Long ago, one of God's faithful servants saw the crossroad ahead and showed us the only safe way through an immoral world. Joshua encouraged God's people to follow truth, avoid compromise, and shun their neighbors' earth-centered spirituality. His words clash with today's demand for unity, consensus and global values. But they fit our times:
"... choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15
The crossroad -- the way of the cross -- may be rocky and narrow, and it will never merge with the crowded superhighway nudging the masses toward a global village. But no other way leads to genuine love, peace, and lasting security. The destination is well worth the struggle:
"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him ." 1 Corinthians 2:9
The 21st century ushered in an unprecented acceleration of efforts to bring about a one-world global society that shows little tolerance for the Christian world view. Even our own US President has stated on the world stage that America is NO LONGER A CHRISTIAN nation.
In the last 30 years we have witnessed
· The cultural shift from a Christian to a global paradigm
· The classroom shift from fact and logic to feeling and imagination.
· The growing acceptance of a code of ethics that bans biblical truth.
· How movies, television and schools promote a global spirituality.
· Why the “consensus process” turns young and old against absolute truth.
· Why many Christians are conforming to this transformational process.
In His word, God called for a watchman who would sound the trumpet to warn His people in times of danger:"Go...and speak with My words to them. For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language.... Tell them, 'Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.'...I have made you a watchman...therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me...” (Ezekiel 3:4-11, 17-21)
Today's transformation calls for many such men (and women) who will, on the strength of His promises, urge and encourage His Children today to receive His Promise that, when we trust and follow Him, He will lead us in His triumph -- no matter what challenges we face. (2 Corinthians 2:14) Remember what God told Joshua:
Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
In 1998, Mikhail Gorbachev said, "President Clinton will be a success... if he can make America the creator of a new world order based on consensus."
But God's Word says,
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2
"GOD REIGNS OVER THE NATIONS!" (Psalms 47:8)
Throughout history He used good and bad rulers to discipline and bless His people -- always lovingly calling them back to Himself. Some recognized His hand of love, accepted His wise warnings and were blessed in His loving presence. Others were blind and deaf to His truths and sovereignty. The same is true today for human nature doesn't change much. If we focus on our wonderful King, not on the human agents, He will surely use everything that happens to keep us alert, teach us His Word, strengthen our faith and draw us closer to Himself.
An Old Testament king gave us a wonderful model prayer. When a "great multitude" of enemy troops threatened the freedom of God's people, Jehoshophat simply turned His eyes and heart to His faithful Lord and expressed his faith:
“O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? ... O, our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” (2 Chronicles 20:6, 12)
God answered in a wonderful way! He always does, though usually the victory is less dramatic. How blessed we are to know Him at a time such as this!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
SONshine At The Shore
Don’t get there often enough these days, but those of you who know me best know of my long-standing love affair with the coast of North Carolina. There’s just something about the ocean that puts everything into proper perspective for me.
Sand is wonderful--when its cool, glistening softness squishes between your toes; where kids build sand castles, search for sea shells, and bury each other in mounds of more sand; where it's just "THE" place to be on whatever shoreline coast where you live! But sometimes it gets HOT...sometimes it gets in your eyes...sometimes it gets mixed up with the suntan oil you've just put on your face...and sometimes it grits and grinds everywhere it's not supposed to grit and grind--and it's not fun!
Isn't life like that? Little bits of irritation that clog up the wheels of our fast-paced living, our people-blended families and our stress-driven work worlds. That's the time to look up for I know a SON in whose face we can look directly; we can bathe in His love; we can know His peace.....for HIS Sonshine still shines, His presence is STILL there, even on the hot sands of our lives. He's there watching, loving, helping...and we're going to make it--for HE's all we really need--even in the sand!
And as I gaze upon the shore, I am aware of the absolute control God has over the ocean waves….one moment they come crashing down on the shore….and the next they recede back into the depths of the ocean.
And I think of Pastor Sam’s favorite quote:
"Morning, noon, or even at night---God’s in control--- EVERYTHING’S gonna be all right!"
Sand is wonderful--when its cool, glistening softness squishes between your toes; where kids build sand castles, search for sea shells, and bury each other in mounds of more sand; where it's just "THE" place to be on whatever shoreline coast where you live! But sometimes it gets HOT...sometimes it gets in your eyes...sometimes it gets mixed up with the suntan oil you've just put on your face...and sometimes it grits and grinds everywhere it's not supposed to grit and grind--and it's not fun!
