This is our backyard patio. covered in yellow pollen, though it is not showing up as thick as it looks in real life. Everything stationary is covered. I am staying indoors as much as possible with my AC filter that catches that stuff. 🙂
For more Wordless Wednesdays, go to 5 Minutes for Mom or the WW Hub.
Isobel Kuhn, missionary to China, wrote a book entitled Second-Mile People, in which she told of seven people in her life who had illustrated the Scriptural principle of going the “second mile.”
She begins one chapter with this poem:
Indwelt
Not merely in the words you say,
Not only in your deeds confessed,
But in the most unconscious way
Is Christ expressed.
Is it a beatific smile,
A holy light upon your brow;
Oh no, I felt His Presence while
You laughed just now.
For me ‘twas not the truth you taught
To you so clear, to me still dim
But when you came to me you brought
A sense of Him.
And from your eyes He beckons me,
And from your heart His love is shed,
Til I lose sight of you and see
The Christ instead.
—by A. S. Wilson
Isobel then tells of meeting a young woman named Dorothy at a conference. Isobel had not been saved very long. “My ideas of the Christian life were still in a crude, unmoulded state.” Dorothy seemed attractive, winsome and sweet, and Isobel was pleased when she asked her to go for a walk. Dorothy had in mind to “speak just a word for Jesus” while on this walk, but as it happened, their conversation centered on happy, funny things. “When we parted Dorothy felt she had been a failure, unconscious that the one she had hoped to help was going away enchanted with this glimpse into the very human sweetness of this Christlike girl. ‘…I felt His Presence when you laughed just now….’ The Spirit-filled life cannot ‘fail’, it is fruitful even when it may seem least to have done anything. That walk gave Dorothy ‘influence’ over me when a ‘sermon’ would have created a permanent barrier. In fact at that time I carried a mental suit of armour all ready to slip on quietly the moment any ‘old fogey’ tried to ‘preach’ at me!”
“Oswald Chambers says, ‘The people who influence us most are not those who buttonhole us and talk to us, but those who live their lives like the stars in heaven and the lilies of the field, perfectly simply and unaffectedly.’ A great mistake is to think that a Spirit-filled man or woman must always be casting sermons at people. Being ‘filled with the Spirit’ (which is a first qualification of Second Mile People) is merely a refusing of self and a taking by faith of the life of Christ as wrought in us by His Holy Spirit.” “We must take the Spirit’s fullness, as we take our salvation, by faith in God’s promise that He is given to us.”
Some weeks later when Dorothy and Isobel met again, Dorothy’s “time had come” to “get in a ‘preach,’” for Isobel then was in a frame of mind and heart to receive it. “The Holy Spirit is never too early and never too late.” Though Isobel did not understand as yet all Dorothy was trying to say, her words did lay the groundwork for future understanding, and “from Dorothy I just drank in the inspiration of herself, the ‘sense of Him’, and the fact that this life of undisturbed peace was no mystic dream but a possible reality who sat before me with earnest sweet eyes and soft pink cheeks.”
Please don’t misunderstand — I don’t mean any of this in any kind of a mystic way. I have written much on being grounded in Scripture and not feeling. But I have known some people who seem to reflect Christ and carry a “sense of Him” in everything they do, every word, action, and attitude. May I live so close to Him that people always sense His presence.
The March 8 evening reading of Daily Light for the Daily Path had a list of verses concerning what God was able to do. That led me to look up other references with the word “able” referring to God. The results were a faith-inspiring blessing to me, and I wanted to share them with you:
II Chronicles 25:9
And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this. (See II Chronicles 25:1-9 for the bigger picture.)
Daniel 3:17
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
Daniel 4:37
Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
Luke 3:8
Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (See also Matthew 3:9)
Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Acts 20:32
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
Romans 4:21
And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Romans 11:23
And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
Romans 14:4
Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work…
Ephesians 3:20-21
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Philippians 3:21
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
2 Timothy 1:12
For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Hebrews 2:18
For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 11:19
Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
James 4:12
There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
Jude 1:24
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy….
Believe ye that I am able to do this? . . . Yea Lord. . . . According to your faith be it unto you. (Matthew. 9. 28, 29).
I saw this meme floating around on several blogs this morning, so I thought I’d borrow it. 🙂 I would save it for my anniversary, but that’s not until December.
Marriage meme
1. Where/How did you meet?
In the library, where we both worked, at college.
2. How long have you known each other?
29 years.
3. How long after you met did you start dating?
About four months.
4. How long did you date before you were engaged?
A year and four months.
5. How long was your engagement?
Seven months.
6. How long have you been married?
27 years.
7. What is your anniversary?
12/21.
8. How many people came to your wedding reception?
Oh, my — I have no idea. Somewhere around 100-120 maybe?
9. What kind of cake did you serve?
White cake with white frosting decorated with blue flowers.
10. Where was your wedding?
My home church in Houston, TX.
11. What did you serve for your meal?
We didn’t have a meal — that wasn’t a tradition then, at least not in our area. Just cake, punch, nuts, and mints.
