Prayer Requests

Please forgive my overlooking my post yesterday, I have been knee deep in writing the Bible study for my Bereaved Mother's Group in the fall.

Please, be in prayer for this with me, and especially for the protection of my home, my family and this ministry as I proceed forward. Pray for God's hedge of protection to be about me and to grant me wisdom for the use of equipping women in their grief.

Dear Lord,

I have no words. I am in awe of You. You part seas and mend fences, you lift the dead from the grave and cause the blind to see. You, Oh Lord, are gracious to Your servants and we honor You alone. Lord be with each woman who visits and reads the words you have given me to post. Help us to walk through this dark season on the arm of Christ and to find victory in the days ahead. You are God and we adore You. Bless us indeed.

In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

This week's passage is from John 3:16 - I will post a pretty quote box by Thursday! "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever should believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life."

Is He Your Everything?

As I was on my way to church I was singing this song with the praise and worship on the radio. It makes me think, do I really want God to be this kind of first in my life? And, as I sang out to Him in church I knew it was true... I want Him to be my everything... As this song ended and another began... I saw a cloud that looked like a handprint in the sky. A few minutes later it was completely gone. I dont' know how to explain it, but I have had many occasions to be in an attitude of total surrender and experience something in nature to remind me that God is with me.

Even in our losses and our most difficult moments, we must be crying out to Him to be our everything... anything less is just an idol... a god we use to replace Him in our life!

Is He your everything?

Share Your Testimony...

What will your cardboard testimony be?

4because we have heard of your faith

in Christ Jesus and of the love you

have for all the saints—

5the faith and love that spring from

the hope that is stored up for you in

heaven and that you have already

heard about in the word of truth, the gospel

6that has come to you. All over the world

this gospel is bearing fruit and growing,

just as it has been doing among you since

the day you heard it and understood

God's grace in all its truth.

27To them God has chosen to make known among

the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery,

which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:4-6, 27 (NIV)

18God did this so that, by two unchangeable things

in which it is impossible for God to lie,

we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered

to us may be greatly encouraged.

19We have this hope as an anchor for the soul,

firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary

behind the curtain,

20where Jesus, who went before us, has entered

on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever,

in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:18-20

Michelle Bentham: "Wayward Prodigal & Grieving Mom" to "Victoriously Redeemed & Helper to the Hurting"

Worship Him as Healer...

Part of our grief journey is acknowledging that God alone has the power to save, to give life and ultimately bring life to an end, He is both sovereign and just and He alone has the power to heal us from everything that we suffer through. He died to set us free - will we live there? Will we?

Worship the Healer and know that nothing is impossible for God, who save, redeems, reconciles and blesses! He alone is God and He alone is good.

This song sends me to my knees when I begin to worship and acknowledge the healing power of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. By His stripes we are healed.

Book Recommendation: The Shack

Click on the picture for more information about this book!

I am reading The Shack by William P. Young. For those of you grieving the loss of a child, the questions that arise from that pain and the sometimes disjointed and disconnected feelings we have toward God in the aftermath of a such a loss... I would say, "Read The Shack."

This quote is from the back cover summary of the story:

"Mackenzie Allen Phillips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his beter judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he find there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!"

So, with that said, lay down all your preconcieved, religious notions about God, pain and the way tragedy occurs and read The Shack. A novel filled with thought provoking situations faced in the human realm everyday, and an offer to challenge those of us who would put God inside a box, framed only by the statement of faith in our denomination of choice without a relationship born of our faith and His Word. Is The Shack a book to base your doctrine and theology on? Not hardly. Nor would I venture to guess that its writer would want anyone to examine the book and base their faith solely on what he writes. I cannot even readily say that I agree 100% with the premise presented in the story - but it does make me think, search an ask of God what it is I have wrong about Him. And that makes the read much more worth it...

I believe the book presents the proposition of what would happen if we took our questions to God, and in the process stopped viewing Him in purely human terms. It is not for the faint of heart, and perhaps it is not for the unseasoned sojourner in the stream of this life we walk with God. In my heart, this book has provoked me to ask God what is a truth to take to heart, and to comparitively place this book against the Scriptures for evidence of truth. It is something I always do.

When reading the book, "Hinds Feet On High Places," I discovered that the writer later turned to New Age relativism and left the roots of her faith founded in her as a child on the mission field. Does this insight make her allegory less of a story?

There are those who argue that Lewis' "Narnia" fiction or Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" bear the same striking marks of fantasy and absurdism where God is concerned. But that makes them no less valuable to us in the Christian world because we are required to dig in and learn more about God as a result of our perusal. These again are not foundations of doctrine, but highlights and pointers that reveal to us a God worthy of being searched out, worshipped, respected and believed in. All of it must be submitted by standard to His Word and His Work to be marked as valid and pointing to God. Any student of God's Word must examine the claims and the truths as they are presented by anyone who would write about God.

There are a number of arguments that have been raised based on this book - which I do not have the time or the intention to entertain. I see a lot of merit in the story about Faith, Forgiveness, Healing, Redemption, Reconciliation and Relationship that makes it a worthwhile read.

Read it with the heart and the eyes of someone reading Fiction - just the way you would read John Grisham or Danielle Steele - then balance that with your study of God's Word, your involvement in the local church and by asking God through prayer to reveal Himself to you in more intimate and real ways as you make this journey.

I am sure that when we surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit and His teaching through God's Word - we will find Him in a blade of grass, a secular or a worship song, any place where Creation exists - after all, Creation cries out that He exists. The truth is eternity and salvation come through a relationship with God through our faith and by His grace in the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Our faith is born and brought to maturity by the hearing and applying of God's Word on an individual basis. In light of that truth, I can still recommend this book as a fiction novel that will challenge us to ask God where we have put Him into a box. Read on.

It is finished...