Isn't life like that? Little bits of irritation that clog up the wheels of our fast-paced living, our people-blended families and our stress-driven work worlds. That's the time to look up for I know a SON in whose face we can look directly; we can bathe in His love; we can know His peace.....for HIS Sonshine still shines, His presence is STILL there, even on the hot sands of our lives. He's there watching, loving, helping...and we're going to make it--for HE's all we really need--even in the sand!
And as I gaze upon the shore, I am aware of the absolute control God has over the ocean waves….one moment they come crashing down on the shore….and the next they recede back into the depths of the ocean.
And I think of Pastor Sam’s favorite quote:
"Morning, noon, or even at night---God’s in control--- EVERYTHING’S gonna be all right!"
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Finding Freedom from Your Stuff
A friend of mine recently helped his retired parents move from a larger home into a smaller, two-bedroom house. A significant problem showed up quickly: limited closet space.
Both parents had accumulated a lifetime of clothing from department stores, catalogs, and garage sales. Several items had never been worn – and never would be. Still, they could not bear to get rid of anything. So they converted the spare bedroom into a massive walk-in closet. The upside? Plenty of space for their duds. The downside? Family visitors can’t stay in the spare bedroom – because it’s filled wall to wall.
Of course, the problem of accumulation isn’t limited to retirees with one too many pairs of pants. It’s a cultural epidemic. For proof, we need look no further than the self-storage industry, which is making money on the fact that we’re overflowing with possessions. According to the Self Storage Association, there are now more than 2 billion square feet of self-storage space in the country. That computes to 6.86 square feet of space for every person in the United States, which means you could physically shelter every man, woman, and child under the combined roofs of those units, all at the same time.
OK. We have a lot of stuff. So what?
What’s Mine Is … Whose?
Laurryn Trojanowski, an office manager in Illinois, recently asked herself why she had so many things. She had been reading Matthew 6, where Jesus tells His listeners not to store up treasures on earth but to focus on treasures in heaven. He concludes with the well-known verse 21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
“I spent some time thinking about where my heart was and what I treasured,” she says. “I realized that I really liked things – stuff, material items – to an extent that I didn’t feel was appropriate for a Christian.”
Trojanowski spent a week cleaning out belongings that served no purpose other than taking up space. She donated bags of clothing and shoes to local charities and tossed a bunch of old VHS tapes. Then she took one important step beyond organizing and tidying up. She also rearranged her spending habits, resolving to consider what she buys – and keeps – very carefully.
“Jesus didn’t die so that I could buy another pair of shoes at Target,” she adds.Louie Rudin has built his life around a similar conviction. A YoungLife college minister living near Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., he shares a “ministry house” with six male college students. Not only does he live in community, but he wears thrift-shop clothing, walks more than he drives, and seldom purchases anything new. Why? Rudin cites Jesus’ words in Luke 9: “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” He says that he finds it hard to justify Christian self-denial with a mindset that emphasizes the pursuit of gaining more things for himself.
“The simple life of Christ and His followers should be plain examples to us that we’re to value relationships and experiences over money and items,” adds Maarten Jacobs, a young professional also committed to living with less. He works with a Christian organization to revitalize the impoverished North Side of Syracuse, N.Y. Jacobs views simplicity as deliberately taking time to reflect on our habits and compulsions in order to assess which things are truly important. Then, he says, pursue those things.
Living in a Material World
“There are more and more people today who really resonate with the idea that the more we own, the less we have,” says Shane Claiborne, author of “The Irresistible Revolution” and co-founder of The Simple Way, a faith community in inner-city Philadelphia. He points out how owning more leads to more worries about pursuing and keeping up with our stuff, which means less time for God. Less time for people. Less time for the virtues of a well-lived life.
Rudin details his experience with this example: “Two cars generally require twice as much maintenance as one, which in turn requires more time and money, which in turn requires more income, which generally requires more time spent at work.”
In other words, we become slaves to our work so we can pay for stuff we’re too busy to actually enjoy due to our heavy workload. It’s a vicious, familiar cycle. How often do we feel like our possessions and everything connected to them – from finances to careers – bring stress into our lives? Who hasn’t had a day ruined by a glitchy computer or a broken-down car? When that happens, we have to ask ourselves: Do I really own my things, or do they own me?
“We get held down by our possessions,” says Trojanowski, who has tried to make a new habit of giving things away, like a book she’s already read or a purse she knows a friend admires. When she does this, she says, “I feel a little lift. It reminds me that I’m not chained to those things.”
