Day 100 - September 23 - A Hundred Days?
I didn't realize it was the hundredth day until I started to post this, so I don't have any pithy words. Maybe later. I didn't post last night as I got home from the hospital at 11 PM, and 0430 comes early. I'm stealing a few minutes before I head out to work to drop a few words onto the screen to keep you all in touch - Connor had a good day yesterday, although his frustration continues to mount as he is surrounded by dozens of people working to strengthen various parts of their bodies while he remains unable to even feel his. I cannot comprehend what he must be feeling, but I know that I have to struggle not to be envious of people who can still move their shoulders. Please pray that Connor will maintain his faith and courage through this time. Pray that God will motivate him to work. Pray that he will rise to this challenge.
"S" today - my word is "shelter".
Have a good day. Thank you for your prayers.
Eric
----------------------------------------
Print This Page
posted by Eric Williamson @ 5:11 AM
29 Comments
Links to this post
29 Comments:
Strength,Servant,Source of Hope.
Gracious Father, I pray a special dose of grace and peace today over Connor. Fill him with your wonderful joy. As he works in rehab, give him the supernatural ability to rise above his circumstances. I praise You Father the for gift of life. May You manifest Yourself in Connor's life today. Bless him mightily. In Christ's precious name, our STRENGTH, our SERVANT-HEARTED SAVIOR, our SWEET, SOURCE OF HOPE, Amen!
And...100 days and ways to Praise the Lord today!
Psalm 100 (Amplified Bible)
A Psalm of thanksgiving and for the thank offering.
1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!
2Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing!
3Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.(A)
4Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!
5For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.
STRONGHOLD
I love you O Lord, my STRENGTH. The Lord is my rock. my fortress, and my deliverer, my God is my rock in whom I take refuge. He is my SHIELD, and the horn of my SALVATION, my STRONGHOLD.
I absolutely love that verse. Notice it also has Connor's rock in there.
Praying for you all.
Eric,
I was checking my email yesterday and ran across an email from my grandfather. I assume that he is on the mailing list for "Insight for Today" because that is what the email was. Anywho I was reading through it and couldn't get you and your family out of my head. It was extremely beneficial to me and I hope that it will be much more beneficial to you guys.
TURN AROUND
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 42:1--6
"I've come to the end of my understanding, and I leave it at that. My very existence is Yours, O God. It's Yours to unravel the mystery, to track the labyrinthine ways, to handle the profound, to know the reasons behind the inexplicable events of my life." In full surrender Job backs off and bows down.
This is Job's way of acknowledging his inability to understand why, with no further argument, harboring no bitterness. There is no thought of How dare you do this to me? What do we see in Job instead? A broken and contrite spirit. Do you know what Job finally realized? It's all about God, not me. Job got it! And what does that mean?
God's purpose is unfolding, and I cannot hinder it.
God's plan is incredible, and I will not comprehend it.
God's reproof is reliable, and I dare not ignore it.
God's way is best, and I must not resist it.
Have you learned those things yet? Have you come to realize that your business is about your God? Your family is about your God. Everything you claim to possess, He owns. Every privilege you enjoy is granted by His grace. None of it is deserved. Job got all that. The question is, have you? Tragically, many don't get it until faced with impossible moments. God has ways of leveling His own.
How satisfying a submissive life can be. The blend is beautiful: a strong-hearted person, surrendered and humbled with a "broken and contrite spirit"---entertaining no grudges, making no demands, having no expectations, offering no conditions, anticipating no favors, fully repentant before the Lord God. And the marvelous result? The Lord begins to use us in amazing ways. Why? Because the world doesn't see that unique combination very often.
Job finally sees God for who He really is, and he fully repents. The result is one blessing after another. In fact, double blessing upon double blessing comes his way. Once God placed His mighty hands on the man's shoulders, Job finally got it. Have you?"
Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright � 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.
You all will continue to be in my prayers. I love you all!
Savior!
That's an obvious, huh?
