Weekends.......are for drawing yourself into His presence......

Exodus 25:8;  And let them make me a sanctuary, that "I may dwell in their midst."

God's most intimate desire is to reveal himself to you, and before doing that, he gives you abundant grace.

May your weekend wanderings be one of drawing yourself into His presence.

May it be one of Faith. By faith believe, and set your mind inwardly on Christ.

Let God catch you in the arms of His grace.......

All of grace,
Robbie

" The apple of his eye"

Picture taken from a museum in Normandy. The shirt above is from a Jewish person that was a prisoner in a concentration camp.

An American cemetery in Normandy. There were Jewish and Gentile soldiers killed in World War ll. Some families chose to bring their family member's home to the US, but others chose to keep them in the country they died in.

Pointe- Du- Hoc

U.S. Rangers climbed this 100 meter cliff on D-Day in order to knock out the deadly 155mm cannons.

Just some random pictures from a trip my husband and I took two years ago. While in Normandy, we took a "World War ll " tour. My husband loves history, and I love the Jewish culture and their people.  So both of us enjoyed this trip. Since my trip to Israel, I have a deeper love for their country and the Jewish people.

Robbie and I left Israel about 4 1/2 months ago, and I think we truly left a part of ourselves there.

So with all of that said- the reason for this blog tonight is to tell you of an amazing book-  The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boon. I have spent the last week at the beach with my family. And everyone that knows me, knows that I cant sit still. I love being busy, maybe I have ADHD- adult version. But anyway- I had time to kill. I have been caring this book with me for about two weeks now. At the beach we went into Books A Million. Just the smell of new books makes me smile- so I had to have another book- a newer than 2 week old book. The new book was an easy read, so I started with that one. I have to say that book was one of the worst books I have ever read. Not because a young mother of three died, but that her family did not know Jesus. The only reason that I even finished the book, was that I was hoping to read that through all of this heartache, they found Jesus. Nope they didn't, but what I read was that there were several times that someone told them about Jesus and that with Jesus comes a peace beyond all understanding. But they did not find that peace, and for that I am sad.

So after that depressing book, I started, " The Hiding Place". What I know will be so sad, but so far what I am reading is about God's grace, his mercy, and that his plan for us takes us through a obstacle course called life. Some courses are harder than others. Corrie Ten Boon was an amazing person, but it was her and her family that God used. Each one had a part to play, and what you read in the beginning, the events of their lives- are all apart of the plan.
Some key points that stood out to me in the early chapters of the book-
Corrie was a young girl traveling with her father one day- she asked him what sex-in was. He didn't yell as I would have, but said the following- " He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case from the rack and set it on the floor. Will you carry this for me, Corrie. I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning. It is too heavy I said. Yes, her father explained. And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It's the same way with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you."  Wow- why cant I have that patience and knowledge. But what he did was wait- probably pray for the right words, instead of acting in haste.


Wow this statement blew me away, everyone I know should hear this truth. This statement is from Corrie's mom. They were a very poor family, but always made it, and had extra to share with those in need.  " Happiness isn't something that depends on our surroundings, It is something that we make inside ourselves."


I'm only on chapter 8- I will share more later. But in the seventh chapter, Corrie's father is feeling sorry for a group of people. Corrie thinks it is the Jews they are rounding up in town. No it is the German soldiers. He states that he feels sorry for them, for they have touched the apple of God's eye. And from reading the bible and my Israel trip- I know the Jewish people are God's chosen people- the apple of his eye.
Amy

Words...................................

 Wretched mama that I am................the words........oh how the words change everything

Romans 7: 19-20
 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.


What should I do? Me the one with the unclean lips? I speak the words the kind that pierce their hearts....the kind that changes them, destroys them tears them down....
     Where are the gracious words that edify? Eph. 4:29
I keep revisiting of the old words the ones where I hurt others.......
After the words fly off the tongue that whips it out quick.......it's then that the head lowers and I realize what I have done............the tears start the sting.........the sting that pierces me the deep..........
it all started out so good.......so godly and then there it was the report card of the sixteen year old.........
I keep saying under my breath, speak the words of life..........the words of grace..........the words of love.........the words that heal...........the words of peace....
then I see it the grades all in a row..............the begs and pleas of the empty promises of  "I will do better next time," it is then that I lose it...........the tongue whips and spins out of control and that woman-child of mine hangs the head low.............where is my gratitude?

