Encouragement
The wisest insight we can receive is to realize that our life really isn't ours to control. We might dare to think we are in control of our own destiny, but reality is, there is very little that we actually can control.
"But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD, I say, 'You are my God.' My times are in Your hand" (Psalm 31.14-15)
Back in Rochester, once on the way home from work, I asked Gaylene if anything interesting had happened at work that day. She said well, she heard there was another floaties sighting.
I said "What??
"Oh you didn’t hear of the bath floaties?"
Obviously I had not.
If you are not familiar with the story, I will summarize what she told me:
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"I learned recently that while 88% of American homes have at least 1 Bible (most own 4 or more), less than 40% of Americans read the Bible regularly. Worse, 1 in 5 churchgoers never reads the Bible. It's easy to find excuses for not reading God's Word: we're too busy, the Bible is too confusing, and we don't know where to begin. How can we get past the excuses and make reading the Bible a priority!"
Does that sound right to you?
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How did you observe the Fourth of July, our nation’s birthday? Did you celebrate in the traditional way, with outdoor activities, picnics, or by attending a parade or fireworks display? Was there a family reunion you enjoyed?
Fourteen years ago, we “celebrated” the Fourth of July by moving to Hutchinson from Hector.
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“Shucked and boiled in water, sweet corn is edible and nutritious; roasted in the husk in the hottest possible oven for forty minutes, shucked at the table, and buttered and salted, nothing else, it is ambrosia. No chef's ingenuity and imagination have ever created a finer dish." – Nero Wolfe
Ran across this quote and made my mouth salivate. We've already had some pretty good corn-on-the-cob, but Lord willing with the rain and the sun, the best is yet to come.
Succulent and juicy, they really can't be eaten anyway but with fingers. Some try little poky things so their fingers won't get sticky, but that's just for 'city folks.'
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Some scientists were tracking Golden Winged Warblers in the Appalacian mountains. See a picture below.
What is interesting is that right after they finished their seasonal migration, they left!
Scientists were confused, until a series of storms swept through the area which lead to a tornado outbreak. Checking the geolocation trackers on the birds later, they flew a bit over 930 miles to get just South of the Tornado's path, then came straight home again.
This immediately brought to mind:
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"We have lived here 11 years and had a garden that long although I have enlarged the garden several times. But every spring when I till it, I find more pieces of glass, small rocks, broken pottery and other treasures. About 3 years ago I set a 5-gal. bucket with a lid in the garden and started putting the pieces in the bucket. It is almost half full now. Where do all those pieces of glass keep coming from? You would think that I would have all of them by now.
"It is just like our sin. You think you just about got something conquered and it pops out again.
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Music is woven into the very design of our universe.
Job 38:4,7 says:
"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
The stars were singing, according to God, when He "laid the foundations of the earth" (Job 38:4) They continue to sing today, according to NASA.
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Last week I wrote on Tuesday about how women's names have changed through the years. As a result, Viv sent this to me and I think you'll also enjoy, as did I. His is a rather unusual name in this day and age, but it was once quite popular. Click on the link and see when the popularity of your name peaked.
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So if you are looking through your family history hoping to come across a name that will make your little girl stand out, here are a few formerly popular names that are practically nonexistent now.
Maybe your daughter or grand-daughter does not have one of these, but did your grandma, or one of your aunts?
Betty: Throughout the 1930s, Betty was second only to Mary among girl n0000ames, but has been on a steady decline since 1940.
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The Centennial Light is the world's longest-lasting light bulb. It is at 4550 East Avenue, Livermore, California, and maintained by the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department.[1] The fire department says that the bulb is at least 113 years old and has been turned off only a handful of times. Due to its longevity, the bulb has been noted by The Guinness Book of World Records, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, and General Electric. ~~ from Wikipedia
This is just one of those fascinating and basically useless facts you occasionally encounter, but it stimulated my thinking on the idea espoused in the old chorus, Remember how it went?
"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
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There is a difference in understanding, belief, and faith.
Understanding is getting facts and information lined up so that you "see" it in your mind. It is rational to you. It makes good sense.
Belief is agreeing with the facts or information set before you. It is agreeing with a scientific fact, or spiritual idea, or physical facts, or any other kind of facts. When you don't believe it, you don't accept the information given to you. Believing God and believing the Bible sounds good, but it is not nearly enough. You need to put your faith in God, his word, and his commands.
Faith is much more than believing. The demons believe in God and they shudder, it says in James 2:19. They believe, but they don't have faith. They believe more than most so-called Christians do today. They have seen God do much more than we have. But they don't have faith.
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It was a week after my certification exam and I was pulling my hair out in anticipation of my test results. I received the results, excited to learn the outcome. Unfortunately I did not pass all three parts of the test. I was happy to pass two of the three, but was disappointed to have only missed the third test by three points!
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