Here in...

"In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand"

Today, 6 aid workers were attacked and killed in the Pakistan World Vision office.

As we sang these words in chapel, I could not help but think about the power of the words that we are singing.

During this season of my life, the reality of the strength of Christ - BEYOND what I can reason and explain... has been part of my everyday reality.

A dear friend has parents who work and live in North Africa, and who recently had 20 (foreigners) expelled from the country for "proselytizing."
That's a whole group of children who have been rejected and neglected, who will once again have those that they trust have to tell them that they are leaving.

On a global scale, with the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile and these two events...
and on a personal scale with heartache of my own and those that are near to me...
I am reminded that as we stand in chapel, whether our eyes are closed and our legs are tapping...
The words we sing proclaim TRUTH, HOPE, and RESCUE in the middle of situations that are otherwise overwhelming.

"No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand"