Scanning the sky…

HIBISCUS
…scanning the gray sky for a sunbeam.
Even in stormy weather it looks up,
seeming intuitively aware that the sun is still there!

When we’re in the midst of stormy times in life,
let us remember that God still reigns –
and let us look upward and seek His face!

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For as the waters fill the sea,
the earth will be filled with an awareness
of the glory of the Lord.
Habakkuk 2:14 NLT
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He Lives!

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

–Bill and Gloria Gaither

In Everything Give Thanks

This is a repeat of a previous post.

Many of our family members and friends are going through some very rough patches right now.
I hope the words in this message will help to encourage you during this holiday season
when it’s hard to feel festive and joyous.
If you’re blessed to be doing OK right now,
perhaps you know of someone else who could be encouraged by these thoughts.

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In everything give thanks.
I Thessalonians 5:18

It’s easy for us to be thankful when things are going well.
We don’t always take time to express our gratitude to God as we should,
but we don’t actually find it difficult to do.

However, in tough times,
when we can’t even feel that God is with us,
how are we supposed to feel thankful?

There is wonderful joy ahead,
even though you have to endure many trials
for a little while.
I Peter 1:6

In His kindness God called you to share in
His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus.
So after you have suffered a little while,
He will restore, support, and strengthen you –
and He will place you on a firm foundation.
I Peter 5:10

We can find hope and gratitude in the promise that He is working in our lives –
even through the hard times –
and that He will one day restore us to a place where we will be able to feel thankful again.

No matter how hard life is for us,
if we really search our hearts,
we will find that every day can be a day of thanksgiving.

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Thank y’all for stopping by to visit Little Things.
May your life be filled with little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received)!
♥
Don’t forget to reach out to others who may be lonely or ill
or suffering in some other way this Thanksgiving…
and are hungrier for a loving touch than for a turkey dinner!
May we all find ways to express our gratitude to God…
and may we be aware, even in the midst of our troubles,
that we all have something to be thankful for — every day!

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Safe Harbor from the Storm

This post is dedicated to the millions of people in the path of Hurricane Irene.

The designs here are copied from some of my previous posts.
I decided it might be helpful to group them all in one place.
You are welcome to copy and paste these or share them in any other way,
if you think they’d be helpful to you or to someone else.

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I’d like to leave you with a quote from “In a Storm” by Mary Southerland:

When the fierce storms of life overwhelm us,
there is only one thing to do if we want to survive those storms.
We must position ourselves in the right place – in the hands of God –
and He will keep us there until the storm has passed.
The words of the psalmist are filled with confidence and hope when he writes,

“He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed”
(Psalm 107:29).

We really can trust God to bring peace and to reduce the fiercest storm to a mere whisper.
The faithful provision and sustaining comfort of God at work in our life
depends on the character and heart of God
and our willingness to trust Him.

If you have access to Facebook,
I think you should be able to link to the complete devotional by Southerland here.

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Thank y’all for stopping by to visit “Little Things.”
May your life be filled with little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received)!
♦
You may not be in the path of Irene this weekend — and I DO hope you’re not –
but there will be times that all of us will find ourselves in the midst of some kind of storm.
I hope in the content of this post you may find something to encourage you
and help you to keep your faith strong
and your trust in God unwavering.
♦
My prayers continue for everyone who is in “the storm,”
whether Hurricane Irene or some other disruption in your life.
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Broken

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Thank y’all for stopping by to visit.
May your life be filled with little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received)!

…and if there is brokenness in your life,
I hope you will be able to mend what can be mended…
and trust the rest to God.

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“Like a well-watered garden…”

I can just hear some of you saying – with good reason – “Oh, no, not another post about the weather!”   This one is a little different, though.  I’ve been thinking lately how physical drought can teach us about times of spiritual drought in our lives, as well.

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In times of spiritual emptiness, desolation, hopelessness,
God will guide His people and provide for them.
He will sustain them.

 

By God’s grace and power,
His church will flourish and grow and bring forth fruit –
the fruit of obedient lives, charitable deeds,
and sharing His love with a dying world.

 

In every believer,
there is a well of living water which flows from Christ,
into His people to give them life eternal…
and through His people,
outward to bring hope and life to a thirsty and needy world.

…Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds,
“Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me!
Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink!
For the Scriptures declare,
‘Rivers of living water will flow from His heart.’”

John 7:37,38

Be Prepared–Prayers–and Bradford Pears!

We saw this little guy on our walk around the neighborhood last Saturday.  It’s usually hard for me to get pictures of squirrels, because they scurry around and hardly ever slow down long enough for a good photo!  This one stopped as if posing and begging me to take his picture! 

I have to confess that we tolerate squirrels in our yard, rather than adore them, as many nature-lovers do.  They are pesky little creatures when it comes to digging up and eating flowering bulbs we have planted, eating tomatoes and other crops before they are quite ripe enough to harvest, tearing up bird feeders, and playing leap-frog right in the middle of our most delicate blooming plants!  I assure you they get MORE than their fair share of bird seed from our ‘squirrel-proof’ feeders, so we do help to take care of them and provide for their welfare.

I decided to use this picture tonight because the behavior of the squirrel is in stark contrast to what I have observed the last couple of days about the Japanese people.  The squirrels dominate our back yard, scurry around grabbing whatever they want to eat, haul off the surplus to bury for later consumption, and never appear willing to share with the little birds. 

Have you heard about the crime and looting that is rampant in Japan right now?  No?!  Well, of course not — because there isn’t any to speak of.  We have been very impressed with the calmness and cooperation exhibited by the thousands of people waiting patiently for hours to get food, water, or gasoline.  They are exercising discipline by voluntarily conserving electricity to help prevent rolling outages in the areas that still have power.  There are several explanations for this behavior — including religion, culture, and the political climate of their country.  I have my own theories, but I am not well enough educated to suggest any explanation.  I do know, however, that it is very different from what goes on in parts of our country, particularly in large metropolitan areas.  I commend the Japanese people.  I feel even more inclined to want to help them when I see how very hard they are trying to help themselves and cooperate with their neighbors.

While on the subject of Japan, I’d like to offer a link to something Anne Graham Lotz posted the other day:  FIVE THINGS A STORM CAN’T DESTROY.  It is an encouraging and thought-provoking resource for any of us when we need to find shelter from the storms of life.  Of course, it’s best to find our shelter ahead of the storm and be prepared before disaster strikes.

My prayers — and I’m sure yours, too — continue to be with the people of Japan, their loved ones, and all who are working feverishly under very harsh conditions to rescue them and bring relief to these troubled people.

I want to leave you with another ‘sighting’ from our walk on Saturday — one of the many beautiful Bradford pear trees that are blooming in our neighborhood.  These pictures were taken with my camera phone; I will have some clearer ones to post later.  The pear trees are such a refreshing way to come to the end of winter and experience the beginning of spring!

It’s hard to believe daylight savings time is here again.  I hope you are looking forward to more daylight in the evenings to enjoy the beginning of spring.  Dark mornings are no fun for getting up and going to work or school, but first light will come earlier with each passing day!