Thirsty for the Word

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby."

1 Peter 2:2

"And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

Luke 4:4

God has been building a thirst within me for His Word. As a result, time spent in His precious Word are sweeter, His presence more wonderful, and the joy truly does overflow within my heart. Prayer becomes more powerful with a whole arsenal of Scripture fresh in my mind. Sin doesn't have room to invade my mind because it's full of truth! Here are a few of the treasures that I have discovered (or "re-discovered"). :) 

"Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice."

Psalm 141:2

"My beloved spoke, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away."

Song of Solomon 3:10

"My beloved is mine and I am his."

Song of Solomon 2:16

"Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it."

Song of Solomon 8:7

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea."

Psalm 46:1-2

 I know there are many more ( like the whole Bible! :) but this a pretty good sampling. I hope you enjoy and this fuel's your thirst for even more! His Word is so precious! Praying that this drives you further into Jesus Christ.

Joyfully His,

Victoria Eira 

Adventure!

     So, many of you know that I love exploring new roads, wilderness areas, mountains, etc. On Tuesday, Dad took me to not one, but TWO new places! He had some business out in Elk City and up on Pilot Knob Lookout. :) Super adventure! (+ it was with my Dad!) 
     We had a grand time on the long drive to Elk City along the South Fork of the Clearwater River, checked in at the Forest Service station to make sure our planned travels weren't going to run into wildfires, then took off the back way to Pilot Knob along the Old Elk City Wagon Road. It was the most horrible road I've ever been on, but quite the adventure! I stopped several times along the way to collect specimens of plants I didn't recognize, to identify later.
  Pilot Knob tops out at just above 7,000 ft. It was spectacular and the view would have been quite something had it not been for the smoke. Still, the fall colors and majestic height of the entire area made for a wonderful photo op. I went crazy with my camera and I tried to pare down how many I posted but there are so many I want to share! I hope you enjoy these images of God's creation and that they fuel your excitement for the little things in life that make it so rich and full! 

 ~Beautiful Adventure~

 The lovely road we had to drive on. :) Like I said, an adventure...

 Cute little chipmunk that was right at my feet!

This was neat, from when they actually surveyed and didn't use GPS. ^

 Yeah, we hit some of these.... :)

   

Abundant Life

"There is no fear that His resources will be unequal to the emergency. 

And His resources are mine for He is mine, and is with me and dwells in me."

~Hudson Taylor

I heard this quote earlier today while listening to a sermon (link at the bottom of the page). It gripped me, as well as the subject of the sermon, and changed my life forever. Let me share some of what I wrote this morning as a result of what happened. I highly recommend watching/listening to the sermon as it says all this far better than I ever could. 

"I am His and He is mine."

     "The first part of this statement I find easy to grasp, understand, and accept. I gave myself to Jesus long ago and continue to do so as He reveals pockets of my life not yet fully surrendered to Him. But look at the latter half - "He is mine". I am having a hard time truly grasping this. 

HE IS MINE.

     Everything Jesus has, possesses, owns, is available to me, through Him. At face value I hear this and nod my head pleasantly. But when I look into my soul, it reaches out to grasp this TRUTH and seems to slip every time.

     Father, give me understanding, give me sight to see and knowledge to understand. I cannot do it without You."

     I wrestled with this for some time; praying, thinking, grasping, reckoning. Then, almost effortlessly, it hit me... HE IS MINE. The following is what I wrote after this reckoning, I apologize if it's a bit scattered. It was a combination of God's searching light asking my soul questions about specific situations and truth being declared in my soul. 

     "When I take communion, I give all to Jesus, but do I claim all of Him? If we are symbolizing an exchange, then how come we only give... and don't receive?

"There is no fear that His resources will be unequal to the emergency!"

     We have nothing, NOTHING, to fear! He holds out every single thing we will ever need, and we lay helpless on the ground! Reach out! Take what He is offering! 

     He has everything, and because I am in Him I HAVE EVERYTHING. Every bit of patience I need to be with people. All the grace and love necessary to live in whatever situation I am in. Every shred of forgiveness I need to give people who wrong me. All faith that He will provide money, safety, and protection for every situation. Health and life abundant until I die. Love for every person who crosses my path. Strength to resist every temptation and be faithful to my future husband."

ALL THESE THINGS ARE MINE IN CHRIST!!

     I do not pretend to have mastered this in any degree. And something tells me I've only tasted a hint of the endless frontier that God has to offer in understanding and living this out. But oh, the sweet knowledge that my God and King and I are one! That His Spirit is poured out without ceasing upon my life and I need only acknowledge and reckon it to be true!  

