Beauty All Around

I was up and driving towards Walnut Creek very early yesterday morning.  As I gazed towards Mt Diablo, it was beautiful in the morning light set against a cloudless sky.  By contrast to the right of the freeway, the clouds of low fog hung on the coast hills.  I was struck by what a beautiful area we live in and how often we take the beauty around us for granted.   I struggle with those who would say, “How do you know God exists?”  His very creation speaks to his grandeur and the perfection of his designs.   Romans 1:30 says, ” For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”  
As summer draws to a close, I thought it would be good to think about all the wonders we have seen this spring and summer.  You have been experiencing God’s creation all around you as you are out with the kids at soccer or swim practice, camping or walking on the beach.  You may not have traveled away from your home but you may have seen a smile on your child’s face, looked at your flower or vegetable gardens or walked your neighborhood with your dog.  Being thankful and praising God for his creation is to be part our worship and shows our appreciation for all he has given us.
As summer ends, let’s take some time to reflect on God’s greatness and what He has given us in his creation.  What wonders did you see or experience this summer?  Just click to add a comment, and put in the name of the place where you were touched by God’s greatness.  I’ll go first, since this was my idea!!  Besides Mt Diablo this morning, I went to Point Reyes for the first time this summer.  I was awestruck by the expanse of beach that stretched out below the cliff and seemed untouched by the world.  It was beautiful.  On the home front, I was delighted by the smiles on my grandson, Riley’s, face when he made $14 at his lemonade stand last week’s garage!  Both scenes caused me to gasp and thank God for his creation and his created ones.
I love hearing from you, my readers, and I am so encouraged by your comments.   If you have not clicked to follow my blog regularly, I would encourage you to do so.  You simply click and put in your email address, and then any blogs I publish will be sent directly to your email.   It does not cost anything and is simply a convenience to you so you won’t miss any of my blogs!
Blessings,
Linda

Help! Reorganizing?

Well, this summer I promised myself that I would have a garage sale to clear out all the build up of "things" that I  never seem to use.  I do this periodically and it feels really good, besides I always wonder, where did all that 'stuff' come from?  To get ready for a garage sale, you have to go through the closets and drawers in the house to see if there are things you are storing that are no longer being used,  This takes time, thought and a great deal of effort.  My daughter and I are doing this now as we made some changes in the house that required moving furniture, cleaning and waxing floors, vacuuming the walls and sorting through our possessions.  Even though this is a lot of work, I am greatly rewarded when I look at what has been accomplished and how clean things look.  I am reminded of 1Corinthinans 14:33 that says, "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace".  There is a peace that comes from ridding yourself of chaos and reestablishing order in your things and in your life.
How do we do this spiritually?  To reorder, prioritize and reestablish godly calm, we need to turn to God in prayer and repent.  "Clean house" so to speak of those things that are getting in your way of standing firm with the Lord and seeking Him each day. Acts 3:19 says,"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord".  King David wrote in Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (NIV)  God promises renewing, cleansing and refreshing if we will turn to him.  God knows we need to do this often to keep order and closeness in our walk with him.  He knows that this will lead to peace.  My question is, why do we fight this so much?  Just like my house cleaning, polishing and organizing, it takes work to keep walking with the Lord day by day.  The work on our part is having faith and intent to be with God and have his focus during our day, but He is the one that accomplished this for us through His spirit. I know there will be Big blessings for me if I can keep my heart and mind focused on Him. Isaiah 26: 3-4 puts it this way, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.  Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. (NIV)
I pray that you will be able to spend some time cleaning both physically and spiritually as our summer comes to a close.  May God bring order and peace to your life today.
Blessings,
Linda

P.S. Our garage sale is today and, though I am exhausted, there is a sense of peace and accomplishment

Have you had a God sighting?

We recently finished Day Camp at my church.  In the ‘old days’ it was called Vacation Bible School or VBS for short.  Kids and adults gathered to learn about Jesus each morning, share fun experiences, bond with their leaders and learn some rousing songs.  It is always a fun time that is a spiritual high for the summer.  During the gathering time each day, our directors would ask us if we had had any “God sightings”.  Now this was a new term to me, and it meant had we seen God at work in any area of our lives that morning or during the previous day.  I think what they wanted each of us to realize it that God is always with us and watching out for us. Being loved and valued by our creator is a powerful thing as it gives us value and worth.  Why do we struggle so much with self-esteem?  Many have not yet discovered their worth in God’s eyes.

Back to God sightings, when was the last time you had a God sighting?  This could be as small as a soft kind word, a helping hand, a smile from child or God’s provision of housing, a car, a loved one being healed or a friend coming to know Jesus as savior.  The more I read and study God’s word, I am convinced that there are no coincidences with God.  He is intentional and brings things into our lives to bless us and remind us of his presence.  When I have a near miss in traffic, when I get an unexpected check in the mail, when a friend thanks me for something I’ve done, when God gives me ideas for this blog, those are God’s reminders to me that He loves me and is watching over me.

I pray that today God will open your eyes to see Him in a  new way and that you will be blessed with some God sightings!  I would love for you to share your sightings with me.
Blessings,
Linda