Seeing Dandelions Through New Eyes

October 4, 2022 Gracie

Seeing Dandelions Through New Eyes of Appreciation

Oh, to be a kid again.

I have wonderful memories of that simpler, carefree time.

Every spring, my friends and I used to go dandelion hunting.

We would tie some of the best ones together by their stems and make dandelion necklaces!

We were so glamorous.

The bigger ones we would hold tightly in our hands, close our eyes, blow on the seed heads, and then make a wish!

Unfortunately for the dandelions though, many gardeners wish these pesky little wildflowers would just go away.

Usually, dandelions end up falling prey to a lawnmower, or they’re treated with an herbicide so they don’t take over the lawn.

But . . .

You knew a “but” was coming, didn’t you? 😉

I’m now seeing dandelions through new eyes.

¹¹Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. ¹²The earth produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good. – Genesis 1:11-12, (NASB).¹

In fact, dandelions are a pretty amazing part of God’s creation.

Did you know that:

They’re edible

Every part of them, from stem to flower, can be used to make natural medicines

They’re often used as an ingredient in natural soaps

Animals, such as rabbits and grasshoppers, eat them for food

But, besides their numerous biological contributions, dandelions offer so much more.

Here’s some insight into some other amazing details about God’s creation – the dandelion.

Delight-in-God’s Creation – The Dandelion

What we as adults barely notice anymore, dandelions are quite the little flying machines as the seeds blow on by in the breeze.

It’s reported that dandelion seeds can travel as far as a kilometer when it’s windy out. (see Taraxacum, Wikipedia.)

That’s pretty far for this natural-born hitchhiker!

A kilometer is about the size of almost ten whole football fields.

Even the tiniest of God’s creations point to His majesty and creative intelligent design.

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²“2-Minute Wonders: Uplifting Story.” Courtesy of Illustra Media. Youtube, April 4, 2020. Web. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/zHvi3aIAQpI

Our Exceptional God

Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Children

September 27, 2022 Gracie

The Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Children

What is the greatest gift you can give your children?

And, whatever you do, don’t ask “them” that question. 🙂

You might end up with answers like:

A pony

The latest toy or game

Giving away their brother or sister

Chuckles aside, the greatest gift you can give them is to love them enough to tell them about Jesus.

Nurturing Your Children’s Faith

When I was growing up, I was taught to worship God.

But, it seemed at that time that He was too busy with bigger issues like war and famine to care about little old me.

There was no emphasis on Jesus, and God’s plan for our salvation through His Son.

Boy, was that wrong! I am so grateful to have found my way to Christ as an adult.

The way this world is going, if you don’t teach your children about Jesus, the world will teach them to become atheists.

Imagine if we started raising generations of children who stood uncompromisingly on the Word of God, knew how to defend the Christian faith, could answer the skeptical questions of this age, and had a fervor to share the gospel from the authority of God’s Word with whomever they met! This could change the world. – Ken Ham, Answers in Genesis.¹

Exactly!

As a parent, you were given a precious gift from God.

The greatest gift that you can give your “gift from God” is to teach them why He sent us His Son, Jesus.

Psalm 127 reaffirms this parental blessing:

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward. – Psalm 127:3, (NASB).²

Your children need your direction in this dark world.

They will also need your fervent prayers.

The world has changed, and your kids will face many challenges.

Teaching them to pray will be so worth it.

Can you imagine the sweet words you could hear in Heaven from your loved ones: “Thank you, Mom (and/or Dad) for praying for me all those years.”

In her poem, “Raising Children For The Lord” M.S. Lowndes shares the beauty and awesome responsibility of the gift of parenting.

With her permission, I am happy to share it here.

Raising Children For The Lord

It’s such an awesome privilege
And a big responsibility,
God has given to us as parents
This wonderful opportunity
To raise our precious children
And instil into their lives
The wonder and amazement
Of the love of Jesus Christ

So they will learn to trust in Him
And worship and to pray,
To love others with the love of God
And to honour and obey
As parents, we’ve been entrusted
To raise them in God’s love
To be there to encourage them
When they feel like giving up

And to be there just to listen
When life deals some painful blows
And comfort them when they feel afraid
And when tears begin to flow
To share with them those joyful times,
The precious moments in their lives
When doors begin to open up
And opportunities arise

Through everything they face in life,
Let’s be there cheering them on,
For we only have one chance at this,
For childhood soon is gone
So let’s rely on Father God
To raise them to become
Men or Women who trust in Him
And in His precious Son.

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¹ Ken Ham quotation, courtesy of christianquotes.info

³Poetry courtesy of M.S. Lowndes. “Raising Children For The Lord.” [online post]. From Heavensinspirations.com, ©M.S. Lowndes, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, n.d. Web. Accessed September 8, 2022. https://www.heavensinspirations.com/raising-children.html

Our Exceptional God

Reaching The Don’ts

September 20, 2022 Gracie

Reaching the Don’ts – There’s Still Time

Recently, I heard a celebrity announce that she is an atheist.

I cringed as I heard her speaking words of discouragement to anyone who would listen, especially her younger generation of fans.

Sadly, she’s not alone.

The number of dropouts from the faith are on the rise and their sphere of influence is growing.

This isn’t just a “celebrity” thing.

The results of a Barna study, published in an article by the Family Research Council, states in part that “43 percent of Millennials are considered “Don’ts” in Barna’s research, meaning they don’t believe or know if God exists.” – (Carman/Closson, 2021, para. 8).

Friends, that is terrible news.

It also points to the dire need to reach these people.

God providentially knows who His people are, but since we are not God, for us that means the harvest is still ripe.

The Holy Spirit is here to guide us – so keep praying and looking for those opportunities for reaching the “Don’ts”.

But even though our culture does not want the Bible, God, or the church, it is important for followers of Jesus to remain faithful. As fewer people share our theological and worldview commitments, Christians will need courage that was not required of recent generations of believers. – Barna Group Research Study.¹

Courage For Reaching the Don’ts

As the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians in pleas for unity in the advancement of the Gospel . . .

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. – 1 Corinthians 15:58, (NASB).²

Others may think of us as working in vain for a lost cause, but we are working for the Lord and that’s what matters.

Lord, help us to see the “Don’ts” through Your eyes.

We ask for more opportunities to reach these lost people

so we can share the Good News in a world caught up in darkness.

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¹Quotation courtesy of Barna Group Research Study. Carman, Molly, and Closson, David. “New Barna Research Reveals Extent of America’s Loss of Faith” June 22, 2021. para 10. Web. Accessed September 8, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.frc.org/blog/2021/06/new-barna-research-reveals-extent-americas-loss-faith

Our Exceptional God

How to defend the faith without raising your voice

September 13, 2022 Gracie

Defend the Faith Without Raising Your Voice

Did you know that the following phrase is an actual “search” term on the internet?

“Defend the faith without raising your voice.”

I love that!

That means more Christians are searching for the right and Biblical way to present the truth of the Gospel to others.

With love

With humility

And, with facts.

We have evidentiary facts of what we are told in the Bible and they do validate our faith.

Even so, all of the divisiveness we’re seeing right now will only get worse.

Jesus told the disciples –

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. – John 15:18, (NASB).¹

We should have bold confidence in our faith and the courage to stand for our faith in a disbelieving world.

Learning to meet cultural lies head-on is not only important to us as adults, we must also pass on what we learn to the younger generation.

They are literally bombarded everywhere with lies about God, the creation account, and His design for marriage – not only from some politicians, but also on television, the internet, and in some public schools (see stopcse.org.)

If you’re a parent or grandparent – you might be thinking right now, “Help!”

Where can a person go to learn how to answer those anti-God arguments that we know will continue for the rest of our days?

I’m glad you asked. 🙂

Stand For Reason in a Hostile World

Learning how to defend your faith – it’s not too late!!

The Stand To Reason website offers some incredible and helpful resources to choose from, including podcasts, articles, videos and more.

Plus, there’s this:

Stand To Reason University

I bet I can guess what you’re thinking . . .

Classes? – Who has the time?

Trust me, I get it.

Your time is valuable.

But, the world has changed, and this very hostile culture is pushing messages of fear, division, and hopelessness.

Training in Apologetics (defending the faith) is helpful.

I’m currently enrolled in STR University, and highly encourage you to consider signing up as well.

Here’s the skinny:

The classes are free.
Biblical instructors guide you through each course.
You’ll learn practical and loving ways to share your beliefs and why you believe what you do.
The video classes are under 30 minutes, some even half that.

You can take valuable classes such as:

Are the Gospels Reliable History?

The Case For The Resurrection

Answering Nine Challenges to Jesus’ Deity

What kids today are facing from cultural influencers is heartbreaking, but knowing about those dangers and preparing the next generation is not only important, it’s biblical.

To do so we must know what we believe; we must have thought it out; we must be able to state it intelligently and intelligibly. Our faith must be a first-hand discovery and not a second-hand story. It is one of the tragedies of the modern situation that there are so many Church members who, if they were asked what they believe, could not tell, and who, if they were asked why they believe it, would be equally helpless. The Christian must go through the mental and spiritual toil of thinking out his faith, so that he can tell what he believes and why. – Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press, as quoted in preceptaustin.org.²

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²W. Barclay quotation is from the 1 Peter 3:13-22 commentary. [2020.] Courtesy of Precept Austin, https://www.preceptaustin.org/1peter_verse_by_verse__313-22., 1/06/20. Subheading, “Make A Defense Not An Apology.” Web. Accessed 7 September, 2022.

Our Exceptional God

Labor Day 2022

September 4, 2022 Gracie

Happy Labor Day 2022

Do you have any Labor Day plans?

Hopefully, you have the day off to celebrate with your family or friends.

My husband will be firing up the smoker to make something delicious.

He’s a famous grill master (at least at our house).

I’m in charge of the “side” dishes.

Seriously, an entrée without sides is like a day without sunshine, am I right ? 😉

Beyond those eagerly-looked-forward-to menu items, without question, we‘ll be flying our American flag at our front door.

With that in mind, on this Labor Day 2022, we’d like to express our thanks to the American workforce.

Hard-working men and women who labored for years to build this country from the ground up.

Brick by brick.

Stone by stone.

Their efforts, and more importantly, our Judeo-Christian heritage and faith in God are what made America great.

As we learn in the Book of Ecclesiastes, verse 9 and beyond, God is sovereign and He has set eternity in our hearts.

⁹What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰I have seen the task which God has given the sons of mankind with which to occupy themselves.

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Mankind

¹¹He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, without the possibility that mankind will find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; ¹³moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

– Ecclesiastes 3:9-13, (NASB).¹

As we relax with family and friends this weekend, let’s also remember and rejoice in “His” work in our lives

Happy Labor Day!

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