~ Happy New Year ~

Another Year is Dawning

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.

Another year of progress, another year of praise,

Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,

Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;

Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;

Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,

Another year of training for holier work above.

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.

~ Frances R. Havergal ~

"So teach us to number our days,

that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

O satisfy us early with thy mercy;

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Let thy work appear unto thy servants,

and thy glory unto their children.

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us:

and establish thou the work of our hands upon us;

yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. 

~ Psalm 90:12,14,16,17 ~

May the Lord guide us each in this coming year, draw our hearts closer to Himself, give us a deeper love for Him, cleans us and purify us, conform us to the image of Christ, grow us in our love for one another, and use us as lights of His kingdom for His glory and honor.

Happy New Year from the Alexander Family!

A Pure Heart is a Single Heart for God's Will

"A pure heart is a single heart, not divided.

A pure heart wills what God wills,

no matter what the cost.

Strength of will is to will against oneself,

to say, "Not my will - Thine.""

~Elisabeth Elliot, Quest for Love

~Brittany

Obedience today means God's guidance in tomorrow

 

"Let us not make the mistake of directing our energies toward what is not today's business.  

The best preparation for the future is always the conscientious carrying out of what is given us today.  

Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today?  

How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person's seemingly small act of obedience!  

Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and, depend on it, you will be shown what to do next." 

~Elisabeth Elliot, excerpts from Quest for Love, chapter 20

~Breanna

Lord, break the chains that hold me to myself; free me to be your happy slave - that is, to be the happy foot-washer of anyone today who needs his feet washed, his supper cooked, his faults overlooked, his work commended, his failure forgiven, his griefs consoled, or his button sewed on.  Let me not imagine that my love for You is very great if I am unwilling to do for a human being something very small.
~Elisabeth Elliot, A Lamp For My Feet

~Brittany

Who Will You Choose? ~ A Chance to Die

If a man or woman honestly wishes to be a follower, the opportunity will present itself.  Christ will say, "Here is your chance.  Now, in this situation, you must make your choice.  Will it be self?  Or will you choose Me?"

An older missionary said something to Amy Carmichael when she was a young missionary that stayed with her for life.  She had spoken of something which was not to her liking.  His reply was, "See in it a chance to die."

~ Elisabeth Elliot, A Lamp for My Feet

~Brittany

Joy In Suffering

"God...setteth in pain the jewel of His joy."

F.W.H.Meyers

"A friend who is gravely ill... is greatly loved by many and has had a unique ministry because of her gifts of friendship and hospitality.  Must she suffer?
The answer is yes.  For the Lord who loves her suffered and wants her to fellowship with Himself.  The joy of thus knowing Him comes not in spite of but because of suffering, just as resurrection comes out of death.  I have a Savior because I am a sinner; a beauty is given the child of God in exchange for ashes.
We want to avoid suffering, death, sin, ashes.  But we live in a world crushed and broken and torn, a world God Himself visited to redeem.  We receive His poured-out life, and being allowed the high privilege of suffering with Him, may then pour ourselves out for others.
How can one's illness help another?  By being offered to Him who can transform it into blessing.

A Lamp for My Feet

O Joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to Thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain

That morn shall tearless be.

George Matheson

-taken from Gateway to Joy, by Elisabeth Elliot
~Brittany

Not Sure What To Do?

This morning I was blessed by yet another message from Elisabeth Elliot called Strongholds of my Life.  Here are just a few of the gems that I am taking with me into this day. 

stronghold of my life elisabeth elliot

Download this message from here

O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. 

(2 Chronicles 20:12)

A poem quoted by Elisabeth Elliot

Do The Next Thing

"At an old English parsonage down by the sea, 

there came in the twilight a message to me. 

Its quaint Saxon legend deeply engraven 

that, as it seems to me, teaching from heaven. 

And all through the hours the quiet words ring,

like a low inspiration, 'Do the next thing.'

Many a questioning, many a fear, 

many a doubt hath its quieting here. 

