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Posted on 12/31/2019 7:29:35 PM PST by JustAmy
:-)
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Bible in a Year:
He remembers that we are dust.
The young father was at the end of his rope. “Ice cream! Ice cream!” his toddler screamed. The meltdown in the middle of the crowded mall began drawing the attention of shoppers nearby. “Fine, but we just need to do something for mommy first, okay?” the father said. “Nooooo! Ice cream!” And then she approached them: a small, well-dressed woman with shoes that matched her handbag. “He’s having a big fit,” the father said. The woman smiled and responded, “Actually, it looks like a big fit is having your little boy. Don’t forget he’s so small. He needs you to be patient and stay close.” The situation didn’t magically resolve itself, but it was just the kind of pause the father and son needed in the moment.
Echoes of the wise woman’s words are heard in Psalm 103. David writes of our God who is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (v. 8). He then continues by invoking the image of an earthly father who “has compassion on his children,” and even more so “the Lord has compassion on those who fear him” (v. 13). God our Father “knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (v. 14). He knows we’re small and fragile.
We often fail and are overwhelmed by what this big world hands us. What an amazing assurance to know of our Father’s patient, ever-present, abounding love.
When have you felt overwhelmed like a little child? How do you believe God the Father responded to you in that moment?
Thank You for being our patient, present Father who remembers who and what we are.
Thank you.
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A Blessed Sunday to y’all.
Good Sunday afternoon!
Getting a lot of snow today, about 5 or 6 inches by the time the blob on the radar passes over.
Very pretty out there today.
cheers
Thank you, Silentgypsy!
I’d love to see a day of several inches of lovely snowfall...It usually melts in one day the very rare times it has happened here....No shovels required!
There is no wind and the snow is covering the trees beautifully.
Later.... the shoveling and plowing begins!
Been an easy winter so far though, no complaints here!
Still no snow here...which means we will get an Easter Blizzard!
I hope we avoid a blizzard this year.. but we always get one or two.
But so far, pretty easy winter.
This was about 5 inches of heavy wet snow.
Would be good for making snowman, snowdog,or snow rabbit.
When I was a kid we made a huge snow rabbit.
My mother might still have a picture of that.
cheers
Well, I think the earth benefits from snow cover (as irksome as it may be in terms of shoveling out).
Cold, bare, hard, icy ground is a wee bit too Tundra-like. But at least I don’t have to shovel it!
I put in a bunch of bulbs last Fall.
I am looking forward to Spring!
Yep snow is good for the perennials to hide under and my roses need it too. I put some snow on one of the roses that was not covered enough today.
Had to gently shake the wet snow off my three pine trees too. Their branches were full of that wet snow.
cheers
Indeed. Mild winters are lovely, comfortable, and convenient, and far more fuel-economical, but the garden suffers.
Oh well. I guess one can’t have everything.
Bible in a Year:
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
During a two-month period in 1994, as many as one million Tutsis were slain in Rwanda by Hutu tribe members bent on killing their fellow countrymen. In the wake of this horrific genocide, Bishop Geoffrey Rwubusisi approached his wife about reaching out to women whose loved ones had been slain. Mary’s reply was, “All I want to do is cry.” She too had lost members of her family. The bishop’s response was that of a wise leader and caring husband: “Mary, gather the women together and cry with them.” He knew his wife’s pain had prepared her to uniquely share in the pain of others.
The church, the family of God, is where all of life can be shared—the good and not-so-good. The New Testament words “one another” are used to capture our interdependence. “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. . . . Live in harmony with one another” (Romans 12:10, 16). The extent of our connectedness is expressed in verse 15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”
While the depth and scope of our pain may pale in comparison with those affected by genocide, it’s nonetheless personal and real. And, as with the pain of Mary, because of what God has done for us it can be embraced and shared for the comfort and good of others.
When have you allowed someone else to share your sorrow? How does the body of Christ—the church—help you deal with the hard times in life?
Gracious God, forgive me for my reluctance to enter the pain of others. Help me to live more fully as a connected member of Your church.
Learn about loving as Jesus does at discoveryseries.org/q0208.
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Thank you.
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