Remembrance.

Sipping sweet tea. In my corner. {Which I don't get the pleasure of doing very often} Dreaming.
Looking forward to sleep. That moment, every night, when I say ''Have I really been in my
room 2 hours already?'' When the quietness goes by fast... when the journals, perhaps Facebook, and my book just have to wait until next time my schedule allows. When coziness settles in and I remember.

   Remembering has been the theme of this last week. We talked about anniversaries at church Sunday and then our testimonies Wednesday night at my Bible study. This week I have been reading through older journal entries and that sparks alot of memories that get thrown to the wayside too quickly.  So, I am digging them back up again. Remembrance is so valuable.  
   The Israelites had a duty to remember all that God had done for them. He set them free... They forgot at times, too. When they forgot, though, they sinned against God. He sets us free... and what do we do about it? How are we acting as His children, set apart? He has worked in our lives in such an intricate way. How do we portray it? How do we tell our ''children'' about our memorials? How do we thank God for delivering us from the pit? How do we stand in awe in a crazy world that pleads that we would be distracted? Why do we have to remember these silly stories, definitions, or happenings?
   As Christians, the root of most sin is forgetfulness.

          In the dark, remember that Christ knows you are dust, but that He sees more than that.

    It's hard to put a finger on what God has done when perhaps you don't feel like He is doing anything right now. Remember the peace. Remember His peace that transcends all understanding. Remember the calm in the storm. Remember that God sent rain for Noah when the world thought he was crazy. Remember that the Lord heard Hannah's cry and sent her Samuel. Remember His faithfulness shown over and over again. Remember that Sarah laughed at the thought of having a child in her old age, but God stayed true to His covenant. Remember Jesus' words on the cross ''Forgive them, for they know not what they do.'' Remember that He will answer your prayers... just maybe not the way you would like. Remember that there is any empty grave. Also, remember, that there is still a battle and you have a role in it.

     Remember what Jesus says about you...

     Remember how Christ has worked in your life.
     And tell a few people about it along the way.



Remember...
Life is a mist.
In Abba,
Emilee

jasmyn's images are here. :)

Finally! The pictures of Jasmyn! WARNING: You may say ''Awwww'' really loud. Don't read this in a library, etc. ;)

The canvas I made for her room... 6ish hours total. Finished the afternoon before she was born.

How darling are these??

''Don't take a picture of me!''

John showing the boys their little sister for the first time. There is that ear-to-ear grin I was talking about! :)

Our first view of her black hair! :)

Isn't she beautiful? Don't answer that. It is rhetorical. :)




The following pictures are from last Sunday, the 15th, when we first held her and visited her in her home. :)

Finding her thumb...

Me with Miss Tiny in my arms! :) I love her.

Another close-up.... holdin' my finger.

A portion of my visual journal entry July 15th! {inspiration: the dress} :)

Thankful for this little lady.
Jasmyn is so precious.
Let's end it on that note... :)

In Abba,
Emilee

miriam: leading the women.

²⁰ Then Miriam the prophetess, {I love the word prophetess.} Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.²¹ Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
    he has hurled into the sea.”

~Exodus 15:20-21

Miriam. What a gal. I wish I could of been there at their family dinners or something. With manna and all. I mean, her brothers were Aaron and Moses!

These Scriptures come right after the LORD allowed the Israelites to cross the Red Sea. You know the story... most likely if you have experienced Sunday School at some point. But, just in case....

Read Exodus 14 by clicking HERE. :)

We don't often hear about their song of praise afterwards however. Go figure.

Anyway, Moses had just led the men in this victory song and so afterwards then Miriam led the women. I wonder. What did she look like? What was she like? Her personality, her being. What made her so special to be mentioned in this passage? Jesus had sisters that to my knowledge weren't mentioned specifically. Alot of women weren't mentioned... Yet, Miriam was.

I'm looking forward to meeting her.

''When God brought Israel out of Egypt, it is said, 'He sent before them Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.' {what a family picture! ;)} though we read not of anything memorable that Miriam did but this. But those are to be reckoned great blessings to a people who assist them, and go before them, in praising God.''

~Matthew Henry's Commentary, Volume 1.

What better thing to be known for!? Leading His women into His very presence.

I bet this song was stuck in their head for days. They may have forgotten it's message a time or two, but it remained apart of their journey.

They followed her in singing. In following her they were brought into positive, sincere worship.
What do people find when they follow you? Do they find thankfulness or complaints? Do they find empty words or sincere praise? Do they find a gentle and quiet spirit? Do they find purity of heart?
Are they encouraged to come into intimacy with Him or are they encouraged to know about Him?
Do they find the things that the Israelite women found in following Miriam in dancing and singing?
Above all, do they find Love? Do they find Jesus?

For He is highly exalted...

Emilee

Moses and Marriage: More on the Divine Name.

Some extended notes from the 3rd sermon in this series {below} that our pastoral intern is leading at our church! Not mine, but definately something I loved and wanted to share! Chew on it...
LIFE WITH GOD: Exploring God's Relationship With His People.

  Moses and Marriage, Exodus 3-20.

More on the Divine Name.