Moment by moment, let down from heaven, 

time, opportunity, guidance are given. 

Fear not tomorrow, child of the King, 

trust that with Jesus, do the next thing.

Do it immediately, do it with prayer, 

do it reliantly, casting all care. 

Do it with reverence, tracing His hand, 

who placed it before thee with earnest command. 

Stayed on omnipotence, safe 'neath His wing, 

leave all resultings, do the next thing.

Looking to Jesus, ever serener, 

working or suffering be thy demeanor, 

in His dear presence, the rest of His calm, 

the light of His countenance, be thy psalm. 

Do the next thing."

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

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

The will of God...

~Breanna

Trust~The Secret to Having a Quiet Heart

Will you say to the Lord,

“I am willing to receive what You send,

to lack what You withhold,

to relinquish what You take,

to suffer what You inflict,

and to do what You command

and to be what You require.”?

~Quote shared by Elisabeth Elliot in her message A Loving Providence

~Breanna

Thoughts on Waiting from Elisabeth Elliot

I began to learn to wait.  Patient waiting does not come naturally to most of us, but a great deal is said about it in the Bible.  It is an important discipline for anyone who wants to learn to trust.

I do know that waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the hear to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one's thoughts.

Waiting silently is the hardest thing of all.  But the things that we feel most deeply we ought to learn to be silent about, at least until we have talked them over thoroughly with God.

S. D. Gordon, in his Quiet Talks on Prayer, describes waiting.  It means:

Steadfastness, that is holding on;
patience, that is holding back;
expectancy, that is holding one's self in readiness to go or do;
listening, that is holding quiet and still so as to hear.

How long, Lord, must I wait?
Never mind, child.  Trust me.

~ taken from Elisabeth Elliot's book, Passion and Purity

~Brittany

Losing to Gain

"If through losing what this world prizes we are enabled to gain what it despises - treasure in heaven, invisible and incorruptible - isn't it worth any kind of suffering?  What is it worth to us to learn a little bit more of what the Cross means - life out of death, the transformation of earth's losses and heartbreaks and tragedies?
Poverty has not been my experience, but God has allowed in the lives of each of us some sort of loss, the withdrawal of something we valued, in order that we may learn to offer ourselves a little more willingly, to allow the touch of death on one more thing we have clutched so tightly, and thus know fullness and freedom and joy that much sooner.  We're not naturally inclined to love God and seek His Kingdom.  Trouble may help to incline us - that is, it may tip us over, put some pressure on us, lean us in the right direction."

~ Elisabeth Elliot

Our pastor, Pastor Chris Pappas, often speaks of us needing to break our sword in surrender to Christ's lordship over our lives.  This verbiage came into my mind the other day as I was praying:  May He break our flesh that we would break our sword!

