My Favorite Things

“Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens”

I’m doing my best Julie Andrews impression right now.

“Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens”

Are you singing it to yourself?

“Brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things.”

It’s the song, “My Favorite Things” from the beloved family movie, “The Sound of Music,” featuring Julie Andrews.

My Favorite Things, Favorite Memories

Do you have some favorite things around your house?

This is a photo of some of mine.

I knew the artist personally!

This Christmas village was hand-stitched on plastic canvas by my late sister-in-law, Francie. My husband and I look forward to putting it up on our mantle every Christmas. When I look at it, I automatically think of her.

France was a talented artist. She could quilt and sew, cross stitch and knit. She used her God-given hands to create beautiful hand-stitched works of art.

 

Cancer took her life 14 years ago, but as a family, we will always have our memories. Her artwork and quilts are displayed throughout our house.

It’s easy to look at beautiful works of art like these and totally forget the hours and love it took to create them.

Once we accept a gift of custom art, do we look beyond the “thank you” and really appreciate all it took to make it happen?

You Are Unique

You are special and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re just a clump of cells.

Our Supreme Maker knit you together in your mother’s womb to create the you who is reading this post.

He gave you Life!

I don’t know about you, but I feel cherished with the kind of love that we will never on this earth truly comprehend.

I also feel disappointment at myself when I fail Him.

Through His grace and my repentance for my sins, He sets me free to become the person He wants me to be.

Will I accept His purpose in my life or will I put the Master Creator somewhere in the back of my mind, sandwiched in between small increments of time Monday through Sunday?

Are we too busy with our every day stuff to give God the attention that He deserves?

Every Day Worship

Prayers and thoughts offered up to God should happen every day, not just on Sunday at church. He knows how busy we are. But, if you think about it, don’t we always manage to make time for what we really love?

In 2017, let’s make God a priority. The job He gave us to do is more important than any other.

Some ideas to stir your thoughts towards God:

• You can buy (or make) a beautiful journal and record your praises and prayers there.
• Be a volunteer and help someone less fortunate, always in Jesus’ name.
• You can volunteer to serve in a ministry at your local church.
• Speak about your faith on social media. It’s a lot more life-affirming to your friends than some of the political slams that people put out there every day. Some people may not like your speaking out about Jesus on Facebook or Twitter. All you can do is pray for them.
• You can start or attend a Bible study in your neighborhood or at church.
• You can commit to reading the Bible, all of it, this year. There are so many commentaries and prompts online to help you.
  
• You can read and pray through a devotional with your spouse, significant other, family member, or a friend. Daily devotionals are short and full of wisdom and God’s grace. Devotionals can also be easily purchased online. A dear friend gave one to us and we are enjoying that quality time together, with God.

*Here, then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God’s Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack  of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy. – R.C. Sproul, theologian.

In Awe of our Maker

God loves us.

To be treasured by God Himself – can there be anything better?

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*R.C. Sproul quotation from http://www.thepoachedegg.net/the-poached-egg/2010/08/daily-quote-6.html.