Disguised Beauty Entices

Matthew 26:41

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

We have all been enticed by something or someone. Perhaps it was to do good, but most often it is to do what is not good, what is not appropriate, what is not morale. We live by standards that we set for ourselves. However, the standard of life we should emulate is that of Christ, the one and only Perfect Man.

I recall a statement of such in a sermon I'd heard. 

"Temptation is any enticement to think, say, or do something contrary to God's holy will. Our pride can provide the very opening needed for the sharp thrust of a satanic dart. So can the love of money, a quick temper, a critical tongue or chronic impatience."

Adam and Eve took the bite of the apple that changed what God had designed for us; a perfect garden, a paradise. The servant made the beauty of the apple appealing using words to lure and entice them to do wrong, and they ate. Just like the image here of a coconut covered in the shell of an apple, it looks very attractive and inviting. 

Live each day to do His Will. Be strong and courageous and resist the devil. he will flee from you if God is your center point.

Sometimes I drop my spoon

"I'm going out for a few hours, so would you call or come by to see how mothers is doing?" asked my brother-in-law. "Seems she almost fell." 

Mother is a spunky 92 years, but slightly frail, so I called her. She wears hearing aids, but did not have them in. The conversation became a little trying for me. She and I had a discussion once about what to do when her health got where she could not care for herself. Today I posed the question, "Are you at that place where we need to discuss Nursing Homes?" Of course she said no. Why would I think she would volunteer a "Yes"? No one wants to leave home and go to a place to be cared for, loose a bit of your independence and moreover loose your will to live or even the fight to live.

So today Mother is at home enjoying her big screened television, her recliner and short walks down the hallway to the kitchen. Grand children and great grandchildren still visit, there are occasional family dinners, a visit to the beauty salon and sometimes there is a dinner date with friends or family.

Let us reach deep inside our soul and use the kindness that bridges between the youth and the old binding hearts. 

If you are young, reach out to the older generation. 

If you are the older generation, call out to the younger generation. 

Bridging and binding is the way.

In The Midst Of The Storm

Strolling through the neighborhood today I felt a peace that only comes when you are in the presence of the Savior. I felt the April winds brush my face as they parted the branches on the trees. I felt the twirling, fuzzy dandelions tickle my nose. I saw the tiny buds on the Dogwood trees appearing in anticipation of a new Spring as the sun burst through the clouds and smiled.  In the distance I could hear the birds chirping. I saw and heard all this and thought to myself, "If HE is the Creator of all this beauty (and HE is) then through all my trials, my heartaches and my moments of feeling hopelessly helpless then whom shall I fear. My God made all this beauty. It was then that I just spoke aloud, "Thank You, Jesus. I love You!" He is absolutely and totally in control of all. I will ride the waves of the storm for In the Midst of the Storm He Reigns.                                                                                                                        

You are never alone

Can We Be Defined By Two Words?

Think!
Name two of your most used descriptive words when defining something you are passionate about.
I will wait while you ponder as my discussion subject is focused on those two words.

Ok...time is up. What two words did you choose?
After reading and re-reading my few weeks' writings as an official blogger, I noticed "BEAUTY" and "LOVE" used again and again.
Daily as we grow, mature and make a way in this world for ourselves, we are making little impressions in our soul from our moment-to-moment activities with man and nature. Our eyes take the image and stores it in our hearts, our souls. The image can be retrieved from our memory where we see the magnitude of words put into action. However, unlike a computer attached to a printer producing a print, our memories reproduce the image with words.
These two words tell a lot about who we are, where we have been, where we choose to go, what we want to see in others and what others see in us.
My image below is a simple photo taken in Daytona, but it represents for me all of the things in my years of living. It is BEAUTY of a bloom that began as a bulb in the ground. It is the LOVE that nurtured the plant to grow big, strong and fruitful.  I brought a bulb from the ground in Florida, but because the soil and climate in Indiana is not suitable for this plant, I must keep it indoors in the winter and outdoors in the summer. Hence it is not truly rooted in firm foundation.  It grows in a pot.
The key here is two-fold. Choose your words to represent you as HE has already chosen you, just plant yourself in soil that will produce a soul that speaks with HIS IIMAGE of light.

 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

Colossians 2:6-7