Good Monday Morning! I hope this day finds you doing well and that you've had a restful, peaceful weekend. Ours was mostly restful, except for the time spent trying to mow the yard and the mower wasn't cooperating and it was really hot and muggy outside and we spent the rest of the day in the house cooling down and recuperating...one of the prices we pay for getting older...nothing seems to be done easily anymore, but we are thankful we can still at least try! LOL.
Here are some interesting photos from the past few days that got my attention:
Sunday morning was beautiful...these were the skies as the sun was rising on Pentecost Sunday...the day set apart to remember the day The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in Acts chapter 2.
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its going down
The Lord’s name is to be praised.
4 The Lord is high above all nations,
His glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
Who dwells on high,
6 Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?
He thinks he's safe inside that birdhouse...and he is, until the bluebirds come back and want to start building another nest. I've noticed that they don't mess with him...he knows when it's time to go and so he just moves out until they are finished with the house and then he moves back in. He's safe from larger predators and he can stay safe and cozy in there. (Yes, I know this particular species is invasive but they are here and they have found a safe haven, and we actually enjoy watching their antics around our house and porch. And they eat bugs, so that's fine with me!)
Sometimes we need to find a shelter in the time of the storms of our lives...a place where we feel safe and well hidden from the enemies surrounding us. King David wrote about that same thought, and realized that God is our only true "hiding place" where we will be preserved from trouble and harm.
Psalm 32:7 NKJV
7 You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
You may know this song and want to sing along:
"You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With songs of deliverance
Whenever I am afraid
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
Let the weak say I am strong
In the strength of the Lord"
Moving along to other interesting things we've been seeing...I've noticed this tall plant growing along side the road on the way to where we go take our daily walks:
"The common name "century plant" stems from its semelparous nature of flowering only once at the end of its long life. After flowering, the plant dies but produces adventitious shoots from the base, allowing its growth to continue.[8] Although it is called the century plant, it typically lives only 10 to 30 years. It has a spread around 1.8–3.0 m (6–10 ft) with gray-green leaves measuring 0.9–1.5 m (3–5 ft) in length, each with a prickly margin and a heavy spike at the tip that can pierce deeply. Towards the end of its life, the plant produces a tall, branched stalk adorned with yellow blossoms, which can reach a height of 8–9 m (25–30 ft)"
I had to go back today and take more pictures to see if there were indeed any blossoms on the top of the stalk, since they aren't easy to see in that picture above.
Here's what I found:
Yes! There are blossoms opening up on the top!
You can see it is just starting to bloom.
Now, here's what's interesting about this plant. It actually has been discarded from someone's yard, thrown along the road along with the trash as you can see in the picture below.
It was thrown there and left to die...but the amazing thing is, in its dying form it is showing its true beauty.
Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV
"1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor."
"to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair."
What a beautiful picture of hope and praise in the midst of despair...a display of beauty instead of ashes, and joy instead of mourning!
Maybe there is a lesson for us there...even when we are in the declining years of our lives, may we continue to bloom and display the beauty of Christ living in us. Perhaps we should not allow our difficult circumstances in life to define us, but to refine us and help us give off a "sweet savor" of God's grace and peace.
The New King James Version of 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 says:
"14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing"
I will be checking on it regularly to see its progress as the blossoms open up more.
