Good Monday morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the warm, humid day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! There is a beautiful sunrise casting an orange glow , which will soon be gone, but the wispy clouds are streaking colorfully across the sky for just a few minutes. God has his paintbrush out this morning!
We had a quiet weekend, watching football games, "Go, Gators!", and attending church. Hopefully, your weekend was a little more interesting and active than ours.
I was a little disappointed when I walked Friday at not finding a single baby gator or even Mama in sight. They have the ability to swim some distances around the nest and perhaps they will appear again before they scatter.
From the book Quiet Moments:
Hebrews 12:1 NKJV "Let us lay down every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us."
In Jules Verne's novel, The Mysterious Island, he tells of five men who escape a Civil War prison and of their flight in a hot air balloon which takes them over the ocean. As the balloon slowly sinks toward the water, they have to discard everything they thought they needed for survival, including their food.
Unfortunately, that is only a temporary solution, and they find themselves sinking slowly once again. One man has an idea: they can tie the ropes that hold the passenger car and sit on the ropes. Then they can cut away the basket beneath them. As they do this, the balloon rises again.
Not a minute too soon, they spot land. The five jump into the water and swim to the island. They are alive because they were able to discern the difference between what was really needed and what was not. The "necessities" they once thought they couldn't live without were the very weights that almost cost them their lives.
Why not make an honest assessment of the things that might be slowing you down today? Are they physical or spiritual necessities for you or someone you love? What would your life be like without them? If you eliminated them, would you have more time for the things in your life that really matter?
Ask God to show you how your life could be improved if you made some changes and dropped some things that are weighing you down.
I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful, but I never read in either of them, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heaven laden."
Saint Augustine of Hippo
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
