Birds and Dollar Stores

I love birds. I do. I confess.
My mom has been a bird nerd for years. It's a Lee family thing. All of her siblings get nerdy about birds-- I think they get it from their Dad.
For years, as we would hurtle down highways at 80mph( ahem, forgive me,  I meant 55mph) my mom would cry. "Look, it's a bird! a COOL bird!" And, of course, being an obedient child, I always looked. Looked and saw nothing. The reason being, cars go really fast, and birds go really fast, but necks do not turn fast enough.
Anywho, my family is full of teasers, and my mom has been the brunt of teasing for years, because being taken with birds is kind of funny. And I was, and continue to tease her about her birds.
However, being in love with birds makes perfect sense. They are incredible little creatures.
~First of all, they FLY. And what human has not wanted to spread their arms, and soar into the sky? What an adventure to have all day, most days!
~Secondly (isn't that a fun word?), birds sing and chirp. I wish I could chirp!! It's such a cheerful, friendly, uplifting activity.
~And Thirdly (I like "ly's"), birds have nests in trees. In trees, I tell you!! I dream of a home in a tree! Swiss Family Robinson, anyone?
Well anyway, I could go on, but you get the point, and I think you will agree, birds are PRETTY cool. I would say I've turned to the dark side, but really, loving birds has got to be the bright side, right?
Anyway, all of this birdiness has sparked a hope to travel down the Delaware Coast, to watch shorebirds, and migrating birds( or commuters, as my Mom calls them). I ordered this map to assist us. http://www.delawarebirdingtrail.org/dbt.html

 I love Dollar Stores. I do. I confess.
Today, I went to the Dollar Store because I needed a new pair of headphones, and I got my last pair there.... and they've been great, but they've finally died. They are, in fact, only worth a dollar. Anyway, I walked into the store, and I wanted to buy things. You see, they have garden things, and school supplies, frames, candy, cleaning supplies, puzzles, toys, crafts...AND everything is a dollar! Here is the list of things I purchased today: a puzzle for me, a puzzle for Autumn, a glove puppet craft- one for A, one for J, a bag of fruity tootsie rolls, earbuds, and a sweet silver tray for my bathroom (it's this dainty, girly, tea time kind of tray, and i thought I could use it to display hair things and stuff on the counter). $8. Woot.

Well blogging world. See ya later, alligator!

With all thine heart

Some years seem to come with themes.
This years is Psalm 3: especially verse 5 and 6.
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." 
I did not pick the theme, it picked me.
It has followed me around in good times, and been my companion, my friend, through the tough.
It is my constant pondering, to do something with all thine heart. It means you have no room, no heart space for anything else. All of yourself, everything you've got is dedicated to that one thing. Trust in the Lord.
Oh my soul, place all of thy trust in the Lord, in His faithfulness, goodness, and promises. Place no hope in your own ability, but in strength from above.
When i look into the future, it is not known to me, but I know the one to whom it is known. I place all my trust, everything I've got in Him.

Daughter of Faith

Father Abraham had many sons
Many sons had father Abraham
And I am one of them
And so are you
So let's just Praise the Lord!

     This is one of those songs that we sang in church growing up-- or actually we sang it in Sunday school, and at youth camps because it's fun and interactive, and gets you moving-- all good ways to keep kids attention. But this is one those songs that I appreciated as a child, and endured as a teenager, but am just NOW grasping the concept.

      I love reading the Bible, and I love my God. His ways are perfect. I can never out-do him. I can't understand more than Him- all of what I truly understand is a gift from him, not something I hunted out and reasoned. His truths are truths. They never change. And sometimes he reaches out and touches us, opening our eyes to a truth that has always been there, but we only just realized. He is eternal. Just because I wasn't always conscious of Him, does not mean He met me the day I met Him. He knew me before I was in my mother's womb, before my mother was in her mother's womb. Before the foundation of the earth, God thought of me. And God loved me. In my human self, I can't love the way God loves. It's a gift to taste that eternal, unconditional love. He is a giver. He has perfect timing. He gives us that touch, that nudge at just the right moment. Exactly when he for-ordained it to happen. He is constant. I am not. My feelings are up and down, and they are deceiving. One moment, I'm in love with everyone, the next, everyone is annoying. He loves me anyway.  He gave me, and everyone on this earth a gift when He gave us the Bible. Because the Bible gives us an absolute when our feelings muddle our thoughts, and our intellect is confused. His Word never fails. If there is any good in me, it comes from God. He is so good. And I'm learning to trust Him, I'm learning about Him, and I want to draw so much closer to Him. He knows my heart. He is my God.

