Category Archives: Spiritual Encouragement

Simple Gift

Christianity, Spiritual Encouragement, Truth, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

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Simple Gift

She glanced at the huge box on the table. Could it be hers? What could possibly be in that beautiful box? How long would she have to wait to find out? The suspense was almost more than her little 9 year old heart could handle!

Her daddy had brought the large box in and sat it on the table. He had looked at her and grinned, then walked out of the room. She sat on the couch, unable to take her eyes off the box. Her daddy had been gone on a business trip and always found something to bring home to her. This had to be one of those gifts!

She sat still for what seemed like an eternity. Where did he go? Should she open the box? Should she wait until he came back into the room and ask him? Should she get up and go find him? She tried to keep her mind occupied, but her mind would not concentrate on anything but that huge box!

In a few minutes her daddy walked back into the room. Her anticipation had grown.  She sat waiting for his instructions. None came. He just sat down in his chair. “What is he waiting for?” she thought to herself. “Is that for me or not?” she thought.

Five minutes passed and she tried to act as if she had not noticed the box, but it was driving her crazy. When she looked at her daddy, he smiled politely and simply looked back out the window. This was torture!

Another five minutes drove the daughter practically into madness. She had always been taught to be polite and was not sure if she should just come out and ask for the box. Finally she asked her daddy, “Daddy, I have to ask…is the gift for me?” “Why yes my precious daughter, the gift is yours.” The daughter jumped up and went to get the gift.

As she opened it she found so many of her favorite things. She found books, seashells, flowers, a picture of a bird and music. All of these things were precious to her.  She loved to read and write, give gifts of beauty to others, sing, play the piano.  She received the gifts with such thanksgiving. Daddy was so pleased, he loved being able to gift his little girl.

“Daddy” she asked. “Why did you wait so long to tell me the gift was mine?” “Well sweetheart” he replied, “I was waiting for you to simply ask for it. The gift was yours the whole time. You just had to make the decision to receive it.”

What gifts has the Father given you that you have not received? Has the Father offered you the gift of salvation? What are you waiting for? Has He given you gifts in which you can use to glorify Him and serve others? Or are you leaving them to sit in the box? Has the Father simply offered you the beauty of a seashell, but have you looked past it not receiving it as the gift of beauty to bring you joy? Whatever the gift is..our Father is a gentleman, and he will not force it on you. He gives out of love.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.” 1 Corinthians 12:4

What gifts has the Father left for you to find and receive? Believe me, it is not a mystery…you won’t have to look hard…

Be blessed~

IN CHRIST ALONE

Isaiah 55:8-9

*google image, NIV Bible*

The Love Letter

Christian encouragement, Discouraged Christian, Encouragement for Women, Grace, Hope, Jesus Christ, Love of God, Spiritual Encouragement, Surrender, To Rest in Christ, Trials, Troubles, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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The Love Letter

There was a young couple who met, fell in love and married.  As in all good love stories, they adored one another.  Joe and Sally had a wonderful marriage.  The only problem they faced was the war.  They were in the middle of a world war and Joe knew that he soon we be called to serve.

The call came, and Joe accepted the call with honor.  He was scheduled to leave in two weeks, and he wanted to make each moment count before he left.  The couple had one small child with one on the way.  He spent a lot of time with William and was hoping to spend time with the new baby someday.

Joe left.  Sally and William heard from him almost daily.  Suddenly the letters stopped.  Two weeks passed, the four and soon eight weeks had passed without hearing a word from Joe.  Sally was obviously concerned.  She prayed and honestly assumed the worse.

Joe had indeed become a prisoner of war.  He was told that he had the chance to write only one letter during his captivity.  He carried a torn up piece of parchment paper with him for weeks, praying about what to write his expectant wife and son.  Finally, with tears spilling down his face and hitting the paper, Joe wrote the letter.

Four weeks later, Sally trudged out to the mail box and there it was…a letter from Joe!! She ran into the kitchen, weeping with joy at the arrival of the letter.  She ripped it opened as little William and her mother stared.  

