Morning Glories

 

But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. ~Proverbs 4:18 KJV

I don't like morning glories. They sprout up everywhere in the garden. They twine up the tomato cages, the bean poles, and the outside fencing. I can't keep ahead of them. Did I say I don't like morning glories? Until I saw a piece about how "the light shines within." (Whoever wrote that please forgive me for not crediting you. I went back and looked and couldn't find the piece.) 

But back to my point. Morning glories shine from within! I never noticed that. They come in a variety of colors. They grow in gardens, along roadsides, and some people plant them on purpose. As a child, I liked to find the unopened blossoms and pop them. When I found out my neighbor bought seeds for her flower bed I almost fainted. Then I saw that piece, "the light shines within." God never created anything without a purpose, not even morning glories. 

Why would the Lord create a flower to look like a light shining from within? Insects and bugs of all types are drawn to light. Flowers need bugs for pollination. If the inside of a flower that provides food for insects looks like a light all the better for both the bug and the flower. The pollinated flower can produce seeds for more morning glories. That's a good thing when you consider we should be like morning glories. 

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  

~II Corinthians 4:6 KJV

We have the Light within us when we repent of our sins and allow Jesus to come in. We are a new creation made to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. We are to be morning glories, shining our lights and drawing others to Christ. The more we share Christ, the more seeds we produce from those who also allow Jesus to be their Savior. They too become morning glories. We grow in God's garden popping up everywhere, shining among the people of the world. Seeming obnoxious to those who don't realize God's goodness but so important in shining the light for all the world to see. 

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify Father which is in heaven. ~Matthew 5:16 KJV

How are others seeing the Light of Jesus in you?

Blessings, Gail

Hey Kids:

What are you discovering about the creation that you can apply to your own life? 

Have you heard the cicadas that are emerging loudly declaring the glory of God?

Have you noticed how many kinds of pollinators are drawn to flowers? 

Are there birds performing rituals and building homes for their families?

How do you see nature allowing God's light to shine? 

May I recommend this book? It's a little different from the song you usually sing. 

Lights in the Darkness

 

Today I'd like to share a Bible story from Acts 20:7-12. I'd like to take you deeper into the story to see the sights and sounds, "the just like us" human side of the story, because the Bible is just as much about us as it is about the people who lived those stories. Enjoy.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Matthew 5:14

Children chattered and played as they walked with their parents carrying baskets of food and their lamps. Tonight was the last night to hear and visit with Paul before he sailed to Assos. There was a large house, three stories high, where they had agreed to gather. Neighbors watched as the little troop grew larger the closer they came to the house. 

The ladies in the house welcomed the guests, taking the baskets and spreading the food along tables for

everyone to share. A little food, a little fellowship, a little preaching, because of the buzz of the house no one noticed how late the hour had become. 

Neighbors noticed the lamps twinkling into light in a third-story room. “What’s going on there?” Their own lamps were going out one by one as they laid down for the night. 

Eutychus, a young man, sat propped in a window to catch the night breeze and make room for the older folks to sit. As Paul preached toward midnight, Eutychus’ eyes began to droop and his head to nod. Several times, he’d caught himself from falling onto the old man seated in front of him. He’d rearranged himself hoping to wake up. He wanted to hear and he didn’t want to begin to snore. Suddenly his arms flailed and he toppled out the window to the street below. 

People screamed. Lights poured into the streets. Eutychus was dead! The commotion awakened the neighbors. Paul pushed his way through the crowd, then gathered the young man in his arms. “His life is in him,” he declared as Eutychus’ eyes fluttered open. 

“Hallelujah! Praise God! Thank you, Jesus!” came the exclamations from the crowd as they lifted their hands and faces heavenward. 

Thank you, Jesus? Who is this Jesus? , the neighbors whispered along the street. They watched as the people filed back into the house, talking and praising.

Inside the people prayed, ate, listened, and asked questions until dawn when the town began to stir again. Eutychus, the young man, was helped home as the people dispersed. Neighbors watched and eyed the window where last night he had fallen.

Lamps through the night, a dead man raised alive, people praising Jesus. “We’ve never seen anything like this before.”

To think, it seemed to have started with lights shining in the darkness.

Let your light shine.

