Anonymous Laments

These were recently sent in from some people in our church. Please continue to send in your laments and praises as it is clear that God has been doing a great work in the lives of many people within our church.

Creator God, Lord of the Universe,

My God, My God,

Hear me when I cry.

Where are you? Do not hide your presence from me. Come quickly!

The winter storms have come in all their fury,

The bone chilling cold and biting winds,

The arctic how silences all other noise,

Snows deep, wet and heavy continue to fall around me.

All that is familiar lies buried beneath them.

Not a sign of where to go or where I am or where you are.

Do no leave me alone. Hasten to my side.

Come quickly!

Assist me.

Show me the way.

Comfort me in my loneliness and fear.

Silence the dark voices that say, “Spring will never come again. The days of warmth and sun are long gone. Buds, birds, flowers and fields. Images of only the past. You are forgotten. You will die.”

There is silence.

A long silence.

But this my soul will recall. You are a God of mercy.

Your faithfulness is from long ago. You cannot forget Your children.

More silence.

Darkness.

My body shivers.

Though winds still blow and snow still falls.

My heart will rejoice in you, my God.

Yes, my heart will sing a song to my God, my Shield and my Deliverer.

O Lord, please do not forget me.

I cry out day and night but I cannot find you.

I am overwhelmed by my thoughts and my place of rest is bare and desolate.

My enemies surround me and consume me on every side.

How long O Lord, how long will your favor be hidden from me.

My sins are many and not one of them are hidden from you O Lord.

I cry out to you in the morning but at night I feel distant and alone.

In my own strength I can reach out to you but you are not there.

All that I have known is overtaken by the sins of this world.

Sorrow fills my heart and my enemy is exalted over me.

Without you O Lord, I am hopeless.

Without you I cannot climb the mountain that is before me and feel the warmth of the sun.

Raise me up O Lord.

Set me on the rock that cannot fail.

Fill me with your joy and peace, day and night and I will praise your Holy name.

Without you Lord, I will descend into the deepest pit, never to be restored.

But I will continue to put my trust in you o Lord.

From the depths of my depravity and depression I know I will be raised up by your promise of deliverance.
You are the rock of my salvation.

You are the Great One.

It is you who created the night sky with the stars and planets.

You tell the moon and the sun when to rise and fall.

It is you who send the clouds and the rain.

It is you who paint the leaves in the fall with colors of red, yellow and orange.

It is you who sent your son so that I may know the fullness of your mercy and grace.

Abba Father, you have dealt greatly with me.

All praise and glory and honor and blessing be yours O Lord, now and forevermore.

Where's the Line to See Jesus?

By Verlyn Mahaffey

On Monday I was going through a myriad of emails and came to one that was sent to me from a friend. I did not have time to really listen to it as I had a million things to catch up on ….but I clicked and opened it. And I am glad that I did. As I listened to the song and watched the video I was so encouraged and my soul was restored with the real meaning and focus of Christmas. I hope you will take the time to listen and enjoy the message and then get in line!!!!!

What Are You Seeking?

By Eric Miller

What is it that you're seeking?

I find myself constantly fighting this battle where I'm so easily distracted by all of these "things" in life. Whether it's entertainment or relationships or even just rest ... I'm seeking them even when I don't realize that I am. I find myself trying to control my life based on and around the things that I want. So I asked myself a simple question ... "why?"

Why do I do this?

The only conclusion that I could come up with is that I'm not seeking God and allowing Him to satisfy me. I'm seeking other things or people to try to meet my needs. And I'm quickly realizing how very backwards that is.

Maybe you're like me and you can relate all of this. If so, then I encourage you to watch this challenging video below and allow God to speak to you through it. I pray that by the end of this 3 minute video, you'll know exactly what it is that you've been seeking instead of Him. And I will pray that before you leave this blog that you'll come up with a plan of action to start seeking God rather than the thing you've identified.

Thanksgiving Rest

By Lisa Catania

I want to encourage all the mothers out there who are like me and are starting to get frantic about the Thanksgiving feast. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time to rest with our family, be thankful, and sing praises to our Heavenly Father, who loves us so much! However, many times I find I am busy fussing over the meal and missing an opportunity to love, laugh and fellowship with the family. So, join me as I am determined this year to leave my stress at the cross and fully enjoy Thanksgiving. So start with me by kicking back, read one of my favorite little stories below and laugh…..(yes….I can totally relate to this story…….)

"Martha Stewart will not be dining with us this Thanksgiving – Author Unknown

I'm telling you in advance, so don't act surprised. Since Ms. Stewart won't be coming, I've made a few small changes:

Our sidewalk will not be lined with homemade, paper bag luminaries. After a trial run, it was decided that no matter how cleverly done, rows of flaming lunch sacks do not have the desired welcoming effect. Once inside, our guests will note that the entry hall is not decorated with the swags of Indian corn and fall foliage I had planned to make. Instead, I've gotten the kids involved in the decorating by having them track in colorful autumn leaves from the front yard. The mud was their idea.

The dining table will not be covered with expensive linens, fancy china, or crystal goblets. If possible, we will use dishes that match and everyone will get a fork. Since this IS Thanksgiving, we will refrain from using the plastic Peter Rabbit plate and the Santa napkins from last Christmas. Our centerpiece will not be the tower of fresh fruit and flowers that I promised. Instead we will be displaying a hedgehog-like decoration hand-crafted from the finest construction paper. The artist assures me it is a turkey.

We will be dining fashionably late. The children will entertain you while you wait. I'm sure they will be happy to share every choice comment I have made regarding Thanksgiving, pilgrims and the turkey hotline. Please remember that most of these comments were made at 5:00 a.m. upon discovering that the turkey was still hard enough to cut diamonds. As accompaniment to the children's recital, I will play a recording of tribal drumming. If the children should mention that I don't own a recording of tribal drumming, or that tribal drumming sounds suspiciously like a frozen turkey in a clothes dryer, ignore them. They are lying.

We toyed with the idea of ringing a dainty silver bell to announce the start of our feast. In the end, we chose to keep our traditional method. We've also decided against a formal seating arrangement. When the smoke alarm sounds, please gather around the table and sit where you like.

Now, I know you have all seen pictures of one person carving a turkey in front of a crowd of appreciative onlookers. This will not be happening at our dinner. For safety reasons, the turkey will be carved in a private ceremony. I stress "private" meaning: do not, under any circumstances, enter the kitchen to laugh at me. Do not send small, unsuspecting children to check on my progress. I have an electric knife. The turkey is unarmed. It stands to reason that I will eventually win. When I do, we will eat.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind my young diners that "passing the rolls" is not a football play. Nor is it a request to beam your sister in the head with warm, tasty bread. Oh, and one reminder for the adults: For the duration of the meal, and especially while in the presence of young diners, we will refer to the giblet gravy by its lesser-known name: Cheese Sauce. If a young diner questions you regarding the origins or type of Cheese Sauce, plead ignorance.

Before I forget, there is one last change. Instead of offering a choice among 12 different scrumptious desserts, we will be serving the traditional pumpkin pie, garnished with whipped cream and small fingerprints. You will still have a choice, though: take it or leave it. Thought you might all enjoy.

Martha Stewart will not be dining with us this Thanksgiving. She probably won't come next year either.

I am thankful."

Date Added: 10/01/08
Thanksgiving Christian Stories and Poems
http://www.christianstories.com