December 4, 2009
So many prayers crowd my mind and flow outward...
Prayers of gratitude for my salvation... for the gift of eternal life... for a belief, sure and infallible, that no matter how things may look on this earth sometimes, He loves us and wants the best for us...
Continue reading "So many prayers crowd my mind and flow outward... "
One thought leads to another... , prayers and praises | By Spiderlillies | 1:17 PM | Comments (1)
July 22, 2009
This is how her day looks...
The light pole rose out of the sidewalk as if it had grown there, its only decoration a faded blue bus stop sign. A narrow strip of unkempt grass separated the sidewalk from the busy street on one side... and on the other, an uneven curb was all that separated the sidewalk from an embankment that rose steeply to tower above the light pole.
A young woman, perhaps in her mid-twenties, sat on the curb, arms resting on the knees of her blue jean clad legs, long dark hair spilling across her shoulders and down her back in stark contrast to the red shirt she wore. She was crying with huge, body-wracking sobs, oblivious to the curious looks of passers by, and my heart broke as I drove past her, locked into the current of the traffic streaming by.
It's not quite nine in the morning... and this is how her day looks.
Please, Father God, let it get better from here on out. Replace her heartbreak with hope... and her tears with joy... do what only You can do, O Mighty One...
In Jesus' sweet precious name, Amen...
Adventures in Everyday Life | By Spiderlillies | 1:30 PM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2009
the great adventure...
push... drift... bump... turn... push... drift... bump... turn...
push... drift... bump... turn... push... drift... bump... turn...
push... drift... bump... turn... push... drift... bump... turn...
push... drift... bump... flap... lift... splat... waddle... waddle...
nibble... nibble... turn... waddle... waddle.... flap... lift... spash...
push... drift... bump... turn... push... drift... bump... turn...
push... drift... bump... turn... push... drift... bump... turn...
push... drift... bump... turn... push... drift... bump... turn...
push... drift... bump... flap... lift... splat... waddle... waddle...
nibble... nibble... turn... waddle... waddle.... flap... lift... spash...
hear... look... watch... wait... fear... push.. push... plop... push... push... plop... splash...
push... drift... bump... turn... push... drift... bump... turn...
push... drift... bump... turn... push... drift... bump... turn...
push... drift... bump... turn... push... drift... bump... turn...
push... drift... bump... flap... lift... splat... waddle... waddle...
nibble... nibble... turn... waddle... waddle.... flap... lift... spash...
For the little gray goose, this was all there was to life...
push against the side of the tub... drift to the other side...
bump into the side of the tub... turn around...
push against the side of the tub... drift to the other side...
bump into the side of the tub... turn around...
push against the side of the tub... drift to the other side...
bump into the side of the tub... flap her wings...
lift into the air over the side of the tub... land splat on the table top...
waddle across the table... nibble at the food in the bowl... waddle back to the tub...
flap her wings... lift over the side... splash into the water...
push off against the side of the tub... drift to the other side...
bump into the side of the tub... turn around... push off...
hear footsteps coming... look to the door... watch the handle turning...
wait for the giant to approach... fear his grip as he lifts her high...
push.. push... plop... out comes the golden egg...
push... push... plop... out comes another golden egg...
he drops her back in the tub... splash...
push... drift... bump... turn... push... drift... bump... turn...
push... drift... bump... turn... push... drift... bump... turn...
push... drift... bump... turn... push... drift... bump... turn...
such was her life until the thief came in the night...
Adventures in fiction... | By Spiderlillies | 12:49 PM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2009
sometimes...
sometimes it seems like I use up all my creativity thinking about what I want to write when I get a chance to sit in front of my computer and write it... and then when I'm here... it disappears... sigh...
| By Spiderlillies | 7:26 PM | Comments (0)
April 29, 2009
about Mother's Day...
I was saying... about Mother's Day... do something... just do something...
Don't let it be just another day... make it special and wonderful and full of love and memories...
Don't let not having money stop you... give your time and your heart... be creative... fix her breakfast... cinnamon rolls and a glass of milk shared out on the front porch will do... a canning jar full of wildflowers from the patch out near the road... draw her a picture... paint her a rock to use as a paperweight...
Write her a poem... write her a letter and tell her all the ways you love her and all the things that, now you think of it, you learned from her, tell her thank you for the years of love and sacrifice... make sure she knows that she knows that she knows that you appreciate her and love her... do the dishes... wash her car... just do SOMETHING that makes this day different from every other day... that makes her feel special and loved and worthy of having a day set aside just for her... Mother's Day...
Take her to church so she can feel proud in front of everybody because her son is there with her...or her daughter... (and she will... watch the smile on her face and see if I'm not right)... share a hymnal with her and put your arm around her and kiss her on the cheek right there in front of God and everybody... let her introduce you to the preacher, and just listen to the love and joy in her voice... it'll be there... remember when God said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."... He's proud of His Son... your mom is proud of you, too...
Even if you can't be together for the day... and many of us can't... you can still pray for her, call her, write her, let her know she's in your heart, your thoughts, your prayers...
Because we're not promised tomorrow... we're not...
Come next year this time, she may not be here... and even if you get on each other's nerves sometimes now, you'll miss her... and you'll look back on Mother's Days of the past with either thoughts of "I'm so glad we... " or "I wish I'd......
Or come next year this time, you may not be here, and there won't be you to wish her a Happy Mother's Day...
Our yesterdays are today's memories...
Our todays will be tomorrow's memories...
They're happening and they're building whether we set out to shape them or not... don't let life just happen to you...you've got lots more choices than you think... live it... do it... shape some memories that will bring joy in the tomorrows...
And you know... if she's already gone... then do something anyway... in her memory... for love of her... and laugh a little... and cry a little... and remember the good times...
P.S. The same holds true for Father's Day... or birthdays... or anniversaries... make them special... make them count... make memories...
for love of others... | By Spiderlillies | 2:55 AM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2009
I wonder...
It's a wondrous thing to me that no matter how far we fall, no matter what we say or do, He loves us still, forgives us always.
Our only real joy lies in focusing on who we are in Him, on being who He wants us to be... happiness founded on anything else is fleeting...the seasons pass... bodies age... people leave... the new wears off things... money slips through our fingers... no... the real joy, the inner peace, the true happiness comes in being right with Him... sadly, we don't experience it often enough because we're too busy trying to make ourselves happy with this, that or the other... like Peter, we take our eyes off Him and start looking at the wind and waves...
I'm reminded of a true story about a missionary who went to China when she was little more than a teenager, back in the 1800s, and stayed there her whole life. She came back to America when she was an old woman in her 90's. A reporter meeting her ship asked her if she had ever regretted all she left behind, the opportunities, being married, having children. She answered that she didn't really think about it for a long time, not until she was in her 30s and a missionary couple from England came to China to serve for a while in the same area she was in. She watched them together, with their children, and a longing was born in her for a husband and children of her own, and she prayed for it ever afterwards, but none came. The reporter asked her if she was angry at God about that, about His not answering her prayer, and she said, with light in her eyes and joy in her voice, "Oh, no. God answered my prayers. He found someone for me and called him to go to the mission field in China, but he was afraid and he didn't come."
I think of that story often and wonder how that man felt when he got to heaven and "saw" all the blessings he missed for not going to China when God called him... and I wonder how many blessings I've missed because I wasn't listening when God was trying to tell me something, or I was afraid to do something I knew He wanted me to do, or was just too lazy or didn't want to be inconvenienced by doing something I knew He wanted me to do.
I wonder...
One thought leads to another... | By Spiderlillies | 12:37 PM | Comments (2)