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! While the weather is beautiful and it's great to be outdoors, I was cold last night! I had put on my long-sleeved flannel p.j.'s last night, but did not add an extra blanket, and I actually started shivering along towards morning. So, I reluctantly got out of bed and pulled out a fleece throw, crawled back into bed and was comfortable for another hour, until it was time to get up. I also rescued my tiny space heater from the closet and plugged that in this morning! One last taste of winter and then, we will be simmering in the heat of summer for about six months! Hopefully, I will not complain...
I didn't do much running around yesterday; just a couple errands along with a trip to the park. All was peaceful there, as usual. I waited for five or six bikers to pull out of their parking spaces, since they did not seem inclined to wait for me to drive by, and off they went, no helmets, and ladies hanging on in the back. One gal had her head down on her driver's back and was practically hidden behind him. But It was a good day for a bike ride!
I saw several turtles plastered on the bank of the weir and the brown gopher tortoise walking along the mowed trail on the east side of the road. I also saw an unusual sight..an anhinga with the wings fully spread and slowly waving...I suppose to dry them off. Their wingspan is very large. Impressive! The water is still up in the canal and looks good, although the canal is very choked with hydrilla. Maybe they will clean it after the lake work is finished. God is good!
From the devotional book Quiet Moments with God:
The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
1 Corinthians 3:8
In the book Work and Contemplation, Douglas Steere tells a story from the Great Depression era when work was scarce, but people took great pride in whatever job they did. Instead of receiving welfare checks, able-bodied people were given what sometimes amounted to busywork in order to earn their pay. The program was created to add a measure of dignity to "being on the dole." Folks who did not have to take advantage of the program openly scorned it, while the workers who did join the program were often embarrassed they had to do so. Steer writes:
Some years ago I heard the labor expert, Whiting Williams, tell of a squad of day laborers who were hired one morning and put to work...the foreman...set them to digging holes some three feet deep. When a hole was finished, it was inspected and the workman was ordered to fill it up and to dig another hole of the same depth.
This went on for most of the morning, and finally the foreman noted the group talking in a huddle and then their spokesman came to him and said..."We're gonna quit...give us our money. You ain't gonna make fools out of us!"
The foreman's eyes narrowed, and then understanding broke over him, and he said quietly, "Can't you see, we're trying to find where the pipe is broken?" "Oh," said the man and after a hurried word with the others...returned and said , "Where do you want us to dig?"
Christians are frequently admonished to value one another's work and to work in a spirit of cooperation. This is easier when every member of the team clearly understands the objective. When the objective is finally attained, each is able to share in the satisfaction of seeing his or her contribution to the overall success.
Focus on the objectives you are working toward, and make certain the whole team has a clear understanding of the goals that have been set.
More men fail through lack of purpose than through lack of talent.
Billy Sunday
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs
Amaryllis
