The valley isn't a nice place, but it's where we grow...

A week of heartbreak and sorrow for our community and it's impossible to understand the waste and reasons. Two teens with an entire lifetime before them are gone...and it just makes me so MAD. Mad at the Enemy for his deceitfulness and lies, mad at the world for telling these kids they aren't measuring up. And most of all, mad that hopelessness was able to steal their hearts.
Not enough words to express it, but wanted to re-post this poem for those who are in the "valley". It sucks to be there, but even in the worst of times- God has a GOOD purpose for us, to grow and bloom and shine. Oh, Lord- we are going to need SUCH a mountain top experience after the last month. I put all my hope in you, Jesus...

Sometimes life seems hard to bear,
Full of sorrow, trouble and woe
It's then I have to remember,
That it's in the valley I grow,

If I always stayed on the mountain top,
And never experienced pain,
I would never appreciate God's love,
And would be living in vain.
I have so much to learn,
And my growth is very slow,
Sometimes I need the mountain tops,
But it's in the valley I grow.

I do not always understand,
Why things happen as they do,
But I am very sure of one thing.
My Lord will see me through.
My little valleys are nothing,
When I picture Christ on the cross
He went through the valley of death;
His victory was Satan's loss.
Forgive me Lord, for complaining,
When I'm feeling so very low.
Just give me a gentle reminder,
This it's in the valleys I grow.

Continue to strengthen me,
Lord, And use my life each day
To share your love with others,
And help them find their way.
Thank you for valleys, Lord,
For this one thing I know
The mountain tops are glorious,
But it's in the valleys I grow! - Tracy Mayfield


I never want to doubt that God is active, that He cares and that He is good. Lord, grant us your perspective and above all else, grant us more faith to TRUST You when we can't make sense of this life.

Major chords are sweeter because we know what minor sounds like.

"Would we know that the major chords were sweet,
If there were no minor key?
Would the painter's work be fair to our eyes,
Without shade on land or sea?
Would we know the meaning of happiness,
Would we feel that the day was bright,
If we'd never known what it was to grieve,
Nor gazed on the dark of night?"

Trusting God to know best is always a good place to be.



The pictures is from Alpine Slides on Mt Hood, and the video is what we did. A great day in the midst of a tough week to remind us that God is working in mighty ways, we just have to open our eyes and "see". And when your aren't holding a camera- the sleds are soooo much faster! Woohoo! I will post some great pics of our youth flying down the mountain. Now I just have to learn how to snowboard. :)

DEJECTION....

"If depression and oppression visit me, I am to blame; god is not, nor is anyone else. Dejection springs from one of two sources- I have either satisfied a lust or I have not; lust means- I must have it at once. Spiritual lust makes me demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Who gives the answer." Oswald Chambers

Wow- so not what I wanted to read. But more true than most of us would like to admit. This brought me back to a conversation I had with a friend and family member awhile back, he called me on the carpet for my sour attitude and my constant whining about what I couldn't have, and this idea of the "source of dejection" was exactly what he was getting at. Yeah, didn't take his comments so hot then, but I definitely think God used him to smack me around a little and get me to wake up to what I was doing. If I chose to pine away for things I don't have- currently wishing for things to be the way they were two years ago- I have no right to blame God, or say "why me, Lord". God had blessed me abundantly, and when things aren't going the way I like, it's usually because I am not GOING the way God would like me to go. This is definitely a tough one for me, but one I feel that God keeps bringing in front of me- I have to check my attitude at the door before my feet hit the floor each morning so that I can be effective and truly full of joy the rest of the day. Ahhhh- what a freeing thought that I can, and do, have some control over my attitude and response. Thank you, Lord, for your wisdom, and your faithfulness to not leave me where I am at. You love me to much too let me be a stinker. :)
Side note- I looked up the definition of "dejection" to see if it would provide some insight- and I would say I pick the first definition:

1. The state of being dejected; low spirits.
2. Evacuation of the intestinal tract; defecation (hehehehe- immature grin on my face- way too many memories of little old men and their poop factories making my workday miserable)