Changed By Love

Changed By Love

Following the Lamb wherever he goes… Revelation 14:4

Treasures of the Snow

“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” (Job 38:22)

According to data provided through scientific study and weather analysis, it is estimated that each year there are approximately 1 septillion (or a trillion trillion) snow crystals that drop from the sky across the world. More amazing than that is the fact that there are no two snowflakes alike.

How like the Creator to create something so exquisite. So unique. So like us. (Just like the snowflake, no two human fingerprints are alike. The ridges on the fingers, palms and soles of the feet have three characteristics which appear in combinations that are never repeated on the hands or feet of any two persons. These markings form on a person’s hands and feet before they are born and do not change for as long as the person lives. In general, any area of “friction” skin that you can cover with a dime on your fingers, palms, or soles of your feet will contain sufficient individual characteristics in a unique 3-unit relationship to enable positive identification to the absolute exclusion of any other person on earth.) “ I am fearfully and wonderfully made . . .” (Psalm 139:14).

So like Him. The uniqueness of every snowflake speaks of the uniqueness of our God and His “one and only Son” (John 3:16, NIV). “God alone is God; there is no other.” (Deuteronomy 6:4; Job 23:13). And “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). God is absolutely and truly unique. There is nothing or no one else to whom He can be compared. “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6).

While there are no two snowflakes alike, they do have one thing in common. All snowflakes are hexagonal, which means they have six sides (sometimes referred to as “arms” or “wings”).

How appropriate.

“Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.” (Isaiah 6:2). “Each of the four living creatures had six wings and . . . day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:7-9).

According to scientists, in order for a raindrop or a snowflake to be created, a tiny speck of dust must be drawn up into the clouds. It is there that water vapor attaches itself to the dust particle and the process begins. High above the earth, the conditions in the clouds actually cause a snowflake to form around the nucleus of a dust particle. Dust cannot be transformed into snow by remaining earthbound, because it is the atmosphere of the clouds that causes the transformation to take place.

Think for a moment about the process just described. God said to Adam “for dust thou art” (Genesis 3:19). Just as the dust of the earth and the atmosphere of heaven must come together for a snowflake to be born, so too a sinner cannot be transformed into a saint if he remains earthbound. The dust of the earth – man, and the atmosphere of heaven – Jesus Christ, must come together for a saint to be born. “Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3).

“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18). After the snowflake is formed and floats with such beauty through the air, we see the beauty, the glory, and the purity of the snowflake. The dust is not visible. All that is evident is the beauty and the glory that has formed around the tiny particle of dust. So too, we are “transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

And so, I now know why the sight of falling snow brings me such pleasure. It is another uniquely beautiful creation . . . created by a uniquely beautiful Creator to remind us of Him . . . and who we are in Him.

–Cheri Henderson, hendersonct@aol.com

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This was written by my friend, Cheri, an amazing writer and poet. Be sure to visit her website at: http://cherihenderson.wordpress.com

To read the entire article from which this was excerpted, go to:

http://cherihenderson.wordpress.com/1st-poem/

Miracles, Blessings and Grateful Hearts

We are in a beautiful house in Pennsylvania.

This subdivision has more room than our old one, but we’re still believing for land of our own.

God took care of us. He answered our prayers in the nick of time and used a miracle or two to do it.

Our beautiful grand house that God provided
Our grand stairway
Our breakfast nook/dining room windows
Bushes of holly in front of our house
See, it really is holly!
Our grand entryway
We did Christmas "light". I bought each child one gift and they opened them on Dec. 26th.
Kelsey decorated the mantel the minute she found a box marked "Christmas".
Us on our grand staircase
Thankful kids
Celebrating Morgan's birthday with a Conga line
Giving thanks
Big back yard
We had a Tea Party and read 4 books about Princess Emma and Princess Abby
Cuteness incarnate
Emma's happy because...
... we made Christmas cookies!
Enjoying our gas fireplace
Birthday present? Christmas present? Gift from God!
Now our Christmas begins! Photo taken Jan. 6

We love Christmas. It is a season of remembering the birth of Jesus and celebrating our family’s love and togetherness. The whole atmosphere is uplifting, joyful and wholesome. Nobody can take that away from us. Our Christmas tree is a signpost that something exciting is coming. We will put gifts under that tree. We give each other gifts because we love and want to bless each other. We constantly point our children to the reason for the season.