 Proverbs 12:18; tells us to think before we speak...........

But what I really need is a new heart.........a transplant........the kind that only the great physician can give..
the one that makes the heart pump you pure full of grace...........
Luke 6:45; "out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.....
Word problems are heart problems.....the need for God's saving grace is so evident...... He can create in us a new heart that produce words that honor him and comfort those who hear.....
Our words have been entrusted to us by the father........so why is it I do what I don't want to do?
God has holy standards for how we are to speak....
God's redeeming love is what saves us.........saves us from ourselves......when we start to worship Him with gratitude no matter what our circumstances are then and only then do we break the chains of bondage....bondage that has the words that ensare us so deeply to the pit...........the pit of ingratitude..........
and later that night when I calm down it is then that I take this woman-child into my arms and whisper the sorry over and over again............place her precious face into my hands and kiss her cheek as if I can take back the everything................confessing so humbly that I am my greatest communication problem.....I am my own worst enemy...........turning on myself with my tongue..............
the woman-child looks up at me with blood shot eyes from tears............and smiles the smile of forgiveness
all of grace,
Robbie



humbly thanking God today for forgiveness
for the shoes on the front porch
for the dog slobber on my glass doors
for the flowers that are blooming
for the toothpaste on the bathroom mirrors
for the teenagers unmade beds
for a husband who loves me

The POWER of his Name

 We stood at his bedside as he was dying.

An old man with an old body. He lay there very still and somewhat peaceful. We knew of his life and of the poor choices that he had made. But this was the end. His family was on the way, but right now we - the  hospital staff- was all he had. His heart beat was slowing- 40- 35-30-20. He was dying. We stood at his bedside- two nurses and one doctor. We held his hand and prayed silently that he would hang on for just a few more minutes. I glanced up at his monitor and saw his heart rate slow to nothing. The nurse standing with me starting praying out loud- In Jesus name- please bring him back for just a little while- to let him see his family one last time. Please Father- we ask this in Jesus name. Suddenly- not slowly, but suddenly his heart starting beating and his heart rate- then was 0- now was 100ish. He opened his eyes and looked right at us. I have faith that with God all things are possible, but I was shocked. We then thanked God. The doctor standing at the bedside is a believer and the three of us just stood there. His family arrived soon after this miracle. To our surprise his brother was a pastor and prayed with his brother- the patient. He was able to carry a conversation with his family and most important- ask God's forgiveness and asked Jesus into his heart. He died shortly after he asked Jesus into his heart. I know that today he is with Jesus. I am thankful today to be apart of that miracle- one that we still talk about today.

Amy

" Our Purpose"

Where there is no counsel, purposes are frustrated, but with many counselors they are accomplished. Proverbs 15:22

Many plans are in a man's mind, but it is the Lord's purpose for him that will stand.

Proverbs 19:21

I often wonder what is my purpose on this life. I do know that we are all born with a purpose. A purpose to build God's kingdom. If we are not obedient to God's plan, we will miss it. I pray daily that I wont miss it. One of my fears is that when I stand before God, he will tell me that because I believed, I will be with him for eternity, but that he had so much more planned for me. That I was too focused on this life, and missed his true plan for me.

I got a call today from a friend telling me about a funeral that she had just been too. The funeral was  for a young woman with small children. She died within months of being diagnosed with cancer. This young women was a christian, and you could see the love for Jesus in her eyes. The last few weeks were not easy for her or her family.  She suffered until she finally became unconscious. A couple days later she died. Her family never left her side. Her brother would read scriptures to her every day. She will never get to see her children grow up. Her Children will not have a mom to talk to about boys or even to put a band aid on their cut. She will not be there when they run a high fever, spending the whole night at their bedside. All of those thoughts make my heart ache for them. But what I heard amazed me. Though her family grieves for her, they are excited to know that she is in the arms of the Great I AM.  No more suffering or pain. And what I think may have been her purpose on this life- not only did she touch so many lives with her life, but 16 people were saved at her funeral. WOW- I want to make a difference. I want to be a part of God's plan. We are not promised that this life will be easy, but we are promised that he will never leave us nor forsake us. So pray for God to reveal his plan to you, I know I do. I want to one day hear, " Well done, my good and faithful servant."

In his service,

Amy

He is alive.................

DO NOT BE AFRAID........
We have seen the risen...........and he is alive inside of us..........

He is not here for He is RISEN..............

