Praying and Trusting for God's Guidance

"I urge you to trust God.  He wants to give you the best.

He will help you.  He has promised to guide you.

He knows what you need.  Ask Him to show you.

Pray silently.  Watch quietly."

- Elisabeth Elliot, from her book Keep a Quiet Heart

~Brittany

"You will never find true faith unattended by true godliness; on the other hand, you will never discover a truly holy life which has not for its root a living faith upon the righteousness of Christ."  - Charles Spurgeon

"Wherever Jesus may lead us, He goes before us.  If we know not where we go, we know with whom we go.  With such a companion, who will dread the perils of the road?  The journey may be long, but His everlasting arms will carry us to the end."  - Charles Spurgeon

"It is always best to get blessings into our house in the legitimate way, by the door of prayer; then they are blessings indeed, and not temptations.  Even when prayer speeds not, the blessings grow all the richer for the delay.  That which we win by prayer we should dedicate to God.  The gift came from heaven, let it go to heaven.  Prayer brought it, gratitude sang over it, let devotion consecrate it.  Is prayer your element or your weariness?"
- Charles Spurgeon

~Brittany

Self-Discipline

I thought this quote from Crystal Paine (Money Saving Mom) was really good.  

Praying for Our Children & Encouraging One Another

I was encouraged this morning by these devotionals as a reminder to always keep praying for our children (or in my case my siblings:-) ), and to make sure to take the time and thought to truly encourage each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord.  The battle for our souls in fierce and we must not forget these two weapons.

Praying for Our Children

“Bring him unto me.”  - Mark 9:19

Despairingly the poor disappointed father turned away from the disciples to their Master. His son was in the worst possible condition, and all means had failed, but the miserable child was soon delivered from the evil one when the parent in faith obeyed the Lord Jesus’ word, “Bring him unto me.” Children are a precious gift from God, but much anxiety comes with them. They may be a great joy or a great bitterness to their parents; they may be filled with the Spirit of God, or possessed with the spirit of evil. In all cases, the Word of God gives us one receipt for the curing of all their ills, “Bring him unto me.” O for more agonizing prayer on their behalf while they are yet babes! Sin is there, let our prayers begin to attack it. Our cries for our offspring should precede those cries which betoken their actual advent into a world of sin. In the days of their youth we shall see sad tokens of that dumb and deaf spirit which will neither pray aright, nor hear the voice of God in the soul, but Jesus still commands, “Bring them unto me.” When they are grown up they may wallow in sin and foam with enmity against God; then when our hearts are breaking we should remember the great Physician’s words, “Bring them unto me.” Never must we cease to pray until they cease to breathe. No case is hopeless while Jesus lives.

The Lord sometimes suffers his people to be driven into a corner that they may experimentally know how necessary he is to them. Ungodly children, when they show us our own powerlessness against the depravity of their hearts, drive us to flee to the strong for strength, and this is a great blessing to us. Whatever our morning’s need may be, let it like a strong current bear us to the ocean of divine love. Jesus can soon remove our sorrow, he delights to comfort us. Let us hasten to him while he waits to meet us.

Encouraging One Another

 “Encourage him.”  - Deuteronomy 1:38

God employs his people to encourage one another. He did not say to an angel, “Gabriel, my servant Joshua is about to lead my people into Canaan-go, encourage him.” God never works needless miracles; if his purposes can be accomplished by ordinary means, he will not use miraculous agency. Gabriel would not have been half so well fitted for the work as Moses. A brother’s sympathy is more precious than an angel’s embassy. The angel, swift of wing, had better known the Master’s bidding than the people’s temper. An angel had never experienced the hardness of the road, nor seen the fiery serpents, nor had he led the stiff-necked multitude in the wilderness as Moses had done. We should be glad that God usually works for man by man. It forms a bond of brotherhood, and being mutually dependent on one another, we are fused more completely into one family. Brethren, take the text as God’s message to you. Labour to help others, and especially strive to encourage them. Talk cheerily to the young and anxious enquirer, lovingly try to remove stumbling blocks out of his way. When you find a spark of grace in the heart, kneel down and blow it into a flame. Leave the young believer to discover the roughness of the road by degrees, but tell him of the strength which dwells in God, of the sureness of the promise, and of the charms of communion with Christ. Aim to comfort the sorrowful, and to animate the desponding. Speak a word in season to him that is weary, and encourage those who are fearful to go on their way with gladness. God encourages you by his promises; Christ encourages you as he points to the heaven he has won for you, and the spirit encourages you as he works in you to will and to do of his own will and pleasure. Imitate divine wisdom, and encourage others, according to the word of this evening.

