“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High with rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

The rough landscape thorny bushes was repetitive. For hours we jostled and bounced in the four wheel drive jeep through the African bush. Now were returning home.

“Look!” our African friend pointed ahead. He spotted a rare antelope.

“Let’s get out to get a picture,” said our missionary friend.

The three men –the missionary, the African and my husband– got out of the vehicle to adventure. Cautiously and quietly they walked toward the scraggly trees and low thorny bushes to find the elusive animal, anticipating getting a National Geographic quality photo.

I climbed out of the vehicle to watch, praying they would be safe. Stepping into the vastness of the African bush was incredible. Dusty, sandy soil blew across the ruts of the dirt road. The sounds of the evening  creatures floated on the wind. As the sun set, the light blue sky turned a darker shade, with streaks of pink radiating across it. Although I stood in a desert, not far ahead was a mountain.The shadow of the mountain stretched across the scrub bushes.

The men cautiously moved around to catch a glimpse of the elusive animal. Soon they returned, disappointed for not having seen it.  Dusk made it harder to see. Other animals– the larger ones– would be prowling soon.

Climbing back into the jeep, we gladly sought refuge from the wilderness. It felt safe to be together again, buckled in the refuge of the vehicle. There was a calmness in the mountain’s shadow,  as it brought relief to the desert land.  The great shadow of the mountain claimed the landscape as we drove off.

Often in the Bible, the wilderness is a place of transition and testing, of searching for God.      The people had to learn deeper trust in God’s promises. They had to learn to rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

With the start of a new year, I hope you will read Psalm 91 to find a refuge for your soul. Offer thanks for God’s sheltering care and ask Him to increase your trust in the days and months ahead.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Meditate on the words:

O come, o come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Som of God appears.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height, in ancient times didn’t give the law in cloud and majesty and awe.

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; from depths of hell Thy people save and give them victory o’er the grace.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, some and cheer our spirits by Thine advent here; O drive away the shade of night and pierce the clouds and bring us light.

O come, Thou Key of David, come and open wide our heavenly home where all Thy saints with Thee shall dwell—O come, o come Emmanuel!

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”  Luke 1:32,33

There’s a interesting connection between those words.

The “God of all grace” is one of the names given to God in scripture (1 Peter 5:10). God is the author of grace, freely giving it to us though we are undeserving. The greatest gift given to us is the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. The blessings in daily life like family, sustenance, or even the next breath we take are also gifts given to us out of grace. In Greek, the word for grace is charis. This is the root word for charity.

The response to receiving grace is gratitude. It is interesting to note that the Greek word for gratitude is also charis.

The difference is that one charis (grace) flows from the giver and the other charis (gratitude) is the response of the receiver. Grace flows from God to us; his blessings flow to us. We receive them with gratitude.

Another expression for ‘giving thanks’ before a meal is ‘saying grace.’  The counterpart to grace is gratitude.

Grace, gratitude, and thankfulness are all related words.

No matter what season in life you are experiencing, whether it’s a time of great blessing when things are going right or a time of distress when life overwhelms you, I encourage you to look to the God of all grace with a heart of gratitude. Receive both the small and large blessings of life with thankfulness.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; Give thanks to him and praise his name,

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100:4-5

Looking at the holiness of God is like looking at the sun. His holiness is too pure for us. Moses asked to see the glory of God, but only got to see Him pass by because the Lord covered him in the cleft of a rock. (Exodus 33:19-23)

Looking at God’s holiness is another pathway to praise. How can we do that, especially when we are faced with tough situations and discouragement? We judge we have failed and are unworthy of being in God’s presence. In spite of this, God beckons us to look at His holiness.

The prophet Isaiah lived during the time of King Uzziah, who reigned 52 years as a godly and powerful king. Uzziah accomplished much, providing prosperity, safety and security for his people for decades. His death was terrible news, raising questions of what would happen next. It was at this point of discouragement and despair that Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord.

He wrote in Isaiah 6:1-5:

“In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;

the whole earth is full of His glory.”

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

When faced with the astounding holiness of God Isaiah felt totally unworthy. He realized his despair and sin.

But God didn’t leave him in his hopelessness.

“Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said,”See, your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (v.6)

God initiated an act of grace. He touched Isaiah with forgiveness so he could stand in His presence of holiness.

Isn’t that the way it is with us? Things look bleak or we think we have failed. We are without hope. Nothing worked out as we hoped. Here is when we need to change our focus. We, too, can look at the holiness of God as Isaiah did, be moved by a reality check to see how much we need Him, and then receive His grace.

