Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 52 (Saturday)

Encouragement Post – Day #52 (Saturday) We know God as our Father, but He also has motherly characteristics. Here is how the prophet Isaiah (49:15-16) describes His love for us, “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.” His care and love for us extend farther than a mother’s for her nursing child. Amazing! And my experience with my own mother includes buckets full of unconditional love. I am truly blessed. Which brings to mind a very mother-like characteristic of our God in this familiar scripture from Lamentations 3:21-23, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 25 (Thusday)

Encouragement Post – Day #25 (Thursday) Beautiful song filled with truth… perfect for this week. Glorious Day!

Romans 8:31-39 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, 'For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Home with the Father and His Dad

Riley is healed and whole, safe in the arms of Jesus and greeted by his earthly father and a grandmother he never met.  Just five days ago we celebrated Riley's life with a beautiful memorial service. Those of you who have prayed for our family may wish to view the short video his mom made with pictures and hear the message given by his dad's brother.

Here: http://reconcilercec.org/Sermons/riley-granberry/

We are just beginning to fully realize all that has happened, and yet the peace of God truly does pass all understanding. We have not "lost" Riley, for we know exactly where he is! For Riley's mom, the days ahead will be difficult. . .  no husband, no eldest son. Thankfully, she is surrounded by loved ones and an amazing community of faith.  Their church has gathered around them like nothing I have ever seen.  Though they don't have their dad, the little brothers have men who really, really love them.  For me. . .  I have to think that the boys may be wondering, "First my dad, then my brother. . .  am I next?"  They will really need those in the family and the faith community to come around them and hold them up.  God has a much bigger plan than we can possibly know.  As incredibly hard as this road has been, it has not been without purpose.  Thousands have been touched by Jonathan's and Riley's testimonies of faith and assurance that the Lord of all the universe had them in the palm of His hand.

While giong through this devastation/rejoicing, we are of course witnessing the devastation in our country from hurricane Harvey.  It is almost impossible to get my mind around that much water... it is utterly heartbreaking.  It is also heartening to see people working and helping and loving their neighbors.  God has a plan even in those situations.  We may not know what it is until we see Jesus face to face... but then we will know fully.

"For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12

Clinging to hope...

So sorry for the lack of communication about Riley... several of you have asked about him privately. (You know who you are and that means the world to me!)  Really, there is nothing new to report.  After two weeks in the hospital where his condition did not improve, his mom chose to take him home to die unless the Lord answers our prayers for a miracle of healing.  My step-father spent a good deal of time with him yesterday and said that his communication was at a minimum, with "yes" "no" and "I don't know."  When he asked him what his name was, he said, "I don't know." It is heartbreaking and yet the family still continues to be so thankful that there is a sense of the nearness of the Lord's presence as they walk this difficult valley.  Clinging to these words and taking hold of the sure and steadfast hope, "In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil..."

Psalm 23

(beautiful words of truth for dark times)

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters. 

He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

A Blessing for You

So, because my last post was a little on the negative side, I am posting something encouraging today.  Here is a scripture we memorized in our ladies group a while back, when we were making our way through the book of Ephesians.  I am posting it here as encouragement for you.  Always remember that you are uniquely special and dearly loved by the One who created you!  There really is no way to truly comprehend His love... and feel free to copy and use this graphic if you'd like to.  We used it to help us memorize, but use it however you'd like.

Merry Christmas!

A beautiful day was spent here in our cozy cottage... it began with reading the story of the nativity together in the children's upstairs bedrooms before coming downstairs to see their gifts. After exchanging gifts with each other, we cleaned up a little... just in time for two sets of grandparents to arrive. We enjoyed a lovely lunch of smoked turkey, smashed sour cream potatoes, traditional green bean casserole, boiled shrimp, salmon dip, and hot spiced apple cider. Dessert was a Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cake topped with icing and pecans. Then, of course, there were all the baked goodies to snack on all afternoon. We had the movie Holiday Inn playing in the background. Once the grandparents left, the five of us played games and then watched White Christmas, probably our favorite Christmas movie. It's time for bed... we're exhausted... but surrounded with love and very, very blessed.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

From Charm & Grace Cottage

You are all so wonderful...

I so appreciate all of the thoughtful and truly encouraging comments you all left on the last post. I have really prayed about what to do and I am still putting one foot in front of the other. I appreciate your exhortation to get into the Word, and you were right. So, I have also begun a new Bible study on the Psalms of Ascent. It's a Beth Moore study... I wonder if any of you have done this. It begins by having you commit to really getting facedown before the Lord. Well, it was just the kick in the seat that I needed. I have found it hard to stay focused in my time in the Word over these past months. So this should help keep me focused for a while.

Since we're on the subject, I wanted to give a little bit of testimony. I have made no secret of my spiritual leaning here on my blog, but I haven't really told much of the story. But I am celebrating my 25th birthday in the Lord this fall, and I do feel like truly celebrating. As I was leading worship at my church this past Sunday morning and we were singing "At the Cross," it dawned on me that it was just this time of year as a freshman in college that I first really came to know the Lord. I don't mean know about Him, but really know Him. I didn't know it was possible. But someone shared THIS with me, and it made all the difference. I can remember walking across that campus and how the sky seemed bluer, the trees even more beautiful than ever, and my steps so much lighter. Since that day, I know that God has been with me every single day for twenty-five years! My relationship with Him has grown closer and stronger... much of that in direct proportion to how much time I have spent in His word.

Over the years I have studied and even led a number of small group studies (most all the Beth Moore studies as well as some of Kay Arthur's and others.) I have always said that I must have that firm foundation of His word under my feet, prepared in advance so that when the storms come I will be ready... even if all of the of the ground around me crumbles except for what is directly under my feet. I love the Word; it is the roadmap I cling to for direction in this life. It is the light that shines in front of me, lighting just enough of the path for me to keep moving forward one step at a time. It shows me who God is, who I am, and how much He loves me. I want those things cemented in my heart because I know that it is the ONLY way on this earth that I will find true peace and joy.

One of my dear friends and fellow church members found out today that she would be losing her job. It was a complete shock; she had no inkling it was coming. We went right over to their home (taking a pie with us, of course, because in times like these we must have comfort food.) But what a joy it is to be able to help shoulder and share in the burdens of our brothers and sisters. She was totally taken by surprise, yet she and her husband were not shaken. Why? They know Who holds their future and that His plan is the best plan. Does it present a problem for them right now? Sure, she wasn't planning on having to change jobs again because she would retire in 2 years. Is she happy about not seeing all her friends and coworkers that she's been used to seeing these past years? Of course not. But she knows Who is holding her and her future in His hands. What a blessing to pray with her and share in her grief.

Another friend and fellow church member didn't make it to church Sunday because of severe back pain and actually passed out from the pain later in the day. They rushed him to the ER and were able to get enough pain medication in him that he was able to function. We went by the hospital to see him Sunday night but they didn't know anything. We all prayed together, and I also prayed for him again yesterday morning as I was doing my Bible study. He has been struggling with this nagging back problem for a while and has seen several doctors. They did an MRI and found that there is a little piece of his spine pushing on a nerve. They will be able to do an epidural block Wednesday which should relieve the pressure of the spine on the nerve. He is giving God the glory and praise for answering many prayers on his behalf that he would not have to have back surgery. What a blessing to be able to share in this burden.

And I suppose I am saying all this to let you all know how special you are to me. Thank you for sharing MY burden with me and for taking time to write and give me pearls of wisdom. One of these days we'll meet face to face... and we'll know how special it is that we are really just all part of one family.

"Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ." - Galatians 6:2 NLT