mercy.

at our ladies' bible study last night, we were reminded through 1 peter 2 that when the condemnation of the world is heaped upon us, the mercies of God that stretch to the very heavens are upon us. we are pilgrims and sojourners in this temporal land, but oh! the mercies, all surpassing, all encompassing, new every morning.

..who were not a people but now are the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.. 1 peter 2:10-11

The LORD is in His holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. psalm 11:4

But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me. psalm 13:5-6

psalm 15:1- Lord, who may abide in Your temple? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
the footnote in my Bible says that abide can also be sojourn. we are sojourners here on earth, but what a privilege for us to sojourn in His presence.

amen!

recommendations.

Stash decaf raspberry white tea.

Carol of the Bells -the bird and the bee [iTunes free music download of the week].

ruby red nail polish. or anything red, for that matter.

Worship and Music Ministry -rick ryan and dave newton.

hungarian curtain-scarves.

dryer sheets.

hand-written letters delivered by post.

singing hymns in 4-part harmony with the family on a chilly winter's eve.

psalm 1

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.



p.s. amazon cancelled my mistake order.
..for His mercy endureth forever.

amazon..

is normally a friend. but today it's made itself a foe.

so i was doing a little christmas shopping online last night, and found a fun gift for my nephew. put it in my amazon cart [at least i thought], but ended up deciding on something else instead, on a different site.

lo and behold, this morning there's a receipt from amazon in my email inbox, saying i purchased the rejected gift, and they were charging me more in shipping than the product itself cost.

pretty much not fun. orders like that can only be cancelled up to 90 minutes after they've been placed.. and i didn't even know my computer had purchased it until 12 hours later. amazon gave me no inclination that i had placed the order, no 'purchase complete' page, no shipping rate options, nothing.

so the moral of the story is: live somewhere with shopping nearby so you don't have to shop online.

guess my nephew gets two presents instead of one!

behold,

children are an heritage from the Lord. Psalm 127:3

this entire day was completely overrun by children. running, screaming, yelling, crying, laughing, hollering children, of every imaginable age and size.
following several hours with them after church, i expected to have a quiet day at home. but my hopes were in vain, for our house was overrun with big, running, stomping, excitable, rubber-band-gun-shooting boys.
said boys were joined by three more children overtaking my house, and last but not least, demanding my utmost attention for the remainder of the evening.

it's been kids, and hardly anything else, since i woke up.

but you know, after i got over the desperate urge to flee for my sanity, i was completely captivated by two small souls, each talking several miles per minute, seeking my attention and approval while parents talked in other rooms.

it was all worth it, and i knew it to be true, as i watched a tenderhearted little boy pour out all his love for his new friend- 'the yiddo bear'.
how little it required of me, besides encouraging words and smiles, and how content he was.

indeed, children are an immeasurable heritage from the Lord.

Weihnachten ist froh!!

i love christmas.

it's been snowing ever so cheerily today [albeit the ground is too warm to allow for accumulation],
and my mother and i both felt the singular inclination that the time for christmas cd listening has arrived!

it's so cozy to be wrapped up snug in a warm scarf and mittens when venturing out into the blustery outdoors,
and twice as nice to scurry back indoors for a steaming mug of café or chocolat.

i've got the old christmas classics crooning in the background, and
'the lights are turned way down low, so let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!'

la joyeuse

it snowed today!!
of course, it didn't have a chance of sticking.. 45mph winds kind of discourage that.
and we only had flurries. but still! it was snow, heavenly, beautiful snow.
everyone at work was getting all depressed, and i was definitely rejoicing at nearly the top of my lungs.
november snows are always so cozy.
how merry!

california makes me sick.

literally. i haven't quite felt the same since i've returned.
this has happened the last 2 times i've been in california.
i think i'm allergic. to the 31st state.

à la maison

well, i've returned from california. i love my home.

the conference was good. all the speakers were right on, and the worship itself was fresh and skillfully played. the workshops were ok, although not as informative as i'd expected them to be. i hung out a lot with the kids from the School of Worship in costa mesa- they're definitely cool kids. it was super busy schedule-wise, so i got approximately 5-6 hours of sleep a night, and had stuff going on all day long. but, despite the lack of rest, it was nice that they chose to redeem the time.

i drank altogether too much coffee, and currently even the thought of it makes me slightly ill.

it was cool seeing friends on campus, and meeting new people. i met a few who are hoping to come to germany this spring, so that was pretty sweet. i am so excited for next semester, and so blessed to return! the Lord is so good, and so faithful. it was more like a family reunion when it came to seeing friends from earlier days in germany. many a fond memory were shared, and chelsea and i had sushi! mmm. so delicious.

i got to lead worship for robin's Ruth and Esther class. that was sweet, because when i was at school out there she had me come in each semester to do a particular song for the girls.. so it was like old times being back in her classroom with a guitar and my minimal skills! amen.

the Lord provided a ride to the airport friday.. after giving me the full opportunity to trust Him and walk by faith. but His grace was more than sufficient- for, along with the ride, i was blessed by having time to fellowship with a dear friend.

so, there were some great aspects of this past week. it was also a hard week, and i am quite glad that i don't live in southern california. so here i am at home in silly, chilly, hotdish-eating minnesota, and ever so glad to be here.

be still, my soul.

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27

Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.
Psalm 119:165

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.
Isaiah 26:3-4

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
John 16:33

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Colossians 3:15

The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

jurassic park 11

a dinosaur showed up at my house the other night.
he bared his teeth at me.
i caught him just before he got to my raggedy ann doll.
i was, unfortunately, too late. poor ann.
he promptly waddled off to consume mass quantities of miniature pumpkins.
and then! he had the audacity to flash those baby blues at me.

but i have to say.. he's a pretty swell nephew! [and actually- he adores raggedy ann.]

i love the sun in minnesota, especially during cold seasons. the sky is perfectly blue and the sun is so bright and warm that our ever-present stiff breeze/hurricane-force winds seem much less disheartening.

on sunday i go to california! it kind of snuck up on me. but i am very excited! it's so great, my church is sending me to the worship leaders' conference, plus i get to stay an extra day on each end to see some dear friends. it seems [at least to those of us in the midwest] that friends are spread far and wide.. and any chance to see them is treasured dearly. this will be my last trip to california for who knows how long. someday i'll return again.

I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among many people!
Psalm 38:15