To Encourage You

Reasons to fear abound today.The economy appears to be on a slippery slope with no end in sight.Prices on things keep going up.Crime is increasing.People are wondering how they're going to make it each month.They wonder if there will be anything left when they reach retirement age.As children of God we need not fear.For we have a God who loves us.A good God who delights in providing for all His children need.Notice I said "need"and not want.While there may be some adjustments on our parts in these financially scary times we have God's promises in His word to provide for all we need.It may not be what we always want and that's where we may have to adjust.But He will provide our needs.I trust these verses that follow will encourage you to place your faith in Him and His promise to provide:

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
I Peter 5:7

And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

Do not be anxious about anything,but in everything,by prayer and petition,with thanksgiving,present your requests to God.And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Blessings~Sharon

What I've Been Pondering

Vermilion Meadow
by
Robert Striffolino

"Do not judge and you will not be judged.Do not condemn and you will not be condemned.Forgive and you will be forgiven.Give and will be given to you.A good measure,pressed down,shaken together and running over,will be poured into your lap.For with the measure you use,it will be measured to you."
Luke 6:37&38 NIV
(cf.Matthew 7:1-5)

God has had me meditating on these verses for a couple of days now.I am sure,without a doubt,that there is a lesson in it for me to learn and live by.Jesus speaks very clearly here...If we want forgiveness we must forgive others.Do not judge others or we too shall be judged.Do not condemn others or we too shall be condemned.I have,at times,and more often than I care to admit,come across to others as judgmental and condemning.Sometimes the person involved told me that.Other times I was disciplined by God Himself on it.Having a strong sense of what's right and wrong can make a person come across that way.But I am learning that often times God wants me to be silent.To pray instead of preach.For me I must listen closely for that still small voice of His Holy Spirit.I must forgive when He says to forgive.I must not judge another.That is God's job.I must not condemn another for as long as there is life in that person there is hope that they can change and become the person God created them to be.To live in this way I must daily ask Him for mercy,compassion and forgiveness.It is then that I can offer it to another.

He then goes on to say give and it shall be given.Now I don't think He is saying we are to give so we can get.I think what He is saying that if we give we will get.Now it may not be in this life on earth.Or it may not be in the way we thought.But we will receive back in one form or another.I know for me often the gift I receive from giving is simply knowing I have listened to God and helped meet a need that was expressed in some form.We live in a world that is the opposite.Greed abounds.If giving is done it is done with mixed or impure motives.But God sees and knows our very hearts and why we do something.And I don't think He delights in impurity of motives anymore than impure behavior.He digs deep,this God we serve and love.He goes on to say that when the giving comes back to us it will be abundant.Pressed together.Good measure.Not paltry.Pressed down.This reminds me of when I bake cookies for our granddaughter Hope.The recipe always calls for firmly packed brown sugar.I add some to the measuring cup and tamp it down.I add more and press down more.It has to be firmly packed and has to be the right amount.So I keep adding and tamping until I have the right amount.This is what I see this verse as saying.That God will give to us a good measure,firmly packed.Running over.What a giving God we serve.What a mighty God we love.It takes faith.It takes hope and it takes commitment to Him.But we can do all things,ALL THINGS through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Blessings~Sharon

Oops!

Woodland Garden in Autumn,
October,Westonbirt Arboretum

Vanity will get me in trouble every time.Big grin here.In my attempt to beautify my blog the other day I somehow deleted my post titled"Adrift."It is gone.Completely gone.Vanished like an Autumn mist taking flight in the face of a warming sun.All I had attempted to do was add a signature from My Live Signature to the post.It placed itself at the beginning of the post and not where I had wanted it or placed it even.My attempt at fixing this error is what caused the error of the now gone post.Ah well,such things happen sometimes.It's been awhile since my last post.I have been busy here with various errands and watching Hope and living this life God has granted.Yesterday we helped my sister in law stack firewood.I used to think I wanted a wood stove or fireplace if we ever were able to buy a home.Not anymore.Stacking wood changed my opinion greatly.Reality will do that to a person.Even bigger grin.We all used muscles I'm sure our middle aged bodies did not know it had.Give me electric heat or a gas fireplace any day.:-)That's all I have for this evening.I hope your evening is blessed dear readers.
Love~Sharon