April | 2017 | itsawonderfilledlife

Archive for April, 2017

Give Me the Strength

Posted in Faith, GOD, life, WONDER, tagged #daretobeadaniel, #evenif, #givemethestrength, #mercyme, #myhopeisinthelord on April 7, 2017| 2 Comments »

“Dare to be a Daniel
Dare to stand alone …”

I remember singing that Sunday School song as a child. I loved the story of Daniel, the Jewish prophetic prayer-warrior and his no-bending-to-the golden-calf buddies, who were sent to a furnace, where their Saviour met them in that hot spot. Some may say he was a dreamer (giggle …) in his Babylonian digs with the insomnia-suffering big guy, Nebuchadnezzar.

But there was a part that, as a child, I missed.

“Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves. If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. But even if he doesn’t, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)

As I drove down the road this week, alone, I heard those words in a song … but even if you don’t, and the faces of people … real-life Daniels, came to mind …

that friend who lives with daily physical pain (and more), yet she intercedes for others in prayer.

that teen whose parents divorced, and yet her faith seems to grow every day.

that man who suffers from a brain injury after being hit by a distracted driver, and yet his laughter is his daily gift to many.

that parent who is aching from rejections from his kids, and yet he is available to them when they come to him.

that woman who is lonely for her husband, yet she knows that God is with her.

Despite pain, loneliness, rejection and other anxiety-prompting circumstances, they hope in the One who can change their situations … but who doesn’t always do that.

I think that the purest form of humility is worshipping one who can, but doesn’t always. He is able, he can … but even if he doesn’t, our hope is still in him … alone.

Even If is a song by Mercy Me. Maybe, today, you need the encouragement that such Daniel songs taught us in childhood.

“Give me the strength
To be able to sing
It is well with my soul”

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The Miracle in my Arms

Posted in FAMILY, GOD, life, The Kids, WONDER, tagged #forthischildiprayed, #giftfromgod, #happybirthday, #helovesyoumore, #mygirlis20, #themiracleinmyarms on April 5, 2017| 7 Comments »

A couple of weeks ago, driving down a Vancouver street a vision of delicate pink hues caught my eye and took me twenty years into the past.

It was an early Pacific West Coast spring. The air warming the Earth, the air and the hearts of the locals.

Screen Shot 2017-03-12 at 9.38.18 AM As I looked outside my window the sky was the brightest blue, and the street lined with so many pink blossoms that I felt I could almost smell their scent through the window.

The magnolia is the picture of delicate fragility, yet their petals are dense, slow to open, long lasting yet never long enough. Theirs is the scent of spring itself, floral and fresh and sweet.

In my arms lay a bundle of pink, wrapped in a white blanket.

Twenty years ago!

This copper-haired, pink bundle was a miraculous answer to prayers too numerous to count.

I sat on the hospital bed, feeling the awesome presence of the most creative being, who was revealing his nature to me, from the vision in my arms to the one blowing gently at the street.

“Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.” (Genesis 33:5)

The miracle in my arms … she was always mine … she was never mine.

It is hard to find the words to adequately express my love and hopes for you (imagine, me being without words).

I will use the words of the apostle Paul to do that:

“I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you wisdom to see clearly and really understand who Christ is and all that he has done for you. I pray that your heart will be flooded with light so that you can see something of the future he has called you to share. I want you to realize that God has been made rich because we who are Christ’s have been given to him! I pray that you will understand how incredibly great his power is to help those who believe him.
Ephesians 1:16-19

As we celebrate twenty years of life and breath today, I want you to know that wherever you may go, whatever you may do, you are still in the creative and loving arms of your creator … who loves you more than anyone else.

Love,
Mom

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Future Planning for the Graduate

Posted in FAMILY, GOD, life, The Kids, WONDER, tagged #futureplanningforthegraduate, #planningforthefuture, #posthighschool, #whenigrowup, Graduation on April 3, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Come-Alive-–-The-Moving-Forward-Series-–-Part-4-Pocket-Fuel-on-Jeremiah-1-5-long With each day, each assignment and event our youngest son (and our family) is moving closer to the end of his high school years.

This weekend was such for him, as he worked to complete what is known as a Transition Plan (T Plan). It is a presentation which he does for a a group of family and friends, as well as a school staffer.

Though I, as a mom, and a school staffer, love to hear and view these presentations and to learn about the past, present and future of the lives of the students, I have not loved the pressure that this puts on the students (my own as well as the others).

Perhaps it is because it occurs in the final year of high school, when there is already so much pressure on the students to have their futures figured out.

Of our own three kids, this T Plan assignment has been much work, with little joy.

Our oldest, a perfectionist (kinda goes with being oldest) worked for weeks ensuring it fulfilled all the intended goals, and was amazing in every way. The evening of her presentation she ended up with technical difficulties, resulting in great stress and little joy as the presentation had to be viewed from her computer screen.

Our youngest daughter simply did what needed to be done. It was just another assignment to her … she did it and crossed that hoop off her list.

Our youngest son … he, well … this assignment was a constant reminder that he doesn’t know what his future plans are yet, and so it has just been a reminder and pressure to get it all figured out.

Finally, yesterday, I sat him down, and communicated more clearly to him that it is okay to not know what the future holds, for the heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps (Proverbs 16:9) anyway. I assured him that many of the plans of his peers will change, even in the next year.

Then I encouraged him to tell the truth about his future plans …

that he does not know what they will be,

that he simply cannot imagine next year without the community he has spent the last thirteen years with.

Then I reminded him that God has plans for his life, for next September, for his future. There is a plan, there is a hope, and when he is ready, it will be revealed.

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