Let us know;
let us press on to know the Lord;
His going out is sure as the dawn;
He will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.
- Hosea 6:3
let us press on to know the Lord;
His going out is sure as the dawn;
He will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.
- Hosea 6:3
Blessed are those
whose strength is in You,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
whose strength is in You,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
- Psalm 84:5-6
The heart wants to remember.
That is why we journal, and take pictures of the events of our lives.
Even without the actual pictures and written words, the heart records and remembers every experience, even if at the conscious level we sometimes forget.
This never ceases to amaze me -- that important events in my life, some dating back to when I was three years old, are still vividly stored in my memory bank.I have met a few people who actually recall their experiences within their mother's womb!
In Switzerland about twelve years ago, while sitting in the front porch of a friend's chalet up in the Bernese Oberland portion of the Swiss Alps, and overwhelmed with such beauty and grandeur before my eyes, I suddenly realized that no matter how beautiful the pictures, or how fitting the adjectives, there was no way any of these could adequately capture the real thing.
The pictures I take and the words I write are pale shadows compared to what I have seen and experienced with my own senses.
And yet we need altars to commemorate the special events of our lives, and we need signposts to lead those we are leaving behind. The heart not only wants to remember, it needs to remember where it has gone, in order to move forward.
Remembering is vital to our growth.
This is the awesome thought that kept running in my mind the days that I was in Baguio at the start of this month...
There are still many precious things that I want to write about.
However, today I am pressed for time. Within today I must pack my suitcase (again!), go to the bank, go to the hairdresser, visit the grocery, tidy up my bedroom, etc.
Six of my friends and I will be boarding our flight out of the country tomorrow headed for an international destination. That is all I can say about this trip for now.
We return to Bacolod City on September 30. I don't think there will be time for me to blog within the next two weeks. So this will probably be my last post for now.
--0--
I understand that not everything can be written down. Journalling, even blogging, can become a compulsive habit, an idol... Being aware of this, I truly desire to be obedient to what God wants, and humbly submit to His lordship in this whole area of online publishing.
May God honor my desire to put words to some precious things on my heart, given the limited time frame that I have today.
Just so I never forget what God allowed me to go through at this particular juncture in my life.
Because my heart so wants to build an altar of remembrance.
I was just so grateful to God for having given me the opportunity to spend a few days in His presence, up in the mountains, away from the usual hustle and bustle of my daily life.
Because I live in the city, those days up in Baguio City gave me a different perspective.
There is something about mountains that touches me at the core. Here in Bacolod City where I live, the houses are close together, it is hot, and noisy.
Oh, there are many beautiful and spacious estates with well tended gardens, manicured lawns, and homes of elegance where the rich and the famous live. Otherwise, the few parks that we have access to are rather withered and often crowded.
My eyes long for the natural beauty and lush greenery of the mountains!
It was a foggy Friday morning, my third day in Baguio City. As I looked out the attic window, I sensed God calling me, inviting me to experience the beauty of a brand new day.
After a night of rain, the plants were literally dripping with dew.
.
There was such a sense of freshness and newness all around.
I could sense the presence of God in the stillness.
The song "In the Secret"by Andy Park is one of my favorite songs... and it seemed just the right song to sing in this place!
In the secret, in the quiet place
In the stillness You are there...
In the secret, in the quiet hour I wait Only for You, cause I want to know You more...
I want to know You, I want to hear Your voice,
I want to know You more...
I want to touch You, I want to see Your face
I want to know You more...
I am reaching for the highest goal
That I might receive the prize...
Pressing onward, pushing every hindrance aside, out of my way
Cause I want to know You more...
I want to know You, I want to hear Your voice
I want to know You more...
I want to touch You, I want to see Your face
I want to know You more...
After breakfast, we gathered again to seek God's presence. We sensed God leading us to read from Amos 9:11-15 that morning:
On that day I will raise up
the tabernacle of David which has fallen down
and repair its damages
I will raise up its ruins
And rebuild it as in the days of old...
The mountains shall drip with sweet wine
And all the hills shall flow with it
I will bring back the captives of my people Israel
They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them
They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
They shall also make gardens
and eat fruit from them...
What an awesome promise of restoration!
God promises to raise up... repair... rebuild... the broken tabernacle of David.
The tabernacle of David was where 24/7 praise and worship was offered to God. There is a coming restoration of the altar of worship and intercession in our lives!
He will fill our hunger and our longing to be drawn closer to Him.
This is what I sensed God saying to me:
the tabernacle of David which has fallen down
and repair its damages
I will raise up its ruins
And rebuild it as in the days of old...
The mountains shall drip with sweet wine
And all the hills shall flow with it
I will bring back the captives of my people Israel
They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them
They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
They shall also make gardens
and eat fruit from them...
What an awesome promise of restoration!
God promises to raise up... repair... rebuild... the broken tabernacle of David.
The tabernacle of David was where 24/7 praise and worship was offered to God. There is a coming restoration of the altar of worship and intercession in our lives!
He will fill our hunger and our longing to be drawn closer to Him.
This is what I sensed God saying to me:
What you thought was a mountain of impossibility
will become a mountain of blessing from Me.
There are many hindrances that seem to be standing in your way.
It feels like you're standing in a crossroads,
and now you're wondering which way to go.
You're not sure...
so you're waiting...
and you don't want to take another step.
You feel like you have lost your sense of direction,
that you've hit a wall.
But it is actually a good thing that you've reached that place.
Because now you have reached the end of yourself.
And here I am!
Let Me be as a mountain of blessing for you.
You may empty yourself now of schemes,
and strategies...
Just let me do the rebuilding of your life.
Watch how I do it...learn from Me.
Let Me amaze you!
I want to show you a new way,
a new path!
Dearest Father,
I look forward to the coming day of rebuilding, and restoration...
Yes, dear Lord. Rebuild the altar of worship that has fallen down...
"Give me this mountain" just as Caleb requested of Joshua...
Give me this mountain of blessing that you speak of!
Bring the autumn rains and the spring rains upon my life, Lord!
I want to plant vineyards and drink wine from them... make gardens and eat fruit from them!
Let it be just as You promise!
Thank You for Your presence, dear Lord...
will become a mountain of blessing from Me.
There are many hindrances that seem to be standing in your way.
It feels like you're standing in a crossroads,
and now you're wondering which way to go.
You're not sure...
so you're waiting...
and you don't want to take another step.
You feel like you have lost your sense of direction,
that you've hit a wall.
But it is actually a good thing that you've reached that place.
Because now you have reached the end of yourself.
And here I am!
Let Me be as a mountain of blessing for you.
You may empty yourself now of schemes,
and strategies...
Just let me do the rebuilding of your life.
Watch how I do it...learn from Me.
Let Me amaze you!
I want to show you a new way,
a new path!
Dearest Father,
I look forward to the coming day of rebuilding, and restoration...
Yes, dear Lord. Rebuild the altar of worship that has fallen down...
"Give me this mountain" just as Caleb requested of Joshua...
Give me this mountain of blessing that you speak of!
Bring the autumn rains and the spring rains upon my life, Lord!
I want to plant vineyards and drink wine from them... make gardens and eat fruit from them!
Let it be just as You promise!
Thank You for Your presence, dear Lord...
23 comments:
I loved everything about this post Lidj. Your heart's desire to know God more is so evident. I will lift you up in prayer for the trip you are about to take, that God will guide you and direct you at every turn and He will be glorified. I love how you ended this with your heart listening to Him tell you that He will turn your impossible obstacle into a mountain of blessing if you will stop trying and scheming to figure it out yourself and just let Him do it for you.Amen! I am expecting to hear great things when you return from your trip.
God Bless,
Christy
I'm sure wherever you go it is where you are meant to be for I am sure God Is Leading you there.
I love how you hear God's voice in your heart speaking to you, showing you the way.
I hope you don't mind that I've copied and pasted the Carol Wimmer "When I Say 'I'm a Christian'", it really spoke to me.
I go to so many blogs where people are so sure of their Faith, and so happy and tranquil in their Faith, and have relationships that they expect nothing in return, and I just feel like a failure spiritually because I am none of those things.
So that piece written by Carol Wimmer brought me some peace.
Don't worry about the blogging, I think if that's a channel God means for you to use to reach out, He will lead you to it again, and if it's an obstacle, He'll let you know that too by leading you in another direction.
I wish you all the best, Lidj. You've been a source of comfort and inspiration for me many times.
Love,
Eileen
Lidj how beautiful the words, the pictures ; I could sense God's presence there while reading your thoughts ..
Yes I need that quiet time alone with God.
God watch over you on your journey . bless and fill you .Give you a safe return trip home. Will miss you dear friend.
Elsie <><
Be blessed on your trip, Lidj!
You wrote, "Remembering is vital to our growth." I've been reading in Deuteronomy about all the celebrations and feasts the Lord required the children of Israel to do. My ESV study Bible's note says, "Remembrance leads to obedience." Deut. 8:2 says, "And you shall remember the whole way the the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not." Forgetting clearly leads us to doing things our own way which leads to sin. The prosperity we typically encounter can lead us to forget. So, I fully agree that we need to set up places of remembrance, memorials to call us back to the One who controls all and gives us all things...the good with the bad for our growth in becoming more like Christ. May your trip be filled with things to remember.
