Wednesday, March 24, 2010

with hope….

 
 

This is not at all… how

We thought it was supposed to be

We had so many plans for you

We had so many dreams

And now you've gone away

And left us with the memories of your smile

And nothing we can say

And nothing we can do

Can take away the pain

The pain of losing you, but ...

 
 

We can cry with hope

We can say goodbye with hope

'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no

And we can grieve with hope

'Cause we believe with hope

There's a place where we'll see your face again

We'll see your face again

 
 

And never have I known

Anything so hard to understand

And never have I questioned more

The wisdom of God's plan

But through the cloud of tears

I see the Father's smile and say well done

And I imagine you

Where you wanted most to be

Seeing all your dreams come true

'Cause now you're home

And now you're free, and ...

 
 

We can cry with hope

We can say goodbye with hope

'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no

And we can grieve with hope

'Cause we believe with hope

There's a place where we'll see your face again

We'll see your face again

We'll see your face again

 
 

We have this hope as an anchor

'Cause we believe that everything

God promised us is true, so ...

 
 

We can cry with hope

We can say goodbye with hope

'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no

And we can grieve with hope

'Cause we believe with hope

There's a place by God's grace

There's a place where we'll see your face again

We'll see your face again

 
 

We can cry with hope, say goodbye with hope

 
 

We wait with hope

And we ache with hope

We hold on with hope

We let go with hope

 
 

(by Steven Curtis Chapman)

 
 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 / Hebrews 6:9, 10:23

 
 

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Beauty Will Rise!

In and through these last three months of my beloved wife and sweetheart Melissa's journey of now ultimate healing in eternity, we listened and reflected many times together with the songs of Steven Curtis Chapman, as we have done through much of our 22 years of marriage together in the Lord. As a couple in Christ, we have been so blessed to share with each other the deep love of Jesus and the profound grace of Christ our Lord.

 
 

On a recent album, lyrics from the title track resonated with certain themes in our devotions….

 
 

Out of these ashes... beauty will rise

and we will dance among the ruins

We will see Him with our own eyes

 
 

Out of this darkness... new life will shine...

and we'll know the joy is coming in the morning...

in the morning...beauty will rise!

 
 

I can hear it in the distance

and it's not too far away.

It's the music and the laughter

of a wedding and a feast.

I can almost feel the hand of God

reaching for my face

to wipe the tears away, and say,

"It's time to make everything new."

 
 

(from "Beauty Will Rise" by Steven Curtis Chapman)

 
 

I am envisioning today's service of witness to the resurrection and the life as a celebration, in part, in memory of my bride, but more part of the festive tribute of the Bride of Christ, looking forward to that Day of Christ Jesus when we, together with all the saints throughout time and space, will celebrate at the Great Wedding Banquet Table in eternity. Soli Deo Gloria!

 
 

Looking forward to worshiping our Awesome God on this awe-filled day that the Lord has made for us to rejoice and be glad in, I am

 
 

Persevering in the Grip of Grace,

Rex

 
 

Worthy is the Lamb!

 
 

Monday, March 15, 2010

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (NLT) [New Living Translation]

New Living Translation (NLT)

 7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.[a] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

 8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

 11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.


 

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%204:7-12&version=NLT

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Melissa Q. Espiritu

in the peace bubble... onto eternity with the Lord at 3:00 p.m. EST 13 March 2010 rest well my beloved sweet Melissa in the everlasting arms

 
 

---

 
 

Melissa Q. Espiritu, of New Castle, went onto eternity to be with the Lord Saturday afternoon, March 13, 2010 at her residence. Arrangements are pending at Hinsey-Brown Funeral Service in New Castle.

 
 

http://hinsey-brown.com/pages/details.cfm?obituaryID=547

 
 

Viewing at Hinsey-Brown on Monday, March 15 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

and Tuesday, March 16 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

 
 

Service of Celebration in Witness to the Resurrection and the Life will be held at First Presbyterian Church, New Castle, Indiana on Tuesday, March 16 at 2:00 p.m.

 
 

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

At Three Months On….

Dear Praying Friends and Family,


As you are aware, we have been much challenged of late. Upon recent reflection, words from the apostle Paul resonate with us here, in hope…


We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we've been going through… We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And God did rescue us from mortal danger, and will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in God, and God will continue to rescue us. And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety. (2 Corinthians 1:8-11)


Three months ago this week, as we prayed to know more what we were facing, we were given a more definitive diagnosis of gastric cancer. More than twelve weeks ago this day, I remember… from our conversation with Melissa's oncologist, upon asking what kind of timeframe we might expect to have left, that if we got to three months, it would be a miracle. Well, now, here we are, continuing on, day by day, witnessing God's grace abounding[1], and treasuring every shared moment together as God's perfect gift[2] as we experience love and care, tenderly expressed for one another.


Today along with yesterday and the past weekend has been marked with very low energy for Melissa. We are praying, hopeful for her to regain strength as we aim to have her receive more frequent, moderately high dosage Vitamin C IV treatments (semi-weekly).

Sensing that her body needs "a break" from some of the harder regimens of meds and supplements she had been taking to date, we have also begun letting her rest more and decreasing much of the amounts of prescribed, naturopathic intake while still maintaining appropriate pain management as necessary.

Now and through the days ahead, please pray for Melissa:

  • for the healing, rest, comfort, peace that her body needs;
  • for her energy and strength to increase;
  • for her ability to receive increased nutrition, calories needed, and for her to have healthy weight gain;
  • for our family's adjustment into this new season of her healing journey.

With renewed faith, hope and love for one another in the Lord, we continue

Prayerfully yours, and His,
The Espiritu's


[1] so that, as the Word tells us, in all things, at all times, having all that we need, we would abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8)

[2] every good, perfect gift, coming from above from the Father of the heavenly lights Who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17)