?" Yes Jesus. "I will lift up mine eyes to the hills from...

By Joyful Fox I look at the mounds of snow pushed into the guardrail at the end of our street, driveways awash with waist-high banks of winter white, gleaming, glistening and calling children to conquer. Across the field, wheat-coloured grass and brown shrubbery rises above drifted swirls. Even the rooftops are covered in this blanket of eiderdown. The dark silouette of trees, marked by a cascade of whiteness, is serene and beautiful. I am thankful to be alive... a part of this day. I think of the storm earlier this week and the joy with which my children shoveled so much snow. I think of endurance. We have studied The Antarctic this week. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn along with my children. Antarctica is the coldest place on earth, winter temperatures reaching -120 degrees F or colder (not including wind chill whose average speed can reach 100 mph on any given day) - makes our temperatures in central Ontario seem balmy by comparison. So really, what's -20 degrees F? ...

The words silenced all thoughts. My heart leaped for joy. I wept. A knowing began to wash over my soul...a sunrise, after night...brightness after murky dark...the freedom of truth...again God's grace. I first read these powerful words from I Kings 19:11-12 on a friend's blog on Thursday afternoon...God's revelation to the prophet Elijah on Mount Horeb (Sinai): Then He (the Lord) said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. I Kings 19:11-12 NKJV Interesting that God speaks...after the wind...the earthquake...the fire...in a still small voice. God chose to speak to Elijah in the proverbial, "calm after the ...

My husband picked up my brother after breakfast on the day of Christmas Eve. He arrived, cigarettes in hand - no additional clothes although he was staying for three days. His first words to me were, "Why did you have to put me in there - are you mentally ill, trying to kill me or something?" I prayed silently to the Lord for the right words, a humble attitude, a heart of love for my only sibling, a brother 19 mos. older than myself. "Hi Stephen,It's good to see you." I said gently coming from the kitchen. He didn't meet my eyes but looked down. He muttered, "I'm going out for a cigarette." I returned to the kitchen acknowledging that Stephen is in rough shape. The peace of our Heavenly Father settled upon me - I received it. My heart was grieved somewhat.I don't always know how to respond to Stephen and the dance that happens when my Dad and Mom, he and I are all together - my family of origin. I sighed...a mixture of different emotions de...

Rose light spreads across the horizon...shadowed hues softening the dark...scudding clouds drift...filtered pinks wash the sky. One day ends. Another begins. Each day a gift. Finite. The sun rises. It sets. Earth orbits the sun. Tides ebb and flow. The Lord gives, and takes away. I can't help think of Marisa. Marisa of 33 years. Marisa who fought to beat breast cancer. Marisa...wife...mother...daughter...sister...friend. For her, no more sunrises. No more sunsets. In her short time here, she found courage to suffer. Courage to die with grace...she truly lived. Christ dwelled in her...overflowed from her even as her earthly life ebbed away. Marisa whose last blog spoke of the antics of her oldest child. Zion wore his underwear backwards to celebrate "backwards day" at his school. She found joy in routine, holy in the ordinary, beauty in the everyday, joy in the simple. Our days are numbered. We know not..how many...or how few. Mendelt and Marisa. She took her last earthly ...

2 Corinthians 6:9-10 (New International Version) 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything . 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (New International Version) 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. I was thinking this morning about the importance of acknowledging the truth about difficulties, yet choosing not to be defeated by them. Some of us err by ignoring the reality of challenges, others are brought down by them, but in Paul's letter to the Corinthians there is a pattern for life worth adopting. Winston Churchill rallied the British people during the Second World War, promising them nothing but blood, toil, tears and sweat. I thought of how he inspired them to not give up the fight so that he and they became famous for their grit a...

Galatians 6:9 (New Living Translation) 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Hebrews 12:3 (New International Version) 3 Consider him who endured...so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. This week, in my Bible, I found a slip of paper with my mum's familiar handwriting, on which she had written all four verses of a hymn. This is the first verse. Father, I place into Your hands The things that I can't do. Father, I place into your hands The times that I've been through Father, I place into your hands The way I should go, For I know I always can trust You. The fields around our home have been filled with men and trucks and machinery since we got home from England last Saturday; the land being stirred up into smoky clouds of dust rising into the chill autumn air. Tiffany-Amber, who's been watching the process from her school yard, found it all fascinating and tried to demonstr...

Adversity sometimes drives people to their knees. It was like that for my brother in England in the year 2000 when his marriage broke up. That year was a nightmare--a year of heartbreak for him and for his children--and a year of anguish for everyone who loved them. I would never want to revisit the pain of that season in his life, but during it God drew him closer than ever before. On September 10th 2000 I wrote: Yesterday Robert and I spoke. He had received a large lawyer's bill that had to be paid this week and he was worrying about his dwindling resources when he remembered reading a page in the Daily Light that was a comfort along those lines He had received the Daily Light that I had sent him from Canada, on May 5th, and so he began looking through all the pages since then, especially at the pages than he had bent the corners down on. As he did, the words of many other pages moved him deeply and he kept saying to himself, "Why didn't I turn the corner down on this on...