Recently a strange event occurred out in our backyard. It was an ordinary evening, my son was outside in the driveway playing basketball. Suddenly, my cell phone rang, it was my son calling me from the backyard. When I asked him why he was calling me from the backyard when he could have come into the house and talk to me he replied in a whispered voice,"Mom, look out the patio window, there's a huge white bird sitting on the settee on the deck."
When I looked out of the window there sat a pure white pigeon sitting very still on our back porch. He seemed as though he had traveled a great distance and suffered from an extreme case of fatigue.
To make a long story short we ended up taking pictures of the bird and posting his picture on Facebook. We have been blessed with good friends who decided to take the bird in for the evening, they cared for it and feed it.
My husband posted a picture of the bird on Facebook. Shortly after the picture was posted the owner called to claim his lost pet. The most fascinating fact to this entire story is that the bird had sustained an injury during his trip. He was a carrier pigeon who had traveled all the way from Virginia to Pennsylvania.
He could have landed anywhere, however, God saw that a special place was needed in order to protect this special species. His landing place was our back yard. We had friends who could provide all that he would need to stay safe and protected. This story doesn't just happen with feathered friends, God provides us with a safe haven when we have lost our way. He places people in our path that have all the resources that we need to thrive and flourish.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
The Safe Lane
Recently I was driving on the interstate on my way to church. The traffic was moving along quite smoothly and the cars were traveling at a steady pace.
As I traveled along my way I noticed that all of the cars started to slowly move over into the right lane. After a few minutes the traffic slowed down to a slow crawl. As I looked ahead I noticed that there was a flatbed truck carrying a large load of lumber that was tied down by several canvas straps.
As the trucker traveled along his way his load had begun to shift to one side.The other drivers realized that the best thing to do was to move over in the next lane to give the truck driver a clear lane to pass.This sudden change in traffic flow caused the turtle's pace. I sat and thought about how God does this to his children.
He is our guide, a passage way for safe travel. It says in Psalm 73:21-26,
Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterwards you take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
He alway let's us know when we have moved into a unsafe lane, when our loads become a little lopsided he moves over and gives us clear vision for a safe passage while guiding us to a place of safety. sometimes the pace seems slow, but his path is always the best direction for our travels. There's a comfort in knowing that our Lord and Savior is directing traffic and watching out for overloaded travelers.
As I traveled along my way I noticed that all of the cars started to slowly move over into the right lane. After a few minutes the traffic slowed down to a slow crawl. As I looked ahead I noticed that there was a flatbed truck carrying a large load of lumber that was tied down by several canvas straps.
As the trucker traveled along his way his load had begun to shift to one side.The other drivers realized that the best thing to do was to move over in the next lane to give the truck driver a clear lane to pass.This sudden change in traffic flow caused the turtle's pace. I sat and thought about how God does this to his children.
He is our guide, a passage way for safe travel. It says in Psalm 73:21-26,
Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterwards you take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
He alway let's us know when we have moved into a unsafe lane, when our loads become a little lopsided he moves over and gives us clear vision for a safe passage while guiding us to a place of safety. sometimes the pace seems slow, but his path is always the best direction for our travels. There's a comfort in knowing that our Lord and Savior is directing traffic and watching out for overloaded travelers.
Monday, September 17, 2012
The Spirit Shop
The other day I was sitting in my car in the parking lot outside of the gym waiting for my son. Besides the gym there is a wine and spirit shop. I happen to enjoy people watching. As I sat watching people entering and leaving both the gym and the Wine and Spirit Shop an intriging thought began to enter my mind.
The people who left both places had similiar thoughts. They were both seeking ways to uplift both their minds and their bodies. We often have our own ideas about what is best for us. Sometimes we can get very creative in seeking solutions to ease our troubled bodies and minds.
Those who leave the gym know that there's nothing better to help shed those few extra pounds than a few minutes in a spin class or a good run a on a trusty treadmill.
I myself find exercise to be a great way to relax and release those natural endorphins that God created in us to to give us a natural sense of well-being.
However, there is only one proven method that is 100% affective in giving us the peace that comes without understanding. There's nothing like a drink from the living water himself or running the good race of persistence like Paul.
