Be Still and Know

One final winner of the December give away... Jetta Allen! Jetta wins Edie Melson's book While My Child is Away. Jetta if you will email or PM me your address, I'll put your book in the mail as soon as the snow melts. Thank you to all the email subscribers and followers who encourage me each week. I hope I encourage you in some small way.

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalms 46:10

The weatherman predicted record cold with moisture rising from the Gulf to meet the sinking arctic air. Snow was on every mind. Hurry to gather groceries, meet deadlines, check the woodpile and the flashlight batteries.

It started with the gathering of clouds and robins in the yard. The still, the quiet, the smell, it all said snow. Then a small twirling flake, and another, and another. Faster, thicker, the white fluff clung to points grass and elbows of trees. Close the schools and make the last mad rush for milk and bread only to find empty shelves and long lines. Hurry home through driving snow, black snow. The speed of the car and the thick falling of the snow created a darkness that was blinding. But snow was white, light. How then this darkness, this blindness?

The speed of life does not wait to contemplate the Light, though the Light gently swirls around us every day. If we look below, it softly falls around our walk. If we look above, it lights gently on our faces. If we look straight ahead, the Light is there in every nook and corner of our lives. At the speed of life, Light is not allowed to shine. It's like the fear of the unknown, the confusion of being told of beauty without the ability to see. It is only when we take the time to "Be Still" that we can know that He is God. He is here to light our way, shine down on us and direct our paths.

How easily we forget and allow hurry and deadlines, woodpiles and the ever ready battery that runs our lives to keep us in darkness. "Be still. Be still and know. Be still and know that I am God," He gently calls to us. May the blessing of the snow allow us the time to be still.

Blessings,

Gail

Hey Kids:

How can you see God this week? 

Look around your feet.

Look up. 

Look straight ahead.

Can you see the longsuffering of God, His gentleness, His goodness? 
These are the fruits He can help us demonstrate but we must first see how He demonstrates these fruits to us. 

Here's a hint to get you started: 
Those winter trees you see in the yard that look dead, watch how they change in the next few weeks. Watch them come to life. 
Jesus is demonstrating how we sometimes have to wait to see the good come of a situation. 
When the tender leaves and blossoms begin to show in the spring and the gentle breezes blow, it reminds us of the gentle way God deals with us.
As that tree begins to come into full fruit, it can remind us of the goodness of God to help us grow into fruitful Christians. 
Fill your fruit bowl with longsuffering, gentleness and goodness this week. 

The Season of Giving

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

Tis the season of giving and I'd like to give away a book each week this month. Just subscribe to my blog through email for a chance to win. The subscribe by email button is located at the top right of the blogpost.

This week I'm offering my children's book, Tsali: Hero of the Eastern Band Cherokee. It will make a great Christmas gift for any child who is beginning to learn about Native American History. Many Cherokee were dying as they walked the Trail of Tears from the east to Oklahoma. Tsali and his sons made the decision to sacrifice their lives so the Cherokee hiding in the mountains could remain in their homeland. This sacrifice would end the Trail of Tears for the Cherokee. 

Tsali may not sound like Christmas literature, but this story can be used as an object lesson. Just as Tsali and his sons gave their lives to keep their people from traveling the Trail of Tears, so God have His Son, Jesus, as the sacrifice for us so we don't have to follow the path to hell. Through Jesus Christ we can have the promise of the forgiveness of sin and an eternal home with Him. 

Hey Kids: 

True heroes are those willing to sacrifice their lives for others. 

Can you think of 3 heroes? 

They may be people you know personally or historical figures. 

What makes them heroes?

We'd love to hear about your heroes. Please leave us a note in the comments section.