At Just The Right Time

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us, sinners.” Romans 5:6

There are times, when we are reading God’s word, that a verse will just “pop” out at us. This verse did just that for me. It is a beautiful, loving verse about a Savior coming to rescue us, but it was this portion that pierced my heart – “…at just the right time…”

Jesus came at just the right time. Surely there were other times in the history of the nation of Israel when they thought it was the right time for Him to come. Imagine them during the time of their captivity, longing for the Messiah to come and set them free. Think of four hundred years of silence between the Old and New Testaments. How they must have longed for just a word from the Lord, but the heavens remained closed. They couldn’t know that the Father was working out His perfect plan.....

The rest of my devotional is at Laced With Grace today. I would love it if you would join me there.

Blessings,
Linda

22 Seneca Street

The street on whose corner
lived the little house
(that once seemed big)
trimmed in yellow,
surrounded by white wooden fence.

The street of my childhood.

Do the sounds still echo there?
- bicycle tires
speeding over your gravelly surface
- little girl footsteps
running and jumping rope
- dancing feet on the pavement
in dress-up clothes
- the quiet swooshing of sleds
when you were blanketed in snow.

Do the voices still fill the air?
- "Can Chris come out
and play?"
- "Shep! Come here!"
- "Just five more minutes Mom;
please?!"
- the laughter, secrets and
tears.

You run right through my heart.

Join us for this week's RAP: streetwise poetry

Blessings,
Linda

Multitude Monday

"LET EVERYTHING THAT BREATHES SING PRAISES TO THE LORD!"
Psalm 150:6

Spring comes, a promise fulfilled, and all of nature sings praise. We have only to step outside and with open heart see the gifts the Father has given us.

I am deeply grateful for:

- a dear little front porch - a place to sit and soak up the beauty of the day, to remember other days when childrens toys and pets feeding dishes filled the empty space


- a place to sit and stitch, the silence broken only by the perfect songs of little birds




- an unexpected visit from a little friend


- a beautiful gift from my husband, just because...


- this lovely piece of land that has been home for 28 years


- little wild flowers dancing in the wind


- these ancient oaks, standing sentinel in the front yard; once again they shed their leaves with the promise of new life not far behind. These trees were here long before I ever drew breath. They have put down deep roots in my heart - symbols of so much God has taught me.


- answered prayer; loved ones safely home from far away places

- birthdays for little granddaughters

- heart-to-heart talks

- a visit with a forever friend

- the evident hand of God on the lives of our grown children

- a church that stand firmly on the Word of God

- His grace in the difficult moments

- certain hope

Please visit Ann's quiet little corner to be part of the Gratitude Community - or just to read and be blessed.

Blessings,
Linda

Pruning

The weather was so perfect yesterday, it would have been impossible to remain indoors. We went for our walk, and when we got home I dug out the gardening gloves and pruning shears. I could hear all the little (and not so little) plants groaning when they caught sight of me, but I proceeded undaunted.

The Texas Sage needed a trim badly. She wasn't happy about it - but as I explained to her as I lovingly snipped away, it was for her own good. In just a few weeks she would be much healthier and stronger and producing those beautiful purple-pink flowers I love (and she loves to wear).

I think she looks a bit sulky, but she will just have to trust me on this one. It will all work together for her good.



The little flower garden was next. There was not the loud groaning and complaining from these children. There were so many lifeless limbs, there could be no doubt they had to come off.


I think I heard little sighs of gratitude when I refastened the little gate. All was clean and fresh - ready for new growth.


The whole time I was cutting and carting off dead and discarded branches I thought about the way the Father works in my own life. There are times I know that I desperately need Him to come and do a work in my life. There is only gratitude when the hard work is done and something new is beginning.

There are other times, however, when I think things are going along just fine, thank you very much, and He comes to lovingly prune away the things that are keeping me from becoming all He desires me to be. The process is often times painful as I cling to the familiar and question His ways. He promises me, in these times, that He is working all things together for my good. His love for me is deeper, wider, and higher than my mind can conceive. He asks only that I trust Him.

"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit."
John 15:2

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!"
Romans 11:33

Blessings,
Linda

Memorial Stones

"We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' Then you can tell them, 'They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord's Covenant went across.' These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever."
Joshua 4: 6-7

There are times, when I write what is on my heart, I feel I need to give a little "disclaimer." I worry that it may appear I think I have somehow "arrived." Nothing could be further from the truth. I believe I struggle more than most, and it is because of that insufficiency that I record the things the Lord so lovingly and graciously doing in my life. I don't want to forget.

I pick up the stones of remembrance and pile them onto the pages of this blog as a memorial. I look down the path and pray that as my children and grandchildren come along behind me they will see the stones and discover here what they mean...

When I pray and ask the Father to forgive me of my sins, I always ask Him to fill me with His Spirit. I ask in faith, but often there comes a little dart of doubt that pierces through the defenses straight into my heart. I hear about the experiences of others and wonder why I don't feel those same things. The little dart begins to spread its poison, and I wonder if somehow there is something wrong with me. Have I somehow gone wrong? Is there something amiss with my own faith?

A short time ago, I was reading some Christian literature, and there was that feeling in my spirit that all was not right. Without going into all the details, it turned out that it was indeed, something that was not Biblical. It was confirmed over and over again.

It was as though the Father was assuring me that all was well. He is so lovingly patient and gentle with me. I am such a slow learner. In my heart I know that His Spirit dwells within me, because I am His child. Those doubts may come, but I know the truth. However, He took the time to reassure this troublesome daughter.

There was such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and joy. It seems a simple thing as I write it down, but it means so much to me. To know I am loved in such a way brings me to my knees.

There have been other things these past few days - answers to prayer and reassurances of His tender mercy and grace in my life. I am overwhelmed anew at the lovingkindness of the Father. When I am so consumed with self that I drift away from Him, He reaches out and draws me back with such love. I haven't words to praise Him adequately. He is everything to me.

"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you."
John 14: 16-17

Blessings,
Linda

Abandoned House

I see it every time we drive into town, speeding by at sixty miles an hour, sitting forlornly atop a little hill. It is slowly going the way of all things whose life has been extinguished.

I imagine what it looked like when life filled its empty rooms, when light illuminated the darkened, broken windows, when loving hands kept it neat and clean.

Once its walls knew the sound of joys and sorrows, now they crumble in the silence. Once, perhaps, children played in the yard, now it is overgrown with weeds. Once it provided comfort and shelter, now its door stands open to the elements and the roof sags. Life has gone from the little house, and it is slowly dying.

I feel such a sadness when I see it. I cannot help but make the comparison to my own life. If I didn't have the life of Jesus dwelling within me, I would soon be very much like that little abandoned house - no life, no light, no warmth, none of the things that make life rich. I would be an empty shell, slowly falling apart. He brings light and life. He makes a house a home; He makes life rich and full. He does it for every life that opens the door to Him.

Blessings,
Linda

A Little Bloggy Break

I think I need to take a little break. Just a little time to "be."

I'll be back in just a little bit.

Blessings,
Linda