Waiting for Spring...

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.  ~Anne Bradstreet

During the winter I grow impatient with days of low temperatures and a tease of warmth. I look eagerly upward for the buds beginning to form on the trees and search for new growth from the soil.
This quiet month in the garden gives me time to reflect on God's timing of the seasons. It is a time of rest in the garden. A bulb might peek up here or there, but mostly the ground is tucked in by a blanket of leaves.

Humans are much like seasons. When we feel deflated or spent, it is a sign that we need to step back and re-nourish in God's word."Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17. Like the earth revels in the rain and the warm of the sun, we become a new creation in Christ.

And so, marking the days to the colors and climes of springtime, I am warmed by the promise of our Lord. Soon the ground will thaw and the streams will flow and the world will celebrate God's gift of beauty once again.

"Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again."—Sarah Ban Breathnach

Post Christmas blessings...

After the last decoration is put away and the living room goes back to the way we know it 49 weeks out of the year, we pause to look ahead. For most it is the anticipation of what life will bring us in this new year. For some it is the ongoing burdens that unveil each day.

Without God's light in our hearts, we have no hope of a bright tomorrow. How can we spread this joy to others? There are many ways we can be a blessing in this new year. Does a neighbor need your help? Can you volunteer in the life of a child? Can you share the knowledge that God's love is unfailing? Ephesians 3:17-18 says,"May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long,how high, and how deep His love really is." This is the good news every person needs to understand.

Because God is powerful, He can help with any problem. Look around. Count your blessings. Strive to be the person God expects you to be. Share the joy. One day at a time. Life is a gift. Live it with God's love. Happy New Year.

The Hope of Christmas

It was not surprising.  The church was filled to capacity on Christmas Eve. Folks who showed up once or twice a year were there.  The “Specialty Christians” she had dubbed them.  Usually felt the call on Easter and Christmas.  But it was good that they were there. Perhaps this service, this congregation, would ignite the thought to come more often.

Her oldest son sat beside her husband at the end of the pew.  Daughter in law and younger son to her right.  Young granddaughter roamed between them all.  Her granddaughter’s mommy was in the choir loft, readying to sing her solo part with the a cappella group.

The service was lovely.  The sanctuary filled with red Poinsettias, beautiful words and music.  Young granddaughter sang along, not knowing most of the words. Communion proved to be a challenge, but forgetting the bread, granddaughter entertained herself with the neighbors behind them. And then, the long awaited ending.  Rows of candleholders singing “Silent Night.”  She was reluctant, at first, to hold a lighted candle…for fear of her granddaughter torching the lady sitting in front of them. But her son gave her an encouraging nod and she shared the candle flame with her husband. 

For a few moments, it became a tug of war with her granddaughter over who was to hold the candle.  The rights fell to the grandmother who was holding her granddaughter with one arm and the candle with the empty hand.  Soon the granddaughter was in awe of the warm candle glow throughout the sanctuary.  “Ooh, it’s dark,” she said, as she looked up at the ceiling and out through the wavy window glass reflecting the lights on the Chrismon Tree.

Perhaps it was a combination of the softness and the majesty of the evening, but as the grandmother looked at the reflection of the single candle light in her granddaughter’s eyes, she shed a tear for the hope that Christmas brings.  Her granddaughter would never be this sweet, beautiful age again, but the memory of this evening and the wonder of Christ’s birth would live on.

“Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.” Psalm 97:11.

Home Sweet Home

How blessed we are to have a home that is warm in winter and cool in summer. A home in a safe neighborhood with nice neighbors. The word "home" brings pleasant thoughts. A fireside, a special room, a happy family. I remember my grandmother telling me about her elderly mother who had come to live with her. My grandparents were busy with four children of their own but they always had room for one more. When her own mother came to stay, she told my grandmother, "I would rather live in a hovel with you than in any fine palace in Britain."

After all, it isn't really the walls and roof of a home that means the most. It is the people living there who can make you feel like a queen or a servant. God has taught us to love and respect one another and if we follow His word, the rooms we inhabit will forever be blessed.  Isaiah 32:18 says, "My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."

Memories are made of the simplest things. A clean bed, a warm meal, sharing the sofa with a family member or friend. "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."   1John 4:11.  

 

Be thankful,count your blessings, and share them with others!

  

One bright star...

“He turns not back who is bound to a star” Leonardo daVinci

Cool Autumn weather brings clear night skies and a perfect time to view the firmament.  I remember as a child, getting up in the darkness to take a family trip.  Up before the sun and sleepy-eyed, filled with excitement for the day ahead. Watching from my back seat window as the car rambled down the road, and searching... for the brightest star.

         

Numbers 24-17 says, "Falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel." Clearly, the brightest star shall lead us. His name is Jesus Christ. No other is the brightest star.

 

It is a great comfort to know the star is always there; even on a cloudy night, He leads us. "We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." 2Peter 1:19. When we ask Jesus into our heart, there is no longer clouds or darkness, but light.

Revelation 22:16 says, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” Do not fear or worry, look to the brightest morning star. Faith will guide you...and faith is all you need.

Poetry in nature...

There is always music amongst the trees in the garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.  ~Minnie Aumonier

I am a huge fan of trees. Not just oaks or maples, but trees in general. I love to gaze at their shapes, their colors, the way they reach up to heaven.  Trees provide enjoyment in the ascent of their branches by young climbers or in the cool shade at the base of their trunks for those with less energy.

Some of my favorite Bible verses are about trees. Psalms 52:8 says, "But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the loving kindness of God forever and ever."

"I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia and the myrtle and the olive tree; I will place the juniper in the desert Together with the box tree and the cypress, That they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it." Isaiah 41:19-20.

My favorite verse is Isaiah 55:12: "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."

Indeed, there is poetry in nature. In every musical movement of leaves on branches, swaying rhythmically  in the wind. In every expression of new growth in spring and even in the stark limbs of winter. It is all God's creative gift to us. The Bible was written long ago, but even today it offers us glimpses of the poetry and wonder of the Lord.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Wanting it all...

On a recent trip to the Florida coast, my husband and I returned from a long beach walk to encounter a strange sight involving a bagel.  What looked like a whirlwind of white, was a flock of gulls, each trying his best to claim the bagel for his own.

One of the more decisive gulls snatched the bagel and tried to fly away with his catch. Time after time he attempted to take flight and time after time the bagel proved too heavy to lift. Watching this comedy of errors made me think that seagulls are much like humans. We tend to dream big and to want it all. Hebrews 13:16 says, "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." As children we are taught to share, but as life goes on, the lesson tends to get lost in translation.

 

The seagull?  Well, he learned to eat what he needed and leave the rest for others who are also hungry. Being selfish was much harder on him in the long run than sharing with the flock.  

It was a great visual lesson to all of us beach walkers who were able to take time off for a holiday, complete with wonderful meals and comfortable lodging. We must never forget to thank God for our blessings and, being more like Him, offer what we can in kindness to others.

        

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15.