Dear Lucy, Where Death Has Left a (Deep and Temporary) Hole

This week holds the two-year anniversary of

Life without Lucy;

two years of lifting Lucy's family lovingly to God in prayer

and trusting Him,

*that they should seek the Lord, in the hope 

that they might grope for Him and find Him, 

though He is not far from each one of us; 

for in Him we live and move and have our being,...

(see reference below)

The heart-shaped rock, noticed and picked by her granddaughter, 

then painted by my daughter Victoria.

The sign from my niece-in-law Emma!

Precious mementos in memory of Lucy!

Because we never know what a week holds I am sharing

a tribute/poem that poured from my

slowly healing heart this mourning/morning...

partly due to how September's ambience sparks so many memories!

LUCY SO loved September's bittersweet scents and hues!

which, I'm sure she was drinking in on her (unbeknownst to her)

last bike ride to Heaven; to meet her Saviour

and the Creator of all she dearly loved! 

September hues and scents and sounds rouse a profound sense in the soul

Of life-scapes expanding around 'Ground-sorrow', where death left a hole

Nothing will fill, but Time persists with love, still very much alive

Its duty and labour insists on frameworks love and life contrive

The heart, where death has left a hole nothing will fill, still aches with grief 

The part that we cannot control we leave to God whose Way/will is Chief

Though mortal Want misunderstands Purposes that seem so unkind 

He reaches out His nail-scarred hands; scars that Calvary left/left Calvary behind 

...and bids us cast our care/grief on Him; He helps us bear/wear the hole death leaves 

He too has borne love's guerdon, grim, and shed real tears, wiped on God's sleeves

For He is not some far-off God, unable to commiserate

With our hurt; He too has trod the Mourner's Vale through Sorrow's Gate 

And suffered the climax of loss when He gave his life in our stead

Enduring death upon a cross to conquer death and crush death's head 

To break the curse that doomed us when first Eve, then Adam disobeyed

He scorned death's claim and rose again; the price for our redemption paid 

So, though the stroke of death may leave a deep and everlasting temporary hole

For all who repent and believe God grants to grief a glorious goal

And though nothing will fill the place where death has left its aching void

God, through the goodness of His grace, comforts grief with hope, overjoyed 

Janet Martin

1 Thess.4:13-14

Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed

 about those who sleep in death,

 so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. 

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 

we also believe that God will bring with Jesus

 those who have fallen asleep in Him.

Acts 17:26-31

He has made from one blood every nation of men

 to dwell on all the face of the earth,

and has determined their preappointed times 

and the boundaries of their dwellings,

so *that they should seek the Lord, in the hope 

that they might grope for Him and find Him, 

though He is not far from each one of us; 

for in Him we live and move and have our being,

as also some of your own poets have said,

 ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 

Therefore, since we are the offspring of God,

 we ought not to think that the Divine Nature

 is like gold or silver or stone, 

something shaped by art and man’s devising. 

Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, 

but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 

because He has appointed a day

 on which He will judge the world in righteousness 

by the Man whom He has ordained. 

He has given assurance of this to all 

by raising Him from the dead.”

(read the whole glorious chapter HERE)

I have also listened to this song countless times!

I Set My Hope on Jesus

Within or Without Hope's Happiness/Steadfastness

2 Cor.1:20

For all the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. 

And so through Him, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God.

2 Peter 1:4

Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, 

so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, 

now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Romans 4:21

...being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.

God's promises and commands are non-negotiable! 

If either one were, then hope's anchor would be loosed!

Heb.6:18-19

Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, 

we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us 

may be strongly encouraged.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure...

