~Letting Go~

I wrote this today, thinking about experiences I've had, people I've met, friends, family etc. and the tough reality of some choices made and how time shows how friends come into your life and how time can show others quickly fading. I look back and amazingly enough I have fond memories of good childhood friends who were unbelievably faithful and kind and without a shadow of a doubt they would remain consistent. Things change, life hands you new circumstances and the song begins anew.


Thankful for the beauty in ashes, the oil in mourning and the joy in mercy...

Rejoice

This life is temporary and all it's trials are but a shadow when it comes to our eternity. God brings us peace in the most unlikely places, the most unbearable circumstances and it is in Him we have our hope, our joy and our strength.

The World Will Tell You

     The world will tell you "Don't Let Anyone Define You" but the actual fact is something always will. We are defined by our experiences, our circumstances, our thoughts, our goals etc. God says in the bible

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 

                                2 Corinthians 5:17

     That in itself is truly beautiful and amazing to know! We are a new creation and if the old has passed away and we are new in Christ then of course we are defined by God our creator and the victory is in Jesus's victory at the cross. We no longer have goals that are our own but rather we are alive in him and our journey is in Christ. We live in His suffering and we also live in His victory! We are defined, we are something beautiful and precious in God's sight and how amazing is that joy. We live and breath as a new creation and everything we do is to the glory of God and by that we have our being. When Satan reminds you of your past, remind Him of your future ;)

Take The Step

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7

Shattered Melody

Laughter Is Good Medicine

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 17:2

#trials #suffering #survivor #hope 

Whether it is in the deepest of trials, the greatest of sufferings, this I surely know, God is the hand I will rest upon, God is the hope that I will raise my heart to, God is the peace from which I will bring my sorrows to. God can and does bring us through our storms, sometimes He stills them and the waters become like glass and other times He teaches us that character is paramount, tarry the rough seas and remember this too shall pass. By Ernie Kasper

Silence has words

The joy on my face was evident but suddenly the words fell to the floor, once again the stroke has reminded me that I am weak and that words are precious. Words are too beautiful for spending them on hate, wasting them on pride, planting fields of discouragement. I reached into the depths of my heart and tried several times only to fail miserably with "blub blub blub blabbablub" Tears crawled down my face, my heart was weary, my soul was crying out for courage and my words were broken. All of a sudden a song came to my heart and it just showered me with such joy, such hope, such love! I began to sing the song out loud, the words quickly fell into place and everything was clear and precious. I raised my eyes to God and sang "How great is our God, how great is our God, sing with me" The words danced from my lips and that one place where the mind wasn't damaged, I could sing, I could sing with hope. As I lifted my trials to God I felt His peace and I knew that He was and is with me in my weakness and for that I praise Him. Greatness isn't about all the things you can do so easily, in fact it's all about what God can do in every failing moment, every circumstance that stands itself between you and Gods promises. Never give up hope in what God can do, it's never about your abilities but rather what God is willing to do in your inabilities, this way only God is given glory and the roots of your faith can only become more precious. You may be pressed from all sides but that will never silence the will of our saviour. God is able, He is able to do much more than we could ever imagine and for this we praise Him, even in the darkest corners of our trials. 

It's never easy but then again....

When life hits you with a curve ball it can really catch you off guard but then again that's life. The amazing thing is whether you can learn from it, can you adapt to the trials, the heartaches, the broken dreams and pick yourself up and keep swinging until you hit that ball. When I suffered my stroke 7 years ago it became very clear that this was a curve ball and that I had to not only pick myself up but learn to read, write, walk and talk and then swing that bat! There were many, many tears, lots of frustration, people misunderstanding me and sadly enough some would value me as less than who I was. I was still me, inside the shell there was the same person who is and was Ernie. I still loved to laugh though at many times it was silent, I still loved to smile though it was crooked, I still loved to hug though it was often done with little or no strength at all; the real me was still alive and thriving. My life was being blown by the wind and it didn't help that most of me had become ashes. There is this deep part of me that says "God is there, it may seem distant but He's right there" and I took that whisper and I made it echo through the valley of my tears. I wasn't going to let this break me and crush who I was. I was going to pick up the pieces and with Gods help I was going to be a mosaic picture of faith, hope and love. Suffering has this unique way of stripping you of all your weight and putting a mirror in front of you and saying "Is this who you are?!" Well this was and is who I am, someone who refuses to quit, to give up, to simply end my story with failure and by Gods grace it will be so much more than I could have ever imagined.

By Ernie Kasper