Come...and Behold Him!

Though I am not sure where the idea of a Christmas tree came from, I love it when we gather around ours with comfort and joy.  The comfort is the hope that is upon us and the gift of eternal life given us because of Jesus’ death on the tree.  The beautiful twinkling lights on our tree gleam a testimony of His Glory!

The ornaments remind me of the decorative splendor with which His kindness and forgiveness adorns my life.  The star on top of the tree beams hope with a heavenward ray, reminding me that from there He shall come again. 

I do tend to go over board at Christmas “decking the halls”, but why not?  It is truly the greatest reason to celebrate, the birth of our Lord and Savior. Sometimes the burden of the season locks us in anxiety, distress, grief and depression.  But when we call upon Him, He moves right into our situation and offers His unfailing love bringing us healing and deliverance from any despair and anxiety, bringing us comfort and joy. 

The season is upon us, and in celebrating…make it His!

I GOT FROGGED!

The weather has been absolutely beautiful here in the Ozarks.  As I often do, I went outside to enjoy my morning coffee and take advantage of God’s magnificent canvas full of brilliant fall foliage and the unusual 70 degree temperatures we’ve been having in November.  It was early and I was still in my PJ’s.  Usually nobody is out that early in the morning, so I wasn’t too worried about neighbors.  My cat who is always a willing participant whenever I go out the door, eagerly trotted outside with me.

I set my left hand down on the patio seat as I went to sit down. I could feel something moving under my hand, but I ignored it as I took a sip of my coffee which was in my right hand.  The movement under my hand was persistent.  I couldn’t figure out what my cat was nudging at my hand for, so without looking, as I often do, I just gave her a little pat, but kept my hand on her so she would know I was there.

All of a sudden, I thought… “Wait! That’s my cat walking across the deck!”

I jumped so fast to my feet, spilling my coffee all over me, wondering what the heck was under my hand.  YUCK!  I yelped out loud and stepped away …it was a FROG!  It quickly moved to the corner and tried to hide by the arm of the chair hoping I didn’t see him!   He was panting so hard, his eyes were huge!  That poor little thing had such a fright, and no doubt he was more scared than I was.  I looked up and realized the neighbors were outside having their coffee out on their deck also, and I could hear them laughing at me.

Later that day, when I was sharing with my husband my eventful morning, he asked me where it happened, so I told him the details and told him to come out and see where it happened.  What?  That little frog was still there! His little legs were tucked in and he was sacked out in the same little corner of the patio chair. 

 

I couldn’t help but wonder how often we’ve been so frightened by events in our lives, hurts, and betrayals that we would rather quickly hide our face or camouflage our emotions so that they are unrecognizable.  Just like that frightened little frog, these events sometimes leave us paralyzed.   

Has life ever frightened you and become so burdensome or weary that you would just rather sleep than take another step?  Jesus understands weariness and can free you from these burdens.  The rest Jesus promises is love, healing, purpose and peace of mind with God.  He is the One who not only knows your weariness but who says, “I’ll walk the next step with you because I’ve been where you are”. 

Come to Me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

~ Matthew 11:28 

Just Trust Me

This week I was reminded that God’s timing is amazing!  How He manages to orchestrate the intricate details in the manuscript of life is so awesome!  He knows exactly what both precedes and follows.  I have always heard He will not give you more than you can handle, but once again I was at a stand still, with no where to go but to...

Trust In Him

You see my daughter who was expecting her first child was just beginning her labor, when she went into a seizure and the doctor had to perform an emergency cesarean delivery to stabilize my daughter.  Cesarean births have been happening for a long time, but without warning, what happened to her is extremely rare and usually the results are fatal.   What seemed like an eternity, was only minutes when she came out and said to my son in law, your wife is fine come see your son, he is fine too. 

Today, I lift my hands in praise and thanksgiving for the miracle in my daughter’s life.  Yesterday she met her son and held him for the first time, today I give thanks for His unfailing love and faithfulness.  I prayed and He answered.

Don’t be afraid. Just Trust Me

~ Mark 5:36

(PS)  The little girl in this photo is our great-granddaughter, and the photograph was taken by our granddaughter…How awesome is that!?!

Trinie's Tune

Every year as fall approaches I am reminded of the loss of my beloved grandmother who raised me as a child.  

Immediately following her passing, I returned home from the Land of Enchantment and was inspired to paint this quirky abstract that has baffled most of my family why I would have painted this on the passing of someone so dear to me. 

