//higher throne//

Sometimes you'll just hear a new worship song and love it to death. Abigail gave Daniel some Keith & Kristyn Getty c.d.s some time back, and this beautiful song struck me....

There is a higher throne

Than all this world has known, 

Where faithful ones from ev'ry tongue

Will one day come.

Before the Son we'll stand, 

Made faultless through the Lamb; 

Believing hearts find promised grace—

Salvation comes.

Hear heaven's voices sing; 

Their thund'rous anthem rings

Through em'rald courts and sapphire skies.

Their praises rise.

All glory, wisdom, pow'r, 

Strength, thanks, and honor are

To God our King, who reigns on high

Forevermore.

And there we'll find our home, 

Our life before the throne; 

We'll honor Him in perfect song

Where we belong.

He'll wipe each tear-stained eye

As thirst and hunger die.

The Lamb becomes our Shepherd King; 

We'll reign with Him.

"Higher Throne" by Kristyn Getty

Truly, God is great and worthy of all this praise and so much more. Let's remember His greatness and beauty and strength and mercy today! 

He is risen!!!!!!!!

"Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

Matthew 28:1-7

Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas. I pray that all of you are having as blessed of a day as I've had so far. ;) And I hope that this year you really and deeply understand the awesome Gift that was given to you by your Papa. :)  Please take some time out of your day to think on these words....

"O, Holy Night"

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

 Luke 2: 10-14

 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
       ¹⁴ “ Glory to God in the highest,
      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Matthew 1: 23

 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,”which is translated,  

“God with us.” 

Isaiah 9:6

"For unto us a Child is born,
      Unto us a Son is given;
      And the government will be upon His shoulder.
      And His name will be called
      Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
      Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

We both wish you a *very* blessed Christmas!!!

 ~Sarah and Rachel

Jesus, welcome to our World...

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You've been promised, we've been waiting
Welcome Holy Child
Welcome Holy Child

Hope that you don't mind our manger
How I wish we would have known
But long awaited Holy Stranger
Make yourself at home
Please make yourself at home

Bring your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
Word now breaking Heaven's silence
Welcome to our world
Welcome to our world

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorn
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us is born
Unto us is born

So wrap our injured flesh around You
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect Son of God
Perfect Son of God
Welcome to our world

"Welcome to our World" by Michael W. Smith

How often is it that we stop to think of the whole picture of the Christmas story? I like to let my imagination wander through the story, waiting with the the shepherds on the hill-side to see their reaction to the angels, peeping through the kitchen window as Gabriel tells Mary she is carrying the Christ-child, following behind the young couple as they walk the weary miles to Bethleham...and then on from there. To the stable, to the temple when Jesus is twelve, to the many many incidents where He spoke to the multitudes of people and performed miracles...to Calvary. And to victory. To His ascent into Heaven, and to the hope He has given us.
It's a triumphant tale that never can grow old if we pull it out of the dusty pages of antiquated Bible-picture-books and see it as it is: A story that has not ended. A story we are living. A story that is full of adventure and intrigue, emotion, war, famine, peril, and then sweet victory at the end.
That's the Christmas story I like to think about, and then retract my imagination as quickly as I let it run away and focus in on the stable. On Mary, holding her sweet baby in her arms for the first time. Of the angels singing for pure joy and exultation on the Bethlehem hillside. It's just such a beautiful, timeless truth, and it gives me chills every time I think on it in this fashion.
I can't understand it. I can't understand God's perfect love for me, that He'd send His one and only son, Jesus, to live a life here on earth, become my sin, die for me (personally!)....just because He loves me. And then He rose again, more triumphant and powerful and splendidly beautiful then before...and He calls me to Him.

 "Come, my child. I love you. I want you. I gave my life for you. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to. Come to me, love."

This is what I'm celebrating this Christmas. Thank you, sweet Jesus! ~Rachel

Upward I look and see Him there...

