This afternoon as I was driving to Portsmouth I heard a woman speaking about a verse she gave to her mother when she was going through chemotherapy at 83 for breast cancer.
Isaiah 41:10 'Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' NASV
THE MESSAGE Don't panic. I'm with you. There's no need to fear for I'm your God. I'll give you strength. I'll help you. I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.
NKJV Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
As you can see I had to compare versions, but the NKJV is my favorite and the one I intend to memorize this week.
She told her mother that as she underwent the procedure alone, in a scary place, to remember when she extended her right hand it was being held by God himself! What an incredible promise to use for encouragement in difficult circumstances. Later in the program she said this verse can be a prayer for the week. It has seven parts to it so you can meditate upon each aspect of God's character as outlined in the verse.
I have nothing to fear
God is with me
Don't be dismayed or anxious
For God is MY God
God will strengthen me (MY Ebenezer!)
God will help me
God will hold my right hand!
I am so grateful to God for these precious little insights that come across my path on my travels. My time on the road is being redeemed.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Ebenezer of Strength
Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us." 1 Samuel 7:12
Each year the Lord seems to be addressing another area of my faith walk. Last year it was in the area of PEACE. In the midst of difficult circumstances I was filled with an awesome sense of peace all year long. This was a testimony to my advisor at graduate school, for the previous summer I had a major meltdown during her class. This past summer faced with an insurmountable problem, or so we thought, I rested in the fact that God was in control and that gave me peace -- undeniable, unalduterated and yet unchanging peace. My times are in His hands what more can be done than rest in that?
This year's Ebenezer has become the word STRENGTH. It began with a familiar song on the radio in the car on the way to Chesapeake at 6a.m. on a dark, drizzly, damp morning. The words enlightened my entire day! "Strength arises as we wait upon the Lord, as we wait upon the Lord..." As we are in the crucible of waiting You will give us the strength that we need for what is coming up in our lives. It's a deepening of the meaning of my life verse, Nehemiah 8:10, Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength. God uses the time of waiting to strengthen us if we allow Him to do it within us. Am I willing to yield and be strengthened?
Just to make sure I accepted STRENGTH as my new Ebenezer, scriptures followed to confirm it in my daily devotional reading:
In Your strength You have guided them to your holy dwelling. You have brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your holy dwelling. Exodus 15:13
But You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26
The other day I played around with Picasa and a picture of stones to come up with a wallpaper for my computer entitled: My Ebenezer Stones. In it are the characteristics that I could attribute to God's fine tuning in my life. There are so many more that need to be hewn from new rocks but I'm grateful that God only takes on one flawed area at a time. These stones are reminders of powerful lessons that have been wrought in my spiritual life -- but it by no means implies that I have fully achieved or grasped any of these qualities -- they are stones of remembrance -- because I'm still a work in progress.
Each year the Lord seems to be addressing another area of my faith walk. Last year it was in the area of PEACE. In the midst of difficult circumstances I was filled with an awesome sense of peace all year long. This was a testimony to my advisor at graduate school, for the previous summer I had a major meltdown during her class. This past summer faced with an insurmountable problem, or so we thought, I rested in the fact that God was in control and that gave me peace -- undeniable, unalduterated and yet unchanging peace. My times are in His hands what more can be done than rest in that?
This year's Ebenezer has become the word STRENGTH. It began with a familiar song on the radio in the car on the way to Chesapeake at 6a.m. on a dark, drizzly, damp morning. The words enlightened my entire day! "Strength arises as we wait upon the Lord, as we wait upon the Lord..." As we are in the crucible of waiting You will give us the strength that we need for what is coming up in our lives. It's a deepening of the meaning of my life verse, Nehemiah 8:10, Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength. God uses the time of waiting to strengthen us if we allow Him to do it within us. Am I willing to yield and be strengthened?
Just to make sure I accepted STRENGTH as my new Ebenezer, scriptures followed to confirm it in my daily devotional reading:
In Your strength You have guided them to your holy dwelling. You have brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your holy dwelling. Exodus 15:13
But You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26
The other day I played around with Picasa and a picture of stones to come up with a wallpaper for my computer entitled: My Ebenezer Stones. In it are the characteristics that I could attribute to God's fine tuning in my life. There are so many more that need to be hewn from new rocks but I'm grateful that God only takes on one flawed area at a time. These stones are reminders of powerful lessons that have been wrought in my spiritual life -- but it by no means implies that I have fully achieved or grasped any of these qualities -- they are stones of remembrance -- because I'm still a work in progress.
Monday, January 5, 2009
A New Year
Another year, many milestones.
Sara left last New Year’s Eve(2007) for Bosnia to coordinate the year of prayer. Stephanie attends Wave Church in Virginia Beach which takes up most of her free time. She works as a nanny and part-time at Ulta. Vince continues to work nights at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters. I am an educational therapist with ten students and coordinate a small group reading program in the public schools of Norfolk and Portsmouth as community services manager for Discovery Program.
I finished my last summer on campus (only two weeks!) for a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Columbia International University returning home on our 27th wedding anniversary, June 27. I still have an online prerequisite course to finish by the first week in February to officially graduate in May of 2009.
A trip to Kalispell, Montana in August to teach a math workshop for elementary teachers gave me the opportunity to drive through Glacier National Park. I crossed the continental divide, took some truly awesome pics and was protected from hitting a doe and her fawn by inches! When they call it “Big Sky” country, there’s truly no other way to describe the immense beauty that surrounds you there.
Next June there’s a Level 1 course planned in Sacramento, California that I'm scheduled to teach which will allow some further travel.
Wishing you a peaceful and glorious new year,
Pattie and Vince Perry pperry6@cox.net
Cell: 757-635-5273
Sara left last New Year’s Eve(2007) for Bosnia to coordinate the year of prayer. Stephanie attends Wave Church in Virginia Beach which takes up most of her free time. She works as a nanny and part-time at Ulta. Vince continues to work nights at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters. I am an educational therapist with ten students and coordinate a small group reading program in the public schools of Norfolk and Portsmouth as community services manager for Discovery Program.
I finished my last summer on campus (only two weeks!) for a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Columbia International University returning home on our 27th wedding anniversary, June 27. I still have an online prerequisite course to finish by the first week in February to officially graduate in May of 2009.
A trip to Kalispell, Montana in August to teach a math workshop for elementary teachers gave me the opportunity to drive through Glacier National Park. I crossed the continental divide, took some truly awesome pics and was protected from hitting a doe and her fawn by inches! When they call it “Big Sky” country, there’s truly no other way to describe the immense beauty that surrounds you there.
Next June there’s a Level 1 course planned in Sacramento, California that I'm scheduled to teach which will allow some further travel.
Wishing you a peaceful and glorious new year,
Pattie and Vince Perry pperry6@cox.net
Cell: 757-635-5273
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