New Appreciation

It has been over a week since the news came.  A young friend.  A firefighter.  A father.  A boyfriend. A Christian.

Gone.

In his sleep.

33….. same age as Jesus when he started His ministry.

God working on this young man.  Through him.  Around him.  In him.

Gone.

His work here, complete.

Not in our eyes.  In God’s eyes….. complete.

I visited our sanctuary this afternoon.  Dark.  Still. Quiet.

Tomorrow the room will be filled with earthly sorrow.

Tomorrow tears will flood the room.

Questions for God will be raised….. hoping for an answer.

Tomorrow will come and go.  A family lost a good man. The heavens gained a soul. We’ll cry.  Angels will rejoice.

Tomorrow.

With days gone by, Today and Tomorrow, a new appreciation for loved ones, strangers, passer-bys is growing deeply.

Finding out our purpose to be left behind sparks in appreciation for life.

Discovering the true meaning of a God relationship awaits in this appreciation.

Our loss.  God’s gain.  Calling him and comforting us.

God bless…….

I Need a Plan

2012 is staring straight at me.  I pulled up my 2011 resolution list.  Yikes!

1.  Get an article published……I guess being published in the Arkansas Methodist Newspaper qualifies!

2.  Meet with a publisher……I met with two actually.  One fell asleep!  The other popped my bubble…..Paving the way to 2012 right??

3.  Sell a painting…..I did paint more.  Just didn’t sell one.  Hey, there is still time!  If you want to purchase a painting from me, email me!  

4.  For Lent, partake in the Daniel Fast.  (No, No, I won’t be eating locus.. that was John.)…..It was hard but I lived through it!!  Yay!!

5.  Do a 5K..ahem… walk one!  Guess I better dust off the sneakers and get started on this one!!…..Oh man…. I didn’t do this one!! I knew there was something I forgot.  Do rollovers count?

6.  Paint the rooms of our home.. 10 years of neglect and it is time!!….I painted the living room, the hall, and the dining room.  Guess I will get to the kitchen and bedroom in 2012!

7.  Get organized…  I’m visiting FlyLady again!!  LOVE HER!!  I need a refresher’s course!….H.O.P.E.L.E.S.S!

8.  Learn to knit!  I don’t care if it kills me!  I am going to knit a scarf this year!!….I learned I am not a knitter.  I will stick with crochet!

9.  Finish my book(s).  Working on two simultaneously… surely I’ll get one done!!…..I got the book proposal done.  My fiction work…. I chucked!  Starting over!

10.  Sew at least two projects from One Yard Wonders.  I have the book ordered!!  Can’t wait!!….I actually did this one!  One apron and one baby blanket!!  One Yard Wonders now have a sequel.  I am going to order it!!

This year….. I am developing something different.  Romans 12:1 has been penetrating my thoughts lately.  I keep hearing the tune ” Give Yourself Away.” God is up to something.  Now, I need a plan.  A solid plan.  A plan that will help me reach my Romans 12:1 goal.

God Bless…….

Bread of Life

Give us this day our daily bread…… Luke 11:3

Bethlehem means “house of bread.”  The birthplace of Christ.

For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.  John 6:33

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

 

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Enjoy your Monday! God bless…….

Standing Tall

My insides feel drained.  Lifeless. Tired.

I saw this tree.  It looked like I felt at that very moment.  Alone.  Exposed. Small.  Insignificant.

Ever felt that way?

I came to my favorite quiet spot.  A simple chair under an old oak.  Its branches like arms stretching out to me.  Welcoming me into the fold.

I sat basking in the sun.  I enjoyed the cool December breeze…. the refreshing smell of the outdoors.

Then I am reminded of Isaiah 61 and the reference to the Oaks of Righteousness. The oak tree is a symbol of strength and endurance.  With God, I can be like this strong oak….. “a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:3

Enjoy your day….. God bless……

 

Look Around

Sunday, it began with a prayer.

God awaken my soul.

Worship service began and I felt no ease.  My heart wrapped in worry.  My head ached for sense.  Restlessness overcame my very being.  Unsettled.  Stagnate. Fearful.

Holy Spirit arouse each cell of my being.

The sermon began with a young maiden long ago.  Encountered a heavenly host to learn of her fate.  Refusal wasn’t her answer.  She welcomed the hardship, the loneliness, her fate as a believer……

Make me like Mary.

Go For A Walk.

I heard it.  I felt it.  God’s beckoning.  The dreariness of my mind’s state held me back.

What were Mary’s words?  “I am the Lord’s servant….. May it e to me as you have said.”  Luke 1:38  Oh yes, now I remember.  Yes, Lord, a walk I will take.

Sunday afternoon, as soon as I could, I went on my walk.  I grabbed my pocket size Bible, slipped it into my pocket and headed out across the yard.

Oh, God, help me…. I began to pray.

Hush my child, look around.

Stubborn, I continued on in prayer with each step.

Finances, Work, Pressure, Worry, Past Hurts

Look Around.

I need you, God, to hear me.

Look Around.

It wasn’t long before I was quiet.  My soul jerked awake and my cells burned with desire not despair.

I looked around.  I saw God’s beauty.

Green holly with red berries reminded me of the season.

A playful, full of life, kitten climbing the tree.  His stance screams “Look at me!” A smile formed.  Worries lessened.

The elderly horse gently acknowledging me with a neighborly neigh. My heart strings played God’s melody.  Pain, Pressure, and my future worries slipped away.

God’s words echoed……

 ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶Look 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? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

   ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34

A gentle reminder.  A quiet nudge.  Reassurance all will be right again.  Worry no more and walk…….

God bless……

Okay folks….. yesterday, I asked, “What is it??”

Vaporizer….. good idea.

Two spout teapot….. can see that.

Two wick oil lamp…..ahhhh I think we may have solved our mystery!!  Apparently, I am missing another ball.  The ball holds the wick.  I will have to try that one out!!

Thanks for all your help!!