My faith and hope lie in knowing that my Lord and Savior is the source of my strength and comfort. He strenghtens my mind, body and soul. So where ever you go, what ever you do remember what Colossians 3:2 tells us, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthy things and you will have the peace of the Lord who surpases the peace of all your understanding.
The people who left both places had similiar thoughts. They were both seeking ways to uplift both their minds and their bodies. We often have our own ideas about what is best for us. Sometimes we can get very creative in seeking solutions to ease our troubled bodies and minds.
Those who leave the gym know that there's nothing better to help shed those few extra pounds than a few minutes in a spin class or a good run a on a trusty treadmill.
I myself find exercise to be a great way to relax and release those natural endorphins that God created in us to to give us a natural sense of well-being.
However, there is only one proven method that is 100% affective in giving us the peace that comes without understanding. There's nothing like a drink from the living water himself or running the good race of persistence like Paul.
My faith and hope lie in knowing that my Lord and Savior is the source of my strength and comfort. He strenghtens my mind, body and soul. So where ever you go, what ever you do remember what Colossians 3:2 tells us, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthy things and you will have the peace of the Lord who surpases the peace of all your understanding.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The Keyless Remote
Recently I went to a friend's house to work on a project. We have spent several weeks working on the same project, so today was like another ordinary day working on this project with my friend. However, this day turned into quite an extraordinary
day like no other day.
As we sat at my friend's dining room table working on the plans for our project we were quite impressed with our progress. Things were going smoothly until it was time for me to leave.
When I went to start my car I realized that I did not have my car keys.
My friend and I searched both the car and her house for close to a hour looking for my keys.
After carefully retracing my steps that I
had taken prior to leaving my house
I realized that I had left home without them. Because I had started the car prior to going back into the house to retrieve a forgotten item the car was able to run without the key because of the keyless remote. I could get where I needed to go and do the things that I needed to do as long as the car was running, as soon as I turn off the motor the car will not restart again unless I have the key.
Our lives are very similar to my car experience, we can get to where we need to be and do the things that we need to do, but eventually God stops us and reminds us that he is our key and our guide to future travels.
It tells us in Psalms 48:14 "For this
God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end."
Once I shut off my engine my car would no longer run without the key.
Thank heavens that our God is a God who never leaves us or forsakes us even when we have forgotten him. However, he often shuts us down and stops us from running for a short
period of time until we return to him and realize that he is the only key that we will ever need.
day like no other day.
As we sat at my friend's dining room table working on the plans for our project we were quite impressed with our progress. Things were going smoothly until it was time for me to leave.
When I went to start my car I realized that I did not have my car keys.
My friend and I searched both the car and her house for close to a hour looking for my keys.
After carefully retracing my steps that I
had taken prior to leaving my house
I realized that I had left home without them. Because I had started the car prior to going back into the house to retrieve a forgotten item the car was able to run without the key because of the keyless remote. I could get where I needed to go and do the things that I needed to do as long as the car was running, as soon as I turn off the motor the car will not restart again unless I have the key.
Our lives are very similar to my car experience, we can get to where we need to be and do the things that we need to do, but eventually God stops us and reminds us that he is our key and our guide to future travels.
It tells us in Psalms 48:14 "For this
God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end."
Once I shut off my engine my car would no longer run without the key.
Thank heavens that our God is a God who never leaves us or forsakes us even when we have forgotten him. However, he often shuts us down and stops us from running for a short
period of time until we return to him and realize that he is the only key that we will ever need.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Pushing the Shopping Cart
The other day I sat in the parking lot of Cosco's waiting for my sister-in-law. As I sat waiting for her I noticed a small boy pushing a cart heavily laden with groceries. Behind him was a man that I assumed was his father. As the little boy struggled with pushing the cart across the parking lot using all the effort that he could muster I watched as the man walked closely behind him being sure not to move to far away just in case his son needed his assistance.
As the two of them passed in front of my car I had the opportunity to see the
expression on their faces. The father smiled and gave words of encouragement and the little boy had a look of determination that indicated that he was determined to see the task through.
Sometimes we forget the importance of what having a good cheerleader can do to boost our confidence and give us that extra push when the cart gets heavy. Acts 11:25-26 tells us about how Barnabas (The Son of Encouragement) met with the people of Antioch for an entire year to give themwords of encouragement about Christ. Because of Barnabas' words the people of Antioch were the first to be called Christians.
