Love at Last

By Tawna Wilkinson

 

Winter now, is over.

Springtime at last has come.

The sap is flowing freely. 
The budding is begun.

There’s nothing that can stop it.

Love’s brought new life again.

Light’s moving through the branches.

Giving strength within.

Once the sap starts flowing,

The power it provides

Gives tender buds the strength they need

To breakthrough and to thrive.

Their grace and form unfolded,

Reflects what is within.

Love at last is present,
Now life can’t help but win.

  

The Leaves in the Fall

© Tawna Wilkinson

Have you ever observed the leaves in Fall;

No matter how big, no matter how small?

Each turn their color the Creator says to be,

Bright orange, sunny yellow, vivid red for all to see.

Then another beautiful phenomenon takes place.

With no fight, no struggle, almost with haste;

Turning loose of the trees with abandon they fall;

Never to return, no resistance at all.

They are not fearful, for they know His heart;

The Fall season Love brings is a brand new start.

Turning loose of the trees when

the wind comes they know,

They are free to be winsome, 

free to dance before snow.

                

They circle and laugh, they skip, and they twirl;

Enjoying each moment in the wind as it whirls.

“Our Creator is Love”, they all sing as they dance.

“He guides our way, He leaves nothing to chance.”

Oh won’t you come join them, 

precious child of the King?

His love is unending. Do trust Him and sing.

Sing and dance with abandon, and fear not at all,

Live your life as He guides you, like the leaves in Fall.

Mining the Treasure Within

By Jill Palmer

 
This month our little town made national news because of the toxic waste that the EPA accidentally dumped into our river - the Animas river. Three million gallons of the nasty yellowish stuff came slowly down the mountain from Silverton and right through the middle of our town. Within just a day or so it had moved on and continued its journey south leaving our river a little yellower on the side but other than that it looks much the same as before this happened. 

Naturally this upset a lot of people, myself included. So heartbreaking to see this in your own town and wonder just what was in the water and what the effects of this toxic nastiness would be on the environment. TV crews have been here, the governor has been here (and even drank the water! Ew!) and hundreds of people looked over bridges to see the sludge go by (myself included). 

The quick history of it is this: We're a mining town and have been for over a hundred years. There are hundreds of mines north of us. When you mine there is always waste material and the waste material gets moved by water. And much of  that water goes into the Animas. The Animas has never been a clean river since mining started in this part of the country. It's never been safe to drink. It wasn't before the accident happened and it certainly isn't now. The EPA was trying to clean it up and the accident occurred. Who knows if it was on purpose or not. What matters is that it happened. Coincidentally, the night it came through our town there was a huge rainstorm!

So what are we to do?

We pray. 

And that's what we did. I meet with a group of ladies a couple times a month and we pray for our church, our community, our town, our nation and our world. At one of our recent meetings the Lord put it on my heart to pray for our river. As I did He showed me how this toxic waste mess can relate to my own toxic waste mess in the supernatural (the supernatural is represented in the natural and it's one of the coolest things!).

I saw my life as the mineshaft and God was mining for treasure - pure treasure. As He mines, there is waste in the run off. Basically it's always there. It's my old life leaving and the new treasure being discovered. 

My own toxic waste leaks out over time. Often it doesn't hurt lots of people but sometimes it can. Truly it's part of the process of getting it out and the treasure coming to the surface. 

Occasionally a circumstance can seriously poke my "mine" and when that happens lots of toxic waste can come out in gallons! Lots and lots. And it can affect lots and lots of people. Ugh. The ugliness of my own yuck blown wide open for others to see. How fabulous.

But God reminded me of the rainstorm He brought to heal the Animas. He does that in my life too. His Spirit floods my soul, cleanses me of the toxic nastiness and brings healing to myself and others.

I have continued to meditate on this word picture over the last several weeks and it has deepened as He reveals more and more layers to this analogy. Truly His Living Water heals my soul. 

What treasure is God mining in you right now? How can we allow the waste to run-off instead of explode in a huge mess? 

Struggling For Perspective

By Nancy Turley

“The surrendered accept that pain is always but growing pains. And growth is always a gift—even when trials are the tutor.”   Ann Voskamp’s blog (A Holy Experience)

“What used to be a hindrance now helps you the most.” Eckhart

Outside my “Reading Room” window is a hummingbird feeder which hangs down next to a six foot high bush. I love to watch the hummers feed and rest on the steps of the feeder. That is until a Rufous appears out of its hiding place and chases them off. I see it perched in the branches of the bush or even from higher branches in our spruce tree out front, ready to pounce, selfishly declaring the feeder its own. It definitely does not play well with others. I ponder why God even created the Rufous. It is just a big bully, exercising its power, intimidating others from what is also fairly theirs.