I am praying for you all today!
SHIELD!!
The Lord is my Shield!
As I was thinking about my "S" word. I found this weekly devotional in my in box this morning. God is out Settler.
The Path to Maturity
1 Peter 5:10 provides a very critical principle for those times when we are going through trials, a principle that is easy to miss,
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
You need to realize that even though God did not initiate your trouble, He can still use it to work something good in you. What the devil means for evil, God can turn into something good.
Even though the devil's purpose is to destroy you, if you will respond correctly, God can work good things. Notice the verse says after you have suffered a short season, God will perfect. It brings maturity to you.
While we might hate it, how we respond in times of trial makes us who we are—and it fits us to accomplish God's will. I hate some of the things I have gone through! But you know what? I would not be who I am had I not experienced those things. It has fitted me to do the will of God.
And while it may not seem like it, your present difficulty may be instrumental in your future success.
It reminds me of the guy who was shipwrecked on a deserted island. One day he decided to go across the island for food. When he got to the other side he looked back and saw a plume of smoke in the sky. He ran back only to find that his shack burnt to the ground!
It stung him to the core! Except the next morning a ship arrived and rescued him. When he asked the sailors, "How'd you know I was here?" they said, "We saw your smoke signal."
Your present trials just may be fitting you for something you would never expect!
Visit www.answersBC.org for more resources to encourage you in your relationship with God.
©2008 Answers with Bayless Conley
Connor may the God who is your SAVIOR, STRENGTH AND SHELTER settle you today and give you comfor and peace. Keep running the race to the finish. God has a great plan for you. It is a plan for a hope and a future.
Love,
Ben & Karon Lee
He is our security, our sanctuary, our solace.
STEADFAST
Psalm 18:10
The name of the Lord is a STRONG Tower,the righteous run in to Him and they are safe.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Good Psalm, Good Song.
Cera, that devotion you sent is beautiful seems there's something in it for all of us, I will copy and paste it and e-mail it out to all my buddies, thanks for sharing.
Psalm 5:1-3
Dear Heavnly Father, hear us as we pray, pay attention to our groanings. Listen to our cries for help, our King and our God, for we pray to no one but You. Listen to our voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning we bring our request to you and wait expectantly.
Thank you, Lord for hearing our prayers, thank you for loving us, thank you that you are holding Connor in the palm of Your hand, please let Connor feel your presence and hear your still small voice through out the day today,
and please shelter the family with comfort, be their strength and their strong tower today and always,
In Jesus Name
Loving you, singing His praises with you, In Downey
I've been waiting for 'S' ~ Sovereign; God is sovereign, usually my favorite characteristic of God.
God is in control of all things not only that, He actually causes all things ~ that is a hard one for me to digest. I'm doing the Women's Bible study at church and we are studying James. James 1:2-4 says, "Count it all joy, my brothers (that’s us), when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete (again, God's definition of perfect and complete), lacking in nothing.
Love you all and continual prayer and today extra praise for His sovereignty.
Patty Trapp :o)
Jesus SUFFERED much at the hands of men, suffering which reached its height, physically and spiritually, on the cross, where He bore our sins in our place:
Hebrews 13:11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. (ESV)
Because of this, we know that He knows suffering - that He can relate, that He has "been there". He knows isolation and separation like we can never know - and He intercedes for us knowing how our frailties are exposed under duress.
Knowing this Savior is what caused Paul to write these verses:
Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
Praise God for a such a beautiful, marvelous Savior!
Connor - hold fast to the Savior Who knows and understands your situation, knows the temptation to despair, to be angry with the Father:
Hebrews 2:18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (ESV)
Hi Charlene, could you please give the address of this scripture, I've looked up a bunch of them but none are exactly with these words and I like the way this one sounds.
Thanks, Linda
I love you O Lord, my STRENGTH. The Lord is my rock. my fortress, and my deliverer, my God is my rock in whom I take refuge. He is my SHIELD, and the horn of my SALVATION, my STRONGHOLD
He is our "sacrific".