In Christ Alone

So much of life seems hung/strung from threads of-if-perchance-perhaps

Its care and strife can crowd our heads with visions of collapse

The volatility of all we see needs something More

To anchor Hope, and make the call of life worth living for

So much of joy seems tried by grief and disappointment's sting

The thoughts that we employ are chief of almost everything

Praise God! His Portion is enough to trump the soul's appeal

We are not at the mercy of the roll of fortune's wheel 

So much of what leaves us most awed transcends Thought's grandest ken

For all the promises of God are 'yes' in Christ. Amen 

So then, above all else we ought to feed Thought with God's Word

His promises, Perfection-wrought will keep hope undeterred

So much of what we fix our eyes upon is bound to fail

Where touch and taste and such disguise the Prize that will prevail

Where worldly lures of 'happiness' disillusion hope, when

They disregard God's promises of 'yes' in Christ. Amen

So much of bitterness of heart is caused by Thought amiss

What/Who we most love serves to impart hope's Fountain or abyss 

Praise God! When creature-quest is founded/grounded within truth and grace 

Of 'yes' in Christ, the rest is bound to fall in perfect place 

So much of what appears goodness, without the knowledge of

The power of God's promises, disenchants hope and love 

Without the Rock of God's commands, what-if, perchance, perhaps

Erects a house upon time's sands, predestined for collapse 

There is no in-between the lines of divine Yes and No

Oft lack of humility pines where praise should overflow 

But, if hope seeks its steadfastness/happiness within God's commands, then

It stands firm on the promises of 'Yes, in Christ'. Amen 

 

Janet Martin

Ps.119:19&32

I am a stranger in the earth:

hide not Thy commandments from me...

I will run the course of Your commandments,

For You shall enlarge my heart.

or NIV trans.

I run in the path of your commands,

for you have broadened my understanding.

Standing on the Promises - Alan Jackson - Lyrics

Hope's-Hearty-Hello-Hails-Hymn

Ps.116:5

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;

yea, our God is merciful.

Ps.117

O praise the Lord, all ye nations: 

praise him, all ye people.

 For his merciful kindness is great toward us:

and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever.

 Praise ye the Lord.

Ps.118:4

Let them now that fear the Lord say,

that his mercy endureth for ever.

Ps.119:49

Remember the word unto thy servant,

 upon which thou hast caused me to hope.

Hope's hearty hello hails

Fresco of moon and star

Dissolves...

Hope's hearty hello hails

Fresco of moon and star

Dissolves. The Hand that never fails

Draws daybreak's gates ajar

Today's teeming tide rolls

Across the sea and land

It rushes through our hearts and souls

Beneath mercy's command

...where poised Unknowns run rife

With life and death, and God

The age-old feet of trouble's strife

Are hope and mercy shod 

Hope and mercy endure

Transcending mortal woe

All who fear God, He holds secure

As praises overflow

...where joy and sorrow wings

Earthward with virgin zeal

Hark! from yon Heaven's belfry rings 

Hope and mercy's appeal

Thus we do not despair

No matter what appears

To rule the powers of the air

God's prevailing love/Word cheers

...and courage is renewed

Hope's anchor, though unseen

Rekindles hymns of gratitude

Where mercies intervene 

Janet Martin

Reason to Rejoice in Truth

Every single person in the world,

no matter how 'together' they may seem,

has struggles, fears, disappointments and sorrows!

The verse below is as true now as the day

it was God-breathed to humankind! 

Ps.146:5

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

Phil Wickham - Living Hope (Lyrics)

Praise God; the power of the cross, no foe can overthrow

Nor ever annul Redemption’s inestimable worth

No matter what the argument, tis by God’s grace we go

His breath of life fills our lungs, His glory fills the earth

Praise God; though generations come and go, His Word abides

Faith’s Lighthouse and hope’s anchor in a world of pagan noise

What confidence and peace as Want its agony confides

His Word ministers to our souls and kindles countless joys

Praise God; His goodness and mercy, no tragedy can quell

Though the father of lies tries any guise to guard sin’s wage

Faith fixes eyes beyond Time and sight’s fleeting citadel

To a Prize where God’s love will reign from age to age to age

So, praise Him now with every breath He grants, and do not faint

For His sufficient grace sustains a tow’r of strength within

Then, whatever today demands, proceed without complaint

Servants of righteousness and truth rather than slaves to sin

Praise God, the power of the cross cannot be overthrown

His promises cannot be broken or His purpose swayed

He reaches down and sets in place each grace-laid Steppingstone

So, rejoice in the Lord for this new day that He has made

Janet Martin

I Thank Thee, Lord, For Home, Sweet Home

Happy Victoria Day, Canada!