Hello Friends,

I am back. I've been away too long. My curriculum for this fall is finally finished and I have 12 weeks worth of devotions to share with you all this coming fall... My next post will be the first of the twelve. It is the pick up from our last week's Scripture that I did not get a devotion posted for .

Anyway, thanks for your patience and your love. Blessings.

A Few Videos and A Story

I didn't make my regular post last week. I've been consumed. I hope if you are reading, that you are still reading.

I would like to direct you to Life Today on Tuesday, July 22nd at 7:30 AM (CDT) on Daystar and at 1:30 PM (CDT) on TBN for the story of Christina and Steven Barnard. Their story will not only touch your heart, but it will remind you that God's goodness and glory are revealed even in the midst of great tragedy. If you don't catch it on Television - watch it by clicking this LINK. (Click on the video link for July 22nd's Show!)

I am going to be speaking at a Memorial Service held by the support group I have attended these last couple of years now. I have asked that these three videos be played at the service as a time of worship.

Three of the songs, "With HOPE," "His Strength is Perfect," and "I Will Be Here" are sung by Stephen Curtis Chapman whose daughter, Maria died in May after an automobile accident at the families home. The other song, is by Mark Schultz. We played it at Justin's funeral.

A Blessing is Coming...

I'm so excited - I could literally bust! I mean seriously. GOD. IS. SO. GOOD. I must admit I can't give you details right now, but I am just sayin' that God is going to do a mighty work in all our lives and I know that You are going to be blessed beyond measure.

Pray for the coming blessing and most of all... receive it. To Him be the glory forever and ever Amen.

Sharing Our Stories, Building Legacies and Identifying Readers

If you are regularly reading the blog, would you mind leaving a comment with your first name?

Just trying to get a feel for who is out there. If you do not have a blog or do not want to link back to your blog, then feel free to leave a post as "anonymous" and your first name.

I would also love to hear other stories. You can EMAIL me and share your Heart to Heart story if you are willing.

I have been telling my story, which I love to do because I believe it is part of Justin's legacy that his story help others along the way. What is your story? Pictures would be a great encouragement to me to. I am hoping to work up a post about the Heart to Heart children, so do share if you are willing and let me know what you think of this idea.

Thought Filled Thursdays - Cultivating Gratitude

Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
Psalm 116:7

In the year leading up to Justin’s death, I prayed many prayers for him. He was a troubled young man trying to find his way in a world that had left him fatherless and searching for an identity that would make him feel complete. Justin knew Jesus. He struggled every week with his mental illness and angry thoughts. He knelt at the altar and honestly reflected on and shared his pain.

It is almost impossible to imagine the pain of losing a child suddenly and traumatically the way most of us have. Yet, with Justin watching him self-destruct up close and personal, and fighting for every inch of his life was almost worse. I remember walking into church in October 2004. I was weary, we had just spent a week unraveling the mess of having to pick him up from the police for breaking curfew. We would learn that week that he had been sneaking out regularly, experimenting with alcohol and prescription medication all trying to turn off his mind. He sat shaking violently as tears were streaming down his face.

“Momma, I need help. I can’t do this anymore.”

It broke my heart. We had been hoping to get him help sooner, but he had been adamant. He didn’t want to be medicated or otherwise labeled as defective. He pretended to be normal while his life spun vigorously out of control. As I felt the tears stinging my eyes that day in church I said, “I don’t even know what to ask for anymore. Would you just pray for my son?”

A few hours later, my friend – and Pastor’s wife – came rushing up to me at the evening service. She thrust a paper in front of me and said, “Michelle, God has given me a word for Justin – It’s continue. You know, like Philippians 1:6 – God will continue the good work He began in him at salvation.”

We immediately went to the prayer room and knelt there hands tightly clasped praying for my prodigal son. We looked up ten or so Scriptures that we prayed over her adult prodigal and my teenage one. All had the word continue in them. We prayed hard, we prayed often, and we prayed believing. His life began to improve.

After the New Year rolled around and 2005 came in full swing, those prayers came more feverishly and more often. Our cry to God became more desperate. My son’s life began to spin again, first slowly and then into full blown mental, emotional and social issues that threatened to destroy my marriage and our family. It was more than I could take. I would lay on my bed at night and weep to the Lord - Crying out in anguish over my child. I would go to Justin in the night to lay hands on him and pray. I had him on prayer chain after prayer chain, as well as in the counsel and company of godly men. I searched Scripture and held fast. Then one night, as we concluded an exercise at Bible study where we were supposed to write our most ardent prayer request on an index card a revelation and a release came.

The instructions were to write out the request, hold it up to heaven and instead of continuing to pray that request over and over again, thank God for the answer by faith instead. I started that night and continued throughout the next few months. That day, as I made my way to the hospital certain of very little except that I needed God’s strength and peace to face whatever lay ahead I found myself praising God for little things… That my son was alive when I got to the hospital, for a family and church that loved us so, that God would ultimately have mercy on my son and provide the peace I would need to carry on. When he died I found myself praising God and thanking Him for the 17 years of life we had with him. My soul finds rest in God alone… He is my hope, my strength and my song.

My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. ~ Psalm 34:2

Thought Filled Thursdays - Powerful Beyond Measure

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

What does powerful beyond measure look like to you right now? In those early days of my grief I reasoned that the only way I could get out of bed everyday was because of the power of Christ at work in me. I knew that in and of myself I could do nothing good, noble or powerful. Yet, here I am holding on still – determined to live my life fully as God has purposed for me to do until He finally calls me home. How did I arrive here?

God’s strength is made perfect in my weakness.(2 Corinthians 12:9) We serve and live in relationship with the power and atoning grace of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit. I used to cringe when people looked at me as the source of strength and power in my life – as if by some power within me I willed myself to endure with perseverance, maintain hope and hold onto life because it was in and of me. I heard it many times: “You’re holding together so well, we almost forget what you’re going through.”

