Life Verses

"Nevertheless, I am continually with You;

You hold me by my right hand,

You will guide me with Your counsel,

And afterward receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but You?

And there is none upon earth

That I desire besides You.

My flesh and my heart fail,

But God is the strength of my heart

And my portion forever."

    Psalm 73:23-26 (NKJV)

I attended Hannah's funeral this week at my local church.  I never met her because she was home-bound for several years before she died, but I got to know her a bit by reading her autobiography.  She lived an interesting but difficult life as a refugee in Nazi Germany and then as an immigrant in the U.S. but God brought her through it all.  According to Hannah's wishes, the above verses were the basis for the sermon at her funeral.  Pastor explained that these verses were given to her during her training as a deaconess nurse and they became her life verses.

A number of different passages of Scripture are extra special to me and these life verses of Hannah's are now included. Their wonderful promises really spoke to my heart.  During our lives, God is continually with us and guides us with His counsel. Then when we die, He receives us to glory.  What more could we desire than Him?

I have such peace knowing that when I fail, when my flesh is weak, God is the strength of my heart and He never fails.  He is all that I need, my portion forever---He provides for me in this life and in the life to come.  It's all God's doing.  I just trust Him and receive by faith everything from His gracious hand.  

What a blessing to look back on your life and see God's hand at work in all your seasons, to know that God has been with you each step of the way, and that His faithfulness has been confirmed again and again. 

Thursday Devotional - Our 2019 Christmas Letter/Pictures

John 1:1-4     In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

I pray you are experiencing life in Him this Christmas! This summer we as a family worked on memorizing the first part of John 1. We made it through verse 8, but I had hoped to make it through verse 12! 😉  

James (7) is in first grade. He is progressing in gymnastics and has used his gym time to intentionally talk about God with his gym buddies and coach! He started piano lessons with me, partially because he already plucked out familiar songs by ear. At his own initiative, James was baptized in September by Joe, which was joyful.

Sarah (5) is in young fives each morning. She is also progressing in gymnastics. She loves to dance and sing with or without music. She learned how to ride a “two-wheeler” as she called it (when James gave her a rough push!). She faithfully prays for the needs in our extended family.

We went on a family vacation with Joe’s family to Myrtle Beach back-to-back with my family vacation to Colorado Springs. It was a first airplane flight for the kids, and everyone on the plane knew it! Joe and I got altitude sickness climbing Pikes Peak with my sister and 2 brothers-in-law. We both turned around at over 11,000 ft. (10 miles up). God helped us survive sleet and lightening on the way down!

May we all look to Christ for Joy this Christmas!

Alice