In times of joy we praise you for your goodness
In times of sorrow we praise you for your grace
In times of plenty we praise you for your provision
In times of need we praise you for your sufficiency
In times of gain we praise you for your generosity
In times of loss we praise you for your peace
So whether you give or take away
Whether there is feasting or famine
Whether in laughter or though tears
We have reason to praise.

Psalm 103
 1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
       all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
       and forget not all his benefits-

What's the point of being sorry? So many people walk around feeling sorry about this and that and I want to scream "don't be sorry, be different!" "I'm sorry I didn't spend more time with you when you were a kid." "I'm sorry I'm late." "I'm sorry I hurt you." "I'm sorry I never learned to play the piano." Don't be sorry, be different.

Isn't repentance the whole point of remorse? That built in force that compels us to turn - to change directions? Then why is it that so many people who long to write a better story continue shuffling in the same direction like lunatics - going through the same motions and desperately praying for different results?

A couple of months ago I read Donald Miller's book, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" and it was a very timely read. My husband of three years and I have been trying to write the next chapter in our story but have felt stuck. We've the got the education, the house, the dog and now we're trying for kids but so far having a baby hasn't turned out to be as easy as all those teenagers make it look. We were in the middle of grieving a miscarriage and preparing for an upcoming surgery when I stumbled upon this book in my small town library.

Whenever something unexpected and challenging interrupts my life my mom reminds me that boring lives make boring stories and somehow that perspective brings out the fighter in me. Somehow I start to envision my life as a movie with an excellent sound track and a great cloud of witnesses routing for me to overcome.

"A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" reminded me that it's possible to change. It's possible to envision your life a different way; it's possible to write a different and better story. And you don’t have to just sit around on the couch dreaming about this “better story” you can get out there and live it!

I realized that I was at a sort of cross roads. When I look back on 2010 and all of the heartache and unexpected challenges will I say "and that's when I became a hoarder" or "that's when I started over-eating" or "that was the year I stopped believing God"? Or will I look back on these painful events and say "that was the year God gave me new dreams"?

I choose new dreams. So we are getting ready to embark on an adventure! We're in the process of becoming foster parents and are honored and amazed that God would open our hearts and our home to hurting children. We never dreamt that this would be part of our story but we’re excited to turn the page.

It's possible to be different. It's possible to change your life, your goals, your mind; and I can't help but wonder if this change is the moral of the story that God is writing. I get the sense that He is mostly interested in character development and with His help I am writing a better story, or perhaps more truly, a better story is writing me.

Psalm 139:16 - All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

My husband Ben commented yesterday that I seem more peaceful than usual. If you know me well you know that I am a bit uptight and peaceful may be the last word you would use to describe me. Peace, in many ways, has eluded me throughout my life and the fact that I feel (and am evidently displaying) peace is evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in my life.

I recently learned, through Beth Moore’s study on the fruit of the Spirit, that peace goes hand in hand with authority. In other words, we experience peace when we are convinced that God is in control. I think I have always believed on some level that God is in control, but somehow I assumed He wanted or needed my help. I worked very hard to try and help God control the world (or at least my corner of it) but it turns out that job was too big for me and I am happy to announce that I recently retired 
So how does a recovering control freak find peace? Here’s how it happened for me:

-I lost my job
-I had a miscarriage
-I found out I needed surgery before we should try to conceive again
-Four days before my surgery I found out my insurance wouldn’t cover the surgery
-I cancelled the surgery
-I received a stack of medical bills that were all for naught
I am learning to believe God and in so doing I must believe that He is involved in my life and that if I am living according to His will that everything that happens in me and to me and around me is for His glory and for my good. But these things didn’t seem good. I received each of them as if they came straight from His hand, but I cried when He gave them to me because I didn’t understand that what He was giving me was peace. Precious peace. Peace wrapped up in a bitter box. It hurt to open those boxes but the treasure inside was well worth the tears.

Thus far 2010 hasn’t turned out the way I had hoped or planned but I will not remember it as a year of heartache, I will remember it as a year that I stopped leaning on my own understanding and instead leaned heavily on the Lord and found Him to be faithful; a year of miracles, a year of faith, a year of peace. Praise the LORD!

Matthew 7:11
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

Philippians 4:6-8
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Hosea 6:1 - Come let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.

Ben and I would like to have children. We have one child in heaven and in hopes to also have some here on earth I am getting ready to undergo surgery on Tuesday, June 2nd. (We would appreciate your prayers.) As we have been moving through this process I have been overwhelmed by the Lord’s kindness towards me. In hindsight I see His hands at work preparing and equipping me…faithfully serving me daily bread. And even though I have some anxiety about going under the knife I am also filled with a sense of excitement. With this opportunity to put my faith to the test I feel like a pilot who has painstakingly worked to build a plane and is getting ready to see if it will fly. Don’t dark valleys often make the sweetest memories? They are places where we are forced to risk, to leap, to trust and therefore able to discover anew God’s faithfulness and sufficiency.