“You are so much stronger than I am – I don’t know what I would do.”

Honestly, I didn’t either. My worst confessed fear was that one of my children would die. I couldn’t imagine the pain or surviving that kind of loss. In truth, I did not want to survive that kind of loss. My confession was that if anything every happened to my children I would die. I would just die, too.

God, however, had other plans. I merely submitted to His Word, those plans and ultimately surrendered any control I thought I had in my life to Him. That is the amazing thing about God – submission on God’s terms is a paradox. He asks us to surrender and in surrender He empowers us beyond measure. Logically, naturally surrender would not empower us – it would give control and power to someone or something else. Yet, surrendering to God transfers our burden to Him and His power to us. Let that settle on you for a moment.

We must continue to live in the power and the calling of God upon our lives in spite of our present sufferings. We must rise above the suffering and live fully in the purposes of God for our suffering. But how?

Well, it starts with surrender. Admitting that there is nothing more that we ourselves can do to overcome the pain, the suffering and the temptations we face in this life. We have to surrender the lies we have been holding onto and the ways we try to stay safe and protect ourselves from risk and hurt. We have to come to the end of ourselves, the pride of our lives and fully depend on God for every aspect of our existence. It doesn’t make sense – but God told us it wouldn’t.

Through Isaiah the prophet God assures us that His ways will not make sense to us. His ways confound human nature and logic and leave us scratching our heads. When that came into my life three years ago, I did not have a clue what God was doing, but I was determined to find out. There were two promises I held onto – Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28. I believed with all my heart that God had a plan and a purpose for the aftermath of the death of my child and that His purpose would bring good to my life again and reveal His glory in immeasurable ways.

What did I do to receive this power beyond measure?
1. Laid down my expectations. I stopped claiming my entitlements. I asked for measures of blessings still, but I asked for the better virtue of God’s will. In doing so, I stopped limiting God’s power in my life and fully experienced His peace and His strength in spite of my pain.

2. I stayed connected through the body and through His Word – I couldn’t read a whole lot of new Scripture but I would let God give me a verse or two from my previous two years of study and I would focus on remembering those promises and those truths and examining how they were helping me through my loss. But most of all I had to cry out to and trust the Holy Spirit to bring me comfort and truth.

3. I had to let God show me how to fight His way because my way had never worked. By laying down my will and my way for what had happened God was released to work and act on my behalf – and His ways are not only higher – they are always better.

3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ~ 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)

Thought Filled Thursdays - It's All Relative

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Philippians 2:1-3 (NIV)

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As I was preparing this post, I was looking for Scriptures that would be “relative” in nature. That is when Philippians 2 came to me. It is such a passage of hope for relationships. It says IF you have any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from his love, any fellowship with his Spirit… any tenderness and compassion… Do nothing out of selfish ambition and vain conceit, but consider others better than yourself. The great commandment, in Jesus words, is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength – and then the second – Love your neighbor as yourself. Loving those closest to us as we love our self – What does that look like?
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A few weeks ago I was listening to someone on the radio beating someone else down and using the “Ten Commandments” to do it. I suddenly had a revelation about the “Law” versus “Grace”
issue of the Old and New Testament or Covenants. You see, God instituted boundaries in the Ten Commandments that would ensure the two commandments that Christ referenced would be observed by all who are marked by the love of His covenant. His covenant is an everlasting covenant.
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In the Gospels, Jesus tells us He did not come to replace the law but to fulfill it. I could not get past that phrase – not to replace but to fulfill. Of course, the evidence is that He fulfilled the Law and its requirements by never violating them. He also fulfilled the purpose of the Law by providing atonement and an avenue for unrighteous man to have access to God without the penalty of sin. He did it all. He loved them all. He died for them all. Love your neighbor as yourself. For God so loved the World that He gave all.
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It was this fulfilling of the Law that makes a relationship with God possible. So why am I dwelling on this in a week when we are talking about boundaries, relationships and relating to our friends and family in spite of our grief. Because it is all relative, that’s why. Through Christ we have relationship with God and a higher call to relationship with one another. We are called to continue the fulfillment of the Law in our relationships through the power and love of Jesus Christ.
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That day as I listened to the radio personality beating up on a “fellow Christian” with the Ten Commandments and Scripture – It struck me funny. How many times does Scripture say we are to be unified in Spirit and to love one another? How often does it say that love covers a multitude of sins? Yet, here is this self proclaimed Evangelist who is sarcastically tearing other preachers and teachers to shreds for the things they are doing and saying in their ministries on public radio.
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It just lay all over me as I muttered, “They preach the Law, but the Law is not at work in them. The Law fulfilled by grace.”
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I was not angry, nor was I disgusted – I was moved with compassion for people who try so diligently to keep the letter of the Law and miss the grace that is at work in it. The Law is full of grace. When God established boundaries for His people those boundaries were designed to allow His people to reflect two things: 1.) Their heart to love Him, and 2.) His heart to love us. The first four are about how we are to express our love and devotion to God, and the latter six are an expression of God’s love for mankind through His people. The beauty is that by not stealing, lying, murdering, committing adultery and coveting your neighbor’s things, as well as honoring your father and mother – we find ourselves at the center of selfless acts of love that allow us to administer grace instead of judgment. Grace at work in the Law and fulfilled on the cross through Christ Jesus.
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It is through the fulfilling of the perfect Law of God that redemption came, and it is through that same perfect law that redemption of our grief and our sorrow will come. When we institute boundaries in our relationships that exemplify our love for God and His love for mankind – specifically for those we are in relationship with we perpetuate the fulfillment of the Law and express the Gospel in love, truth and mercy.

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Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. ~ Psalm 112:4 (NIV)~

Heart to Heart Connections

I promised to deliver the word about a blessing that is coming and it is beginning to arrive.

