I was just thinking the other day about all the reasons I love spring. Beautiful blue skies. Warm, but not too hot, temperatures. Flowers. Sunshine. All the shades of green as the trees get their new leaves.
Now fast forward from those thoughts to this morning. The sky is gray. The wind is howling. The current wind chill is a single digit number just barely above zero. It's snowing!
On Saturday, as I was packing away winter clothes and getting summer clothes out of their bins and back into the closet, it occurred to me that maybe I was rushing things a bit. But I convinced myself that spring was here to stay and I carried on with that task. Big mistake! Now I need to go dig out a sweater or a sweatshirt!
In spite of it all, I do love spring. Growing up in South Carolina, I always considered spring my favorite season.......dogwoods, azaleas, all the beautiful flowers and plants of spring.....how could I have had any other opinion? Well, there was the pollen. But that was just part of the deal.
Then we moved to places with completely different climates. Like Colorado. And Connecticut. And Minnesota. And I soon discovered that spring can be quite unpredictable. And quite cold. And I'm being reminded of that this morning as we are experiencing a quite un-springlike morning. BRRRR!!!!
In spite of this crazy weather, I do love spring. I love watching the plants and trees come back to life. I love looking down across the valley below us and watching the "green line" gradually make its way up to us. I love seeing all the different shades of green that represent so many varieties of trees and shrubs. I've come to understand that spring comes slowly to this mountaintop.
And I love spring because it's a time of new life. Because in spring we celebrate Easter, as we did just a few weeks ago. Resurrection Sunday! The ultimate expression of new life. And so today, I choose to think about that......and not about the snow I see falling outside my window!
"And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and the life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:11-12 ESV)
Monday, April 23, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Every Careless Word
I've been reading in the Gospel of Matthew lately. This is part of what I read this morning......"Every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment." That's Jesus speaking. Every careless word. Oh my. Every careless word. Not some careless words. Not just the words I meant to say. But every careless word. Including the ones that just slipped out of my mouth. The ones that caused me then to say...."did I really just say that??!!"
And as I have been thinking about that verse, I wonder how many careless words I have spoken already today.
Or how many careless words have I spoken this week?
Or this month?
And I realize that I can't even begin to keep up! How sad that is.....
Every careless word.......that's a lot of words......and that's something to think about.
Maybe that's one of the reasons we were made with two ears and only one mouth!
"But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36 NASB)
And as I have been thinking about that verse, I wonder how many careless words I have spoken already today.
Or how many careless words have I spoken this week?
Or this month?
And I realize that I can't even begin to keep up! How sad that is.....
Every careless word.......that's a lot of words......and that's something to think about.
Maybe that's one of the reasons we were made with two ears and only one mouth!
"But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36 NASB)
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Incredible Journey
A couple of weeks have passed since my last post......not because I deliberately decided not to post. But sometimes life gets a little busy and the calendar gets a little cluttered and things just don't get done. As I look back on the last couple of weeks, I'm not really sure why it feels that I've been so busy - because I'm not sure that I have been - but somehow it feels that way. Going in circles can have that effect, can't it? But it's all part of the journey, my incredible journey.
Back when I first began my Mary Kay career and attended my first of the Company's annual seminars, the theme of Seminar that year was "Incredible Journey". I still have a well-worn t-shirt with that Seminar's logo on it. As I pulled that t-shirt out a couple of days ago to wear while exercising, I began to focus on those two words......incredible journey. Before you tune me out, this is not a post about exercise (which I loathe!) or about Mary Kay (which I love!). Rather, it's about those two words.....incredible journey.....as a metaphor for my life.
Life is a journey, isn't it? And we never actually arrive at our destination, at least not in this life! There's always "one more mountain to climb, one more river to cross," as the song says. And all the events along the way, from birth to the time when we leave this life, are part of our journey.
My journey has been incredible! It isn't my intention to use this post as an autobiography, to give you a listing of all my life's events - the wonderful things that have happened along the way, as well as the not so wonderful - but rather to give you my perspective on life as well as to perhaps cause you to pause and ponder your own journey.
I had a wonderful childhood. I had amazing parents. I have the best husband ever! I could go on and on about the blessings of my life.
Like any journey, my life has had moments of beautiful scenery. Mountaintop experiences with amazing views. Overwhelming moments of joy. And along the way, there have been potholes. Ruts in the road. Times in the valley. (And that's a good thing......how can we fully appreciate the mountaintop if we've never been in the valley???).
If you have ever been on a road trip through some of the western states, or perhaps in the deserts of Africa, you can appreciate that sometimes the journey is a bit monotonous......it all looks the same! And life is like that sometimes.....a bit monotonous, just going through the motions. But then.....over the next hill or around the next curve is something amazing that you could never have anticipated!
My life has been like that. And yours as well, I would venture to say, if you would stop a moment to think about it. And so that's my challenge to you today. Take your eyes off your immediate circumstances and look at the big picture. Let's keep remembering that all the events of our lives are part of the journey......
And today, whether you are on the mountaintop, or in the valley, or on a detour, or in a rut......keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and enjoy the journey!
"......let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus......" (Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB)
Back when I first began my Mary Kay career and attended my first of the Company's annual seminars, the theme of Seminar that year was "Incredible Journey". I still have a well-worn t-shirt with that Seminar's logo on it. As I pulled that t-shirt out a couple of days ago to wear while exercising, I began to focus on those two words......incredible journey. Before you tune me out, this is not a post about exercise (which I loathe!) or about Mary Kay (which I love!). Rather, it's about those two words.....incredible journey.....as a metaphor for my life.
Life is a journey, isn't it? And we never actually arrive at our destination, at least not in this life! There's always "one more mountain to climb, one more river to cross," as the song says. And all the events along the way, from birth to the time when we leave this life, are part of our journey.
My journey has been incredible! It isn't my intention to use this post as an autobiography, to give you a listing of all my life's events - the wonderful things that have happened along the way, as well as the not so wonderful - but rather to give you my perspective on life as well as to perhaps cause you to pause and ponder your own journey.
I had a wonderful childhood. I had amazing parents. I have the best husband ever! I could go on and on about the blessings of my life.
Like any journey, my life has had moments of beautiful scenery. Mountaintop experiences with amazing views. Overwhelming moments of joy. And along the way, there have been potholes. Ruts in the road. Times in the valley. (And that's a good thing......how can we fully appreciate the mountaintop if we've never been in the valley???).
If you have ever been on a road trip through some of the western states, or perhaps in the deserts of Africa, you can appreciate that sometimes the journey is a bit monotonous......it all looks the same! And life is like that sometimes.....a bit monotonous, just going through the motions. But then.....over the next hill or around the next curve is something amazing that you could never have anticipated!
My life has been like that. And yours as well, I would venture to say, if you would stop a moment to think about it. And so that's my challenge to you today. Take your eyes off your immediate circumstances and look at the big picture. Let's keep remembering that all the events of our lives are part of the journey......
And today, whether you are on the mountaintop, or in the valley, or on a detour, or in a rut......keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and enjoy the journey!
"......let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus......" (Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB)
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