- Charles Spurgeon's Morning & Evening Meditation for September 17th

~Brittany

An Open Letter to the Boy Becoming a Man

This article by Matthew Jacobson is truly precious!  He brings out some very good points and is truly inspiring and thought provoking.  I hope it will be a blessing, maybe to some parents seeking to raise godly sons or to young men that are seeking to become godly men.  For all of us...it's food for thought.  :-)

Dear Son,

It is a great honor and privilege to be able to write this letter to you. I’m blessed to be your dad. Son, you are becoming a man. What follows comes from a heart that truly wants the very best for you in this life and, more importantly, the next.

THE NEXT LIFE

The day of your death is already marked. Unknown to us, God has decided how long we will live. You may live a “natural” life of about 70 or 80 years, or you may be killed by a drunk driver moments after reading this letter. You simply don’t know when you will be required to give an account of yourself to God. But you most certainly will. The Bible says, “ . . . it is appointed for a man to die once and after that, the judgement:” Hebrews 9:27

There is a man spoken of in the New Testament who went about his happy life, building bigger and bigger barns to hold all his posessions. Just when he was really enjoying his self-absorbed life, he heard the words (from God), “You fool! Tonight your soul is required of you.” Luke 12:20

Long before you came to the threshold of manhood, the world was busy trying to press you into its mold – to conform you to its values – to make you think in a worldly manner. But we are Christian men, followers of Christ. The Bible says, “Be not conformed to the world.” Romans 12:2. That means we are not to think like, or act according to the values of, this world. As a man making his way in the world, you must wrestle with this if you are to walk worthy of the name ‘Christian’ and remember, your appointment with God is already set.

THIS LIFE

Whether you like it or not, you are in the process of establishing your reputation. Welcome to manhood. What kind of man will you be? That’s something you choose every day. Anyone can have a “moment” when they seem to others to have good character only to have the next decision remove that good will. Consistency over time is the only way to reveal your true character to others. You are building who you are every day. You look after your character and God will look after your reputation.

CHOICES

As a young man your age, I had a poor understanding of how the choices I made would impact my future. It is as true today as it ever was – what you choose today will affect tomorrow. If you tune your ear carefully to the important things of life, you will have a growing sense that the substance of life is little more than a combination of two things: 1) Choices you make each day and, 2) Your response to events, both positive and negative) and circumstances in your life that you didn’t cause.

I’ll never forget an old poster of John Wayne, hanging on the wall of some office I had walked through many years ago. There’s only one John Wayne. But the caption below his photograph is what really stuck in my mind: Life’s Tough . . . but, It’s Tougher if You’re Stupid. Which is to say, if you make a habit of wrong choices, you are in for a tough life. The choices you make today are making your future.

FRIENDS

You have a winsome way about you, son. You can get along with just about anybody. That is a real gift. And, you are a real gift – a truly worthy person. While you, as Christian young man, are commanded by Christ to be kind to people, there are many who are not worthy of your friendship – not worthy of your trust.

The Bible makes it clear that, “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 1 Corinthians 5:33. You will be known by the company you keep. People will make a judgment about the quality of your mettle (your worth as a person) by the quality of those you have chosen to count among your friends.

Test those with whom you would spend time by this standard: Are they the kind of people who will challenge me to be a better person? Will these guys challenge me to be more like Christ?

One of these days you are going to happen across a stream that is flowing crystal clear and then, down stream, it will be met by another muddy stream flowing into the channel. The clean stream will never clean up the dirty stream – not far from where they join, both streams are muddy. So it is with life. Choose friends of clean character, friends worthy of you.

Be polite to everyone but give your friendship only to those of sound character. Those of poor character, while needing your guidance, are not worthy of your friendship.

