There seems to be a constant stream of bad news lately. There are people hurting all over the world. People we know are sick or dying. Just about every week we hear about someone having cancer or another terrible sickness. It can be depressing if you let it get to you, but God has promised good things for us. Here is one of His promises from 2 Corinthians 5:1-5.
New Bodies
1 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.[a] 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
As many of you know, my friend, Vanessa Holland Mullins, passed away last week from cancer. This was her second battle with lymphoma. She trusted God and lived through these painful times with a strength that only He can give. She will be dearly missed, that's for sure, but she has left an amazing legacy for her family and friends. There are two things that I need to share with you from her Life Celebration yesterday. First, this song was the last song that they played that day. I loved it before, but even more so now. Every time I hear it, I'll think of Vanessa's parents, Mr. Doug and Mrs. Cecelia, standing up in worship. True worship in the midst of such pain. . . amazing! Second, this passage of scripture was one of her favorites and was read from the pulpit by Brother Rod. I shared it on this blog back in April, before SB was born. I'd like to share it with you again now. Praise God for His ultimate healing in Vanessa's life! I know she is pain free and wrapped up in the arms of Christ tonight. I'll see her again one day.
Psalm 139
1 O LORD, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, LORD.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
I haven't blogged much lately (mainly because I've been extremely busy), so these next few entries are long past due.
The first Sunday in October was Sara Beth's first time to go to the church nursery. We've been putting it off and just bringing her along with us to Sunday School each week. That worked out OK for a while, but she finally got too active to keep coming with us. I don't think anyone heard much of the lesson for the last few weeks that we brought her. She hardly ever fussed, but she certainly used her voice a lot. She did great and the nursery workers were very sweet! Adam and I got to go to both Sunday School AND the worship service for the first time in 5 months. Here are a few pictures from her first nursery visit.
I've been reading this Bible passage for at least a month now. Thought I'd share it's beauty with everyone else. Isn't God amazing!
Psalm 139: 1-16 (New Living Translation)
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away.
You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am.
You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.
You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!
I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
Even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night-
but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-- and how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
We've been married for 14 years and have 2 little blessings, Sara Beth and John David. We strive to be the parents that God wants us to be for them. Before having kids, we traveled the world and had exciting adventures together. Now, in this season of our lives, we are still having adventures. They may look a little different, but these adventures are the ones that really matter.