My friend, GratefulinGA, has agreed to share with us here at Heart to Heart so you will be reading about her daughter Lauren and her journey through the valley of the shadow of death here as the days move ahead.

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Please read about her grief journey and her precious girl, Lauren, in her first post: big time glue. Be sure to leave her a comment by way of welcome and join us by sharing with us about your children as you read along.

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Many blessing to all and a great big praise to our Great God for bringing in the sheaves.

Much love to you all, and especially to our new friend.

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Dearest Lord and Father,

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I pray you would wrap your arms around each woman who comes here to read, to share her story and to grow in grace and healing along the way. My prayer is especially for our friend in Georgia, Lauren's mom. Thank you for sending her to join us in our heart to heart journey. I pray we all find a heart connection with one another, Lord, but most of all with YOU. You are our hope, our strength and our strong. The joy of our lives and the promise of the future. Thank you for your faithfulness and testimonies that declare You so. I am honored and blessed to bear witness to Your mercy and grace in the lives of others every day. Bless them all Lord, Bless them indeed.

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In Jesus' sweet and precious name I pray. Amen.

Triggers

Milestones and Holidays

****EMAIL ME: I have a great "handout" from my group for holiday planning. This lesson promotes making a written plan for the Holidays and Special Events that are coming up. Grief experts tend to agree that making a written plan, even if you write down - "I plan to do nothing." - is very helpful for getting through the holidays. So if you would like to receive a copy of the Holiday Plan in PDF - just click this link and email me... I'll send you one right out.*************

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Thought Filled Thursdays: Trauma, Triggers, Troubles... Truth to Stand On

I wanted to write a post about trauma, triggers, things that trouble us and some truth to stand on in the days to come. I've long said that there are three primary things that got me through my grief: Truth, Talking and Tears. I have reached a place where the tears mean and come for different reasons than they once did, and I must admit that I had a period of time where it felt as if I couldn't cry another drop of wet sorrow over my son - even if I wanted to. I just felt all cried out. Still... The tears are important, as are the things that triggered them and the truth that I discovered in them when I talked about my loss, my God and the places I had been with Justin since we began this journey together some 20 years ago..

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Tammy wrote a terrific post about things that trigger her memories, her tears and her to work through her grief. Be sure to read about it here. It is such a reminder about the importance of allowing your heart and body to fully express grief as it comes in your life.

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I am a visual/audio person. Images and music tend to have a significant impact on me for some reason - so as I was beginning to write this post a few scenes came to mind and along the way that song at the end landed on me with a deep sense of truth tucked away inside of it.

(**Tissue warning... Tissue Warning... Sobbing scenes ahead.**)

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The first two video clips are from Terms of Endearment staring Shirley McClaine and Deborah Winger. This movie was produced in 1983. I remember being a high school student when my brother and I hosted a sleepover for all our neighborhood friends. Four girls and four boys were sitting in my bedroom floor watching this movie in the middle of the night. All four girls were blubbering and wiping their noses in a full on ugly cry while the boys looked on in awe at all that estrogen charged emotion.

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For me, Shirley McClaine fighting for her daughter was like those last few days of Justin's life when it felt like the world had stopped and all I wanted was to take care of my son and make sure everyone responded with his best interest at heart.

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For many days no one would tell us what was happening with my Jay-bird. He lay in that bed, his blood pressure and temperature were looking really good. With his summer tan on his face he looked so peaceful sleeping there. But, his cranial pressure - the indicator for the severity of the swelling on his brain - just kept rising. On the seventh day, Monday, August 22nd, everything in my life felt upside down. The doctors had come in early while I was away and my dad was with him. I had returned home overnight to go to my own doctor and take my daughters to school. They said that one of his pupil's had stopped responding to light which could mean that he was taking a turn for the worst. My dad called and I prayed. "Lord, please... just let him be alive when I get there."

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I had told the doctors for days that we wanted the complete, unvarnished truth. By noon, when the neurosurgeon's had avoided my son's room and talking to me for the second time I was a frantic mess. I was crying, shaking and ANGRY. I felt much of what Shirley McClaine expresses in this scene - except my son didn't need a shot for pain. I needed answers about his condition - answers no one seemed willing to provide.

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The social worker assigned to be our advocate during Justin's eight day ordeal at the hospital advised me to call the doctor's office and ask them to help me. I went back to the nurse's station. Within minutes I was on the line with a Physician's Assistant who had not even seen my son in the hospital. He placed me on hold and reviewed my son's file and films. I felt like I had been there forever when he came back on and said, "Ma'am, though I have not examined your son I would say that we need to do a test and I will order it for tomorrow or the next day. This test will measure the blood flow to your son's brain."

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I already sensed what the results of that test would be... Still, at least I had some sort of answer to what the doctor's were thinking. He assured me that we would have definitive answers about my son's condition after this test was completed. I asked my husband to call the elders and have them come along with our pastor and family. I did not want to deal with people - I just wanted to have those who'd loved us longest and those who had been there for my son during the most difficult months to pray with us over him before we released him to God. Apparently, Scott did not convey that message. That night more than 150 people arrived at the hospital and my father "ran the tour." When the nurses gave him the heads up that he could bring as many people back as he could - four at a time - he began walking out and leading people back to the room for five minute visits where he explained all the details of the monitors and held onto his hope that my son was going to live.

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I, on the other hand, had been sitting on my cot while his nurse, Donna, checked his pupils as was the hourly routine. When she looked up with discouraged eyes that showed me a heart aching for our family all she could do was whisper. "We've lost his other pupil."

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The finality of those words lay over me like a thick, suffocating blanket. My son had slipped away. I felt the warm wet tears that had been mine for days as Justin's condition hit peaks and then dove into valleys ... "That's not good is it?"

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She shook her head, came to my side and sat and held me in her arms as I cried. She wept, too. It touched me in the deep places of my heart the way the staff of the hospital loved on us and met with us in our need. They took good care of my baby and my family during those awful days when tragedy visited us and death consumed one of our own.

