Tagged: New year

But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.  Isaiah 52:12   Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.  Isaiah 58:8 For Fatuma and I, the village was a two-day journey on foot. Women were traveling to the retreat from much farther than I, so I felt I could not complain or speak aloud my Western fears about sleeping on the ground and drinking water I hadn’t personally filtered. Not to mention animals we might encounter along the way. I was… Read More

Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Psalm 32:10 The steadfast love of the Lord is exceptional. Unlike what we commonly call love, His love will never tire of us. Think on this. The steadfast love of the Lord will never tire of you. The love of the Lord does not grow weary. He does not know compassion fatigue. The Lord is not fatigued by those who trust Him. He will not divorce you, ghost you, cancel you, or abandon you. You cannot wear His love out with your need. [bctt tweet="The steadfast #love of the Lord surrounds those who trust Him." username="audreycfrank"] Yes, troubles may surround you. Enemies. Problems you can’t seem to… Read More

Forget the former things;      do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!      Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness      and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19 Dwell: Reside, live, have one’s home, have one’s residence, be settled, be housed, lodge, stay; abide; linger over, mull over, muse on, brood about, think about, be preoccupied by, be obsessed by, eat one’s heart out over, harp on about, discuss at length, elaborate on, expound on, keep talking about. It takes time to forget the past, but it takes only a moment to pack up and decide not to dwell there. Remembering and dwelling are two distinctly… Read More

Thank you, JS, for helping me recognize it was His roar I heard. For helping me put my sword down and worship. Two Lions   I heard the lion roaring; His terrible strength Keeping me from sleep.   I trembled at my window; Peering into night; Aware of his hunger.   My sword hangs at my side; My armor scratched and dull-- Second skin.   I have lived ready, Alert, On guard these long years.   I know he wants to devour me.   But I resist; And I remember my family around the world who also suffer. I am not alone.   As I strain to see his position, A voice like silver Shimmers in my ear,   There is another Lion.   The… Read More

God never gives us more than we can handle. Nowhere 1:1 How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord; within their hearts are the highways of holiness! Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring. They grow stronger and stronger with every step forward, and the God of all gods will appear before them in Zion. Psalm 84:57 She was no more than two feet tall. Wrapped in a bright orange, purple, and yellow cloth folded twice to fit her tiny frame, the little girl balanced a plastic jug on her… Read More

And he shall be the stability of your times (Isaiah 33:6). In the mountains where I grew up, there is a mile-high bridge stretching across a mountain between two rocky cliffs. Only the brave dare cross through the frequent dense clouds and high winds that make the narrow bridge swing and sway far above the security of the solid earth below. I once stood in the middle of the bridge, gripped the cables on either side and closed my eyes, trying to overcome my fear of heights. The metal panels that form the crossing wobbled unsteadily beneath me as the wind howled, cruelly mocking my courage. The only thing that held me steady was imagining the immovable stability of the towering rock just ahead of… Read More

I will wait for the Lord… I will put my trust in Him.Isaiah 8:17 As a new follower of Jesus, I understand that if I confess my sins and ask God’s forgiveness, I will be forgiven. New life will be mine. New spiritual birth is promised, and I will leave the old nature behind, the new work of the Holy Spirit beginning in me His work of regeneration and sanctification. The Lord Jesus will dwell in me, giving me the power to live a new life of hope and strength. With this new life comes a new expectation. If I obey His commands, if I serve Him, if I seek to honor Him in all I do, I will be blessed. And thus we begin… Read More

@audreycfrank In the very place where they were once named Nobody, they will be named God’s Somebody (Hosea 1:10, The Message). I once knew a girl who was ashamed of her name.  It was an unusual name, an uncommon name, a name which caused others to ask its origin. When the unavoidable question came, the girl would avert her eyes and mumble a soft explanation that left the questioner confused but with the distinctly uncomfortable impression that this topic was complicated. Her name had been given in haste, created by two people who found themselves in more trouble than they anticipated with a baby they had not planned. In the middle of a dark and chilly night, they escaped together to another place where no one… Read More

What will you begin in 2019? @audreycfrank Alert and ready to leap out of bed at any given second, I lay in the dark and listened. The sound of a rat running back and forth on the bedpost inches from my head had me frozen in place, afraid if I breathed he might make a detour and jump on my head.  What on earth is he carrying in his mouth with such dedication? I wondered to myself. Back and forth, back and forth. Scratch, scramble, swoosh, slip, patter-patter-patter over my head. Again. And again. He was one busy rat. All of my senses were completely trained upon his every move. I was trying very hard not to scream. It did not help that my husband slept… Read More