I feel compelled to show you what I read in my time with God this morning.
I hope it comes as encouragement and not criticism. I promise, I feel convicted of this in my own life, and but feel I need to share it because it relates to what you have alluded to several times - envying others who appear to be making more progress, and especially when they appear to not being following God.
When I am rushed in the morning, instead of doing my regular devotional study, I just look up the Proverb of the day (according to the date) so today was Proberbs 23 and the verses that struck me were 17 & 18:
"Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."
Verse 17 stung, but isn't verse 18 great!
Stable, sturdy, steadfast, spirit, suttle, super!
Eric
I wanted to let you know that we continue to pray for Connor and all of you and to keep up with his progress through your blogs from up here in Portland.
Thank you for sharing your journey so honestly through these entries.
May you continue to see the hand of God at work in your daily lives.
Kirk Petersen
Pastor at Greater Portland Bible
kirkp@pdxchurch.org
Eric (Texx);
I cannot imagine it has been 100 days so far. With so much going on I know at times it must be a challenge to keep up with the blog. Just to let you know Susan and I appreciate it very much and check it at least daily. The strength of your family through all of this has been very admirable. We continue to pray and send good thoughts your way.
Best Wishes and Prayers,
Wade
Linda,
Sorry, after I left the computer this morning I realized that I probably forgot the reference. It is Psalm 18:1-2 NIV
I have it one my wall so that I see it everyday.
I was sure someone would beat me to this "S" word - SHEPHERD!
Psalm 23 comes to mind. " The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."
Anonymous (1:57pm) - I'm surprised, too!
I was recently reminded of another "Shepherd passage" which shows us a beautiful picture of Christ's protective, loving care over us, his muddle-headed sheep: John 10:1-18
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2010;&version=45;49;50;47;
A very holy man told me once that if God had a name it would be Suprise. So Suprise is my word to offer Connor and all of his amazing family. May the ever Good God fill you with peace.
Many blessings,
Jane Renz
Now days the kids say "SICK" or "SWEET" referencing somthing so awesome, so great, so cool. So there you go, confirmed by Betsy & Ariel--Hey Connor, Hey Joelle'
Love,
The Brogan's
Hi Williamson's..
Your on our hearts everyday...my heart is sad..Sadness at what you are all going through... Cannot fathom your last l00 days..We have seen God...but it has also come through such broken hearts and broken lives..I know our sadness leads us to a very loving , compassionate, caring God.. He has bottled up all your tears..That comforts me..Knowing that He has seen your sadness and His heart aches with you..Our comfort is knowing that God does know our suffering and He will bring you Hope..He is the anchor of our soul.. We love you guys so very much..
May He send you all..His comfort..His strength..His answers to all your needs..spoken and unspoken ones..You amaze me..All of you do..A huge inspiration to the body of Christ..
With love and compassion,
Kathy MacPhail and family
"Strength." He is our strength when we feel as if we have none left. I'm continually thankful for that promise.
~Becca
hello to you all--I am trying to type w/ my left hand b/c I fractured my right wrist last night at work...at least, I was already in a hospital. I was so scared for awhile b/c that was not the only place in my body that hurt & I was having a hard time breathing. I tho't of Connor @ that time and how God is our shelter in the time of storm. He then sent a co-worker to be there w/ me...she was His special gift for the moment. I know God has sent many people into your lives to do that...PRAISE be to His name!
Salvation
trying to be a little creative...
Seeing Eye Dog (not that he is a dog!)
Why? I remember a phrase from a song, we live by faith and not by sight. He guides us through our spiritual lives, like a dog would guide a blind person. God also guides us through our troubles, especially the hard ones!
John L.
The Steadfast love of the Lord never ceases- His love never comes to an end- it is new ever morning-great is your fatihfulness oh Lord!
Thinking and praying for you all often.
Yours,
The Kastle Family
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home