These next scenes mark out some of how I felt on August 23, 2005. Such peace in the passing, but then terrible angst. One of my prayers that week was for God to make the outcome sure. Either He was going to heal and restore my son or He wasn't this side of heaven. By that last day, my heart cry was not to bring my son back in a broken state, but to make it absolutely certain and to leave no doubt about God's will. When the doctor's told us that they were sure his brain stem had hemorrhaged on his way back from the last test and they would be in to turn off his ventilator so we should gather our family... Again I felt peace mixed with deep sorrow.

Certainty.

There was not absolution for me until they turned off the machines and there was no gasp of air, no shaking, nothing that suggested my son was still in that body. He had slipped away quietly while no one was looking. He tread the path to heaven with Jesus by his side and I knew with absolute certainty that he would never awaken to me on earth again. The sobs of death consumed me as that truth settled into my life for the first time. I bathed his body, held him tight and left him to the medical examiner. He still is my son.
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The Steel Magnolias funeral scene has always reduced me to tears. The things that M'lynn expresses at the funeral reflected my own heart about the death of my child. She recounted the last minutes with "there was no gasp, no tremble - just peace" She said her husband couldn't take it, he left. Her son-in-law couldn't take it... he left. That men, "they're supposed to be made of steel or something, but they couldn't take it... I was there when that beautiful creature drifted into my life and I was there when she drifted out. It was the most precious moment of my life."
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I felt all that and more in those hours leading up to and out of my son's death. I recently asked my husband where he was standing when they turned off Justin's machines. His answer? By the door. He spent little time in the room with Justin and I, barely able to stand the "frankenstein-esque" monitor in his skull and all the bleating machines and wires that ran to and from his body.

Since I've given you some heavier scenes to contemplate earlier I thought I would drop this next one in because it makes us laugh. It so accurately expresses the full range of anger, emotional tumult and that uncanny role of humor in our tears that can come in times of great tragedy.

This final scene was met with a round of cheers as my daughters and I watched this serial drama for teenagers. One Tree Hill is on the CW (formerly the WB) each week and we've followed it off and on from its inception.

This scene is between the original group of One Tree Hill who are now adults and teachers in the life of a teenager who was killed when he accidentally walked in on an armed robbery at a gas station. I include it because there is truth to stand on in these lines... and it is truth hard to find in the entertainment industry these days. When others are crying out that self-awareness and getting in touch with your inner child or nature, and society says we create our own realities... Here is this little serial drama that does not get it right half the time declaring the truth for all to see. Thank God He uses even the mundane to reveal Himself in small ways.

There's an old saying "God will not give us more than we can bear." But, as I read the Scriptures I hear the Holy Spirit saying something fresh in 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." (NKJV, emphasis mine)
God is faithful to keep us from being pushed beyond our limits. In and of our own power and strength we have nothing, Scripture tells us that His strength is made perfect in our weakness - meaning it is proven powerful in the weakest, most devastating moments of our lives. When I read 1 Corinthians 10:13 it speaks this to me: "God will not give us more than HE can bear." That passage says that with God I can withstand any trial, any suffering, any temptation and overcome because He makes the way.
Paul reports in his epistles as having been afflicted by a thorn in the flesh that He prayed three times to have removed. But, rather than removing the thorn, God provided him the grace to endure the tempest and the storm. God will provide the same for you. He is the God of all comfort. He sustains those who are weak and hurting. He comforts those who suffer and mourn and He gives grace and strength to those who feel as if they cannot go on. He causes us to stand. We have a Rock in Jesus Christ upon which to STAND FIRM. So .... my friends, Stand. When you think you'll give up. Stand. When you're down on you're luck. Stand. Get up... Can't you hear Him saying, Get up and Stand with Me in this. He wants you to stand.

Stand
(As Sung by Rascal Flatts)
"You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless
Like you've lost your fight
But you'll be alright, you'll be alright
.
[Chorus:]
Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
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On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
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Then you Stand,
Then you stand
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Life's like a novel
With the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon
With only one way down
Take what you're given before its gone
Start holding on,
keep holding on
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[Repeat Chorus]
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Every time you get up
And get back in the race
One more small piece of you
Starts to fall into place
Oh...
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[Repeat Chorus]

With my love and prayers,

Michelle

Have you ever?

The first time I heard this I knew it was God speaking to me.

Have you ever?

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Okay... So I keep reading the "Yahoo Headlines..." And, it just makes me realize how lucky I am to serve such an amazing God. No... I still have not written a post about "Shophet - Judge" the name of our God for last week, but I also am swimming in a sea of mixed emotions.



I miss my husband like crazy. I'm managing a ministry, our household, the schedule of one very busy teenager and coaxing another college aged teen to get her life in gear. I'm not having a pity party... I'm really not. I'm just so blasted busy I don't know what to do with myself. But... I would classify myself as cheerful, happy and remotely pleased with my life thus far.



The Yahoo headline today said, "Voters Anxiety Increasing: In one month the percentage of people who say they're happy has dropped significantly."



Dare I say it? That if your happiness depends on whether or not the stock market is doing well or the 401k is flourishing... while those things are important to our daily living, they do not end my world... AND if you are blaming the government for the mess we are in... LOOK OUT PEOPLE! Who elected "the government?" Oh, and there is this little problem of global terrorism that reared its viscious head about seven years ago within our own borders and the ensuing military action that almost everyone in Washington DC supported and voted for at one point of time or another... Even if they deny it today. I think an apathetic vote of "PRESENT" would qualify as a vote in favor.



Would we be better off if President Bush would have left Iraq alone? Would we be any closer to catching Osama Bin Laden had we not gone into Iraq? Would our financial state be any better than it is today? Have we forgotten what 9/11 did to us emotionally, mentally, and physically as a nation? Has the "Wake Up Call" worn off?