 Luke 24:5-6;

In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen!

This is the actual tomb where they say Jesus' body had been laid to rest..........The bars you see are to keep people from worshipping the empty tomb.....or becoming our golden calf....

Saturday's will come and go.....some noted with the pain..........the kind of pain that grieves the heart......We have all experienced some type of pain that the death can bring.... Jesus suffered much..............He suffered His whole life......even as a child He had to be hidden in Egypt.....He wept over the death of His friend.....Lazarus............the grief He had and has over Israel.........................He sweated blood while praying in the garden of Gethsemane........he screamed out as He hung on the cross.................suffering.........do we really understand the suffering

Sometimes the pain is used by God to purify us.

Peter even told us that suffering refines our hearts......like fire refines gold........

Paul reached the climax of the whole process with one word.........HOPE

Revelation 1:8;

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”


Revelation 21:6;

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

May your weekend be one of blessed Hope.....................

"Hope by it's very nature captivates both our hearts and heads. It evokes deep emotions. It moves in and makes itself at home in our souls. It takes up residence at the very core of who we are. That is why it is so vital that we begin to place our hope in the Lord."  -Adam R. Holz

Let us not forget what Jesus went through with the pain and sufferings and how.....He came out on the other side to give us HOPE....
May we all take some time the weekend to realize.....................that Jesus' love is our HOPE.....for today and forever......even if we grieve.....we still have the blessed HOPE.
all of hope,
Robbie

Garden Tomb part two........Good Friday.....................

Today all times collide.........It was FRIDAY then.................and it is FRIDAY today....................What was once then.....is the mystery of the holy story today.....................let us faithfully and fearfully remember........

There before me a "tomb," surrounded by beautiful gardens....Amy and I take our hands and run them along side the rough walls......and around to the cave's openings......we so excited take our heads and poke them right through the cave's openings......we enter.............wanting to sit and stay awhile...............but we cannot.................we must return to tell others...............THE TOMB IS EMPTY........It is beautiful because it is empty........

...............sometimes the emptiness all around us can bring us to our knees................the surrendering kind....................where the joints do ache and the snot does fly..............the contrite heart.............a humbleness that can only come from the purging within one's very own soul..............pouring it out......pouring out your heart........like dirty water.................

The door to the tomb was a hole........a hole in stone......no higher than a human waist.......................

Praying for the opening............the opening kind that leads to fullness.....................the fullness of grace............

Luke 24: 1-5;

¹ On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen!

me who craves the easy.........that wants the death and the resurrection all in one. Me the one than cannot bear the weight....knowing that the dark night of the soul is only for a time..............but having the hope that is promised to us........knowing that after the dying comes the living...............the re-birthing of the self.......and the everything is given back through His glorious resurrection!!!!!

    

and our precious Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face spit  upon......Give us grace......to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time......confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your son our Lord....(book of common prayer)

I say it over and over again today............give us more of your saving grace.........grace......more grace please as if I can beg, borrow or steal more.............as if I can store it up and save it for a later date..........

I wonder if it is the car ride to the beach this week....................because I was living the tired...........I screamed the stop over and over and the teenagers continued their fight to kill............

was it because the littlest one who cried her self to sleep because I hadn't taken the time to listen..........to listen how she had to sleep on her stomach because of her sunburn......is it because I am living the tired all the time that I allowed the hair.....the un kept hair to grow and there were the knots..............the knots of life........on this Good Friday when the world keeps turning and the world keeps aching.............am I the one living my life the undone?..............the afraid?..........the afraid that they will grow up............grow up and be just like the me?

The cry of my heart Lord from this twenty-first century girl.............. can I attend the burial?.......Your dying is never far away for my own is close...........I cry for the sorrow of  the being..................the very being of your death...............but I cry also...............the cry of gratitude..........thanking you in this sacred season. and praying to be rescued................rescued from thy self..............praying for the how today to die the self......

wanting the dying today of the me............and being reborn with the you that so clearly shows in me...

all of grace,

Robbie

Communion.............at the Garden Tomb...............................

Inside the garden tomb looking out....

The entrance to the garden tomb...there are places to sit and I do so. Thinking in my mind how Mary Magdalene loving Jesus as she did must have felt....She watched him die. Then she watched as they removed his torn body from the cross. She stayed close to the body never falling to far behind. She watched as they took him into this tomb. Weeping....weeping for all that she thought was gone.

