What a Morning!

Thank You Lord Jesus.  You Alone are worthy to be praised!

Faith Without Illusions

Feeling Derailed?  Torn and thread-bare?  A little - off the edge?

Do yourself a HUGE favour....
Faith Without Illusions
If every one in my church family would read through this article thoughtfully and prayerfully, I think we'd reap a heap of blessing!
Yes.  It will demand some self-examination.  Do not be afraid  :)
No pain? No gain! ... a truism that actually finds its' root in scripture.
Holy Spirit, bring it on.

The Power of the Cross

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev'ry bitter thought,
Ev'ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the vict'ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

FINAL CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Be still my anxious heart....

Letting God into my broken-ness and thanking Him for loving me through the message brought by the rich, soothing voice of Fernando Ortega.
Thanks again Lisha for sending it my way!  I can naught but pay it forward....

Undragon Your Life

We were sitting on the couch together this morning - him and I.
We watched this video together - him and I.
We felt inspired and encouraged at the same time, for precisely the same reasons - both him and I.
So we're sharing it cuz ... y'know?... that's just what you do with those you love -  you share it.
                                         **********

Only Jesus can free us from ourselves.
Pastor Jim Burgen tells the story of hearing about a character in the Chronicles of Narnia.

His name was Eustace Clarence Scrubb; his name tells it all.
He was a bratty, jealous kid. In "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," Eustace belittles and complains about Lucy and Edmund again and again until his monstrous evil character inside starts to show on the outside; he becomes a dragon.
Only Aslan can save.
We are all like Eustace until Christ comes to our rescue.



C.S. Lewis strikes again.
Voyage of the Dawn Treader is...  "awesome, completely life-altering storytelling at its finest".
                                           **********

So we finished watching it, him and I.
And he pulls an old smooth (almost forgotten) 1978 move -
he asks me out to a movie!
I am grinning.   Widely.
Two cozy seats at some Silver City and a jumbo popcorn to share, coming right up!   Happy Eeek.

Forgiveness - What it is and What it is not

First of all, let me say this:  Mom is slightly improved.  Please know that your prayers for 'peace' are both much apparent and appreciated.
Secondly, as to the title of this blog post - let me say unequivocably, I offer these thoughts not as an authority on the subject but as an ardent (albeit reluctant) student of same.  My observations are simply the result of serious but necessary soul searching and reflection of certain events in my pilgrimage.  Only by God's grace can I rightfully claim any richer understanding of the concept of forgiveness.
And no doubt - I have far to go.

We watched a very gut-wrenching movie together - Momsie and her three daughters. 
Amish Grace is an exploration of two vital tenets of Christianity: grace & forgiveness and is based on the true story of the 2006 schoolhouse murders of five Pennsylvanian Amish girls.  It was strangely fortifying to sit through this bawling our eyes out together; the vigorous discussion that followed the film was such that only Mom's signal for rest and her bed brought us to a truce - a revisit is likely to happen soon.  :)



It was an extremely well-acted, respectful rendering of a horrible human tragedy and this is the line (defended by the Amish 'clergy') that sparked such a fierce debate:  Forgiveness is unconditional.
Collectively, we had just sat under a series of sermons and read a few books on precisely that topic:  Repentance/Forgiveness Restoration/Healing.
Unconditional forgiveness?  Does the Bible teach that?
Have you ever challenged yourself to ponder the precept?  Want a discussion to grow by?  Stick three or more people in the kitchen, pour some beverage of choice and lay your cards on the table.
I think you'll be surprised.  Maybe even a bit rattled.  Not to worry.  Spiritual stretching never killed anyone.  On the contrary.

Yvonne Alexandra (Vanderkruk) Pts

This is a portrait of my sister Yvonne.

She died at the age of 21 from a rare form of adrenal cancer.

On the family 'totem pole', she was sibling number five in a tight row of seven! We have many fond memories of growing up in that cozy (read: tiny) white house beside the creek.

She is survived by her daughter, Nicole Kristine Pts who was 2 and a half years old when her mother passed away.

At the age of twelve, Nicole was taken out of the country by her paternal grandparents - of whom she became ward shortly after Yvonne's death.

We have not seen or heard from her since.

This January will mark the twentieth anniversary of Yvonne's passing.

It is the express purpose of her family to use this blog to document our lives since that moment in time in the hopes of re-introducing ourselves to Nicole - our long lost grand-daughter, niece and cousin.

We think about you a lot Nicole and while we do not pretend to understand the circumstances of our present situation, we want you to know that you are loved and remembered.

We earnestly desire to meet you again in this life.

We still believe that nothing happens by chance and "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose".

May He also bless this effort on our part to re-establish our relationship with you!