The “lift” doesn’t just apply to small items either. Jacobs recently bought a modest home in Syracuse. He could have afforded something larger, he says, but he wanted to make sure each room was necessary and would be used every day. He takes the money he saved on a lower mortgage and puts it toward things he cares about: hospitality and trips to visit friends. And the things he does own, he loans out frequently – without worrying whether they’ll be returned.
“Changing my mindset about possessions has freed me from the bondage of desiring to hold on to them,” he says.
Slaves. Chains. Bondage. Most of those who advocate a simpler lifestyle agree that freedom is a definite theme when it comes to living with less. The question that follows, then, becomes this: What do you do with all that freedom?
Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now
“When we talk of materialism and simplicity, we have to begin with love for God and neighbor,” Claiborne says. He laments that the idea of living with less often becomes too inwardly focused and negative – it becomes about not having things or about personal piety. Claiborne prefers to paint simplicity in a more outward-facing light: Living simply means freeing yourself up to help people.
“The best thing to do with good food or clothes is to share them,” he adds.Claiborne says that he once bought an ice cream cone as a birthday present for a young boy in India. The boy tasted the ice cream, then started running around to give each of his friends a lick. “The gifts of God are so good we can’t keep them to ourselves,” Claiborne explains.
Loosening our hold on stuff makes it easier to give it away. De-cluttering our lives frees up space or money or time we can devote to more important things. To God. To people. To service. To ministries we believe in.
Yes, it’s idealistic. Yes, it’s extremely hopeful. Most people in our culture would probably brush off that kind of thinking as a sentiment more suited to a peaced-out hippie than a modern-day American. But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. If I’m so influenced by our “have it your way” culture that I can dismiss a clearly biblical concept as being naïve … well, that’s a pretty strong indictment of the world in which I work, live, and even worship.
In his definitive book “Freedom of Simplicity,” Richard Foster writes that living with less “brings sanity to our compulsive extravagance and peace to our frantic spirit.” The thing about people like Shane Claiborne or Louie Rudin is that they seem genuinely sane and peaceful. They seem content. They’re happy, despite walking more than the rest of us and despite doing it with fewer pairs of shoes.So go ahead and call them idealists. Dismiss their counter-cultural convictions by calling them radicals. They won’t mind because it’s true.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go clean out my closet.
(Written by Jason Boyett, a speaker, journalist, and most recently the author of “Pocket Guide to the Bible.” This article is courtesy of Christian Single.)
http://www.lifeway.com/article/167924/
Both parents had accumulated a lifetime of clothing from department stores, catalogs, and garage sales. Several items had never been worn – and never would be. Still, they could not bear to get rid of anything. So they converted the spare bedroom into a massive walk-in closet. The upside? Plenty of space for their duds. The downside? Family visitors can’t stay in the spare bedroom – because it’s filled wall to wall.
Of course, the problem of accumulation isn’t limited to retirees with one too many pairs of pants. It’s a cultural epidemic. For proof, we need look no further than the self-storage industry, which is making money on the fact that we’re overflowing with possessions. According to the Self Storage Association, there are now more than 2 billion square feet of self-storage space in the country. That computes to 6.86 square feet of space for every person in the United States, which means you could physically shelter every man, woman, and child under the combined roofs of those units, all at the same time.
OK. We have a lot of stuff. So what?
What’s Mine Is … Whose?
Laurryn Trojanowski, an office manager in Illinois, recently asked herself why she had so many things. She had been reading Matthew 6, where Jesus tells His listeners not to store up treasures on earth but to focus on treasures in heaven. He concludes with the well-known verse 21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
“I spent some time thinking about where my heart was and what I treasured,” she says. “I realized that I really liked things – stuff, material items – to an extent that I didn’t feel was appropriate for a Christian.”
Trojanowski spent a week cleaning out belongings that served no purpose other than taking up space. She donated bags of clothing and shoes to local charities and tossed a bunch of old VHS tapes. Then she took one important step beyond organizing and tidying up. She also rearranged her spending habits, resolving to consider what she buys – and keeps – very carefully.
“Jesus didn’t die so that I could buy another pair of shoes at Target,” she adds.Louie Rudin has built his life around a similar conviction. A YoungLife college minister living near Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., he shares a “ministry house” with six male college students. Not only does he live in community, but he wears thrift-shop clothing, walks more than he drives, and seldom purchases anything new. Why? Rudin cites Jesus’ words in Luke 9: “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” He says that he finds it hard to justify Christian self-denial with a mindset that emphasizes the pursuit of gaining more things for himself.
