Summer pleasures...

With the arrival of Autumn, I reluctantly cast a look back on the wonderful warmth of summer as it sifts through time.  It is hard to break a habit, and I have felt this way about summer all my life. 

Remember the last day of school?  The sweet sadness about leaving a favorite teacher or special friends for a long stretch of summer? Three full months lay ahead....a child's dream. Time moved more slowly in those days and each summer day was filled with a newness, showered in sunshine and play.  "As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near." Luke 21-30.

 

Now the pace of summer quickens and we face Autumn, stubbornly wanting to hold fast to what we love. Cooler days and falling leaves lead into the bleak, coldness of winter.  Sweet memories of summer can warm our thoughts, but only God can light the flame in our hearts.

 

"Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains." James 5:7.

 

Summer is fleeting, but isn't it amazing how God gives us beauty and blessings in each coming season?  Yet, as the months rotate through the year, we are promised that God never changes. How blessed we are that He remains constant in our world and in our lives!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you want?

“Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness.”
― Pearl S. Buck

Recently, I celebrated a birthday.  My husband asked, "What do you want?"  Throughout the years, this question has become increasingly difficult to answer.  I am not lacking a material thing. I have family, friends, and joy in my life. I am content.

But there is one thing that no one on earth can give me.  My life is a gift from above, and therefore; through God's grace, I want to be a better Christian.  Proverbs 16:20 says, "Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord."

 Each day I pray to be a gift in some way, through thought, word, and deed.  I want to live this year with greater praise and active fulfillment of God's word. Think about it: Each day we live is an awesome gift. It is time to give back.

    "Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:24.