AND... Do we really think either Senator running for President has "all the answers?" My question must be which one has the answers that most match my values and my beliefs about what needs to happen in this country.



I don't believe we need "BIGGER" government nor do I believe giving them more of our hard earned money in taxes would solve our financial issues as individuals or a nation. I don't believe the politicians in Washington earn the salary they have been afforded these past 20 years that I have been an adult. They deserve a pay cut like many Americans are having to take as a result of the financial crisis. They should have to live as we do... not getting rich off of our misery. The cutting should start in Washington DC.



But, that is not really the issue either. The issue is this country has lost sight of what it means to be loyal and patriotic. In countries like Iran and North Korea or China you would be executed for treason for speaking of their leadership the way we speak of our President daily in the news and at the kitchen table. I believe that Presidents who have abused their power in office either by being criminally or morally negligent in their behavior have done much to debase and destroy the idea that we respect the office regardless of who holds it.



Now, what does that mean for me... If Senator Barack Obama becomes President, regardless of how I feel about him as a man I must surrender those feelings and respect the office of President even if I disagree with him. What does that look like?



Can I humble myself enough to do that?



You see, I believe that God is going to give this nation the President the majority of its people have cried out for these last few years. Not the "best man" for the job persay, but instead the man that we've asked for... Which man do you believe our nation has been asking for as a whole?



Remember when the nation of Israel cried out for a king. God wanted them to embrace Him as their King, but they rejected Him and so He gave them Saul. The tall guy cowering behind the luggage when Samuel came to anoint and call him to be the king of God's chosen nation. Yep, that guy. Saul. And what happened with Saul... Let's just say he got the big head and then he lost his completely. No more Saul.



Beyond that, I believe that the current financial, political and security crises we are facing as a nation and in the global community are part of the escalation of events that have been building up for a couple thousand years now. The environment and the atmosphere is being prepared for the advent of the Anti-Christ and the apocolyptic events that precede and identify the period of Christ's eminent return. Satan is stirring and planning and scheming and for decades this country has been selling our souls to him.



When will we learn we can't worship and love God on the weekends and live like it depends on us every other day of the week? We don't need a "Part Time" God and He does not desire a "Part Time" relationship with us. Unless we as a nation depend on Him for EVERYTHING we are not going to survive these things coming against us. He will not contend with the spirit of man forever - His word says that. He does not compete... He is the key to victory in every area - and I for one am asking Him what we should do.



I will try to get that post up about Shophet this week. I'm going out of town this weekend and have evening commitments three nights this week. Please pray for me. I love ya'll to pieces... Please Please Please cry out to God for favor, mercy and blessing in the coming weeks. Whoever becomes President, I pray they come to God in repentance and in humility so that they can lead this nation into a season of revival, prosperity and truth. To a man, that is what we all should be seeking.



Bless Ya'll.

I'm participating in a prayer vigil through my church with prayer directives daily through the election: visit them at http://www.prayer2008elections.blogspot.com/. I am also still standing with Dr. Richard Land's 40/40 Prayer Vigil that began some weeks ago.

Also, got to this website to hear a resounding version of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

Lord God, Pour out your mercy on us. Restore to us Your favor and Your blessing once more. We need You Lord, We are Your people crying out to You in desparation. In the name of Your Son who came to save us, Jesus Christ, AMEN.

Okay... So I AM DEEPLY TROUBLED...

Okay... I did this really stupid thing that I knew would be a burr under my saddle if I did it... But, you know how it is... Curiosity Killed the Cat. (I'm not advocating killing cats... so please NO ANIMALS WERE HURT DURING THE WRITING OF THIS POST... I'm just sayin'.)

I saw that Josh Brolin was playing the title role in the movie W. while seeing Fireproof last month.

[W. is controversial director Oliver Stone's most recent hatchet job biopic that is getting sorely mixed reviews.]

The acting was good as far as acting goes... but... those who say that Brolin did not play Bush as a caricature are sadly mistaken. He played him as a gutsy, wayward, ignorant, mannerless oaf. the portrayal was DISRESPECTFUL in one word.

Intriguing... maybe... Out there - like JFK and Natural Born Killers and Alexander... (don't ask, please don't ask) The movies of Oliver Stone seem to become more absurd by the minute. He has a skewed perspective, a warped mind and a vivid imagination to say the very least. He thinks he's funny. I don't.

W. was a painful portrayal of an often misunderstood and well-intended President. If you don't agree with me - so-be-it. I am not writing this post to defend President Bush or to persuade anyone he has made 100% good and right decisions as President. However, I believe that President Bush acted with the best discernment and wisdom he had at the time to do what was in the best interest of this country - even by going into Irag to dethrone Saddam Hussein. Perhaps, we have been there too long... But, pulling our troops home now and allowing Iraq to implode would be even more disasterous than staying the course and seeing this through to the end. People protest because they have an audience. And since Iraq's citizens... who apparently are persecuting Christians based on this week's reports in the news... Maybe letting Babylon Fall would not be such a bad thing.

I would just like to say - that FDR did not have to contend with a Post-Vietnam riotous, anti-war sentiment when the Japanese Bombed Pearl Harbor. He also had a clear idea of who ordered the attack and how to find them. He vaporized two cities in his own retaliation that effectively ended the war and made American Soldiers heroes at home and in the world perspective as well. No talk of brutality - GOOD GRAVY PEOPLE - IT IS WAR! Do you think King David said, "Oh No... We have to kill people, someone might not like that..." ??? How about King Saul? God actually took away King Saul's kingdom because Saul had a soft and greedy heart... He didn't kill Haman's ancestor King Agag the way God told him to when they were at war and that led to not only the demise of King Saul but also the future wrath that came against the Jews in Persia.

