Healing Rain....

For those of you who read my blog about the healing rain...  Here is a family picture from that day.  I am the one on the far left in the second row.  Thought I'd share this with y'all.

Hope to be catching up soon.  I've been gone on vacation and thus am behind.  Hope you are all having a great start to your week and that you are staying cool!

When We All Get to Heaven...

"When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!  When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory!" from When We All Get to Heaven

I don't know that I've ever shared this bit of info here before, but my favorite song is the hymn, "When We All Get to Heaven."  I even quote my favorite verse from this song at the top of my page.  I've believed in God as long as I can remember.  I was blessed to be raised in a home where God was the focal point.  Looking back though, I'm amused by different things.  One that comes to mind now is what my attitude toward Christ's imminent return.  I actually remember thinking when I was younger, "I know Jesus will come, but I hope it's not until I'm really old because there's a lot I want to do first."  I just knew God had blessed us with a great big world full of wonderful opportunities and I wanted to be sure I took all the experiences in that I could before He returned.  Fast forward about 15 years to where I am today.  Funny, I still believe God created a beautiful world, full of opportunity.  No longer, though, do I want Him to slow His coming so that I can see it all and do it all first.  My heart just really longs to finally see Him face to face.  In good days and bad days here on earth, I just remind myself that this isn't home, we're only passing through.  Funny how that thought puts things in perspective, isn't it?  All the worries, all the possessions, all the things that seem to trip us up so much now, those things will fall by the wayside.

May God bless your richly as you walk through life here on earth.  Remember if things seem stressful from time to time that nothing we go through here will matter once Christ returns for us.  And hey, when the time comes and we finally do get to meet Jesus face to face, when you have a chance, look me up.  I'm looking forward to swapping stories. 

"Let us then be true and faithful; trusting, serving every day.  Just one glimpse of Him in glory will the toils of life repay."  from When We All Get to Heaven

"Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel?  Will I dance for You, Jesus, or in awe of You be still?  Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?  Will I sing hallelujah?  Will I be able to speak at all?  I can only imagine."  from I Can Only Imagine

"Meet me in heaven, we'll join hands together.  Meet me at the Savior's side.  I'll meet you in heaven, we'll sing songs together, pray that we all will be there." from Side by Side

Quick note...

Thank you to each of you who expressed your kind thoughts after my post about my friend's death.  You will never know how far kind words can go.  Today (Sunday) was the 1 year anniversary of the accident.  I am healing well, but if you are so inclined, please pray for his family...  The 4th of July should have been his 28th birthday, so it will be a rough couple days.  Thank you again.

On a side note...  I've noticed that I mostly post at Xanga when I have time to sit down and really think about what I want to say.  I always enjoy keeping in touch though, so when I haven't posted for a bit, you can always IM me mslanekent on AIM, or visit my myspace www.myspace.com/eyestoheaven

Currently Listening Healing Rain By Michael W. Smith see related

Healing Rain

The last year of my life has been full to the brim.  It has been painful at times and joyful at times, as I'm sure is the case with many people.  I know this last year has seemed more pronounced than my typical year; the highs higher and the lows seemingly devastatingly low.  Don't worry, I'm not going to complain, I know that my life the last year is full of blessings and this blog is actually about how far I've come.  A bit of history from last year (for those of you who are new to my little corner of the world.)   Last year in July a lifelong friend of mine was killed in a car accident.  I took this death particularly hard for a couple reasons; 1.) While we weren't a couple, we "liked" each other and I had kinda figured we'd end up together.   2.)  I had convinced myself that his death was my fault for a couple reason...  He was driving a car I almost bought a couple weeks before, but didn't.  And I could've asked him to go to this wedding with me the day he was killed.  I reasoned that if he had been with me, he wouldn't have been driving by himself and wouldn't have fallen asleep at the wheel.

The weird thing is I let myself keep trying to believe that I was responsible even though it wasn't the most rational thing to think.  I don't know why...  Grief is funny in how it plays out sometimes.  What had to happen was to really rely on God.  At first, it was a daily thing of really thinking things through and reminding myself that I can trust God with all of my world.  I can tell Him how I'm feeling and explain.  He doesn't condemn me, He cleanses me.  Failures and shortcomings, real or imagined, can be washed away.  Eventually, I came to accept what I always had before my friend's death...  There is evil in this world and sometimes senseless things happen.  People die too young, people suffer with cancer, families are broken apart.  God weeps with every person that weeps and He understands all our hurts.  He tells us to give Him all our burdens and He will carry them.  All we have to do is agree to let go.  I didn't for a long time.  I'm not sure why.  I guess I thought I knew better.  I'm so glad though now that God is God and that He sees us through everything that happens on earth. 

Today, my family and I had a picnic together at a park.  At this park was a fountain spraying water high into the air above a dock where you could walk.  As we ran through the spray, laughing and just enjoying the beautiful day God had given us to celebrate, I realized how far I had come.  God had taken my broken heart and misplaced dreams and molded them into something beautiful.  Amazing, isn't it?  He does the same thing for people every day, every where.  Back to running through the fountain...  As ran into the spray and felt the cool, soft mist, I was reminded of the words to the Michael W. Smith song...

"Healing rain is falling down.  I'm not afraid of the healing rain."

What a blessing!  If you are in need of healing, I pray that God will touch you with His gentle hand and heal you with His love and grace.

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29

Currently Reading Atonement Child By Francine Rivers see related

Beauty for Us!

I don't really have anything well formed that I want to write about today.  Mostly, I was just thinking about the beauty all around us.  From waterfalls and clouds, to flowers and trees to a night sky filled with stars.  It is amazing to consider not only God's creative power, but His creativity as well.  And how He longs to draw us to Him.  God knows that waterfalls and flowers are what I enjoy and He knows just what you enjoy too.  He loves each one of us enough to know what we enjoy and create just what we will enjoy.  Makes you feel pretty important, doesn't it?  The next time you're feeling low, just remember God loves you enough to pay attention to the little details!