Beauty In the Dying...Reminder

  I played "Better Than A Hallelujah" at church this past Sunday. I always think of the song in the fall...because of the first time I was inspired to write this blog in October 2019. Then I reposted three years later, inspired by my Aunt Linda's final months. It seems "funny" to me that I am inspired to repost again...and it is three years again! We lost Aunt Linda three years ago this past Monday.  I have been thinking a lot about Leah as well, she was much like Aunt Linda in her vibrant colors and personality. I have been missing my sister as I know Mom and her siblings are missing each of theirs that have passed (Linda, Sue and Marge). So I am reposting the blog from October 23, 2022 in it's  entirety.  I hope you don't mind. ♥️🍁

Where to start...even though this is a repeat of a blog I wrote back on October 23, 2019 (funny, exactly 3 years ago). Since then, when I am surrounded by all the gorgeous autumn color, I always think about that "beauty in the dying" concept....but especially this fall, this year....my colorful, bright, beautiful Aunt Linda's life was coming to an end. 

How perfectly appropriate she die in October when the foliage all around was so absolutely stunning and filled with the vibrant orange she loved so much!

Though she knew her time here was quickly fading, she lived, loved and laughed to the fullest. 

She made sure each one around her felt loved, just as she had always done. She proclaimed her assurance in her God and her faith....Beauty in the dying as she was living....a Hallelujah!

The following is the 2019 blog, unedited, just as I posted it:

Working on last week's blog...getting the song Better Than A Hallelujah video correct...I wondered if the pictures were the right ones for the song?...appropriate to convey what I was feeling when I listened?

And then it struck me....the absolutely gorgeous fall colors that we have been experiencing, the beautiful scenery....is actually the result of the foliage on the trees dying!  And then I thought ...those pictures are perfect for that song!
"Beautiful the mess were are..."
Because in our brokenness and mess...God can be and is glorified!
We are all dying....we were not meant to live on this earth forever.
📖  As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; Romans 3:10
📖 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

He brings life even in the dying....because the life He brings isn't a life lived in our earthly bodies forever, it is an eternal life for our souls in His presence.
So no matter what physical age we are or what circumstances we find ourselves ...we are all dying....but in that...shouldn't we live it out beautifully!?

📖But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.  It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.  All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.  2 Corinthians 4:7-15

"Even in our misery....God just hears a melody"

📖 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Shouldn't our lives be a "hallelujah" to our Creator?!
📖 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

We need to let "the honest cries of our broken hearts" become Hallelujahs in our Lord's ears....and let our limitless and boundless God give us joy in our limitations!
God gave us today!  For His purpose!  I pray you find that purpose today!  Even if it is just to lift a thank you; for the scenery around you, for the day before you, for the people around you, for the breath you are taking....
come on!  You have MORE Hallelujahs, I am sure of it!

Better Than a Hallelujah Amy Grant

 If the above video doesn't play try the link below. 

Better Than A Hallelujah (video by Tracey)

Come To the Table

🍞🍷This past Sunday, being the first Sunday of the month, was our communion, or Lord's Supper. As it so happens, it was also World Communion Sunday.  So virtually every Christian Church in the world was observing communion at some point this past Sunday!  What a thought!  The song that was played during our communion time was Come To the Table by Sidewalk Prophets. I have heard it before, it has been played before.  

What struck me was the invitation in the song for people to come to the Lord's Table, and sit beside Him.

I am sure many of us have a thought in our minds of who would be sitting there, and next to Him.

But in reality all are welcome at the table, He calls every sinner to come.

Would we be willing to sit at the table with murderers, thieves, rapists, molesters?  How about with gossips, those who are bitter, resentful, jealous, prideful,.....WHOA  hey...they are not the same!

Oh....but....

📖 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:13-26

The bible says we are ALL sinners, regardless of our offense, 

📖 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:22-24

and Christ died for all, 

📖The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. Romans 6:10

IF we accept Him..

📖 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, Romans 3:22

and what He has done for us...taking on our sin.