I’ve had Rufouses in my life in the form of humans, even as an adult. But more and more, it feels like the real bully is the enemy who would steal my peace by the thoughts and lies he instills in my mind. At times I do feel like I have gone two steps forward and one back in my struggles to gain victory over this. Lately, the teasing thoughts that again assail me are of fear as I wonder about the future. My body is “talking” to me more ways than one, as is my husband Steve’s. It’s easy to project into the future with fearful outlook.

I’m near the end of the book, Into the Silent Land by Martin Laird. One chapter specifically focused on how to bring our minds to a place of silence instead of allowing the harassing thoughts to take over while praying. The author talked about the struggle to keep focused as we are taunted with the current circumstantial struggles in our lives. Interestingly as I read, my visual focus was drawn to the actual printed words with the root word of “struggle” on just one page. Without reading word by word and counting, I could make out eleven times it was mentioned! (I realized later it was because the two lower case letter “g’s” hung below the line and caused my eyes to be drawn to it as they are more darkened places on the page.)

During this counting process though, I had a mini Aha! moment when I realized I was literally doing the very thing the author was pointing out. I was focusing on the “struggle” and thus only saw the words with struggle on the page. All of the other print and wisdom on that page were diminished.

When we focus on the struggle and not the bigger picture, we narrow our perspective and can’t see what God is doing.

I know that despite our real-life struggles, God can and will use them for good, despite the “Rufous bully” thoughts of the enemy. In fact, I think because of these bully attacks, we can be strengthened in our “inner woman” to combat the new onslaughts. The fear that once overwhelmed me four years ago led me to a place of courage into a “new land” which has given me much joy.  Those hindrances are like the two sided coin that can morph our weakness into strength.

Much of our individual journeys are indeed from growing pains, but that pain is a gift—it can allow us to see from a different perspective, a bigger perspective, that of the One who can see all. 

What hinders your perspective? How have you dealt with "Rufouses" in your life? How can we see our struggles and pain as gifts?

Messy Stalls Equal Life

By Jill Palmer

Just when you think God couldn't speak to you in a more hilarious way ... 

BAM. He speaks through poo. 

Poop, waste, manure. Yep. He spoke a word to me through this very delicate subject.

I was going through another rough day/week/month/experience. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what I was going through when He spoke this but I know it was during a prayer time with the staff of our church and I was asking God about the messes. The messes in my own life, in my family, in my church. Messes in general just seemed to be popping up everywhere and He spoke so clearly to me and gave me hope and peace in the midst.

My conversation with Him went something like this:

God, why are there so many struggles and messes? What are we supposed to do about them? How can we avoid them? It stinks! 

Imagine a farm filled with animals. Do you see the mess?

Ew. Yes. Lots of animals. Lots of mess.

How do you suppose you can avoid the mess?

Well...you can't unless you stop feeding them. If you stop feeding them they'll stop pooping. Then there will be no mess to clean up.

And what happens if you stop feeding the animals?

They die.

Yes. They'll die. Messes are a part of life and messes are an indicator of life. Every living thing that I have created makes a mess. Everything has waste. If you stop feeding yourself, your family or your church, the truth is there will be no more messes but they will also die. To avoid mess means to avoid life and that's not why I have put you here. You can embrace the mess and see it as a sign that someone is being fed and is growing or you can fear it and avoid it. Life is happening and I am excited about that. Your job is help clean up the mess and continue to feed those around you with the Truth I have placed in your heart. 

Not too long after God and I had our little "chat," I was told about a Proverb that talked about this very thing. And not too long after that, I ran across it while I was doing my devotions. God really can speak through anything! And I love that He spoke to me and then confirmed it in His Word. My Spirit soared and laughed as I read these words:

Life in general is messy. Life in a community, a herd, a church - whatever you want to call it - is messy. Mess comes as people grow and learn new ways of relating to others. Mess comes as old wounds get reopened and we respond. Mess comes when we learn to be vulnerable and navigate safe new places and people. Messes just happen.

Poop happens.

And it's okay. As the Proverb says, without oxen the stable is clean, but the ox is needed for a large harvest. The people and the poo/mess they/we bring (mine very much included!) is necessary for life and growth and a large harvest.

I'm choosing to embrace the mess, yes even embrace the poo and the messy stalls. As God has so gently shared with me, it equals life, and life in Christ is what I desire for myself and others.