Let me share a little story. Like most artist, I was obsessed to put this down on canvas while my heart was full of emotion and passion.  It’s not one of my best, but what this painting means to me is priceless. In this abstract is a personal reminder of my grandmother who was a perfect example of someone who learned to discover the rhythm of her heart and soul and be in perfect harmony with her Creator.  She had a spiritual melody that was always in rhythm with God and that rhythm kept her going in her routine of life. I don’t think she ever had the opportunity to play music, or sing, but she was the queen of whistling.  When family gets together, I begin sharing some of the same stories, how as a little girl I would stray and wander off, but I could always find my grandmother, because all I had to do was be still and listen for my grandmother whistling a tune, usually her favorite hymn. We all laugh and share each others stories. The colors are bold and vibrant just like my grandmother was, she was never afraid or hesitant to share her eternal melodies with strangers or straying family members for that matter. 

I always keep this painting I call, “Trinie’s Tune” close to me…it doesn’t really go with my décor. But it’s a strong reminder when I find myself straying or wandering, to be still and discover the melody in my heart that harmonizes with God…it makes beautiful music.

~ Be still, and know that I am God!

Psalms 46:10

What Were You Like As A Little Girl?

Last night I shared some great conversation over a cup of coffee with some lovely ladies. Some of us met for the first time, some were casual acquaintances.  The first question that got us started was ...

“What Were You Like As A Little Girl?  

What Similarities Do You See In Who You Are Now?”  

As the evening hour progressed we explored what true beauty is and how it points to God. We learned that beauty isn’t in the feeling, it is in the action.  Boy…did we have some good laughs on that one. 

Obviously, we all primped and poofed our hair, and looked in the mirror before we left the house and said… “Girl, I look good tonight.” We each individually and candidly dove into which specific character quality we would like to cultivate, why and what step of action we need to take to bring more of it out.  Our choices were a) vulnerability; b) stillness; c) loyalty; d) risk taking; and e) resilience.  We enjoyed reading Psalms 139:1-17 and sharing what parts of this scripture makes us secure in Christ.  We concluded that Christ is truly our only security and everything beautiful is of God.  Appearance is important to us, and we spend a lot of time and money improving it.  But how much effort do we put into developing our inner beauty?  

  

After I got home, I was reminded of the story of a lovely lady named Rebekah.  She not only was a knock out, but what made her truly beautiful was that she was a woman with an attitude of service who went beyond the expected.  Staying focused on things that are eternal and demonstrating patience, kindness and joy are also beauty treatments that help us become truly lovely on the inside.  I just want to say thank you to all the beautiful women that I met with last night…what an honor! We ended the night with this verse as our prayer. 

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart;

Test Me and Know My Thoughts.

 ~ Psalms 139:23

My Picasso

Tender moments and lasting memories are most often the result of sharing simple things.  

This summer I shared my hobby with my granddaughters for the first time. Up to now, my paint brushes and art stuff has been off limits and in the "do not touch" category, but this summer, well it was time to graduate to the real stuff.  They have shared the water color books and my not so good brushes, but this year their eyes lit up when I told the girls they could use real paint and my real brushes. I gave them a little pink, green, yellow and blue acrylic paint and had them start their own creation.  Not really sure what to do, one of them started by drawing her favorite flowers and almost immediately, with the skill of a professional artist,  she  began adding her leaves and just like that she created her first masterpiece. 

Much to my delight the end result has been worth more than any art lesson I could have shared with them that day.  

 Pablo Picasso, the famous artist once said ... "Every child is an Artist.  The problem is how to remain an Artist once he/she grows up." 

They reminded me that sometimes in the grind of life we lose our sense of childlike wonder and that we should trust God with a child's simplicity and receptivity.  There are many ways to measure success, but doing the things you can, and letting God handle the things you can't, makes beautiful art on the canvas of our lives. 

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

~ Matthew 11:28

Capture The Moment

Often the days go by and I realize how sad the loss when I took a moment for granted and forgot to appreciate the many blessings in my life. Not big things, you see, but the “joy of enjoying” the warmth of the sun, the fragrance of flowers, or the silky taste of a great olive oil.  Sometimes, I forget to enjoy the simple pleasures such as a beautiful sunset and the freshness of dawn or the kindness of friends and the love of my family who so unselfishly give.  I realize that God wants us to be filled with HIS joy.  So much joy that it overflows!  When we have a consistent relationship with Him, we will transcend the rolling waves of circumstances in our lives.  So, capture the moments all around you and lock them in your heart until it overflows with joy.

Always be full of joy in the Lord.  I say it again – rejoice!

~ Philippians 4:4