Somebody tell Cinderella...

My husband and I used to go to one of the municipal parks every Saturday afternoon to walk through the forests, getting some exercise and having a chance to just be together and relax.  (We had to stop when my synovitis became too much to walk very far.)  At the entrance to where we would drive in, there is a lovely playground, full of marvelous things to climb, to fall off of, to run around on, to whirl on, to exercise on...all spread over a large hilly expanse. (This picture shows only a small part of it.) I would look at that every time we passed...and dream. "Our grandkids would love this! How I wish we could bring them here!"  It looked so empty to me, even when there were other children there.

So when Dan and KC and their kids, came down a little over a week ago, I was so happy when, the very next day, it was possible to bring them out to the park.

Noe (9), Micah (7) and Eli (4) loved it!  And so did I, because my dream had come true!  I sat and watched them expend tremendous amounts of energy, in spite of the high elevation of Quito, just in having so much fun.  On one thing (don't know what it's called), Micah had his mom climb up to the top with him, and told her that the idea was to "get to the top, then try not to fall off!"  A good plan, said KC!

We still have another week-and-a-half or so with them here, (I didn't have time to write a post last week), and are looking forward to enjoying more time together as we prepare to continue our travels around the country to one more special Ecuadorian town (Mindo).  Then we'll have some time here in Quito, before they return to the States, and Micah has already stated that he hopes they can go back to the park!  (Some friends of theirs have come for part of the trip, and he wants to take their kids there, to share the experience.)

But even after they return to the States, the park won't seem empty anymore. It will just be waiting for them, for the next time they come down...hopefully with their cousins (Debbie's children, Liliana and Miriam) to help them have fun!
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With a God like ours, we don't have to "fly over the rainbow", Cinderella!  We don't have to wonder about the "land that I heard of" where dreams can come true.  The psalmist, knowing the loving heart of God, wrote:
                           "All my longings lie open before You, O Lord..." (38:9)
                            "May He give you the desire of your heart..." (20:4)
                       
Our dreams can come true here on Earth, because God is awesome!  Aware of what we need, aware of what we want...aware of what's best for us.  Jesus said, "If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"  (Matthew 7:11)
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THANK YOU, FATHER, FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS, FOR THOSE GOOD GIFTS!

So weary...but in His Light, "I Walk On" (a poem)

You may have read this poem before.  I posted it about two years ago,  but it keeps coming back to my mind these days, as we've faced a lot of stress and need to be buoyed up. You, too?  Then, whether for the first time, or the second or third...please read it with me again, and be encouraged!

                 I WALK ON

You know where my path's uneven,
where it's strewn with debris and stone.
You know where it turns most ruthless,
for You walked it Yourself...alone.

You know where the seas are deepest,
even there they obey your Voice.
                                                      You know where the road is steepest,
                                                      for You climbed Calvary's Hill...by choice.

You know where I'll cross a desert
like the one where You faced your Foe.
You know where my griefs weigh heavy;
when You bore them, they bent You low.

                         You know where I run for safety
                         when my courage in tatters lies.
                         You know where I find my refuge
                          when the harmony 'round me dies.

                                          You remind me that where I'm weakest
                                          your Power can make me strong.
                                          I can live each day touched by Music,
                                          for You are the eternal Song.

                                                            You know where my heart is headed.
                                                            You set all that I need in place.
                                                            I walk on, for my soul is embedded
                                                            in the depths of your Love and Grace. 

                            **********************************************(Becky Rhon)****

" 'I will strengthen them in the Lord and in his Name they will walk,' declares the Lord."  (Zechariah 10:12)

He understands what we're going through!  Absolutely! Jesus experienced the same kinds of things we do.  "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses..."  (Hebrews 4:15)

These well-known and well-loved verses even tell us that we'll not only walk, but also run...and soar:

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak...those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint."  (Isaiah 40:29,31)

"Come...let us walk in the light of the Lord."  (Isaiah 2:5)

Yes!!  Let us walk on!

Debbie's Great-Grandma Grace (and her mouse)...and our Great Giver of Grace

We were still living on the edge of the Ecuadorian jungle in 1986, but my father arranged things so that we could travel up to Indiana to give my grandmother, Grace (Robinson) Moore, the chance to meet the two great-grandchildren she had never seen before.

Here Debbie, 4 years old (almost 5), looks on as Grandma Grace shapes her "mouse", using a clean white handkerchief.  Once it was ready, she and Dan watched their great-grandmother as she made the mouse scamper around, up and down her arm...a trick with which she had entertained her grand- and great-grandchildren over the years.  (I'm sure they all remember!)
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"Grace"...an amazing lady whose name evokes an even greater Grace and the One who offers it to us.  "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of his grace,  expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:7)

And what do we do with this Grace, once it's been so mercifully bestowed on us?  How about...

--"...set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."  (I Peter 1:13)

--"Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  (Hebrews 7:16)

--"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things and at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."  (II Corinthians 9:8)

"ALL THAT WE NEED."  I read a little story about a man who came home one day and told his family that all he had was gone; he had lost everything, and had nothing at all left.  Then his little boy said, "Daddy, you have me."  And his wife said, "And you have me."  And his mother said, "And you have all the promises of God left!" The man burst into tears and said, "What an ingrate I am! I find I have a great many things left!  God forgive me."
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Let's set our hope fully on God's Grace, "expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus"!  Thank You, Father, for your love, mercy and grace...and forgive us when we forget.