The Sound of Distant Laughter

These past two weeks have been filled with more laughter, than I can remember. Last night, several of my children and I laughed ourselves to tears. Then the shadows come, and you quickly forget the laughter. It is strange how when the lights dim, the gift of laughter is hard to find sometimes.  I think darkness is given to teach us to REMEMBER the things we can not see, and value the things that we take for granted.   They teach us to walk by Faith, and not by Sight or how we feel.  It reminded me of a very old journal writing, that I thought I would re-post. Shadows will pass, but His faithfulness is always present, when its dark and when light is filling the room with laughter.

It was dark and quiet. All were lying down for the night; then I heard the laughter. My head laid down comfortably on my pillow, and my first thought was “I really should tell them (the boys) to quiet down and get to sleep”, but for some reason, just this night, the laughter ministered to me. It has been an intense week. I have noticed that as we grow older the blows of life take us down longer than when we were younger.

Laughter is more of a gift than a common friend.

As I reflect on the difference between the young and the old, I see one clear difference between the two. The young have the ability to trust in those who care for them to carry their loads. Laughter and joy come easy, for trust is the air they breathe. So why can I not learn from them?

Heavenly Father, I give you my load today. Yes, I trust You to handle it better than I. Let Your joy and laughter flow through my life, as a clear song to the honor of You, of a life of faith.

One who knows how to walk in laughter and joy in the deepest sense, has learned how to sing their songs in the darkest nights. They are the children of the Father who have learned the secret of a trust and assurance of His love. They know of the hiding place of rest. They carry the treasures of knowing Him. They walk with Him, alone and find His approval far more important than anything this world could ever offer.

"Spirit filled souls are ablaze for God. They love with a love that glows. They serve with a faith that kindles. They serve with a devotion that consumes. They hate sin with fierceness that burns. They rejoice with a joy that radiates. Love is perfected in the fire of God." ~Samuel Chadwick

The above was penned about the same time the picture was taken; many, many moons ago.

Learning Endurance

Endurance is not always some surprise trial, sent by God to test us. It is learning how to live, when you do not see what the future will look like.

It is a faith that is not fed by feeling, but in all believing, knowing that His Grace is sufficient for this day.

When Endurance begins to call our name, it is saying to our hearts...its time for your love to go deeper. 

Its time for sorrow to do its plowing in your heart, to make room for love that only pain can make room for.

The problem with pain, is that we just do not want or welcome it.  

And all who choose to shut their hearts up to it, live shallow lives, casting blame in the shadows (ie past or people), for their difficulties.

The beautiful thing about those who see endurance as just part of growing in HOPE...they do not measure HARD things, as bad things.  

It becomes, what I call, a Painful Joy.

At the time period of the above picture
(Anna had just been released from the hospital after nearly a month in ICU...she could barely lift her head up because of all the med's they had her on), I did count HARD, as BAD...because my love was more SELF focused.  How the HARD effected me, not what He was after in my Heart.

 My LONG-suffering Heavenly Father...taught me different.


We grow weary, when we place time limits on our trials. Seek to REMEMBER, Who is with you, instead of Wondering When the struggle will be over

...strength will come. 

We are people with ENDS, bumped up to a God WHO never ends...He does not view TIME, like we do.

My own experience of calling out, when I was needy, taught me much hope.

TIME and time again, what once seemed insurmountable, proved to be small next to a Grace that had no end to it.


 A Grace that was more than enough, for the day it was given.

Sometimes, endurance was as simple as the next step. 


“It takes Almighty grace to take the next step when there is no vision and no spectator – the next step in devotion, the next step in your study, in your reading, in your kitchen; the next step in your duty, when there is no vision from God, no enthusiasm and no spectator. It takes far more of the grace of God, far more conscious drawing upon God to take that step, then it does to preach the Gospel.” ~Oswald Chambers

"The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials."~George Muller

"We are always in the forge, or on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things."  ~Henry Ward Beecher

Also....this is the pathway to A Profound Rest

Simple or Complicated?

Jesus said "If your eye is single your whole body will be full of light" and then added "If the light in you is darkness how great is that darkness". 

When our eye is "single" - God's way are "simple" -- "un-complicated". 

We see Him as good, and His word as a treasure of wisdom given to us through His kindness. 

When our eye is "single" we see His yoke as easy and His burden as light and we experience His rest for our soul. 

When our eye is "single" we delight to do His will. 

When our eye is single - OUR HEART IS PURE and we SEE GOD. If the light in us is darkness, God appears very complicated. 

If we see Him in a "bad light", we perceive His ways as difficult. 

When the light in us is darkness, God's ways seem hard, confusing, and "complicated." 

How do we see Him? The mind of the Spirit who "EN-LIGHTENS" us is life and peace. The mind of the flesh is not single but complicatedly "hostile", it can't submit because it is IMPURE. 

Sin has "complicated" the carnal mind's perception of God. 

The pure in heart see God as pure - in fact to the pure ALL THINGS are pure - because their eye is "single" - life is not complicated - it's just a joy filled relationship with a perfect heavenly Father. They know that the trouble in the world is not His fault, He is the answer - not the problem.
(text Alan sent out)