Back then, service and protection of God, Country and Freedom meant something to people - today, it only means something as long as no one has to die to preserve it. Thank God our Founding Fathers did not feel that way. I suppose, we could have lay down after 9/11 and allowed the likes of Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong il, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to run amuck with their Yellow Cake Uranium and refining (See these two articles on the issue from JULY of THIS YEAR about 550 Metric Tons of Yellow Cake Uranium that was discovered after the first gulf war but not disclosed during the second because the US wanted to safely get the Uranium out of the Middle East... NO WONDER PRESIDENT BUSH did not point to the yellow cake --- they had to protect it from the likes of Iran and North Korea who would have come after it to be sure.)

There is a whole world of people, people who call their god Allah and some of these people are so consumed by hatred toward anyone who does not call on the name of Allah that they will kill themselves to kill us. THEY FLEW PLANES INTO BUILDINGS IN NEW YORK CITY AND WASHINGTON DC killing thousands and injuring many more.

The emotional wounds and scars from these events seven years ago may have diminished for some, but for me the thoughts and the emotions and the reality of the unseen war and threat against us suddenly become visible and painfully real will never... never... leave me. My baby girl was afraid to go to school because she believed the terrorists were going to bomb here next. I felt crushed and frightened all at the same time - and I felt guilty for taking the freedom and relative safety afforded us for so many years by our Soveriegn God for granted. I will never forget the words I whispered as first one tower and then the other collapsed... "But, God. What about all those people." The tears streaming down my face. Are we really going to leave our world to those kind of terrorists and lawless war mongers who seek to destroy every shred of the Western Culture and Civilization because it honors and trusts in God Almighty, and is a friend to Israel.

9/11's death toll represents nearly the entire casualty count since the US invaded Iraq in 2003. These soldiers, men and women alike, take an oath to defend their country and its interests to the death if necessary - they are trained and if they are like my Marine ex-husband are chomping at the bit to get over there and put their training to good use. They know the risk they are signing up for, and the honor associated with the duty - it is the American and Global Publics at large who have reduced battle service and wartime duty to little more than glorified murder. Are you kidding me? If not them, we would be defending ourselves right here in our own borders.

But more than that... I see a trend in this nation of anarchy. Bred by a failure of an older generation to teach a younger generation the value and responsibililty of honor and respect. They have opened the First Amendment to include the desparaging of public officials and openly chastizing them in public forums. An act that has long been held as treason in other countries - an act punishable by death runs rampant at Kitchen Tables, in Blog Posts and Newspapers, around the office and YES, EVEN on the NEWS. This infectious contagin knows no boundaries - the neo-conservatives are just as derelict in this responsibility as the neo-liberals.

The liberal media villifies those who seek and pursue to live by moral values - and they canonize those who are morally vacant and deficient as heroes and saints. A good orator can outwin a good man. Even Senator Obama has villified the conservative, faith-based community by labelling those who "cling to their guns and their religion." Some even go so far as to say not voting for Obama for moral differences and based on these types of issues would actually make one a "racist."

A Cover Up?

Okay... A lot has been said about the Bush Administration ruining our economy, and no doubt excessive government spending for the last 16 years would likely be a portion of the problem. But, you cannot get away from the fact that the mortgage and housing finance crisis has left our banks, our stock market and our people hurting financially and our federal government feeling the need to hold the bag on all the economic issues we face today.

I hear the Democrats say - the middle class deserves to have everything given to them by the government. Tax breaks, education for their children, health care... and the rich (loosely defined as anyone making more than $250,000 per year - unless of course you are a professional politician in Washington D. C. then everything in your life is a tax right off, after all should we be taxing the taxes - their salary is after all our tax dollars at work) should pay for it. What? Is that really what the American Dream has been scaled down to?

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I and my family are admittedly the Middle Class - but if the Democratic party gains power there will be more of the same - the same as the last two years in our House and Senate chambers. Months and years of the Republicans and Independents seeking the help of the majority party to do something in favor of our country - in favor of our people - in favor of our future. And more of the name calling, "We didn't meet to talk about that," "Congratulations, Detroit Redwings on winning the Stanley Cup" kind of nonsense I have been watching on C-Span in recent months.

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I am not saying I agree with everything any one party is doing. I'm saying get informed about what is really going on. Watch your Federal Government at work and determine who you believe is really trying to do what is best and in keeping with the liberties and freedoms that the Founding Fathers wanted to ensure for the future generations of this nation. Do we want to leave our children an entitlement legacy or a legacy that says no matter where you start you can get to where you dream because our country is the freest, greatest, most beautiful nation in the entire world where the least to the greatest are empowered to ma$ke their own lives better with a dream, a spirit of determination and a goal to be all that you can be (and I'm not just talking in the army either).
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The very idea that someone enslaved by poverty as a child could be elevated to the top of a corporation or own their own company and build a better life than they started out with (there are none to few of these testimonies... right?) Not because someone gave it to them, but because someone empowered them to believe enough in the process of free enterprise, ingenuity and just plain hard work and determination. Add faith in God, a divine destiny and a powerful prayer life and you have the opportunity for explosion in this nation again.
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The entitlements that the Democrat party speak of are the notions of socialism and communism that cast us into social brackets and lock us into societal norms without the opportunity to grow ourselves or improve ourselves through our faith, our ambitions, our talents and our opportunities - a system of government that benefits the elitist governing body, not the people.