John Piper says that God is not an ambulance driver, He is a surgeon. What he means by this is that God doesn’t show up once we’ve been damaged and broken and put us back together. Instead, it is God who wounds us so that we can heal. Just like a surgeon He skillfully cuts us…breaks us…heals us. One of the words for “healed” in the Bible (Joshua 5:8) is “hayah” which means to live, exist, enjoy life, recover, be well, rebuild.

I am getting ready to have surgery on my uterus but through this process I sense that God is doing surgery on my heart and mind. He is removing unbelief. He is cutting out fear. He is scraping out my control issues. He is hurting me so he can heal me, and I receive it as kindness.

Hosea 6:1 - Come let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.

My dog, Dude, is terrified of thunder storms. He can sense them coming so we know to close the windows when he starts shaking uncontrollably and hyperventilating. We have no idea why he is so scared because we take really good care of him (some might say we spoil him) and have never left him out in the rain or anything else that might have been traumatic. I wonder how many storms he will have to live through before he realizes that he is inside a well built house and therefore… sheltered.

We’ve had a lot of storms in Indianapolis lately and last night when Dude was hiding under Ben’s chair preparing for the worst the Lord reminded me of a familiar Bible story. Mark 6:30-44 recounts the amazing event in which Jesus feeds 5,000 men from 5 loaves and 2 fish. That sounds like something that would really strengthen your faith but just in case there were some witnesses who still had their doubts a few chapters later Jesus does it again! In Mark 8:1-10 Jesus feeds 4,000 men from 7 loaves and a few small fish. Now get this….immediately after this second miracle Jesus and his disciples get onto a boat and guess what the disciples start freaking out about?!?!   Mark 8:14 -16 basically says the disciples realized that they had forgotten to bring bread and they were concerned and trying to figure out a solution. Mark 8:17 “Jesus, aware of this, said them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember…”

I’m scared of storms too…not thunder storms, the kind of storms that shake up my life.  How many storms will I have to live through before I realize I am safely sheltered?  I spend my life straining to hear any distant sounds of thunder and when it comes I curl up and prepare for the worst. And last night as I watched my poor puppy suffer for no reason I knew that God was saying “why are you trembling, Betsy? I am your shelter. I have always been enough. Do you not remember?”

Isaiah 46:4 “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

I recently discovered several verses which I would like to share with you.  I think you visual learners will especially appreciate the picture that is formed when we put these verses together.

Psalm 139:5-6  You go before me and follow me.  You place Your hand of blessing on my head.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!"

Deut. 33:26-27 There is no one like the God of Israel.  He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor.  The eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you.  He drives out the enemy before you; He cries out, "destroy them!"

When we put these beautiful passages together we see that God is behind us, before us, above us and below us.  We are surrounded.  Safe.  Secure.  Hidden.

A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord
He  taketh my burden away
He lifteth me up and I shall not be moved
He giveth me strength as my day

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry thirsty land
He hideth my life in the depths of His love
And covers me there with His hand
And covers me there with His hand

Hope deferred makes the heart sick…but it can also make it open.

A season of waiting can become a season of anticipation.

Disappointment is an invitation to dream new dreams…an opportunity to imagine that your life could take a different and perhaps better path.

“Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength…” Isaiah 55

Hey friends, would you please take a moment and pray along with us that God will provide a new full time job for me?  The church I've been working at for the past year and a half is dissolving at the end of the month and while we've had a few leads nothing has worked out yet.  We know God will provide for our needs and we would appreciate your prayer support...and any job leads that you know of.

"He will be faithful as He was before, Emmanuel, Emmanuel."

betsy

Hey everyone, Indiana is a winter wonderland!  It's been snowing for the past two days and doesn't show signs of stopping.  Ben and I just returned home from the studio in Valparaiso, IN where we started work on our next album!  We're really excited about the music and it was fun to be back in the studio.  Besides the fact that it was a bit chilly (we had to choose between a space heater and guitar amps so we didn't blow a fuse!)  it was a really great experience.  I hope to get some video footage up in the next couple of days and we will probably make one or two rough cuts available via this website soon!  Keep checking in!

Stay Warm!

Luke 1:35 says “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”

We recognize this as the angel’s response to Mary when she is asking about how she will conceive, but what does that have to do with our lives? Everything. Luke 1:35 would make a wonderful New Year’s Resolution.

Lord, in 2010 fill us so fully with Your Holy Spirit that we are completely upstaged by Him. You must increase, we must decrease to the point that your power and presence completely overshadow our personalities, dreams, agendas, flaws, skills and relationships. May 2010 be a year of submission and sweet victory. Merry Christmas.