To set the captives free...

last night i had the privilege of seeing the film Braveheart again...

i saw it last in 1998, fell in love with it and purchased it, but felt i couldn't watch it again because of the absolute heartache and suffering.

until last night...

when all my children were gone for the weekend,

and the house was peaceful and silent,

i watched it again.

William Ross Wallace is one of my heroes.
he lived, fought and bled for Scotland.
and more than that - for the belief that all men should be free...
that belief cost him his life...and gave Scotland theirs.

it seems freedom can only come with a price.
usually that price is the blood and sacrifice of all a person holds dear.
even as i write this, our men and women are dying right now to keep us free.
to keep our children and their children and their children ~ free.
the freedoms i can never imagine living without...

i cannot write the words to show how deeply grateful i am to each soldier, each soldier's wife or husband, each soldiers mother and father, for the freedoms i have right now...

for every wife or husband who learns their spouse will never come home again ~

thank you thank you thank you.

for every child who will grow to adulthood without their parent by their side ~

thank you thank you thank you.

for every mother and father who will never hold their child-soldier again ~

thank you thank you thank you.

you are all my 'braveheart'...
and though i have never deserved these freedoms i sit upon, i will never forget you...
i write your names upon my heart and these words upon my life.

there is another Braveheart.
He is the truest soldier i have ever known.
He has no medals.
no unmarked grave.
no flowers on Veteran's Day.
no flag upon His chest.
no government to stand beside
and His heroism is often overlooked and unsung...

this soldier is the Son of God.
He is Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
He bled and died upon the belief that all men should be free.
all of us.
each man, woman and child.
irrespective of country and home.

His life, His death, was each moment, for our freedom.
undeserved though we all remain
of His priceless mercy and love,
He came to "set the captives free",
to purchase our freedom at any cost to Himself.
every word from His lips, every drop from His blood
was given for you and me.

that freedom is for us all.
His life for ours.
and all we have to do is say one small word ~

yes.
yes.
yes.

what will you say to the King of Kings?
to the greatest soldier of all time?
each of us must decide.

i say yes to the greatest Braveheart i will ever know...
i say yes for freedom.
for my life,
for my children,
and for their children's freedom.

thank You, Jesus,

for Your unfathomable Love,

Your incalculable sacrifice,

and for freeing us from sin and eternal darkness...

thank You
thank You

thank You...

"To say to the captives, 'Come out,'

and to those in darkness, 'Be free!'..."

~Isaiah 49:9~

"To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death."
~Luke 1:49~

Everything about You...

i love You so very much, my Father...

i love Your:

kindness

mercy

strength

patience

perserverance

grace and graciousness

healing

restoration

renewal

silence

power

protection

nurturing
serenity

peace

acceptance

hope

understanding

gentility

constant availability

creations ~ especially my lil petey and Your glorious rain!

forgiveness

and unconditional Love in this very conditional world...

every single moment i'm alive is a gift from You and You alone.

my children, my greatest blessing, are directly from Your heart to mine.

and though i am a pauper in this world, i am a princess in Yours...

the Home You call Your own will one day be mine as well.

so, Father?

i

love

You

and more than that,

i

love

everything

about

You...

after all, what child could ever ask for more?

When dreams die...

so many of us have experienced those life-changing moments when we realize a dream is about to die...

specifically, when the dream of our marriages die.
when the only seeming certainty is a pending divorce decree and the complete upheaval it brings with it.

what we once thought was our life is forever altered and the absolute shock and trauma of it can be staggering.

how do you let go of a dream that can never come true?

the only answer i've found to that question is God...

He is the only One who has everything we need to survive the death of a dream.

healing, restoration, protection, counsel, refreshment, encouragement, unconditional love and acceptance and most of all ~

hope.

our Abba Father gives us hope to carry on, to pick up the pieces of the broken pictures of our lives.
He gives us hope not only of healing and restoration, but the ability to still believe in Love...

that it exists.
that others have it.
that it takes faith to see it
and work to keep it.

that Love alone, is possible.

that 'this too shall pass'
that the pain gets less
that hope does 'spring anew'
that life hasn't passed you by
there's more and more.
that the children will heal as well...given time.
that trusting someone doesn't always end in grief...in sorrow.

