Putting the Pieces Together

While my oldest daughter was away at camp last week, my youngest daughter wanted me to play with her. She decided she wanted to put a puzzle together. So we brought out a new puzzle of a very colorful and old fashioned farmers' market and set to work.

First, we sifted through all the pieces and removed the edges. Once we put the edges together, we starting filling in from the sides. We also separated sections by color or patterns as we saw matching areas. My sons would join in now and again. My oldest daughter did, too, once she returned from camp.

It's a good thing we had the box with the completed picture to look at. There were times when we'd take a funny looking piece and compare it with the picture to find out exactly where it belonged. We probably looked at the box a hundred times before it was all done.

Our life in many ways is like a puzzle being put together without the box. We don't know the outcome; we only know the experiences day by day which are meant to mold and shape us into the person God wants us to become. He knows the complete picture; we only get glimpses as the pieces are being put together bit by bit until it starts making more sense. It would be nice if God would give us the box sometimes, but perhaps we'd get too lazy or too cocky and we'd loose our need to depend on God to carry us through until the end.

Thankfully, we can trust the Lord with our lives if we surrender ourselves to Him. The pieces will fit perfectly if we allow Him to lead, to encourage, and to strengthen. Let God direct your life. You won't be disappointed with the completed picture.

Little Seeds

Several weeks ago I started work on a small garden. I bought a bag of planting mix and several packets of herb and vegetable seeds. Then I pulled out some pots, filled them with mix, and with the help of my daughers, scattered seeds into the outside containers. We planted lettuce, oregano, basil, and cilantro. Taking some fish cans and a few bottoms from plastic water bottles, we planted some tomato and sweet pepper seeds for inside.

We have been diligent to water them everyday. A few seedlings are thriving from the outdoor containers. One of the tomato seeds has already grown into a 1 inch plant. A few of the containers have had no activity at all, which I find fascinating since they all had the same kind of soil, the same amount of water and sun, and the same amount of care.

It must be the seeds. Some seeds are ready for growth. You plant them and before you know it they have sprouted into a strong plant. Others are slow starters, like the little pepper seed I noticed that is just beginning to peek out of the dirt. Then there will be many others that, no matter what you do, they will not grow at all.

God's Word is the same for everyone. Some hearts will immediately take His Word in and you will see growth and vibrancy. Some hearts will take awhile for the message to absorb, but eventually you will see a new life begin. Then there will be other hearts that will refuse to take in the message, denying the potential life they could have had.

Which seed are you? The strong vibrant one that accepts God and all He has to offer; the one that needs a bit more time to "get it", but eventually finds the answers they have been looking for that have been there all along; or the one that refuses to grow at all because you deny the free eternal gift of God? You are one of these seeds, whether you want to admit it or not. Let God give you life, growth, and hope for your future.

What's So "Good" About It?

What's so "good" about Good Friday? An innocent man was killed on this day. The religious establishment was thrilled since the threat to its authority was eliminated. The ruling government felt it had handled the situation diplomatically to promote peace.

The man's followers did not consider this day good. They were discouraged, fearful, and hopeless. The promise of a new kingdom had been crushed before their eyes. They went into hiding, frightened that the very powers that had killed this man would come after them.

But it was a good day -- in God's eyes. The death of this Man had been foretold by the prophets of old. His death was the ultimate sacrifice for a People destined to destruction because of their disobedience to and their rejection of God. Without the sacrificial death of this one man, Jesus, there would be no hope of Heaven. Our debts, brought on by a sinful nature, was paid in full because One Man, the Son of God, allowed Himself to die in our place.

It is a Good day, because God gives us a chance to be at peace with Him. It will be a Good day, when you accept this chance and ask Jesus into your heart and into your life. Then it will be a better day because you will now be able to enter eternity with hope.

Have you made the decision to make Jesus your Lord and Savior. Remember, He died for you!

A Landmark Post

This is my 333rd post. Every time I see that number, I instantly think of my freshman year of college since 333 was my dorm room number. It also reminds me of my old roommate, Bridget.

Bridget was a junior transfer student who belonged to one of the nearby sororities. She had a great personality, which made her rather popular. What I loved about my roommate was that although she was much older with different interests, she would include me in a few of her activities. One of them was to join her and her friends to a super late night hot dog run at a 24 hour stand several miles away.

Bridget became a Christian not too long afterwards. She became involved with Campus Crusades and I saw a big change in her life. There was a fresher attitude, more peace, more joy. She veered away from the party life of college, and started to become more serious about her life and her goals. I lost touch with her many years ago, but the last note I had from her told about her marriage, her walk with the Lord, and how important God was in her and her husband's life.

Christ brings change into people's lives. He bring direction, hope, peace, joy, love, and fulfillment. It would have been nice to be able to tell Bridget so many years later of my personal commitment to the Lord. I think she would have been pleased for her little "roomie."

Easter is Coming

Easter is just six days away. I used to love going on Easter egg hunts when I was a kid. Memories of running around looking for the dyed eggs come flooding into my mind. For weeks afterward, I'd ask my mother for an Easter egg for breakfast instead of referring to them as hardboiled eggs (of course, she made fresh eggs; the ones from Easter had long been thrown away).

Even as a young child, I had an idea of the main reason for all the celebration: the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But I didn't truly understand the significance until I was much older. I didn't quite realize that it was not just Jesus' death on the cross that was of major importance, it was also the fact that His resurrection made it possible for us to go to Heaven when we die.

Easter is a great time for family get-togethers: for ham and fried chicken; for Easter egg hunts and chocolate candies; for Peeps and jelly beans. But we must never forget that it's all about Jesus, whose death and resurrection opened up the pathway to Heaven.

Learning to Love

Let's be honest. It's not easy to follow the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. Sure, it's easier to do so with our family and friends, but what about the irritating guy on the freeway who cut you off, or the bank teller with the bad attitude, or someone in the office with an annoying habit? We're still called to love them, because as the Good Samaritan parable teaches, our neighbor is everyone, even those we find difficult to love.

Only God can love unconditionally; therefore, He is the one who can help us love those who rub us the wrong way. He can change our hearts into hearts of compassion. He can make us see others through His eyes, showing us that they, too, need that extended hand of fellowship and caring.

We all have people in our lives who could benefit from God's love through us. Why not ask the Lord to teach you how to love them His way?

Opportunities and Blessings

My friend and I were supposed to meet for breakfast yesterday morning. Plans changed and we had to cancel. We were a bit disappointed because we enjoy the infrequent times we can get together to chit chat, share what the Lord is doing in our lives, and develop new story ideas. Yet at the same time, we had to be thankful that God had allowed us to have one of our rare more-than-an-hour-long phone conversations the day before.

If we believe God is in control of our lives, then we have to believe nothing is by accident. That being the case, God knew our breakfast would be cancelled, so He allowed us to have some valuable phone time instead.

Be thankful for the little opportunities God puts in your life. They are really unexpected blessings.