the little children

The ponderings of my heart.... only read at risk of entering into my confused head...

These days my heart is for children more than ever. I see them and i find myself crying gently with longing for their future to be good and untainted by this harsh world. I long to live in the innocence of childhood again myself. Is that wrong? Yesterday i read about a little girl who died simply by being in a car too long and overheating. It breaks my heart that the hope and life of a child can suddenly be taken away, and with that the dreams of a parent. I see children and wonder at the fact that once upon a time all the adults i know were just little kids too...... just little children with their own innocent and naive dreams, with their own longings.. even those who are now in prison, those who are on the streets with nowhere to live..... i think what breaks my heart most is the realisation that this is what our world is like... tainted and corrupt.... that all the little children will at some stage have their dreams broken, their hearts broken, will fall into sin like the rest of us..... and those who come to know Jesus will one day be alright, be healed, be restored, though even they will suffer for a while..... but what of those who never get to know Jesus? and in the end, no matter what, some will never know Jesus, because the Bible says so..... and i know and trust that God has it all under control, for His greater glory, which is what matters most...... but still sometimes my heart wonders, what of those who never know Him? who are left broken in their sin? my heart crys for them..... even now, it hurts so badly, what can i do? ..... i know, Jesus has done it all on the cross.... 'it is finished' were the words He said...... and He knows best, yes, He knows best........... yet i know too we are responsible to help Jesus in the task of saving some.

The lifter of our heads

We are your inheritance, we are your reward 

And your our glory and the lifter of our heads. 

Listen can you hear it, the Spirit and the bride

Whisper Jesus, Maranatha Come,

Oh come, oh come to us,

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

I went to London recently and my siblings showed me round Camden. I had an enjoyable time, but when it came to going past some of the shops i had to wear headphones because they were blasting out such loud trance music and my epilepsy is sensitive to certain types of music. Anyway, the song i listened to instead was the one above. It's a good song. 

( song by Paul Oakley )

Please be Still

 by Jen Renninger from Please be still.

arthur's circus

- from arthur's circus -

Sometimes i wonder why it is that i like things that are battered and broken so much. I'm drawn to them like i'm drawn to run down council estates and the kids that play there. There's something about this photo that i love. Maybe it reminds me of other places close to my heart, or maybe it just makes a good photo.

Wounded with sweet words

"Perhaps the best paragraph in the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy is when Frodo is honored with a song to celebrate his success in destroying the Ring of Doom.

And all the host laughed and wept, and in the midst of their merriment and tears the clear voice of the minstrel rose like silver and gold, and all men were hushed. And he sang to them…until their hearts, wounded with sweet words, overflowed, and their joy was like swords, and they passed in thought out to regions where pain and delight flow together and tears are the very wine of blessedness. (The Return of the King, 933)

Like those who listened to the minstrel’s song, we who see our Savior in the last day will also be made merry with the story of his victory. And we too will be hushed by and wounded with the sweet words that are sung of his self-sacrifice on our behalf.

We will have joy like swords—bright and piercing—and all of the pain and loss of Christ’s death (and our daily dying with him) will only mix with and enhance our bliss." 

- Tyler Kenney, Desiring God

Himalayan Children

- Himalayan Children on the border of Afghanistan. -

- From the National Geographic website, courtesy of my sister Hannah. -

"The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength." 2 Tim. 4:17

as bad as stoning...

I love the way Jesus speaks, the way He acts, it never ceases to amaze me. I was thinking again today about the woman who was caught in adultery and the scribes and pharisees who wanted her to be stoned and asked Jesus what He thought. His reply was 'let Him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' It's a famous passage in the Bible and a genius answer from Jesus. The reason it struck me more today was because i saw "The Kite runner"as a film a few weeks ago. For the first time in my life i saw a woman being stoned publicly. I know that it was just acting, but it still really disturbed me. I guess i'd never really thought deeply about being stoned and the relief the woman must have felt when she wasn't condemned and walked away free. It must have been amazing relief she felt. I guess i don't always dwell on all it is i've been saved from, it probably isn't good to dwell on it, but it would be as bad as stoning, so my relief is the same as hers, though often i forget it.  

I must just say..

I just have to say that my orchid really does make me happy. It had no flowers on it for 6 months, and i was beginning to wonder if it actually was dead, but then they started to come again and now it has 6 beautiful flowers and another 6 buds. It truly does make me smile.