Tag Archive for: glory

Water Therapy

/8 Comments/in , , , , , , , /by
beach at Wrightsville Beach Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean – Wrightsville Beach

Ocean waves thunder & roll
Crashing unrepentant against the shore
Greenish-blue water with froth on top
Wind blasts sand on my skin
Children chase seagulls
Birds hover overhead
Carried along with the breeze
People play … enjoying life
Others rest after a hectic week
Some immersed in their favorite read
Carefree feeling
Place to unwind
Absorb sun’s rays
To just be!

I stoop low
Spying a smooth peculiar shell
Purple hued edges
Catch my eye
I gather grains of polished sand
As they trickle past my fingertips

Praying
May the wind smooth and polish
My rough and jagged edges
May I be beautiful and useful
In Your sight
For Your glory!

Freedom in the Lord

/0 Comments/in , , /by

I am a work in progress. It’s good to know that this body with all its inferiority, sin, and weaknesses is not a finished product. I’ve still got a long ways to go. A work in progress. Plus, I can be encouraged with the fact that I’ve got God on my side helping, molding, weaving all the good and bad experiences into a pleasing tapestry. Whew! Good to know.

With the knowledge does not mean that I should feel free to sin all the more or continue to repeat the same dumb mistakes. On the contrary. With the Holy Spirit’s help, I need to strive to do good — to be and do what my Heavenly Father desires of me.

How does that look in real life? If I see a brother or sister in need, I should go to him and offer my help if I can. When my tongue tends gets away from me or I’m inclined to say unkind things about someone, maybe I should listen more and speak less.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” —          2 Corinthians 3:17, 18.

“And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (NLT).

Are you becoming more and more like God or more and more like someone God wouldn’t recognize?

More and more like the Savior I would be. More like him every day.

***

Glory to God

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (photos by Steve Lasher)

“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters” – Psalm 29:2-3.

***

Thick skin

/0 Comments/in /by

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The question isn’t if we fail, it’s when we fail. We all fail in one area or another and cannot be good at everything all the time. I have my strengths and weaknesses, and so do you. The problem isn’t in the failing, but in the getting up, dusting off, and starting over again. It’s much easier to give up than to get up, isn’t it? Sometimes it’s a matter of pride. Do I get up again and start all over? Or, would it be easier just to quit and pretend I never started?

If I rise up after taking a stumble (like receiving rejection letters from disinterested editors), Emerson claims this is great glory. I try to reason with myself and say, that’s only one publishing company—there’s many more out there to pursue.

Lord, I pray for stamina and a thick skin to withstand rejection and failing. I know I will fail in some pursuits, but I also know this is part of life.

Is there some project you’ve been meaning to complete?  Or a new craft or skill you’d like to learn more about? What would be the first step to tackle that idea? What’s to stop you today from beginning step #1?

***