When Winter Comes

The early morning sunshine beckons.  I reach for my heavy sweater and scarf.  Outside in the brisk air, I breathe in the fragrance of autumn and head toward the woods behind our house.  As I advance deeper into the woods, the stillness of morning is complete.  The occasional whisper of rustling leaves is the only sound.  The almost bare trees raise their branches in supplication, as a flock of geese flies south without a herald of warning.  The world seems to be suspended in time and holding its breath in anticipation.  I find a fallen tree and sit down to rest.  I begin to contemplate the changing seasons, and how they correlate to God's love for us.  Matthew 24: 32-33 Jesus uses a parable about the seasons to let us know the signs to look for when his coming is near.  He has rule over everything in our lives.  If we have faith in his love and trust him, he guides us through all the seasons of life--he protects us in our innocence,  he gives us strength during our productive years, he prepares us to persevere during middle age and gives us hope in later years.  Unlike the seasons, God's love is constant and unchanging.

Genesis 8:22 ESV 

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Also read: 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22  

Matthew 24: 32-33 

Psalm 1: 3 

Daniel 2: 21

Prayer:  Merciful Father,  we hold our arms up in supplication and pray that we learn to trust in your never-changing love.  Amen

Published in Penned from the Heart 2015

The Weakest Link (A Prayer for Strength)

 

In the stillness of morning,

I wait in churning anxiety.

I pray The Lord will open

the shutters to my heart and still

it's frantic beating.

Oh, that I could be stronger

and wait patiently for God's

answers to prayer.  I pray

to be mired, so deeply, in trust

with him that all doubt is

extirpated.

Condition the channels

of my thinking, oh Lord,

and let me rest on the wings

of peace that you have promised.

Condition my soul to place hope

in you and discard the things

of earth.

Teach me through trust and hope

to wait for your divine guidance.

Give me strength as we forge

an everlasting chain of faith--

a chain as strong as its weakest

link--please God, forgive my

human frailties

Time Keeps Ticking

 Thought for the Day

“Are you still diligently living for God and serving Him, even in these last days? Now is not the time to ease up, but to charge forward and continue living for the Lord.” ~ Paul Chappell 

Verse for Today:  Romans 12:10-11(KJV) Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, and serve the Lord.

I was contemplating old age recently, and came to the conclusion that it is a matter of personal choice to grow "old."  Of course, time keeps ticking, and we don't feel as good as we used to, we don't look as good as we used to, and we don't have as much energy.  What if Moses had given up, and found a rocking chair to while away the hours?  Instead, at the age of eighty, he brought the Israelites out of Egypt, and for forty years led them through the wilderness.  Moses lived one hundred twenty years and served God relentlessly up to the very end.  He trusted God to give him the health and zeal that was needed to accomplish the task that God required of him.  That same trust and zeal is available to all of us if we have faith and continue living actively for Christ.  Isaiah 40:31 tells us that we will run and not grow weary; we will walk and not be faint.  It is essential to understand that no matter what age we are we never lose our need to be still, listen and search our hearts and minds to determine how we can best serve the Lord.

 Prayer:  Father Abba, give us spirit and zeal to carry out the plans you have for us, so that we can serve You and one another.  My prayers are offered in Jesus' holy name, amen.