Do Not Worry

Signs of spring!

This morning I read Matthew 6. Verses 25-34 are a powerful reminder that WORRY = faith in the enemy!

...Do not worry about your life, what you eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin...

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you ...

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

It's natural to worry (even though we say we don't!) because we're sinful beings. But Jesus wants us to remember that it's also sinful to lie awake or obsess about things over which we have no control. I'm guilty of that! Are you?

Thank God for the forgiveness He gives through Jesus, and for His promises of His constant presence (James 4:8), agape love (John 3:16), and His supplying of our needs (Matthew 7:7-8)!

Let's give our worries to our loving Lord. He is all-knowing and all-powerful. God wants only the best for His children. Let's walk hand in hand with Him today in trust.

Peace and joy in Jesus--

I Lift These Hands

I lift these hands, dear God, to You, in praise and thanks for all You do.
You light my path through all my days and bless me with Your loving ways.

I lift these hands, dear God, to You, in troubled hours when joys are few.
You bear me up on eagle's wings and see me through each test life brings.

I lift these hands, dear God, to You, please grant me health and healing too.
Then fill my heart with love and caring, precious gifts You've made for sharing. Amen.

[From Wheat Ridge Ministries, Itasca, IL http://www.wheatridge.org/]

All You Need Is Love

Happy Valentine's Day! (Click to read the history of Valentine's Day.)

Flowers, chocolates, romantic dinners, diamonds! Bring them on! (My fave is just cuddling and taking a good walk together for some quiet talk time.)

But when we really think about this love thing, the simple focus is on the action word--the verb--LOVE. And it all began with our heavenly Father's action for us when He sent Jesus to be our Savior and Friend.

God's Word is filled with passages of love for our needing ears, hearts, and minds. Here are just a few of my favorites:

The Gospel in a nutshell: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

God is love ... We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:16,19

Love is patient, love is kind ... love rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres ... these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:4,7,13

My prayer is that you experience God's love and joy in Jesus in your life!

Love is in action as I write...my DH is busy making heart-shaped pancakes. YUM.

Sights & Sounds of Christmas

Christmas Eve sky & sunset from our hilltop home

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and ev'rywhere;
Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born!

While shepherds kept their watching o'er silent flocks by night,
Behold, throughout the heavens there shone a holy light.

The shepherds feared and trembled when lo, above the earth
Rang out the angel chorus that hailed our Savior's birth.

Down in a lonely manger the humble Christ was born;
And God sent us salvation that blessed Christmas morn.

(Isaiah 40:9-11; Luke 2:7-20)

Happy birthday, Jesus!

The Reason for This Season

... is Me and You!

What? you ask!

Think about it ... we definitely needed a Savior from sin ever since Adam and Eve first disobeyed God the Father in the Garden of Eden. We know we can't save ourselves, and without Jesus, we're separated from our loving God.

Here's the good news: God kept His promise to them and to all people. "I will send a Savior. He will take away all your sins."

So wouldn't you agree that WE are the reason for this season, because of our heavenly Father's perfect and great love for us?

It's a twist on the usual saying on the cards, buttons, bags, and t-shirts. But this is why we celebrate Jesus' birthday.

This is why we remember His lowly birth, His wooden manger bed, and His eventual wooden cross where He showed His unconditional love for all people.

Say your name in place of "the world" in this Scripture verse, sometimes called The Gospel in a Nutshell: For God so loved (the world) that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Blessed Christmas and Joyous Easter--they go together--all because we needed a Savior and God sent Jesus Christ!

Celebrate Jesus' love and forgiveness each day. God is so good.

Blooms Abound

White blooms on the guacamole hosta

Pink impatiens flowers

A single Rose of Sharon flower

All men (people!) are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord stands forever. 1 Peter 1:24-25

Of all God's creation, I enjoy His flowers and their beauty (next to people and dogs, of course)! And I like to photograph them, frame the art, and create nature-themed cards for special people.

The wet spring and summer have kept the yard and gardens a lush green with huge blooms to enjoy. Here are a few blooms from our garden this week. I thank God for all His creation--especially the blooms and the birds they attract. (I'm still trying to capture hummingbirds in pix.)

I especially thank Him for the living Word--Jesus--whose love and forgiveness is ours forever.