Each Day's Plan

 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Just before the new year, I came across plans for a Temperature Blanket. A friend and I determined we would give it a try. After reading the variety of ways to make this blanket that I call an afghan, I decided to go with crocheting the blanket in slip stitches. There will be 366 rows for the year 2020. I'm really not sure what the color of the day will be until I check the temperature each morning. I am reminded I am not in charge of the day. Each day is the Lord's. His design will be recorded in layers of thread each evening one day at a time. Don't look too close or you will see my imperfections. I suppose there should be imperfections in my blanket/afghan because my day is filled with imperfections. I am not the person I should be but each day brings me closer to being what the Lord wants me to be. 

I can't plan how this afghan will play out, how the golds of warmer temperatures will complement the cooler spring colors or how the crimson of summer will contrast with the snowy colors of winter. Following God's weather scheme of color is traveling into the unknown but like God's plan for me, I know it will be memorable and amazing. I plan to finish the edge with white to remind me that my sinless perfect God is in charge of every day. 

Like following the Lord, this blanket/afghan can be started any time during the year. It will still have a beginning and on the same date the next year will be the ending. Like the blanket, each of us makes the choice when we will begin following the Lord. He has the plan for our lives and the ending. It will be memorable and amazing when we follow His plan.  If you'd like to make a temperature blanket/afghan check out Pinterest and find the one that fits your style. Your blanket will be as unique as you because you are God's design even more so than the weather. We don't know what the future holds but God knows the plans He has for us. It is His intention to prosper us and not to harm us. He has plans to give us hope and a future. 

As we look back at our blanket/afghans we will see the chilly days, the insufferably hot days, the pleasant picnic days and the crisp autumn days. May we be reminded that life has chilly days, insufferable days, pleasant days and those wonderfully crisp days. God will never leave us or forsake us. He has the plan and we will receive His best. 

God's blessings for the New Year.

Gail

Facing a New Year

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11

Sometimes it seems all hope is lost. It's just too hard to believe things will change or ever be alright again. We're too young or too old. May as well forget it. But is anything too hard for the Lord, our Promise Keeper? 

From the time I was a young teen, I knew all I wanted was to be a wife and mother. I was very good in school. The other kids were surprised I had no interest in college or a career. I had no dates until I was 20. I knew before we dated that this would be the man I would marry. At 23 we married and immediately started our family. In 4 years time, I had 3 children and the doctor told us our children were so large (10+ lbs) I wouldn't be able to carry another child to term. I was heartbroken. What was happening to the dream and what I thought was God's plan for us? 

When God told Abram to leave his homeland and his relatives, He promised to make Abram a great nation (Genesis 12:1,2). Abram was a young man with a young wife. Surely it was hard for them to leave everything and everyone behind and seek a new land, but they were young, adventurous, God-fearing, and God believing.

God believing - that was the key to the promises God made to Abram. Abram was different from other men, even from his family. Abram's nephew traveled with him but soon even he left Abram for the riches of this world. 

God blessed Abram with cattle. He took care of Abram and Sarai no matter what they tried to figure out for themselves because God had made a promise. Abram appreciated all God was doing for them but there was one promise he didn't see how God was going to keep. God had promised Abram a son. God had changed their names to Abraham (father of many nations) and Sarah (princess) but Abraham was 99 years old. He laughed that a child would be born when he was 100 and Sarah was 90. When Sarah found out she laughed too, but God's answer was "Is anything too hard for the Lord"  Certainly the Creator of the Universe is capable of anything except a lie. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2). At the appointed time Isaac was born to the couple old enough to be great-great-grandparents. 

Why did God choose Abram and Sarai? Why did He wait so long to give them their promised child? God said:

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. 

Genesis 18:19

It was hard for Abraham and Sarah to wait. It was hard to stay faithful but it was all part of God's plan to prosper them and prosper us. We may be waiting for a mate, or a child, or healing. We may question what God is doing, but know that He will never leave us or forsake us. His plan is the best plan. 

When my oldest child was almost four, he started reading environmental print. I decided he needed to learn to read. I bought material and over the course of the next year or so I taught him. I taught his brother and his sister. I went back to school and finished a degree in Early Childhood Education. I got a full-time teaching job when my oldest left for college. So I was a stay at home mom for them.  For over 20 years I have taught 30 to 40 children each year. They don't forget me. They speak to me in the halls. They come back and visit me when they are seniors. They bring their children to me to teach. As I near retirement I see the Lord has filled my home with many more children than I could have ever born. Children I nurture and bring up in the Lord if only for a few hours for a few days. When my husband retired he became a bus driver of all things. God's plan is always the best plan. We just have to be patient. 