Jesus is a gift beyond compare. Our gifts are paltry compared to that great gift that God gave us. But the desire to give is God-given and blessed by Him. It truly is more blessed to give than to receive. This season is a set-apart season for giving and blessing and loving and thinking about Jesus. I love it that my children have the memories of past Christmases and enjoy making new memories with their family. These are precious and holy to them – the joy, excitement, family time, and Jesus – not the tree.

There’s nothing pagan about that.

We’re celebrating it now in the time frame that God has given us for it. We do things a little different around here…

And now for your listening pleasure…

Little girls sing a happy song from Penney Douglas on Vimeo.

‘Tis the Night Before Christmas Eve, and We Have a House!

Hallelujah!

Yesterday when I got up, I was pretty sure we were going to get a phone call and we would have a house. God had filled me with His faith. But I didn’t know how much of a struggle it would be to get into a house, especially before Christmas! There were two possibilities. The first was the house that a Christian couple was hoping to find someone to lease to own. They would have rented it, but they would have kept it on the market and showed it while the renters lived there and would have made the renters move out within 30 days if they found a buyer. We didn’t want to live that way, but we were getting rather desperate, so I called them to see if they would just rent to us at least until we found somewhere else to live so that we would have some place to unload all of our stuff from the moving truck. I couldn’t get a hold of them because they were on their way to Hawaii. The staff of the realty sent them voice messages, but they never called back.

The other house was the 3000 sq. foot one that we had been turned down for because the agent thought we had too many kids. He knew about the “rule” that only two people were allowed to occupy a bedroom. According to that rule, we would “have” to rent or even own a 6-bedroom house, no less. We have never even seen a 6-bedroom house available for rent. Gary called some commissions and some other agencies and found out that the rule is for unrelated people and that when a house exceeds 2900 square feet that rule doesn’t apply. He also found out that a den could be considered another bedroom, too. He called the man back and told him what he had discovered. I was so proud of him for fighting for his family that way.

The guy turned out to be a great guy. He was out of town yesterday, but he made sure that he showed us the house today at 11:00 AM, in spite of other pressing appointments and traveling he had to do. We had sent him all kinds of information through email to try to speed up the process. Yesterday, I asked him how soon we could move into the house. He said his record was 25 hours. I think we beat that record! We saw the house at 11:00 AM today. We brought a completed application with us. We went ahead and gave him a security deposit. He said he had everything he needed to present to his broker. He couldn’t say for sure whether we would be accepted, but he said he felt very good about the whole thing. He gave us the phone numbers for the utilities. We called to put them in our name.

He called a couple of hours later and said they were working their tails off to get us out of that hotel. He said that our package had been approved and that they were writing up a lease agreement for us to sign. They were making another key since there was only one. He called a little bit later and said that one of their representatives was going to meet us at our hotel so we could sign the lease and take possession of the key!

So we hurried home from the bank where we were opening up an account, so we could deposit Gary’s paychecks and continue paying for all of this stuff. Then we signed a lease agreement (which felt like we were signing for a mortgage) and got the key to our new house!

The house is beautiful! It is going to work out very well for us. There’s even an intercom throughout the house. I will be able to gather everybody for school without resorting to yelling and throwing tantrums.

I don’t have any pictures yet. My camera batteries died, and the ones we bought from Dollar General are no good! But I promise to put some on here as soon as I get some.

Thank you so much for praying for us and for interceding. There was nothing easy about any of this. We had to fight for everything that we got. This was a battle, but we knew we had the victory. Because God gives us the victory. I was so sure that God would give us the house before Christmas. And He did! It’s our Christmas miracle.

