Rain. It Makes Things Grow.

Have you noticed how everything is so luscious green, flowers are blooming, trees are sprouting? This is all because of rain. So, rain is a good thing, right? Sometimes a little rain in the midst of our lives can be a good thing too. As long as we have a teachable Spirit and we grow from it.

The neighborhood I live in has lots of trees. And where there's trees, there's birds. This morning they started singing at 4 am. I have always been fascinated by their different voices blending together as if they were serenading me: a cardinal whistles, a robin chirps, a crow caws, a woodpecker jackhammers.

I distinctly remember one of those loud thunderous summer storms we had on a Saturday morning last year.It had everything: rain, hail, high winds, booming thunder.And as I laid there in bed, amidst all the mixed sounds of commotion flowing through the clouds, I heard the singing of all these same birds that I am hearing today. What God had revealed to me was exactly what I was hearing. Know matter what storms may pass through your life, just keep singing My praises and don't worry.

"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Mth.6:26

Lassie Come Home

When my mom and her sister were kids, their family dog named Lassie(yes, she looked exactly like the t.v. dog!)had disappeared from the yard one day.The dog was so well trained it never would've left on it's own, so they were convinced it was stolen. It was an expensive, popular breed at the time,due to the television show and hence the dog looking like the real Lassie.
The family began their search through the neighborhood, putting up posters on telephone poles, going door to door, all the things you would normally do when looking for a lost pet. In the evenings, during regular family prayer time, they would pray for Lassie's safe return. A few days would pass, then a few weeks, still no sign of their beloved dog. They continued to pray without giving up hope. And when the kids faith did begin to disappear, my grandfather was persistent with them to not give up on God.
Then one day it happened, just like so many episodes of the television show and the movies. The family was sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner, when they heard some scratching noises upon the back screendoor. Sure enough, it was Lassie! The pads of her paws were so scarred the vet claimed she must have traveled for miles for a great length of time to get home.

One of my favorite Bible stories is that of the paralytic man, where we see a demonstration of faith in action. The building Jesus was teaching in was so crowded it was nearly impossible to enter through the doors.There were 4 men so determined to get their friend in there to be healed, they went to the extreme and lowered him through the roof of the building. Their determination to place him at the feet of Jesus was evidence of their faith that he would be healed.

God not only wants to see us put our faith in action, but to see a sheer determination of that faith.

Hold My Hand

it's a two for one day!

I remember when I took some leadership training courses for missions with Teen Mania.
One of our play along activities was linking hand by hand your group as you walked alongside a cliff.(like that was ever really going to happen) What we were learning was how to trust the others in the group you were leading.

When you see rock climbers scaling those gigantic mountains, you never see anyone climbing by themselves, they always have a partner. I have always been intrigued by their set mentality: they need to have complete trust with each other, and if one is in complete danger, they need to be willing to risk it all to save the other. I have seen and read countless numbers of stories where one had to cut the rope in order to save the other. They literally gave their life to save their climbing buddy!

The most important piece to the "Footprints in the Sand" is:

Where you saw only one set of footprints,it was then that I carried you.

God is the most important link we have for scaling those mountains that get in our way. It takes a rock climbers strength of complete trust.

When my brother's one daughter was four, she was falling asleep in her bed one night, holding hands with her big sister, before dozing off she asked,

"If we both fall asleep holding hands, will we have the same dream?"

When we are holding hands with God, our dreams become His dreams. And His deepest desire is to fulfill those dreams that we have. All He ask's of us is to walk a holy life, trusting in Him.

Say So!

A woman in church yesterday passed this one along:

She went in to have cataract surgery for one eye. The doctor told her afterwards to take it easy, you probably won't be able to really see clearly in that eye for a few days. Ha! What do doctors know! As her husband drove her home, she was reading stop signs, speed limit signs, no turn on red signs. She went back for a precautionary checkup a couple days later..the doctor tested her vision for that eye.. it was way more than 20/20!! Isn't God good?

Leaving on a High Note

No, not the George Costanza showmanship scheme of leaving: Make a funny comment in an office meeting, if everyone laughs, exit quickly, then your assured of going out on a high note.This is more about leaving for that great mansion in the sky.

A couple of weeks ago Hall of Fame baseball announcer Harry Kallas passed away. He had been calling games for over 45 years. Harry died in the broadcast booth just a half hour before calling the Phillies game. Harry was 73 years old, loved the game, didn't want to retire. But, I think he went out the way he probably would've wanted to;in the booth, at the ballpark.Unfortunately, we don't have a choice of how or when we leave, only where we leave to.

I was recently on an airplane for the first time in awhile. As the stewardess went through all the precautionary safety procedures,I, like probably so many others, didn't really pay much attention. I was aware of the drill, but didn't care.
There was a time in my life when I was afraid of dying, sure I knew I was going to heaven, but somehow I still had that fear of exiting. Since my extended growth in the Lord,that fear has completely disappeared!

If I had a choice of how I would like to go out, my high note would be just leaving knowing that I exemplified Jesus the best way possible.

One of my favorite days is Memorial Day, where we honor those who served our country in the military. All those men and women, who were lost at battle, they all left on a high note, doing what they were called to do.

I fondly remember a woman who would come into the store every Friday to buy soundracks to sing to in church. She loved to sing about Jesus. Then all of a sudden she stopped coming in. Through a mutual acquaintance I discovered she stopped singing.Why? At a Good Friday service she sang a duet with the music director. After the first verse of the song, the gentleman she was singing with fell over and died right there in front of the whole church. The music director exited for heaven doing what he loved best and was called to do. As for the woman who stopped singing,after a few months and much prayer from many people, she came back into the store and continued on with her passion of singing unto the Lord. My guess is she would probably want to go out the same way her music director did, singing unto the Lord.

So..what's your exit strategy?