''In Exodus 3 Moses encounters God at {a} bush that was burning, yet was not consumed. It is here that God calls Moses to go to Egypt and rescue His people. Something else happens here though, God reveals to Moses His name: Yahweh. Names in the Old Testament meant far more than they do for us today in that they spokem about a person's identity and their place in the world. Moses' name is similar to the Hebrew word meaning to draw out. He was named this because Pharaoh's daughter drew him out of the water. However this name also speaks to how God will use him to draw out His people from slavery in Egypt.

In Exodus 3:13 Moses asks God for a name that he can give to the Israelites that will convey to them who is behind it all. God says, in verse 14, ''I AM WHO I AM'' and that Moses should tell the people that ''I AM has sent me to you''. That name Yahweh, which is used in verse 15, comes from the Hebrew verb that means 'I am'. The longer name that God uses could also be rendered ''I AM WHAT I AM'' or ''I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE''. The idea though is that God gave His name as and active verb not a noun. When the Old Testament was translated into the Greek (the Septuagint, or LXX) the phrase was rendered a little differently. Whereas in the Hebrew God refers to Himself by using an active verb, in the Greek the divine name gets turned into a sbstantive adjectival participle. To clarify, a particle is a verbal adjective, and adjectival participle is a participle that is primarily acting as an adjective. A substantive adjectival participle is a verbal adjective that is acting adjectivally in place of a noun. The whole point is to say that when the divine name got translated into Greek it went from  I AM to something along the lines of The One who is Being. It went from being and active verb to being more of a descriptive noun.

The Greek name fit well with Greek philsophy's idea of divinity that was unchangeable and completely outside of the realm of our reality. And though the nuance is slight, the Greek name connotes more of a static God, one that cannot change, feel, or engage a temporal existence. The divine name in Hebrew is fully verbal. It speaks of a God that acts, a God that engages, a God that is closely connected with the inner workings of His creation, a God that IS. Our conception is often closer to the Greek than the Hebrew, and we tend to want to describe God rather than engage with God...........''

Ponder, friends. :)



Jasmyn Lucille Colleen is here!

''You bring hope//You bring life//awaken hearts//open eyes'' ~Kari Jobe --Savior's Here

The world is now blessed with a new precious little lady as of 8:01 this evening... :) I am so thankful for her.
John and Jennifer are good friends of ours and they have 3 boys 12 and under. Our friendship was completely God ordained and we have loved getting to know them more over the past year and a half!

John, Jennifer, and I at a WinterJam concert earlier this year. :)

Tonight my Mom and I arrived minutes before Jennifer went in for delivery...

Then, we took the boys out in the waiting room and ran {literally} off some energy in the hallways!

We had fun... The anticipation killed us knowing that that nursery would very soon hold their latest addition!

This little Mr. and I waiting for his baby sister's arrival!

 

I am beyond words. {but yet, I try anyway! :)} I am so thankful for this night.

I am so very thankful for Jasmyn herself, but what stuck out this night...

The shine and joyful smile on John's face as he held his first baby girl. It was beyond precious to see.

In an upcoming blog I will post pictures of this very thing... but we will wait until the proud

parents get the first copies! {Even though I am dying to share them! :)}

Let's pray over this sweet little girl... with her Daddy's eyes... and her darling black curly hair.

Abba Father,

We praise you for the life you give. For the new birth you provide through salvation.

We fervently ask of You that even though Jasmyn was physically born tonight we pray that we would see her be born again in You... and in You alone. May her family surround her and love her... protect her {with 3 big brothers and one daddy I know she will be protected!}... and lead her into Your arms. We praise You that she has awesome parents. We pray that You would lead them in raising her up.  God, you knew everything about us and everything about Jasmyn before our parents knew that we were on our way... You did. Jasmyn was your secret. You knitted her together before you knit her together physically in Jennifer's womb... and You blow our minds, LORD. :) May Your will be done in Jasmyn's life... and we pray that she would be able to move mountains with her faith and make the world stop... and be amazed at her love for You. That they would not just see her, but You through her.

Ah, tonight. Thank you, Jesus.

In You,

Emilee

 

P.S. I am not duplicating ''Welcome to the world Makenna Joy.''
I love both of these girls so very much. I am not trying to top that blog or compare it--most of all not comparing Makenna and Jasmyn!
The thing is: Both of these girls' entries into the world just couldn't go unwritten. :)

camp musings {1}

I long for quietness. The quietness and soul searching that I find at The Oaks Christian Camp... when the birds are chirping, or the stars are out. I especially love that moment after chapel when the topics are fresh on your mind and you visit with friends, most often ones that aren't in your own circle throughout the day. You allow yourself to cry with just the confidentality of your counselor. Then, under galaxies and galaxies you gaze up in wonder and yell good-bye to the staff. :)

When this is accomplished and daydreams and fellowship are fresh you hop into the only good smelling pajamas you can find and have devotions with your girls. Even though I have always longed to still be having fellowship with those on staff {and NOT be in my cabin}I also almost never forget the soul searching that take place in those moments. In the moment where crickets and frogs are singing to their own tunes, and your roommates are tossing and turning.

These are a few moments that have shaped my life. Now, we are not for sure the future of The Oaks, but all I can do is submit this into the Lord's hands.

I want moments like that to shape me this summer, too. Like it has the past five. It just may not look the same.

The Oaks may not be available this year, but God's presence is just as much here, before us, and inviting us as He has been in years past.
Your Will be done, Lord.

In Abba,
Emilee

From Sunrise...

...till sun down

Written on June 19th{ish}, 2012