'Tis So Sweet

A missionary penned these words in the 1800s.  The picture above is of my friend 

who is a missionary in the 2000s.  I think she could have written these words too...

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise; Just to know "Thus saith the Lord."

Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him!
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

O how sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to trust His cleansing blood;
Just in simple faith to plunge me, Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus, Just from sin and self to cease;
 Just from Jesus simply taking Life and rest and joy and peace.

I'm so glad I learned to trust Thee, Precious Jesus, Savior friend;
And I know that Thou art with me, Wilt be with me to the end.

Written by Louisa M. R. Stead (1850-1917)

Psalm 56:11 

In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid.

Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Proverbs 3:5-7 (Message)

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.  Don’t assume that you know it all.  Run to God!

John 14:1-3

Jesus said, "Don't let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God, and trust also in me.  There is more than enough room in my Father's home...When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am."

Trust.  Do not fear.  Trust.  Be strong.  Trust.  Do not be afraid.  Trust.  God is with you.  Trust.

I love the idea of trust.  

I yearn to trust God fully.  

I want to live a life free from worry and anxiety.  

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.  

He's always been faithful to me. 

He is worthy of my trust.  

God has everything under control. 

Faith = Trust.

"Believing God" Pledge of Faith:

1.  God is who He says He is.

2.  God can do what He says He can do.

3.  I am who God says I am.

4.  I can do all things through Christ.

5.  God's word is alive and active in me. 

Whatever is going on in my life (and yours), God can handle it.  

He is bigger, greater, and stronger than whatever our problems are.  

That includes: 

cancer, 

infertility, 

foreclosures, 

homelessness, 

parenting, 

addictions, 

emotions, 

and dealing with "extra grace required" people! 

God understands our stress.  We need only to rest in His hands.  He provides the peace.    

Yatagiri

Yatagiri:  Little girl born into poverty.  Little girl from southern India.  Little girl with parents who are "workers" and spiritually lost.  Little girl with lots of siblings who have to stay home while she goes to Compassion school and gets colorful letters from America.  Little girl who doesn't know the Lord.  Little girl who touched the heart of Big girl: Jennifer... who wanted to make a difference and put a smile on Little girl's face.  Yatagiri who grew up and is now 13.....

 

 It's a true story.  I am the Big girl.  I am the one who chose one day to support this sweet waif with no smile. 

Those big brown eyes, that gorgeous face, that sweet laugh that might not be heard enough.  I began that day to pray for Yatagiri.  I wrote her letters and sent her photos and gave money for Christmas and Birthday gifts in addition to ever-increasing monthly support.  Each time a letter came from her via the translator I'd devour it.  She was learning about Jesus.  She got a dress for Christmas and a doll for her birthday.  She liked to write stories!  Her family sends their greetings and their love.  She prays.  She sings.  And on the fourth photo update, she smiles! 

Then last week a letter came from Compassion stating that some major decisions were being made for Yatagiri and her school.  Within the next 90 days Compassion is going to decide if it needs to withdraw all support.  According to the letter:  "The child development center Yatagiri attends has not been able to meet all of Compassion's standards for ministering to children in need."  What?  My sweet Little girl may NOT be getting all her needs met?  Is she learning about Jesus or being taught Hindu ways?  Is she getting enough to eat or is there corruption going on?   

What could it be?  I began to panic.  I began to forget to trust God.  I began to lose hope.  Jennifer, "Trust in the Lord, with all your heart.  Lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."  And, "He who began a good work in Yatagiri will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."  God knows what He is doing.  Nothing surprises Him.  He cares about Yatagiri way more than I ever could.  Even if Compassion tells me I can no longer support   

 her or send her letters, I can always pray for her.  God hears.  He knows.  He listens.  I can trust Him.  He is good. 

  I received the letter from Compasison about a week ago.  Today I received in the mail a photo update.  She's beautiful.  She's still the same Little girl.  But, Yatagiri's not smiling any more.  I cannot stop praying.  I cannot stop hoping.  I want to meet Yatagiri in Heaven some day.  I want to see her smile and hear her laughter and give her a hug.  She is the Sarala I never had.  I won't give up on her.  Just as God never gives up on me. 

Recording a CD

Off We Go!  Ready for a big day!

Doug, the Fabulous Recording Man!

 Mom and I love music.  We love to make music together.  We have been making music together my whole life!  We've played for weddings, funerals, church services, nursing homes, recitals and lots of "just for fun" times.  Yesterday we had the opportunity to create a keepsake that we will treasure forever!  We made a CD recording of 15 of our favorite pieces.  Mom played piano and I played violin.  Want to hear what our day was like?  Okay!
    At 9:00 on Saturday morning, we went to Doug and Janet's lovely home.  They had recently turned half of their basement into a recording studio and the other half into a quilting room.  We walked in to the recording room and   

Jennifer and Mom

 tuned my violin to the keyboard.  We played through a few songs and got used to the microphone and keyboard.  Then we began the recordings.  Doug would tell us when we could begin.  We would play a piece and then decide if we were satisfied or if we

We had a great experience!

wanted a second chance.  We kept our first recording for two of the fifteen songs.  All the others needed some tweaking.  Sometimes we played the whole piece again.  One time the tweaking was me simply playing two or three measures along with the recording that we had already done.  Then Doug replaced those  

Recording is hard work!

Hooray for a Midi System!

 measures with the new ones that I played better.  Sometimes tweaking a song meant Mom bringing her music in to the computer room where Doug was and finding a particular chord on the computer where she played a wrong note and then having Doug use his Midi System to actually change the note.  It was magic!!!  She could say, "That note right there should be an F sharp, not an F" and Doug would push a few buttons and fix it.  It was amazing!

We could fix notes like magic!

We took a short break around 11:30 and then felt refreshed enough to finish up.  All in all, it took about four hours. The next steps are for Doug to go through the songs and do his magic.  He seems to truly enjoy all the editing and refining and artistry.  He was so great to work with.  He was super patient and positive.  We had a wonderful experience.  I just know that we will treasure this CD for years and years to come.  My nieces and nephews will treasure hearing their Grandma Iverson and Auntie Jen play.  Mom and I will not always get to play together.  Arthritis has already had an impact on Mom's playing.  We decided to do the recording now because we have both been practicing more than usual to prepare for a wedding we provided music for last weekend.  I have been practicing so much that I feel like I am close to where I was in college as far as tone quality, intonation, and lack of scratchiness.  Technically, I would have far to go to reach my college proficiency.  But, truly, that doesn't matter.  What matters is the joy that Mom and I have when we play together.  It is as if we can feel what the other person is going to do for dynamics and ritardandos and phrasing.  We cut - off together at the end of pieces.  We just feel the music together.  And, we enjoy it.  We enjoy playing for people too.  If our music can bring joy or peace to people or help them feel closer to God, then we feel honored to have shared it.  To God be the glory.  By the way, this CD is not going to be perfect.  We made lots of mistakes.  We couldn't fix everything.  We decided that our CD is "authentic" because it shows our human-ness.  Both Mom and I are perfectionists, so it was hard at times to let a piece be "good enough" instead of perfect.  As Grandma used to say about situations like this, "It keeps us humble."  That is so true!  We have loved the experience of making a CD and will forever be grateful to Doug and Janet for helping to make this dream of ours come true.  If YOU get the opportunity to hear our CD, then thanks for listening!