In Ontario it is finally warm and both people and nature 

Are 'leaping' with joy...

Recently I've been contemplating the beautiful blessings of Home

 since my friends moved to their first purchased home

 a week ago in another province(eager to put down roots on unrented soil)!

When I messaged her last Monday, in their travels to see how they were faring

she said all was going fine but they were very travel-weary,

and as I tried to cheer her on by reminding her every mile behind them

is a mile closer to home-sweet-home, I was struck with a picture,

of all who are travel-weary; how every mile behind us

 is a mile closer to Home/Heaven/Him!

John 14:1-4

“Let not your heart be troubled;

you believe in God, believe also in Me.

2In My Father’s house are many [a]mansions;

if it were not so, [b]I would have told you.

I go to prepare a place for you.

3And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come again and receive you to Myself;

that where I am, there you may be also.

4And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going,

and how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through Me.

***

It's Victoria Day weekend in Canada, a weekend where many of us

enjoying working around our homes and getting them summer-ready after winter!

A weekend of thankfulness and contentment as tulips pop...

...and birds in a rainbow of colour drop by!

Makes me want to put this song on constant replay...

Charley Pride & Dolly Parton God's Coloring Book

***

I thank Thee, Lord, for home, sweet home

A shelter from the gale

A port to which we gladly come

And from which dreamers sail

A hearth that kindles in our hearts

A hymn of joy profound

For favors only home imparts

Where loved ones gather round

Where pleasures are simple and sweet

Whatever they may be

Where earth and glimpse-of-Heaven meet

As we remember Thee  

Where daily toil and nightly rest

Unfold beneath its dome

Where moms and dads feel humbly blessed

For the place/grace we call Home 

Where childhood memories are made

As carefree years cartwheel

Through rooms where 'flowers' flare and fade

To frames, strangely surreal 

Where joy and grief mingle, where cares

Teach us to trust and pray

As the bud of Becoming bares

The bloom of day-to-day

Where we are ever Homeward bound

From the first breath we draw

Lord, until we are safe and sound

With Thee, fill us with awe

...as here and there, a missing face

An empty chair or three

Begins to endear more, the Place

Of home, sweet home with Thee

...but till then, may we by Thy Love

 Make home and family

 A precious, peaceful foretaste of

The Home that waits to be

I thank Thee, Lord, for home, sweet home

When life on earth is through

 The port to which each soul will  come

Who puts their trust in you

Janet Martin 

Some 'Forever-Home' Hymns...

Where the Soul Never Dies...

This World Is Not My Home (Lyrics)

O Think of the Home Over There - acapella hymn with lyrics

In the Sweet By and By-Redeemed Quartet 

 

A Hymn/Psalm/Poem of Consolation and Two Prayer Requests

Life; a thoroughfare of hurdles!

Where does our help come from?!!

Ps.121:1-2

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

  Jer.17:5-8

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,

who draws strength from mere flesh

and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;

they will not see prosperity when it comes.

They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,

in a salt land where no one lives.

 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence is in him.

 They will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit.”

Please, if you read this pray for my parents;

Dad in hospital with UTI and quite restless and confused.

Pray he may have a calmer day today!

And pray for my mother to be strengthened physically,

mentally and spiritually during this strain.

Please also pray for my friends packing up today,

to move to another province;

 one of their children is sick today!

Please pray for speedy recovery and strength for everyone

as they pack everything that can possibly fit into a U-Haul.

Please pray as well, for safe travels tomorrow,

that God would go (tangibly) before them and

And part modern day Red Seas! 

