The Deeper Seam of His Peace

"God has invited you all into a deeper seam of His peace; though it is an invitation no one desires, it is somehow a privilege to be drawn near to the compassion of God Who knows suffering so well."

Man, I love the above quote. It was written to us by our dear friend, Bob Rasmussen, on May 3rd, the day before Ben had his biopsy done. It's been nearly 6 months now. It is amazing that it has only been that long, yet it seems like a lifetime ago. I was a different person 6 months ago. Things that seemed so important then are as nothing now.

My Lord suffered. Who am I to think I should live a painless life? I know, though, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that my God will never leave me, no matter what the road ahead. Several years ago He revealed Himself to me as "The God Who Sees Around the Corner"--what is ahead is NO surprise to Him. In that is complete rest for my soul.

Ben meets with the surgeon on Tuesday. Thank you for your prayers for our family.

Love,
Jenifer

Waiting

This weekend we continue on the "project" the Lord brought to light last May. That project is called "waiting." I keep thinking about the verse,"My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning." (Ps. 130:6) Why do the watchmen wait for the morning? Well, my culture says to get off work, which might be the case, but I don't think that's the answer. The watchmen waits for the morning because it's dark and the enemy is out there. Every part of the watchman's being has to be completely attentive to his post, or he, his family, his city could suffer. The enemy stays in the shadows, trying to be unseen, for a stealthy attack.

So, I wait. I wasn't raised to put much emphasis on the enemy. Often, I seriously don't think I give enough credence to the threat that he is. How good is a watchman who doesn't believe there is an enemy beyond the camp? Yes, my God is far and away greater. But the Bible does talk of wearing the armor of God, and of being on the alert because the devil stalks about like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour. Resistance, on both accounts takes faith.

So, pray the Morrell and Massingill families will stand firm in our faith as we wait for the Lord.

"I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait,
And in His word do I hope."

He's given us LOTS to hope for in His word (see my September 27, 2007 post)!

Be still my soul, the Lord is on thy side...

Jenifer

A Good Day and Something New

What a nice day we had today! Paul and I went down to Federal Way to help our dear friends Bob & Lyn Rasmussen move into their house. It's wonderful to have them SO close now. (45 minutes away beats Blaine, WA or Turlock, CA any day!!!) Bob & Lyn have been such strong support for us during Ben's cancer. Lyn is a bone marrow transplant survivor, so they understand cancer and all the ramifications so very well.

After we got home, Ben and Lisa came by for a while. It's been a week or so since we've seen them, so that was nice. Ben's taste buds are quite whacked out (meat tastes like it is rotten to him right now), but beyond that he seems to doing quite well. We are very grateful for that! They are an amazing couple.

I'm singing with Cedar Park's choir now. At first I felt guilty for wanting to go, as if the Lord would have said to me, "Fine, you can go, but I'm not happy about it." But after sitting down and asking, "Lord, is it really okay with you? I don't want to be part of this if it's not," I sense that my being there is a calling: "This is where I want you to go. Daniel (choir director) is going to have a tough year and he will need your prayer support." That's very freeing. I am the new kid on the block, though, in this choir. I need to be bold in reaching out and being friendly, which is always challenging for me when it comes to meeting new people. Lord, give me your grace.

Being part of the CP Choir, I'll get to be part of the first production of Generations next spring. That is thrilling. Generations is a musical theater work that Daniel Perrin has been working on for several years. Also one that I have been praying about for many of those years! It deals with 3 periods of time--Warsaw, 1942; Toledo, Spain, 1492; and Jerusalem at the time of Christ. The heart of Generations is to show Jewish people that God has always been with them through their suffering. He has always cared for them. He loves them with an everlasting love. May the Lord open the eyes of His people, as well as the eyes of non-Jews, to see His heart of compassion. May they see with new eyes the purpose of God in the Person of their Messiah.

Shalom,

Jenifer

Home Sick

Not homesick, mind you. Just home sick. It came on Saturday in the wee hours of the night as an annoying little sore throat that grew as the hours past. It left in the day yesterday, but came back last night, so I'm staying home from work today to keep this thing, Lord willing, from becoming large. (The air conditioners at work that labor hard to keep the men cool and the ladies freezing just wouldn't help me any!)

So, Chloe, Nikko, and I will all curl up today for a nap. (Ha! Our Labrador Retriever is terrified of Ben's Electus parrot!) Speaking of Nikko, he's a real kick! During the few months that he visited Manfred Seidler at church, he learned the charge whistle, which he will do when he's being ignored. I'm trying to teach him to say, "Chlooo-eeee." (The evil part in me coming out!) Mostly we hear the charge whistle, "step up" (when he wants out of his cage), "Nikko," and a strange, one-sided phone conversation, that consists mostly of "okay," but said in a deep voice. I'm not sure how long he'll be able to stay at our house--Paul feels Nikko's feathers bother his lungs--so he'll probably have to find a new home before long.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Ben's fevers to cease.

I think it's time for a nap!

Love,

Jenifer