Mary Crisp Jameson - copyright material







Sunday, January 29, 2012

Defeating Your Giants

     My friendly shade is located on a dead-end road surrounded by forest and trees.  This, often, allows me to observe wildlife, and especially deer as they ease through the back side of my property.  This morning there was one lonely doe.  She was crippled.  Actually she was limping through the trees on three legs; the back leg, which was away from my viewing range, dangled  loosely and was unable to touch the ground.  More than likely, this was the result of a shot, gone wrong, during hunting season. 
     I do hunt from time to time and am not opposed to it, but this poor limping deer did leave me sad and feeling sorry for her and her future as she strives to survive nature.    
     I was pondering on how a human’s aim, as he missed his target, had caused the injury which was going to leave this doe crippled when it dawned on me about how our words and deeds can  leave those we come in contact with crippled, as well.
     When David’s brother admonished him and told him he was just a little boy trying to show out, and that he was no one to think he could defeat Goliath, David ignored him.  David had enough faith in his God that he went ahead and did what he proposed in his heart to accomplish.  Yet, there are those who are weaker in their faith than David was.  They let what others think about them interfere with what they really want to do in life.  Those same words from David’s brother could have been what it took to make him turn away and not follow God’s calling.  Our words do affect people.  Our words can build up or they can tear down; they can leave a person crippled.  In Proverbs 18 it says, “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” 
     To those who speak too quickly, watch your words and build up your friend.  Encourage them face their giants. 
     To those who listen and try to please, remember it is your life, and scripture tells us to “Attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.”   The wise have God’s word in their hearts, and they have the strength and courage to follow their hearts.   You will defeat your giants.


Sunday, January 22, 2012

"The Beginning" Canvas

     As I sat in my Friendly Shade, which, by the way, was cloudy and cool I thought of the beauty of God's earth.  Even in the dead of winter with no leaves on the trees and no sunshine His world is still beautiful.  He painted a beautiful picture for us during all the seasons of our life.  What a wonderful artist and Master He is! 

The Beginning

The canvas was blank, void of any light,
Then the artist covered it with a frosting of white.
He added colors; some orange, green, and blue;
From there, the picture grew.

Behold! The division between earth and sky-
It was going to be a masterpiece for the human eye.
There were lakes, rivers, even the ocean,
And the waves rose up in motion.

The earth was filled with grass and trees;
All as beautiful as the great blue seas.
The canvas was splashed in colors of every hue;
There was day and night, yet He wasn't through.
He stroked in the stars, the moon, and the sun,
But still He was not done.
The artist's hands added life of every form;
There were seasons, both cold and warm.

In His touch beauty sprang forth
From the east, west, south and the north.
This was a picture interwoven from His heart and soul.
Nothing was He going to withhold.

He painted sunrays, moonbeams, and stars shining bright.
He painted and stroked to make it just right;
This masterpiece He was painting with love-
Giving all that life would be unworthy of.

A piece of art created by the Master's hand;
A canvas covered with all that He had planned.
                                   Mary Crisp Jameson


Sunday, January 15, 2012

Facing Giants


      Facing the Giants in our lives was talked about today by my co-author in his blog Humor 4 A Purpose.  He is so right.  We do face giants of fear, financial problems, temptations, and many others, and, like he said, we cannot be victorious without God in our lives. 
     To enhance on his blog, I would like to say that we all, also, face emotional feelings of loneliness at times.  Those without God in their lives will always have an empty space in their hearts where God belongs.   As Christians, we have lonely times; it does not matter if we have loving people around us, there will times when we are not feeling joyful and do not even know the reason.  Yet, Christians  have hope; we have the Spirit of Jesus living within our hearts to help remove this giant of loneliness.  We have a church family and a Christian fellowship; we have the word of God and a living God within us.  We have the promises of God.  In Hebrews 13:5 we are told that He will never leave or forsake us.  We can choose to reach out to others and to reach out and study God's word.  We can choose to talk with God about our problems.  There are ways to defeat the giant of loneliness.  We will continue to have giants in our lives.  We just have to have the faith and courage David had in God when he picked up a small stone to slay the great giant who was placing fear into the heart of the king's army.     






Sunday, January 8, 2012

Lengthing the Journey


     I will start my Friendly Shade today with a little humor on being short since that is what I would like to blog about.  You know, God favors short people.  How do I know this?  God tells us in Matthew, “…Lo, I am with you always…”    
     However, short doesn’t just refer to people’s height.  Many people today are short on time.  They are short on cash.  They are short on patience.  They are short on faith.
     Zacchaeus was short in stature, but he overcame it by climbing a sycamore tree. He did not care that he was well-known and that people would laugh at his child-like desire to see Jesus.  It should be noted that Zacchaeus was a rich man, yet he was not satisfied.  There was something, obviously, missing in his life.  In the end, Zachaeus was willing to give back to the people a portion of his wealth to have God in his life, and he was rewarded by his action.    
     How different life would be if we would live every day as if it were our last.  It is then that we will finally set our priorities and put God first.  Only by putting God first will we be able to lengthen our shortfalls.  When we fail to give God our time, we are robbing God.  By not floating through the shopping areas and using that time in prayer and the word of God we will spend less and increase our cash flow.  We will get to know God better, and we will begin to imitate his ways; thereby, finding more patience, love, and faith.  Our jouney here may be short, but we can lengthen it in favor with God. 

 Ecclesiastes 5:10  He that loveth silver shall not satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

    

Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Year's Resolution

As I opened up a new calendar for 2012 I found it to be blank.  I quickly filled it with all the birthdays I needed to remember for the year.   Like most people, I start out doing really well remembering to send cards, but, then as the year moves forward, I gradually forget the cards.  It is the same with New Year’s Resolutions.  Yet, we should never stop making them.  We should just strive to do better each year.  Time moves forward, and, like my co-author said in his blog, Humor 4 A Purpose, no matter how old I get I have as much time as I have ever had - the time is now!  As I think on resolutions this year I would like to make mine about God and others and not just about myself.   Only by taking the "I" out can I develop a good recovery program for 2012.  So here goes:
R ead God’s Word daily
E mit a positive attitude every day
S eek to be less self-centered
O ffer support and help to those in need
L isten to what others have to say
U plift those with needs to God
T une in to the good that happens and not dwell on the bad
I ndulge in a special time to talk with God
O ffset problems by having a grateful heart
N ightly count my blessings
S low down, be Still, and Smile