Evening Primrose Blooms

"PIP" SMILES IN THE MAKING........

Nothing seemed to make sense.

People were in physical pain that was draining, friends were comforting their own children in struggles that "ought NOT to be" while one friend was burying her grandson and others burying husbands. 

I went to my Prayer Ponderings with "P" scribbles and saw "Purpose in Pain." 

1 Peter 5:10 came to mind. 

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm strengthen, and establish you. 

Suffering "a little while" in God's time can seem l-o-n-g in today's world.

Prayers. Tears. Stomach ache. Discouragement.

So............prayers continue. 

But God......... gave me a moment to smile. Brief but needed. 

A reminder to recognize and sometimes even share moments.

Blooming Evening Primrose Link to Video in next entry if I can't load it here!

May my blooming evening primrose moment give you a timeout from your pain to reflect with praise as you are...

Patient

In

Pain................as you wait to find God's Purpose In Pain uniquely for you!

PUNCTUATIONS OF LIFE!

Is the "old" MLA guide on your bookshelf? Probably not. But it certainly influenced many "seniors," aka old folks, not graduates, back in the day.

These days one can sometimes tell the age of someone by their use of punctation. Not sure of all the alphabet soup of names from age groups, but it's my guess that "Baby Boomers" often use too many commas and "Millennials" rarely use commas or even periods for that matter.

Last Sunday, Pastor Taylor Park stressed the importance of correct punctuation in Scripture.

Sometimes in sharing biblical truth verbally one will add a lilt in his/her voice, as if doubting, wondering or asking a question. Jesus is the son of God? That is a true statement----not a question!

God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him. (1John 4:16)

The commas tell us there is more to say. More to the story/statement.

Note the period. That ends it. Period indicates a full stop.  It's truth declared.

One might even add a relational explanation point to indicate profound truth as it applies to him/her!

Allow God's word to erase the question marks in your faith life and add more periods allowing your life of faith to be filled with the best punctuation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FOREVER..... FRIENDS!

Yesterday's post said "nothing is forever"........ but, there is eternity for sisters in the faith!

Sometimes God in His love and mercy allows them to see each other this side of eternity. 

When we couldn't get to Ukraine in 2022, God brought Ukraine to us! 

a sweet friendship refreshes the soul. (Proverbs 27:9) *

Hallelujah! God be praised!!

*Sweet Friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy, for good friends are like the anointing oil that yields the fragrant incense of God's presence. (Proverbs 27:9, TPT) 

TPT is, the new to me, The Passion Translation. I have included it in the Dancing Script font, a choice which my Ukrainian friends will understand.

FOREVER!

Forever---always, continually, everlasting, interminable, perpetual, on-going...for all time.

Those synonyms for forever are not relatable this side of heaven. Even death and taxes go away after we pass on.....except for believers. We may leave the taxes behind but we enter everlasting life. 

I thought of this when I went out this morning to cut magnolias for my "master gardener" neighbor and one to bring in to grace our kitchen table. They had been beautiful yesterday. 

Today....not so much! they were already beginning to fade and that's putting it mildly.

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God shall stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

God's Word---forever, Forever, FOREVER, FOREVER!!!

A ROYAL REIGN!

Royal Reign. An appropriate BBC title. 

 

Across the ocean it's a weekend of celebration as Queen Elizabeth II is honored with her Platinum Jubilee.

70 years---quite a milestone. Quite an airshow! 

As the royal pomp continues from concerts and street parties, I'm grateful that a service at  St. Paul's was part of the schedule. Part of the reason the monarch has "prospered" has been seen by many as her commitment to her faith. She has emphasized family values of spiritual and moral ideas. 