~Brittany

Learning to Trust the Father's Love

When my brother Dave was very small, we spent a week at the seaside in Belmar, New Jersey.  In vain my father tried to persuade the little boy to come into the waves with him and jump, promising to hold him safely and not allow the waves to sweep over his head.  He took me (only a year older) into the ocean and showed Dave how much fun it would be.  Nothing doing.  The ocean was terrifying.  Dave was sure it would mean certain disaster, and he could not trust his father.  On the last day of our vacation he gave in.  He was not swept away, his father held him as promised, and he had far more fun than he could have imagined, whereupon he burst into tears and wailed, "Why didn't you make me go in?"
An early lesson in prayer often comes through an ordeal of fear.  We face impending adversity and we doubt the love, wisdom and power of our Father in heaven.
When the people of Israel were encamped in Pi-hahiroth and saw the Egyptians coming after them, they felt they were looking death in the face and it was all Moses' fault - "as if there weren't enough graves in Egypt that you brought us out here to die!"
"Don't be afaid," said Moses.  "Stand by.  The Lord will fight for you if you'll just be quiet."
You know the story of deliverance.  The song of victory Moses and Israel sang reveals their recognition not only of the strength, majesty and wonder-working of the Lord, but of His loving-kindness, immeasurably  beyond anything they had dared to hope.
Poor Dave!  His father could have forced him to come into the water, but he could not have forced him to relax and enjoy it.  As long as the child insisted on protecting himself, saving the life he was sure he would lose, he could not trust the strong love of his father.  He refused to surrender.  In this simple story we hear echoes of the most ancient story, of the two who, distrusting the word of their Father, fearing that obedience to Him would ultimately bar them from happiness, chose to repudiate their dependence on Him.  Sin, death, destruction for the whole race were the result.
Learning to pray is learning to trust the wisdom, the power, and the love of our Heavenly Father, always so far beyond our dreams.  He knows our need and knows ways to meet it that have never entered our heads.  Things we feel sure we need for happiness may often lead to our ruin.  Things we think will ruin us (the chariots of Egypt, the waters of the sea, or the little waves in Belmar!), if we believe what the Father tells us and surrender ourselves into His strong arms, bring us deliverance and joy.
The only escape from self-love is self-surrender.  "Whoever loses his life for Me will find it" (Matthew 16:25, NIV).  "Dwell in my love.  If you heed my commands, you will dwell in my love, as I have heeded my Father's commands and dwell in His love.  I have spoken thus to you, so that my joy may be in you, and your joy complete" (John 15:9-11, NEB).  My father knew far better than his small, fearful, stubborn son what would give him joy.  So does our Heavenly Father.  Whenever I have resisted Him, I have cheated myself, as my little brother did.  Whenever I have yielded, I have found joy.
- taken from Elisabeth Elliot's book, Keep a Quiet Heart
~Brittany

"All of the past, I believe, is a part of God's story for each child of His - a mystery of love and sovereignty, written before the foundation of the world, never a hindrance to the task He has designed for us, but rather the very preparation suited to our particular personality's need."  ~ Elisabeth Elliot

~Brittany

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:

but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;

but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,

that ye may be able to bear it."

~ 1 Corinthians: 10:13 ~

"The secret is Christ in me,

not me in a different set of circumstances."

~ Elisabeth Elliot ~

"All the way my Savior leads me.

Jesus doeth all things well!"

~ Frances J. Crosby ~

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,

shall keep your hearts and minds

through Christ Jesus."

~ Philippians 4:7 ~

~Brittany

God's Answer to our Loneliness

The answer to our loneliness is love- not our finding someone to love us, but our surrendering to the God who has always loved us with an everlasting love.  Loving Him is then expressed in a happy and full-hearted pouring out of ourselves in love to others. 

~Elisabeth Elliot, Loneliness: It can be a wilderness, it can be a pathway to God

~Breanna

This morning's meditations...

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
(Luke 6:36-38)

~Breanna

Free Downloadable Messages by Elisabeth Elliot

Wow, so excited tonight when a sweet friend, thank you Mrs. Karen Gray :-), shared this link with us to download or listen online to quite a few messages by Elisabeth Elliot!  Elisabeth Elliot is a favorite author of mine, and I've been so blessed by reading several of her books, including- Passion and Purity, Quest for Love, Path through Loneliness, Keep a Quiet Heart, and Let Me Be a Woman.   She is simple and very real in her style, cutting straight to the heart with the truths from God's Word about who He is and what He requires of us as His disciples. I hope you all will enjoy her as much as I have and be incredibly blessed and encouraged!  Happy listening! ~Breanna 

Click Here to View Messages by Elisabeth Elliot!

A few thoughts on waiting...

Waiting means “Steadfastness, that is holding on; patience, that is holding back; expectancy, that is holding the face up; obedience, that is holding one’s self in readiness to go or do; listening, that is holding quiet and still so as to hear.” 

~S. D. Gordon

“I do know that Waiting on God requires

the willingness to bear uncertainty,

to carry within oneself the unanswered question,

lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one’s thoughts.”

~Elisabeth Elliot

~Breanna