Baggage

"Then Jesus said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

We all have some. Many times we choose to disguise the baggage we carry with decorative coverings. Whether it be bright colors, paisley or polka dot patterns, the baggage we sometimes hold on to is very heavy.

I ran across this video and was so touched that I had to share it. It is a few minutes long but it is well worth it.




Trade these ashes in for beauty.
Lay every burden down at the foot of the Cross.

In His tender grip.

Cynthia

Days of Praise

Psalms 8

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Have you praised HIM for who he is today? It might just keep our hearts exactly where they are supposed to be.


Have a wonderful day with our LORD today!

Cynthia

Few of my favorite things

I was so excited this weekend to see that one of my favorite movies, "The Sound of Music" would be on T.V. Of course I own it on VHS, but I was going to get to watch it in HD. Big deal in a house of males outnumbering mom.

My guys had been out of town and when they arrived home the house was alive with the sound of music. It has never taken much for me to embed the tunes of "doe a deer a female deer, ray a drop of golden sun" into the minds of my strapping young men. I bet you are thanking me right now for the tune that will be playing through out your day. I take my bow and say "You're Welcome" with a smile.

One of my favorite parts, really I can't narrow down which is my all time favorite, but one of them is when the children run into Maria's bedroom frightened by the storm. She teaches them the song to sing about their favorite things. You know the one, "Raindrops on Roses, whiskers on kittens....brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things." The song goes on to say, "when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad."

That got me to thinking while Gustav was sending rain our way, it being a Presidential election year and the fact that Satan is in full battle mode for us and our children, what are a few of my favorite things.

So here's a list of a few in no particular order of importance:

1. Being upstairs while the rest of the family is downstairs and hear a outburst of spontaneous laughter from the whole crew. Always brings a smile to my face.

2. Seeing a red Cardinal perched outside my kitchen window and watching the deer play in my back yard.

3. Spending time on the lake with family and friends.

4. Hearing my youngest son challenge his father and older brother, stating he can take them on. The would be opponents sitting with smiles and heads shaking back and forth.

5. Cheering for my guys in whatever sport they are playing.

One of my other favorite things is when God redirects my reading of His Word. You know the times that others say is a coincidence, to that I say "Yeah right". These are the times I think I am turning to the correct passage by instead find myself in a entirely different one. This happened just recently. I thought I was wanting to read Psalm 68 but instead I was looking for Psalm 16. Thinking I was in the correct chapter, I read through Psalm 68 and found so much. The part that really was an "Ah-hah" moment was verses 7-10. Maybe with the rains headed our way and the title of this blog that has rain on my mind but as I read I couldn't help but be amazed at God's provision.

God led the people out of Egypt and marched them through the dry wasteland. As the earth trembled and heaven poured down rain before God, he sent abundant rain to refresh the weary land. I was intrigued so I looked in a commentary for a deeper understanding. This is what I found, "This is not meant to be a literal rain, but rather a shower of blessings, i.e., manna, quail, water out of the rock, innumerable victories, protection from the enemies, etc." I am learning so quickly that I have often put God in a box. Sometimes reading the word rain as just that, the watery substance that falls from the sky. Even though it can literally be that it can be so much more. It can be His provision for big things as well as the little things. The victories that He led me to and even those favorite things from my list that happen just when I need. Our God is a god that loves to send a plentiful of rain even to our dry weary land. Praise Him!

The next few days looks to be filled with the rain from the skies but will you look for the blessing rains from God and think on your favorite things? Please let me know a few of your favorite things.

Cynthia