10 July 2010
Jack is a part of the dear Devine family, who we visited last week. While we were there, we went to Indiana Dunes for the first time – it was breathtaking!
27 May 2010
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” —Philippians 4:4-8
3 May 2010
Time flies by so quickly. And there are many, many battles to fight.
This world would like you to think it’s a playground. But it’s not. It’s a battleground. We don’t have time to waste our lives on frivolities (although sometimes we may try to convince ourselves that we do).
There is a long list of cultural battles that we can take part in overcoming for God’s glory, by His grace, and for the expansion of His kingdom. At times I am overwhelmed when thinking about the many things needing to be accomplished and taken captive to the obedience of Christ . . . especially when it seems there is so “little” time to do them all.
Yes, life is short, but . . .
God gave us twenty-four hour days for a reason. If I don’t think there’s enough time in a day, that problem lies with how I’m spending my time. It’s a battle we all face.
Maybe I’ve spent time doing something that really didn’t need to be done. Maybe I could’ve been doing something better with my time. Time is a blessed gift from the Lord that He has given us stewardship over. My lifetime is short and the time I have on this earth lasts just for the moment in all of eternity.
By God’s grace I can change and correct.
Correcting these areas is not always an easy task—it includes weeding out things in my life and schedule that are unnecessary and take up valuable time that can be used for working not just on the good things, but on the best things!
Would you like to join me?
2 May 2010
“O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!”
—Psalm 8:1
14 April 2010
After an autumn and winter of leaves and snow, our square-foot gardening boxes were left this spring holding on tight to the leaves and growing a few little foreigners (a.k.a. weeds that should not have been there).
Each box is 4′ x 4′ with small boards on top dividing the large box into sixteen small boxes. The soil is made from compost, vermiculite and peat moss.
When plating in the miniature boxes, the number of seeds/starters per 1′ x 1′ depends on how large the plant will grow to be. For example four lettuces per small square and sixteen spinach’s per small square.
After cleaning out the boxes, Breezy planted several seeds (thanks to Auntie Lou) which have already sprouted and are growing nicely. Last year we made three square foot gardening boxes and this year we plan to make three more!
24 March 2010
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another,
and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone;
just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things
put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”
Colossians 3:12-14
10 March 2010
The sun was shining and the day looked promising. A little girl was gladdened to find that the weather had warmed. The earth seemed refreshed to see the sun’s shining face again, in hopes that new life would begin springing from it’s soil.
A bright and cheery day it was, and so out the little girl went in search of something very, very special.
It was a bit like an adventure, searching here and there for the treasure. A treasure that when found, would bring a bright smile to her face. A treasure that gave hope for a lovelier tomorrow.
Exploring she went, looking high and low. But she could not find what she so eagerly sought.
Just as she began to think that she just might have to wait another day before finding what she sought, out of the corner of her eye she spotted a tiny patch of green.
She hurried over to where the long-searched for treasure was. That little patch of green brought a bright and beautiful smile to her face.
The happy beam of sunshine that shone through those little green stubs made her think about the flowers that would one day bloom, giving her happiness in knowing that Spring was truly on its way.
Nothing said Spring quite as well as the little green knobs which peaked up from the leaf-covered soil.
Finding that little bit of new life was worth the searching and worth the wait . . .
. . . and because of all the waiting and searching, the finding was all the more sweet.
8 March 2010
The Lord brought these verses at a most timely moment:
“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” —Hebrews 13:5-6
Daddy read aloud Hebrews 13 during family worship, and it was a wonderful reminder that God gives us exactly what we need at the exact time we’re in need of it! (Proverbs 15:23.)
Before this was read, we had been discussing the future – including marriage and children and the generations to come. Breezy and I are eagerly looking forward to having families of our own and implementing into the lives of our children the many wonderful things our parents have taught us.
Yet, in the Lord’s good timing, He has not given us our families yet. We must wait patiently on God, and serve Him in where He has placed us.
We are passionate about the future, but are we passionate about today?
It is easy to look at the future and imagine how wonderful it will be, because “the grass is always greener on the other side,” right? Right?
We may imagine that it is so, but that doesn’t make it true.
We know not what the Lord’s plan is, but we do know that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28) and that “He will never forsake [us]” (Hebrews 13:5).
The future is the future for a reason – it is not today.
Let us be content in today. Content in where the Lord has placed us. Content in what the Lord has blessed us with. As Corrie Ten Boom said, “Every experience God gives us, every person he puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.”
Today we can prepare for the future and become better equipped for the Lord’s will. Right now we can be living each and every day for the glory of God and faithfully serve Him where He has placed us and with what He has blessed us with.
“Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” —Luke 12:48b
Let us be passionate about today, glorify our Savior in devoting every minute to obeying Him, building His Kingdom and preparing for His will in His timing!
