Happy Memorial Day

I just want to wish each of you,whether military or not,a blessed and happy Memorial Day!But I especially want to wish those who serve our country in any capacity and their families a most blessed Memorial Day.I do not come from a military family but I truly do appreciate those who fight for our freedoms here and abroad.Whether on the front lines or behind a desk somewhere I appreciate you and I salute you.Thank you.And I thank each of your families too for surrendering their hold on you.For allowing or even encouraging you,whether male or female to wage war for our freedoms and so that others around the world may one day enjoy the same freedoms we so often take for granted.Thank you.May God bless each of you this day and beyond and may God continue to bless America.
With Much Love~Sharon

Jars of Clay

A new week has begun.7 more days.Full of the unknown at this point.As I read my Bible this morning it felt dry to me.Like a dry,barren desert.Void of water.Void of life.As I prayed for friends and family needing healing I prayed that healing would come so that they may better reflect His glory;better serve Him.God spoke"My glory is best reflected in those who still serve Me,love Me in spite of their affliction.Wow!Sometimes He is glorified better through obviously flawed people?He is better praised through the less than beautiful vessels(world's standards of beauty anyhow)?Yes!This makes me think of pottery that is unglazed.Pottery that is not quite symmetrical.Imperfect physically.But somehow still beautiful.Still able to be used.Still reflecting His glory.And still able to carry the treasure that is His presence within these earthen vessels.What a blessing that is.What hope that offers all of us really.That He can still use us in spite of our flaws,imperfections and failures as humans.Glory to His name!

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us."II Corinthians 4:7(NIV)

Photo courtesy of www.freestockphotos.com

Light

There are two ways of spreading light:to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

~Edith Wharton~

Here's another way to put it:You're here to be light,bringing out the God-colors in the world.God is not a secret to be kept.We're going public with this,as public as a city on a hill.If I make you light-bearers,you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket,do you?I'm putting you on a light stand.Now that I've put you there on a hilltop,on a light stand-shine!Keep open house;be generous with your lives.By opening up to others,you'll prompt people to open up with God,this generous Father in heaven.

~Matthew 5:14-16(TM)~

Father,make us shine brightly for you in this very dark world.Amen.

Photo courtesy of www.freestockfotos.com

Valley of Shadows

I recieved some news today that has left me stunned.Shocked and saddened.A Christian friend of mine has just been informed by her doctors that she has only a few months left to live.Colon cancer is slowly attempting to take her life.It appears she may have had it for awhile now.Unaware except for some occasional stomach cramps.She and her husband had recently gone with his mother on a trip to Alabama from New Jersey where they live.When they returned my friend(also named Sharon)was extremely fatigued.Not feeling well at all.Doctors found a rather large tumor on the left side of her transverse colon.That would explain so much of what she's been feeling.She's stunned and afraid.She does'nt want to leave her husband behind.I understand that feeling.So please keep my friend Sharon and her husband in your prayers.I still believe God can heal her.I will continue to pray for that.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil,for you are with me,your rod and your staff,they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4(NIV)

A Gorgeous Day

When I awoke this morning I knew it was going to be a beautiful day!This picture reflects almost perfectly the kind of sky I saw as dawn slowly crept into town on silent cat paws.Just a few miles from here are lakes and mountains that very much resemble this.As I write this it is many hours later.And still lovely out.Sunny.Warm.Breezy.The kind of weather I have been eagerly anticipating for awhile now.This spring has been very gray.Damp.It gets like that in Oregon.But eventually the leaden skies give way to sunshine and blue.We hung a windchime from our apartment building today.It is a mosaic of glass pieces that form a bluebird in flight.I found it ages ago at a garage sale.It is lovely.I cannot wait for the sun to slowly wind it's way around the building to cast it's lovely glow on my chimes.It's beauty will be complete then.We have also planted some flowers in pots by our front door.Lavender pansies in one and mixed Dianthus in another.They are simply lovely.I jst love spring.We also hung bird feeders yesterday.Two of them.From a shepherd's hook.I asked my Heavenly Father to bring some birds to the feeders.He graciously answered my request.I was beckoned to my living room this morning by my husband Steve."Birds"he quietly said.I peered out the window to see house finches and sparrows eagerly eating the seed we had provided.They were so lovely I just kept saying"thank you Jesus."That is until our cat Shadow ran into the living room on lightning quick legs and scared them off by jumping into the window!They know there is provision here now and I think they'll be back.As I type this a neighbor is out mowing their lawn.It may be his first mowing since last summer.The scent of freshly mowed grass is intoxicating.Yep,it's a gorgeous day.God is good!

Blessings,Sharon

Guilty By Association

Steve and I watched a movie this afternoon that he had recorded at about 2 am this morning.It was called"Guilty By Association."I don't actually recall who starred in it or how old the movie was but it was a really good movie.It was about a woman sentenced to 20 years in prison simply for knowing a man who used and sold pot.It was wholly or partially based on actual events.I have never done drugs of any kind or been to prison(or jail even for that matter).But as I watched this movie I saw it as more than just a movie about the need for laws regarding this kind of stuff to be changed.I saw it as something that glaringly showed the importance of choosing your friends and associates wisely.This woman(a mother of two) did prison time for someone else's crime simply because she knew and associated with this guy and his druggie friends.When it came down to it his "friends" basically implicated her in order for them to get reduced sentences.She ended up getting the longest sentence out of all of them(though I think she only did time for about 8 years due to a law former President Clenton passed as I recall)simply because her boyfriend's"friends"essentially turned on her.These were not true friends on any level.True friends,in my opinion enecourage you to live godly lives.They pray for you.They are"there"for you come what may.True friends point you to Jesus.They urge you to live for Him.I have been blessed in my 45 years on this earth to have such friends from my youth to the present.I can recall many godly friends in my teen years whom I still remember today.Their godly influence has helped shape the person I have become.Not perfect.But not on drugs or in prison either.:-)These types of friends have prayed for me.Talked with me when I had questions.Reminded me that living for Jesus is what matters.That following His example of friendship is of the utmost importance.That godly friends are rare gifts to be treasured.They also reminded me of Jesus"example in John 15:13"Greater love has no man than this,that he lay down his life for his friends."Friends,they can be a blessing,or a curse.Choose your friends wisely.

Blessings,Sharon