"The Others"

I just got back from a Baccalaureate service (church service for High School seniors) in the town next to ours.  Two of the Mt Whitney choral groups sang for it.  We also had a duet by one of our students and our teacher.  She (they) sang a song called "Blessings" by Laura Story.  I blogged about that song a few weeks ago. 
The speaker was Melchor Carrillo, the choral director from Redwood High School.  He did an amazing job!  His title was "The Others".  It was taken from Hebrews 11.  The first part of the chapter talks about the great heroes of the faith, who raised people from the dead, saw the walls of Jericho fall down, had babies at over 90 years old, etc.  Those are the kinds of stories we like.  Then, toward the end of the chapter we read about "the others"... those who were not success stories.  The Christian life is not always success and glory. 

 " ...There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn't deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.
 ^39-40Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours"  Hebrews 11:32-38

In and through all these things we must continue to trust in the wisdom and perspective of God, who sees all things, knows all things, and  - even though it doesn't look like it, loves us.
I must go back to the lyrics of the song that was sung tonight:

"We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plead
And long that we'd have faith to believe

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise."

-Laura Story

i ________

Jim and I went out to the store this afternoon.  He was wearing his iPray shirt.  I was wearing my iPiano shirt (of which I have no picture... yet.).  No one commented until we were checking out and then the grocery bagger asked about our shirts.   Our choral director has an iDirect shirt (pictured here).   We thought about wearing our shirts to church tomorrow.  After all, I play the piano every Sunday.  Jim preaches (and prays) at church.  

We were talking about how interesting it would be if others at church had shirts according to what they do.  There could be  "iTeach", "iUsher", "iServe", and then there might be, "iGossip", "iComplain", etc.  

Wow, what if we all had shirts that defined what we do?  Scary thought.

9 Michaels tall

The official measurement -  the Cypress trees are "Nine Michael's" tall. 
My brother took these trees down yesterday... fell them perfectly! 

Mt Whitney High School choirs!  

This is just before Spring Show.  Look at these great shirts!  Our theme was "iPod Shuffle".  The shirts all say "iSing" on the front and "MW Choir" on the back.   Mr. Howard's shirt said "iDirect"; our choreographer's shirt says "iDance", and mine... "iPiano".  :)

With Hope

He's been on my mind a lot the past few days.
My nephew, Andrew, would be graduating High School this week.  

Thank God we do not grieve as those who have no hope.  We will see him again. 

This is not at all how
We thought it was supposed to be
We had so many plans for you
We had so many dreams
And now you've gone away
And left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say
And nothing we can do
Can take away the pain
The pain of losing you, but ... 

We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no
And we can grieve with hope
'Cause we believe with hope
(There's a place by God's grace)
There's a place where we'll see your face again
We'll see your face again 

And never have I known
Anything so hard to understand
And never have I questioned more
The wisdom of God's plan
But through the cloud of tears
I see the Father's smile and say well done
And I imagine you
Where you wanted most to be
Seeing all your dreams come true
'Cause now you're home
And now you're free, and ... 

We have this hope as an anchor
'Cause we believe that everything
God promised us is true, so ...

We wait with hope
And we ache with hope
We hold on with hope
We let go with hope
~Steven Curtis Chapman~

Golden Arrow

"Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says - "I cannot stand any more." God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. For what have you need of patience just now? Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by the patience of faith. "Though He slay me, yet will I wait for Him."" - Oswald Chambers

This was my devotional reading for Sunday, May 8th.  I can sure identify with the saint that says "I cannot stand anymore".  The challenge is to trust myself, my family and other loved ones in God's Hands.  He knows what He is about.  I think it's all more than I can take but He sees the big picture and He knows me.  "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold."  Job 23:10

So, I figure... according to "Ozzie" (our affectionate term for Oswald Chambers) and according to Job...
I am like an arrow and one who will come out as gold.   A golden arrow?  I don't know about that.  I just want to be whatever He wants me to be. 

Should We Be Glad?

"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles." - Proverbs 24:17

Another blog friend posted about this.  
I agree with her.  One one hand, yes, the face we have attached to "evil" for the past decade is now gone, and we should be relieved.  But how many more are there just like him?  And should we rejoice in death? 

"As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?"

Ezekiel 33:11

 

I'm just sad.  This world is full of sadness, evil and death.  I would much rather have watched the Royal wedding again or "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" last night.  I want to rejoice in good things.