Today is such a beautiful day, even though it is only the end of February. Since, it appears that this is the year without a real winter…I’m skipping right into Spring. Won’t you join me?
Where we love is home – home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts. — Oliver Wendell Holmes
We live in uncertain times. There are plenty of anxious moments to go around. Fear of the unknown runs rampant.
The questions of daily life can loom large, leaving us wondering what tomorrow will hold?
Most of us, unless you are the daredevil, fly by the seat of your pants type, like some security.
We like to know there is some stability in this ever changing world we live in…
When desperation drives us to our knees…
When the hurting parts of life seem to painful to bear…
We want to not fear what tomorrow holds.
And The Word is strong and true…it leaps, alive, off the page.
Fear can be replaced with courage. Anxiousness can be replaced with calm assurance.
Not to worry about the future…
God is already there.
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6 NKJV
When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? Psalm 56:3-4 NIV
**********************************************************************
Giving thanks today, for:
* another Monday
* having property in the country
* long drives
* ice cream
* snuggling with my husband while we watch a movie
* goodnight hugs
* teaching
* reading about chickens (we will be getting some)
* sparkly earrings
* knowing that my future is in God’s hands
This was the view from my seat in the mini-van. It is not unusual for my family to see Amish, when we are out on the road.
We often say, “Out here in rural Ohio, one has to always stay aware of the Amish and the deer when driving.”
There’s one thing about being on the road with the Amish… one is forced to slow down. That is not such a bad thing.
Slowing down. Looking around. Appreciating the journey…. and not just speeding, in a blur, towards the destination.
Isn’t that a good lesson for us all? For how to live life?
I can say for myself, some of the best views are when I am taking the time to look.
A slower pace. Appreciating the trip…one moment at a time.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV
**********************************************
Have a glorious Saturday, my friends. Appreciate the journey.
“Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going to fast-you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.”
—Eddie Cantor
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.
OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:
I have to laugh, the first thing I thought of when I saw Grit, was the movie, True Grit. That led me to thinking about John Wayne.
Then I thought about sand and how difficult it is to clean sand and grit out of clothes, when one is at the beach.
Thirdly, I was reminded of my days living in the South, and how all breakfast meals are served with a side of grits.
Hmmmmm….. I’m having one of those sort of days. My thoughts are a jumble. Sigh.
Grit…. it’s a great word for life. Isn’t it? Grit is the rough patches in the daily life. The irritating. The stuff that rubs the wrong way.
We all have to deal with it.
What do I do when life gets gritty?
Go to the one that can count all the grains of sand. All the things that cause grit in my life. The ONLY one that understands it all.
Psalm 139 talks about how God is with me…..and the passage ends with these two verses:
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would out number the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
Thank you, Lord!
At Faith Barista, Bonnie asked us to…..“Share one thing that attracts you to Jesus.”
(One thing, Bonnie? Just one? Do you realize how difficult that is?)
*********************************************************************
The one thing. The ultimate thing. Salvation that brings…..RELATION.
Relationship with Jesus Christ, not for what He can give me, but for who He is.
Here, in this life, I am limited.
Limited by time and space.
Limited by the physical. Limited in thought.
He is not.
The fact that I, blotted by my own sin, can have this relationship with Christ…
still amazes me. Truly. Utterly. Amazes me.
I can never “repay” Jesus for His sacrifice on my behalf.
Lost. Alone. Dying.
Unable to save myself…because I, yes I, was the problem.
Sin, my sin,
not sin as a whole, not I’m not as bad as the other guy, not “hey, cut me a break, I made a mistake”.
Pure darkness. Soul secrets. Selfish. Rebellious. Enemy of God.
That was me.
God loved me so much, even in that horrible state. Even when my very actions screamed, “I don’t WANT you!”
Born into my guilt….. and unable to save my own life.
Restless. Careless. Hopeless.
He came. He came for me. He mended the relationship that was broken, what sin had destroyed.
When the Heavenly Father looks at me now….He no longer sees me as I was. He now sees me as I am.
A sinner saved by grace.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:24 NIV
His Son, Jesus, stands in front of me…so that when God looks at me, He sees the reflection of His perfect and blameless Son.
It’s relationship. It’s always about relationship. There is nothing greater….and nothing I am more grateful for.
****************************************************************************
One of my favorite songs is by Fernando Ortega—-Just Give Me Jesus. The song is very simple, but couldn’t do a better job of describing my heart.
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus
When I am alone
When I am alone
When I am alone, give me Jesus
When I come to die
When I come to die
When I come to die, give me Jesus
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus
At A Holy Experience, we are discussing fasting.
