Refuge

Simba, one of the barnyard cats, has found a place of refuge in the trough above the water wheel. There he is safe from coyotes, dogs, and other cats. He is shaded by a tree and has a beautiful view of the flower garden. He can sleep without worry or fear and is within earshot of the door so knows when I come out with some tasty morsel. It's a perfect spot of refuge.

The Bible says that "God is our refuge". Nothing touches us that He doesn't already know about. If trouble comes, He is our "very present help". Just like Simba retreats to the trough, we can retreat to the arms of our Savior. He doesn't promise that trouble will not come. He promises to be there and to help us through the trouble and He is faithful to His promises.

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Rivers

John 7:37-38

"On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,
'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"

When I am physically thirsty, all I have to do is walk to the sink, turn on the faucet and place my glass under the flow of water. It takes very little effort on my part and we know that water is essential to life.

What about Spiritual thirst? In this Scripture, Jesus clearly states that anyone who is thirsty simply needs to come to Him and drink. He is the source of living water. He alone can quench our emotional and spiritual thirst and he is not stingy. It's not a trickle or stream, but "rivers of living water". 

The commentary for this verse in the Reformation Study Bible states: "rivers. This implies great abundance, benefiting not only believers, but also those around them". Jesus abundantly fills the believer and wants us to open our hearts so that His rivers of living water can touch those around us and draw them near to Him. 

Come to Jesus, drink of His life-giving water, believe in Him and then let the rivers flow. 

Unique

Psalm 139:13-14

"For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."

Each one of us is uniquely created. 

You are unique. One of a kind. Not like anyone else. Special. Carefully created by The Creator Himself to be the one and only YOU. No one else can be you. You are precious in His sight.

No one knows you like The Creator God. No one loves you as much as He does and He knows everything about you.

He sees all, knows all, hears all (even thoughts), and He still loves completely. Unconditionally. He loves in a way that no human possibly can. 

Embrace your uniqueness and the fact that you are "wonderfully made".

The Earth Laughs

Genesis 1:11-13

"And God said, 'Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.' And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day."

Cardinal Flower

I often think of how much fun God must have had when He was creating all the different varieties and colors of flowers. That thought plus showy flowers make me smile. Just the other day, while walking with my friend, we came across this red beauty on the edge of the woods.

Zinnias and butterflies

One of my Dad's favorites is Zinnia and he has lots of them which the butterflies really appreciate. Some of my favorites are Lantana, Cleome, and Verbena.

Sunflowers are
bright and cheerful.

It's very hard to keep a straight face when a bright, cheerful sunflower is spotted. Then there are the type of flowers that trail over the edge of the pot or planter like creeping Phlox and wave Petunias.

There are way too many varieties and favorites to name, but when you look around, you can see the earth laughing all around. I imagine the earth as God's canvas and picture Him smiling as he casts all these wonderful splashes of color on the surface for our enjoyment.

As much as I like flowers, Scripture tell us and we know from experience that flowers don't last forever. However, "the word of our God will stand forever". That is a promise from God that we can hold on to for all eternity. 

These petunias all reseeded from
last year and make a showy display.

Isaiah 40:8 (ESV) 

"The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever."

God desires to speak to us every day through His creation and His Word. What flowers are your favorite? What is your favorite Bible verse or book of the Bible? I'd love to hear!

Be Still

It's important to make the time to be quiet, to be still, and to remember that He is God and we are not.

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God.

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth!”

Dust of His Feet

Nahum 1:3

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,

and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.

His way is in whirlwind and storm,

and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

I enjoy photography. Recently my sister-in-law commented "you like clouds". I hadn't really thought about it, but I actually do take a lot of cloud photos. When I read the above verse this week, it thrilled my heart to think of the clouds as the dust of God's feet and now I like clouds even more. I can just imagine God walking and stirring up the clouds in His wake. It makes me smile.

We often associate clouds with a rainy day, which some people dislike. Or we may say "I have a cloud hanging over my head" when life isn't going well. We tend to view whirlwinds, storms and clouds as negative things. However, if we look at this verse, it tells us that God's way is IN these things. Hmm - that's food for thought. If His way is in storms and clouds, then we should be looking for Him and trusting Him through the whirlwind, storm and clouds. Oswald Chambers writes "If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. 'The clouds are the dust of His feet'. They are a sign that God is there." I like that.

My Delight

I delight in butterflies flitting about from flower to flower. It brought me immense joy yesterday to stand in the garden surrounded by colorful flowers and delicately beautiful butterflies.

C. H. Spurgeon delighted in whatever God decreed. He said "Let me live, if God will be with me in life. Let me die, if He will be with me in death. So long as I am 'forever with the Lord,' what else matters? What God decrees is my delight." No matter what came, Spurgeon found delight because he was with the Lord.

May the Lord always be my delight.