The cacophony of the busy day has finally settled itself. I find, in its place, a quiet, lulling melody of nighttime wind and crickets "singing" in the soft moonlight. It's a beautiful, restful evening, one in which I find myself especially aware of God's goodness in my life, and I've decided to sit down for a little while and simply list the blessings given me by His hand...

1.) Salvation and redemption--I can't put their worth into words. 2.) A heavenly home awaiting me. 3.) A priceless relationship with my loving Father God. 4.) Limitless opportunities to serve my Lord and minister at His feet, mirroring His heart to others. 5.) Parents who have faithfully led me in love and righteousness, all my days. 6.) Siblings that mean more to me than life itself. 7.) My sweetheart: a precious, Godly man growing ever dearer to me; I see more beauties of his character with the passing of each day. 8.) Friends that have been at my side, through laughter and tears; these relationships have become even more treasured through our journeys together. 9.) Music...and how my life gets to be "wrapped up" in something so profoundly moving to the soul. 10.) Health and a passion for life.

11.) A strong roof over my head and a warm bed in which to find shelter from the night. 12.) The pleasures of learning, through which both the mind and soul can be strengthened. 13.) Friends who are engaged. (I love seeing God work in your lives...Congratulations, dear ones!) 14.) Resurrection Sunday is coming soon...Oh, how I long to be in the sanctuary, rejoicing in Christ's triumph over death and hell! 15.) Four babies whose unwed parents have made the choice to lovingly bring them into this world...God be praised and may He bless you, precious little ones. 16.) Showers of blessing have come to Texas. :) 17.) My best friend, Aimee, is returning from the China mission field in a mere five days. (I can't wait to welcome you home with a grateful embrace, dear friend!) 18.) I have the joy of teaching music to children...and much more. I'm given the privilege of ministering to their souls, as I guide their fingers and grow their minds. How good God is... 19.) The Lord has given me the blessing of hard work; I go to bed exhausted every night, having lived life to its fullest and redeeming the days. 20.) I know I am loved...by God and so many others. Few hearts may ever know such blessedness.

The evening hours are fading into those of the morning, so I'd best be off to bed now. I couldn't leave you all, however, without first telling of God's great kindness. Each of you, to me, are a dear and beautiful gift from a loving Father, and I just had to tell you before I could sleep. :)

"God has been very good to us...very good, indeed."

This little entry shall have to be a dedicatory one...my precious friend, one of the oldest and dearest of my heart, is engaged!

Congratulations, Aimee!

For those of you who don't know her, I have to share a bit of her story, for it is really incredible. God's providential hand was so evident, every step of the way, and I think it's all a beautiful example of trusting your life entirely to His sovereign guidance.

I've known Aimee for the past fourteen years, and as far back as I can remember, she's had a heart deeply called to missions. Not just any mission work, mind you. :) God has given her an incredible heart toward children, and she wanted to serve him in an orphanage.

For many years, while living here, (a very comfortable seven miles away from me), she has served her family with an awe-inspiring dedication and servant-heartedness. This rare spirit's beauty became even more evident, when her first nephew was seriously handicapped. I watched my friend love the little boy beyond the expression of words. He felt her love in every warm smile, careful spoonful of food, patting of the back, comforting embrace, and many more expressions of her loving concern for him.

I know that God always creates everyone uniquely and with special abilities for His use, but I must say, God did an incredible thing, when He created Aimee. She has a heart so big, it wasn't right for me and a few privileged others to be holding it here. It belonged to the whole world because it belonged to Jesus.

After many, many years of waiting on the Lord to show her His direction for her future, a young man came into her life, last fall. He was an American missionary serving in China, and she has spent the last three months staying in Tianjin with a missionary woman, to see if the Lord would lead her in accepting a call to China missions. "What was the mission?" you may ask...

...serving as a missionary in a Chinese orphanage for handicapped children...

I could not have orchestrated a better setting for her, had I tried with all my might. That's why it's so much better to let God have the reins of our lives; His ways are so much better. :)

Several days ago, the man serving as a full-time missionary there took Aimee out to the Great Wall of China, got down on his knees, and asked her to be his wife. After having the gorgeous ring placed on her finger and finding tears as they coursed her face, she accepted him.

...And so, my precious friend is returning from China to be married here, before returning to the Orient again as the new Mrs. Robert Moore. I'm thrilled for her...and a little selfishly grieved for my own loss, but I know God has great, great things in store for her, and I wouldn't dream of standing in the way of the wonders He would perform in the world. All He asks is yielded hearts...hers is ready, and so is mine. So with gratitude for God's faithfulness, I say "Blessed be the name of the Lord," and may He richly bless my sweet friend and kindred spirit, as she sets out upon this new journey with her Savior.

