Still Saturday::wherever I am...

I {LOVE} Sunday {and Still Saturday}::the aroma of life to life...

{This year's first gardenias}

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

2 Corinthians 2:14-16

With Sandra's Still Saturday and the Sunday Community at Lisha's #GiveMeGrace 

To be hidden...

I write about having a life hidden in Christ, but what does that look like in this world of Christian celebrities, and breaking through glass ceilings, and building a tribe, and standing on platforms? 

For days I'm amused by the big green caterpillar and little green frog that live in the gardenia bushes outside the study, but they are sometimes difficult to find as they cling to the shrub's thick green foliage - hidden by their natural camouflage. 

One day I look and look, and I don't find them anywhere - hundreds of bright green leaves, but no caterpillar or little green frog. 

The very next day, I look again, and sure enough - they were there all along. And I see a glimpse of what it is to be hidden.

Because I'm created in God's image, and the Holy Spirit is at work molding and making me more like Jesus...

....if I surrender to that process and cling to Him, you'll have to look real hard to see me.

Apart from Christ, all you see is me - clamoring for attention, pushing my personal agenda, pointing to my accolades and boasting of my accomplishments.

But when my life is hidden with Christ in God, you'll only see the Jesus who hides me. 

If then you have been raised with Christ,
seek the things that are above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things that are above,
not on things that are on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ who is your life appears,
then you also will appear with him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-4
{edited from the archives}

Still Saturday::to feel rich...

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

Author Unknown

Still Saturday::fair flowers...

"I must try and cultivate an eye for life's mercies...
And life, while it has its ugly swamps, its vile weeds, and its sharp thorns,
has always its fair flowers to charm the eye with their beauty,
or to fill the air with their fragrance..."
~ Rev. John Flowers Serjeant, 1878

Where life is a bowl of gardenias...

Pollywog Creek flourishes green from recent early summer rains, and as I rest on the banks of the pond this sabbath afternoon, I soak in the goodness of the day. 

I do love Sundays - from waking to the aroma of fresh coffee and Louis frying bacon for the Sunday morning pancake breakfast he's faithfully prepared for over thirty years, to the lazy late afternoon and everything in between. 

Monday morning I breathe in the intoxicating sweetness of gardenias I've arranged in the etched glass bowl on the counter next to the jar of roses. Could there be anything better than gardenias that says, I live in the south?

From just south of the Georgia state line to our handful of acres here on Pollywog Creek - all the days of my life have passed on Florida's sandy-soil where living is seldom in a hurry.  

Come summer you'll understand why life in the south moves slow and easy, my husband is fond of informing newcomers and snowbirds. 

I might complain about those slow summer days of stifling heat and oppressive humidity, but I'm grateful that the LORD chose to plant my feet in this southern soil - where no, ma'am and yes,sir are signs of respect, sweet ice tea is a major food group, and a bowl of fresh gardenias graces the table.

Have you ever smelled a gardenia?

As beloved children...

Therefore be imitators of God,
as beloved children.
And walk in love,
as Christ loved us
and gave himself up for us,
a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5.1-2

I {LOVE} Sunday::to be the aroma of Christ...

For we are the aroma of Christ to God
among those who are being saved
and among those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:15 ESV

Joining Deidra's Sunday community...





{Photo - heavenly scented gardenias from the bushes outside the study windows}