God's Gifts of Peace and Blessing

So here it is, Labor Day Weekend, and we really don't have any big plans...no picnics, no bar-b-que, no large gathering of people...seems strange.  But our sons are at home and that is sweet company!  And our new daughter-in-law-to-be will be visiting tomorrow...so that is also a time to celebrate!  Therefore, in honor of this occasion I decided to bake some Dutch Apple pies:

And this afternoon I am also cooking a Boston Butt roast in the crock pot for "barbeque pulled pork" for supper and for sandwiches tomorrow. So I guess we are having a bar-b-que of sorts after all!

When a new person is becoming a part of the family it is an exciting time!  As we get better acquainted with our oldest son's chosen "helpmate", I especially feel more and more blessed to be gaining a "daughter"...another woman to help balance out our mostly male family!  It is thrilling to me to know that this sweet girl not only loves our son, but she also loves to cook, to create beautiful things, and she seems to be very happy to become an active part of our family. We thank the Lord for bringing this beautiful "Rose" into our lives! (That is her name!)

"Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!

For He has done marvelous things;"

Psalm 98:1

Earlier today I spent a little time walking through The Secret Garden.  I haven't spent much time there this summer due to the heat and the mosquitoes that just love to bite me whenever I step outside...but today seems a teeny weeny bit cooler and not quite as humid...so I ventured out to enjoy the beauty of that special place.

Upon entering the garden, I couldn't help but notice that some"one" had been visiting there before me:

One of our resident doves apparently left me a little gift to let me know he had flown by. (That feather is actually more gray than the picture makes it look)

I wonder which one of these it could have been? (There are actually quite a few more than these four doves in our back yard on a regular basis...here they are lined up in the morning waiting for me to bring out the bird feeders!)

I found this feather to be a gift...perhaps a kind of "sign" from the Lord...a sign of His everlasting peace...

The dove was a symbol of peace and God's promise to Noah and his children who were waiting on the Ark for the flood waters to recede so they could return to the earth and begin a new life. 

(Genesis 8:1-14)

This past week we have witnessed the ravaging floods along the coastal cities of Texas and Louisiana. Many lives have been disrupted and thousands of people are waiting for the waters to recede so they can return to their homes and begin a new life.

Perhaps the feather is a symbol of hope...the promise that life will soon be restored for these dear people.  

Tomorrow our President has proclaimed a National Day of Prayer for all those affected by this storm.

It is my prayer that our nation will truly take this opportunity to come together and pray for our country to be restored once again...in every way.

Have a blessed and peaceful Labor Day weekend! 

I know I will be praying for our nation...won't you join me?

A Personal Psalm

"O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

You know my sitting down and my rising up.

you understand my thought afar off.

You comprehend my path and my lying down,

and are acquainted with all my ways.

For there is not a word on my tongue,

but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.

You have hedged me behind and before,

and laid Your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is high, I cannot attain it."

Psalm 139: 1-6

We've been reading through this Psalm in our morning devotions this week. I must say that Psalm 139 has to be one of my most favorite Psalms. Why? Because it is so personal! It tells me just how well my heavenly Father knows me.  If we read further, we realize that there is no place...not in heaven or hell, where God cannot find me or be with me. (verses 7-12). 

 And better yet, verses 13-16 tell me that God actually formed all of my inward parts...He covered me in my mother's womb...like a loving parent tenderly covers a newborn babe...to protect, comfort and give warmth. He covered me...with His love, His kindness, and His mercy.  And He skillfully created my frame in secret...in the "lowest parts of the earth."

Furthermore, God's very "eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed"...and He actually wrote about me in His book...He wrote about my days, my life...who I would become, what I would do, where I would go..."when as yet there were none of them."

When I read these words written so long ago by King David, I can't help but rejoice with him and agree when he writes in verses 17-18:

"How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they would be more in number 

than the sand;

When I awake, I am still with You."

Then King David speaks out his frustrations concerning the wicked people around him in verses 19-22...and I can empathize with his righteous anger as he expresses his anguish over how these "bloodthirsty men" ..."speak against You (God) wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain."  David confesses that he actually "loathes those who rise up against You..."   and he says that he hates "them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies."

I know I often feel this way when I watch the news and see all of the horrible, terrible things that are happening around the world, even in our own nation.  There is so much hatred and wickedness directed against one another...which in effect is a result of man's hatred toward God Himself.  The Bible says in I John 4:20-21~

"If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, 

he is a liar;

for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, 

how can he love God whom he has not seen?

And this commandment we have from Him:

that he who loves God must love his brother also."

And then we come to verses 23-24 in Psalm 139, and it gets personal again.  These verses cause me to turn on the searchlight into my own heart, to be sure that I am not guilty of harboring the same kinds of hatred in my own heart that I see out there in "the world"...

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me, and know my anxieties;

And see if there is any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting."

This past week we have all watched in horror the terrible devastation that is taking place daily along the coastal cities of Texas and now Louisiana.  Many, many people...thousands...have been displaced from their homes due to extreme flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey. My heart is breaking for these people who have no home to return to...and it will take years to recover their houses, communities and land.  But what I also see is a new spirit arising among our people...a spirit of love, of care and support, of people who may have not always agreed with each other before, coming together to lend aid and to truly care for those in such dire need. That is the true way to show that we love God...by loving one another. I pray our nation will continue to show this kind of love in the days ahead.

Lord, I pray today that You would indeed "search me, O God, and know MY heart...and see if there is any wicked way in ME...and lead me in the way everlasting."   And help me to do MY part to show Your love and to help those in great need.  

Amen.