It's very hard to imagine where we'd be and what we have done these past seven years.
We watched the wedding videos with our kids. E1 asks where she was. Um, not born yet, but already loved. Interesting seeing all the people who were part of our lives then, and still today. Our girls recognized a lot of people, we need to however, make it an effort to maintain/build on other relationships.
Just some observations, our families have grown a lot these past seven years. Many babies born, kids have grown so much, singles got married... but life also happened, some people passed away, marriages have ended, ex(s) have since become distant memories...
The reminder is that nothing in this life lasts. No matter how strong or perfect something feels right now... it will never be the same a year or two later... Marriages go through peaks and valleys, same with friendships. Nothing in this world stays the same.
This world is much too transient, and yet God tells us in the scriptures that he does not change. What does that mean that he is eternal, from everlasting to everlasting? Our girls have been memorizing scripture, one in particular is Psalm 90:2 "Before the mountains were born you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."
A picture that before anything was created, God was, and is, and always will be. There is a constant in this life that we can reach out to and that has reached out to us. He calls us to himself so that when the storms come he can be our dwelling place, a shelter for all generations.
The psalmist asks God in v12 "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." That's my prayer, and I hope that this is your prayer as well. In this life, during times of change... in times of joy and in times of sorry... help us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
fun with the Louie's: bringing all of life under Christ
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The Love of God
Shared this hymn during worship a couple months ago. The lyrics are based on the Jewish poem Haddamut, written in Aramaic in 1050 by Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai, a German Cantor
A note in the hymnal also mentioned that the last verse "had been found penciled on the wall of a patient’s room in an insane asylum after he had been carried to his grave, the general opinion was that this inmate had written the epic in moments of sanity."
The Love of God
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
A note in the hymnal also mentioned that the last verse "had been found penciled on the wall of a patient’s room in an insane asylum after he had been carried to his grave, the general opinion was that this inmate had written the epic in moments of sanity."
The Love of God
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Great Commission
Been thinking of this lately. Jesus command to his disciples in Matthew 28:17-20
17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
His command to us. His promise to us.
Go.
Make Disciples.
Of All Nations.
Baptize them.
In the Name.
Teach them.
To Obey.
I am with You.
17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
His command to us. His promise to us.
Go.
Make Disciples.
Of All Nations.
Baptize them.
In the Name.
Teach them.
To Obey.
I am with You.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Daddy, I get sad when...
We were praying the other night when my oldest daughter confesses to me that she got sad with me. 'Bah-by' (a chinglish nickname that my kids call me) you know I get sad when you play with mei-mei (little sister) and I feel lonely... This caught me off guard, but I remind her this was the same day that we swam together the whole time with her at the pool and mei-mei was playing by herself in the water.
Oh. She replies. And then mei-mei, being three and loves copying her older sister tells me. 'Bah-by', you know I get sad when you play with jie-jie and I feel lonely...
It's interesting to see that even when my girls spend all day with me, they are still jealous of my time and affection... or are they just feeling neglected?
Is this how we experience God?
He has promised to be with us... even to the end of the age. As Christians we should know the presence of God, the active work of God in our lives. We should know what he has done for us in the past, what he is doing now in the present and what we expectantly hope for in the future... but we feel sad. We feel empty. We forget.
Oh. How easily we forget the goodness of God and his gracious hand of providence in our lives. We forget how he came into this world, delivered and rescued us from this body of sin, and gifted us with his Holy Spirit. We forget the great struggle we had with this desert of a world and how he faithfully provides an oasis for us in times of trouble.
Oh. How I get so sad and complain, and yet my heavenly Father has been with me... every step of the way.
May we find joy in the Lord's salvation. Today and every day.
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near." (Phil 4:4-5)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)