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Democratic candidates and office holders have for the large part clearly stated that the American people can neither think for themselves or manage their own lives and finances - Their policies say we need a huge government that gets richer off of our misery and sells us to anyone willing to buy our debt. They solve problems by growing the scope and reach and corruption of government by inactivity and pointing to themselves as the answer. It destroys our society at its foundations.
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The Republican's have advocated for the most part that our government's reach and participation in the individual life should be limited, that people should be empowered to live by their faith, think for themselves, and be empowered to act on their own behalf. That government should empower people not entitle them. Republicans by name represent the foundation for our legal system - rule by law. Let's look hard before voting.
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Independents seem to be split between the two. I believe liberty is the answer, truth is the answer, God is the answer, but not the gods who have set themselves up in Wahington believing the swing of a gavel garners them power and opportunity.
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The following video is available on Youtube and speaks to these very issues. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae's downfall was actually the advocated position of many democratic and lobbyist from the affirmative action sector. These advocates including members of the Clinton Administration have asked the housing industry to relax lending standards for the last 30 years when minorities and lower income families apply for loans for housing. The pressure was so great --- that it happened. People who could not afford to buy a home were empowered and credited with the ability to buy a home way beyond their means. Until the mortgage rate adjusted or the funding ran out. The real estate market fell flat and the housing values are sinking while banks and mortgage companies own homes that are empty, torn up and valued at less than the amount that is owed on them. People are suffering and feeling the shame and loss of foreclosure because they were sold a lie.
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See for yourself who is telling the truth. Who is being realistic in their concerns? Whose statements proved to hold true?

Our Pastor, Robert Morris, said this morning that the reason we are in a financial crisis is because our nation is in a spiritual crisis. Think of it, when Congress held church in the chambers before they opened each session, when God was at the center of our culture and our heritage - our nation prospered, won wars and experienced the greatest freedom this world has ever known. When He is asked to leave and forsaken... when He is denied and the people are caught up in their own reality... We fall apart. Why is that happening? We need the Lord - Pray for our nation.

A New Heart

How many of you are thinking right this minute that your heart will never be whole again?

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Are you thinking that your scars are too large or numerous for you to ever have a day without that distant aching reminder of all that pain? Have you wondered if your life will ever feel like it did before all the tragedy and hurt came along? Have you?.I want to share some Scripture today to encourage and support you in this your hour of need. God has a plan and He will be with you in every way. Just hold onto Him. There is healing in the hem of His robe. Read on....

"[Insert your name here...] Michelle, recognize beyond all doubt and acknowledge assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ (the Messiah)—this Jesus Whom you crucified (by my own sin). 37 Now when they heard this they were stung (cut) to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles (special messengers), Brethren, what shall we do? 38 And Peter answered them, Repent (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away, [even] to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself." (Emphasis is mine)
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Acts 2:36-39 (AMP)
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Now as I consider this verse something resonates so deeply. My heart recognizes that Christ did not die for sin's sake. He died for our Sake. Not because Adam sinned, but, instead, because I SINNED.
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Cut to the Heart.
What does that look like?

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SO - Would it be reasonable to say after this revelation my heart might have a scar or two?
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Cut to the heart. Have you been cut to the heart?
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Behold, [in the future restored Jerusalem] I will lay upon it health and healing, and I will cure them and will reveal to them the abundance of peace (prosperity, security, stability) and truth.
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Jeremiah 33:6 (AMP)

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God gave me Jeremiah 33:6 recently as a promise for our marriage. Here is what He told me about Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the "HEART" of the Promised Land. In this particular passage of Scripture He goes on to say that He will not only lay upon them health and healing, cure them and bring them an abundance of peace, prosperity, security, stability and truth - He also says in verse 7 that He will cause the captivity of the two Kingdoms or "HOUSES" of Hebrews to be REVERSED and will REBUILD them as the first. I want to paint for you a picture of a heart that is battered, cut, bruised and bleeding. A heart in need of mending to be sure. This heart is wrapped tightly in gauze and beating furiously, but there is no healing to be found as the owner of this heart takes it to person after person. But the only thing the people do is wrap it again with more gauze and as they do the heart bleeds right on through. Never healed.
Now, put your own heart in this verse of Scripture.
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"6 Behold look here and see what I am showing you, [in the future restored _YOUR NAME HERE_'s (I.E. Michelle's) Heart ] I will lay upon it health and healing, and I will cure them (everyone I love) and will reveal to them the abundance of peace (prosperity, security, stability) and truth. 7 And I will cause the captivity of [Your Husband's Family Name] and the captivity of [Your Family Name] to be reversed and will rebuild them as they were at first. ... 9 And [YOUR HEART] shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth that hear of all the good I do for it, and they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace, prosperity, security, and stability I provide for it. ... 11 [There shall be heard again] the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing as they bring sacrifices of thanksgiving into the house of the Lord, Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good; for His mercy and kindness and steadfast love endure forever! For I will cause the captivity of the land to be reversed and return to be as it was at first, says the Lord." Emphasis Mine
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Jeremiah 33:6-7,9,11 (AMP)

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Can you receive God's promise to begin by healing your heart, releasing the captivity of the generations of your family and bring restoration and reconstruction of your back to the way it was at the first? CAN YOU POSSIBLY RECEIVE THAT?
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26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone (the broken, the bruised, the damaged and scarred heart) out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (a soft, new heart completely healed and restored as NEW!). Emphasis mine.
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Ezekekiel 36:25-26 (NKJV)

..
Sometimes, as we learned in Genesis from the story of Jacob, the wrestling and the wounding comes from God and if that is the case then the remnant of the scar shall remain as a reminder of what God has done to deliver us out of our own flesh and desires. But, sometimes there is so much crippling and destructive hurt in our lives that God, in His mercy does not just leave the wound sealed by a scar... He gives us a whole new heart. One that has never hurt, never ached and never been broken. Would you receive that from Him? A new heart.
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1 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

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2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,

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3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord,
that He may be glorified."

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4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.

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5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
And the sons of the foreigner
Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

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6 But you shall be named the priests of the Lord,
They shall call you the servants of our God.
You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast.

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7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.

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8 "For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery for burnt offering;
I will direct their work in truth,
And will make with them an everlasting covenant.

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9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles,
And their offspring among the people.
All who see them shall acknowledge them,
That they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed."

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10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

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Isaiah 61:1-10 (NKJV)