"What hath God wrought?" ...Wonders of His grace, and I'm so awed to see His hand at work. :)

God be with you, Aimee.

Have you ever had "one of those days"? I'm sure you know the type of which I speak... little sunshine, sickness or exhaustion, people who take delight in pressing you to a breaking point, too many other people needing things of you, etc. :)

Well, today was "one of those days" for me, and you know, I'm think I'm okay with that. I sat here tonight, trying to figure out what I could have done differently, when I could have been more patient--where I simply could have done better--and I came to one conclusion... In every overwhelming circumstance, I could have given more love. While much of the world never offers as much as is needed, those in the Body of Christ should know that one can never give too much love. Today, I could have listened more, turned the other cheek a few more times, and sacrificed more of my own personal "rights" that I'm so fond of claiming.

There's just one problem with personal rights: as Christians, we surrender such things to our Savior. When we dedicate our lives to Him, He becomes the One Who guards our time, emotions, money, effort, and so many other things. When someone trespasses on my kindness, are they truly affronting me, or is it my Savior whose heart they are wounding? When my efforts are wasted by the insensitivities of others, is it my day which seems a failure, or is it my Redeemer Who mourns that His gift to others is not more willingly accepted?

Where is my focus, my friends? I find myself wondering that more and more, with the passing of each day... Confronted with hatefulness, do I adopt the heart of Christ and find myself viewing the antagonist through Heaven's eyes, or am I simply too concerned critiquing how many of my rights were squelched in the process? It's wrong, and I'm ashamed, but far too often, the latter of the two options is my accepted means for the moment.

I am meant to be Christ to a dying world. I cannot be that, if I continually allow myself to be dying alongside them in a heart drowned by its own resentments. How much better to be "crucified with Christ"--to allow myself to give all I can give, to sacrifice till there is nothing more to be withheld, and to pour forth so much love that people will look on me and know only Heaven could be the source of a devotion so great. It is not easy...no, not at all. Such a commitment will exhaust; such a calling will exact a high price of the giver. It will hurt, sometimes deeply, and more often than contemporary Christians would willingly admit, it will cause death--death to self, death to personal preferences and comforts, death to rights we believe we hold, death to rest and peace, and even death to our pride, which is sometimes the most painful.

There is good news, however. In the midst of "dying" in so many ways and giving up the life we thought we were owed, we begin to find the life for which we were truly meant. Christ's heart within us births love...His love which pours forth from us to a dying world. It is a painful process, but we are united with Christ "in the fellowship of His sufferings," and we begin to live life that knows no bounds. There is nothing more freeing than life in Christ. He leads us to a heavenly home beside Him, and all along the way, He allows us to be His hands and feet to those Who most need Him...that is, if we will allow our Savior to use us.

So, here I stand... I'm humbled by the reality of my own willingness to flee the cross we each must bear, and I'm even more humbled to realize that the same Redeemer, Who once saved me, still seeks to use me--broken though I be--in leading others to His saving embrace.

"I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live,

But Christ who lives in me.

And the life I now live in the flesh

I live by faith in the Son of God,

Who loved me and gave himself for me."

Galatians 2:20

Let us purpose to leave behind the life into which we were first born and embrace the life we were meant to live...a life of quiet devotion, a life of world-changing passion, one of sacrifice and death to self, and a life wherein we give all the love of which we once thought ourselves incapable. Let it not be we who live, but Christ Who lives within us. Then, and only then, will "one of those days" become an opportunity in which we may be Christ to the world in which He's placed us: a reflection of His light to shadowed hearts.

I've found myself wandering in my thoughts tonight, while I've tried to devote myself to homework. Of course, a more commendable student would have ignored such things and kept to the task at hand, but I could not. You see, my dear ones, I could no longer bear not talking with you here, in this little world I call "For the Sake of the Call." I guess that's the funny thing about it all... My calling, ministry, work, and education often so deluge me, it's difficult to stop awhile just to say "hello" and "I'm thinking of you," much less, really see what the Lord's doing in all of your lives. If anything is certain (besides the Lord's great love for His children), it is that you are very special to me. Whether I ever have the chance to stop by and say so as oft' as I should, hear me now. All you family, friends, confidants, loved ones, and even strangers...you are all a part of what makes me love this little site in which I tell of my heart, and your lives have made my own so much more beautiful. I thank you and ask that God will continue to work His perfect will in all your hearts, drawing you ever nearer to Him and to all the dreams He has dreamed for you.

Good night, dear friends!