He Leads Us Gently

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.    Isaiah 8:6 NIV

My seven month old grandson loves flowers and plants reaching his sweet, little hands out to touch and to feel the colorful new sights that stimulate his mind.  He is a rambunctious little guy and you would think he would just grab the tender leaves and smash them between his fingers.  But he doesn't do that.  He stretches out his hands and gently touches the petals of our red petunias barely grazing them with his fingertips.

Jesus is like that.  He gently touches our hearts to lead us in the way we should go.  He knows what we need when we need it and He is always tender knowing that we are fragile.  Like the soft petals of petunias we can be easily crushed but we are guided by the Good Shepherd who carries us gently close to His heart.

To God be the Glory!  Amen.

Gardening

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be ever more fruitful.               John 15:1-2

A few years ago my husband, Michael C., had a heart attack and was told by his doctor he needed to take up a hobby as a stress reliever.  Michael C. is very good with his hands and enjoys woodworking and drawing to a certain extent.  I began to pray about this asking the Lord to provide him with a stress relieving hobby he would enjoy.  Naturally, I assumed it would involve woodworking or drawing, or at least something along those lines.  Boy, was I wrong.  I have learned to never assume where God is concerned.

To my great surprise, and I have to say it was indeed a great surprise, my prayer was answered with one word: gardening.  Michael C. has NEVER enjoyed working in the yard.  He hates to cut the grass and he never cared one whit about a shrub or flower.  Now, however, nothing gives him greater pleasure than working in the garden he built in the backyard.

Michael C. didn't just plant a garden.  He built a raised bed and grows herbs, vegetables, and flowers in the garden.  He trims shrubs and dead-heads petunias.  Each day when he gets home from work the first thing he does is check on his garden to see "how does his garden grow."

I really don't know why I think it odd that God would answer my prayer in such a way.  After all, He is the Master Gardener.  He planted a garden in Eden for the first man and woman He created and Jesus even refers to us, His children, as God's garden.  God prunes us and trims us and dead-heads us when we need it.  Like a petunia the most beautiful flowers form in us when God removes the dead buds to make way for new blooms to flower.

So...to God be the Glory!  Amen.

Friends Are Life's Gift of Love

From A Collection of Joy by Helen Steiner Rice

If people like me didn't know people like you,

Life would lose its meaning and its richness too...

For the friends that we make are life's gift of love,

And I think friends are sent right 

from heaven above...

And thinking of you somehow makes me feel

That God is love and He's very real.

Life is a Garden

From A Collection of Joy by Helen Steiner Rice

Life is a garden, good friends are the flowers,

And times spent together life's happiest hours...

And friendship, like flowers, bloom ever more fair

When carefully tended by dear friends who care...

From the song "God of Wonders"

Early in the morning
I will celebrate the light
And as I stumble through the darkness
I will call Your name by night

God of wonders, beyond our galaxy
You are holy, holy
The universe declares Your majesty
You are holy, holy.

 We use the word "awesome" to describe most anything we think is good.  A great play in a ballgame is awesome.  The newest flavor of ice cream is awesome.  A good time at an amusement park is awesome or a song we really like is described as awesome.

The word awesome comes from the the word awe defined in the dictionary as:

A mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread, and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity, or might.

For me the only thing in the universe capable of filling the definition of awesome is the God of Wonders, the Lord of Light and Salvation, the Trinity---Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  To use the word awesome to describe anything else is to fall short of the limitless power of the Creator.

In this context some things are awesome like works of God through nature as seen in the beauty of a sunrise or sunset, the sweetness of child's smile, the awe-ful power of a tornado.

The God of Wonders displays His awesomeness all around for the world to see.  There is no language that does not understand His awesome power.  And this awesome God loves me...and you.  Now that is truly awesome!

To God be the Glory!  Amen.

The Beauty of God's Creation

From From the Heart by Helen Steiner Rice

A THANKFUL RESPONSE

The beauty of twilight, the freshness of dawn,
the coolness of dew on a green velvet lawn-
Great is our loss when we no longer find
a thankful response to things of this kind.

He will make your righteousness
shine like the dawn, the justice of
your cause like the noonday sun.
Psalm 37:6

Today respond with deep appreciation
to scenes painted by our Master Artist.