YOUR FUTURE WIFE

You are some woman’s dream-come-true, Son. Right now, your wife is somewhere in the world. Don’t you wonder how she’s spending her time? Do you think she’s wondering how you are spending yours? How would you feel right now if you could look through a window at your future wife and see her without her seeing you? What kind of behavior do you expect from her? What if her parents were away and she had a boyfriend over? And they had their hands all over each other and he was kissing her? Wait a minute, that’s your wife! What’s he doing with your future wife? I hope you’d want to thrash him for what he is stealing from you.

Why was your wife giving herself, a little at a time, to other guys? Does it make you crazy to think that some slob is even near her trying to put his slimy lips on her beautiful mouth? If you want to marry a girl who hasn’t given herself to every jerk that chased her; if you want a girl who has saved herself for the man of her dreams (you); if you want a girl who has honored Christ with her life and body and mind – YOU OWE HER THE SAME!

You will never be sorry for waiting for your wife. The world’s (and most of the Church’s) thinking says, “Hey, date around, get to know people.” Not so for the follower of Christ. Could you marry various people and have a great marriage? Sure. But, God knows exactly who you will marry. Don’t give one bit of your self to some person you won’t marry; not physically or emotionally. Don’t get entangled in a relationship, even if it isn’t physical, with someone who isn’t your future wife. Only the girl of your dreams deserves to know you intimately and to know the secrets of your heart.

Start your romance long before you even meet her. Any fool can run from one relationship to the next but, it takes a real lover to keep one woman satisfied for life. You will never regret being completely faithful to your wife before you meet and marry her.

ADVERSITY

Sooner or later, life deals everyone a tough hand. When this happens, you have a choice to make: Fold or press ahead knowing that “All things work together for good, to them that love God…” Romans 8:28

Many fall into the trap of thinking that their circumstances are so much worse than anyone else’s. This isn’t true. You can always find someone who has it worse. Some people focus on the problem until they are completely consumed and destroyed by it. This is not what a man does. A man braces and steps into the wind of adversity, knowing that God has declared in the Bible that He will always, be with him. Hebrews 13:5

Adversity is going to come – that I can guarantee you – but in one sense, it doesn’t matter. How you respond to it is what matters. Embrace your trials and purpose in your heart to honor God through them, regardless of what happens, and He will honor you for your faithfulness, in His way.

WORK

Purpose in your heart to be a diligent, hard worker. You know me well enough to know I can’t abide the presence of a young man on the job site who doesn’t know how to work hard – doesn’t know how to sweat. Of course, when he’s young, it’s not his fault. He wasn’t taught to work hard. But, you were! A man of character works hard. A lazy man is a disgrace – to his God, his wife, his kids, and to himself. Tell yourself every morning when you get out of bed, I am a man who works diligently and works hard.

TRUTH

In every age, the Truth has been under assault. Our Times are no different. Truth is often a casualty in the battle of ideas – a battle that will rage until the End of Time. Good men cannot avoid this battle. You, Son, cannot avoid this battle. We must take our place in the public square, standing for what is good, right, and true. What you are guaranteed in this battle are enemies. I like what Winston Churchill said: You have enemies? Good! That means you stood for something. Son, don’t live your life trying to be everyone’s friend. Stand for the Truth.

There are many things I could share with you but these are a few that will touch almost every area of your life. Please know that I’m proud to call you my son and pray that you will fulfill the purposes for which God created you. If you do, you will have found the best this life has to offer and an eternity that begins with the smile of God.

With much love and hope for your bright future,

Dad

P.S. Only in the Scripture will you learn God’s expectations for you . . . and yes, He does have them. Read your Bible every day. It will wash your mind. Sin will keep you from the Bible and the Bible, read and applied, will keep you from sin.

From Dad's Desk

Those who are made the servants of God, as all men are, and who have made themselves the servants of all, as all useful men have, must not covet to be masters of their own time. The confinement of business is a thousand times better than the liberty of idleness.

Warning Against a Lack of Prevailing Prayer

"Too often, in the absence of prevailing prayer, the asault has to be made without, and precious lives are sacrificed, time is lost, and all efforts are in vain; not because God is unfaithful, or the servant is not devoted, but because the artillery of prayer has been lacking, and no breach has been made in the enemy's defences."