PS I’m so looking forward to cooking again. I can’t believe I said that!

Good Tidings of Great Joy!

We got a lead on a house that has over 3000 square feet.  The man we contacted about it told Gary that we couldn’t live in that house because we had too many children!!!   Gary called some agencies of the city of York and found out that the addendums to that rule state that if the children are all your own children, that rule doesn’t hold and square footage of the house makes a difference, and a den can qualify as another bedroom.  He called the guy back and told him what he found out.  The guy called Gary back, rather apologetically, and said that he’s not well-versed in these things, and that he sees the worst of situations in his business and hardly ever sees a family with our situation where all of the children are our natural-born children.

He is very eager to show us the house as soon as possible.  Unfortunately, he is out of town and won’t be back until tomorrow.  I have an appointment to go see the house at 11:00 tomorrow morning.  I think this is it!

It looks like we’ll be able to be in the house by tomorrow or Friday!

Our moving truck is sitting outside of our hotel room just waiting to be unloaded into our new house.  And the house is only 10 minutes from here!

So everything is looking WAY better today.

Another praise:  I went to rent a van so we could go see the house and do a few other things (like eat out) and I asked for a mini-van or SUV.  I had previously mentioned the fact that we had 10 kids.  He pointed out the window and said, “I know something that would work even better for you.   That 15-passenger van just came back.”  I couldn’t believe it.  Those things are so hard to get a hold of.  It had come back in moments before we walked in and nobody else had reserved it.  So we got a 15-passenger van for the same price as a mini-van!

I am so grateful for the way God is moving for us.  I knew He would.  I just wondered when.

Grandpa came to visit us at our hotel in York! He drove the last leg of the journey. Nelson's leg is sore from sliding on ice and straining his whole leg. He packed and loaded our stuff and drove 3 hours in a terrible snowstorm through Indiana with a very sore leg. He has to walk with a crutch. But he is a very determined and faithful friend! Dad saw his condition and offered to drive the truck the rest of the way. So we get a visit with Grandpa as well as all of our stuff that will fill our NEW HOUSE!

Eating Grandma’s fudge. Grandma sent a care package with Grandpa. Of course, it contained FUDGE!

Nelson icing his foot in his hotel room. It's getting better! He is full of faith and rejoicing with us that God is providing our house.
Abby and Kelsey played beauty shop.

Silly pictures – the LAST ones at the hotel!

Anna and Patrick went out to see the lunar eclipse. This is the picture they brought back from it.

No Room at the Inn

We have been discussing how our situation is similar to the first Christmas. It feels like God overlooked some details in planning our move to York, but we know that’s not true. We know that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and rulers in high places.

But I called Kenneth Copeland Ministries just now and had a prayer counselor pray with me. He prayed for wisdom from God to let us know where our house is. He said that we have the victory. And he said that we will have a good Christmas. It was very encouraging!

I read the following article on a pro-life site, Father Frank Pavone’s Blog, and it reminded me of the observations that we’ve been making about our situation.

No Room at the Inn

“She laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” The fact that there was no room for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the inn at Bethlehem on the first Christmas should make us wonder. The birth of Christ was planned by God from all eternity, and the details of His birth and life were announced by the prophets. How could God forget to make room for His only Son, the Child who owns the world, and every inch of room in the whole universe?

Obviously, God did this on purpose. There was no room in the inn because God wanted to show that His Son comes as a Savior, to reconcile a world that is at enmity with God. Today, He does not seek an inn; He seeks room in our own hearts and lives.

We are in much prayer today.

Thank you for praying with us.

P.S. Our friend and my dad are on the way here in a moving truck with our furniture and stuff. They’re coming from Ohio. Nelson has a sprained ankle and is walking with a crutch, so when my dad saw his condition, he decided to come with him and help him drive. So they will be here tonight and will stay at this hotel, too. Then we need a place to unload our stuff into tomorrow, with the Lord’s guidance and provision.