Who knows what that father could be spurning on in his son with his simple words of encouragement. Today a grocery cart, but tomorrow who knows?
It's Ok to let go of the Polka Dot Coffee Mugs
Several years ago I bought a set of twelve polka dot coffee mugs. I loved these mugs. Every morning when I arrived at my kitchen cabinet a bright, shiny coffee mug of either red, blue or black polka dot would be there to greet me.
Over the last several years I have begun losing several of my favorite mugs. Handles have been broken, chips have appeared and now I am down to only eight perfect coffee mugs that have managed to remain intact.
I never really thought about how significant a coffee mug was until I started thinking about somethings in my life that God has decided to either chip away, crack or completely destroy. He doesn't want us to hold on to the old things in our lives in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul tells the Corinthians "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!"
Over the years that I have had my polka dot coffee mugs I have enjoyed them, but there are a whole new set of coffee mugs that are just as bright and cheerful just waiting for the purchase. Just as there is new life waiting in Christ, He's just waiting for us to throw away what's cracked and broken.
Over the last several years I have begun losing several of my favorite mugs. Handles have been broken, chips have appeared and now I am down to only eight perfect coffee mugs that have managed to remain intact.
I never really thought about how significant a coffee mug was until I started thinking about somethings in my life that God has decided to either chip away, crack or completely destroy. He doesn't want us to hold on to the old things in our lives in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul tells the Corinthians "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!"
Over the years that I have had my polka dot coffee mugs I have enjoyed them, but there are a whole new set of coffee mugs that are just as bright and cheerful just waiting for the purchase. Just as there is new life waiting in Christ, He's just waiting for us to throw away what's cracked and broken.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The Pizza Boy Looked Distressed
It had been an ordinary day, spent doing laundry, cleaning the house and taking my son to the orthodontist; nothing out of the ordinary. I had managed to get all but two loads of laundry completed,this was a major accomplishment for my day.The day before my son and I were having a discussion about service.I told him how blessed his father would be if he came home and the lawn had been mowed, his room was cleaned and the trash had been taken out all without having to be told to do these things.His answer to this question was to simply agree, however there wasn't a lot of movement toward performing any of those tasks without prompting.
Later that same day we were on our way to bible study, as we stopped at a red light we looked over to see a young pizza delivery boy. As both of our cars sat waiting for the light to change I noticed something about the continence of the young pizza delivery boy, he seemed distressed and upset, as though he was having a very rough day. As we drove to our destination I began to thing about Paul's words in Colossians 3:17, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Paul tells us this again in Colossians 3:23-24, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward."
Later that evening God reminded me of what he had shared with me earlier that day, he wants us to take pleasure in doing those ordinary things like laundry, cleaning and delivering pizza.Our real reward will not come from what man sees, but what God sees and knows. I sat thinking about the young pizza boy, I prayed that he would find joy in his next pizza delivery; I sat looking at the folded loads of laundry washed earlier that day. These ordinary things took on a new meaning.If God gives me tomorrow, I will finish the rest of the laundry, it will be the best laundry that I have ever completed, because I will be washing for the joy of the Lord!
Later that same day we were on our way to bible study, as we stopped at a red light we looked over to see a young pizza delivery boy. As both of our cars sat waiting for the light to change I noticed something about the continence of the young pizza delivery boy, he seemed distressed and upset, as though he was having a very rough day. As we drove to our destination I began to thing about Paul's words in Colossians 3:17, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Paul tells us this again in Colossians 3:23-24, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward."
Later that evening God reminded me of what he had shared with me earlier that day, he wants us to take pleasure in doing those ordinary things like laundry, cleaning and delivering pizza.Our real reward will not come from what man sees, but what God sees and knows. I sat thinking about the young pizza boy, I prayed that he would find joy in his next pizza delivery; I sat looking at the folded loads of laundry washed earlier that day. These ordinary things took on a new meaning.If God gives me tomorrow, I will finish the rest of the laundry, it will be the best laundry that I have ever completed, because I will be washing for the joy of the Lord!
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