Friday, August 30, 2013

Some Summer Snapshots

Our side yard this summer. These Sunflowers didn't make it.
They were in a plastic pot. I had Hubby break them apart
and put them around the pump. He also chose to spry paint the 
pump AFTER the flowers were planted. Behind the pump and
 to the left are most of Hubby's tomato plants. 


These are the ones that made it. They are about 10-12 Feet tall.
We had to put chicken wire around the area to keep the rabbits from eating the
little sprouts.
Can you see the bee pollinating the bloom? This one had just 
opened up a day or so before. Can you see the green in the center?

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Renewed Strength


                                           


                                                                                          
 "But those who hope in the Lord will renew
their strength. They will soar like eagles; 
they will run, they will walk and not be faint."
                    Isaiah 40:31

Hope, what do we mean by it? “In the Old Testament hope is expressed by several different words meaning ‘safety, security, trust.’”1 In the King James version the passage says, ‘. . . those who wait . . . .’ As I see it we sometimes have to incorporate the act of waiting into our having hope.

Renew When we subscribe to a magazine for a period of time, as that time runs out we are asked to extend our subscription for another segment of time. We ask God to renew our strength when we find ourselves to be depleted of the ability to continue to move forward in a period of recovery.

Strength Sometimes strength can be defined as power2. For some people, their strength wanes as they age. For the disciple of Christ the amount of strength we have can be based upon how close we are to Him. When we have an illness, our strength becomes sapped. Years ago, I had a sinus infection that reared its head. I stayed home from work a day or so and had to go back before I was actually ready. I felt like the salmon that swam upstream.


Soar to go through without effort. We marvel at birds floating through the air with wings spread. No prettier sight than to see an eagle move in the breeze with no apparent effort on his or her part. Isaiah tells us we can have this same experience—to soar through the issues that the world tosses at us, if we hope in the Lord.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Paul’s Prayer for His Readers




“’I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen
you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.’”
Eph. 3:16-17 a(NIV)

Paul beseeched the Father on behalf of the followers at Ephesus. Let’s study what he requested from God.

“. . . out of his glorious riches . . .” Paul asks God to reach into his treasure trove of riches and search for what the believers need to make their lives and their witness stronger. Our Father does this for us who follow Him in this 21st Century.

“. . . he may strengthen you . . .” Everything God brings into our lives strengthens us in time.      We find we understand issues that appear later in our lives because of what we have experienced in the past. We also can understand another person’s similar circumstances and can extend God’s grace to them.

“. . . with power . . .  We find we are stronger than we think because of God’s working in our lives. I have a greeting card to send to someone that is shaped with the word “BELIEVE” die-cut as the front. When I open it, the message is “You are stronger            than you think”
“. . . through his Spirit in your inner being . . .”  John Wesley once preached that when we                              give our hearts to the Lord, a little bit of God comes into our hearts. We have His  Holy Spirit living inside us. God works through us.

“. . . so that Christ may dwell in your hearts . . .” God places His Holy Spirit in us for a reason. He                creates in us a place for Jesus to live in us and through us.

“. . . through faith.” We have to believe that God works for us and through us. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God. (Heb. 11:6)

From time to time we need to return to the basics of our belief and concentrate on Who God is and thank Him for what He gives us and what He does for us..

_______\\
Graphic: Readfreshmanna.blogspot.com



God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...