    So back to Abraham, the father of faith.  Recently, I've been pondering this thought, being a child of Abraham, not by genetics, but by faith.  The more I consider this truth, the more amazed I am, the more excited I get. I am in awe. There are depths to this truth that I am sure I am not reaching, but what I've tasted of it has brought me joy, ecstatic joy.  Because you see, God promised to bless Abraham. Not because Abraham was good, or because he wouldn't fail God, but because God said He would do it, and God cannot lie. And Abraham's promise extended to his seed, not just natural seed, but to the seed of his faith, and that's me. Because I believed God when He said, "It is finished" (John 19:30). 
      I know that there is nothing good in me. I know I am a filthy, wretched sinner, and no better than any other person. But God's Word says "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)  And Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promises is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:38-39).
     And I believe that, because He touched me, He worked on me. He changed my heart. He saved my soul. He filled me with the Holy Ghost, and it keeps me. I believe He has more for me, I want to be filled to overflowing. I believe that every promise in His Word is for me. I won't try to wrap my pea-brain about how He's going to accomplish all that He is promised, but I know that He is able, and He will do it.
    And that's why I am a child of Abraham- by faith. That seed of faith is in me. Glory!

Galatians 3:
vs 6-8 "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be bless. So then they which be of the faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."
vs 14 "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
vs 26-29 "For we are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Isn't this just marvelous? I just can't describe what a joy, and peace this little revelation, this thought gives me. Because, as I read Genesis, I begin to think of these people- Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah, Rachel, Joseph- as family. And this family of faith that I have encourages me. Because they weren't perfect, and they didn't always make the right choices or do the right thing. But the promise of God stuck. It was fixed. It could not move. So when I look at my life, and I'm not quite sure what to do, or what's going on, or how it's all going to work out, or if I 'm going to make it, I look back at how perfectly God worked it out for my family of faith, and peace fills my soul.
There's something about being part of this family of faith that makes you a little bit crazy, because recently I've had this audacious thought that Almighty God is just as mindful of me as he was of Adam and Eve, of Noah, of Enoch, of Ruth, of Esther, of Abigail, of David, of Joseph, Isaac, and of Abraham and Sarah. Of this, I am sure, I can trust Him that whatever His plan for my life, it will be accomplished, and it will work out perfectly.

So these past few days i have been singing that old camp song about Father Abraham and his many sons, and I smile, because when you catch that thought, you really are ready to praise the Lord.

The upward way

I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven’s table land,
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where those abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

I want to live above the world,
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till Heav’n I’ve found,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

- Johnson Oatman

My heart's cry is that every day the Savior of my soul would lead me to higher ground. 

He's showing me who I am. I am blessed.

He's poking my nest. I am going home.

He's watering my life. I am growing

He's molding and shaping. I am changing.

He's handling it. I am resting.

It amazes me what He has done in my life, it amazes me how He works... His faithfulness holds me.

So, lead me, faithful Savior, ever onward to higher ground.

in my heart

It's been a hard few months, and especially a hard few weeks. My spirit cries out to God, be our help in this time. In my heart, I hear him say, "Hold on, my daughter, hold on.  You may be tested, but never forsaken." In stillness, He comes to wrap us in comfort. Our master is teaching us to trust in Him, to lean on Him through every hard trial. I surely do love him, and rest in the promises in His word. I claim them for myself and my family. He is here, and He WILL work everything out perfectly. It may not be pain free, but it will be perfectly done. He is a perfect God, and I will trust Him.

The Battle is Not Yours, It's the Lords- Yolanda Adams. 

summer beginnings

Summer break has begun very well.  Here's a snippet of how i spent the lovely gift of time that summer affords...

for lunch- pb&j with audi.. yum! also grapefruit and bananas! yum!
for spending time outside- weeding and picking the strawberry patch.. slight sunburn included... also watching autumn as she discovered the joys of a water hose on a hot day.
for cleaning- scrubbed a few porch cushions.. while autumn splashed in soapy water
for friendship- caught up with my hannah joy. i love that i have a friend who comes over for hours and we do pretty much nothing. she fits right in.
for dinner- pizza that never came. very sad story about how i ordered pizza from papa johns and they never came... they later said they had no record of the order... they did give us 2 free pizzas... but they called me "the amber situation"....bizarre (we eventually DID eat... just 3 hours later than planned)
for dessert- ice cream and syrup and whipped cream with grandmom. she loves ice cream. i do too.
for relaxing- adventures in odyssey.. comfort, humor, wisdom in one radio show.
for reflection- how amazing is it that this semester has just flown by? that i'm half-way done with college? that in just 2 short years i will be an RN? My Lord has saved me, kept me, protected me, helped me, and showered love and mercy upon me. I have been so very blessed.

goodnight, my friends.

ps.  my herbs and my garden are growing!! i've been able to cook a few things with my herbs! such fun! and i made some muffins with our strawberries (although, they were a little weird, but it wasn't the strawberries fault.. it was mine). I love this growing business.. it's so rewarding. :)
pps. our neighbors are setting off fireworks. summer is so much fun!

Amazing...

I'm thankful for grace tonight. I need it. I have it. Lord, show me, teach me how to share it.
I'm thankful for friends, families, freshly painted walls, rain, thunderstorms, professors (yes, that's right, professors), peanut butter M&Ms, etc. But, I think, MOST of all, I'm thankful for grace.