Good Ol' Summertime

 

grandboys



"Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." (Revelation 3:20)

I love summertime! Lightning bugs, sunshine, warm temperatures, croaking frogs, singing crickets, late sunsets. But most of all, I love additional time with my superman, kids, and grands.

Chapters two and three of the book of Revelation are messages that Jesus sent to seven churches in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) through the Apostle John. Because believers in Laodicea had grown lukewarm, Jesus asked His apathetic friends to open their hearts and rekindle love and fellowship with Him.

Beloved, like us, our Heavenly Father loves spending time with His kids. Have you answered His knock today?

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Easy Peasy

Jesus said, "Come to Me ... Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me ... For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

This morning, I had struggled for thirty minutes trying to hand saw a dead limb from a cherry tree when my superman came home and got the job done in a two shakes of a lamb's tail.

How many times a day do we struggle to do a job on our own when we could call on our Super Savior and have the work done in half the time and effort?

Got work, beloved? Call on Jesus and stay yoked to Him. 

 

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Train me, LORD

 

Superman and grandboy



"I will praise You with an upright heart as
I LEARN Your righteous laws. (Psalm 119:7)

Grandboys don't come here knowing how to fix a broken motorcycle chain, but they can be trained.

I didn't come here knowing how to be a respectful, submissive, gentle, pure wife, but the Lord can train me. 

Having trouble obeying God's laws, beloved? Ask the Lord to train you.

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Wisdom or Woe

 

Burrowing owls




"...so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God!" (1 Corinthians 2:5)

A highlight of our recent visit to Marco Island was watching the small burrowing owls that lodge in underground holes they dig for themselves or borrow from a ground squirrel or tortoise.

Man says the owl symbolizes inner wisdom, good luck, or self-actualization. The Bible, on the other hand, actually calls owls unclean birds because they are among the predators who eat flesh with blood in it. The books of Isaiah and Zephaniah speak of owls living in wastelands symbolizing barrenness and utter desolation.

So what am I trying to say? Only God's wisdom in His word is the correct lamp to guide us and true light for our path (Psalm 119:105). For "there is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12)  

Live life, beloved, by the infallible wisdom of God, not the flawed ways of man. 

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Cultivating Man-cubs

 

breaking beaver dams

"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

The ninety acres we own beside the Coosa River is called the Farm, but the only thing we really grow there is grandboys—teaching them to hunt, fish, break up beaver dams, and sing "the Lord is good to me."

Best use of God's green earth that I know of in my humble opinion. 

"How can a young man stay on the right path of purity? By living according to Your word." (Psalm 119:9)

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Opportunity

family nail-pullin'

 

"So be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don't be fools; be wise, make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good. Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to find out and do whatever the Lord wants you to do." (Ephesians 5:15-17 The Living Bible)

A few Saturdays ago, we had an old fashion nail-pullin' at the farm. Granddaddy had the grandboys pulling nails out of boards from an old dock, so they can build a new treehouse. He paid 'em a dollar per nail-free board. They made the most of the opportunity. Those little rascals (with some parental help) pulled nails from 100 boards!

While praying this morning for some folks I love going through hard times, the Lord reminded me that hard times are opportunities—opportunities for Him to work and for us to trust and obey. 

In hard times, beloved? Make the most of the opportunity. Trust the Lord, find out what He wants you to do, and do it.

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Hope

 

crocus in the snow




"May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with
HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)

Recently, my Rebecca snapped this shot of crocus blooming in a cold winter's snow. As a child, I remember Mother watching for those precious purple petals—hope for the coming spring. 

Beloved, have bitter winters of life rendered you hopeless? Watch for signs of the coming King and bloom in the warmth of the Lord's faithfulness—the trustworthy God of hope, joy, and peace!

"The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and His name the only name." (Zechariah 14:9)

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