Focused On The Obvious

It occurred to me the other morning, as I was starting out on my upward walk, that my mind was bombarded with all the tasks I had to do that day. I had so much clutter in my mind that I failed to enjoy the beautiful mountain scene before me. As I caught myself engrossed with all that mundane stuff, I realized how my life can be so focused on the obvious, that I fail to see the hidden reality. . .

Obvious things consume me, sometimes so simple as what to pack or what to wear, or what and when to eat, and all those thoughts can completely crowd my mind. A jammed up mind is then susceptible to worry and anxiety, especially if I have no quick solutions. Instead I need to turn my focus to the One Unseen, the One who makes a brand new day for me, who causes the spring flowers to bloom, the trees to bud, and the grass to grow. He even keeps this world turning and spinning in perfect rhythm, all so oblivious to me. Focusing on Him alone clears my mind of all the obvious and helps me see true reality. . .

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Close Encounters of the Spiritual Kind

" Put yourself in the path that God will work." (Pastor Martin Smith, 1/2024) On a crisp, clear Saturday morning, I started up the hill with Gypsy Rose eagerly leading the way. I was more caught up in the fresh air feeling that was invigorating, than paying attention to the few cars that passed us by. But there up ahead, a small red truck had slowed to the curb to flag me down. "Could I help him find his son's house?" He was an older gentleman with his phone in hand. He couldn't reach his son because the calls only went to voicemail, and he didn't have his address, only that it was somewhere here in Rancho. I googled his son for him, but unfortunately, it only brought up an older address which was the current address now for this man. There was no updated address for Rancho Cucamonga. I told him the bad news, but he was so very gracious. He did everything to show me that he was for real, pulling out his driver lice...

Awe

The thunder resounded with a loud clap! Certainly, it came as an afternoon surprise. The expected rain seemed less than what was forecasted, but with the thunder came a bucket of heavy raindrops splashing against my kitchen window. I wanted to take it all in, the fresh aroma of falling rain and the beauty of water drops hitting the leaves of my nasturtium and petunia hanging baskets. Unfortunately, the rain cloud quickly fled, running away into the eastern sky. But then the sun made its way onto the scene, and I was drawn to a thick band of rainbow colors shining up at me. The western sky was magnificently orange, completely bound up tight with that solo color scheme. I went outside to catch it all before it would disappear. Creation again was causing me to pause in awe and wonder. . . Awe is that reverential wonder, that even includes fear and respect. It is only a 3 letter word, but it takes bigger and grander words to define it....

Corrupt Leaders, Corrupt People?

There's a pattern over and over again in the history books of the Old Testament. It goes something like this, the king did evil in the sight of the Lord, in which he made the people sin, and provoked God to anger with their idols, (I Kings 16: 13). God is not human, and we are limited in our language to truly describe an Infinite Invisible Being. We use our human terms to describe outcomes or actions that are visible to us. The people viewed their King as their protector and advocate. If it went well with the King, it was well for them, even if the King veered from the teachings of their heritage, i.e. the Law of Moses. It seemed as if there was no real discernment on their part, but rather a complicity of going along with majority thought or rule. I could be wrong, but the phrase that the King made the people sin, makes me wonder. After all, isn't there personal choice with our decisions? Are we any different today, on this ...

Mary's Heartbeats

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