- Northcote Deck. -

Prevailing means:

 Predominant.  Generally current.  Having superior power or influence.  Effectual.

Effectual means:

Producing or capable of producing an intended effect; adequate.

Valid or binding, as an agreement or document.

 

~Brittany

My Deepest Desire - His Plan, His Design

My Deepest Desire – His Plan, His Design

I do not need to understand His plan

I need only to trust His hand.

Around every corner and bend in the road

It is enough that He knows.

It is His will that I desire

In this confidence I cannot expire.

Through these years He has always faithful been

And He will see my journey to its end.

Beyond all hopes and dreams of mine

It is His will and His design.

His hand has beset me before and behind

And I know in the end I will see His design.

My deepest desire His glory to fulfill

I know He will give me peace in His blessed will.

And as I keep trusting His hand to guide

His plan will unfold before my eyes.

~B.A.A.

~Brittany

Communication...

Good old communication.  :-) Seems to be a key in any relationship.  It's an often talked about topic.  But that doesn't mean that it always comes naturally or that it is the easiest.  I read these two articles on communication on a favorite blog of mine, Club31Women.  I thought I would share them with you all for food for thought.  :-)
~Breanna


“Something’s wrong,”  my husband said. 
How does he do that, I wondered.
My husband can take one look at me or catch a certain tone in my voice and he knows something is troubling me.
After 14 years of marriage, we communicate very well — without words.
“Yes,” I answered with a smile. “There is something wrong, but I don’t want to bring you into it.”
“What? Why not?” He asked with complete surprise.
I struggled to find the right words to express to him that sometimes I’m not sure if telling my troubles to my husband is the best thing — even those personal struggles with feeling pretty or good enough for him.
But, I knew he was right.
There really wasn’t any reason to keep things from my husband. We are one flesh, aren’t we? We are traveling this road called together, aren’t we?
After a few moments of silence, I let him in on my troubles; troubles, that to some, seem small and insignificant, but to my husband, they weren’t.
Why? Because they were my troubles and he wanted to work through them with me.
My husband and I have faced some rocky roads together. Sometimes it was his personal trials, sometimes it was mine. There were other times when our entire family was suffering and we needed to communicate with each other.
We need to bear each other’s burdens. In fact, God commands it.

Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Galations 6:2

Enjoying A Deep, Strong Marriage

Keeping the lines of communication open, honest, and yet loving has helped my husband and I enjoy a deep, strong marriage. It’s not just infatuation or puppy love. but, it’s a marriage based on God’s word and communication.
In fact, communicating and working through our difficulties together has made us a stronger team.
Many times I see a pattern in our marriage. Typically, when I am down, he is up, and when he is down, I am up. There always seemed to be at least one of us that can offer some encouragement and comfort. I am so glad I do not have to travel this journey alone for now. I have a husband, that when I communicate my innermost sorrows, he is there to lift me up.

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Ecc.4:9-10

Though communication is vital in a marriage, there are times when silence is best — particularly when our tongue desires to criticize or tear down our husbands.
Yes, it’s best not to communicate in those times, but rather pray.
Our tongues will only worsen the situation. When our hearts are full of love and kindness, then we can seek to encourage our husbands.
In recent days, I have had a lot of drama and emotional situations come my way. I have been so thankful that I had a caring person to listen, arms to hold and comfort me and a spiritual leader to direct my footsteps.
Do you ever have those days where it seems a small part of your world gets turned upside down?
Don’t hide those situations from your husband. Let him in to your world. Let him have those hidden pieces of your heart.
As I look back over the past 14 years of my marriage, I am so thankful that I have kept the lines of communication open with my husband. Instead of telling a girlfriend or my mom, there were many times when I only told two people — God and my husband.
If the lines of communication in your marriage are down, try opening them back up by letting your husband be “in the know” with struggles, victories and issues that are present in your life.
Keeping them from him will only push him away.
You may be surprised at the relief, support and close-knit relationship you’ll enjoy from communicating!
 ~Alison Wood

 

 Have you ever found yourself feeling:

“I’m just so mad, so hurt—again. I’m not going to share my heart with him anymore. He doesn’t understand. It is too painful. We’ll live in the same house but he can do his thing and I’ll do mine.” 

