Better is One Day

Happy Birthday, Joel!

We are celebrating that you are enjoying all the blessings of Heaven while missing your sweet, fun presence here with us today and everyday.

We are learning to:

Rejoice in Hope,
The hope of Heaven
bought by our Redeemer;
That we are but grass;
That these long, hard days
are but a blink of an eye
Then we will See you again,
Hold you in our arms, and
Dance with you on streets of gold.

Persevere in Suffering,
To count it all as loss
that we may know Christ
and His resurrection power;
as we share in His sufferings.
To run the race each day;
Push through the veil and
Obtain grace in our time of need
While you cheer us on.

Persist in Prayer. (Romans 12:12)
For strength in our inner being,
for hearts rooted in the love of Christ.
We wait, we are still, and we listen
for the Word and Light of life.
Waiting for and hasting the coming day.
According to His promise, we look
for a new heaven, and a new earth
where Righteousness dwells.

And where we’ll be able to dance and sing again with you…

Psalm 84
How lovely is Your dwelling place,
O Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints.
for the courts of the LORD;
My heart and my flesh cry out
and sing for joy to the living God.

Birds find nooks and crannies in Your house.
Sparrows and swallows make nests
where they may raise their young.
Near Your altar, O LORD Almighty,
My King and my God.

How blessed are all those
in whom Your presence dwells!
They are ever praising You.  Selah.

How blessed are those
whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways of Zion!

As they wind through dry valleys
refreshing springs start flowing;
Early rains cover them with blessings.
They go from strength to strength,
Till at last in Zion!  God in full view!

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Listen, O God of Jacob!  Selah.
Behold our shield, O God,
Our faces shining with your gracious anointing.

Better is one day in Your courts
than a thousand anywhere else.
I would rather be a doorkeeper
in the house of my God
than an honored guest in the tents of sin.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
Generous in grace and glory:
He doesn’t scrimp with His
traveling companions.
O LORD Almighty, How blessed
are those who trust in You!