📖“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

Shedding His blood in place of ours

📖Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:27-28

If we come with humble, repentant hearts

we are all welcome at the Table!

🙏🏼Lord, help me to see all those around Your table as You do, washed in the blood of Christ. Fill me with Your compassion, Your grace, and Your Mercy. Thank you that what You did for me saved me and is my invitation to Your table.❤️

🔗Come To the Table Sidewalk Prophets

Disciples vs. Apostles The Important Difference

 You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!  You have heard the saying "learn something new everyday." Well I did this past Sunday!  It may have been something I did know...but if that is the case I had completely forgotten it!

Actually, I had to make a bit of an alteration to this  log that I posted a couple of years ago.

The difference between disciple and apostle! And when I first wrote this missed an important distinction between the two.

Disciple:

A disciple would literally follow someone in hopes of eventually becoming what they are. A Christian disciple is a believer who follows Christ and then offers his own imitation of Christ as model for others to follow (1 Corinthians 11:1). A disciple is first a believer who has exercised faith (Acts 2:38) (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)

Jesus called His disciples to come follow Him

📖 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:19-20

He told them He would change them and their purpose. 

They were to follow literally and figuratively. They left their homes, professions, and even families and went with Jesus. Traveled where He went. But they also learned to follow His teachings, His actions, to become more like Him.

📖 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

📖  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

Then, they became apostles

📖 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Luke 6:13

In the New Testament, twelve disciples were commissioned as Apostles. After Judas’s death, the church replaced the vacancy by selecting Matthias, as Acts records. To this number Jesus added the Apostle Paul as the special Apostle to the gentiles. Paul’s apostleship was a matter of some debate because he did not meet all of the requirements for apostleship set forth in Acts. The criteria for apostleship included being: (1) a disciple of Jesus during His earthly ministry, (2) an eyewitness of the Resurrection, and (3) called and commissioned directly by Christ. Paul was not a former disciple, and his vision of the resurrected Christ occurred after Jesus’ ascension. Paul was not an eyewitness of the Resurrection in the same way the other Apostles were. Nevertheless, Paul was directly called to the office by Christ. His call was confirmed by the other Apostles, whose apostleship was not in doubt and was authenticated by the miracles God performed through him, attesting his authority as an Apostolic agent of revelation.

How I missed this the first time I blogged this I don't know. 

They were not meant to be disciples only...it was training for their actual purpose! They were given a mission, by Jesus Himself,  which is what made them THE apostles.

📖  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

It is important that we become disciples of Christ.  To follow His ways and learn who He is and how we are to be.  We have a mission as well, we are a called to go and tell, to be ambassadors of Christ.

To remain disciples only we are missing an important part of being a Christian. 

📖 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”  Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. James 2:17-18

📖 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:8

We must learn and then take that to others, that is what makes us a Christian. 

But the term apostle was meant for those  first with Christ. 

📖 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as

 though God were making his appeal through

 us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20

The term may be used loosely today. But for me it is important to first learn and know what our mission is about. 

It is important to know who Jesus is and what He teaches before we can go out and tell others how life changing following Him can be.

We need to constantly be in step with Him so we have the resources to take His message to others.

📖 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25

🙏I pray today Lord, help us to listen and learn from You, to be committed to following Your ways so that we can tell and show others who You are at every opportunity.  Amen❤️

Don't Lose Heart

In the voyage of life we feel tossed about by the wind and the waves. Sometimes we feel like we aren't even able to stay afloat. that we might even drown.

📖 Save me, O God,

 for the waters have come up to my neck.

I sink in the miry depths,

    where there is no foothold.

I have come into the deep waters;
    the floods engulf me.

I am worn out calling for help;
    my throat is parched.

My eyes fail,
    looking for my God. Psalm 69:1-3

But I was reminded, as I worked on next years Vacation Bible school stories 

HE CONTROLS THE WIND AND THE WAVES.

We are not to lose heart! 

📖  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.......

......Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12,16-18

If we feel pressed, perplexed, persecuted....we have to remember Who is in control of the waves and the mountains.

📖 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”  Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”  He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”  They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:35-41

📖 He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger. He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. Job 9:5-10

We have to know, and my prayer for you, is that you know this truth in the depths of your heart...

🙏🏼

📖 When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,

 you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.  

For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom,
    Cush and Seba in your stead.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
    and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
    nations in exchange for your life.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
    I will bring your children from the east
    and gather you from the west.

Isaiah 43:2-5

❤️

🎵 Don't Lose Heart Steven Curtis Chapman

Covered Again...Covered Still

Some of these scriptures have been coming to mind this week....and I found this post that was

first published February 21, 2024 (forgive me for repeating)

Exodus 33 was used at church this past Sunday.  And one line in particular stood out to me.

📖 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.  When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”  Exodus 33:18-23

I love the imagery of being covered by God's hand. 

And then another verse came to mind

📖 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
    hide me in the shadow of your wings Psalm 17:8

Beautiful imagery... in God's Word, penned by David of how God, as mighty as He is, tenderly holds us, protects us.

📖He will cover you with his feathers,

    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:4

We are gathered like chicks to a mother bird's breast, safe under the cover of her wing, or at least we can be IF we choose to listen and be willing to follow Christ!

📖  “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.  Look, your house is left to you desolate.  For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”  Matthew 23:37-39

If we listen and follow we will remain in His hand, under His protection.

 📖 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.” John 10:25-30

We have the image that, with God as our protector, nothing bad will happen to us. I believe He does protect us from many things we may be unaware of.

BUT we will be buffeted by storms and waves in life, we will suffer trials.

 📖 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

but He also is our Refuge and Healer

📖The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2

We will have hurt and we may sustain injury.

📖 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are ever before me. Isaiah 49:15-16

When we are His we are under and in His hand. He covers us, engraves us, encompasses us with His mighty, merciful and compassionate, righteous hand and nothing can move His hand!

📖 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:39

🙏 My prayer for you is Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from? I  pray your help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. ♥️

🎵 He Hideth My Soul Guy Penrod

Nothing To Do But Wait

Haven't we all heard the message "wait on the Lord"

📖 Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

🤚 🤚How many people wait well? 

No hands?!....mine isn't raised either!

Waiting by a bedside as someone recovers is not an easy task.  But a good reminder;

God is in control and we must wait and do what is put before us. 

Go get ice chips.

Wait quietly.

Adjust the pillows please.

Wait patiently.

Fix the blankets..

But while the waiting is going on so is the healing, the work. God is still moving and working even if we can't.  

📖 But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

There seems to be nothing for us to do. 

Wait.... and pray

Wait....and trust

Wait....and smile, be kind and appreciative of those who come and go. 

📖The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26

No matter if we have lots to do or it is our period of "wait", we trust God in it.

Whether waiting for someone who is recovering or recovering ourselves, or waiting on an answer or waiting on a change or just a time of "wait", we can still show the love of Jesus. 

Sometimes our bodies may be busy, but our spirit has to wait.

In any time we find ourselves in we can rest and be prepared for when we have a task to do. 

📖He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations, Psalm 46:10

It is in the still times we can quiet our souls and minds to focus on God and His goodness. To know that He IS God.  He will show us when and where to move and serve. 

And for us, especially now as we wait, we know He is fighting for us. We know it is our time to prepare for bigger things, our time to point to Him.

📖 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

🙏🏼 Lord, be with all of us in the waiting. You have a purpose for us in it as well. Help us to see it and to understand how important the waiting is. ♥️

As I sit and as I wait. 

It seems doctors hold his fate

But we know a different way

We know Who holds the day.

We wait and worry not about tomorrow 

Because we know He holds us and the sparrow 

I seek His strength and peace 

I know He will meet all our needs

For this moment and the next 

Only He knows what outcome is the best

So the time of rest and quietness I take

As I sit and as I wait

Tracey Thompson  ©️ 2025