A New Song

Having the privilege to sing and hear beautiful, God-pleasing and God-glorifying music is a blessing beyond description. That privilege was ours this week as we met for 4 days with our missionary colleagues. The song "His Robes For Mine" was one of the songs we sang.  Here are some of the lyrics, such a rich and beautiful message:

His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange!

Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered 'neath God's rage.

Draped in his righteousness, I'm justified.

In Christ I live, for in my place He died.

I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:

Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.

Bought by such love, my life is not my own:

My praise, my all shall be for Christ alone.

                                -Chris Anderson

(You can listen to this song by going to this link and then "click to listen".)

 

 "And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." (Psalm 40:3)

A Spurgeon Quote

"Some of your graces would never be discovered if it were not for your trials. Do you not know that your faith never looks so grand in summer weather as it does in winter? Love is often like a glow-worm, showing but little light unless it is in the midst of surrounding darkness. Hope itself is like a star-not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity and only to be discovered in the night of adversity." (Charles H. Spurgeon)

Favorite Foto Friday #7



I love waterdrops...



FRIENDS For Life

This will complete my posts about friends (click here for the first and here for the second) and I'm sure you aren't surprised to see the title. Without going into detailed explanations of this level of friendship, I believe I can safely say that, while everyone probably has many friends of the road, they may not have any or many friends for life. They are a rare find, a pure joy and worthy of being treasured.

The story of David and Jonathan is perhaps the most well-known Biblical example of this level of friendship. This beautiful story is found in I Samuel, beginning with chapter 18. Indeed, it is possible to have our soul "knit" with the soul of another and to love that person as we do our own soul (I Sam. 18:1).  A husband and wife can (or should!) experience this and so may two people who are blessed to have a "David and Jonathan" quality of friendship.

Sometimes it may appear to others that two such friends are just "friends for the road" but time will prove otherwise. Distance, lack of the means of communication, or some other factor are never a hindrance to keeping these two souls knit together.

Is there a higher level of friendship than this? Humanly speaking...no. But there is a "Friend For Eternity" and that is Jesus Christ. No one loves like Him, no one is as loyal, faithful and true. He is THE Friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24)!


"A friend loves at all times..." (Proverbs 17:17)
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you..." (John 15: 13-14)

Watching Little Miracles

(I hope you're not tired of seeing or reading about roses since there WILL be more of these on this blog...guaranteed!)

Having said that...I am SO excited about the babies about to be born in my front yard! These photos aren't very clear, I had a difficult time getting close-ups of these still-wrapped-up bundles of potential beauty but I just wanted to announce that they're on their way.

This week a friend, who has suffered with problem pregnancies for several years, had her first baby. She considers her a miracle...and rightly so! Babies are miracles and so are these  roses...since only God can bring about the creation of either one!.

The red rose was a Christmas gift to me from a friend and colleague  (aka "the other Granna" of two of our grandkids) and this is the first bud it has produced since then. The orange rose seems to put out only one or two roses every two or three months, at least during these warmer months and the white rose has not produced any in over a year so I am REALLY excited about that one!

Stay tuned to see photos of these three babies in the near future when they are born!

I can't ignore my two lovely pink rose buses, they faithfully produce almost year-round and I almost always feel like I should take pictures of every single rose that blooms. But I don't, I promise. However, they are also my babies so I have to show them off, too.

Do you know of anything more beautiful than roses? There, see? I knew you didn't. And since you've read this far, I know you like roses, too. You are my friend.

"...whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)