Sunday, March 23, 2014

Far Beyond



When my circumstances are far beyond me
I acknowledge Your ways are not my ways
Far beyond my understanding

When I’m in the dark place
You are my ray of light
Guiding my next step on the path before me

Father, when I am inconsolable
It’s in Your presence I find peace
It’s You alone Who can comfort me

When grief and tears consume me
You whisper hope in my ear
Jesus, my confidence is in You alone

When words fail me
Your Holy Spirit perfectly translates my groans
Into prayers before Your throne of grace

When my world crumbles around me
You take up the dark and jagged pieces
Work them perfectly into Your sovereign plan

But LORD, right now
I just need You to hold me
Be here with me in my grief


by Susan Wachtel
March 23, 2014

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Five Minute Friday - God’s Blessings in Strange Packages



Sometimes God’s blessings come in some mighty strange packages. 

If you had asked me a few months ago what my plans would be for the coming year, I would have guessed that our lives would continue to go on pretty much as they always have, including working during the week and occasional vacations a few times a year. 

Never would I have guessed the sudden turn our lives would take.  Sometimes God allows those clarifying times in our lives to help us to see what’s most important.  In the last few months, God has done just that in my life. 

He has helped me to see that other things had usurped what should be first in my life…God, His Word, my husband Chris and our marriage, the church and our family and friends. 

As a Christian, I think of course God is first in my life.  After all the years I’ve wait to find my husband of course Chris is a priority in my life.  But when I started to see how I’ve been investing my time and attention in the last few months…I didn’t see God, my husband, friends, our church and our home as my top priorities.  Instead I saw work at the top of this list.  As a result of how I’ve invested my time and attention, everything else, including that which should be my top priorities had been put on the back burner and fallen short.

After seeing our lives with new clarity and the toll misplaced priorities have taken, my husband and I decided that it is time to have me quit work and stay at home.  To take care of my husband and our home that God has blessed us with.  To restore order and put a stop to the chaos of our lives.  To put God first…to take the time to study and read His word.  Not just go through the motions and forget what I’ve just read when I close my Bible. 

I’m doing the countdown now…just 6 more working days and then I will be a homemaker.  Not sure what all that means or looks like…but I’m relieved and excited.  I’m prayerful that the Lord will bless us as we seek to put first that which He has revealed as most important.  I’m looking forward to the love, joy and peace that will fill our lives and our home.

It’s another Saturday morn and I wanted to participate in Lisa-Jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday writing challenge.  Head over to “Lisa Jo Baker”, and take some time to read some of the entries from other writers.  I can promise you that you will be blessed.

Saturday, March 01, 2014

Five Minute Friday – Choose This Day




Time for examination
Looking at where I invest
My time, talents and treasure

Is what I’m investing in
That which has eternal consequences
Or that which is perishing and will not last

Is what I say I believe
Being lived out in my daily life
Or is something askew

I fear my life is out of balance
That which is most important
Has been set aside or put on the back burner

Lord guide me as I choose
To put You first
Make priority that which most important to You

May I fear You
Not what fellow man may say
For I will give an account You alone


By Susan Wachtel
March 1, 2014

It’s another Saturday morn and I wanted to participate in Lisa-Jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday writing challenge.  Head over to her website “Lisa Jo Baker Surprised by Motherhood”.  Be sure to read some of the entries from other writers.  I can promise you that you will be blessed challenged and convicted.

Fatal Witness by Patricia Bradley – Interesting Plot, But the Story Got Bogged Down

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