Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! Happy June First! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! It is still sunny with the smell of smoke in the air from all the forest fires in the state, but there is a chance of rain today, so I am hoping God is kind to us and will send the rain we really need.
I always am blessed by good friends and yesterday had a double blessing...Terry came over in the morning to fix a leaky faucet outside, and then I was ready to go to my other friends' house for a delightful lunch and conversation. We had not done that in a long time, so it is always good to catch up with each others' lives and to see how God is working to give us whatever we need to handle challenges in personal situations and the reaching out to those who are unsaved.
I went to the park, and very few people were there. It was a very hot day, so I think that had something to do with the lack of walkers. Of course, there are always people walking their dogs, but most carry bottles of water. I saw a great, blue heron looking for lunch, squirrels racing across the road, and a black snake when Terry was working on the faucet. The snake was hiding in a curled up hose, and slithered out when it got a little wet. I think it was a black racer, but he went over to the neighbor's house. Didn't like water, I guess!
But God is good!
From the book Quiet Moments with God devotional:
"I have come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10 NKJV
Fulfillment is something for which every person seems to long for. In its simplest meaning, fulfillment refers to being "fully filled"-having a complete sense of accomplishment.
If you lack a sense of fulfillment at day's end, ask yourself, What did I not do that I felt I should have done? You'll be calling into question your values, priorities, and goals. As you see areas in which you have fallen short, ask the Lord to help you discipline yourself to achieve what you know is good, adjust your priorities and goals, and refine your values.
A lack of fulfillment isn't the fault of circumstances or another person's behavior. To experience fulfillment, your outer life must live in harmony with your inner life; you must live outwardly what you profess with your mouth and believe in your heart.
For Robert Louis Stevenson, this was the definition of a successful life:
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his tasks; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.
Do you have a definition of success against which to gauge your own sense of fulfillment?
There's still time to make today fulfilling. Take a moment to reflect upon your goals, priorities , and values. Ask the Lord to show you where they may need some adjusting. As you rethink these important issues, you will be filled with the knowledge that true fulfillment comes in simply knowing and obeying him.
You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.
Saint Augustine of Hippo
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs, Amaryllis
