Roses are blooming
My roses are budding and beginning to bloom. I grow the easy kind - Knock Out roses - and the ONLY thing I do to these roses is cut back the overgrowth every spring. Ideally, I should probably do that in the fall, but, ya know...
The only other thing I do is enjoy them. I thought you might like a glimpse too, so here are a few pics from this morning.
Last weekend, I was blessed to listen to Dale Mast (Who is Dale Mast?) speak. The one thing that I want to pull out of everything he shared with my church family, is this: "Better to be a son (or daughter), than to be important."
It is more important for us to know who we are as son's and daughter's of God, than for us to gain a name for ourselves, raise to higher positions, or even be the best mom we can be.
After my dad died when I was 20 years old, I began to hold tightly to the scriptures and claim very literally the promises for the fatherless.
Psalm 68:5 says "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling."
My life has been a journey of learning to trust God as my father. Over the past 20 years, he has been a good father to me. The thing is, the longer I live, the more convinced I am that the good Father, is not just father to the fatherless, but to all of us who call on him.
Isaiah 49:15 and 16 is a promise to all of us:
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.
You and I are engraved on the palm of his hand! His love for us is beyond what we can imagine.
I want to encourage you to take some time to be alone with the Father today. If you are struggling with seeing him as your father, tell him that. Ask him to help you trust him. Ask him to show you that he is a good father.
When I was a teenager, growing up in a Mennonite church, we sang the dear old hymns that I don't get to hear too often anymore. One of my favorites has always been, "In the Garden" by C. Austin Miles.
I hope you get to take some time to quiet your heart and let the Father speak to your heart, even if it's just while you listen to Loretta Lynn singing this old hymn!
And do me a favor? If you struggle with seeing God as a good father, would you let me know so I can pray for you?
My Prayer for You
God, I have come to know you as my good father,
but I recognize that there are many
who did not have a good relationship
with their own father's
and now have a hard time seeing you as good.
I am praying that today, my friends would have
an encounter with you, where you show your goodness.
Meet her (him) where she (he) is at and gently
so gently, whisper your love into her (his) ear.
Bring reassurance and peace
into areas of anxiety and fear.
Slowly teach them to trust you.
Your heart is good.
You are not waiting to drop the other shoe.
That is not who you are.
You are good.
Show us your goodness.
In Jesus name, Amen.
The only other thing I do is enjoy them. I thought you might like a glimpse too, so here are a few pics from this morning.
Aren't the roses amazing? They cause me to pause and thank God for the beauty around me.
Better to be a daughter than to be important.
Last weekend, I was blessed to listen to Dale Mast (Who is Dale Mast?) speak. The one thing that I want to pull out of everything he shared with my church family, is this: "Better to be a son (or daughter), than to be important."
It is more important for us to know who we are as son's and daughter's of God, than for us to gain a name for ourselves, raise to higher positions, or even be the best mom we can be.
After my dad died when I was 20 years old, I began to hold tightly to the scriptures and claim very literally the promises for the fatherless.
Psalm 68:5 says "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling."
My life has been a journey of learning to trust God as my father. Over the past 20 years, he has been a good father to me. The thing is, the longer I live, the more convinced I am that the good Father, is not just father to the fatherless, but to all of us who call on him.
Isaiah 49:15 and 16 is a promise to all of us:
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.
You and I are engraved on the palm of his hand! His love for us is beyond what we can imagine.
I want to encourage you to take some time to be alone with the Father today. If you are struggling with seeing him as your father, tell him that. Ask him to help you trust him. Ask him to show you that he is a good father.
When I was a teenager, growing up in a Mennonite church, we sang the dear old hymns that I don't get to hear too often anymore. One of my favorites has always been, "In the Garden" by C. Austin Miles.
I hope you get to take some time to quiet your heart and let the Father speak to your heart, even if it's just while you listen to Loretta Lynn singing this old hymn!
And do me a favor? If you struggle with seeing God as a good father, would you let me know so I can pray for you?
My Prayer for You
God, I have come to know you as my good father,
but I recognize that there are many
who did not have a good relationship
with their own father's
and now have a hard time seeing you as good.
I am praying that today, my friends would have
an encounter with you, where you show your goodness.
Meet her (him) where she (he) is at and gently
so gently, whisper your love into her (his) ear.
Bring reassurance and peace
into areas of anxiety and fear.
Slowly teach them to trust you.
Your heart is good.
You are not waiting to drop the other shoe.
That is not who you are.
You are good.
Show us your goodness.
In Jesus name, Amen.
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