I know He Watches Me

Music for me is such a comfort and I find that when I'm struggling with something, whether it's a situation or just my own negative thinking, a verse of one song or another will come to mind. Often it's a few words of an old hymn. This morning it was "His Eye is on the Sparrow". As with many of the old hymns, there is a story behind this song.

Early in the spring of 1905, Civilla Martin and her hus­band were sojourning (great word meaning "to stay as a temporary resident") in El­mi­ra, New York. They began a friend­ship with a cou­ple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doo­lit­tle. Mrs. Doo­lit­tle had been bed­rid­den for close to twen­ty years and her hus­band was crippled and got around in a wheel chair. De­spite this (there is a lot said in those two words), they were hap­py, and brought in­spir­a­tion and com­fort to all who knew them.

One day while the Martins were vi­sit­ing with the Doo­lit­tles, Dr. Martin com­ment­ed on their hope­ful­ness and asked them for the se­cret of it. Mrs. Doo­lit­tle’s re­ply was sim­ple: “His eye is on the spar­row, and I know He watch­es me.” The beau­ty of this sim­ple ex­press­ion of faith gripped the hearts and fired the imag­in­a­tion of Dr. Mar­tin and his wife and this hymn was the out­come of that ex­per­i­ence.

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Psalm 84:3 Even the sparrow has found a home,and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar,O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

Waiting.....

Here we are, May 20; 1 month and 3 days post fire and we continue to wait.

Fast Eddies started out as their name described, but have definitely slowed as time has gone on!! The second story has been removed, but the rear storage area and the kitchen have not been cleaned out. We continue to wait for a wall to be put up at the end of the south wing and power restored to that area so that we can get it cleaned. At that point the offices would be usable again and Dan and Noah could move back in....if they wish to. Brad has been in discussions with the adjuster about a temporary roof, but their idea of temporary involves hiring an engineer who who will take 3 - 4 weeks to provide his report....gah!

For now we continue to live and work out of the mobile. Most days it's just fine, but on "those" days (particularly rainy ones) the walls seem to close in on an already much smaller space than we are accustomed to! Maintaining a positive outlook is certainly key though I have had moments over the past couple weeks when I felt anything BUT positive. I have to work at keeping my expectations in check; this will be home for a while. The silver lining??? Thank you Lord that it's not winter!!

In this fast paced, microwave culture we live in where you can be in touch with anybody at the speed of a text or a twitter, watch television from your blackberry or iphone and shop without leaving the comfort of your living room, waiting isn't convenient. It is disruptive and can leave me feeling.....how shall I say it...out of control.

And therein lies the rub.

The lack of control and not knowing "how long" can bring me pretty close to those limits. In the moments when I find myself there I have to still the voices in my head that demand to be satisfied NOW.....and focus again on what's truly important. More of your grace, Lord, so that I can continue not only to wait, but wait well.
If life's circumstances are God's opportunities to assist us in realizing our deep need for him, then it really is him that I wait for. Isaiah 40:31 says "Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."

I don't write 'cause I have all the answers but I do tend to write when I'm looking for one. Something happens in the process and once again I am reminded of God's continued faithfulness in my life.

Ever find yourself in a place of waiting?

Two weeks, two days.....and counting.

A couple days ago I was trying to think of a scripture passage but couldn't quite grasp it. I was sure it was in Psalms, but it seemed to lie just beyond the edge of my memory....Have you every tried to hunt down a scripture without a concordance? Thank heaven for Google and online Bibles!!

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord,who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Psalm 121: 1-3

I didn't go to bible college and I don't know why the books of the bible are arranged in the order that we find them, but I have always found it interesting and incredibly cool that the Psalms follow the book of Job....coincidence? I think not!

This past week the ladies in the lifegroup that I'm a part of blew me away with their graciousness. The encouragement they provided was right on:

Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Yet the righteous holds to his way, and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger. Job 17:9

Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them. Isaiah 42:9

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6, 7

In the midst of our present circumstances, life certainly does go on. Carleigh is back with us and Meagan and her friend Alex left yesterday morning for Halifax. Alex is there for two months, and Meg hopes the new job will work into some management experience for her so that she can go back to school for her MBA. Halifax is such a beautiful city; I`m sure they will have a great summer and I can`t wait to go visit (and eat some great seafood!). We`ve set up a temporary office in the mobile; we`ve gone from about 7,000 or 8,000 square feet where everybody had their own room and office as well as a weight and exercise room to approx 1,200 square feet. There are certainly moments of frustration (running an office with 3 under the age of 5 in close proximity is fun), this is a great location for us and we are thankful for the use of it. We had our first family dinner here Friday and fed 14....most of them ate outside!

The demolition of the centre portion of our place is scheduled to begin Monday. A barrier wall will be put up at the end of the south wing and an electrician will get hydro service back up and running. My understanding is that at that point we`ll be able to get the south end (bedrooms and offices) cleaned so that we can use that space. Brad continues to deal with the insurance adjuster. We`ve enjoyed a good laugh when people have shared with us their lawyer jokes.....some of them are actually funny. They are usually jokes where the profession is interchangable with car or insurance salesmen; you know what I mean. I think insurance adjusters could be added to that list as well. *Heavy sigh

I think for the most part we are keeping an upbeat attitude...there have been times when I`ve had to ask God for more of his grace; it`s a good thing he has a bountiful supply.

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.