“Dearest Sally, William and family,

Daddy loves you more than words can adequately describe.  I am a prisoner of war and I have one piece of paper to write one letter on.  It is the only letter I am allowed to write and the last letter you may ever get from me.  So, I have carried the blank paper around for a long time, praying about what to write to all of you.  Sally, I love you with all my heart.  Words cannot describe the unconditional love I have for you.  I need you to love the children with all your heart.  As William grows, let him know how much he is loved by his Abba Father.  Teach him these things when he gets up in the morning, walks at noon along the creek and does his chores before bed.  Our little unborn baby needs to be taught these things as well when she(hope) or he is able to understand.  Spend time with them, tell them that I will love them forever.  Talk to the banker about the money we have, pay off the bills, tithe weekly, share what eggs you can with the neighbors…..”

The letter went on to tell Sally everything she needed to know about life.  As if Joe were right there with her.  Sally read the entire letter, wept openly and folded it up, placing it near her heart.  The next day, when she went into the bank, she got the letter out and did exactly what it said.  When she and the children had questions (it was a girl, Grace) she unfolded the letter to see what Daddy said about the situation.  Joe had not missed a thing.  He had given her all the love and guidance she needed to go on.  Everything had been filtered through love.  She almost felt as though he was standing right there beside her as she made each and every decision.

And then the closing said…”I love you all, and will see you again soon.  We will all be together someday.  Everything I have written, all I have said with all the love I have in my heart for you….my wife, my children, my family, my friends, strangers…until we meet again..love to you…Daddy Joe.

Wow, what a letter of love.  Can you imagine receiving this letter?  Well beloved, we have gotten a letter like that….it is from our Father, our Abba, our Daddy…He has given us all we need to live out this life here on dart.  His advice is given because of His deep love for us.  Like the letter from Joe, He is right beside us..guiding us with His Holy Spirit.

Oh yeah, Joe did make it home!  And so will Jesus.

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Be blessed~

IN CHRIST ALONE
Isaiah 55:8-9

*google image, NIV Bible*

 

Simple Tree

Christianity, mom, motherhood, Parenting, Spiritual Encouragement, Uncategorized, , , , ,

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Simple Tree

When I was a little girl, a long, long time ago…during the lazy days of summer I was often bored. I would lay my quilt under the trees and play with my little sister, brother, trucks and dolls. I thought summer would never end.

We often times spent the whole day under one particular tree. It was simply called the “mimosa tree”. It was the loveliest trees in our yard. It the most wonderful pink, feathery flowers. The tree also had fan-like leaves that we removed and threw as confetti, gathered in a pile to represent food.

While we could sit, play, eat and do all types of things under the tree, we were told to never climb the tree. Since my brother and I were only one year apart, and I was the eldest…I did what all good older sisters do…I challenged him to climb the tree…high.

The reason that we weren’t to the tree became very apparent one afternoon. Again, being the responsible, elder sister…I had challenged my brother up the tree and I dutifully followed him. “Creak, crack…crash!” down we came with a thud. Thankfully we only had the breath knocked out of us. But we finally understood the warning.

The mimosa tree has very soft wood. Too much weight on any given limb causes it to bend and break easily. While it was a delight to play under, playing or partaking in the tree caused problems.

Genesis 2:8-9 “Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of that ground-trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “ vs 16-17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

What does that have to do with a simple mimosa tree? It is the same principle. God had a provision for Adam and Eve in the garden as He has for us today. We still make that choice. If we choose evil, we separate ourselves from God, just like Adam and Eve.

But the same is true of eating the good. We participate in many “good” things. We can feed the hungry, clothe the poor, teach young children, attend church every time the door opens. While these things are not “bad” in and of themselves, in our busyness, we can be separated from God.

The “weight” of these activities can cause us to tumble and fall…miss our time with the Father! If we do things simply because they are good, we miss the entire point. These things are done because of our intimate relationship with Him and because of surrender as He does these things through us.

As my mother warned us not to climb too high, we were allowed to admire the tree, play under the tree, but not truly partake in the tree. She knew, like our Abba Father does that there would be consequences for partaking in that “forbidden fruit”. She knew we would take a tumble!
And for what it is worth…things sometimes do come back around. Same warning, but my eldest this time. And yes, up the tree he went. And yes, down to the ground he fell. Like his mother and uncle before him, no broken bones, but a lesson learned. I wonder if I will ever repeat this story to any grandchildren?

Be blessed~

IN CHRIST ALONE

Isaiah 55:8-9

*google image, NIV Bible*