Susannah Spurgeon on "The Kindness of God"

While lying about with the flu yesterday, I picked up a precious book I recently bought during my "we need to read more biographies of great men and women of the faith"-spree.
 This excerpt is from  Free Grace and Dying Love by Susannah Spurgeon, wife of the wonderful and famous 19th century preacher C.H. Spurgeon :

  My kindness shall not depart from thee.  (Isa. 54:10)

Sometimes we like to think of the consolation that awaits us in heaven, when our warfare is accomplished, and our iniquity is pardoned; but here, in this precious word, we have comfort and help for the daily life and strife of earth.
  The kindness of God!  It is unutterable, illimitable, unchangeable!  Every believer has experienced it; but the whole host of the redeemed, gathered from all lands, throughout all ages, could not tell the heights and depths and lengths and breadths of this 'great', 'everlasting', 'loving' kindness which dwells in the heart of God for his people.

'My kindness.'  Dear Lord, the words are sweet to my soul as honey and the honeycomb.  They carry in them an answer to all my misgivings, a response to all my pleas, a promise of power to overcome all my weakness.  I say to you, sometimes, ' Lord, how is it that you can be so tender and indulgent to one so forgetful, so unworthy, so inexcusable as I am?'  And your answer is - 'My kindness' - ' I have loved you with an everlasting love.'  'But, Lord, I am a worse and greater sinner than I thought I was; every day reveals to me some hitherto undiscovered evil in my heart, which must be displeasing in your sight.'  Again you say, 'My kindness' - ' I have put away thy sin.'  'But, Lord, I have no power to do right, I cannot of myself even think a good thought, much less live that life of holiness which you command and require.'  And again you give me that sweet reply, 'My kindness' - ' My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.'  Oh!  That I had a seraph's tongue to tell, or a pen dipped in the praises of heaven to write, what his lovingkindness and tender mercy have been to me!

'My kindness SHALL NOT DEPART from thee.'  God's negatives and affirmatives are like great rocks jutting out from the insecure and shifting sands of all earthly experiences.  When a troubled, bewildered soul is enabled by faith to cling fast to one of these, all fear vanishes, all anxiety is gone, nothing can move it from its confidence and peace.  We have all suffered, more or less, from the ever-changing influences around us; perhaps we ourselves have added somewhat to the sorrow which is in the world by reason of inconstancy and changeableness.  But never, for one moment, has our God withdrawn the love with which he loved us from all eternity, never has he forsaken or forgotten those who have put their trust in him.  Bless his dear name, there is no such things as departing kindness with him; 'no variableness, neither shadow of turning.'  It is true, our sins and our ingratitude may so grieve and provoke him, that he may hide his face from us for a while; but even then, his love yearns over us so much that, as Joseph Hart sweetly sings - 

                                     Shouldst thou a moment's absence mourn;
                                     Should some short darkness intervene;
                                     He'll give thee power, till light return,
                                     To trust him, with the cloud between!

'My kindness shall not depart from thee.'  O my loving Lord, let the support and comfort of this precious 'shall not' sink deep into my soul this morning, and strengthen me to face every difficulty, and resist every evil, and bear any trial with the courage such an assurance gives!  Or, make it a sweet resting-place and refuge for me, Lord, where I may be sheltered from all the disturbing changes of the world around me.  Though friends may grow cold, and times may change, and circumstances may alter, and old age may creep on, and infirmities may gather themselves together, and flesh and heart me fail- yes, though my feet touch the cold waters of the river of death- this promise will stand firm and true, and your kindness shall not depart from me for ever, for it shall present me 'faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy'.

 He is indeed kind.... the very definition of kindness.  May we be more like him, in our kindnesses to one another.
The flu.... mostly gone!  Praise God for his kindness to us all.
The book : 
http://www.amazon.com/Free-Grace-Dying-Susannah-Surgeon/dp/0851519180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363472445&sr=8-1&keywords=free+grace+and+dying+love

I highly recommend it.

Back from a Blogging Break and... A Couple Belated Birthdays!

Posted by Gabrielle

As some of you may have noticed, your regular blogger here on the Hellwig Family Blog has been taking a break while some siblings filled in. Due to a back injury in December, I decided it was time to step back and take a break, and with the help of my chiropractor, I think I'm over the worst of it now, so I'm back with a resolution and a schedule for more regular blogging here on the Hellwig Family Blog! :)

First off, let's start with a couple very belated birthdays:

Mommy had a birthday just before Christmas! I don't need to say how old she turned - the candles speak for themselves! :)

And in February, we celebrated Tobias' 9th birthday:

Yes, he's still one of our family hams! There's never a dull moment when he's around!