How do you respond to the mess in your life? Can you see it as a sign of life instead? How has God spoken to you in an unusual way?

You Are the One Jesus Loves

By Tiffany Bleger

I used to really dislike the Apostle John. 

There. I said it. 

I feel like lightning may come down at any moment. 

But I truly didn't. I struggled with his personality and character in the bible. I couldn't even stand to read the book of John more than the once a year prescribed by my reading plan. And, according to some Christians I know, that admission alone is cause to question my salvation. But I honestly didn't. 

However, like most lessons I've learned along this Christ-following journey, the reasons had far more to do with me than they did with poor John. 

When I became a Christian and began studying the Scriptures, I viewed the world through the lens of self-hatred. I saw absolutely nothing worthy of love in myself. And so, this "beloved disciple" and the "one Jesus loved" seemed arrogant and pretentious when viewed through my tainted lenses. What made him so special? Why did he get to be the one Jesus loved? Did that mean Jesus loved the other disciples less?

John's claims of love confirmed my performance-driven, self-loathing, flawed view of God. In my mind, there was a sliding scale of His love. People like John and King David (check out his deathbed confession in 2 Samuel 23:1) were at the top. Those were the people God truly loved. Those were the people God enjoyed. 

In the middle were most everybody else - the people who seemed to have it all together at church. The people who smiled and prayed and hugged and didn't seem to be faking it. 

Further down were the people who struggled with addictions and sins, but were truly repentant and trying to make an honest go of it. 

Even further were those who didn't love God, who hadn't accepted Him or who had flat-out rejected Him. 

Finally, at the very bottom, was me. I was loved only because the verse says, "For God so loved the world..." If He didn't love me, He would have been a liar. But, beyond that, I could see no reason why He would choose to love me.

But, ever so slowly, God began to change my lenses. He began to show me how He loves me, not because He had to, but because He wants to. He began to remove the self-loathing, the performance-driven fear. For the first time, I began to understand that love. And I began to see John through a new light. 

"The disciple Jesus loved" wasn't arrogant or pretentious, he was filled with a holy confidence. He had looked into the eyes of Jesus and received the love that was never forced. He intimately knew the sacrifice and love that had been poured out for him on Calvary. 

He knew what his identity, his "title" had cost him. 

John chose to describe himself as beloved because that title was precious. It was costly. It was worth honor. 

Do you see where I'm going with this, dear sister? Do you see that this is you? Perhaps you are like I was, drowning in the sea of self-hatred. Are you jealous of those who seem safe on the boat? Do you see the lifeline, the love, being offered to you? And are you willing to let go of those stones, those lies, so that you can hold on to love with everything you have?

You are the one Jesus loves. You are the beloved disciple. You can walk in the same holy confidence as John and David, secure in the knowledge that you are intimately loved and treasured by the Creator of the Universe. But that is not a title anyone else can give you. That is the title you choose for yourself.  

Can you believe this for yourself? What has kept you from knowing how much you are loved?

Tiny Mighty Moss

By Tawna Wilkinson

When I come across a patch of moss, whether it’s next to a stream or the north side of a
tree, I stoop down, get as close as I can, and run my hand over its soft, velvety surface. The tiny plant is so friendly and inviting, I can’t help myself. But the little green wonder is more than just a fuzzy plant God made for “petting.” It has a mighty impact on the environment, soil and plant life, and insect and animal life.

Moss is a mini marvel that usually grows in thick, spreading mats and has a colossal ability for holding large amounts of water.  These water-soaking tufts allow for condensation and cooling, aiding the water cycle by returning moisture to the atmosphere. And they sop-up pollutants from rainwater making the water that drains through it safer for the environment.

Like all plants, moss takes in carbon dioxide, which cleans the air while releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. However, most plants are unable to live in certain environments. Moss has been given a mysterious super-ability to adapt to any surrounding and has been found in every climate on earth, including the Arctic, Antarctic and deserts. The fuzzy wonder not only scrubs the atmosphere, but supplies oxygen to humans and animals all over the globe.

Moss also has the triple-mission of forming new soil while protecting and improving it. The super-wonder has rhizoids, tiny thread-like “roots” that anchor onto rocks gradually crumbling them to new dirt, while forcing the release of their minerals into it. The petite rhizoids also have the muscle to hold soil in place protecting it from washing away during times of too much rain. Then after it dies, it completes its mission of improving the soil by decomposing. The decaying moss releases its stored nutrients, leaving a spongy, nourishing layer in the soil for larger plants to feed and grow on.