For me, this has been especially true in her Christmas messages. Most times those pre-recorded televised messages which I saw focused on family both hers personally and the family of man who could respond to the needs of the "lonely, the sick and the elderly"---often children were mentioned and in 1989 she spoke to children at the end of the message. Hope and peace permeated her messages and Christians throughout the world could  recognize Jesus the one who is our Hope and our Peace. At the start of the new millennium, she reflected on the role of faith in communities & 2001 spoke of the importance of faith when drawing strength in troubled  times & comfort she received from her faith during a year of personal loss of her mother (Queen Mother) and sister, Princess Margaret. In 2002 she spoke of reliance during times of loss of "message of hope"  in the Christian gospel. In '04 she sent a separate radio Christmas message to UK troops. More and more through the years she became more personal and more focused on her faith, including references to Jesus' birth, (2007) and leading charitable lives in service to others. In 20015 she encouraged all to find hope in "moments of darkness" and quoted the Gospel of John saying 'light shines in darkness and the darkness has not overcome it' and encouraged all to be thankful....as she promised servant during the Pandemic as she evoked the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Her reign has become more royal through the years as she's recognized her spiritual lineage as a daughter of the true King!

As children of the One True King, we have our own royal reign---just without the all the trappings!

RESILIENCE

Resilience might seem an odd word choice for a Memorial Day meditation.

God has reminded us in His word that there will be tough times in our lives......

times when we'll need to keep our mindset on Christ. (James 1: 2, 12) 

Times when resilience and steadfastness are needed. 

Oxford On-line Dictionary defines resilience as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties: toughness. It's a word often describing survivors of 9/11 Twin Towers terrorist attack and veterans of wars returning home.

Times when resilient Christians must look past their troubles and keep their mind on Him

Times of war.

Such times are happening in Ukraine even as I type. 

I know because I received an email this morning showing pictures of new devastation in Severondonetsk. Destruction by ongoing artillery from the skies to street battles leaving stench of bodies on the ground. 

But God.....will always be there with us. (Joshua 1:9)

Resilient believers never stop trusting in God. But it helps when other believers come alongside with prayers and resources to help in such battles. A fellowship of people on the same side of the struggle though not physically in the same location.

Resilience shared is resilience at its best. (Dotsy, 5/27/22)

FILLED WITH INERTIA!

Inertia is one of the few science principles I recall from the classroom. 

Early on, Captain Wood taught me that inertia is the property of matter at rest to remain at rest until acted on by an outside force. (my definition from memory) 

These past days, the onset of my COVID has shown me that sometimes we need more than an outward force to get us moving. 

Not feeling of shame from others, who can pull up by their bootstraps. Not my own self-will. Not even words & suggestions from friends. (though  much appreciated) Nothing outward has seemed to work.

So....I have remained at rest. More like zonked. 

For me, my physical lagging, lack of zeal (Romans 12:11) has required an inside action. 

It has been a result of being "alive with Christ." Through His strength and the prayers of many in the household of faith.

I have at least had hope that soon things would change, not by my strength or who I am, but because of His strength and who He is! 

But God......in His love and mercy made me "alive with Christ." (Ephesians 4:4)

Originally this entry was written May 15. Hmmm,,,,,,obviously inertia kept me from clicking on 

ROOTED IN TRUTH!

Last night's performance of "Rooted in Truth" was amazing! A perfect prelim for today........

.......National Day of Prayer.

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7, NKJV) 

Sister Natalie (left) & brother Martin congratulate sister Miriam after her performance. How fitting it was that she was part of the "sign language" troupe as that is the way she communicates with her brother.

I am full of gratitude this morning for being a small part of this precious family's life.They help keep me grounded/rooted.

WONDERFUL WORDS!

What a germane topic for "Wordsmith Wednesday"---Wonderful Words!

There's nothing quite like waking up to just the words one needs to hear!

So grateful to friend, Doris, who shares insights from a wordsmith friend of hers. Scottie. His sporadic  devotionals always seem spot on! This one builds with comparatives and turns us to Jesus, our portion, our peace, and our passion. 

We women know---if we compare, we despair. 

What a peaceful way to begin our day. So-o-o-o calming. 

Who doesn't need "calming" words these days! 

Before I could even finish this blog entry, a text from my dear Ukrainian friends shared that they are hearing bombing in their city today for the first time. They who have been feeding and sheltering hundreds of people daily since this horrific war began, as well as risking their own lives to transport the most vulnerable out of the war torn east to the borders, are now under attack. 

Help them, Lord. Be their strength, portion, peace and the lifter up of their heads

May all who read this lift prayers of comfort and safety on their behalf.