     Wondering what she was thinking as they rolled the stone into place....Was she simply thinking; "it's over?" But it was far from over.......Oh how she remains me of......so many of us "women," we can only grasp with our hearts with what our eyes can see......We have faith........but not enough to just believe................But oh how gracious the Lord is........He waited........waited until the men were gone and their wept Mary...........and He called her name.."Mary."

She thought it was the gardener......then she realized "RABBONI."

The tomb is surrounded by resplendent gardens.....

The burst of color with the well tended flora take you to a quiet place......a coolness that you feel, even in the heat of the day.....It draws Amy and I in......along the carved paths into the rocky earth....

Communion Site..................

How many times? How many times do we bury the living Lord in the graves of ourselves whom he changes?

The Holy Spirit of God himself lives within us.......lives within us to change us..............to take us from the death to the life.......................This is the gift!!!! May we remember every time that we faithfully eat and drink in remembrance of what He has done.............that the Holy Spirit within us is the same as if Jesus was right in front of us........How different would our lives be if Jesus was standing face to face with us?

We are living the full..................the full life. We have no hunger for Jesus because we are the full.....full of the things of this world............on this Maundy Thursday what shall we do? What shall we do to the emptying of ourselves? Isn't the emptying after all the way to the fullness of Christ? We need the purging kind of emptying....we must remember..........

EUCHARIST.....(Holy Communion) let us celebrate in rememberence of what Jesus himself modeled for us..........

When he gave His disciples bread..........He said; "this is my body and wine saying this is my blood....

      Leonardo da Vinci's 1499 mural painting in Milan, Italy being perhaps the best known example. The Last Supper,  is the final meal that Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion.   The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper"

 May we cry out today: "Holy, Holy, Holy.........let the whole world be full of your Glory......................

Traditional Garden...............Israel

Garden of Gethsemane.....has come from the Gospels in its Greek form.......but it comes from a word in the language Jesus spoke on a daily basis...."Aramaic." It means.......(olive), "oil-press."

This tree was the oldest living tree located in the "Traditional," side of Gethsemane.......every crack and crevice of this gnarled trunk showed the marks of Jerusalem's history........................

The dome of the Rock........and the Golden Gate................framed by Olive trees at Dominus Flevit....a chapel marking the site where Jesus wept over Jerusalem......(Luke 19:41)

What will Jesus weep over when He returns? A people that are luke warm? half hearted? in their walk.....what will He see when He returns?     A people who are being ensnared by the Babylonian culture?

As Julian of Norwich stated; "the highest form of prayer is to the goodness of God......"

 God's desire is to find us....clinging......clinging to His goodness...........

As I cried out to God during my prayer time telling him all about me.....me....me.....the one who begs for the easy.....telling him how I live in Babylon....how I am not secluded out the middle of the no-where, away from all the intoxicating things of this world............how I live right smack in the middle of Babylon.......a metropolitan city..........one who has it's claws wrapped around my children and me..........one who's grip is so strong and won't let go of my family...................with no escape or exit in site......the woman- children who are in massive public schools.....................there's no home schooling here............there is no reading of the bible before and after meals..................we can barely sit together once a week for a meal.....there is the husband whose time clock is so different......stays up way to late into the night.............me who hates to cook the dinner...........kids coming and going...........the front door more like a revolving door...............the friends who all have their license and can drive to the anywhere at anytime..........the different parenting styles.......................the instant gratification life-style......................and God so gently whispers deep into my soul;

But Daniel resolved...................and he CHOSE not to defile himself with the things of Babylon.............

Wow...........how true that is.............he didn't have a choice either, he had to live in Babylon........but he did have a choice to partake of things of this world.........truth ringing in the ears today..............

I  have seen someone who has attracted the grace of the Lord.......only one.........now I want it.....................never know if I will see it.............but Daniel did..........he simply resolved........................he who protected himself from the being.............the ensnaring kind.........the temptations.....he who protected himself from the ensnaring temptations of the Babylonian culture........he CHOSE to use their diet as a way of retaining their identity as Jewish exiles and avoided complete saturation in a Babylonian culture.................(which was the king's goal)....just as it is Satan's goal for you and me today.....................what am I doing to RESOLVE? What are we doing to avoid keeping ourselves from becoming saturated in this Babylonian Culture we live in?

Trying to stop the blending................the blending in.......to a culture that will leave us empty.................

all of grace,

Robbie