12. How many people were in your wedding party?
We each just had one attendant — most of our friends lived out of state and we got married over Christmas break.
13. Are you still friends with them all?
Yes, though we don’t keep in touch as much as I’d like.
14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?
No, I don’t think so.
15. Most special moment of your wedding day?
There’s no one moment that stands out — it was all special. 🙂
16.Any funny moments?
Not really.
17. Any big disasters?
One of the soloists called in sick that morning, and then just before I was to begin walking down the aisle, a garland wrapped around an arch in the middle of the platform came undone and started slowly unwinding from around the arch. A dear lady sitting at the front went up and tucked it back in.
18. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We spent the first night in a nice hotel in Houston, but didn’t have an extended honeymoon — time and money were tight (we were both still students). Though it wasn’t planned this way, we spent our second night at my folks’ home in my old bedroom because something with our car needed to be worked on and we couldn’t leave that day. I’ll tell you, it felt mighty strange bringing a man into my bedroom! We spent the next day driving (with a U-Haul with my stuff) back to Greenville, SC, to set up housekeeping and get ready for second semester.
19. How long were you gone?
See above.
20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change?
My veil. I wanted to look kind of like a Southern bell, but later I thought the veil looked more Spanish.
21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
Left.
22. What size is your bed?
Queen
23. Greatest strength as a couple?
Commitment.
24. Greatest challenge as a couple?
My husband’s traveling.
25. Who literally pays the bills?
He does.
26. What is your song?
We don’t have one.
27. What did you dance your first dance to?
We’ve never danced. 🙂
28. Describe your wedding dress:
How about if I just show you instead?
29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?
This is terrible, but I don’t really remember, and I can’t tell from the picture what was in my bouquet. I think there were white roses and blue-tinted carnations. I had wanted more blue, but there weren’t many blue flowers, especially in December.
30. Are your wedding bands engraved?
No.
31. How old were you when you got married?
I was 22 and my husband was 21.
Feel free to grab this meme and play along — let me know if you do.
Psalm 12
1 Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”
5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the LORD;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”
6 The words of the LORD are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
7 You shall keep them, O LORD,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.
8 The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
I love the contrast here between with “flattering lips” and “double heart” of the wicked and their tongue “that speaks proud things” with the pure words of the Lord. He doesn’t flatter with them; He tells the truth even when it hurts; there is nothing deceitful or “double-hearted” about them. They are pure in their meaning, their motive, and in their freedom from sin. We can trust Him to keep them.
My understanding of the process of refining silver is that it is melted, then all the “scum” or dross is scooped out. But God’s words in themselves are already purer than silver that has gone though that process seven times.
Once again David encourages himself in his God. Others fail, but He will never fail. Poor and needy, we cry out to Him, and He sets us in the safety we yearn for.
Thanks to Erica at Butterfly Kisses for hosting Psalms Sunday. You can see more thoughts on this Psalm or add your own there.
I was looking for this painting a few weeks ago when I posted the words to “That One Lost Sheep.” I saw it somewhere a long time ago, only I think it was a full color painting. I love the expression of both the shepherd and the sheep — the gratefulness and love of the shepherd, the contentment of the sheep just melting into the shepherd’s care.
I found this by searching Google images for “shepherd hugging sheep,” but I didn’t find the name of it or the artist. I tried searching on a couple of Christian art sites, but couldn’t find it there, either. Does anyone know anything about it?
Luke 15:
3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
I received this in an e-mail a while back:
A church-goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them! So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.” Signed: Missing the message.
This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
“I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals for me. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today. When you are DOWN to nothing….. God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!”
I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. Psalm 122:1.
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:25.
Dogwood Chapel by Thomas Kinkade
Courtesy of Allposters.com
Theme: Empty | Become a Photo Hunter | View Blogroll
It is a nice feeling when one of these is emptied — though it never stays that way for long. 🙂
A few spring quotes and spring poems for your enjoyment. 🙂
March bustles in on windy feet
And sweeps my doorstep and my street.
She washes and cleans with pounding rains,
Scrubbing the earth of winter stains.
She shakes the grime from carpet green
Till naught but fresh new blades are seen.
Then, house in order, all neat as a pin,
She ushers gentle springtime in.
– Susan Reiner, Spring Cleaning
No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.
– Proverb from Guinea
Only with winter-patience can we bring
The deep-desired, long-awaited spring.
— Anne Morrow Lindbergh
If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall.
– Nadine Stair
If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant:
if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
— Anne Bradstreet, Meditations Divine and Moral, 1655
“Earth laughs in flowers.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
WELCOME TO SPRING
We must live through the dreary winter
If we would value the spring;
And the woods must be cold and silent
Before the robins sing.
The flowers must be buried in darkness
Before they can bud and bloom,
And the sweetest, warmest sunshine
Comes after the storm and gloom.
–Anonymous
(Most of the graphics are from an old set from Graphic Garden.)
Stray Thoughts 