Gail

The Light Show

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven. Matthew 5:16

This past week we camped on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Boone, NC. The views were spectacular with ridge upon ridge rising below the overlooks. Our favorite part of the drive is the Linn Cove Via Duct that sweeps out over the rock outcroppings. A German engineer designed it to save the natural landscape. - Breathtaking -

We’d set up camp, done a little hiking and visiting the area, then built our campfire for the night. As I prepared for the evening inside the camper, my husband sat by the fire, musing.

Then he stuck his head in the door. “Come look,” he whispered. As I stepped out into the night, the woods from the ground to the treetops sparkled, flashed, glowed. Fireflies going up, dipping down, gliding from side to side. We sat together by the campfire for a long time, watching, pointing, whispering in amazement at the light show before us.

God’s word tells us to let our light shine so others may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.

Father, help me remember to be kind in all I do, that others may see Christ in me and glorify You. Amen.

Hey Kids:

Did you know where I live we call fireflies, lightning bugs?

Have you ever caught lightning bugs?

The fireflies we saw were likely Synchronous fireflies (Photinus carolinus). They are one of the 19 species that live in my area and are one of the few species that make patterns when they flash. They only do this for a couple of weeks, usually in late May and early June. This is their typical mating rituals. As we watched there would be lots of flashes, then total darkness. Then the show would repeat itself. Awesome.

If you do a little research you can find out how fireflies produce their light.

You may also find that jars of fireflies have been used for light while doctors perform surgeries in countries without electricity.

Put a few fireflies in a jar for a night light. Be sure to get an adult to poke a few holes in the lid for air. Be sure to release them in the morning. You can catch more the next night.

Blessings,

Gail

This Little Light of Mine

... Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Esther 4:14

The world celebrates with witches and ghosts and worse, if there is such a thing. We either join in or try to change the tone to something less evil (let's call it like it is). But is there a way to be in this world and help our children not be of this world? If you homeschool, the answer is yes, but if, like most people your child attends a public school, it becomes ever more difficult to be separate from the world. I teach in a public school because God has opened that door of witness for me. The fall is a difficult time of year for Christian teachers and students because we are bombarded with Halloween. Though jack-o-lanterns have a less than perfect history, they are one thing I can use to create a positive situation. I center my unit on fall farm with pumpkins as the highlighted crop. Of course Old MacDonald gets his place with the animals as well. We get to learn about the night, moon phases, constellations, and nocturnal animals. You know, bats and owls. All of these things, pumpkins, animals, bats, owls, moon, even chilly weather are all part of God's creation and need teaching in a positive way. In my classroom, The Five Little Pumpkins don't say "there are witches in the air". I take the liberty to change the words to "there's a chill in the air". See, it goes right along with fall, not ghouls. 

The day the school celebrates Halloween, we carve a pumpkin. We measure the height and the circumference before we slice into it. When the pumpkin is opened, my pre-K class does all the yucky faces about the "guts". So. I allow each child to reach in and take out the yucky stuff. They then have to count the seeds. The students choose the shapes we will use to carve the face but we discuss the smile; scary, sad, happy, funny. Here is where we discuss that the pumpkin is like us. Is there yucky stuff in us? Does it make us happy or sad? Are we sometimes angry? How do our feelings affect others? If we take the yucky stuff out and replace it with good things, how do we feel? Do we smile or frown? Are we happy or sad? 

Our conclusion is that when we take out the yucky stuff inside of us, then we smile. Our pumpkin gets a smile as well. We add a candle to our jack-o-lantern because just like us, when the yucky stuff is out, our lights shine in our eyes and in our smile. Scholastic has a version of This Little Light of Mine that works well in my secular situation. It shows a girl who helps, takes turns, and shares. Isn't this the way Christians first begin to show others that Jesus has taken out our yucky stuff and replaced it with His Light? Do not our actions speak far louder than our words? 

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Hey Kids:

If you carved a pumpkin, I doubt you hid it under a bushel. You probably set it out on the porch or by a haystack or scarecrow. You probably lit a candle for all your neighbors to see. Do you think your neighbors smiled when they saw your pumpkin all lit up? 

Think about ways you can demonstrate Jesus' light. Can you be a helper at school and home and at play with your friends? Can you take turn with your siblings and friends? Can you share your toys with others? You may want to keep a journal of drawings and/or writings of how you felt and how others felt when you let your light shine. 

If I sneaked a peak at your journal, I would probably see a lot of happy faces and stories. Would you allow us the privilege to see a few ways you lighted your world by posting a picture or story?

Blessings and thanksgivings this week,

Gail