Cloud Over the Tree Garden
These days smart phones have made it easy to take photos of anything and everything. Some worthwhile and some not. Here’s one I thought was worthwhile. I was cutting grass, listening to a Nero Wolfe mystery novel (on my smart phone). As I made the turn, this was before me. What a beautiful sight of God’s creation!
“The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1 ESV
Pancakes and Syrup
You would think after sixty-two years I would know how much syrup to put on pancakes. Yet, despite the decades of practice, after the last bite leaves the plate, there will be a puddle of syrup left. The surplus amount varies, but it’s always there. Even on the few occasions I have wiped the syrup dry before I finished the last pancake, I’ve added what I thought would be just enough to finish, and ended up with the usual extra.
My wife, Sharon, though, has syrup figured out. She applies just enough so that when she finishes a plate, you have to look closely to see a drop here and there. It’s even difficult to know if she had pancakes. (When she reads this, it will be the first she’s known of my admiration of her syrup expertise. I’ve hesitated to tell her because she’s already aware of a long list of weird things I notice.)
I don’t think there’s a syrup gene buried in Sharon’s DNA that isn’t present in mine, but we are definitely unequal in our syrup measuring abilities. However, having differing abilities in some ways is a good thing.
In 1st Corinthians, chapter twelve, the Apostle Paul wrote about being different. He taught that God made us different for God’s own purposes. Just as the human body needs various parts with distinct functions to make it effective as a whole, the church, the Body of Christ, needs various people with different abilities (Paul called them spiritual gifts) to be effective as a whole.
So, if we find ourselves thinking “I wish I could do “that” (whatever “that” may be)like Brother or Sister whatstheirname,” or, a parallel thought, “I’ll never be as good as them at “that” so I may as well not try,” it’s time to stop and think and pray a bit. If we examine our motivation for thinking about “that”, we may find it’s from a selfish view and isn’t what the Lord would have us do. But, if the thought is from the Spirit, those statements don’t matter. With God’s help, we may be able to do “that” as well as Brother or Sister whatstheirname, or we may not. But, if we follow Him, He will give us the abilities we need to fulfill His purpose and THAT is what matters.
“All these (spiritual gifts) are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.” 1st Corinthians 12:11
There’s a song our choir sings titled Be Ye Glad (Michael Blanchard) that has the line “So, be like lights on the rim of the water, giving hope in the storm of the night”. I’m not sure exactly what Mr. Blanchard meant but I imagine it’s close to what I think of in this photo.
The lighthouse shines brighter than all the other lights and is the true one to follow. But, the lights along the shore are also helpful and make the journey safer and easier. They show where and where not to go as we focus on the lighthouse.
The lighthouse, of course, represents Christ, Who outshines all others and is the Way, the Truth and the Life. But we’re in the picture, too. The lights along the shore represent us – the lights on the rim of the water that help others on their journey. This fact doesn’t diminish the brightness or glory of the true Lighthouse, for it is Him, our Savior, who gives us our light, and places us where we can best shine to help others.
“You are the light of the world.” Jesus’ words given in Matthew 5:14
So, let us shine.
Here’s a shot of the colored windspinner seen in the garden previously.
And here it is at night – it has solar charged batteries that light the LED’s. It’s neat to see it spinning at night now.
Jesus said to Nicodemus – “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” John 3:7-8
I Was Thinking the Other Day About... 