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Very busy today but here are some thoughts…

Hebrews 4:9-11 KJV
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Laboring to rest…seems paradoxical but so true. The key is the right labor. Vain laboring, that which has no spiritual benefit, is like spinning our wheels in frustration.

In short, doing (work/labor/active) the will of God, brings satisfaction and rest.

After a very long break (break? hmm, that could imply rest, don’t think rest) I am back at the keyboard with ideas and visions. Hopefully, by God’s grace, we can make something of this!

“About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death”

~John Wesley’s Journal, May 24, 1738

“Nothing so clears the vision and lifts up the life, as a decision to move forward in what you know to be entirely the will of the Lord.”

John Paton

Scottish missionary to the New Hebrides

The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever…
Jeremiah 33:11

My heart is very full. They say a picture is worth a thousand words…oh but the picture a thousand words can express!
My only daughter is engaged to be married. How can I explain the feelings of simultaneous joy and pain? I do rejoice with them, to see their joy as the will of God unfolds before them. 
Wesley is a very godly young man, whose family we’ve known intimately for many years. During the courtship process, I was impressed with his sincerity and forthrightness. He genuinely desired the will of God, whether that meant he received our consent or not. I was convinced that he wanted a marriage that would bring glory to Jesus. Of course, aside from all this, he is a hard working young man who would faithfully provide and care for a wife and family.
Oh, but the heartache of giving away my daughter. I knew she was precious to me but the possibility of her marrying brought such pain I never imagined. I felt like I had been asked to bring her to Abraham’s altar in Moriah. When Wesley first approached me about Evangeline, I told him I felt like my heart was being ripped out. Thankfully, God helped me through that initial anguish. If God were to require such a sacrifice He would give me grace and if now was not the time I could trust Him to make His mind known to us. He gave me grace. And He’s given me peace, and yes, even joy (albeit, the tears are flowing even as I type).
I just wanted to express all this before I get too busy. Pictures are priceless but words are enduring.

Congratulations Wesley and Evangeline! I love you both immensely! May God bless you with a long, happy Christ honoring marriage!

I really have good intentions of keeping up with this blog.  We are a busy family–committed Christians with dairy cows, big gardens, small businesses, days filled with canning and helping friends–normal stuff but makes for a very full schedule. It is an interesting life and I would love to write about it…