***

Below is one of the hymns we (dad, mom and me) sang last night

in dad's hospital room. 

Singing calmed him when nothing else seemed to work.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Let faith in God my fortress be

Invisible security

No height or depth of wealth transcends

 Goodness and mercy's dividends 

No summit of success compares

To hope in He who hears our prayers

No confidence comforts the soul

Save in the faith that makes us whole

No satisfying substitute

Can nourish like the Spirit's fruit

No other ear can hear hearts plead

And minister to urgent need 

No voice but his can part the sea

Of man's impossibility 

No thoughts and ways can comprehend

The blessings He delights to send 

No earthly joy can strengthen, save

The one who commands wind and wave 

Whose whisper calms the storm-tossed heart

With peace only He can impart 

Able to do exceedingly 

More than we can fathom or see

No cross can crush nor shadow dim

As we believe and trust in Him

Janet Martin 

For the family moving I am praying miracle over miracle

showered on them today and in the days ahead! 💓🙏

Prelude to Heaven or Happy Last Day of April

Happy Last Day of April!

Growth is beginning!

Though sometimes it feels slow in coming we know...

Gen.8:22

“As long as the earth endures, 

seedtime and harvest, 

cold and heat, 

summer and winter, 

day and night will never cease.”

and that's just the beginning of hope!!

because...

1 Cor.15:19

If only for this life we have hope in Christ,

we are of all people most to be pitied.

To rush the thorn with blushing rose...

Behold, after the winter, Spring!

The barren bough runs rife

With gold and green embellishing

Each treetop with new life

Like an ocean-tide ebbs and flows

So too the seasons surge

To rush the thorn with blushing rose

Like daybreak's virgin verge 

Hope orchestrates a holy hymn

In both nature and hearts

Behold the blossom-furbished limb

The kiss of sun imparts

Behold God's covenant fulfilled

'as long as earth remains'

And the prelude to Heaven spilled

In bud and birds refrains 

Janet Martin

Temporal Trinity-Faith, Hope and Love

1 Cor.13:13

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;

but the greatest of these is love.

This was first one four-stanza poem...

Before it caught fire, and became three poems in one

Just as the light of morning breaks the dark of night, so too

By faith and hope in Him, God wakes a love we never knew...

By Faith in God we are made whole and fitted for its test

By Hope, God anchors our souls where warring winds molest

By faith, the part we cannot see defends the part we do

By hope, secured at Calvary, we know love, kind and true

By faith we trust in Jesus' name; by faith our fear is awed

Because hope brings us, not to shame but to the love of God

...and as His love is shed abroad in our hearts, we find

The joy of faith and hope in God brings peace to soul and mind

*** 

By faith our hope was justified the hour we believed

And rejoiced in Christ crucified for the grace we received 

...because the love of God did not reject atonement's price

He gave Himself; redemption wrought through I AM's sacrifice  

Just as the light of morning breaks the dark of night, so too

By faith and hope in Him, God wakes a love we never knew

His love empowers and sustains the faith and hope we boast

In Christ alone whose love remains true to the uttermost

***

Faith is the substance of Hope's Roar; of Evidence unseen

Until Love swings ajar a Door with no dark glass between 

Then, face to face we will behold Him; glorious Three-in-One  

Faith and hope will melt like a mold of mist kissed by the Son 

The peace that guarded heart and minds with Love's surpassing pow'r

Will rend the mortal bud that binds the petals of the flow'r

Where love will forever endure, and praise will ever be

Worship's fragrance, perfect and pure throughout eternity

Janet Martin

Rom.5:1-5

Therefore, having been justified by faith,

 [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand,

 and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, 

knowing that tribulation produces [b]perseverance; 

4 and perseverance, [c]character; and character, hope. 

5 Now hope does not disappoint, 

because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts

 by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

"By Faith" from Praise and Harmony's Resurrecting God

The Fruit of Patience

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

...for behold, the winter is past;

the rain is over and gone.

