Deep Calls to Deep~

Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls: all your breakers and waves have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. Ps. 42:7-8

Time for our book lists for the new year! This year Scott has chosen THOMAS WATSON as his choice of author for the year 2008. Currently he is re-reading 'The Godly Man's Picture', and will proceed from there! Hopefully, this year I can get him to give some thoughts here on his discoveries as he dives into some very deep spiritual insights.

I'm not normally a very emotional person. What do I mean by that? Simply put, I try not to let circumstances control my emotions and live on a roller-coaster, or subject my family to my selfish-rantings of every emotion that bubbles to the surface. My current mantra is to maintain a 'steadfast-resolve' no matter what happens on a day-to-day basis. Easily said right? Much harder done! I know I've probably driven this author down everyone's throats :) but Julie gave me more of Amy Carmichael's books for Christmas...... Just what I wanted. For some reason, I am a puddle on the floor with every sentence and thought this woman penned. She speaks straight to my heart as if she's in the room with me! Amy, as a young, single woman boarded a ship by herself bound for China/Japan in the late 1800's to become a missionary and never looked back. She ended up in southern India for 50+ years, the last 21 of those bedridden (no air-conditioning!!) What sounds noble, and even somewhat glamorous as we glaze over her story in a few words, is very different as you dissect years, and years of journals, letters, words of wisdom that she either saved from others or wrote herself. This was a very difficult life marked by hunger, poverty, danger, sickness, and rich blessing. Amy writes from a heart that has borne the "marks of maturity' only given to those who have lived in the 'trenches' and fought valiantly for the gospel in extraordinary adversity. She writes about her experiences, sure, but goes much deeper than that .....she takes you into a 'deep calls to deep' experience of what it means to be totally, and utterly dependent on God and God alone. It's the deep of her life and thoughts that is so provoking to me as she labored intensively for her God through circumstances that would crush the ordinary. She was an ordinary girl, made extraordinary by the hand of her Master. (My desire for myself and our girls~) Come with me now as I take you to an excerpt from one of my Christmas presents.... 'Gold by Moonlight' .

"I know the plans which I am planning for you, plans of welfare and not of calamity, to give you a future and a hope." Thoughts of peace for our prayers, for our intercessions for others which seem to be ineffective: a future and a hope for the prayers that we feared were covered by snow, and for those others that appeared to fall to earth like the falling stars that break and scatter into nothingness as we watch them-even those prayers are folded up in the thoughts of peace that HE thinks towards us. (Rotherdam)

These words are for us. We may take them though they were spoken to another people in another age. All the green fields of the Scriptures are for all the sheep of His pasture: none are fenced off from us. Our Lord and saviour, that great Shepherd of the sheep, Himself led the way into these fields, as a study of His use of the Old Testament shows. His servants the writers of the New Testament, followed Him there; and so may we. The words of the Lord about His thoughts of peace are for us as well as for His ancient people Israel.

Hammer this truth out on the anvil of experience-this truth that the loving thoughts of God direct and perfect all that concerneth us; it will bear to be beaten out to the uttermost. The pledged word of God to man is no puffball to break at a touch and scatter into dust. It is iron. It is gold, that most malleable of all metals. It is more golden than gold. It abideth imperishable forever. If we wait till we have clear enough vision to see the expected end before we stay our mind upon Him who is our Strength, we shall miss an opportunity that will never come again: we shall never know the blessing of the unoffended. Now is the time to say, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise, " even though as we say the words there is no sense of exultation. "It is possible to gather gold, where it may be had, with moonlight", by which I understand something less helpful than daylight would be in the search and the finding of gold. By moonlight then, (pain, adversity, hardship), let us gather our gold.

What are you facing today where a 'steadfast resolve' would be required of you? Are you seeking easy, the path of least resistance?? or being willing to be "hammered" on the anvil of life experience....for the glory of our Lord? "The day will come when all loss will bear the image of the heavenly. For, said our Lord and Saviour before He was offered up, "He that findeth his life shall lose it' and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it." Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and ever since in every garden of His lovers, there has been a cross.

Please take a few moments to ponder these thoughts. My prayer for you is that they penetrate to"deep" and call to your soul as they have to mine. Enjoy the pic of the girls. Recognize anyone?? These were gifts from Scott's parents to the girls. :) If only our Eloise could really grow some hair like that!!

P.S. I finally did some blog "housework" and added a blog roll at the lower right. If you typically read here and have one I haven't listed please let me know.... I want to add you!! Do not be afraid to be bold....for I am slow and it takes me a while to get anything done.....:)Brandi, I tried to get to you but it wouldn't let me. What do I need to do?