Moss is a shelter and home to many different insects, like springtails and mites, the Spruce-fir moss spider and the rare webspinner. Ground beetles hide under it, while the pill beetle’s larvae feed on its rhizoids. And the water bear, a microscopic creature, lives and feeds on the velvet carpet. Now that’s what I call being “as snug as a bug in a rug.” And listen to this: moss is also a protective covering for weevils in New Guinea, by growing on their backs camouflaging them from predators.  

And if that’s not enough, different kinds of birds and animals use it. The black-capped and Carolina chickadees use it as part of their nest’s foundation, while the house wren mixes it in with other materials to pad her nest cup. And the structured dome of the Carolina wren’s nest has moss lining it.  Beavers use it in their lodges, weaving it with sticks, grass, and mud creating a snug place to live.  And reindeer eat moss for nourishment during the Arctic’s long, freezing winters.

So, if you happen to come across a tuft of the cool, green velvet, go ahead, get down on your knees, get as close as you can, and give it a little pet. And remember: God created moss tiny, but He made its impact mighty on the world around us.

How Not to Kill a Butterfly

By Jill Palmer
 
Let him struggle
 
A few years ago I read a story about a man who had found a cocoon on a walk and decided to take it home and watch the miracle unfold. One day he noticed that there was a little hole in it and he watched for hours as the butterfly struggled to find it's way out of the cocoon through this tiny little hole. At some point it seemed to stop progressing so the man figured it had done all it could do and went to find some scissors to help it along.

He carefully snipped off the end of the cocoon and the butterfly easily came out. He was surprised, however, to discover that the butterfly's body was swollen and it's wings were shriveled. He expected the wings to dry out in a few hours but they never did. In fact the butterfly was never able to fly.

You see, the butterfly needed to struggle out of the cocoon because that's what helps transform it into the beautiful, flying miracle that it is. The struggle through the hole helps force the moisture from its wings and also helps strengthen them so they can fly.

I never realized that. I never realized the power of the struggle.

I hate struggling. I hate watching others struggle. It's messy and uncomfortable and painful! When it comes to my own walk with the Lord I just want Him to reveal to me the part of me that needs changing, then I'll acknowledge it and allow Him to change it. Done and done.

Except that's not how it has ever worked. Ever.

It's more like "Okay God, I got this. Thanks for changing me." And two days later I'm frustrated because I'm still not healed/changed/patient etc...

Why?!

Why do I have to struggle through this transformation process? Why can't God just come in with His beautiful, giant, gentle scissors and give me a careful little snip that will help me along? I'm tired and weary and ready to give up! This is painful and exhausting.

But He won't pull out His giant scissors because He loves me. He loves me so much He allows me to struggle. He doesn't want me to die - He wants to see me flourish and fly! He knows that my struggle helps to squeeze out the last bit of the "old" me - the selfish me. He knows that the struggle strengthens my wings and teaches me to fly. He's told me in His Word that I am a new creation and frankly I don't really know how to operate in this new freedom - this new life.

So my struggles teach me. They teach me to rely on Him. They teach me that in my weakness He is strong. They teach me that I am loved and that I have a Maker that knows my name, knows my deepest needs and will take care of me.

It's hard though. Hard to struggle. You know what else is hard? Painfully hard? Watching someone you love deeply struggle. Watching your spouse or child or a dear friend or loved one. Watching them struggle to push themselves through this incredible situation knowing there's not a thing you can do about it. You desperately want to rescue them but if you do that they won't be able to live as the new creation they are. The butterfly can't live it's life to the fullest if it doesn't struggle. It will die because the butterfly wasn't made to crawl around and eat leaves anymore. It was made to fly, to drink from gorgeous flowers, to rise above it's old life.

So you sit back and watch and struggle with the uncomfortableness of it all...as you watch the struggle - and the miracle - unfold. And you know that the Creator of all things knows what's going on. He has His hand right in the middle of it and He can be trusted. Even if the situation looks, and is, painful. He knows what we - and they - need and He hasn't forgotten us.

He sees the final picture. The glorious creation He had in mind. And He smiles because He knows we can and will survive...because of the struggle.

Seeds: Mystifying Mini Marvels

By Tawna Wilkinson                                                                                                
                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                        

Did you know that seeds, those tiny, motionless, boring-looking things are in reality mystifying, mini marvels packed with life? Laboratory scientists have studied, dissected and microscopically peered into the seed coat of different kinds of seeds all over the globe and continue to be baffled by the activity they find; like the breathing, eating and drinking seeds do. 