Happy birthday, Mommy and Tobias! I'm so glad I'm in a family with both of you!

Gabrielle turns Twenty one!

 By Christianna

Yes this is quite late. So late, in fact, that I was about to give it up as too late. However, better late than never, is the old adage, and so I will do it now before it gets even later.

Only two candles, but much more special to make up for that.

This was what Jedidiah gave her.

This was what I gave her.

This was a joke present from Arianne. Gabrielle loves banana pudding

This was what Timothy gave her.

These are all from Mommy.  She gave Gabrielle twenty-one presents.

And so passed the evening in which we gave thanks to the Lord for giving us this wonderful young lady for Twenty one years.

My Sister's Creations

 post by Jedidiah

My sister Gabrielle has a couple of shops online, and she crochets and knits a lot.  So I have been following her around.....

.... taking lots of pictures!

Gabrielle knits away.... 

And the final product, a photo prop blanket, is ready for sale.

Cute baby shoes

Within hours, she can go from this....

To this......

to this.... another photo prop blanket! 

 Now that's how fast she crochets!        A sock monkey hat for a girl....

...for a boy....

Finished boy's hat

Finished set!    Time for a trip to the post office.....

Sold items ready to ship!

The End of One Year....

   from the Valley of Vision :

                                                        Year's End


O Love beyond compare,
Thou art good when thou givest,
                       when thou takest away,              
                       when the sun shines upon me,
                       when night gathers over me.
Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,
              and in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
               in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Thy goodness has been with me during another year,
               leading me through a twisting wilderness,
               in retreat helping me to advance,
               when beaten back making sure headway.
Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With thee as blessed pilot of my future as of my past.
I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
                thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,
                I shall not drown;
If I am to die,
                I shall see thy face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
                grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside from the service I love,
                I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or in trial,
                as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.

   I have seen this all to be true:  God has led and loved me, through "twisting wilderness" and labyrinth of uncertainty.  The waves tossed high in 2012, but my God delivered me through them all and proved Himself faithful, good and wise.  May you look back on 2012 and see His all-encompassing kindness.  And may we all praise Him for the work He has done.  It is what we were created for!

Merry Christmas!

Posted by Gabrielle

 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to our friends and blog readers! I hope this finds you celebrating a lovely advent season! For those of you who usually receive our annual Christmas letter and haven't received it yet, don't worry...we're running a little late this year! And, concerning the recent silence on this blog...don't worry; I've been running a little behind and plan to catch up very soon with pictures from our trip back in October, birthdays, and more!

One of my favorite aspects of Christmas decorating is the lights - not only do they give such a homey, holiday feel, especially in the evenings, but they remind me of the coming of the true Light - the Light of the World. One of my favorite Christmas songs is a slightly more obscure carol called "You Are the Light". I've been listening to it at Christmas for several years now, but was only recently able to find the words. I'm adding the words below and here's a link where you can listen to a very nice recording of the song.

You are the Light--we see.
You are the Truth--we know.
You are the Life--we live.
You are the Hope,
You are the Joy,
You are the Song we sing. 

Within our hearts--Your light.
Within our minds--Your truth.
Within our lives--Your love.
Living Your hope,
Spreading Your joy,

                                              Singing Your beautiful song.

As we celebrate and remember the true meaning of Christmas, will you ponder the words to the favorite song with me? This is one of my favorite remembrances of this season - that Emmanuel has come to me, and I can rejoice! Has He come to you?

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

 posted by:Elliot

As it is now the Christmas season I would like to share with you a video that our family
loves to listen to and watch. It is humorous and I  hope you will like it too. 

Owls!

Guest post by Tobias

                My sister Gabrielle makes very cute owls, and here are some pictures of them.

             
   They're   a   hoot!!









 While I was taking one of the pictures, the camera warned me that a "blink" had been detected!

Which of these cute fellows do you think blinked?

Happy Reformation Day!

Posted by Gabrielle

Ridgecrest Conference center in the mountains

“So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: "I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!” ~Martin Luther

I'm always encouraged by this quote, especially today as we remember the day on which Martin Luther chose to stand up for Christ and the truth and nailed his 95 theses on the church door. How thankful I should be that our Lord has not given me what I deserved, but has given me something far, far better - eternal life with Him!

Happy Reformation Day!

Blessings,

Gabrielle

for the Hellwig Family

Beniah the soldier.

A few days ago Beniah decided that he wanted to be a roman soldier, and so
he got us to make armor for him out of paper.


 Here are some pictures. 

a little sleepy

he's a happy boy now with all his armor.

the mighty roman general.(but with jeans??)

 

now he's posing.

            Well a few days later they all ended up in the trash.