~ Matthew 9:37-38 ESV
{Photos::corn, sugarcane, rice fields, around the big Lake O, South Florida}
You don't have to win the Pulitzer Prize, just be helpful....
A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
My mother lived with the pain of rheumatoid arthritis for most of her adult life. Her legacy to me in that was that she did so with much grace and humor. She would often remind me that growing older isn't for sissies, but she said so with a chuckle and always made light of her disabilities.
By the time I cared for her in our home, her memory had faded and her disabilities were many, but her ability to laugh at herself and others remained.I remember trying to dress her before I figured out that she needed special clothing. I'd get one arm into a shirt sleeve, but not the other, and we'd both laugh at our predicament.
Even those years ago, it was painful and difficult for me to turn or reposition her in her bed, and mother would laugh at my groans. So would I, and the laughter was always good medicine for us both.
{gently edited from here}
My observation is that the combination of younger women who are teachable and godly older women who are willing to open their hearts gave us the privilege of obeying the Titus mandate.~ Susan Hunt, Spiritual Mothering
Another important element of giving is with our time. Most of us are so busy that the thought of adding one more thing to our weekly schedule is stressful. Instead of adding in another thing to our lives, perhaps God wants us to give Him all of our time and let Him direct it as He sees fit. ~ Francis Chan, Crazy Love
"...For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” I Samuel 16:7
I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in. I start to love what others love. I start to call earth "home." Before you know it, I am calling luxeries "needs" and using my money just the way unbelievers do. I begin to forget the war. I don't think much about people perishing. Missions and unreached people drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about the triumphs of grace. I sink into a secular mind-set that looks first to what man can do, not what God can do. It is a terrible sickness. And I thank God for those who have forced me again and again toward a wartime mind-set. ~ John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life
What is that plant? Is it native or invasive? Common or endangered? Poisonous, edible? What birds will eat the berries or come to my feeders? Does that insect sting or will he eat on my favorite flame bush? What makes the sunrise blaze orange? Why do the sweetgum trees turn yellow and red and "fall" in our 90-degree autumn? Just how close can I safely approach a gator? or bobcat? What butterfly or moth will emerge from that caterpillar's chrysalis?
Or the question that is the number one google search that brings first time visitors to this blog: What do you feed a pollywog?
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;fools despise wisdom and instruction.~ Proverbs 1:7
And he said to him,
“You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind.~ Matthew 22:37
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. ~ 2 Timothy 2:15
It’s not about you.
The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.
We waste our lives when we do not pray and think and dream and plan and work toward magnifying God in all spheres of life. God created us for this: to live our lives in a way that makes him look more like the greatness and the beauty and the infinite worth that he really is.
What gives you courage to face your fears? Is there a particular verse or verses that speak directly to you and your fears? I'd love for you to share them with us here.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep;for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4.8 ESV