Called by name...

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

— Isaiah 43:1 & 2

On Kind Words...

"Never give all your pleasant words and smile to strangers. The kindest words and the sweetest smiles should be reserved for home. Home should be our heaven." - Thomas Edie Hill

Undeserved

Captain: I have a question for you.
Me: Yes sir.
Captain: On a structure fire you are up on a roof...and you fall in.
Me: (ok, this is an emergency traffic situation drill and all the procedures start running through my head)
Captain: And you die.
Me: (?)
Captain: What happens to you?
Me: Well sir, because of God's sovereign grace I will immediately be with Him and it will be the best day of my life.

I cannot tell you how hard it was to answer that question. Entirely because I do not deserve to answer that question that way...at all. There is no way I deserve to be in the presence of the Creator of the universe the instant my body ceases to be able to support life. My throat got kind of tight thinking about it...God's grace that is. However, it glorifies God to show grace to sinners.

So...let me ask you a question.

You are on your way home from work tomorrow and a guy who had a few too many drinks during happy hour happens to have parked his car on the freeway. His lights are off. You don't see him until the last minute when you have no time to avoid hitting him. Your chest hits the steering wheel causing the largest vessel in your body to tear apart and you bleed to death. What happens to you?

Quote of the Day

"...all the wickedness in the world that man might work or think is no more to the mercy of God than a live coal in the sea..." -William Langland

Update Option #2...

If you want to continue to follow my progress through the fire academy, please email me at seekingthebettercity@gmail.com...in the subject line please put "update".

Thanks!!

Liz

Due to reasons I cannot go into...this journal is canceled.

If you want updates on how I am doing...just email me...or call me.

Sorry! Thanks for reading!!

Liz

Prevention

A Fence or an Ambulance

Joseph Malins

'Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant;
But over its terrible edge there had slipped
A duke and full many a peasant.
So the people said something would have to be done,
But their projects did not at all tally;
Some said, "Put a fence 'round the edge of the cliff,"
Some, "An ambulance down in the valley."

But the cry for the ambulance carried the day,
For it spread through the neighboring city;
A fence may be useful or not, it is true,
But each heart became full of pity
For those who slipped over the dangerous cliff;
And the dwellers in highway and alley
Gave pounds and gave pence, not to put up a fence,
But an ambulance down in the valley.

"For the cliff is all right, if your careful," they said,
"And, if folks even slip and are dropping,
It isn't the slipping that hurts them so much
As the shock down below when they're stopping."
So day after day, as these mishaps occurred,
Quick forth would those rescuers sally
To pick up the victims who fell off the cliff,
With their ambulance down in the valley.

Then an old sage remarked: "It's a marvel to me
That people give far more attention
To repairing results than to stopping the cause,
When they'd much better aim at prevention.
Let us stop at its source all this mischief," cried he,
"Come, neighbors and friends, let us rally;
If the cliff we will fence, we might almost dispense
With the ambulance down in the valley."

"Oh he's a fanatic," the others rejoined,
"Dispense with the ambulance? Never!
He'd dispense with all charities, too, if he could;
No! No! We'll support them forever.
Aren't we picking up folks just as fast as they fall?
And shall this man dictate to us? Shall he?
Why should people of sense stop to put up a fence,
While the ambulance works in the valley?"

But the sensible few, who are practical too,
Will not bear with such nonsense much longer;
They believe that prevention is better than cure,
And their party will soon be the stronger.
Encourage them then, with your purse, voice, and pen,
And while other philanthropists dally,
They will scorn all pretense, and put up a stout fence
On the cliff that hangs over the valley.

Better guide well the young than reclaim them when old,
For the voice of true wisdom is calling.
"To rescue the fallen is good, but 'tis best
To prevent other people from falling."
Better close up the source of temptation and crime
Than deliver from dungeon or galley;
Better put a strong fence 'round the top of the cliff
Than an ambulance down in the valley.