Birthday

It is my twenty-first birthday today, it's kind of scary getting so old. :-)

My dear family gave me some beautiful gifts:

I love to collect books for my future children to read. Except for the red one whose title you cannot see, these are all books that I have read and loved as a child, the hidden one is "Jack Archer" by G.A. Henty. I LOVE the rolling pin, it is an older one, which makes me very happy!

Close up of the watch.

My meditation today:

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us. (Romans 5:3-5)

As I read these verses today, the question arose, why does experience give us hope? I think is because, through experience we learn to trust the faithfulness of God. When we go through hard things and He proves Himself faithful, we now know through experience what before was only head knowledge. We then have hope for the future, that He who has called us is faithful and will keep our whole spirit, soul and body preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Thes. 5:23-24)

From Pilgrims Progress: Christiana... "Our only fear for the future, is that we will forget how God hath led us in the past."