I thought about what I should write. I pondered. I mused.
I began to look through other things I had written. When I typed in “fasting”, this blog post came up.
Please bear with me, as I choose to share this post I wrote a while ago.
Maybe I felt led to re-post this, because someone today, needs to read it.
Living in His life giving grace…
I stared out across the back field, the wind stinging my cheeks and causing my eyes to water. I continued to stand, as if rooted to the spot. I heard the faint honking of the Canada geese, growing louder as they drew closer. The wind picked up and they beat their wings to stay on track. Together. It’s as if they knew that they needed each other to make it through the wind.
Time st00d still…for one brief moment. The wind quieted and the air was perfectly still. I looked up and saw the geese flying low. In the stillness I heard them slowing down. Their wings beat against the air to slow their flight. They were getting ready to land in the lake across the road, the winter lake that used to be a cornfield this past summer. I was mesmerized by the beauty. The leader of the group honked loudly and the rest follow suit.
I continued to watch as they glided into the water with a splash, that I heard with crystal clarity. For that brief, few seconds, I was reminded to slow down, opening my eyes to what was going on around me. Such a simple thing of nature, left a huge impact on me. I was the audience for this group of winter geese, eagerly watching their daring descent into the frigid water. I saw them. Really, saw them.
And such a simple thing, brought me joy.
*******************************************
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26 NIV
We live in a world of “power” ties, and board meetings. Planners, and profit.
Long days, and for some, even longer nights. Not enough hours in the day.
Work outs, and walk outs. Winners and losers and everyone in between.
Children to raise, and lessons to learn and friends to visit and money to earn.
And every day can seem like the next and the wonder is dimmed in a world
that makes us question……
“Are we good enough?”
We look at ourselves in the mirror and wonder if we matter, if any of it matters?
The business man who knows he has to win the next client or he might lose his job.
The mother who is kneeling to clean up the third spill of the morning and wiping crumbs off counters,
and holds her child on her hip and wonders if she is even pretty anymore? Does anyone really see her?
The woman at the office, fingers flying over the keyboard. She has to get this report done, she has no choice.
She wonders what is the point of it all?
The teen who doesn’t know what his future holds. He sees the news on TV and wonders…
He might not even be able to find a job, or pay for a college education.
He feels helpless.
The retiree who questions where she fits in the world. As her body ages, she asks herself, “Can I still keep up?”
*****************************************
In this fallen world we often wonder, “Do I measure up?“……
Forgetting about grace. God’s amazing, extraordinary, gift of grace.
For God did not send his Son (Jesus) into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. John 3:17 NIV
He loved us before. When we didn’t care. When we were too busy. Or broken. When the nights were late, when we made mistakes.
When the morning sun brought nothing but another day of “the same old, same old”. When we were left out or left behind. When the boss
yelled, and when the divorce papers came. When the mirror showed an image that wasn’t real and tears fell.When the mountain was steep and
the climber was tired.
He loved us then…He loves us, still. He will continue to love us through whatever life brings our way.
Christ thought you were worth it. He loved you enough to redeem you. That is a difficult concept for many to get their mind around. It is much easier to think that salvation must be earned. That there is something that has to be done in order to be loved by God. That is the world talking, not God.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 NIV
*********************************
Thanking God, on this day,
for:
* the miracle of grace
* the chance to start over
* new beginnings
* friendship
* the geese honking in the winter lake across the road
* the bouquet of flowers on the dining room table
* laughing with my husband, so hard that it’s difficult to stop
* teenagers who are smart and funny and loving
* the desire for something more
* for life’s journey with all of its twists and turns
* the blessing of not knowing what is around the bend (yes, this is a blessing!)
* weathering disappointment and growing character
* for getting back up again…and again
* an eye towards aesthetics
* not being able to count all my blessings…
The road that leads to home…
to places familiar…
In the quiet stillness…
the beating of wings…
The sound of geese splashing…
in the winter lake across the road.
***************************************************
May you, my readers, have a peaceful Saturday observing the simple beauty of a winter’s afternoon.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 NIV
My daughter recently took these three pictures, at sunset.
Beauty in the every day.
I am enamored with the sky here.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…
there is some beauty that can only be found by living in the country.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I spent a large portion of my life living within city limits.
Street lights. People packed tight. Traffic. Congestion.
There are also perks to city life, things like excitement and convenience.
But… to me, the lights in the country are so much more beautiful.
Sometimes I have to just stop and stare.
******************************************************************
From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. Psalm 113:3 NIV
It Just Dawned On Me 