Thursday, August 19, 2010

Seasons

Good morning, Dear friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! The sky is blue and the clouds are white and puffy and so far, no rain this morning. Last night the power went off unexpectedly about 7 or 7:30, because no storms were going on and the sky was clear. Of course, I was in the kitchen, the only room without a handy flashlight, so I had to feel my way into the living room where I have a couple flashlights, and then out to the fireplace room to get my Coleman tube lantern. I also decided it was time to open up another Coleman lantern which I hadn't even taken out of the box, so I put that together with batteries. They really put out a good light.

I had called Progress Energy on my cell and the automated voice said it was damage to their equipment and it would take until 11:59 for the power to come back on. So I prayed that it would come back sooner and our faithful God heard. The power came back on two hours later! I was brushing my teeth by lantern light and happened to notice the night light was burning. Big clue that the power was back on! And instead of turning off the lights, I discovered they were blazing , so, even if I had gone on to bed, the light would have gotten me up again. God is good!

I went to the park yesterday during the heat of the day and only saw a couple ibis, and the usual anhinga stretching out his wings. Not many people were out and about in the middle of the day, but the shadows were deep under the oaks. I noticed that the maple trees are already starting to change color. A promise that fall is coming! God is good!

From Quiet Moments with God:

Now with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness. Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12 NASB

At a dinner party honoring Albert Einstein, a student asked the great scientist, "What do you actually do as a profession?"
Mr. Einstein said, "I devote myself to the study of physics."

The student then exclaimed, "You mean that you're still studying physics? I finished mine last year."

One of the very real temptations of life is to divide it into seasons and then think of each season as an end within itself. Students may think of the high school diploma as the goal and not relate it to what they want to do with their lives. Graduates may get the jobs of their choice and never consider that other jobs could be in their futures.

How often have you seen a young man and woman become engaged to be married, then spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours preparing for the wedding, with little or no preparation for the years of marriage ahead? Or, the couple may look forward with great anticipation to the birth of a child, with no plan for proper parenting.

The Garden of Life is a continuing cycle of seasons and years. Those who reap the greatest harvests seem to look both backward and forward. They look to the future to decide which seeds they should plant today to help them attain their goals for the future.

God is present in every segment of our lives, coaxing us to learn from both our experiences and goals, so that our gardens will reach their full potential.

Though God be everywhere
present, yet he is present to you
in the deepest and most
central part of the soul.
William Law

I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis