This week marked the homegoing of Elisabeth Elliot. Like countless others, my life has been touched, no, changed, by this woman of God over the years. Her faith through suffering, counting it all joy, has stood out to me and helped me in my journey to be more Christlike and thankful.
One of my favorite quotes by Elisabeth Elliot is full of nuggets to meditate on: willingness to surrender my will and desires to God; contentment; the art of being; having a heart at rest; the simple life; and having peace.
One of my favorite quotes by Elisabeth Elliot is full of nuggets to meditate on: willingness to surrender my will and desires to God; contentment; the art of being; having a heart at rest; the simple life; and having peace.
“The willingness to be and to have just what God wants us to be and have, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else, would set our hearts at rest, and we would discover the simpler life, the greater peace.” ― Elisabeth Elliot
God is more interested in my being than doing. That doesn't mean I'm not to be out doing my Father's business. But what it does mean is to be ever attentive to His will for my life and allowing Him to direct and redirect, so I will be all that He desires me to be for His glory.
More than gold or silver, I yearn for a heart that is surrendered to His will and content to be His for His glory alone. All that I have is His. All that I desire is His will. This place, this moment in time, is where He has planted me. I merely want to bloom and grow so people will stand in awe of Him and not anything I've done. I simply want to be His.
I desire to live a life of thanks, to be thankful in all things, to be content.When I think of women like Elisabeth Elliot, who lost her first husband, Jim while on the mission field; murdered by the very people they came to share Christ with, I learn the art of being thankful. If you're not familiar with the story of the Elliots, after Jim was martyred, she returned to that same tribe and lived among them, along with her 3-year-old daughter, for 5 years. That is unwavering faith and forgiveness.
More than gold or silver, I yearn for a heart that is surrendered to His will and content to be His for His glory alone. All that I have is His. All that I desire is His will. This place, this moment in time, is where He has planted me. I merely want to bloom and grow so people will stand in awe of Him and not anything I've done. I simply want to be His.
I desire to live a life of thanks, to be thankful in all things, to be content.When I think of women like Elisabeth Elliot, who lost her first husband, Jim while on the mission field; murdered by the very people they came to share Christ with, I learn the art of being thankful. If you're not familiar with the story of the Elliots, after Jim was martyred, she returned to that same tribe and lived among them, along with her 3-year-old daughter, for 5 years. That is unwavering faith and forgiveness.
A Journey of Forgiveness
Like any journey, it begins when we take the first step. For Elisabeth, that was forgiveness. How could she not forgive the lost men who murdered her husband when God had forgiven her of so much. God had called her to Equador and she desired nothing more than to BE in the center of His will for her life and that meant being forgiving.
Enter another woman on a journey of forgiveness. I'm acquainted with Laurie A. Coombs through Proverbs 31 Ministries and the She Speaks Conferences. Laurie's recently written a book that is absolutely holding me spellbound. "Letters from My Father's Murderer" is her journey of forgiveness, of recognizing her need to be forgiving in order to be free herself.
Stay tuned for more about Laurie's story. She will be my featured guest blogger on Monday, June 29. I'll be giving away a copy of her book that week.
I'm thankful for those who exemplify what it means to be forgiving.
Enter another woman on a journey of forgiveness. I'm acquainted with Laurie A. Coombs through Proverbs 31 Ministries and the She Speaks Conferences. Laurie's recently written a book that is absolutely holding me spellbound. "Letters from My Father's Murderer" is her journey of forgiveness, of recognizing her need to be forgiving in order to be free herself.
Stay tuned for more about Laurie's story. She will be my featured guest blogger on Monday, June 29. I'll be giving away a copy of her book that week.
I'm thankful for those who exemplify what it means to be forgiving.
Seeds of Faith
This journey of unemployment is indeed increasing Mike's and my faith. All those tiny seeds that God has planted into our hearts and lives over the years have taken root and are blossoming into what we hope will be a legacy garden of faith; a godly heritage rich in being found faithful to whatever God calls us each moment of every day. Being faithful in the little things always reaps rewards.
Speaking of seeds, I'm thankful for the seeds of faith that others are dropping into my life. I want to thank Cookie over at Grace Within the Race. It's been a joy to follow her grow in grace over the past couple of months. She's part of our Thankful Thursday community. Recently, she reviewed a DVD by Seed Family Worship. I shared with her how my daughter and her family are missionaries in Kenya. Four of my beautiful granddaughters call the bush of Kenya home. While my granddaughters are being homeschooled, my son-in-love and daughter have built and started a Christian school that is allowing children to learn to read and write, and most important, they're being grounded in the Word of God. I shared with Cookie how I thought not only my granddaughters, but the precious young boys and girls in their school would benefit from having seeds planted in the fertile soil of their souls by way of music. The Masi children are very musical.
Long story short, I'm thankful for the gracious provision of a DVD and a CD for Mara Christian Academy, thanks to Cookie's desire to be obedient to a prompting by the Lord. I didn't win the giveaway, but when she shared about the ministry in Kenya, Seed Family Worship decided to provide a DVD and CD to be used in the school!
As a side note, if you are interested in learning more about Mara Christian Academy and the ministry of my precious family there, please check out their website.
Speaking of seeds, I'm thankful for the seeds of faith that others are dropping into my life. I want to thank Cookie over at Grace Within the Race. It's been a joy to follow her grow in grace over the past couple of months. She's part of our Thankful Thursday community. Recently, she reviewed a DVD by Seed Family Worship. I shared with her how my daughter and her family are missionaries in Kenya. Four of my beautiful granddaughters call the bush of Kenya home. While my granddaughters are being homeschooled, my son-in-love and daughter have built and started a Christian school that is allowing children to learn to read and write, and most important, they're being grounded in the Word of God. I shared with Cookie how I thought not only my granddaughters, but the precious young boys and girls in their school would benefit from having seeds planted in the fertile soil of their souls by way of music. The Masi children are very musical.
Long story short, I'm thankful for the gracious provision of a DVD and a CD for Mara Christian Academy, thanks to Cookie's desire to be obedient to a prompting by the Lord. I didn't win the giveaway, but when she shared about the ministry in Kenya, Seed Family Worship decided to provide a DVD and CD to be used in the school!
As a side note, if you are interested in learning more about Mara Christian Academy and the ministry of my precious family there, please check out their website.
A Closing Prayer by Elisabeth Elliot
Lord, we give You thanks for all that You in Your mercy have given us to be and to do and to have. Deliver us, Lord, from all greed, to be and to do and to have anything not in accord with Your holy purposes. Teach us to rest quietly in Your promise to supply, recognizing that if we don't have it we don't need it. Teach us to desire Your will--nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else. For Jesus' sake, Amen.
What are you thankful for today?
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