I Love the Smell of Hedgebushes in the Morning

Praise the LORD, O my soul...who satisfies your desires with good things.  Psalm 103:1,5

When I step out my back door on a balmy, Southern spring day the scent of sweet hedges accost my senses and I am almost overcome by the heady smell.  I have no clue what these bushes are really called but in my neck of the woods we call them hedgebushes.  They are prolific in the South and most people consider them a nuisance.  But not I.  I love the delicate blooms and sweet flowers on these otherwise mundane shrubs. 

You can smell them from daylight to dark and the scent is truly heaven "sent." If you let them grow they actually become quite large trees or they can be sculpted the way you trim crepe myrtles. I imagine walking with the Lord in the cool of the evening, talking to Him as together we enjoy the beauty of another of His wondrous creations---hedgebushes.  Hedgebushes are surely a good thing!

To God be the Glory!  Amen.

The Fruit of Unfailing Love

Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
and showers righteousness on you.
Hosea 10:12 NIV

The Old Testament book of Hosea is a beautiful word picture of God's everlasting love for His people.  His greatest gift of love to us is his Son, Jesus Christ, who also used word pictures in the parables to describe God's love for His people.  In the parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) Jesus teaches us about sowing our seed in good soil which will produce a good crop. 

God tells us in Hosea to sow righteousness and to break up our unplowed ground.  We must till the garden of our heart breaking up the hard ground through forgiveness and patient endurance.  We must seek the LORD in the cool of our heart garden (Genesis 3:8) and He will shower us with blessings.  Then we will produce a good crop of blessings: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  This is the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians---the fruit of unfailing love---a very good crop indeed.

To God be the Glory!  Amen.

Smiles

From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him.
                                                                                                      Proverbs 12:14 

In From the Heart, Helen Steiner Rice shares this poetic verse regarding the sweetness of a smile:

Nothing on earth

can make life more worthwhile

than the sunshine and warmth

of a beautiful smile.

At this very moment I am looking at my six month old grandson who is giving me his sweetest baby smile.  His smile makes me very happy and I smile back at him.  Nothing is quite so warming as his beautiful smile.  My day brightens by more than 1000 watts when my grandson smiles at me. 

Today smile at someone.  It will make them happy and it will surely make you happy, too.  God's gift to someone today may even be your beautiful smile.  Try it.  You might like it!

To God be the Glory!  Amen.

God's Beautiful Creation

From the Holy Bible New Living Translation

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
I will praise my God to my last breath!
May all my thoughts be pleasing to Him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
Psalm 104:33-34

Psalm 104 describes the awe and splendor of God's wondrous creation saying in verse 31, "The LORD takes pleasure in all he has made!"  Today is a beautiful day in the south following the terrible storms of last week.  And even though we mourn the loss of life and property let us turn our thoughts to Him praising our God even to our last breath for the pleasure He takes in pleasing us.

To God be the Glory!  Amen

God's Smiling Face

From From the Heart: One Minute Devotions by Helen Steiner Rice

THE GLORY AND THE GRACE

Let us see the beauty 
And the glory and the grace
That surrounds us in the springtime
As the smiling of God's face.

My soul thirsts for God,  for
the living God.  When can
I go and meet with God?

Psalm 42:2

Today, if you really look, you
can see God's presence and
presents all around you. 

A Prayer for the Morning

from A Collection of Joy by Helen Steiner Rice

Show Me How More Clearly the Way

To Serve and Love You More Each Day

God, help me in my feeble way
to somehow do something each day
to show You that I love You best
And that my faith will stand each test,

                    And let me serve You everyday
                    And feel You near me when I pray.
                    Oh, hear my prayer, dear God above,
                    And make me worthy of Your love.

What a Beautiful Day!

The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.
                                                                                                         Songs of Songs 2:12 NLT

Today was a beautiful day.  The sky was blue and I watched little yellow-breasted finches play in our Bradford Pear tree while our two black cats hungrily eyed the birds from the lower branches of the tree.  Besides that, the neighbor's daffodils are blooming and I do love daffodils.

It's warm enough for my sweet husband, Michael C., and I to sit in our front porch rocking chairs even as he recovers from hip replacement surgery.  I know winter isn't over but today was an encouraging reminder that spring is just around the corner. 

To God be the Glory!  Amen.