In The Shadow of His Hand

I came across a brief passage today in my reading that I recall having on my refrigerator several years ago during an arid time in my life. It was very much an encouragement to me then as I was feeling rather without purpose. It's a reminder that God first calls us to faithfulness. How he launches that faithfulness rests in the shadow of his hand.

Sharing the passage with you in hopes that it may be an encouragement to you as well.

Fit yourself for God's service; be faithful. He will presently appoint thee... in some unlikely corner, in a shepherd's hut or in an artisan's cottage, God has his prepared and appointed instrument. As yet the shaft is hidden in his quiver, in the shadow of his hand; but at the precise moment at which it will tell with the greatest effect, it will be produced and launched on the air.

F.B. Meyer in David, the Shepherd, Psalmist, King

Painting ~ Girl Reading, Edmund C. Tarbell, 1910

Wikipedia public domain

Growing Out of Our Infantile Ideas

Thinking about one my friends today and how I can minister to her. Her need is more than what I can do for her. I'm pondering how I can reach her with the truth of God's word and how it could revolutionize her way of thinking. Her thought patterns drag her down, and when they're expressed they tend to drag on those closest to her as well. Sad to say, she thinks a lot like a baby--wanting others to satisfy her hunger and her thirst.

God wants us to grow out of our infantile ideas. He wants us to grow into maturity, where our worldview doesn't revolve around ourselves, around what it takes to make us feel good. He wants us to move beyond requiring other people to satisfy our longings, to grow beyond viewing people around us as a means to our own end.

Craving for satisfaction leads to manipulation, and it's often difficult to know where ministry to my friend crosses the line into enabling her attempts at control. I know that enabling hinders her need to make a change in how she approaches relationships. I want to help her look beyond herself.

When we begin to understand God's sovereignty in our life, we also begin to see life in a different context. We begin to understand that we are not at the center, that God's glory is central to all our purposes. We yearn for his plan to unfold, not only in our own life, but in the lives of those with whom we have relationship. What they can do for us gets remodeled into what we can do for them.

As Susan Hunts puts it in Spiritual Mothering:

We see ourselves, our circumstances, and our relationships as a part of His divine plan. So our approach changes from "Come into my world and make me happy," to "Father, show me how to go into Your world and glorify You." The effect on a relationship is a switch from wanting you to serve me to a desire to serve God through the relationship.

I want her to experience the joy in viewing life in this way. I hope that you are experiencing this joy as well, dear one, as we keep looking Upward and Homeward.

Painting ~ Study Two Women's Heads, Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1841-1919

If Only The Finest Birds Dared Sing

I thought of my blog today and wondered if I should get back into it. I so often feel like I don't have much of interest to share, especially compared to some of the blogs that I frequently read. But I know that it isn't wise to compare ourselves with ourselves.

And then, I was reminded from my sidebar that "if only the finest birds in the forest dared sing, how quiet the forest would be."

I've been away from blogging for a few months now, and I knew that would happen if I didn't keep it routine. Blogging does take time, and the 24 hours I'm given each day is often allotted to doing other things. 

There's been a lot going on that has kept me busy--like preparing to move. More about that in upcoming posts. But, blogging is good for me. It helps me bring some thoughts together and draw my heart upward and onward, which encourages me and, hopefully, might encourage someone else. 

More thoughts tomorrow.
Take care, dear one, and keep looking upward.

Photo ~ martinnlp90, CC0 via pixabay

Small and Simple, But Oh, So Essential!

There it is, right where I left it. Small, but sew essential!

I wasn't sure if I would go to quilt class today. We were under a flood watch with heavier rains expected toward the afternoon, and I don't like driving on the interstate in the rain, even though it's just a 20-minute drive. But since the class was in the morning, I figured I would be back before any flooding. Wanting to spend some time at the quilt shop outweighed my concern on the highway. Some of you know how that is!

So, after driving carefully (and being annoyed by all the trucks throwing water and making it difficult to see), I arrived at the quilt shop, got everything unpacked, my little iron and sewing machine plugged in, and sat down to thread the machine. What's this? No bobbin case? Ugh!! I had absent-mindedly forgot to put it back into the machine in my preparations to leave. No bobbin case, no sewing.

So, I chatted a bit, drooled over some fabric, purchased a fat quarter, and headed home, thinking that, at least, I would be getting safely home before any flooding. Hauling my gear back upstairs to the sewing room, there it was.... I had left the bobbin case on the sewing cabinet as I had packed up to head out this morning.

Some things are essential, no matter how small or simple. A bobbin case...not much to it. A Bernina machine (er, excuse me, a Bernina computer), that I'm sure I don't understand a fraction of what it can do. But it wasn't capable of doing anything at quilt class today without that one simple, small, essential part. 

We're all essential in some way, even if it's a simple, small way. Some things just don't function without us. And if you're a child of God, you're gifted in some particular way. There's purpose in your gift that's bigger than you.

As each one has received a gift, 

employ it in serving one another 

as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 

~ 1 Peter 4:10 ~

I spent some afternoon time in my sewing room, alone, working on today's quilt class assignment. Here's my progress .....

Trusting His Purpose

"I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all that He asks of me is that I trust Him."

~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Painting ~ A Side Glance 1892, Edward Frederick Brewtnall
Wikigallery public domain

Live the One Day Well

“The very best we can do for any day, for the perfecting of our life as a whole—is to live the one day well.” –J.R. Miller

I think this shall become my goal for 2015. This is to be a year of change for me and My Beloved as the days unfold. Some disappoints lie ahead, yet some gladness as well awaits us. I want to live each of those days well.

And so, beginning afresh as time allows, hoping to bring glory to My Heavenly Father as He leads me homeward and upward....and perhaps encouraging another soul who might linger on these pages.

Image ~ Vintage New Year's Postcard,  David Berry

CC BY 2.0 via flickr