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! It is sunshiny and cloudy this morning. but, thankfully, we are expecting more rain this weekend.
What a wonderful rain we had yesterday! It didn't pour, but was just a quiet rain for about an hour or more. It was kinda noisy with all the slurping sounds of the grass and shrubs drinking the wetness!! :o)
I went over to the park later on, and very light sprinkles landed on the windshield all the way, but I drove right out from under the clouds into the blue sky and sun in the west, so the clouds all moved over to the east.
There was not a crowd at the park, I guess because of the rain, but things had really greened up. The gopher tunnel looked like a lot of water had dripped in, but no sign of the resident. The squirrels were out and did not even look wet, but they move so fast, they soon dry off. I watched some ibis pecking around hoping to find some grubs stirred up by the moisture.
I was thankful for the rain because I had no excuse for not vacuuming, which I did, and got some exercise. House cleaning is a good way to get moving, and since my ladies could not come this week, I decided to get going and do it! Good for me! God is good!
From the devotional book Quiet Moments with God:
My times are in your hand.
Psalm 31:15 NRSV
How we handle delays tells us a lot about ourselves. How do you handle a traffic jam when you left the house already late for work? What do you do when your flight is delayed because of mechanical difficulty or bad weather? How do you respond when the register in your checkout lane runs out of tape just as you get to the head of the line? Can you take a deep breath and enjoy a five-minute break at the railroad crossing when the guard rail goes down to allow a train to pass?
Consider how one man handled a delay. Just as the light turned green at the busy intersection, his car stalled in heavy traffic. He tried everything he knew to get the car started again, but all his efforts failed. The chorus of honking behind him put him on edge, which only made matters worse.
Finally he got out of his car and walked back to the first driver and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't seem to get my car started. If you'll go up there and give it a try, I'll stay here and blow your horn for you."
Things rarely go as smoothly as we would like, and we don't usually schedule ourselves any extra time just in case something goes wrong.
The ability to accept disappointments, delays, and setbacks with a pleasant, generous spirit is a gift of graciousness that comes from one who has received grace from others in pressured circumstances. Life is a series of choices, and no matter what situation we get in, we always have the freedom to choose how we are going to respond.
Refuse to get out of sorts the next time your schedule gets interrupted or turned upside down. Pray for strength to remain calm, cheerful, relaxed, and refreshed in the midst of the crisis. And always remember: God's plans for you are not thwarted by delays!
Never become irritable while waiting: If you are patient,
you'll find that you can wait much faster.
Unknown
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