That’s right, scientists have found that seeds - no matter what size, shape, or texture - breathe by absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere. They drink by soaking up moisture in the air and eat by using the moisture to turn stored up chemicals they have in their cells to food. And while they are waiting to sprout, they know exactly how much of it to do.

What’s more, each of these crunchy wonders, though it hasn’t sprouted, is an entire plant. It’s just in its embryonic or beginning form. Scrunched up inside the hull of a seed is a very small plant with all its teeny tiny plant parts. The leaves of the seed are called cotyledons. These are the first two leaves you see when the plant sprouts. The cotyledons are wrapped around and attached to a small stem, a tiny leaf bud, and a root tip.

Throughout the fall season and freezing winter, the tiny plant stays in its protective seed coat with its cotyledons wrapped around itself like a cozy blanket. It breathes, drinks, and eats while patiently waiting for spring.  When spring does arrive, the rain and sun, water and warm the ground. 

Then, when conditions are just right, the root tip breaks through the seed’s hull and grows downward, while the cotyledons stretch for the sun. The lifeless-looking wonder sprouts into a seedling. The summer season matures the seedling into an adult plant. It blossoms and bears fruit with hundreds, sometimes thousands, more seeds full of the same packed life it had.

So the next time you see a seed, one of those tiny, motionless, boring-looking things, remember, though your eyes cannot see it, there is surprising activity going on inside that mystifying, mini marvel that still has scientists scratching their heads.

Be a Tree

By Tawna Wilkinson 

 

One morning, late in spring, during a very dark period in my life, I was blankly staring at an apple tree just outside my dining room window. The morning sun had just peeked over the mountain and was glistening on, and rustling, the leaves. 

But I wasn’t focused on the tree, or the beauty of the morning, as much as I was fixed on a raw, painful thought: What does a person have to do in order for transformation of the heart to actually take place?

A couple of months prior, I had been on staff as the children’s pastor at the church I was attending. I loved the children and the ministry, and was zealous and passionate; working many long hours in order to bring about the vision God had given me. In fact, that was the story of my life, in and out of church, as long as I could remember. 

My family of origin’s motto was work hard and do a hundred percent at all times, carrying with it the connotation that hard work brought about one’s value. The denomination I grew up in taught that if Jesus had really transformed your heart you would do, do, and do for Him, because that’s what loving Jesus looked like. 

And I did love Jesus. I had come to Him at a young age, and wanted very much to please Him.  So, my modus operandii was full throttle, no matter what, especially when the kingdom of God was involved.

But deep below the surface of my hardworking zeal was a yawning, cavernous void I kept trying to fill with all the activity. I was desperately trying to muster a sense of worth. I had no idea I already had value…intrinsic value, simply because God loved me and created me; that my worth had never been contingent upon any activity; and that transformation of my heart was a simple, yet extravagant transaction: God sending His love to me, and me receiving it. 

So, I stayed with what I knew until I burned out and drove the ministry in the ground.

Needless to say, the next months were spent in a counselor’s office unearthing all kinds of ugly, pain, confusion and disillusionment, while wrestling with the belief that I did have value, and learning how to love myself enough to receive the love He was sending right where I was at.

So that morning, pensive with the question and vacantly staring at the apple tree, God spoke out of the quietness: “What does a tree have to ‘do’ in order that photosynthesis takes place?”

“What?”

“What does a tree have to ‘do’ in order that photosynthesis takes place?”

Refocusing my gaze on the sun rustling the tree’s leaves, I intelligently replied:

“Uh…receive light?”

“Exactly.”

Boom.  I knew I had heard.  My mind and spirit were racing with the information welling up in me.

Photosynthesis:  “The process by which chlorophyll-containing cells in green plants convert incident light to chemical energy and synthesize organic compounds from inorganic compounds, especially carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water with the simultaneous release of oxygen.”  (The American Heritage Dictionary)

Bam.  Photosynthesis: The miraculous process that transforms the light the apple tree’s leaves receive into food energy, instigating internal assimilation, and vitality throughout its system, and then, as a mere consequence, releases oxygen into the atmosphere.

In other words, life happens inside the apple before life emerges from it.  And the only thing it has to “do” for that to take place, is receive light through the chlorophyll-containing cells in its leaves.

He spoke, again.

“Simply be a tree, Tawna.”

