Out With the Old in With the New

There was no way around it; Chad's work van couldn't be fixed. Well, that's another story. It finally got fixed after six weeks, the day after the new one was purchased! So, as we emptied the old to set-up the new, Chad found this old picture tucked away in a drawer of his toolbox. He was unable to use the toolbox for years, until now. What a pleasant surprise to see the reappearance of this dated picture. It was taken Mother's Day, 2013. Tess was 10, Tucker 13, and Clark David 18. It's just like God to bring forth a reminder of that day with them and the memory of Clark David's "presence" October 1st, just five days before the eighth anniversary of his Heaven going which is always hard and bittersweet!

It's October 4th. Eyes open...4 a.m. Heart pounds. Heartbreak still deep it aches, but You Lord say...joy comes when I wake.

 Number eight means new beginnings. Without him eight years have passed, but big changes have come at last! From the debut of Darren Jay to Mr. and Mrs. Tucker Heaton's wedding day. The perfect "I do" created by You because when the time drew nigh, Pastor Jared lifted Your name high.   

   

In with the new van, out with the old. New motorcycle; broken and repaired bone.

New house, new loans. Old motorcycle gone. Period. Gone is the old life, Tucker's got a new wife (but there wasn't an old one ;))
"Get in Maddy Waddy Pumpkin Paddy"

 Sins confessed, removed as far as the East is from the West.
Two fly out of nest, one back in for rest.

  Our family down here is back to five, even though I cannot see or hear you Clark David I know you're alive! For Your new mercies Lord each day I'm elated, though from him I'm still separated. Your return in the clouds will soon be celebrated by those who love Your appearing and bending ear for trumpet hearing. 

Waiting for culmination is the hardest part, but Jesus, You cure the heart.

You redeem, reinhabit, and restore, no reason to want anything more.

Even though I miss him like crazy, there's no time for lazy. 

May we tell others about You before it's too late so they too can live anew. 

May You be glorified as we praise Your name above all others,

 while gathering sisters and brothers.

Even though new pictures with him I have none and will never on this side 

Hallelujah all that will be over "in the sweet by and by."

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsLZGwbM-Vg (click link to listen)

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for reminding me You're always near and tend to me. Thank You for the promises of Your Word. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5b).  One day soon it will be morning. Tragedies, trials, disappointments, and despair come, but they are all temporary to those who intimately know You. You will return for Your Bride the Church. You will take out (by fire) the old and bring in the new. You will make all wrong, right. Soon and very soon You will usher in the new Heaven and new Earth (Revelation 21:1).

"This sin-riddled world gives us many reasons to despair (John 16:33). Our own sin often brings God's discipline (Hebrews 12:7-8); Revelation 3:19). Heartaches, disappointments, and betrayals can leave us feeling shattered, and we may wonder if hope will never come again. So, God reminds us that joy comes in the morning. DARK NIGHTS CAN LAST A LONG TIME, BUT THEY ARE NEVER PERMANMENT FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST (emphasis mine). Only God can take the very bad and transform it into something very good (Romans 8:28-29). Even when walking through "the valley of the shadow of death," we need fear no evil (Psalm 23:4). Our Good Shepherd never abandons us, and our suffering is always purposeful (Psalm 56:8). The Lord can take broken places in our lives and create a mosaic that blesses the world. It is often our darkest pain that becomes our brightest light when we entrust it to Him. Joy comes in the morning when we awaken to our purpose and see that even our sins and sorrows, and confusion have become the foundation upon which God builds a ministry."

I encourage you to read more from the quoted excerpt below about how King David understood that his sin and sorrows became the foundation upon which God built a ministry along with Paul and Jesus! Read how Jesus models for us what it means that joy comes in the morning. Click the link below.

https://www.gotquestions.org/joy-comes-in-the-morning.html 

 

 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. Psalm 119:71

 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death. Psalm 118:17-18

Artwork: Tess Heaton

When Jesus comes, He will honor the request of those 

who refused Him and dismiss them for eternity. 

Then He will bless the desire of those who accepted Him 

and gather them for a family reunion.

--Max Lucado, "You'll Get Through This" Devotional Calendar