The High Calling of God

Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." In these verses Jesus is telling his disciples, and us, that the light of Jesus Christ shines through us to others.  We are not to hide our light. And it is our responsibility to keep the globe clean.  As a young girl, my family would go camping each year.  We started out with the kerosene lanterns and then my dad purchased the gas lanterns when they came out.  Each day he would sit at the picnic table and make sure that the globes were clean so that we could see at night.  There was something soothing about that kerosene lantern especially, seeing that little flame light up our campsite.  With the kerosene lantern, the globe would get dirty very qui

My husband and I recently visited the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT. This is a fabulous place if you want to see some of the most beautiful ocean creatures that God has created.  All of the animals have been rescued for one reason or another.  They bring them in and care for them and get them ready to be released back into the wild.  Occasionally there are those who are unable to go back into their natural habitat.  In the penguin area we learned that they recently had several penguins that could not be released.  They call it "human imprinting".   Because these animals were rescued at such a young age, the animal believes that their rescuers are their parents. They have the human imprinting upon them and they just are not able to go out into the wild on their own.  We also learned this while we visited a bird sanctuary this summer.  When people find injured birds and take them home, the birds become so used to the humans taking care of them that they lose their ability to

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) My husband and I recently spent a couple days in the Mystic, CT area. While there we visited the Mystic Seaport Museum.  There were many historical boats and ships on display.  We even were witnesses, and could have been actively involved in helping to raise one of the sales on a large whaling ship. There is a lot of history in this area which my husband and I enjoy.  They had several exhibits of shipbuilding and they were even restoring the Mayflower II at the time we were there.  We saw films and pictures depicting how some of these ships were made and/or restored.  It took years of planning and then more years to actually build the ship.  But to watch how these ships were built was really remarkable.  How intricate the woodworking, the mechanics and everything else that went into it really made my mind want to exp

Recently I had my little sanctuary invaded by a six month old fur ball also known as Lucy. My husband and I were puppy sitting for his sisters' little dog. I and our four year old English Lab would sit back in amazement and wonder at this little power packed, energetic and fearless 15 pounds of fluff. Barking at just about everything including the ceiling light in the kitchen, this little energizer of a pup, I think, would try to tackle a bear, given half a chance. One day as I sat by and watched this wonder, I thought, how much she reminded me of new Christians, including myself at one time. They are so full of zeal that they will tackle any spiritual thing, real or imaginary. Many Christians, sad to say, stay in this level of maturity. They are very unfocused on what is really important. Like this pup, they don’t want or haven’t learned to “cuddle” up to their Master. They want to always be on the go, here, there and everywhere never taking the time to draw close to Jesus

Sometimes we think we don't have enough of what it takes: to be strong or brave; to do something different; to have great faith and do great exploits.  But the Bible is full of stories of people who only had a little bit of something-- but when they used what they had- they found out it was more than enough. The incident recorded in Matthew 14:22-33 regarding Peter walking on the water is such a case.  Many state that Peter didn't have faith, didn't have what it took to continue walking on the water.  But just where are the rest of the disciples?  They are still back in the boat!  They didn't even attempt to go out to meet Jesus when He was walking on the water.  As Peter became overwhelmed at the waves and got his eyes off of Jesus, he began to sink.  Jesus made a statement to Peter: "Thou of little faith, why hast thou doubted?"   It seemed like a rebuke at the time.  But as we look into those words- "little faith" - we find out that it

John 11:20 "Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him; but Mary sat still in the house." John 11: 22 "But I know, that even now, whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee." I have always thought that Martha was misunderstood.  You always hear about how spiritual Mary was and her sister Martha was always fussing, anxious about how the house looked and making sure that there was enough food and that all the guests were comfortable and taken care of.  All the while her sister Mary was sitting at Jesus feet, taking in all that He had to give.  Now, don't get me wrong- sometimes I am a Mary and other times I am a Martha.  We need both, maybe a little less of Martha's anxiety and fussing. But in these verses, Martha- the true Martha, comes forth.  While everyone else- including Mary- were back at the house crying and grieving that their brother Lazarus was dead- it was Martha who got up and went ou

Thou hast made summer and winter" Psalm 74:17   I am not a fan of winter by any means.  But over the years I have learned to adjust not only to bad weather but to the quietness and stillness that comes with it.  It is especially calming when I see those beautiful white feathery flakes come floating from the sky.  I must say here that I do not drive in bad weather and my heart and prayers go out to those who do.  But since I am retired and have no responsibilities to go out into that bad stuff, I can enjoy it more. Over the past several years my husband and I have been redoing our gardens.  We have bought several flowering shrubs, bushes and bulbs.  I find myself in the dead of winter going outside and walking around our yard and inspecting the shrubs and bushes to see how they are managing in the cold weather.  I have been known to talk to them and encourage them. I also do planning for the next spring and summer, looking through gardening books and just letting my im