A Quick and Simple Task - M. Laycock

 

I have never been an early riser. It was always a struggle for me to get out of bed in the morning when I was young. My sluggishness likely had a lot to do with the fact that I hid under the blankets with a flashlight reading until the wee hours. As the morning sunlight lit my room my mom would call several times before my toes would finally slip over the side and touch the floor. Then it took a long time in the shower to really wake up before heading downstairs for breakfast. And when I got to the kitchen the refrain was always the same. 

“Did you make your bed?”

I’d groan and trudge back upstairs, knowing there would be no breakfast until that small task was done. One morning I asked my mother why she always insisted that I make my bed.

“It’s a good start,” she said. “It means you’re ready for the day.”

I couldn’t help but think about my mom’s words this past Sunday as my husband preached on Acts 9 verses 32-43. It was verse 34 that triggered the memory. Peter had stopped in the town of Lydda where a man named Aeneas, a paralytic, caught his attention. He stopped long enough to heal the man, saying, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” That last sentence made me sit up straight. Why did Peter tell him to take care of his mat? Was it in the way? Was it unsightly? Or was Peter saying something more to Aeneas? I wondered if perhaps he was saying, get ready Aeneas, a new day is beginning, things are about to happen and there’s a purpose for you in them.

And that made we wonder about the purpose of the healing, the purpose of the blessing. God does not act randomly or without reason. His actions, and most especially his blessings, always have purpose.

That made me think of all the blessings I’ve been given in my life. It’s a long list and the realization that it all has purpose made me begin to think about what God intends me to do. He’s given me wealth so I should share it, food and a home to open to others. He’s given me health so I can do His will on this earth. He’s given me family that I might raise them to go into the world and bless others. He’s given me the talent of writing so that I might glorify His name through story. All of his blessings have an outward slant, none are intended to be hidden or hoarded.

My mother trained me well. Making my bed is still something I do each morning. It makes me feel that the day has started and I’m ready for it. This morning, as I did that quick and simple task I wondered what God had in store for me today. What am I to be ready for? Ready to hear his voice, ready to move when he says “go,” ready to speak when His Spirit directs. Yes, all of these things and more. I’m to be ready to receive His blessings and use them for His purposes.

What about you? Have you made your bed?

****

Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone and also has two devotional books in print. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan. Marcia's second novel, A Tumbled Stone was recently short listed in the contemporary fiction category of The Word Awards. Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded here. Visit Marcia’s website

 

Gifts of Nature - Atchison

When I moved out to the country 12 years ago, I suddenly noticed the nature that surrounded me. I awoke mornings with a new sense of awe at the different sunrises that greeted each day. Every month brought new changes to the earth, to trees and to the feel of the air. Seasons changed with delight, and each year produced weather results that differed from the preceding one.

I speak of it now because when I lived in the city, I didn't really pay attention to nature and what I was waking up to each morning. What took my attention was whether I would make it to work on time, what the traffic would be like. Was the car going to start? The level of my eyes never drifted farther from the head level of the thousands of people who started their work day each morning balancing a cup of coffee and a brief case.

Living in the country forces you to look about. You don't need to close your curtains, as there is no one around who can see inside. You want to look outside to see if the deer have come through on their morning forage. It's spring and you might catch sight of a new flock of migratory birds flying across the clear blue sky. The first robin shows itself pecking between the new sprouts of green grass.

Driving with no buildings, busy intersections and other obstacles to block your vision, gives way to countryside views and highlights that spread for miles. Any journey from a country home makes you look about, if anything, just to ‘see’ what is around you. The foothills of Alberta offer the most breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains in the fall, winter and spring. Agricultural fields pattern the landscape with different patches of colour in the summertime. Pass a wetland and you never know what gifts nature will present to you on any given day.