Most of us, if we are really honest, have felt this way about our husband from time to time.

I call it falling into the trap of emotional divorce.

Imagine a solid glass patio door.

Emotional divorce is a bit like slamming that patio door shut on our hearts.

We still see the person on the other side, but there’s a strong, sealed panel between us.

We begin to close up our heart to him.

This trap can occur during stressful transitions in our lives-a move, a job loss, financial pressures, a new baby, caring for elderly parents, a child in crisis, etc. We are stressed and if each of us responds differently to the issue, we get irritated.

We are too exhausted to communicate.

We are afraid, and we unintentionally take it out on one another.

What do we do when we find ourselves falling into this trap?

1. Recognize what is happening and refuse to let that “patio door” separate you.

2. Make the decision to take a sledgehammer and begin to chip away at that glass wall. Thick patio doors don’t usually splinter into pieces all at once. It takes a steady chipping away at a tiny crack until the door dissolves.

3. Talk to a godly older couple and ask for their help. Most churches have older couples who would be happy to mentor you, pray for you, and encourage you. Get counseling as needed.
4. Remember God is for your marriage. He is the strong “super glue” holding you together. You can rely on Him. He will bring you through this time and your marriage will be deeper and stronger as a result.

“For nothing is impossible for God.” (Luke 1:37)

Blessings,

~Susan Yates

Worry Ends Where Faith Begins

~Breanna

Seeing Trials as Opportunites, Blessings, and Real Fulfillments

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1). The question often comes, "Why didn't He help me sooner?" It is not His order. He must first adjust you to the trouble and cause you to learn your lesson from it. His promise is, "I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him." He must be with you in the trouble first all day and all night. Then He will take you out of it. This will not come till you have stopped being restless and fretful about it and become calm and quiet. Then He will say, "It is enough."
God uses trouble to teach His children precious lessons. They are intended to educate us. When their good work is done, a glorious recompense will come to us through them. There is a sweet joy and a real value in them. He does not regard them as difficulties but as opportunities.
--Selected.

Not always OUT of our troublous times,
And the struggles fierce and grim,
But IN--deeper IN--to our one sure rest,
The place of our peace, in Him.
--Annie Johnson Flint

We once heard a simple old colored man say something that we have never forgotten: "When God tests you, it is a good time for you to test Him by putting His promises to the proof, and claiming from Him just as much as your trials have rendered necessary."

There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is to simply try to get rid of the trial, and be thankful when it is over. The other is to recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing than we have ever had, and to hail it with delight as an opportunity of obtaining a larger measure of Divine grace. Thus even the adversary becomes an auxiliary, and the things that seem to be against us turn out to be for the furtherance of our way. Surely, this is to be more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
--A. B. Simpson

- Streams in the Deserts, Vol. 1, for September 7th

"Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress" (Ps. 4:1).
This is one of the grandest testimonies ever given by man to the moral government of God. It is not a man's thanksgiving that he has been set free from suffering. It is a thanksgiving that he has been set free through suffering: "Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress." He declares the sorrows of life to have been themselves the source of life's enlargement.
And have not you and I a thousand times felt this to be true? It is written of Joseph in the dungeon that "the iron entered into his soul." We all feel that what Joseph needed for his soul was just the iron. He had seen only the glitter of the gold. He had been rejoicing in youthful dreams; and dreaming hardens the heart. He who sheds tears over a romance will not be most apt to help reality; real sorrow will be too unpoetic for him. We need the iron to enlarge our nature. The gold is but a vision; the iron is an experience. The chain which unites me to humanity must be an iron chain. That touch of nature which makes the world akin is not joy, but sorrow; gold is partial, but iron is universal.
My soul, if thou wouldst be enlarged into human sympathy, thou must be narrowed into limits of human suffering. Joseph's dungeon is the road to Joseph's throne. Thou canst not lift the iron load of thy brother if the iron hath not entered into thee. It is thy limit that is thine enlargement. It is the shadows of thy life that are the real fulfillment of thy dreams of glory. Murmur not at the shadows; they are better revelations than thy dreams. Say not that the shades of the prison-house have fettered thee; thy fetters are wings -- wings of flight into the bosom of humanity. The door of thy prison-house is a door into the heart of the universe. God has enlarged thee by the binding of sorrow's chain.
--George Matheson
If Joseph had not been Egypt's prisoner, he had never been Egypt's governor. The iron chain about his feet ushered in the golden chain about his neck.
--Selected
-Streams in the Desert, Vol. 1, for September 8th