What are you waiting for? 

First, know you have turned from your sins and given your life to Christ (Romans 10: 9,13).

Then look at your mentors and the gifts God has given you. Are you musical, artistic, construction minded, or do you love cooking? 

Know God has great plans for you. 

Wait on the Lord. Ask Him to show you how to use the talents He has given you. And yes mothering is a career and a talent that girls should never be ashamed of. 

Blessing while we wait on God, 

Gail

The Rocks Cry Out

And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. Luke 19:40

Can you see it? The rocks and the river and the trees on each side? 

I visited the Appalachian Heritage Arts and Crafts Festival yesterday. As I perused the jewelry this piece caught my attention. I wondered how the artisan fashioned this landscape inside something that looked like a rock? I assumed she had somehow poured a mix of color in a particular pattern.                                                                                         WRONG! 

The necklace I admired was a piece of Terra Rosa Jasper. The lady who fashioned the jewelry said Jasper is a fairly common gem found in this area and around the world. She told me the Jasper doesn't reveal the landscapes until it is polished. I was amazed that a rock would reveal the natural beauty of a landscape! It was as if the rock itself cried out praise to its Creator.

We're a lot like that rock. We're rough and dirty from sin until the Lord picks us up and polishes our hearts to reveal the person He created us to be - a child of God.

Hey Kids:

Do you like to collect rocks?

Have you noticed anything special about the rocks you've collected?

My grandson loves to stop at gem mines to see what will wash up in a bucket of dirt and sand.

Sometimes miners find gems that can be polished and turned into jewelry. Usually, there's just some unusual shapes or colors to add to a collection but they're all worthwhile to the miner.

Pick out a favorite rock for your pocket. Let it remind you that the Lord has plans for you. You may be a worker in your community, a teacher, a doctor, a deacon, a pastor, or the next Billy Graham. Whatever plans the Lord has for you remember you are valuable to the Lord - the miner of our hearts.

Blessings,

Gail

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. Malachi 4:2 

Winter was so drab and depressing. The cold rain kept me and my students inside most of the time. But this week with spring break, pretty weather and a garden that needed to be resurrected, I began to notice the healing of winter as it turned into spring.

A bluebird seeking a home for his new mate landed on the birdhouse. The blue of his wings was so vibrant. The red on his breast so prominent, it reminded me of the story of Jesus and the woman who was desperate for healing. 

Jesus walked along the dusty road. A crowd followed Him, pressing in to hear His words. The tallit he wore with its blue fringes spread like wings with each step. Many people recognized this Man as having "healing in His wings." He had healed many. Some He even raised from the dead. The blue was significant as indicating the royal priesthood.  A woman whose faith told her that if she could only touch the hem of his garment she would be healed of a disease that had held her captive for twelve years. She pressed through the crowd to touch His wings, the fringes of His garment. She was unclean. If anyone suspected she could be pointed out and shunned from the group. 

Jesus felt the healing, the virtue go from Him as she touched his garment. He already knew who touched Him and what she needed but He wanted her to know and confess Him before the people (Matthew 9: 18-26; Luke 8:40-48). 

The bluebird reminds me of even more. The red that covers his breast reminds me that it is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sin, heals our brokenness and restores life. The woman who reached out tllo Jesus knew He was more than just a famous priest, she knew by faith He was the long-awaited Messiah, the one who could restore her life and give her life eternal.

Have you reached out to Jesus? Press through the crowd without worry of what they will think. Reach out for our Royal Priest who gives us life eternal. 

Hey Kids:

Our yards and parks are coming alive with birds and flowers and insects. God created them for a reason. One of those reasons is to show us His great love. 

What are you noticing in your area that demonstrates God's love?

Here are a few hints:

• Are the dogwoods blooming? Examine a flower and draw or write what you observe.
• Are butterflies pollinating the flowers in your garden? How does a caterpillar become a new creature? Draw a  or write about a caterpillar lifecycle.
• Have you found any rocks with interesting shapes? Does its shape remind you of a verse or a story? Draw or write about your rock. 

Sharing God's love is sometimes as simple as observing His creation with your neighbor.

How will you share God's love this week?

Blessings, 

Gail