Wow, it’s been a week since my guys “headed west”!!  So much to tell!  First, I want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for their safe journey!  God blessed their trip far beyond what I could ever ask or think!  Our God is truly an Awesome God!  My husband made it home safe and sound Tuesday afternoon, and it was so good to see him!  Ian said he had 3 DVD’s with pictures but, something must have happened in the process of downloading them onto the disks, and they were blank … a bit disappointing, since I have a lot of friends and family that are very anxious to see them, including Lewis and myself!  But, bless their hearts, they are working hard at getting them ready to mail back to us, and as soon a I get them, I’ll share them with you, along with the highlights of their trip, which Lewis has been busy journaling!  So stay tuned!  In the meantime … the pictures below are ones they took along the way which he had uploaded to his Xanga, and I can’t seem to get them larger so you can see them better…I’ll work on that!! I believe it’s because I copied them from his site that they came through this size.  My son has them on his photoblog and they are much larger, and you can see more detail. He also has some video of some of the projects they are working on while there.

    



   



    

I must say, from a mom’s heart, that this separation from my son has not been an easy one,
but God has given me abundant grace, and great peace through it all!  

I wanted to share a devotion that I read today 
which really spoke to my heart regarding my son. 
I wanted to share it in hopes that it might bring those of you, 
who may be struggling with this very same thing,
His great peace as it has done for me! 

First, how would you answer this question …
Can you trust God enough with your Isaac,
whomever or, whatever that might be?

~ Hugs, 
Deborah <>< 


 

Trust Me with Your Isaac

Scripture Reading: Genesis 22:1-19

Today’s Treasure: “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about’” (Gen. 22:2).

Isn’t today’s Scripture disturbing? We know that “from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded” (Luke 12:48), but we’ll gladly step aside and allow another to be called faithful if this is the kind of sacrifice it takes. However, we can’t step aside as far as we’d like. We have more in common with Abram, “the father of a multitude of nations” (Gen. 17:5, NASB), than we might think. Consider a few comparisons.

First of all, our most profound tests involve those dearest to us. You know it’s true; you’ve been there. Each of us can vividly remember a time when God called upon us to surrender our hold and our ownership over someone we love—perhaps even someone we nearly worship.

Second, we also experience times when we believe we’ve received two seemingly diametrically opposite messages from God. Abram understood God to say he would have more offspring than the number of stars in the sky. Then he received the command to sacrifice his only legitimate heir on the altar. As we continually trust the One who called us, we will eventually recognize that God truly is Reconciler of the utterly irreconcilable.

You see, God didn’t mislead Abram. He told him to sacrifice his son on the altar and, most assuredly, Abram did. He did not slay his son. Instead, he was able to offer God a living sacrifice. Mind you, living sacrifices are not always easy to offer either. Sometimes releasing our grip on the person who remains with us can be a more painful test than releasing our grip on the person taken from our reach. We’re presented with an ongoing test during which we must continually offer our precious ones to the One who loves them most.

I see a final comparison. God used Abraham and Isaac to teach others about Himself. The substitutionary offering of the ram caught by its horns in the thicket became one of the Bible’s key images to convey the gospel message. The shadow of the cross fell on Mount Moriah that day. We all have been tied to the altar of death and then presented a chance to be loosed for eternal life by the perfect Lamb, One whose head was torn by thorns and was willing to take our place.

Our present challenges may not be as dramatic as Abram’s, but we, too, can allow our lives to become visual aids through which God teaches others about Himself—and His faithful ways. I ask you now to read the words God gave me during a time when He led me to my own Mount Moriah. Only you know how this message applies to you. Please allow God to speak to your heart …..

For every Abraham who dares
to kiss a foreign field
where glory for a moment grasped
Is for a lifetime tilled…

The voice of God
speaks not but once
but ‘til traveler hears
“Abraham! Abraham! Bring your Isaac here!”

“Bring not the blemished sacrifice.
What lovest thou the most?
Look not into the distance,
you’ll find your Isaac close.”

“I hear the tearing of your heart
torn between two loves,
the one your vision can behold
the Other hid above.”

“Do you trust me, Abraham
with your gravest fear?
Will you pry your fingers loose
and bring your Isaac here?”

“Have I not made you promises?
Hold them tight instead!
I am the Lover of your soul—
the Lifter of your head.”

“Believe me, O my Abraham
when blinded by the cost.
Arrange the wooded altar
and count your gains but loss.”

“Let tears wash clean your blinded eyes until unveiled you see—
the ram caught in the thicket there
to set your Isaac free.”

“Perhaps I’ll send him down the mount
to walk right by your side.
No longer in your iron grasp
but safer still in mine.”

“Or I may wrap him in the wind
and sweep him from your sight
to better things beyond your reach—
believe with all your might!”

“Look up, beloved Abraham.
Can you count the stars?
Multitudes will stand to reap
from one dear friend of God.”

“Pass the test, my faithful one;
bow to me as Lord.
Trust me with your Isaac—
see,
I am your great Reward.”

My great and awesome God,
I want more than anything to hold onto You tightly and to hold onto everything else loosely.
I want to be willing to lay down my most treasured relationships and possessions at Your request.
Give me a willing heart to offer those unblemished sacrifices to You.
Help me to trust You fully when I seem to be getting two opposite messages from You.
Thank You for providing Jesus, the spotless Lamb, to take my place on the altar.
I offer myself to You today as a living sacrifice.
It’s in the name of Jesus that I pray,
Amen.