     So what about you? Have you given all of you to Jesus? Are you prepared to enter into the exchanged life and receive all of Him? I hope and pray that this will bring you closer to Jesus, the King of all kings, and give you a hunger for Him that you've never had before.

The Promised sermon link:

Ben Zornes Sermon - The Gospel Engine

All Things

     I am writing to testify of God's faithfulness and absolute control. :) Though this story may seem small and rather insignificant, it stood out to me; it showed me something.
     I went about my business yesterday morning and started up my laptop. About a week ago it had been "dropped" out of my truck and suffered some shock. (surprise, surprise...) So, when it gave me trouble starting up yesterday I was more perturbed than surprised. It persisted in giving me trouble, so I called my computer savvy brother. He advised me that he couldn't really do anything about it if the laptop wasn't in front of him. So, I drove home, perfectly prepared to hear that my laptop was done for and that I needed a new one. "Okay, Jesus, this is all in Your hands." I said. "If you say I don't need a laptop right now, I'm ready to obey."
     Eventually we got it to start up normally, and then we proceeded to create a back up, just in case it decides to really bite the dust. Then the wait began.... 
     I never realized how long it takes to back up a computer. :) I passed the time with my siblings and enjoyed being home again. However, looking back, I realize just how impatient and frustrated I was. I couldn't see how my being at home for so many hours when I had other plans was a good thing! Well, plain and simple, I was wrong. 

     Right after my computer finished up and I was finishing a game of checkers with my brother, we got a call from my other brother, who was at work. He needed someone to pick him up early from work... and since Mom wasn't home, that would be me. I drove over to his work place, hoping the whole time that he wasn't sick. When I found him, he got in the truck and told me that he had something in his eye that prevented him from working. 
     It wasn't until on our way back home that it hit me... if my computer hadn't stopped working, I wouldn't have been home. And if I hadn't been home, there would have been no one to pick up my brother. I felt very foolish. As it turned out, there was still time for my "other plans" and they were made all the sweeter because I was once again surrendered to Jesus. 

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." 

Romans 8:28

 

Just for kicks, here are a few more pictures. Because a post is always better with photos. :) 

 

When a Friend Dies

     I have been going back and forth for days now about this post. Whether or not to post it, what to say, how to say it... 
     I mean, really, what does one say when a friend dies? How does one even begin to communicate to others how it affects you, or what kind of person they were/are, and how big of a hole they leave? 
     Preston Vorhauer passed from this world into the arms of his Beloved on Saturday, September 1st. When I heard it, my heart dropped. My world was rocked. If not for the strength of Jesus and His comfort, I would have fallen apart. I watched as my family and my friends around me absorbed the news. Reactions went from disbelief to horror to grief. So many of us knew Preston well and loved him as the amazing brother in Christ that he was. 
     I was immediately strengthened by the knowledge that Preston knew and adored Jesus Christ and was now far happier and safer. He was resting in His arms, worshiping at His feet, and reveling in the presence of his King, and still is. For eternity. I'm almost envious. 
     This, I believe was his greatest defining attribute. Preston loved Jesus and lived his life for him. I think of this every day and smile. It comforts me to know that this event, no matter how hard for those of us left behind, is truly one of joy. And when it seems to hit me afresh that he is gone from this earth, I run to Jesus. He comforts me again and again, even as the tears fall and my heart grows heavy. And I am reminded always that my pain and sorrow is only a brief shadow of what his family and really close friends are going through. It reminds me to pray for them. 
     On that Saturday, even as I grieved images, memories and thoughts kept coming to me; memories of Preston, all of them good. So, I wrote them down. 
     His tear stained face in church when he was brought before the throne of God. His wild red hair and the way he used to braid his beard. Watching him play bass guitar and drums on the worship team, how he truly worshiped. How crazy good he was at accents (especially Russian and Irish). The way his hair stuck out of his football helmet, always making him stand out on the field. His kindness in always genuinely asking how I am and really listening to the answer. How he liked horses but horses don't like him. How he and his friend/brother, Dale, goofed around. And how you could always tell it was him coming down the road in that red pickup with the huge whip antenna. I will always remember these things and treasure the memory of his life. 
     Even though thoughts try to sneak in that say, "why would God take such a young, promising life? How is this even fair? Why him?", I push them away, choosing to trust my God. No matter how hard it is. God is always in control, he knows exactly what He is doing. So I choose to trust that Preston's days were full. That his life was leveraged to the fullest extent for God's glory. Even though we down here will always miss him, let his life be an example that to live for God is to truly live. 
     I miss you, Preston. Emmanuel, I trust him to your care... forever.