Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth Thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
Of all Thy rich graces this grace, Lord, impart
Take the veil from our faces, the vile from our heart.

All laud we would render; O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,
And so let Thy glory, almighty, impart,
Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.

-Walter C. Smith, 1876

-that I could help one of my sisters celebrate her birthday this week.

-for His Word—I say that often in these posts, yet not enough.

-for books and blogs written by people who hold fast to and proclaim biblical truth.

-that the terrible things going on in the world are not baffling to God, nor beyond His sovereign control. We need not fear.

-for laughter. An elderly lady in my sisters’ building told them I had arrived and described me by saying, “she weighs a little more than you do, but she’s pleasingly put together; she’s beautiful.” Oh, my. Oh, how we laughed!

This is one of the favorite things I ordered. It’s called a ‘pancake pen,’ which is a a very good description of how it works. I made the usual round pancakes, but I bet you could write out names or make simple designs with it. What child wouldn’t want to eat a pancake made in the shape of their name? Fun!

You might like to know that my Oatmeal-Buttermilk Pancakes recipe fits perfectly into the pancake pen.

Not one promise shall miscarry
Not one blessing come too late
Though the vision long may tarry
Give us patience, Lord to wait.

While withholding—Thou art giving
In Thine own appointed way
And while waiting we’re receiving
Blessings suited to our day.

O the wondrous loving-kindness
Planning, working out of sight,
Bearing with us in our blindness,
Out of darkness bringing light.

Weaving blessings out of trials,
Out of grief evolving bliss;
Answering prayer by wise denials
When Thy children ask amiss.

And when faith shall end in vision,
And when prayer is lost in praise,
Then shall love, in full fruition,
Justify Thy secret ways.

-Jane Crewdson

(1.) Every event is the product of God’s providence; not a sparrow, much less a saint falls to the ground by poverty, sickness, or persecution, but the hand of God is in it.

(2.) God has promised, ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5).

(3.) God in wisdom conceals the comforts he intends to give you at the various stages of your life, so that he may encourage your heart to full dependence upon his faithful promises now. Thus, to try the metal of Abraham’s faith, he let him go on, until his hand was stretched forth to slay Isaac, and then he came to his rescue. Christ sent his disciples to sea, but he stayed behind himself, with the design to test their faith, and show his love. Comfort yourself with this: though you do not see God in the way, yet you will find him in the end.    – William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour

These words are a great comfort and encouragement to me this morning. Sometimes, living with disability in the family feels like being dragged over gravel. Sometimes, looking at disability square in the face is like seeing it for the first time even though you’ve been seeing and loving that face for thirty seven years. Sometimes, you listen to his words and smile and bite your lip to keep from crying.

And then you turn and make his pancakes through your tears.

for the sunshine coming in my windows.

for all the physical comforts He provides. This morning I awoke rested and thankful for our comfortable bed and so many other comforts that make life enjoyable. I remembered the days in Nepal when we slept on a thin horsehair mattress atop a wooden pallet. I washed our clothes by hand in a bucket and wished for the luxury of an old-fashioned washboard. Today I have a washer and dryer with all the latest technology. God’s provision is always perfectly suited for what He intends our life to be at any given moment. We’ve had little, and we’ve had plenty; I’m thankful for both.

for the joys and sanctifying benefits of the marriage relationship, ours in particular. I’m thankful that God enables us to do each other much good, and we glorify Him in the process. Amazing!

that He blends sorrow and joy, creating peace.

for His Word. Every day, I’m thankful for His Word and His enabling us to live by it.

That ought to take care of ever reading the Scriptures with a ho-hum attitude.

May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.

May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him.

-Kate B. Wilkinson

On another topic. I’ve had a rather long history of sleeping poorly, but I’ve seen some mighty good improvement lately. I’ve started taking 1000 mg of calcium and 500 mg of magnesium before I go to bed. Boy, has that ever helped! I sleep more deeply and if I wake up in the night, I’m able to get back to sleep right away instead of tossing for hours until daybreak. Such an easy and helpful fix.

We’ll be rooting for the Giants on Sunday. My husband grew up in New Jersey and has been a Giants fan since he was a boy. I think I’m gonna make some sliders and hot wings for our party.

The weather has been so mild our grass is turning green. I’m looking at raised bed directions for a garden this year. If they’re elevated, it will be so much easier for me to take care of, and I’m sure my husband could build them. I can’t wait. I’ll have to do something to protect them from wildlife, though. I’m not keen on gardening to feed birds, bunnies, deer and wild turkeys.

Are you planning to have a garden this summer? Can you tell I’m ready for winter to be over, already?