Live Salty

"You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."

Matthew  5:13

Letting Go to Move Forward

 

"We know that our loved one has died.  Do we recognize that in that death a part of us has died, too!  The part of us that lived in our relationship to that person alive in the world has died.  The part of us that lived in expectation of a future on earth together has died.  The part of us that enjoyed the commonality of shared memories has died.  This is a lot to lose...  We have to let go and then in the spaces where those deaths have occurred, new life will spring.  Some of the new life may be our new relationship with our lost love."  ~Martha Hickman  

"At every point in the human journey we find that we have to let go in order to move forward; and letting go means dying a little.  In the process we are being created anew, awakened afresh to the source of our being."  ~Kathleen Fischer

My journal of grief for my daughter Crystal involves a part of me dying.  I have turned to the spirit of her creativity in her art work to help move forward.  My new relationship is with her as an artist and her legacy of writing notes and cards for the people she loved.  I have continued that legacy with  my Card Ministry "Crystal Expressions."  I joined multiple groups "Cards of Kindness, Cards for Cool Kids, Small Acts Big Change, Braid Missions, Smiles for Seniors, etc. to share her passion for coloring and designing cards.  It gives me comfort sharing her artwork with others.

I have opened my hand and heart to relinquish and to receive.

Angels are Near

 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Psalm 91:11

"I AM WHO I AM"

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM.  

This is what you are to say to the Israelites:  "I AM has sent me to you."  

Exodus 3:14

But thou art the same and thy years shall have no end.

Psalm 102:27-28

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  

Hebrews13:8

Knock and the Door will be Opened

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

Matthew 7:7

The Flower of Joy

 

"Faith is born and sustained by the word of God, and out of faith grows the flower of joy."

John Piper, Desiring God:  Meditations of a Christian Hedonist

The Skies Proclaim the Work of His Hands

 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

Psalm 19:1-4 NIV

"Never be Afraid to Trust an Unknown Future to a Known God"

 Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9 NIV

The Lord is close to the Brokenhearted

 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 147:3

Do Not Lose Heart

 

Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Lift My Eyes to the Mountains

I lift up my eyes to the mountains--

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip--

he who watches over you will not slumber,

indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you--

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by  night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm--

he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121

"I have overcome the World"

 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.   In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

No One Will Take Your Joy

 

So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

John 16:22

I will never leave you

 

I will never leaver you or forsake you.

Hebrew 13:5

He who comforts us

 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthian 1:3

Do Not Fear, for I am with You

 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

God's Everlasting Love

 The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:  "I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."

Jeremiah 31:3

The Gift of God

 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--  Not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

The Word Became Flesh

 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

Amazing Grace: Given Us Before the beginning of time

 He has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.  This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.

2 Timothy 1:9

Joy Comes in the Morning

 

For His anger is but for a moment, 

His favor is for a lifetime; 

Weeping may last for the night, 

But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Psalms 30:5 NASV

The Work of Your Fingers

 

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?  For You have made him a little lower than the angels And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

Psalms 8:3-5 NKJV

A Tree Planted by the Rivers of Water

He shall be like a tree 

Planted by the rivers of water, 

That brings forth its fruit in its season, 

Whose leaf also shall not wither; 

And whatever he does shall prosper.

Psalms 1:3 NKJV

The Moon never Beams without bringing me Dreams

 

Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love--

I and my Annabel Lee--

With a love that the winged seraphs of Heaven

Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

My beautiful Annabel Lee,

So that her highborn kinsmen came

And bore her away from me, 

To shut her up in a sepulchre

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,

Went envying her and me--

Yes!--that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we--

Of many far wiser than we--

And neither the angels in Heaven above

Nor the demons down under the sea

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, i lie down by the side

Of my darling--my daring--my life and my bride,

In her sepulchre there by the sea--

In her tomb by the sounding sea.

By Edgar Allan Poe

The Sun knows when to go down

He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.  You bring darkness, it becomes night , and all the beasts of the forest prowl.  The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.  The sun rises, and they steal away, they return and lie down in their dens.  How many are your works, Lord!  In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number--living things both large and small.

~Psalm 104:19-26 NIV