The following are just a few of the awesome gifts Mother Nature has presented me while living in the country that I’d like to share:

• A fawn lying like a lawn ornament amid the bushes.
• A palm-sized toad who returns each year to catch insects by our entrance way.
• A dancing display from a beautiful male bluebird while he woos a female outside my office window.
• A wing feather dropped from the sky by a passing bald eagle – picked up and cherished as the gift it was meant to be.
• The hunting fox that jumps and with needle-like precision pushes his nose into the one-foot hard crusted snow to pluck out a mouse.
• Calving and foaling seasons. Watching the new babies with their caring mothers, praying the temperature outside will not dip too low.
• The three wolves that showed themselves eleven years ago in the coulee. It was like watching a National Geographic episode for the short time they ventured out into the clearing.
• The several individual black bear sightings and the one cougar sighting. Exciting but scary.
• Being able to write the date and viewing location in my “Birds of Alberta” book every time I come across a new bird that we haven’t seen in our area.
• The flock of pure white snow geese heading north in a perfect V formation. The starkness of white on blue will forever be imprinted on my mind.
• The wetland a couple of miles from our house where I slow down every time I pass, as you never know who it might be sheltering and providing food for at any given time on any given day.

Lastly, I am grateful that I have been given the opportunity to live in the country and to cherish its gifts. Everyday with nature is different. There is not one day that is the same in weather, temperature, or environment. I know this is the case in the city also. If you are a city dweller, try greeting each day with your eyes uplifted. Look either in front or beyond the concrete roads, walls and structures and without a doubt you will see nature working its magic in every way possible. It doesn't matter where you live, just look around you. God provides us with multitudes of gifts in nature each and every day.

Patricia L. Atchison
Website: www.patricia@patriciaatchison.ca
Writing & Publishing Blog: www.aboutwritingandpublishing.com

The Strengths You Know - Grove

"Wait, which book is this?" My guest asked. It's confusing when someone writes both non-fiction and fiction. And there are days I wonder why I've managed to bog myself down in the fantastically huge worlds of both. But I have, and now I needed to explain which book was this.

"Your Best You: Discovering and Developing the Strengths God Gave You," I said. "It's about connecting to yourself and God via the strengths God chose for you." It's a mouthful, I admit, but its enough to get me revved up, to remember why I stepped foot in the non-fiction camp: because using your strengths changes your life.

Let me share with you a portion of the book - it's my favorite part, the part that glimpses heaven, the part where I share with you how I see God.

I have a mental picture – more like a movie - of what it looks like when God decides which strengths to give someone.

"God gazes down at a child (let's say the child is you), a big grin on His face. His eyes twinkle at the sight of you.

An angel stands behind Him, holding an enormous book filled with every good thing. Page after page of strengths, talents, and breathtaking abilities. Qualities that are found in The Creator of this child.

The angel thumbs through the book. "Most Holy One, which gifts will You give this child?"
God's eyes dance with delight as He ponders the wonders He can bestow upon you. He doesn’t want to rush this moment of joyous contemplation. He peers down at you, His smile growing.

Suddenly, God throws his head back and laughs with pure joy. The sound is like every bird on earth singing all at once. Oh, He knows you so well. He knows what will bring you joy.
The angel laughs with God. "Will you give this child courage? A love of nature? A sense of humor? Creativity?”

The Lord of Heaven and Earth touches your cheek. "To this child I’ve already given the greatest gift of all. I have given my Child, so that we can forever be connected, in relationship."

Then God, overflowing with happiness, throws His arms over His head and dances around you. "But even still, I have every good gift to give. I’m generous beyond all human measure. The joy it brings me is uncontainable."

The Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, bends down and whispers in your ear, "Here my child. These are for you. I give you these gifts. Grow in them. Explore them. Use them to bring glory to My name. Let them be a constant reminder of My great love for you." "

By connecting to God using the amazing gifts He gave you, will change everything. Will change you. And the best part about it? It's fun. Which just makes sense to me. God knows how difficult life can be, He knows the issues we face and the humanity of our human-ness. No wonder He equipped us from the beginning to face the world. What are your strengths? They are the refractions and reflections of God's character found in you.

Spend some time today thinking about the gifts God has entreasured you with by His infinite love and mercy. Praise Him for them, and then get using them!

Bonnie Grove is the author of the upcoming book Your Best You: Discovering and Developing the Strengths God Gave You (March 1, 2009, Beacon Hill Press). She is also the author of Talking to the Dead, a novel (summer 2009, David C. Cook). Visit Bonnie at www.bonniegrove.com and her blog http://www.fictionmatters.blogspot.com