Love is possible.

did you know?
do you believe it?
are you hurting?
are you learning the painful lesson of letting go?
that we don't always get what we want because we don't always know what we need?
that your divorce doesn't define you?
that life can shine most beautifully when it comes after death?
that this isn't the end of your story, just the closing of a chapter?

Love is possible.

whereever you are today, please know that each day, each moment is a brand new beginning.
you can start again.
you can be the proverbial Phoenix that rises from the ashes.
you can be the blossoming of Spring.
you can be whole.
you can be new.
you can truly live again,
but most of all...
you can love again.

because

Love
is
possible...

Happy Birthday Ernzy...

Happy Birthday, Ernzy.

i love and miss you, ernzy...

no matter how much time passes by, i love and miss you just the same.

i want to pick up the phone and sing you Happy Birthday like i have done for years, and hear your voice just once more.

i wish you were here, ernzy...

i wish i could hug you and tell you how much you truly mean to me.

i wish i could have taken all of your pain away.

Christmas Eve is coming soon, ernzy...

did you know that your absence has changed everything?

that Thanksgiving and especially Christmas Eve, are forever different because you are no longer here?

mom and dad brought you flowers and balloons for your birthday, ernzy...

we celebrate your life even more especially because you aren't here to share it with us.

Happy Birthday, precious ernzy...

we celebrate you.

Happy Birthday Ma...

Happy Birthday, precious Ma...

you are so very precious to all of those around you.

your life is a blessing, Ma.

i'm blessed to know and love you.

i know your birthday is hard without your little boy...

i know you ache for him.

but your life is truly worth celebrating

because you are more than a survivor,

you are a champion.

you're my personal hero, Ma...

i'm proud of who you are and how much you love your family and friends.

your random acts of kindness and thoughtfulness mean the world

to the ones you bless.

i am one of those, Ma.

thank you just for being who you are...

and Happy, Happy Birthday to you!

your life shines upon us all...

so alone...

"Then all of Jesus' followers left him and ran away."
Mark 14:50

KEY THOUGHT:

For me, this is one of the saddest verses in all the Bible.
Jesus is completely left alone by those whom he had loved, trained, warned, and prepared.
The Son of God will now face the pent-up fury of those who have hated him.
He will bear unspeakable brutality and have no one to stand with him in his time of agony.
He will die alone.
Because he has faced abandonment, we can rest assured that he knows how we feel when we are abandoned, betrayed, and abused.
However, because Jesus died alone, he has promised us we would never be abandoned.
He promises to be with us every step of the way.

TODAY'S PRAYER:

Father, in those times that I feel most alone and abandoned, please help me remember Jesus
and realize that he not only knows those feelings of abandonment,
but he also has promised to never abandon me.
Thank you for this assurance based on such a costly sacrifice.
In Jesus' name I thank you.
Amen.

(this and other devotions can be found at www.heartlight.org.)

thank You...

thank You, my Abba Father,

for all You are and all You've done...

Your beauty is everywhere.

Your grace covers me each day.

Your Love lifts me from my daily troubles and enfolds me in the safety of Your arms.

i live for You, my Abba...

everything beautiful in my life is because of You and You alone.

all the Glory and credit belongs to You.

thank You for my children, Father...they truly fill my heart with light and i will love them for always and always.

thank You for my lil Petey...he brings me joy, companionship and i love him so.

thank You for Ma & Dad, J, my sisters and friends...they are simply precious and irreplaceable.

i don't have an eloquent speech prepared or a beautified prayer...just these 3 words:

"thank You, Father"

and knowing You, dearest Abba, that is enough...

i was blessed last night...

last night i had the rare opportunity of re-connecting with someone that has always been dear to me...

we were able to spend a good chunk of time getting to know a part of what has happened in each of our lives over the last 20 or so years.

he is a wonderful person, friend, brother, son and man ~
and i am blessed to have him, once again, in my life.

he earnestly cares for his family and friends and in general, he loves people.
he 'walks unafraid' in this life and it's truly refreshing to know someone like this.

because tomorrow is not promised to any of us, i do my best to live fully in the moment, to give myself wholly to right now.

and right now i am just grateful to my Abba Father for the extra joy i have in my heart.

so...

J, thank you for who you are and for the delight last night was...i am blessed to know and care about you.

and as always, Father, thank You for all You are and do in my life...
i am proud and blessed beyond measure to always be Your laineyrose.