~Pearls~

"I wish, brothers and sisters, that we could all imitate "the pearl oyster"--A hurtful particle intrudes itself into its shell, and this vexes and grieves it. It cannot reject the evil, but what does it do but "cover" it with a precious substance extracted out of its own life, by which it turns the intruder into a pearl! Oh, that we could do so with the provocations we receive from our fellow Christians, so that pearls of patience, gentleness, and forgiveness might be bred within us by that which otherwise would have harmed us."

~Charles Spurgeon

Our Words...

"People who are loved the way we are loved should have lives marked by extreme thanksgiving and laughter because of the mercy and generosity of our King. If we've got this kind of joy resident in our hearts, we won't have to resort to the kind of crude joking and filthy talk that marks the hearts of those looking for happiness in a world devoid of grace. Walking in His love is not so much an issue of which words may or may not be spoken, but a realization that His love is so astounding, so overwhelming, that it precludes complaining (the primary use of swear words) and crudities. This kind of speech is fueled by revenge or boastful self-love and a desire to be thought clever, edgy, funny, a man or woman of the world. Paul's imperative is that we avoid this kind of speech because it is "out of place." It's "out of place" because we no longer have to struggle to make a name for ourselves, nor hope that someone will love us, give us what we think we need, or find us clever. We're freed from this pursuit because we've been immeasurably loved by God, and our résumé has already been written; we're more sinful and flawed than than we ever dared believe, but more loved and welcomed than we ever dared hope."

~Elyse Fitzpatrick

Foundation stones of greater happiness...

"When you think He (God) is farthest from you, or has even turned against you, the truth is that as you cling to Him, He is laying foundation stones of greater happiness in your life."

~John Piper

He leadeth me beside still waters...

Friday afternoon, during my receptionist duties at the PRC, I had an opportunity to babysit my friend's sweet, smiley baby while she met with a client. :-) So I wrapped up a few of my projects in the office and slipped my sunglasses on as I took Nora on our little expedition in her stroller.

We walked along a beautiful scenic river-way, discovering so much beauty. The birds were singing, the water rushed by, and the trees shadowed the beautiful plant-lined trial.

Psalm 23 came to mind... and I went over it in my mind...

The Lord is my Shepherd; 
I shall not want. 
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: 
He leadeth me beside the still waters. 
He restoreth my soul: 
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
I will fear no evil: 
for thou art with me;
 Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. 
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
 Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: 
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.          

The Lord used this time to remind me of His great faithfulness, goodness, and trustworthiness. I can put my life in His hands. He is enough. He knows what's best. Mercy and goodness are following His children every day.

And? He included a happy baby into this wonderful time of praising Him. :-) He always knows what we need and somehow sees fit to give us extra... <3

~Where joy is~

Picture credit goes to my sister, Alyssa. 

"You make known to me the path of life;

    in Your presence there is fullness of joy;

    at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

~Psalms 16:11

I've always loved this verse, but sometimes it's easy to read the Bible without application, isn't it? Well, I was recently encouraged to daily remind myself of this verse and apply it to the moment...

~That in the presence of the Lord we find fullness of joy.

~At His right hand we will find pleasures that last forever and ever.

Such precious and amazing reminders of where to focus our eyes on through the daily hustle of life!

~Our Treasure~

Yes! I love this quote:

"When God's forgiveness and acceptance have freed us from fear and pride and greed, we are filled with a zeal to love others the way we have been loved. We risk our possessions and our lives since we are secure in Christ. When we love others like this, our behavior is contrary to human self-enhancement and self-preservation. Attention is thus drawn to our life-transforming Treasure and Security, namely, God."
~John Piper

A summer update... =)

With a little sweetie at a Run for the PRC!

Hello, friends!

These summer days have been filled with so much learning... so much is going on, and getting my thoughts together for a blog post hasn't been the easiest! (I am doing well though...)

And here's a quote I just ran across. So good.

"In this life, there will be plenty of reasons to worry. But we have more reasons to trust. God has been more than faithful in the past. Because He sent Jesus to rescue us from our sin, we can trust Him with all our worries and fears, today and every tomorrow. When life’s unexpected challenges and overwhelming tasks tempt us to worry, when our to-do list gets long and sleep evades us, let us look to the cross and believe, trusting in what God has already done, and what He said He would do."
~Christina Fox

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And if you would like to contact me, I would love to hear from you anytime and will for sure make a point to write back! My address is: whitefrosting8 (@) gmail (dot) com

Blessings! 

~Jesus Paid It All~

I hear the Savior say,

“Thy strength indeed is small;

Child of weakness, watch and pray,

Find in Me thine all in all.”

For nothing good have I

Whereby Thy grace to claim,

I’ll wash my garments white

In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

And now complete in Him

My robe His righteousness,

Close sheltered ’neath His side,

I am divinely blest.

Lord, now indeed I find

Thy power and Thine alone,

Can change the leper’s spots

And melt the heart of stone.

When from my dying bed

My ransomed soul shall rise,

“Jesus died my soul to save,”

Shall rend the vaulted skies.

And when before the throne

I stand in Him complete,

I’ll lay my trophies down

All down at Jesus’ feet.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.