Just Be Held

Sure do miss holding him...

Lyrics:

Hold it all together
Everybody needs you strong
But life hits you out of nowhere
And barely leaves you holding on

And when you're tired of fighting
Chained by your control
There's freedom in surrender
Lay it down and let it go

So when you're on your knees and answers seem so far away
You're not alone, stop holding on and just be held
Your world's not falling apart, it's falling into place
I'm on the throne, stop holding on and just be held
Just be held, just be held

If your eyes are on the storm
You'll wonder if I love you still
But if your eyes are on the cross
You'll know I always have and I always will

And not a tear is wasted
In time, you'll understand
I'm painting beauty with the ashes
Your life is in My hands

So when you're on your knees and answers seem so far away
You're not alone, stop holding on and just be held
Your world's not falling apart, it's falling into place
I'm on the throne, stop holding on and just be held
Just be held, just be held

Lift your hands, lift your eyes

In the storm is where you'll find Me

And where you are, I'll hold your heart

I'll hold your heart

Come to Me, find your rest

In the arms of the God who won't let go

So when you're on your knees and answers seem so far away

You're not alone, stop holding on and just be held

Your world's not falling apart, it's falling into place
I'm on the throne, stop holding on and just be held

(Stop holding on and just be held)

Just be held, just be held

Just be held, just be held

A Semi-Silly Song

I haven't heard this song since I was a young girl and I didn't think much of it then.  A few months ago, it just popped into my head one day.  It's been playing around in there periodically ever since.

The video made me laugh.  Although I get that the original intent of the song is in regards to romantic relationships, it got me thinking about love, in general.

Love is hard.

Love is always a risk.

We get hurt.  Not intentionally or out of silly mistakes, like in the video, but life and sin dictate that one day we must have a temporary separation.  And it hurts.  It's hard to go on.  But we do.  We must.

It is only the greatest loves that bring the greatest heartaches, but that love is worth it all.  ALWAYS.

"Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me"

I'm not posting lyrics on this one.  It's just for kicks...

Also, just to let everyone know, my cardio appointment went really well.  Things look really good.  I have to go back to the hospital for one more test, but it's all very encouraging.  Thank you for praying for me.  God has been much better to me than I deserve.

Wish

Looking Back

The 10 month anniversary of William’s death took place during our trip. I really can’t believe that it’s been so long since he went home. There were times I thought “He should be here” or “He would’ve loved this.” Different things throughout the trip reminded me of him – the dinosaurs (which he loved), the Ark (he loved hearing Bible stories over and over), the goats at the petting zoo (we used to have goats and he always wanted to go see them), the shows we saw at the Creation Museum (William liked movies but someone always sat next to him to tell him what was happening) and of course the people (some of the people at the conference had met William previously and of course William loved everyone he met). All of these memories made me think back to last year when we were on his wish trip, so I thought I would post some pictures of our family vacation this year and some from last year…..when he was here.

Family 2015                                               Family 2016

Kids 2015                                                   Kids 2016

Boys 2015                                                          Boys 2016

Girls 2015                                                    Girls 2016

posted by Sarah

Vacation Day 8

Day 8  - Traveling. Traveling can be quite the adventure in the Ocker household, as we learned. We traveled through 6 states and saw some neat sites along the way.

My traveling buddy

The kids in the car

A little lighthouse in the middle of the Mississippi River

Three Rivers Stadium where the Cincinnati Reds play

This is apparently quite a fascination in Kentucky as we saw quite a few

We saw a lot of neat bridges

A neat steamboat

A cute little town

Now for the adventurous part…we ended up with two flat tires in our trailer on the way home! The first one was, as it was getting dark in Indiana in the middle of nowhere. When the tire blew, it was so powerful, it even pulled the fender right off the trailer! Providentially we were able to get it changed quickly with the spare.

The second one was in Missouri. This time we were near a truck stop and we were able to park the trailer while we went to Walmart to get new tires. 

The boys and Sherrod enjoyed helping Daddy change the tire. He took the time to make it a learning opportunity for everyone!

We all enjoyed a much needed leg stretch

All in all in was a wonderful and much needed trip that we won't forget!

posted by Sarah