Thursday, January 28, 2010

God, there's rocks in my stream!

In Elkmont Campground, in the Great Smoky Mountains is the Little Pigeon River. It's simply beautiful and one of my most favorite places on earth. It's full of boulders and rocks, and my mom and I love to go rock hunting down by its edge, hunting for that perfect smooth rock to paint something on. My boys used to love to search for little, flat, round rocks that look like coins. They called it "river money" and we always came home with ziplock bags full of it. Because of all those rocks, the sound of the river fills up the campground with its song...there are no words to describe how it calms your soul. My whole family goes back there every summer for a week. I wish I was there right now. I'll admit it, something has perturbed me. It's dumb really, and I know better than to let it bug me considering the source. Sometimes I wonder, why does God allow those things to get in our way? But then I realize...if life was always smooth sailing we'd be really bored and never learn anything at all. I've had some giant sized boulders fall in front of me before and I've overcome them by depending on God and believing His promises....this is more like a pebble in my shoe really. So I'm just gonna pray for that pitiful little pebble and shake it out of my shoe and move on! The brooke would lose its song if God removed the rocks!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

It Blows Me Away...

Maybe I'm just getting older, having a "hormonal moment" a little more often, I don't know...but driving in to work this morning I saw the most beautiful sight. It was like an award- winning National Geographic photo...but it was real, and it made me cry. God just blows me away and at the most unexpected times. I cross the Brunswick and Cape Fear Rivers every morning on the way to work, usually just as the sun is coming up over the horizon. It is always beautiful, but this morning was simply glorious! There's no other word for it! Just as I rounded the corner to cross the Brunswick River, the sun peeped over the horizon, sitting there on the river which was as smooth as glass. The reflection of the sun on the river was just like a mirror. Beautiful pink and amber clouds surrounded it as a flock of birds flew across it's face. At that very moment I was singing along with the radio, just as I looked up and saw this awesome sight..."How Great Is Our God!" The timing could not have been more perfect. I felt in my soul God saying "Good Morning! I love you THIS much!" It was awesome!! As I crossed the bridge into town and rounded the corner, I was met with stopped traffic and a train. GREAT! I thought, now I'm gonna be late. I was starting to feel a bit agitated, and then I looked out the window. I was sitting right next to Greenfield Lake and just ask I looked up a beautiful crane flew gently across the lake and the spanish moss in the trees swayed gently in the breeze as the sun peeped through the branches. Wow...twice in one morning! It was gorgeous! I was delayed by the train at least 5 minutes and I just sat and stared at the lake, watching the mist rise into the sun. You know that saying, "Stop and smell the roses"? Make a point today to stop and see God's creation around you....watch & listen to that "still, small voice"...it's all around you!!

Monday, January 4, 2010

What if they've never been told?

Raising kids is tough. One of the toughest jobs you'll ever do. And sometimes, even though you think you've done everything right they still grow up and run away from all they've been taught. In a way, we all do it at some point in our lives. Some just run a little farther than others. But one of the most important things you can ever teach your children is about God's immeasurable love for them. They need to be taught that only God can fill up that emptiness in their soul, not money, not boyfriends or girlfriends, not work, not friends, not alcohol, not drugs. Teach them who to turn to in trouble.
Teach them who to praise in good times. Teach them about His unconditional love, about His forgiveness and mercy, His longing to have a relationship with them and to bless them, so that when they reach the end of who they are, when they fall on their faces and realize they are standing in a pigpen eating slop like the prodigal son, they will know WHO to run back to and they will know God is there watching for them, waiting to run to them and take them in His arms! To whom or to what will they run if they've never been told? Even when it seems hopeless, keep leading by example, keep praying, keep showing them the way home. What is impossible for God? Nothing!!