Where Has That Verse Been All My Life?

I think it's a nearly universal experience for believers that we can read the Bible for years and years, and still occasionally have those "Where has THAT verse been all my life?!" moments. It happened to me again a couple of days ago. I was reading these words in Job:

"But he [God] is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind."  (Job 23:13-14)

I had many reactions to reading this. Here are a few, in no particular order:

1. God is sovereign throughout our lives, which is very reassuring and comforting. He is God, and we are not.

2. God appoints certain events, both those that feel good to us and those that don't, for our ultimate well-being and sanctification.

3. This reminds me of a John Piper quote: "God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of 3 of them."

4. These verses are very similar to Proverbs 16:9.  "The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

5. Where should we turn in times of trouble?  Psalm 57:2 gives us the answer: "I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me."

6. I love that God has a purpose for me! I may not always know exactly what it is, but He "...who began a good work in you will bring it to completion..."  (Phil. 1:6)

7. How amazing is it that our God has "many such things in his mind" for each and every one of us? I cannot fathom that kind of brain power. I can't even remember what I had for dinner two days ago.

How about all of you? Do these verses in Job teach you something or remind you of other similar words in the Bible?  I'd love to hear from you. 😉

Recap of CandyceLand in VacationLand

Personal update: Steve and I just returned from 4 weeks of study and vacation. We hadn't taken time off since last August, so it took a while for us to get used to a break from our regular schedule.

The first week was characterized by peace and quiet. We rented a little carriage house in Bowdoinham, ME, with 3 rooms surrounded by lots of trees. We ate out lunch every day, but morning and night we were reading. Technically Steve read more books than I did, but my books had more pages in them. Not that I'm competitive at all.  😆

The second week was just the opposite of peace and quiet, more like noise and chaos. A small bathroom renovation turned into a big project, and the contractor forgot to tell us to cover everything in the adjacent room. So when we returned home, there was drywall dust everywhere in Max and Henry's playroom. Every Lego, every stuffed animal, every train, every ball, every everything needed to be washed with soap and water. In the midst of this I got the really fun idea to change around 3 of our rooms, so it was up the stairs and down the stairs with furniture and closets of clothes and toys and ALL THE THINGS.  In this same week, Katie and Jonathan and the boys moved into a new home so we were helping with that too! We were physically exhausted, but it was worth it. Well, right now it's worth it because it's all done and we like the final results. 😎

The third week was somewhere in-between the first two weeks: quiet at times but busy. We had mornings to ourselves, and then Max and Henry joined us for the afternoons. Lots of swimming at the Exeter Pool and prepping for the final week...

Week 4 was an absolute delight! For the past several years we've rented a house and had all the kids join us. (This time Kristin and Dan could not come out from Pittsburgh since Dan graduated that weekend from his MBA program. 🎉)  But we finally found a house we all agreed was the best one yet! It had a terrific view of the Presidential Range in the White Mountains of NH and the most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen. There was a beach nearby that worked well for our family. We all shared the cooking, and we had some amazing dinners when we all came together at the end of the day. Steve may/may not have beaten me in the book reading category again, but I had lots of time playing with the boys, so all is well. 👍

All in all, it was a wonderful time of relaxation and busyness and productivity and delightful family times around the dinner table while playing cards and games with one another. We are very thankful for everyone who filled in for us and enables us to go away. We're back now and eager to see everyone and get EPC ready for the next season of church life!

Here are scenes from our vacation house, but they do not come even close to the majesty of seeing God's amazing and creative landscapes in person!