August 4, 2017

DIGGING IN MY TOES!

bare feet from back_wet_jeans_105776_pexels

Ah! The joy of releasing tired, hot feet from the confines of shoes and socks! My mom and I used to kid about our “hillbilly blood” because our shoes inevitably fell off when we came home. Warm summer rain showers were the perfect opportunity for my brothers and me to splash barefoot up and down our gravel drive in town. On summer trips with the family, I remember digging my toes into the soft warm dirt of my grandparents’ country drive. Have you ever walked through a wet vegetable garden and ended up doubling the thickness of the soles of your shoes with mud?! Just walking becomes an effort.

Sometimes our lives get like that, mired down with stuff that drags us down and overwhelms. We splash barefoot before God in our pain and doubt and it is difficult to see joy. When His wonderful grace and love showers down upon us, we in our weariness do not always see it. We may be unable to receive until it has had time to soak in. I love the words of the psalmist who wrote, (God) lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. * Like on those warm summer days, we can dig our toes into the strength of His being. God lifts us up and sets us on solid ground. What joy and release when we stand with Him in faith, free of the confines of life which weigh us down!

* Psalm 40:2

July 28, 2017

Reflections on Twist-Ties

TwistTies

• Twist-Ties can be straight or bent.
• Standing straight declares a purpose.
• Sometimes we just need to bend.
• When we bend, our shape is changed.
• Different shapes fill different needs.
• Bending down allows full service.
• Twist-Ties help secure the contents.
• The colors declare the day of offering.
• Daily offerings of nourishment are beneficial.
• The one who provides, helps to shape us all.
• The Shaper welcomes who we are.

July 22, 2017

With the Joy of a Child

2 Children Water Splashing on Hands_pexels-photo-473408

When I waken
To morn’s cool breath
Quiet, peaceful
Night’s full rest
May I touch day’s promise
With the joy of a child

Day now greeted
By chirp and song
Honk and rumble
Whisper or shout
May I hear and listen
With the joy of a child

Food to nourish
Clothes to wear
Friends to help me
God to provide
May I step this day’s path
With the joy of a child

Heart now open
My eyes to see
Hands to offer
Words encourage
May I live day’s fullness
With the joy of a child

July 15, 2017

Apple of His Eye

apple on tree-wet_pexels-photo-257840

 

Apples! I love apples! …I remember the taste of crunchy, sweet apples fresh off the tree in the backyard of our small-town home when I was growing up. The smell of apples cooking as Mom busied herself about the kitchen making apple butter and jelly, pies, and applesauce still lingers in my mind! Those wonderful summer days of gathering apples, listening to the neighbor’s honeybees about their work, and resting in the cool shade of their boughs are forever etched in my memory. I can still hear the sounds of laughter as my three brothers and I played, worked, and ate our fill of those apples!

Have you ever wondered where the phrase “the apple of my eye” came from? The writer of Deuteronomy says that God found his people in a desert land, “a barren and howling waste,” but cared for them and guarded them “as the apple of his eye.” The psalmist prayed to God, “Keep me as the apple of your eye”! This phrase is literally translated “the little man of the eye.” …If you look closely into the eyes of someone, you can see your own image reflected in that round central circle of their pupil. Think about it. Our very image is reflected in the eye of God! How awesome is that?!

God watches over us. Cherishes us. He keeps our very image before Him! Like those childhood memories, He brings comfort and joy to His children.

July 8, 2017

Like Dry Bones!

hand n bones 1

When the Hebrew people were in the land of exile, home of the Babylonians, God first spoke to the Jewish priest named Ezekiel. He was only thirty years old! … God had allowed the people to be taken into exile because they had turned from Him, worshiping idols, offering their children as sacrifices, living immorally, violently, and selfishly.

God gave words to his new prophet Ezekiel to call them back to Himself, hard words and difficult messages. There were some really weird visions!

In one vision, there was a valley full of dry bones!
“Ezekiel, can these bones live?!”
“Only You know sovereign God!”
“Prophesy, speak to these bones. I will restore them and put breath back into them.”

And so, Ezekiel obeyed and God did as He said He would.

Wow! Dry bones. Dead. Without life. Unable to stand. To walk. To serve God and care for others. God speaks, breaths on those dry bones (on us), and restores life. Sinews. Flesh. Bones knitting together. We begin to take on God’s character. The breath of God’s Spirit fills us and He raises His children to stand in that dark valley of dry bones.

Shepherd us, oh LORD I pray!
Bring our dry bones to life!
Breathe in us Your very being,
That we may walk in You anew!

June 23, 2017

Oh, Dance!

ladies in white dancing_pexels-photo-175658 (2)Graceful arms lift and reach,
Raising hands on high;
Expressions of tune and song.
Oh, dance in joyful celebration!

Rhythmic feet point and tap,
Upward sway and leap;
Ever forward, persevere.
Oh, dance in joyful celebration!

Faithful Father! Creator Lord!
Always by our side.
Moving in life’s daily dance.
Oh, dance in joyful celebration!

 

Let them praise his name with dancing… Psalm 149:3a

I will celebrate before the Lord. 2 Samuel 6:21