~Brittany

Gems of encouragement given to me this morning :-)

A Peaceful Home by Elisabeth Elliot

Part 1

Part 2

I was so blessed to find this too as Seth and I's first grandchild will arrive soon.  :-)

Forget Me Not: A Grandmother's Influence

Shining as True Reflective Lights

 “In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,
among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”

~ Philippians 2:15 ~

We use lights to make manifest. A Christian man should so shine in his life, that a person could not live with him a week without knowing the gospel. His conversation should be such that all who are about him should clearly perceive whose he is, and whom he serves; and should see the image of Jesus reflected in his daily actions. Lights are intended for guidance. We are to help those around us who are in the dark. We are to hold forth to them the Word of life. We are to point sinners to the Saviour, and the weary to a divine resting-place. Men sometimes read their Bibles, and fail to understand them; we should be ready, like Philip, to instruct the inquirer in the meaning of God’s Word, the way of salvation, and the life of godliness. Lights are also used for warning. On our rocks and shoals a light-house is sure to be erected. Christian men should know that there are many false lights shown everywhere in the world, and therefore the right light is needed. The wreckers of Satan are always abroad, tempting the ungodly to sin under the name of pleasure; they hoist the wrong light, be it ours to put up the true light upon every dangerous rock, to point out every sin, and tell what it leads to, that so we may be clear of the blood of all men, shining as lights in the world. Lights also have a very cheering influence, and so have Christians. A Christian ought to be a comforter, with kind words on his lips, and sympathy in his heart; he should carry sunshine wherever he goes, and diffuse happiness around him.

“Gracious Spirit dwell with me;

I myself would gracious be,

And with words that help and heal

Would thy life in mine reveal,

And with actions bold and meek

Would for Christ my Saviour speak.”

- Charles Spurgeon's Morning Meditation for September 6th

~Brittany

Be Still My Soul

We sang this hymn during church the other week and it, along with the message from Pastor Pappas that perfectly coinsided with it, has been such a blessing to me.  This rendition is very peaceful.  I hope it will bless some of you as well. :)

Be Still My Soul

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last. 

 ~Brittany

Waiting with Patience ~ Resting in the Lord

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him (Psalms 37:7).
Have you prayed and prayed and waited and waited, and still there is no manifestation? Are you tired of seeing nothing move? Are you just at the point of giving it all up? Perhaps you have not waited in the right way? This would take you out of the right place the place where He can meet you.
"With patience wait" (Rom. 8:25). Patience takes away worry. He said He would come, and His promise is equal to His presence. Patience takes away your weeping. Why feel sad and despondent? He knows your need better than you do, and His purpose in waiting is to bring more glory out of it all. Patience takes away self-works. The work He desires is that you "believe" (John 6:29), and when you believe, you may then know that all is well. Patience takes away all want. Your desire for the thing you wish is perhaps stronger than your desire for the will of God to be fulfilled in its arrival.
Patience takes away all weakening. Instead of having the delaying time, a time of letting go, know that God is getting a larger supply ready and must get you ready too. Patience takes away all wobbling. "Make me stand upon my standing" (Daniel 8:18, margin). God's foundations are steady; and when His patience is within, we are steady while we wait. Patience gives worship. A praiseful patience sometimes "long-suffering with joyfulness" (Col. 1:11) is the best part of it all. "Let (all these phases of) patience have her perfect work" (James 1:4), while you wait, and you will find great enrichment.
--C. H. P.
Hold steady when the fires burn,
When inner lessons come to learn,
And from this path there seems no turn
"Let patience have her perfect work."
--L.S.P.
~ Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman for February 21st

~Brittany