Later in Isaiah 57:15 we read:

“For this is what the high and lofty One says–he who lives forever, whose name is holy: I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

It amazes me that the Holy God does not remain far off, but seeks to live with us and desires to revive our weary hearts.

The holiness of God demands a response from us. We can be fearful and turn away from Him, as if turning away from bright scorching sun, or we can draw closer to Him by His grace. His purity leads us to look inward to see where we miss the mark. By laying our imperfections down we can receive His forgiveness through His grace. Then we see a glimpse of His holiness. The Holy God doesn’t stay on a distant mountain, but comes down to us right where we are. He doesn’t change, but we change when we are in His presence. Praise rises in our hearts. We are empowered by the Lord to face the challenges of our lives with new strength and hope.

Be drawn to praise His holiness.

Imagine this scenario:
It’s dinnertime and the family is called to the table. The kids have been outside playing in the sandbox, and dirty. They are starved. They bolt into the house, sit down at the table and start to fill their plates while mom is still getting things on the table. She notices they have not washed their hands, and sends them to go wash them immediately. Begrudgingly they do, but return with grumpy attitudes because they manage to get in a fight while washing their hands.

Rewind. Take two. It’s dinnertime, and the family is called to the table. The kids have been playing outside in the sandbox. They are dirty and starved. They bolt into the house and remember to wash their hands before going to the table. They wait for everyone. The meal begins without any squabbles.

As you consider approaching the Holy God, which scenario can you identify with? The children ignoring their dirty hands and rushing to the table, of the children willingly washing their hands before the meal? It is better for us to approach our heavenly Father with the attitude of knowing we have dirty hands (sin in our heart) and seek His cleansing.  While the Lord lovingly accepts us as we are, our part is to continually seek His forgiveness to gain a pure heart.

“Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalm 51:2  He has mercy on us when we have a contrite heart. He ‘un-sins’ us so we can stand in His presence.

Psalm 24: 3-4 reads “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol.”

One pathway to praise is to look at creation and marvel at the detail of it. From the stars of the Milky Way to the tiniest seed, there is wonder in creation.

Another pathway is to look at the character of God as described in the Word of God. Psalm 145 is full of verses of praise for God’s character. Let’s look at a few:

“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” (vs.2) Imagine the greatest thing you can and then realize that God is greater still. His greatness is beyond anything our finite minds can imagine.

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and rich in love.” (vs. 8 ) This sentence is packed with descriptions of God: gracious, compassionate, patient, and loving.

How has God shown His grace? By accepting us as we are. We don’t have to have everything in order to come to Him.

Has He shown compassion when you’ve needed comfort? One friend explained this as seeing God as someone she can crawl up in His lap and feel loved, like a child going to the tender parent for comfort, accepted and resting in His love.

He is slow to anger. We cry out in exasperation ‘How long, O Lord?’ at the injustices we see, yet He is patient until He is ready to move. God doesn’t give us what we deserve-he gives us grace instead.

God is rich in love. Even when we neglect to praise Him, His love is there, echoing throughout the universe and pulsing within our hearts.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” (v.18 ) The promise of His presence is such a comfort. He will not abandon us. After all, He is Immanuel, “God with us.”

Looking at the character of God should lead us to praise, which takes our focus off of ourselves and puts it on God.

This psalm shows God’s nature like a multi-faceted diamond. Sometimes light shines on one facet making His love more noticeable while another time the situations of life shine on His compassion. He is not changeable; our perspective and situation in life changes to reveal different facets of the same perfectly cut diamond of God’s character.

Change your focus and get a new perspective of praise.

“My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name forever and ever.” (vs. 21)

Psalm 145

“1 I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.

2 Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

4 One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.

7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

9 The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you.

11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,

12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.

14 The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.

16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.

18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.

20 The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.”

© 2011 – NancyKayGrace

Hikers returning from the lake encouraged us, saying it was just 10 minutes away. Their words inspired us to press on.

Around a few more curves we finally we made it! Whew! Out of breath from the thin air, but also breathless at the sight, we paused to savor the view: a clear lake surrounded by snow capped peaks and a deep azure sky. A stream tumbled over the edge of the mountain, becoming the roaring waterfall that wound through the forest. Below us, off in the distance, was a larger lake, from where we began our hike.

A young family sat on granite boulders enjoying a snack. Children squealed as they tentatively stepped into the cold water. We dangled our feet in the lake until our toes turned blue. Then we let sun warm them again. Here was creation enjoying creation!

