Snip, snip, snip

I feel like my life is a little collage right now.  I read something, whether in the bible, or the various books that I'm reading, and something sticks out, so then I, metaphorically, cut it out and paste it in my heart.  Cut. Paste. Cut. Paste.  Sometimes I have my students make collages of various things they are learning about.  They love to find pictures and words, cut them out, and glue them on paper.  Some of them are more meticulous in their approach, c a r e f u l l y  cutting out each picture and v e r y  carefully arranging them on their papers, and others have a more...well, let's say "raw" approach.  Either way, the objective is met - they show what they have learned or what they know. 

I don't feel incredibly inspired (nor do I trust myself) to think on my own right now, so the thoughts of others have been the expression of my heart.  This morning, I was reading in that amazing Streams in the Desert book I was given (the reading for May 10th).  It was one of those days that I needed to "cut and paste" on my heart:

"What do you do when you are about to faint physically?  You cannot do anything.  You cease from your own doings.  In your faintness, you fall upon the shoulder of some strong loved one.  You lean hard.  You rest.  You lie still and trust.

It is so when we are being tempted to faint under affliction.  God's message is not, "Be strong and of good courage," for He knows our strength and our courage have fled away.  But it is that sweet word, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10)...

And that is all God asks of you, His dear child, when you grow faint in the fierce fires of affliction.  Do not try to be strong. Just be still and know that He is God, and will sustain you, and bring you through."

"God keeps His choicest cordials for our deepest faintings"

Stay firm, He has not failed thee

In all the past,

And will He go and leave thee

To sink at last?

Nay, He said He will hide thee

Beneath His wing;

And sweetly there in safety

Thou mayest sing.

- Selected