In that instant, I realized my value was innate, simply because Love loved and created me. And that all the activity I would I ever need to “do” in order that genuine transformation of my heart take place was simply receive Light through my “chlorophyll-containing leaves”… my love-designed, heart, mind and soul.  Then He would miraculously do the “doing” in me…as well as outside of me.

So, my encouragement to you?  Be a tree.

Parenting... it's worth it.

By Jen Kline

At the Marriage dinner Jill shared her heart about marriages and new beginnings and I thought to myself how beautiful it is when we can say something is hard, but it’s worth it. I totally agree with her. And then I think about parenting and being a mom and wife and all the things that come with leading a child into all the intricacies of who God created them to be and I think about the glimpses of who I see with each passing year and I see the same thing that is true about marriage is also true about parenting...it is hard, but it’s so worth it.

I’m thankful for the gift of a child. When Grace (my oldest) was born, my first thought literally was, “I do not deserve this beautiful gift.” (I did not understand my identity in Christ at the time)

My second thought was, “ I did not DO THIS. I was the vessel God used to bring this creative beautiful gift to the world, but I really had no part in it other than carrying her and nurturing her while I ate lots of rice and strawberries and drank orange pop (that's a word for soda in Minnesota). I realized that this gift was so precious to God - He trusted me with her! It was then that I began to realize the true love of God.


After about three weeks of being hunkered down in my house with my precious gift, I decided to venture out with my little brother, Austin, and take her for a walk in our neighborhood. I walked her two blocks down the road in a covered stroller in the horribly muggy month of May in Buffalo, Minnesota! We lived very close to a lake so the mosquitos and bugs were out in full force!

The minute I heard the buzzing little insects flying around her precious skin, I turned around and headed back to the house. The world was just too dangerous for this beautiful gift. I didn’t want her to get hurt. I didn’t want her to experience the things I had experienced. I didn’t want her to be disappointed. I only wanted the best for her. I didn’t realize how hurt I was. I didn’t know my wounds - I just knew I wanted to protect her from all of it. These conditions were too harsh for this precious person. She was too valuable.

As I type this tears are flowing… (I think blogs are really journals disguised as literature ;) So it is in that context (my parenting) that God began me on a journey to understand why I needed him and who I was in him. I needed to understand that so I could show Grace how valuable it was for her. He was showing me why he was valuable and why I needed to receive his love. He felt the exact same way about me that I felt about my daughter. His heart broke when mosquitoes came too close ;) His heart broke when I was sad or disappointed. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for me. It was with those understandings of the preciousness of a child that God began to break my heart, soften it and draw me closer to him.

The Holy Spirit partnered with me the minute my daughter was born. He was there, I heard him. He will not leave or forsake us as we parent. He is close. With every question, he has an answer. With every worry, he’s there to hand it off to. He will do this with us as we position ourselves to hear him. I’m so thankful for that.

It is with this background that I lead our children in riverKIDS and I share my heart with you. I see the preciousness of each child. I see the heart behind each little Garanimals sweatshirt. I look for the beauty in each child that is the image of God. Speaking encouragement to them is my favorite thing to do. Encouraging others to appreciate, see, hear, know and love our kids is my hearts cry. I love letting people know that God builds some amazing things into these people we call kids. We get to slow down, watch for it, talk to them, receive what they have to offer and watch God move. I believe kids are the purest form of his image. If we allow them to be who he created them to be, we will see it.

If we seek him as we parent we will find what we are looking for. The answers will mostly be something he desires to teach us about ourselves (as I’ve learned). The answer will come through the words of the Bible, a beautiful kind loving word, a picture or maybe a gentle breeze.

Matthew 6:33 (MSG) “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.”

And as you do that, your bright-eyed beautiful precious children will watch you walk out the grace and goodness of God in front of them. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it, I promise.

God's Beautiful Reminders

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. (Psalms 19:1 NLT)

 

Everywhere you look it's beautiful, white, clean, pure, still, calm....

Trees take on new shapes. Their bark contrasts so vividly against the brilliant white snow that outlines their delicate branches. 

If you go outside you may notice the quiet that comes with the stillness of the snow. It muffles sounds so it seems even quieter! It's a gentle, peaceful, soothing quiet.

Much like the Creator of the snow. He comes and blankets us with His righteousness. Covering us with His sacrifice, we look pure and beautiful. 

His Presence brings a gentle, peaceful calm. A stillness unmatched by anything this world can offer. We look different. We feel different. We are different. All because our Savior comes and makes us new.  

And then He reminds us of this through the physical world He's placed us in. Truly the heavens declare the works of His hands.