“The simple life of Christ and His followers should be plain examples to us that we’re to value relationships and experiences over money and items,” adds Maarten Jacobs, a young professional also committed to living with less. He works with a Christian organization to revitalize the impoverished North Side of Syracuse, N.Y. Jacobs views simplicity as deliberately taking time to reflect on our habits and compulsions in order to assess which things are truly important. Then, he says, pursue those things.
Living in a Material World
“There are more and more people today who really resonate with the idea that the more we own, the less we have,” says Shane Claiborne, author of “The Irresistible Revolution” and co-founder of The Simple Way, a faith community in inner-city Philadelphia. He points out how owning more leads to more worries about pursuing and keeping up with our stuff, which means less time for God. Less time for people. Less time for the virtues of a well-lived life.
Rudin details his experience with this example: “Two cars generally require twice as much maintenance as one, which in turn requires more time and money, which in turn requires more income, which generally requires more time spent at work.”
In other words, we become slaves to our work so we can pay for stuff we’re too busy to actually enjoy due to our heavy workload. It’s a vicious, familiar cycle. How often do we feel like our possessions and everything connected to them – from finances to careers – bring stress into our lives? Who hasn’t had a day ruined by a glitchy computer or a broken-down car? When that happens, we have to ask ourselves: Do I really own my things, or do they own me?
“We get held down by our possessions,” says Trojanowski, who has tried to make a new habit of giving things away, like a book she’s already read or a purse she knows a friend admires. When she does this, she says, “I feel a little lift. It reminds me that I’m not chained to those things.”
The “lift” doesn’t just apply to small items either. Jacobs recently bought a modest home in Syracuse. He could have afforded something larger, he says, but he wanted to make sure each room was necessary and would be used every day. He takes the money he saved on a lower mortgage and puts it toward things he cares about: hospitality and trips to visit friends. And the things he does own, he loans out frequently – without worrying whether they’ll be returned.
“Changing my mindset about possessions has freed me from the bondage of desiring to hold on to them,” he says.
Slaves. Chains. Bondage. Most of those who advocate a simpler lifestyle agree that freedom is a definite theme when it comes to living with less. The question that follows, then, becomes this: What do you do with all that freedom?
Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now
“When we talk of materialism and simplicity, we have to begin with love for God and neighbor,” Claiborne says. He laments that the idea of living with less often becomes too inwardly focused and negative – it becomes about not having things or about personal piety. Claiborne prefers to paint simplicity in a more outward-facing light: Living simply means freeing yourself up to help people.
“The best thing to do with good food or clothes is to share them,” he adds.Claiborne says that he once bought an ice cream cone as a birthday present for a young boy in India. The boy tasted the ice cream, then started running around to give each of his friends a lick. “The gifts of God are so good we can’t keep them to ourselves,” Claiborne explains.
Loosening our hold on stuff makes it easier to give it away. De-cluttering our lives frees up space or money or time we can devote to more important things. To God. To people. To service. To ministries we believe in.
Yes, it’s idealistic. Yes, it’s extremely hopeful. Most people in our culture would probably brush off that kind of thinking as a sentiment more suited to a peaced-out hippie than a modern-day American. But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. If I’m so influenced by our “have it your way” culture that I can dismiss a clearly biblical concept as being naïve … well, that’s a pretty strong indictment of the world in which I work, live, and even worship.
In his definitive book “Freedom of Simplicity,” Richard Foster writes that living with less “brings sanity to our compulsive extravagance and peace to our frantic spirit.” The thing about people like Shane Claiborne or Louie Rudin is that they seem genuinely sane and peaceful. They seem content. They’re happy, despite walking more than the rest of us and despite doing it with fewer pairs of shoes.So go ahead and call them idealists. Dismiss their counter-cultural convictions by calling them radicals. They won’t mind because it’s true.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go clean out my closet.
(Written by Jason Boyett, a speaker, journalist, and most recently the author of “Pocket Guide to the Bible.” This article is courtesy of Christian Single.)
http://www.lifeway.com/article/167924/
Monday, May 3, 2010
WHY GOD MADE MOTHERS
By the time the Lord made mothers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime.
An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one"?
And the Lord answered and said, "Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have 200 movable parts, all replaceable, run on black coffee and leftovers, have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands."
The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No Way!", said the Angel.
The Lord replied, "Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem. It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!"
"And that's just on the standard model?" the Angel asked.
The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yep, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head, are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word."
The Angel tried to stop the Lord. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."
"But I can't!" The Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she's sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower. "
The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have made her so soft, Lord."
"She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."
"Will she be able to think?", asked the Angel.
The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate."
The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."
"That's not a leak." The Lord objected. "That's a tear!"
"What's the tear for?" the Angel asked.
The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."
