First Sunday in Advent - Waiting

"The spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment, trusting that new things will happen to us, new things that are far beyond our own imagination, fantasy, or prediction."

Henri Nouwen

Watch for the Light

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Morning Coffee

“For with God nothing shall be impossible.”  Luke 1:37

“Face it out to the end, cast away every shadow of hope on the human side as an absolute hindrance to the Divine, heap up all the difficulties together recklessly, and pile as many more on as you can find; you cannot get beyond the blessed climax of impossibility.  Let faith swing out to Him.  He is the God of the impossible.   -Selected

Streams in the Desert

Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman

I believe I’ll have another cup of coffee and focus on improving my swing!!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving."

~ W. T. Purkiser

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Poetry Book Request

We selected an ornament from the Ronald McDonald tree at our favorite McDonald's.  I loved this young 18 year old's  request for a poetry book.  However now that I have the ornament home and need to pick something out for her, I don't have a clue what to look for.  I was never much of a literature student; math and science were more my thing so I am really at a loss as to what would be a great choice for an 18 year old.  Any suggestions from you writers and English teachers  - or anyone who has a favorite?? (I hate to admit it but I do believe the only poetry book I own is Where the Sidewalk Ends!)

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Morning Coffee

Why are some Christians so anxious, so fearful? Evidently because they have not left their way with the Lord. They took it to Him, but brought it away with them again. --Selected

Streams in the Desert

Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman

It's time to pour another cup of coffee and consider all of the "ways" that I continue to hold on to.  Completely letting go is so darn difficult!

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Morning Coffee

"There is always a smooth piece in every skein, however tangled."

Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman

This one thought caught my attention during devotions this morning.  As a novice knitter, a tangled skein is a familiar predicament.  And I am learning - both in my knitting and in my daily life - that the best way to work through a tangled mess, is to do so gently.  Yanking and pulling (and cussing) does no good!!  It only serves to tighten the tangled mess making it harder to overcome.  And life is the same way.  The harder we fight against a knot, the tighter it holds us.

Instead, work gently with the treads, even giving them their way sometimes, and somehow in an often unexplained way, the tangled mess falls apart and the skein becomes smooth again.

I think I'll have a second cup of coffee and gently plan my day!

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Blessed is he -

“Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”  Luke 7:23

“It is sometimes very difficult not to be offended in Jesus Christ. 

The offenses may be circumstantial.  I find myself in a prison-house – a narrow sphere, a sick chamber, an unpopular position – when I had hoped for wide opportunities.  Yes, but He knows what is best for me.  My environment is of His determining.  He means it to intensify my faith, to draw me into nearer communion with Himself, to ripen my power.  In the dungeon my soul should prosper.

“The offense may be mental.  I am haunted by perplexities, questions, which I cannot solve.  I had hoped that, when I gave myself to Him, my sky would always be clear; but often it is overspread by mist and cloud.  Yet let me believe that, if difficulties remain, it is that I may learn to trust Him all the more implicitly – to trust and not be afraid.  Yes, and by my intellectual conflicts, I am trained to be a tutor to other storm-driven men.

“The offense may be spiritual.  I had fancied that within His fold I should never feel the biting winds of temptation; but it is best as it is.  His grace is magnified.  My own character is matured.  His heaven is sweeter at the close of the day.  There I shall look back on the turnings and trials of the way, and shall sing the praises of my Guide.  So, let come what will come, His will is welcome; and I shall refuse to be offended in my loving Lord.

– Alexander Smellie

Streams in the Desert

Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman

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~On Retreat~

 

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