Good morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the chilly day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! When I stepped outside early this morning, the dark sky was brilliant with myriads of stars and the three quarter moon was shining brightly in the cloudless sky. Gorgeous! I did not linger long, however, as it was a bit too brisk for my liking.
Yesterday, instead of walking, I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen, baking choc. chunk cookies and brownies for an "I care" package to send to Tennessee. After Daryl and Matthew went back home in October with cookies, it was suggested by someone in his office that it would be a good idea to send more... so they will be shipped off today.
The feral kittens were back in the backyard Saturday..first time in about a month that I have seen them. They are half grown now, and will surely be having kittens. I called the animal control and the only way they will come out is if the kittens are caught in a cage first! Since they run as soon as someone approaches, that is not practical. Oh, well.
We did drive through the Park yesterday and saw a few people bundled up and walking dogs and just exercising. I did not see any egrets or herons, but I did notice a tiny wren in our yard, and they usually come in the winter, so, maybe, my favorite catbird will be back at the park! God is good!
From Quiet Moments with God:
Hebrews 12:1 Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us.
In Jules Verne's novel The Mysterious Island, he writes of five men who escape a Civil War prison camp by hijacking a hot-air balloon. As they rise into the air, they realize the wind is carrying them over the ocean. Watching their homeland disappear on the horizon, they wonder how much longer the balloon will stay aloft.
As the hours pass and the surface of the ocean draws closer, the men decide they must cast some of the weight overboard because they have no way to heat the air in the balloon. Shoes, overcoats, and weapons are reluctantly discarded, and the uncomfortable aviators feel their balloon rise.
However, it isn't long before they find themselves dangerously close to the waves again, so they toss their food overboard. Unfortunately, this, too, is only a temporary solution, and the craft again threatens to lower the men into the sea. One man has an idea: they can tie the ropes that hold the passenger car and sit on them. They 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.
It's not enough to be busy...the question is what are we busy about?
Henry David Thoreau
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
