Blessings of the Day

5:30 A.M. - Wide awake and ready to get up! (So I did.)
This hasn't happened to me for a long time. I so enjoyed the stillness of my quiet house (all were at rest, except for my cat). Pretzel was delighted to find me awake early, and immediately greeted me with a plea for my attention and her breakfast.

As I sat in my blue chair with my toast and coffee on the table beside me, and my devotional book in my lap, I noticed the birds outside my living room window -- a Scrub Jay and a Northern Flicker, contentedly sharing the same small area near the bird feeder. I haven't seen the Flicker since early spring (March), and I've never seen these two birds together in the same spot. You know the old saying, "The early bird gets the worm". Well, this morning the early riser got the bird(s)! I guess the rare sighting of these two birds together was my reward for getting up early.

My other reward was in my "quiet time" with God. In my Bible reading this morning, I read Matthew 8:23-27 -- the story of the Disciples being terrified when a sudden storm came up, nearly swamping their boat, while Jesus slept peacefully. The Lord brought it to my attention that, although the disciples were greatly afraid for their lives, they were far more upset with Jesus than with the storm! Instead of coming to Him calmly asking for His help (in full confidence of His constant protection), they came to complain that He didn't seem to care about their safety and well-being! How like that I can be at times also. When the "storm" strikes and "disaster" seems imminent, instead of quietly trusting in God and simply asking for His help, I give vent to my fears by complaining that, "Why would God allow such a thing? Doesn't He care about my well-being? Where are you, Lord, when I need your help?" Sound familiar?

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One year ago today, in my personal journal, I wrote:

James 3:5(a), 9-11
". . . Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body . . . With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing -- this should not be! Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?"

Fresh water is for the nourishment of the body. Salt water is used for gargling when there is sickness or infection. (It is not to be swallowed, but rather to be spit out.) Salt water is to be discarded, as unfit for consumption, but fresh water blesses and refreshes the body and soul!

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Blessings to you today!