He Does All Things Well (Mark 7:37)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2-3

King of wonders, we stand amazed,

There’s no other, other than You.
King of wonders, You know the way to our hearts and
The more we see, the more we love You.

(King of Wonders, lyrics by Matt Redman)

I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2

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Sometimes we and those we love are called by God to walk through dark and difficult days, and then those days stretch on and seem unrelentingly ever-present, exhausting. My heart has hurt with my parents (who live far from me) in recent days. One particularly painful day began with a phone call to them, which ended in shared tears with my dad, followed by a day of waiting...difficult waiting, filled with more tears, continued cries to the Father for my parents and all they are facing. It was also a waiting to see what our God would do that day in their behalf...what His perfect will would be. As the day wore on, something slowly washed over me: it was the realization that the pain I felt for them was in that very moment part of a process of trusting Christ more...calling on Him in the hurt, in the unknown, praising Him, because His judgments are just and true (Revelation 19:2), and great is His love toward me (Psalm 86:13).

Jesus saw mom and dad (and me, from a distance) through that nearly-overwhelming day. I am thankful for His perfect will, for His desire is to mold us into His image through these things. What a blessing, then, trials are (James 1:2).

Call on the Name of the Lord in and through your hard times - ask for the grace to walk well through them, to come out on the other side more pleasing and pure to Him than ever, for He has His Perfect plans. I am continually reminded during my parents' ongoing trials of the story of Joseph, and how all that his brothers meant for evil resulted in unbelievable good in the end. Once in Egypt, he was unfairly imprisoned...none of that is "good" from a human perspective, but Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? (Romans 11:34)

God, give me, give us, grace after grace to trust You, Your plans, Your hand, when You choose the path of pain and uncertainty for us!

I love you, Lord, my Friend and Strength!

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Photos: All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small....

We've started a new thing this school year: nature journaling. This is a fun, simple, inexpensive habit to take up. Since we live in one of those house-house-house-in-a-row neighborhoods, there's not tons of nature to be had, BUT anytime we see something new, we leap upon it, study it, fuss over it, thank God for it, and draw it! Below, you'll see what had the girls so engrossed. It was lots of fun to have an exciting visitor to our back yard, though my husband so does not agree (however, he did catch it for me!).