I have been thinking this afternoon on the very great love Jesus has for me. It sounds so....trite to say it, because I feel it is a hackneyed phrase. Everyone speaks about Jesus' love, and yet we can never understand the depth and fullness of it. But today I am feeling, more than ever, the vastness of His love. To know that no matter what I do, He still looks at me with love, and even when I sin and virtually spit in His dear face, Jesus holds out his arms to me with a tender smile and begs me to follow Him.

Such knowledge is too vast for me. It makes me feel minuscule.

Since I always sing when I'm happy, snatches of songs have flittered through my mind, illustrating the point:

"When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because a sinless Savior died,
My guilty soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me..."

And yet another song:

"No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me.
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of Hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand.
till He returns, or calls me home,
Here is the love of Christ, I stand."

Beautiful promises, and ones that I find infinitely dearer when I have sinned and feel His forgiveness. It might seem a strange thought, but I have often thought that there might be a special sweetness in coming to know Christ at an older age, since you would have experienced life without Christ, and then beauty of His holiness and forgiveness afterward.
(Not that I would trade in knowing Jesus from a young age for that, however inspiring the sensation would be.)
To know that I am in His keeping, and that He loves me and wishes to know me intimately is an everlasting comfort. When I feel lonely, I realize He is waiting for me ask Him to be my companion. When I am worrying, He asks that I give all my cares to Him.
My Jesus is amazing. But I can't describe Him at all. He is, after all, indescribable. But here is a video that brushes the surface and expresses what my heart is thrilling with. It is a description of my Lord that a preacher, S. M. Lockridge recited in the mid 70's , and humbles me each and every time I listen to it. :) ~Rachel

Forever Victorious

Hello to all our readers! I trust you all have a wonderful April Fool's Day? I did, and except for believing a post on Abigail's blog, I was not duped. Today is the 3rd or 4th of a glorious string of days. The sky is a perfect blue, the breeze beckons for me to come outdoors and trod barefoot upon the emerald grass. Myriads of flowers speckle the grass, lifting up their lovely faces to be admired and plucked to grace a windowsill or table. The fresh baby green greets me from every corner, and I think, "Who am I that the Lord grants me so many blessings?"
I think back 2,000 or so years to this same day, "Good Friday" and marvel. I wish I could think of something clever or insightful to say about this very special day. But the thought that persists in my mind, is how great the love of Christ is. He took my sin, and the sin of each one of us upon His shoulders, and bore it unto death. And as He hung upon the cross, (As Aunt Christy pointed out) He was thinking of each of us by name. He was not just dying "for all mankind" but for every person by name. For Sarah, for me, for Daniel, Matthew, Abigail, Hannah, Merriette, Shaina, Elliott, Oliver....everyone each by name.
And His love did not stop at the cross, but continues on through each day. Why does God care to see that my yard is full of flowers that I so delight in? Because He loves me. Why did He give us the gift of laughter? Because He loves me and delights in hearing my joy aloud. I don't know about you all, but His love is the one that I want to encompass me. I want to be wrapped in His love as much as I can. It is like drinking from a fountain after you have been running a marathon and knowing that it will never run dry. I am a stupid sheep sometimes. I jump over fences, knock down all my fellow sheep, and get my wool stuck in the briars. Then I stand there bleating. And still my Shephard, with such marvelous tenderness in His eyes, and a knowing smile playing about His mouth, lifts me in His powerful arms, and restores me. I am so undeserving of Jesus's love. And He knows it. That is why He paid the price. He loves me even after all I do to offend His principles. That thought, though over-used sometimes, cannot really be fully fathomed by our sheltered minds. But I know that the one way I can try to show Him that I am abundantly grateful for what He has done, is to walk in the way He shows me. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Who shall seperate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness or peril, or sword?...For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35, 37-39
I don't know about you all, but I am jubliant and awestuck at the blessing of being on the side that always has, and always will win! -Rachel