A Day’s Journey to Eternity

Ran across this today and thought I'd share...
I wrote this poem in 2004, which seems a lifetime ago, 

but His promises always hold true!

🌻Blessings...

 

Eternity lies in the journey ~

  Laying one day, one joy on another.

  Living in the expectation of forever.

  Everyday building up to an explosion of glory.

  God has read the last page of the Book ~

  He wrote it, now we are living it.

Today is not something to hurry through ~

  take it in, soak it up.  Look for every

  nuance of God in everything.

  The careful sculpting of each iris petal,

  the fine trim of the kiskadee, the painting

  and shadows of the sky.

He is in today to be praised, just as in the halls of heaven.

  This journey is God’s, the one He planned to take His

  children home.  Not to leave us in bitter sweet yesterdays,

  but to bring us to His courts of compassion.

  Each day has a reminder of our destination,

  if we but look at Him. 

There is no fulfillment in man’s definition of life ~

  just empty promises and broken dreams.

  But our Father is the Maker of Dreams, He will keep

  His promises along the Way.

Look for Him today.

 

 

Jeanie Rowel

Jan. ‘04

 

Who We Really Are

We were blessed this past week with a wonderful trip to the mountains of New Mexico! What a treat, after so many years, to leave the heat of South Texas and get to see autumn. I walked some beautiful paths, found a prayer labyrinth and experienced some much needed solitude and silence. My mountain walking companions, Ruby and Oso, led every path and seemed to enjoy all the new scents and sights. We almost didn’t come back! 😉  

The whisper of the breeze thru the pines and enjoying the vistas together was a perfect backdrop to beautiful moments spent in His Word. One of the passages, that is in a devotional I’m doing online with some friends right now, was in a new translation (perhaps new to me?) and it’s called The Passion Translation. I enjoy using different Bible versions, just to help me “listen” better and I don’t skim over familiar phrases….like this one:   

For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it.  My lofty desires to do what is good are dashed when I do the things I want to avoid.  So if my behavior contradicts my desires to do good, I must conclude that it’s not my true identity doing it, but the unwelcome intruder of sin hindering me from being who I really am.

Romans 7:18-20

Perhaps it was sitting where I was, away from the hustle and the bustle, but this resonated differently for me that day. So, I’d like to share a brief prayer I wrote in response to this resonating. I pray it  for us all as we seek to live out who we really are in Christ.

Sweet Father,

Help us remember who we are ~ Who we belong to. It is a struggle sometimes in the ugliness of the world, but oh God in heaven, help us to turn to You ~ to be like Jesus to this world.

~ not in judging others, for He did not come to condemn. 

 John 3:17

~ not snippy or spiteful, but as Jesus, Who is the Word of Grace.

   Ephesians 4:29

~ not vengeful or angry, for Jesus called us to love one another, to forgive as we are forgiven – freely. John 13:34-35

~ not haughty or “holier than thou”, because Jesus washed the  

   disciples feet … Oh, let us wash feet! John 13:12

Help us walk humbly, honoured in the foot steps of Whom we walk and trusting the Maker of our Path.

~ Selah

How We Hear....

You guessed it! Whitewing are cooing, flowers are blooming and all is peaceful out back…just sitting back and hearing God’s creation amazes me every time.
Sitting out here always has me thinking about “how” we hear.  Cuz “what” we are hearing is important, yes… but the “how” determines the “what”, the depth of our hearing. Guess, as I sit in the calm of our garden, this all really amplifies the contrast of the world outside our fence. The world is soooo noisy, it is easy to go thru the day and only hear the clatter and clutter of things. It becomes “what” we hear and can form a wall that dampens the whispers of God to our soul.

He is God, He doesn’t have to yell, He speaks to us in so many unique ways! Nature, literature, people and places ~ the list is endless ~ He is always speaking to us, no doubt, but can we hear? Are we listening?

One of my favourite verses is….

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Just love this! It was written by the apostle Paul, yes…but since all Scripture is inspired by God, then that means that God wrote this, and all the rest, to us! For me, when I read this word with that in mind, it is like God is saying….

May the God of Hope (that’s Me, Your Holy Father and Friend, btw)

fill you with all ( ⇚it all belongs to Me, so yeah I can do that!)

Joy and Peace (whatcha get when you hang out with Me)

as you trust in Him, (you can do that…trust Me, lean on Me, I got this!)

so that (here comes the good part!)

you may overflow (no skimping on things for my kids!)

with Hope ( ⇚ that’s Me!)

by the power of the Holy Spirit. (You’re not in this life alone, I will never leave you or forsake you! I will always, always love you…come on kid, lean in, trust Me)

That’s my prayer for us all ~ that we will learn to lean in and “hear” God speaking His love over our souls. That each one will seek and find the unique way that God is speaking to us…

Wait…Listen…Do you hear that? ♥

He Reaches

So, I went out to feed the birds yesterday afternoon, after the rain. It was beautiful! Whitewing cooing, rain drops collecting on the leaves and slowly dripping into the puddles the sparrows were drinking out of. I just love watching how God provides for His created. ♥

It was then, just as I stepped under the edge of the outdoor roof, I noticed rain drops on a bamboo leaf….but the bamboo is over 20 feet way?! But oh, this branch was reaching all the way from the labyrinth to the place I stood. Such a life picture, right? God does that…He reaches out and reigns right where we are!

Like life, when I think I’m too far, or there’s a storm coming thru my life, He reaches down and reigns all over the situation. He pours out His Peace, washes away the worries and stills my soul. He is there to celebrate with us in the Joys of life He brings. He heals our sorrows in the paths of prayer…

 

All this is for your sake;

and as God's grace reaches

more and more people,

they will offer to the glory of God

more prayers of thanksgiving.

For this reason we never become discouraged.

Even though our physical being

is gradually decaying,

yet our spiritual being

is renewed day after day.

II Corinthians 4:15 & 16

 

He reaches, He always reaches…all we need to do is reach back and take hold of His promises and trust in the reign.