Boulders

Three years after building our house, we are still working on getting our yard in!! I had an irrigation company working on putting some more sprinklers in this past week, and he ran into some rather large rocks as he was trying to cut in the lines. Several of these rocks were big enough that he had to stop and remove them with larger equipment.

Just as these boulders caused me grief in working on my yard, the bible warns us of "boulders" in our lives. 1 Peter 2:8 says "They stumble because they do not listen to God's word or obey it".

What are the "boulders" in your life? What causes you to stumble? Seek God's guidance, and He will help you remove those boulders from your life. Psalm 119:165 says "Those who love your law have great peace and do not stumble".

I look forward to the transformation of the yard as the grass gets planted, the retaining walls go up, and the patio gets built. I also look forward to the transfomation God promises as I study His word, pray and look for His guidance in my life. I know that those boulders in my life that are too heavy for me to lift can easily be removed with God's power and strength.

De Colores

The Difference

In one of my earlier blogs on habits, I touched on the importance of a consistent prayer life. I found the following poem quite a few years ago, and had forgotten about it until I was going through some things in my bible this morning. Oh how true this poem is!! Read it and enjoy.

I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day;
I have so much to accomplish that I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier became each task.
"Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered. He answered "You didn't ask."

I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak.
I wondered why God didn't show me. He said "But you didn't seek."

I tried to come into God's presence; I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided, "My child, you didn't knock."

I woke up early this morning, and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray.

May you start each day with prayer and ask God to show you His will and blessings for you. Try it, it works!!

De Colores

Rain

I'm keeping it simple today. When you read this, pray for rain!! I know God supplies us with what we need and everything is provided in His time, but I also believe that God wants us to ask for the desires of our heart. Exercise your faith. Tell your friends and family to join in, and let's bombard the gates of heaven with our request!!!

Corn rows

I was talking to one of my farmer customers today, and it brought back a lot of memories of my days growing up on the family farm. One of the things I never could master was the art of making straight rows when planting corn or milo. My dad and brother could make rows that were as straight as an arrow, but mine meandered all over the place. Needless to say, I wasn't asked to run the planter very often!

The secret to making a straight row was to keep your eye straight ahead to the other end of the field, and not get distracted by looking around at what was going on behind or beside you. You would pick out a land mark at the far end of the field and focus on it until you reached the end. As long as you stayed focused on it, your rows were straight, but if you took your eye off of it for a length of time, you would get off course, and the row would end up crooked. Only by again looking ahead could the rows get straightened out.

What a great lesson for us in life!! If we keep our lives focused on God, we are assured that He will make our paths straight. But when we lose focus, we meander around and can make a mess of our lives. When Jesus called Peter out of his boat to walk to Him on the water, Peter fixed his eyes on Jesus, AND HE WALKED ON WATER! But, when Peter took his eyes off Jesus and saw the water and waves, he became afraid and started sinking.

Hebrews 12:13 says "Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong." Life is hard, and it is easy to take our eyes off of Jesus. But, we must remember that it is only by faith and trusting in Him that we can keep our paths "straight".

Keep focused on Jesus!!