Before You

Before You, I was lost.

Before You, I had nothing.

Before You, I was lonely.

 I was searching for something.

I was searching for something to make me whole.

Something to mend this broken heart of mine.

But I discovered that it wasn’t something I was looking for.

It was Someone and He would make me just fine.

But He made me more than just fine.

He turned me into something great.

He made me one of His children.

Now eternity with Him is my new fate.

Before you, I was lost.

Before you, I had nothing.

Before you, I was lonely.

But with You, I am more than just something.

I am someone.

I am Yours.

Love, Haylie

The Gift of Christmas

Christmas comes faster every year.

Just after Thanksgiving, holiday music is all we hear.

Bright colored paper, tinsel and snow,

Candles are lit, giving a soft, Christmas glow.

Holidays shoppers fill up the shops.

They’re running around making all the necessary stops.

Children are sitting on Santa Claus’s lap,

As their parents stand watching, desperately wanting a nap.

But is this what Christmas is really about?

Do we have to be nice and not cry or pout?

Is Santa the real thing or is there something better?

Santa may give us toys, but God gave us something greater.

He gave us His Son on that Christmas day.

Born in a stable in a manger of hay.

This tiny little baby saved us all,

Now isn’t that better than some new rag doll?

This gift of eternal life is the greatest gift ever.

Now let us celebrate Christmas like we have never.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Flame of God

Amy Carmichael is one of my greatest spiritual heroes. She was an Irish missionary in the 19th century to Japan, China and India, where she rescued over a thousand children from slavery. Her life was truly one that was poured out without reserve at the feet of her Beloved Jesus. Not only was she a faithful missionary, but a talented writer and poet. I have been inspired again and again by her commitment expressed through her writing. In particular, I am continually challenged and uplifted by this prayer-poem, from her book Toward Jerusalem, which I hope will also encourage you today:

From prayer that asks that I may be

Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,

From fearing when I should aspire,

From faltering when I should climb higher

From silken self, O Captain, free

Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

From subtle love of softening things,

From easy choices, weakenings,

(Not thus are spirits fortified,

Not this way went the Crucified)

From all that dims Thy Calvary

O Lamb of God, deliver me.

Give me the love that leads the way,

The faith that nothing can dismay

The hope no disappointments tire,

The passion that will burn like fire;

Let me not sink to be a clod;

Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.

- Amy Carmichael

To read more about this amazing woman of God, I'd highly recommend A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot.