More Gratitude Gifts

46. lunchtime laughter with a cherished friend.
47. forgiving hearts
48. a day of absolutely nothing, yet filled with everything.
49. the aged hands of my earthly father who loves to help me garden
50. the love of a man that God set aside just for me
51. the gift of choice
52. a heart that loves to make others smile
53. mornings spent in devotion
54. the gift of prayer
55. learning to move past insecurities that try to hold me back
56. for a bench to rest
57. for a song in my heart

**this list is a continuation of the Gratitude Gifts list that Ann has going on over at Holy Experience. To learn more about it please click on the 1000 Gifts link on the right hand side of my page.

Do you think He's trying to tell me something?

Lately, I have been wrestling with some things. I have been having a hard time giving things over to God.

Why? I don't know...He above anyone can certainly handle the issues I struggle with better than I can.

Other times I think I should be farther along than where I am at in my faith journey. I want to know more, I want to do more and then ....I procrastinate.

Then I struggle to hear God's voice in the midst of my chaos and I wonder is it Him? Or is it my head making something else out of it?

Well, a few months back I had taken on Proverbs 3:5-6 as my "scripture for my season":

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Whenever I let my worries get the best of me...I say it to myself to help me get my thinking back on track. So as I was driving home last Thursday...I was saying this to myself and as I said it I looked up and there it was....

a period.

And just as clear as day I heard "Why are you putting a question mark where I put a period?"

A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing

Isn't it funny how certain things look so good from a distance but when your up close you realize that there is really a bad thing lurking behind a seemingly innocent facade?

Well meet the wolf....
Or ......
"Satan in feathers" as my dear hubby calls him.

This little bugger (well actully he is not so little...) has been trying to dine in our pond the last few days. And I am sad to say that he has gotten a few of our beautiful koi. Some that we have had over 8 years.

You see he is beautiful...but he comes to kill and destroy.

AND

He is pretty smart...hanging out on a neighbors fence to see if we are around......

Then when we least expect it....he comes in for the kill.

However....now he can't figure out what the heck we did to his smorgasboard. Between you and me...we covered it. Now lets see him try to get them!

This guy is a beautiful creature however, he wreaks havoc here at the homestead. He causes panic and confusion...in the fish....and in hubby. Hubby tends to our finned children like his life depends on it. He nurses them back to health when they are sick and heals their wounds when they are hurt.

This reminds me so much of my faith journey. Things look real good at the time.

You know what I mean....

"Oh, I really want to watch that show.....I will do my devotions a little later". A little later comes and goes and guess what? I am too tired and end up falling asleep.

or

"Just this once....it won't hurt to do that. It seems innocent"

Later the panic, the fear, the desperation creeps in. Wondering why you can't handle the everyday. Next thing you know everything that once seemed beautiful has wreaked havoc in your heart and soul.

Wondering....how do you protect the innocence that used to be there? How to protect that which God has given you?

Simple....

You cover yourself in prayer...you cover yourself in His Word and cover yourself in God's love. And just like my hubby tends to his finned children like his life depends on it...God tends to us like His Life depended on it.

oh..thats right..... it did!

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10