Monday, December 31, 2012

The essence of the good life

This is a hymn that has been on my mind. Consider it a post scriptum to the "Gift of Pain"

Oh that I might live this to the fullness for Christ!

"Jesus Is All I Wish or Want
For Him I pray, for Him I pant;
Let others after earth aspire,
Christ is the treasure I desire.

2. Possessed of Him, I ask no more;
He is an all-sufficient store;
To praise Him all my powers conspire
Christ is the treasure I desire.

3. If He His smiling face but hide,
My soul no comfort has beside;
Distressed I after Him inquire
Christ is the treasure I desire.

4. And while my heart is racked with pain,
Jesus appears and smiles again.
Why should my Savior thus retire?
Christ is the treasure I desire.

5. Come, humble souls, and view His charms,
Take refuge in His saving arms,
And sing, while you his worth admire,
Christ is the Savior I desire."

The Gift of Pain

Have you ever asked God to reveal Jesus to you? 
Have you ever wanted to see Jesus so badly that you just beg God to give you just a glimpse?

Over the last several days, I have come to realize that the face of Jesus can be seen in many different areas life... Pain not being the least of these areas. 

Deep searing, raw PAIN.. It is a glimpse of Jesus. 
Through pain I can feel a tiny fraction of what he felt. I can see Jesus, taking , carrying suffering through all of my pain and our pain and doing it because of love. It shows me the raw feeling he experienced and it gives me view of who he is. 

Pain allows me to be human and to feel love. It allows me follow Christ's example, and to see him more clearly. 

To have the ability to feel pain means that one has the ability to feel love. And it gives a small glimpse of my savior. 

Yes, I am thankful for pain. 


Saturday, December 29, 2012

Reflection

"Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn , and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged."
~ Isaiah 51:1 

I have been thinking about this verse. And it seems fitting for the reflection upon a year past and a year to come. 
From a layman's perspective, this verse had a great deal of meaning brought into a very every day personal description.
Since the building that was done in the days above, came from handwork, and the digging of, and out of pits came from laborious efforts, this verse greets the people on their terms. 
The pits were muddy and rough and being pulled from a pit took manual labor as well as digging the pit. Ropes and muscle and mud. But before one digs a pit, it is a flat piece of earth. 
A stone that is carved in its beginnings is simply a shapeless hard piece of matter. Then as the long carving and chiseling process takes it course a person, a word, or even a scene might take form.... Stone mountain's famous civil war scene for instance. But it did not start out as anything special or nice to look at. 

That is how God tells us to view our lives and take reflection. We are seeking the Lord and righteousness, and sometimes that gets discouraging to see what we are compared to Jesus' righteous standards;however, He says... "Reflect. You start out as something shapeless and perhaps ugly or distasteful, but I am shaping you and you are becoming something that has form."
 It takes labor and struggle, but we can reflect and see what we started out as and what we are now, in Christ.
It has been an encouraging thought for me this day. 




The Christmas Virus

Christmas in the Grey Submarine was quite the epic masterpiece.
To begin the saga, there were 31 adults and three adorable toddlers trotting round the Grey Submarine. Daddy and mamma were delighted to have three little ones running around all week. I believe it was an experience worth having for all of us. We girls have become so used to our own ages that we have forgotten the delight of such little ones.
Then we had the three illustrious  "beaus" to grace us with their presence. They somehow responded very amiably to the great eccentricities of the family traditions.
 The stomach virus swept through and the septic system had a break-down...But we we were able to laugh through it all for even the chaos had its own sweetness. To see different family members nurse others and to see the spouses helping each other and serving each other, made a deep impression on my mind's eye.

This Christmas set the last scene for a closing era in the Fulmer family lives. Wedding bells will come, sisters will be gone, little girls no longer girls but growing young women, and houses more silent.
It is interesting to view an era in the last of its stages and to see at the same time the birthing of another. Change is very like birth. It is painful, yet the actual product after the pain yields even more joy.

Furthermore, change allows us to experience a greater joy in Christ because we can better appreciate his changeless nature.





 Therefore, we will greet change with a smile as we did the christmas virus with laughter.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

The FINAL FOUR...


 Friday, The Final Four ... or technically the "REMAINING Three" (Milly, Molly and yours truly) ALSO Proudly known as the "SINGLE LADIES"took a little shopping trip to finish / start the Christmas Shopping..( a leetle late ? yes.. perhaps..) 
Although there are still five girls left in the Grey Submarine... Those who have Remained steadfast and singleminded.... ahem.. have banded together under the banner of the .... The Single Ladies Anti-Sappy Society.
We had a lovely shopping spree.. We were absolutely reckless.. We shopped ALL of the clearance Isles in each store... And topped it off with a small trot to the local Starbucks where we read the newspaper headlines about  the release of the Hobbit.  To our pleasure , we found several plush chairs across from two stalwart old gents who had newspapers piled up to the ears... Yes we all smiled at each other pleasantly and enjoyed a few minutes of calm in the rushed day. 

Then we roamed the halls of Michaels and Hobby Lobby entranced by the smell of the floral section and Christmas scents. We bought all the materials needed for magnolia wreathes. We finished the day off with a nifty looking cuffed jacket for Milly's teen pact conference. She is a doll in black and pin-stripes. 

A good day's work and a happy date with the remaining three Single ladies. 

The Sun has set on the Fantastic Five .....



And the Remaining Three must continue the banner of... The Single Ladies Anti-Sappy Society


Molliere`

Milly (aka:Moltree)
                                      



 Yours Truly
~ The S.L.A.S. Society 

About Me

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I started "Annalogies" as an outlet of creativity for an overly scientific, logically minded life. I love people. I enjoy the simple things in life. My aspiration is that this outlet can allow me to grow in expression. So go with me and grow with me, if you like. I am just a sculpture still in the making. annegirl46@gmail.com