No matter where you are, take a moment to praise the Creator God. Whether you see a fluffy cloud in the hot sky or a lightning bug at dusk, smile and praise God. Creation points us to praise the Creator.

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise… When I consider your heavens and the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (from Psalm 8 )

This book gives you a first hand view of missionary life, letting you see God’s provision and care for the Abernethys in the midst of serving the Lord in very difficult situations. I was inspired as I read it!

Can you give us a brief synopsis of this story?

In 1985 I, along with my husband, Jeff, followed a call from God to minister in the small West African country of Liberia. From learning how to effectively communicate with the Liberian workers in my jungle home to witnessing the painful death of a young woman in childbirth, I write candidly. I tell stories of every day happenings in the life of jungle living, but also plod through the painful: when one of my daughter’s fell from an 18-foot balcony and when my husband was exposed to Lassa fever. One of my favorite things to write about were the chronicles of my husband’s adventures of being a bush pilot in the jungle of Liberia.

Inside this book you will find disbelief, tragedy, fear, anxiety, discontentment, and confusion, but there is also humor, delight, amazement, wonder, surrender, and a deep-seated joy as you watch how God – little by little – chipped away at the walls of pride, unbelief, stubbornness, and independence that had always held me captive to myself. You may find yourself in these stories.

What was your key inspirational force in writing and publishing your first book?

My three daughters were the primary inspirations. Our oldest, Michelle, was 2 1/2 when we first went to Liberia. Stefanie, our second, was born in the middle of the jungle after we had only been in Liberia for ten months. Third daughter Lauren was born during the tumultuous time after our first evacuation from our ministry & home in Liberia. I wanted them to have a written account of their parents’ missionary journey in West Africa and beyond. It is one thing to be a Missionary Kid and live the life in your “home away from home”, but as they are all now young women in their twenties, I wanted them to see God in a bigger way. To always have a reason to keep trusting Him – no matter what.

Another motivation for writing this book were young missionary couples (particularly the women) who may wonder what they can expect as they enter their field of service. Though the country and circumstances may be different, I want the book to be a cultural, spiritual, and practical guide to those who will come behind us.

The third reason was for those that have always been interested in the intrinsic details of foreign missionary lives. I offer this candid missionary memoir as a means to open the door to seeing us as human, exposing struggles and sharing victories.

What helped you make the decision of which stories to include and which stories to leave out?

That was not an easy task. Taking the advice of several friends and other writers, I stopped the constant editing and analyzing of what I had already written and just wrote the story. It soon started to weave itself into somewhat of a continuum.

After I had completely written the story, I went back and read the entire book, critically, as through the eyes of those who might read it but not really know me very well. I prayed much that God would give me the grace to know when to “let go” of a story, especially when it seemed that it was completely self-serving. Grant it, I struggled with God over at least two particular stories that I really wanted to keep in there, but no matter how hard I tried, they did not fit the spirit of what the book had become.

Honestly, I do not believe that I could have written this book in as God-honoring of a way ten years ago. While I am no where near what I need to be in Christ, I do know that He has taken more of the ME out of the story and inserted much more of the HIM in it.

Where can we find out more about you and your books?

Please visit my website at www.kimlabernethy.com.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for posting the author’s interview on my blog. This blog tour is managed by Christian Speaker Services (www.ChristianSpeakerServices.com). _

If you would like to enter to win a copy of In This Place, please post a comment or simply type “Enter me” in the comment box. The winner will be randomly chosen August 29, 2011.

The concrete steps descended into cool darkness; cautiously we proceeded, holding onto the handrail.

Quickly my vision adjusted from the outdoor sun to the underground darkness. The tour guide pointed her flashlight on the walls revealing previously unseen shapes. There was a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a pipe organ, and a large fish. All were formations in a large crystal domed cavern, eight stories below ground.

It was interesting to safely ‘explore’ this cave with the help of the guide. She went before us preparing the way by turning on light switches.

On the way out, she paused and revealed some small living creatures on the cave walls — small salamanders, cave crickets, and toads. They were there all the time but we had not noticed them.

Isn’t that so typical of our lives? We walk by marvelous things every day without noticing them. We so easily miss seeing God’s beauty. Sometimes we too preoccupied with our lives to see someone’s need. His grace is in plain sight if we will only open our eyes.

The apostle Paul writes, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1:18

Pray for God to open your eyes in a new way, to see the riches around you and his great power.

What a sweet reminder of God’s love! God’s everlasting love continually reaches to us, even when we fall short.

Nothing can separate us from His love.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, not any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:38-39

That covers everything!

I hope you can rest in these precious promises today.

Discover more of God’s love in this video: