The Rocks Cry Out

 

 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” ~Luke19:40 (NKJV)

There are hearts all around us, in the stores, in classrooms, magazines, everywhere I look I see hearts. Love is in the air with Valentine's Day upon us. Jesus tells us to "love one another." February is a good time to check up and see if we truly love; love like Jesus loved. In Luke the people were praising Jesus as he entered the city of Jerusalem, just a few days later he would be crucified. The people seemed to love him, but in a few days they would cry out, "crucify him."

What is love? Is it a feeling, a temporary emotion, or is it something that endures? The people were praising Jesus because they thought he would overthrow the Romans. Their love, for the most part, was temporary. But true love is lasting, deep, even unto death. 

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ~John 15:13(KJV)

When the Pharisees told Jesus to make the people stop praising, Jesus answered that if they didn't praise him, the stones would immediately cry out. God's creation praises him even if and when we don't. The picture of the heart stones is from If Rocks Could Sing a discovered alphabet by Leslie McGuirk. Rocks, stones all sizes demonstrating love. Their size doesn't matter. The place they were found doesn't matter. They all say love just by the way they are shaped. They cry out love. Their shape will stay the same as long as the world stands unless they are broken in some way. Jesus's heart was broken when he sweated great drops of blood as he prayed in the garden. His heart was broken when he hung on the cross, dying for our sins. But his love for us remains the same. There is no greater love than Jesus's love for us. He gave his life that we may have eternal life. 

Many of us say we love Jesus. Is it temporary like the crowd on Palm Sunday or has he worked a love in our hearts that is eternal? Have we allowed Him to give us the gift of eternal life or are we still trying to work for our salvation? The thief on the cross next to Jesus couldn't do good works and neither can we. Like the thief on the cross, we have to cry out to Jesus in repentance of our sins. You can cry out today. My prayer today is just an example of what you may want to tell Jesus.

Dear Lord Jesus, I have sinned.  Thank you for loving me and dying for me. Please forgive me and save me. Thank you for your gift of salvation.  In Your name, I pray. Amen. 

Hey Kids: 

Do you like to collect rocks? What can you do with a pocket full of rocks? In Leslie McGuirk's book If Rocks Could Sing, she collects rocks that look like letters and then adds other rocks that look like things the letters could stand for — like V is for Valentine, E is for Elephant, and my favorite J is for Joy and she has little rocks that look like happy fish. They remind me of Nemo. 

Other books about rocks that you might enjoy are by Patti Rokus. She uses rocks to tell Bible stories. One is A Savior is Born: Rocks Tell the Story of Christmas. The other is He is Risen: Rocks Tell the Story of Easter.  My grandchildren loved collecting and retelling the stories with their own rocks after reading these books. 

Isn't it amazing how even the rocks praise our Lord and Savior? 

An Egg is an Egg Until

 

photo courtesy of Pixabay

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. ~Psalms 139:14 KJV

A friend of mine posted a picture this week of a swan walking around Lake Junaluska, NC. Its majestic swagger was evident even in a still photo. I wondered if he was looking for a mate or a place to show her for a nest. 

I follow the Wonderfilled Days blog, though I no longer teach or homeschool or even have children at home, I love reading her explorations and connections to children's literature. The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White was a literature connection recently. She brought to the reader's attention that at the end of most chapters, Sam posed a question, a thought provoking question. 

    "I don't know of anything in the entire world more wonderful to look at than a nest with eggs in it. An egg, because it contains life, is the most perfect thing there is. It is beautiful and mysterious. An egg is a finer thing than a tennis ball or a cake of soap. A tennis ball will always be just a tennis ball. A cake of soap will always be just a cake of soap until it gets so small nobody wants it and they throw it away, an egg will someday be a living creature."

~The Trumpet of the Swan

We value so many things, our grandmother's china cabinet, or our dad's '67 Mustang. We value the homerun baseball signed by our favorite player and the concert tickets from that special night, but how valuable is a life? Tennis balls, fragrant soap, china, cars, signed balls, and tickets are just stuff; even those with memories attached are still just stuff, but an egg, any egg, is life itself. It will grow and transform into that beautiful cygnet, a bluebird, a salamander, or a platypus. Watching a mother robin tend her nest and seeing the newly hatched chicks is one of my favorite childhood memories. But these are not the only eggs that contain life. 

We may not be able to see the horse's egg or our dog's egg, or even a goat's egg, but they all originate as an egg. Neither can we see the human egg inside the mother's womb, but it is there growing with God forming the little person's every detail. He creates each human with love and a purpose. Whether there is only one child or twenty, whether the child is born into a family or adopted, a child is still created with purpose and loved by God. 

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. ~Psalms 128:3-5

So much is happening to destroy the lives of our children physically, mentally, and spiritually. The swan builds a nest six feet wide to lay her eggs and protect her cygnets. The cob (male swan) swims close by, guarding her and the young. Like swans, we need strong homes with watchful fathers and mothers who "fuss" over our families.  I pray we watch carefully over our children from conception to their flight from our nests. 

Father, give us a new heart for children and families. Help us guard them against Satan's entanglements and create a home where the wonders of the Lord and His salvation are shared daily. In Jesus's name. Amen. 

Hey Kids: 

Have you read The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White? Perhaps you have had it read to you. 

Did you notice the questions Sam thought of each night? 

He wrote them in a journal by his bed and pondered them as he went to sleep each night.

When he wondered about eggs, he also wondered how the bird knew how to build a nest. 

Take some time to go outside and watch as spring brings new life. Watch as the birds, insects, and other animals prepare homes for new life. 

Create a journal for your observations and questions. Ask for help finding literature about your questions. Add quotes from the literature or Bible verses that support your observations and questions.

Wonder at the wonderful world God has created for us to enjoy and to teach us of His great love. 

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

 

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Psalms 139:14

I LOVE SNOW!! Even though I live where it only snows once or twice each year, it’s enough to keep everyone on their toes all winter long, watching the clouds, sniffing the air, feeling the deep chill, trying to remember how many fogs there were in August and what color the wooly worms were. Y’all don’t do that where you live? Oh, I’m sorry. All that adds to the fun of waiting and wishing and watching. While I'm waiting I like to create a few paper flakes to hang in the window. If you need help making snowflakes, just Google the word snowflake and you’ll find lots of ideas. I found an out-of-print book called Zoo Flakes ABC by Will Howell. It shows how to make animal snowflakes – a cool book. The point being, there are a zillion ways to make a snowflake. By the way, there are more than a zillion real snowflake shapes.

Snowflakes can be flat or 3D. They generally have 6 sides, but no two are ever alike. God put a lot of effort into making something so tiny and intricate. We can’t even see the details with just our eyes. Before microscopes and cameras, no one probably knew the details of just one tiny snowflake. But God knew. He cared. He wanted to show everyone and anyone how much He cares about His creation. If He cares so much that He takes the time to make every little snowflake different, just think how special we are to Him. He created every person differently. Even identical twins are not exactly the same. And it’s more than just our looks. Our personalities and talents are different. God made each of us unique with a special job to do. He cares what happens to us. He sent His only Son to die for us so that we could be forgiven of our sins and spend eternity with Him. Snowflakes melt, but we are His unique creation with an eternal soul. How much more special God has created you and me! We are the epitome of all His creation.

Make a few snowflakes for your windows this week. While you’re at it, thank the Lord for making you special. Ask Him what plans He has for your unique talents. Then, keep your ears and eyes open for God’s direction. 

Father God, thank you for the beautiful snow you have so wonderfully and uniquely made. Thank you for creating me with unique talents to serve your purposes. Help me pay attention to your leading so that I use those talents for your glory. In Jesus' name. Amen. 

A Year's Worth of Soap

 

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15 KJV

Many of us are making or have made New Year's resolutions. Often, we think we will read through the Bible in a year or we look for a new devotional book to inspire our walk. Many people substitute a few words from a devotional for Bible reading because they say the Bible is too hard to understand. There's nothing wrong with reading a devotional so long as we are also reading the Word. Even the Apostle Paul praised the church at Berea because they read the scriptures daily to make sure what he was saying and writing was true (Acts 17:11).  

I use the S.O.A.P. method. It usually takes 20-30 minutes. Then I do a five-minute devotional. I'm often surprised how well they mesh together. 

Here's the journaling method I do with my Bible reading. 

S. Scripture - I prayerfully read a chapter and allow God to impress one or two verses on my heart. I copy that scripture as the heading of the day's reading. 

O. Observation - In my own words, I write my observations about the context of the verse. In other words, I retell the story. 

A. Application - How has God impressed upon me to apply these verses in my life? 

P. Prayer - I write my prayer asking the Lord to help me apply the things He is teaching me.

The verse I chose today was from John 12: 1-11 with an emphasis on verse 9. Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. 

My observation was that people came to see Lazarus because he knew what it was like to be dead and then come back to life. They probably had questions like; "Did you go toward a light? Was it scary? Did you hover around and watch people as they mourned for you? Did you go to paradise or heaven?" One of the biggest takeaways I had was that Lazarus was a man just like the people and they wanted to see someone whose life God had resurrected from death to a new life.

My application became my Christian walk. I say I am a Christian and people watch me every day to see how God has changed me, how He has delivered me from a lost/dead state to a new/resurrected life in Christ.

Usually, folks don't really come to church looking for God. They come because someone invited them. People want to see how God can change us in such a way that we are new people/creatures in Christ. They've never known what it is like to have their lives completely changed. They are curious to see how it works. Am I a good demonstration? 

My prayer was of course personal and individual but here are my thoughts.

Heavenly Father, help me demonstrate my life in Christ every day so that others might see the wonderful change Jesus has made in my life because I have asked for forgiveness and salvation. May others be so affected by the change that it would cause them to turn to Jesus as well. In Christ Jesus's name. Amen

Horton Hears a Who, Do You?

 

Can You Hear Whos Too? 

For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[fn]

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

~Psalms 139:13,14

STOP! Hurry to your nearest bookshelf, library, or store. Get a copy before there are no more. Then slowly, carefully read each line. Is there anything vaguely familiar in the rhyme? 

Horton, whose elephant ears are very sharp, hears the tiniest voice calling for help. He can't see the person whose voice he hears. Some poor little person who resides on a speck of dust is crying out, shaking in fear. "He'll be blown in the pool. He has no way to steer." 

That speck is as small as the head of a pin. But you know "a person's a person no matter how small." Each and every one of us was once the size of a speck, a tiny human egg, as small as the head of a pin. 

Horton imagines who might be living on that speck of dust, "a family with children just starting to grow." The baby kangaroo agrees with everything his mother says. She's training her baby to have the same misconstrued values as she. But Horton keeps repeating "A person's a person, no matter how small." Even when everyone makes fun of him, he still stands for what he knows is right. 

Three monkeys jump on Horton's back. They could have been his friends, the government, or just pushy people trying to help. So they take the flower with the speck and give it to the vulture, who is to "kindly get rid of the thing." What? Kindly get rid? of the thing? Others say nothing is there, but now there is an admittance that there is something there.

So the vulture "hides" it in a field of other flowers. Horton feels more dead than alive. Think about that. Horton didn't agree to throw the flower away, but it's affecting him anyway. Finally, he discovers the flower with Whoville, still alive though shattered. 

The kangaroo says they live in a peaceable jungle. How can the world in which they live be peaceable when they destroy the smallest among them? How can Horton show them the truth? By getting everyone in Whoville to make a noise, shout, play music, and just make noise. The kangaroo still can't hear.

But not everyone who lives in Whoville is doing their part. When the mayor searches for the person, he finds him innocently playing with his yoyo at home. He's the one who is keeping the town from being heard. His shout, "Yopp!" is the needed extra sound to bring the message to the kangaroo. She changes her mind and her little roo does too. 

The Supreme Court has heard the case and sent it to the states. Many states are waiting for their own Supreme Court to make a decision while thousands of children die. Others have already decided to allow abortion and even infanticide. Our state leaders need to hear our voices now. Who is the last one to let our voice be heard? 

A person's a person, no matter how small!

Heavenly Father, please let the voices of your people arise and be heard by all the land so that the killing of our innocents will cease and healing can begin. In Jesus's name. Amen. 

Hey Kids:

Have you read Horton Hears a Who? Just who is a Who? I think you probably know the story of the Grinch. Little Cindy Lou Who lives in Whoville, the same Whoville Horton saves on the speck of dust. 

Though Dr.Seuss did not intend to present a Christian worldview, many of his stories have important messages that do present a Christian worldview. What other books by Dr. Seuss have you read? What were some of the messages? 

Every book has an underlying message.  I like to go back and reread books that I enjoy to make sure I got the author's meaning. What other books have you read with a Christian worldview?