The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything; for mothers are truly amazing!"
by ERMA BOMBECK
And on this Mother's Day 2010, I'm remembering with laughter and tears my own dear Mother, Ethel Southern, who went to be with her Lord on Christmas Day 2004.
Love you, Mom.
An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one"?
And the Lord answered and said, "Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have 200 movable parts, all replaceable, run on black coffee and leftovers, have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands."
The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No Way!", said the Angel.
The Lord replied, "Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem. It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!"
"And that's just on the standard model?" the Angel asked.
The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yep, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head, are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word."
The Angel tried to stop the Lord. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."
"But I can't!" The Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she's sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower. "
The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have made her so soft, Lord."
"She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."
"Will she be able to think?", asked the Angel.
The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate."
The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."
"That's not a leak." The Lord objected. "That's a tear!"
"What's the tear for?" the Angel asked.
The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."
The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything; for mothers are truly amazing!"
by ERMA BOMBECK
And on this Mother's Day 2010, I'm remembering with laughter and tears my own dear Mother, Ethel Southern, who went to be with her Lord on Christmas Day 2004.
Love you, Mom.
Friday, April 9, 2010
MEMO FROM GOD
Good Morning!
Today I will be handling all of your problems.
Please remember that I do not need your help.
If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you can’t handle, do not attempt to resolve it. Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours.
Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.
If you find yourself stuck in traffic; Don't despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.
Should you have a bad day at work; Think of the man who has been out of work for years.
Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; Think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.
Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; Think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.
Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; Think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.
Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror; Think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.
Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.
Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; Remember, things could be worse. You could be one of them!
YOUR LOVING FATHER
Today I will be handling all of your problems.
Please remember that I do not need your help.
If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you can’t handle, do not attempt to resolve it. Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours.
Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.
If you find yourself stuck in traffic; Don't despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.
Should you have a bad day at work; Think of the man who has been out of work for years.
Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; Think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.
Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; Think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.
Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; Think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.
Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror; Think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.
Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.
Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; Remember, things could be worse. You could be one of them!
YOUR LOVING FATHER
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
THINKING OUT LOUD
Weather lore has it that March comes in like a lion, full of roaring, blustery winds, then goes out like a lamb as it tiptoes into the gentle, breeze-kissed weather of April.
We can attest that the first part of that proverb is true….for the winds have been very strong for the past few days. Now it remains to be seen if, indeed, it will go out like a lamb as we look forward to Spring and Resurrection Sunday.
Already, between the snowfalls, we can see the signs of Spring…the budding jonquils, cherry trees and redbud trees. The birds are already collecting materials to build their nests, and my hands are “itching” to start digging in the dirt!
Have poured over the seed catalogs, made my choices, placed my orders and am now awaiting delivery so I can start the seed indoors and be ready to go to work outside in earnest when the soil has warmed up sufficiently!
I watched a family of deer inside my neighbor’s yard last Saturday as they foraged for any fresh tender vegetation. Suddenly, they, in a most graceful leap, cleared the fence and began checking out MY yard. Nothing there yet, but I’m already thinking about how to dissuade them from dining on my garden this year! Have even ordered a newly patented deer fencing material. I already had the posts so the cost was not prohibitive. The question now is: Will it keep the deer out? Time will tell.
Something about Spring brings a fresh awareness that, even in the darkest nights of winter, there is soon coming an awakening of the earth and everything therein. It’s not a mystery at all…..for God planned it that way!
We can attest that the first part of that proverb is true….for the winds have been very strong for the past few days. Now it remains to be seen if, indeed, it will go out like a lamb as we look forward to Spring and Resurrection Sunday.
Already, between the snowfalls, we can see the signs of Spring…the budding jonquils, cherry trees and redbud trees. The birds are already collecting materials to build their nests, and my hands are “itching” to start digging in the dirt!
Have poured over the seed catalogs, made my choices, placed my orders and am now awaiting delivery so I can start the seed indoors and be ready to go to work outside in earnest when the soil has warmed up sufficiently!
I watched a family of deer inside my neighbor’s yard last Saturday as they foraged for any fresh tender vegetation. Suddenly, they, in a most graceful leap, cleared the fence and began checking out MY yard. Nothing there yet, but I’m already thinking about how to dissuade them from dining on my garden this year! Have even ordered a newly patented deer fencing material. I already had the posts so the cost was not prohibitive. The question now is: Will it keep the deer out? Time will tell.
Something about Spring brings a fresh awareness that, even in the darkest nights of winter, there is soon coming an awakening of the earth and everything therein. It’s not a mystery at all…..for God planned it that way!
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