With Wings Like Eagles

                           With Wings Like Eagles
Dear Friends,
     This tiny baby wren had gotten blown from its nest before it could fly.  The fragile wings softly fluttered in the palm of my hand.
     Have you ever been homesick?  If you have ever been in an airport you probably have seen soldiers traveling in uniform.  They carry heavy duffle bags full of gear for extended stays away from home.  They are probably the most homesick of travelers.  They spend months enduring grueling training in preparation for battles.  They are cut off from communication with loved ones and learn how to survive harsh circumstances. 
     Our strength is found while we wait on the Lord.  This waiting is not the comfy, under a warm blanket kind of waiting.  This kind of waiting is like getting water from a well or like training for a battle.  It's an active kind of waiting. 
     Strength is needed to first dig the well.  Genesis 26: 19 says, "And Isaac's servants also dug in the Gerar Valley and discovered a well of fresh water."  More strength is needed to remove the stone that covers the mouth of the well.  Genesis 29:2 says, "a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well."
     The bucket next to the deep well is useless without the rope. When we go to Him continually each day our strength is renewed.  His Word is our lifeline.  
     So, like a soldier needs to endure training for battle,  a bucket needs to be lowered into to depths of the well and be lifted up to give refreshment. 
Isaiah 40:31
"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

Unfinished Work

                                    Unfinished Work  
Dear Friends, 
       I took this picture of an Angel Trumpet tree last fall at a local botanical garden and wanted to share it with you.
      Every year at the end of  the fall I am never quite done with the work of preparing the garden for the coming spring.  When the weather gets warm again I will have to do those unfinished tasks before I can plant anything new in the ground.
     Sometimes people who knew Jesus couldn't see the  possibilities and they mourned needlessly.  If only they had known that Jesus wasn't finished yet. 
      If we look in chapter five of the Gospel of Mark we see a man named Jairus.  His daughter is very sick and he is hurrying to ask Jesus to come to heal her.  Jesus began the walk back to the man's home with him and on the way stopped to heal someone else.  Can you imagine how impatient Jairus could have been?  Then a messenger came to report that the girl had died and that the Master need not come now.   Jairus was devastated!  Jesus continued on with the grieving father to the house where the girl was.   The crowd that had gathered laughed at Jesus when He arrived.  They scorned Him and wanted to hold onto only what they could see, the still form of a breathless girl.
     Jesus took her hand and spoke life to her.  She stood up and walked.  He told them to give her food to eat! 
     Another example is in John chapter 11 when Mary and Martha were grieving the death of their brother Lazarus.  While in the midst of mourners, Jesus spoke life to Lazarus so that not only he would have life, but so those who heard His voice would believe also.  He wanted them to know that He wasn't finished yet!  With God involved there is always a chance for a miracle!
2 Corinthians 4:18a
"So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen."


   
         

He Knows Your Name

He Knows Your Name

Dear Friends,

     Sometimes during the cold winter months we are given a few days of respite from the usual freezing weather.  The sun comes out and the snow starts to melt.  You can hear the birds chirping in anticipation of springtime.  If you walk on the garden path on a day like this you will find little gifts that are gently nudging out of the frozen ground.  A lot of gardeners have markers near the plants so that visitors will know the names and also so that they can identify each plant as they start to come up in the spring.

    Like the protective place where an unborn baby grows, plants grow in secret underneath the surface of the earth.  God made sure that everything the plants needed for growth was provided for them. 

     God knows each of us before we are born.  He has a plan.  Our name is important to Him.  You can find many examples in the Bible where God calls a person by their name.  In Exodus 3:4 God called Moses by his name.  He had a plan for Moses beyond the life of a fugitive, working as a shepherd.  Moses responded by saying, "Here am I!"  In Luke 19:5 we read that Jesus called Zacchaeus by name to come down from the sycamore tree.  Zacchaeus  responded by hurrying joyfully to meet with Jesus.  Jesus could see beyond the surface.  He knew the great worth that existed in this little man.

     This plant that is starting to sprout up in my garden has a name. It's a special name.  Autumn Joy lives up to it's name.  It sprouts up early  and continues to stay green throughout the hot, dry summer. The soft, pink flowers bloom in the fall when most other flowers are finished giving joy in the autumn time.

Jeremiah 1:5

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you."

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."