 The flowers appear on the earth,

the time of singing[a] has come,

The fruit of patience overflows with ecstasy in nature’s prose

Where bluest blues and greenest green delight a world sandwiched between...

The fruit of patience beams and brims

And bursts into a world of hymns

As if to sing away all thought

Of wishing for what yet was not

While ill chill gale, with dauntless ease

Assailed to vex Want’s ‘pretty-please’

The fruit of patience overflows

With ecstasy in nature’s prose

Where bluest blues and greenest green

Delight a world sandwiched between

The earth beneath, the sky above

As hearts grow light with hope and love

The fruit of patience bids us dance

Like David of old; God still grants

Goodness and mercy all our days

To overflow our hearts with praise

To worship and sing joyfully

‘there is no other God but He…(2 Sam.7:22)

Who overthrows winter with spring

Whose breath instills each living thing

Whose thoughts and ways past finding out

Should anchor faith and vanquish doubt

Though patience groans and weeps and aches

Its fruit is worth the time is takes!'

Janet Martin

On The Eve of Good Friday; A Meditation ( a guest post by Emily Curry)

Tonight a first for this blog; it is an honour to share

a guest post by my daughter Emily

 ““Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭14‬:‭36‬ ‭NIV‬‬

On the eve of Good Friday, we find Jesus in the garden, pleading, praying to his Heavenly Father, his Abba Father.
The definition of abba is an Aramaic term of profound intimacy and endearment, translating to “papa or daddy” signifying a close relationship with God rather than a distant one. A trusted, loving, perfect father.

When you pray, is this how you view God? Or do you picture a distant God on a throne, looking disapprovingly at humanity making a mess of things down here on earth?

Or in contrast do you know him as Abba, a gentle, loving, kind Father, perfect in every way with a depth of love for us that is unfathomable, despite our broken, sinful, messy lives?

In the garden we see Jesus, who knows the excruciating suffering he is about to endure, knowing God’s plan of redemption has to unfold this way, showing us in his human likeness the only worthwhile place to go when we feel utter despair and heartbreak.

We don’t have to look very far to find difficulty and hardship. Wars wage around the world, people keep getting sick, families are breaking apart, people are full of anger and hatred. We are hurting and lonely and it can feel so unbearable.

But our Heavenly Father doesn’t want us to try to bear this life on our own. His arms are reaching down, like a father reaching for his dear child, wanting to help us, carry us, meet us in our suffering.

Over the last 18 months I have experienced heartbreak after heartbreak, losing some very special people in my life. I’ve been in pieces, crying out to God in the midst of my despair. I have seen God as my Abba father in a way I never had before.

In the fall of 2025, I was still grieving the loss of a good friend who passed away a short 7 weeks before. My heart was still healing after the sudden loss of a dear aunt one year before. Then on October 4th, my husband Rob and I received more devastating news. Two friends of ours were in a car accident and didn’t make it, leaving behind 3 beautiful girls, one being our daughter’s best friend.
Through tear filled sobs I said to my husband “ I can’t do another grief journey already. It’s too soon. I can’t do this.”
Really God? More heartbreak, more loss? Those poor kids. That poor family.
I cried out to God in disbelief, anger, pain. I couldn’t understand. I felt so broken.

A few days later while I was doing dishes, my daughter cried out “Mom, look at the sunset!”
Something we had started doing together, especially after my aunt Lucy had passed away ;a woman who cherished the beauty of this earth, finding joy in so much of God’s creation, was to drop what we were doing and run outside to marvel at something as simple as a sunset. So out we ran, my oldest son, daughter and I. It was stunning, fiery, and breathtaking.

I was snapping pictures when my dear daughter exclaimed “Mom, turn around! There’s a rainbow behind you!!”

A rainbow? Seriously?
I turned around, and sure enough, peeking though the clouds was a tiny rainbow.

Faint, and hardly visible.

