An Encouraging Future

I usually pretty muchdespise getting emails with FWD: in the subject box, but my grandmother sent me one today that just blessed my soul. I thought I'd share it:

Before long we end the year 2010, with all the problems the world is facing, it can be unsettling to the mind. Today, I will share with you ten predictions that are sure to come true next year!

Top 10 Predictions for 2011

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.

2. Prayer will still be the most powerful thing on Earth..

3. The Holy Spirit will still move.

4. God will still honor the praises of His people.

5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

6. There will still be singing of praise to God.

7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.

8. There will still be room at the Cross.

9. Jesus will still love you.

10.Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

Isn't It Great To Remember Who Is Really In Control, and that "the word of the Lord endures forever" ?

Our lives have become so egocentric that we often forget to look past US and past the current problems WE are facing--to see that the King of Kings has control, even in a world that appears more chaotic with each new day. He is and always will be the sovereign power over all creation.

To God be the glory!

Me and My Dog

As the days grow cooler, I find myself thinking back to a Jane Austen novel or little red hearts and white doily-covered cards handed out at a nursing home. We are a long ways off from Valentine's Day yet, but my mind thinks back to romantic things anyway.

I was thinking today (I do that a lot) about why that is, when nothing has triggered these thoughts in the least. I believe I figured it out.

It's the weather's fault.

Cold weather=hot chocolate, a blankie, and a snuggle buddy.
Cold weather=stuck inside, so why not read a good book.
Cold weather=thoughts of gentlemen (something we don't see these days) ripping their coats off to cover the thinly-clad shoulders of the lady they are visiting.
Cold weather makes me think of happy things, like sledding and icicles and frosty grasses and being able to see my breath.

It's all in the temperature, I'm telling ya!

I don't have a man to cover my shoulders with his coat, but I have a dog who likes to sit on them.
I don't have a fella to share a cup of cocoa with, but I have a dog who is more than eager to share my dinner.
I don't have a human cuddle buddy, but let me tell you I have something better--she's a little black and white lhasa apso with more lazy bones in her body than active ones. And she is more than happy to cuddle with me, no matter what I'm doing.
I don't have someone to read stories to me, or listen to me whine, but I have a dog whose eyes say, "everything you say is gold," even if she hasn't a clue what I said.

Stella is a pretty clean pooch, easy clean-up and lots of love.
Cheap, too. She doesn't ask for much--just food and water and a treat every now and then. And maybe a toy.
The benefits package is fabulous.
She loves me no matter if I burn the beans or show my ugly side. Her loyalty surpasses any mortal man.

The Flat Land

On my way to my clinical site on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I pass through a field of flat, brown grasses. It's got a few places where the dirt has been turned up, leaving raw, clay-tinted wounds in the landscape. It's not an image I particularly enjoy.

The rest of my drive out to the great big city of GB is fairly beautiful. From the moment I pull out of my driveway, I find myself in awe of my God's awesome handiwork. The sunrise is just breaking the treeline, birds fly overhead, and the clouds themselves tell the story of the steadfast hand of God Almighty.

It's just that one strip I've always found to be a little less desirable.

But, the past few weeks God has given me an extra-special gift. It's the gift to see that barren land as beauty.

See, the fog hangs over this particular field every morning now that the weather is cooler, just like a white blanket. The road sits high enough above ground that sometimes I can see over the fog cloud, and catch a peek of the breathtaking view of the solid white, fluffy top of the cloud in contrast with the luscious greenery on the edges of the field. It's absolutely amazing. I hope I will remember to take my camera one of these days and snap a picture. One day last week there was no fog and the field was back to its normal, plain flat land shape. As I crested the hill and saw no sign of condensing water molecules, my heart sank.

I've actually started to look forward to this field with its whispy fog--sometimes taking on a cirrus-like form, other times more like stratus layers, and other times the fog bunches up almost "aggressive-like," looking more like cumulus clouds than anything else.

The other day there was no clouds. No fog. No white. Nothing but dead grass and upturned clay-colored dirt. The weather was too warm through the night for fog to form. I drifted  back in mind to how I felt about that stretch of my morning trip for the first month. How much I disliked it 'cause it was ugly. It meant nothing to me, it did nothing for me. It was a dry and barren piece of land, waterless and disgusting.

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. (Psalm 63:1-4)

He is our water. My life is a dry and barren wilderness, full of sin and despair, without His life-giving water. He is the Living Water. He is the spotless, white Lamb whose blood was shed to cover my filthy rags. He covers me with His righteousness, to redeem me from my own sinful nature.

What an amazing visual of Him I see represented before me every single day! I like to think that He pulled back the cloak of clouds the other day to remind me of the bondage I've been delivered from through His mercy and grace.

What do you think? Have you seen any visuals/parallels from scripture in your daily lives lately?

They are everywhere--the fingerprints of our Creator linger on every atom of our world.