Contentment?

A fellow blogger has raised the subject of contentment, so I have been pondering it some. I 'm going to throw out my thoughts and you'll have to "scrapbook" with them. (A friend 's term I have adopted, as it is quite frequently fitting when you have many thoughts and haven't yet compiled them cohesively)
Paul said (in Phil.4:11-) "I have learned... to be content... through Christ who strengthens me." There's food for thought...
It seems we have a choice (1 Tim. 6:6-) with vastly different consequences.
Hebrews 13:5 says ...be content...for He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." That's a lot to content ourselves with, if we are truly experiencing Him with us!! It's not like we are settling for something small!
If we walk in delighting ourselves in the Lord, we know true contentment. We learn it. Years ago when I was single, I ran across a book that was titled "Single and Satisfied". I never did read the whole thing, because even the title was enough to stir my thoughts sufficiently. The gist of it was that you will never find satisfaction/fulfilment in anything outside of "Christ in you". If you aren't satisfied single, then you won't be, married, or with children, or the new job, etc. Boy, do we find that out!!!! It's a life lesson we do well to learn early!
For those who don't know me well, you'll notice my blog is full of pictures of my new house, still a work in progress. You can think... it's easy for her to be content!
Well, I lived in a 14'x70' mobile home for almost 13 years, and I can honestly say I was content and even cried when the mobile home left our yard. God sheltered us through so much in those walls... the births of our 5 daughters... the death of one...
There have been days already in my new home when I have felt utterly discontent and you know when it was?!? When I was feeling alienated from God, in a dark day... I can promise you the contentment we can walk in has nothing to do with what's outside of us, but what is inside. (or should I say, what's not inside!)
The truth is, when we desire Him and delight in Him, He delights in filling and fulfilling us, in our heart of hearts! We are also told we "must believe that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." The title of my blog is sort of the story of my life! It seems every time I dare to believe God further, to give over yet more to Him, to count myself nothing and Him everything, He responds in ways that astonish me! God want us to truly believe He is who He says He is, even if what we experience makes no sense at times. He wants to be able to safely pour Himself out on us and in us and He can't do that until we can say with Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."
This last weekend we had a friend here to visit. A single mother with two children that has gone through so much and continues to let God go deeper in her heart and life. I was humbled to experience what God did here amongst us. Father, YOU ARE WORTHY TO BE PRAISED!
Someone once said to us: We have as much of God as we want!
Part of me wanted to argue with that but somehow I couldn't...
May we say with John the Baptist: "HE MUST INCREASE, BUT I MUST DECREASE!"
God bless us everyone in that endeavor!
Psalm 139:24

HARK!

HARK! What mean those holy voices sweetly sounding through the skies? Out of the empty place over the Judean hills appeared the angel of the Lord, radiating glory as only the majesty of highest calling has acquainted itself. What has happened to the message of the angel?
"Behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying; 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men." Luke 2 KJV
Perhaps to our generation the message has been, more often than not, a voice over the speaker system, a carol that slipped over the tongue of the singer, or a quote from the scripture on Christmas morning by the pastor from the local assembly.
The message to the men of that day (and God willing our day) was an announcement of the coming of a saviour. Appearing first as a child, then as a saviour, he was to save men from this present world, delivering us out of the captivity of the infirmity and oppression of the powers of this world.
One does not have to look far to see many held captive; slaves to alcohol, drugs, lust, power, love of money, station, and many also suffering from physical sickness and disabilities such as the blind, deaf, dumb, paraplegic, crippled, cancer, aids, and a host of other diseases. Many go to bed hungry at night, rising each day to great want. Countless others are held captive to authority of state and government based upon the principles of the base (or) elementary world. (The system of men who rule by force.)
We have not yet touched on another great captivity... the confusion of false religions, great systems of religiosity with much profession but little power, if any, to the deliverance of the captives.
Was this message just a traditional Christmas story or was it, after all, a salvation message to a world caught in the clutches of great apostasy? (a falling away from God) The fact of the matter is, that the generation that heard the message saw the eyes of the blind opened, the deaf heard, the crippled were made whole, the dead were raised, false religion was exposed, the rich man gloried in his humiliation, and the poor man rejoiced in his riches. Social status and walls crumbled as men left their tax tables and fish nets for the greatest cause of all time. Finally the heart of the matter had been reached, the matter of the heart! The sanctuary of the heart was cleansed and men were set free from the bondage of "the old man". Jesus Christ led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. The kingdom of God was not in word, but in power.

POWER TO THE DELIVERANCE OF THE CAPTIVE!

HARK! What means that voice today? The whole creation is groaning and travailing, awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God. Jesus has shown us the way through, by way of the cross. The power is in His life. That is the mystery. His life was exemplary. Every victory is first won in the heart. It was through love that He conquered, as a leader with noblest character.

All of mankind loves the true hero, one who overcomes tremendous odds to pursue an unlikely cause and come out a victor, overwhelmingly conquering the impossible. Jesus Christ, the greatest leader of all ages is again calling for a volunteer army of MEN who will follow all the way through the death of the self life to the resurrection power of the overcoming life, revealing the nature of Jesus in his "sons", confirmed by a powerful deliverance after the original pattern.

We have heard the words, BUT HAVE WE HEARD THE MESSAGE?!

by Gary Isaac

I like to reread this always, this time of year...please God, may we have ears to hear and hearts to obey!!!

Abigail's 2nd Birthday!

Abigail is 2 years old now! Dec.11 at 11:27 a.m. !Here's a pic of her opening a present.

She was quite impressed! She, like all her sisters before her, always pulls out anything I put in her hair. This is her usual look!

She has a 100 watt smile! We lit the candles a couple times to prolong the fun...

Here she is ready for bed and we were watching an episode of Tales from Avonlea. Daddy had given her a shower and she wanted a bow in her hair. She wanted it out again shortly after! Hey, it was good while it lasted! She's a real sweetie and quite a corker!