What is a rainbow exactly?
A rainbow is “an optical phenomenon that appears when sunlight and atmospheric conditions are just right-and the viewers position is just right to see it. It requires water droplets to be floating in the air, which is why you see it right after it rains. The sun needs to be behind you and the clouds cleared away from the sun for the rainbow to appear.” (NESDIS)
Speechless.
In front of me, a cloud filled sky, but within it tucked a small symbol of promise and hope.
The clouds in front of me, the sun behind me was the most profound metaphor for what it felt like was facing in my life. And as I stood there, tears streaming down my face the rainbow grew and grew, still very faint…

And as I stood there it felt as though my loving, Heavenly Father reached down, wrapped his arms around me and said “ Though it’s hard to see the light right now, though life feels stormy and uncertain, do not lose hope. I am with you. You are not alone .”

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬ (emphasis added)

And then, as quickly as the rainbow appeared, it was gone. We had been out there a total of about 3 minutes. Yet, we were positioned just right to see it. We almost missed it, though I knew it was no coincidence. It was a gift straight from heaven.

Abba Father. Love that we simply cannot fathom.

Through sniffles I said softly to my oldest two kiddos something along the lines of , “God knew we needed this gift. He sees our pain. This is how much he loves us.”

God doesn’t always show up in such tangible and miraculous ways, but I promise you, He’s always there. He never leaves us, he never forsakes us.

As Easter is approaching we are reminded of the depth of our Heavenly Father’s love.
Sending his Son, his perfect Son to take our place on a cross meant for sinners, a cross meant for you and I. 

Rising again and defeating death.
Making a way for us to experience relationship with Him, a closeness with him, like a father and a child.

He is so worth knowing and pursuing and living for.

I pray that whatever you are facing in your life right now, whether you are on a mountaintop or valley or somewhere in between, you would recognize your need for Jesus in your life. That you would let him step in and carry whatever you are carrying. We were not meant to walk through this life alone. Fall at the foot of the cross, and give it all to him.

With Heart Laid Bare

What grand irony that, in spite of, and in the plight of unutterable grief

in a world filled with hurt and brokenness,

we have free access to inexpressible peace and joy.

What sweet consolation; the sufferer of 'the Easter Story' 

is our Saviour and the Sustainer of faith's hope of glory.

Small wonder as we come to Him that sometimes we are speechless!

The world groans with the need of Jesus!

Jesus, sinless Lamb of God,

who suffered in our stead to break the curse of death,

that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life!

Nothing and no one in all time in all the world

 can make or keep such a loving promise,

It Was For Me {with lyrics}

The highest thoughts I think or pray at best are still so small

And oft I know not what to say as on my knees I fall

With heart laid bare before the One who knows and loves me best

Whose grief is greater than my own, whose joy transcends the test

Whose promises do not betray, whose purposes prevail

Whose grace, sufficient for the day will not falter or fail

Who does not leave me comfortless but does not turn blind eyes

To loves and habits ruinous or lesser gods I prize

Who knows the flesh is full of wants and wills that disobey

Prone to indulge the voice that taunts with ‘did God really say?’

He loves me still with thoughts and ways no mortal comprehends

And understands my stuttered phrase and makes perfect amends

With heart laid bare, Lord, well You know how wretched I would be

But for redemption You bestow, purchased at Calvary

But for fellowship you restore through faith that made me whole

With heart laid bare, I bow before the Saviour of my soul 

Janet Martin

Eph.3:20

Now to Him who is able 

to do exceedingly abundantly

 above all that we ask or think,

 according to the power that works in us,

 21to Him be glory in the church 

by Christ Jesus to all generations, 

forever and ever. 

Amen.

Lord, shield us from the perils of self-pity and doubt

lest they foster bitter despair.

Instead, as we follow your footsteps that lead to Calvary

may the incomparable love that purchased hope's incomparable gift

transform our perspective and humble our plea.

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

1 Pet.1:8-9

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; 

and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him 

and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 

9now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.