Hello my friends! Today is a very beautiful, sunny, and warm day all day!!! It's 82 degrees out!!! Finally we have spring/summer and hope it stays with us. We have the grape jelly out for the Oriels but were surprised that other birds also like it - even the grackles! Still no cardinals yet. I'm getting a lot done in the house today - I used a new product for cleaning laminate floors, you just spray and mop! I cleaned out the linen closet - threw out stuff that was just taking room and not being used - now it's nice and clean and lots of room! There was an old box there where an old cell phone was in, I was about to throw it when here I noticed a charger was in there, so I saved that. I have ironing to do - my summer clothes get so wrinkled! My asparagus is growing!! I don't know when to pick it, it's growing up here there and everywhere! This is fun! Lettuce is growing and we can soon pick it. Our plum tree smells so pretty now - we don't get much plums but this time of the year the blossoms have such a great aroma. Praying for you all!! Take care!
Even the most difficult of trials is God's way of preparing us for something
else. Lord, may I view my challenges as an opportunity to grow rather than
as an opportunity to fail.
Scripture for the day:
"Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is
from God or whether I am speaking on my own. Those who speak on their own
seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is
true, and there is nothing false in him."
~John 7:17-18
Meditation for the day:
The rule of God's kingdom is perfect order, perfect harmony, perfect supply,
perfect love, perfect honesty, perfect obedience. There is no discord in
God's kingdom, only some things still unconquered in God's children. The
difficulties of life can be caused by disharmony in the individual person.
We sometimes lack power because we lack harmony with God and with one
another. We sometimes think that God fails because power is not manifested
in our lives. God does not fail. We sometimes fail because we are out of
harmony with God.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may be in harmony with God and with other people. I pray that
this harmony will result in strength and success.
Here's another meditation on the Our Father:
The Lord's Prayer
Leader: When we feel that we are not succeeding and begin to doubt our
sense of worth, Lord, teach us to pray:
All: Our Father, who art in Heaven
Leader: When we become too closely involved in our own affairs, Lord, teach
us to pray:
All: Hallowed be thy name
Leader: When we think of the future as fixed and impossible to change,
Lord, teach us to pray:
All: Thy Kingdom come
Leader: When we begin to dodge our commitments and evade our obligations,
Lord, teach us to pray:
All: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Leader: When we are smug, comfortable and satisfied and forget the needs of
others, Lord, teach us to pray:
All: Give us this day our daily bread
Leader: When we hold grudges and allow bitterness and resentment into our
hearts, Lord, teach us to pray:
All: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against
us
Leader: When we find it hard to say 'No' and the pressure to give in
mounts, Lord, teach us to pray:
All: Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
Leader: When we become self-centred and seek only our own gratification,
Lord, teach us to pray:
All: The Kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, for ever and ever.
Amen.
God's Road Map
I opened my map that God had left
Realized that I had missed my turn
Searched for the error I made
And God's voice I heard
He said rely on me my child and I'll direct your path
For the mistake you made was neither right nor left
I quizzed the words he said and turned the page
There I saw another lost and afraid
We both turned the next page and a note was left
God said, Do not fear for I haven't left
His words were comforting and true
But left me to ask, Did I leave you?
In His words I heard a smile
And He said you've gone the last mile
I looked at the map realizing my fate
The directions simple from state to state
Take my hand He said again
Without a second thought we placed our Faith in Him
Realizing the power we felt
We knelt to give Him Praise
And the final direction He gave
He said soft and sweet
You are done and have found the place
Where I have promised silver and gold
Reign with me and rest at home
For the Map you've used hast made thee whole
Continue to tell the journey you made
And the words you've heard
For the map you've used is simply God's Word!
Don't start reading this one until you've got more than 3 or 4 minutes. It
deserves some time for reflection..
GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED
I envy Kevin. My brother, Kevin, thinks God lives under his bed. At least
that's what I heard him say one night.
He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen, 'Are
you there, God?' he said. 'Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed...'
I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin's unique perspectives
are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long
after the humor. I realized for the first time the very different world
Kevin lives in.
He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties
during labor. Apart from his size (he's 6-foot-2), there are few ways in
which he is an adult.
He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he
always will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed,
that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every
Christmas and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.
I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever
dissatisfied with his monotonous life?
Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to
walk our cocker spaniel, return to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for
dinner, and later to bed.
The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly
over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child.
He does not seem dissatisfied.
He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple
work.
He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before
dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for
his next day's laundry chores.
And Saturdays - oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That's the day my Dad takes
Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and
speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside. 'That one's
goin' to Chi-car-go! ' Kevin shouts as he claps his hands.
His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.
And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips..
He doesn't know what it means to be discontent.
His life is simple.
He will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does not
care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs
have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.
His hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he is working. When
he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in
it.
He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job
until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to
relax.
He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is pure.
He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when
you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.
Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry
when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere.
And he trusts God.
Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as
a child.. Kevin seems to know God - to really be friends with Him in a way
that is difficult for an 'educated' person to grasp. God seems like his
closest companion.
In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy the
security Kevin has in his simple faith.
It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge
that rises above my mortal questions.
It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap. I am.
My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances - they all become
disabilities when I do not trust them to God's care.
Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has
spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and
soaking up the goodness and love of God.
And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed
at how close God really is to our hearts, I'll realize that God heard the
simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.
Kevin won't be surprised at all!
Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost, but a lot
of rewards.
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