Such beautiful pictures and the song truly fits them.
May you be as blessed on your next trip as you were during this time.
Lidj,
I know without a doubt that God has a hand in your precious life today and He is leading you someplace He has called up to. We are praying for you for safe travels and for God's blessing on your continuing journey in His ways.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Dear Lidj,
I too think you are preaching the gospel from heart to hearth through your blogs. I thank you for everything you have been willingly sharing from the bottom of your heart; words of suffering, wisdom, praise, obedience, interpreting the scripture and sharing the joy of our Lord's wonderful fidelity and mighty force.
I'm sending you His blessings wherever He might send you.
I'll remember you and your mission in prayer.
All the best from Felisol
Beautiful.
Nice to see the pictures. God 's beauty abounds in this place.
I don 't know why but opening your page is quite a struggle for me
Amen and amen.
My prayers are with you on your journey. May God give you this mountain!
Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion ... the city of the great King.
Wow! Heaven on earth??
I loved the verses and what you said here:
"Remembering is vital to our growth."
When God remembers - He takes action. When He remembered Noah - the waters receeded and the Ark came to a standstill. When He remembered Sarah - she conceived and had a child [of promise]!
If God takes action when He remembers - shouldn't we? Our action is always meant to be TOWARD HIM!
In that - we WILL GROW!
Great post!
Choosing JOY, Stephanie
[JESUS - For His Name's Sake]
"What you thought was a mountain of impossibility will become a mountain of blessing from Me."
Impossibility, even a mountain of it gives the God a chance to be God in our lives. Little by little the mountain is removed and the blessings of God flow down as rivulets of pure water eventually flow into rivers.
Yes, God takes our hurts, our wounds, and our disappointments, pours our His pure water of grace and what remains is a mountain of beautiful blessing.
May the mountain of blessing, which is the Lord, fill you today.
Have a fantastic trip, my friend!
With Much Love...
Beautiful Grace
No wonder you liked my post on getting away to the mountain lake in the Oregon Cascades! I sense a similar attraction in you to God's presence in nature. And I like the way you connected that with remembrance.
Perspective. Memory. Seeing all of life the way God sees it. This is the core of the Christian life! Thanks for recording your thoughts and photos - they bring your experience to life.
I will be praying for you on your journey.
You write, "What you thought was a mountain of impossibility
will become a mountain of blessing from Me.
There are many hindrances that seem to be standing in your way." How true right now-more than you know. But what great advice. Then you say, "Because now you have reached the end of yourself.
And here I am!" and that is what I need to do.
I do look forward to the day of rebuildings and restoration. I think He's doing that now. I am standing on God's strength and promises. It is my remembrance of God in my life that gives me courage, the ability to listen, and to wait, to trust, to seek, to wait.
Be Blessed, Lidj on your trip!
Lidia,
I have so missed visiting your blog; the fact is, I've not visited any blogs routinely for quite a while now, but must get back into the swing of things very soon.
This is another powerful post, as always, from a woman of God who loves sharing with all of us. Your insights are always fresh and relevant, so thanks for writing down things which need to be remembered.
Dear, dear friend, I will miss you while you are away, but, oh, how exciting to be on the move for our precious heavenly Father.
Lidj, this post is so beautiful. Each time I visit you I sit in awe of your love for God. You challenge my faith and move my spirit to praise God and marvel at His mighty works!
Take care, dear sister. May you be blessed and blessed indeed in everything.
I look forward to your return. And must tell you that I value your friendship. Thank you! Thank you!
With Christ's Love and Grace,
Andrea
Blessings.
Prayers.
Love.
Much love.
Sweet dreams.
Thinking of you, hoping you are having a blessed time in the presence of the Lord.
From Felisol
thank you, dear beloved, for taking the time and for being willing, to open and share your heart thru your blog. i have benefited greatly in some things i have read today. i was exhorted, i was encouraged, i was blessed. and how i very much needed to be...
may you continue to lead a live that is pleasing to our Lord, in all that you do, wisdom and strength to you dear sister!
Lidj,
I hope you are doing well in your journey. I'm praying for you! I have a thank you over at my blog for being so encouraging. You have been such a blessing, and I wanted to say thank you!
Due to family issues, I am changing my blog to Invitation Only. Please email me at:
edelweisstexas1@aol.com
to continue reading.
Thanks, Connie
This is a pain but a necessary pain nonetheless. Thanks for going the extra step, I appreciate it!
Post a Comment