Satisfied

Recently I was off work a few days, and one of my desires was to visit three ladies that I’ve been writing. One of the ladies had been in my SS class for a season. Another lady I’d seen only twice in morning worship, and one lady I’d never met.

Mrs. Brown is an older saint and isn’t able physically to attend church anymore. For the short time I had to enjoy her presence in SS, I came to admire her. It was a joy to sit with her a spell and, again, enjoy the saintly countenance of her presence. There’s just something special about being with one who has walked with God for many a year. I think of words such as satisfied, restful and serene.

It was a delightful country lane that took me to my second visit. Radean has multiple sclerosis. I’d only seen her twice before, and began writing her about two years ago. What a fun time we had! I discovered we grew up in the same general area, and her brother attended the same high school as me, possibly the same year. I’ll have to find my yearbook! She was comforting to talk with, and I hope we’ll get together again.

I met Janet at a coffee shop in Mt. Airy. This new friend has been fighting cancer for a number of years, but you couldn’t tell it. This lady was alive, focused and exuberant! As one who encourages others, she encouraged me! God has filled her with His work, as she goes around cheering the hearts of others struggling with cancer. I was transfixed for two hours as she shared her story and the things God has done through her. I look forward to being with her again.

I consider it a great privilege to have sat down with these three ladies as we shared our lives. Moments like these are what memories are made of. My vacation days were well spent . . . and I look forward to the time when I can make visits like these more frequently.

After writing encouraging notes for many years now, I know God will provide the words He wants me to share. This ministry has been a healing balm for me, as many times I suffered from heartache to headache when I’ve sat down to write. There is something much stronger that drives me to write, for it is what God has called me to do. His power goes before me. Yes, I am satisfied.

The picture above and below of this fine colt were snapped near Littlestown, PA. Jerry and I had just enjoyed a delicious lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Hillcrest, and we took a different route home. (Actually the route would take us closer to a favorite ice cream store for a double dip chocolate cone!) I enjoyed taking a few snaps, although this colt wasn’t happy I was there. I still managed to bring away some pictures to enjoy, though.

My Little Acre . . .

My little acre of land, my little acre of influence, and travels, how well do I know thee? George Macdonald puts it this way:

"Few are needed, to do the out-of-the-way tasks which startle the world, and one may be most useful just doing commonplace duties, and leaving the issue with God. And when it is all over, and our feet will run no more, and our hands are helpless, and we have scarcely strength to murmur a last prayer, then we shall see that, instead of needing a larger field, we have left untilled many corners of our single acre, and that none of it is fit for our Master's eyes, were it not for the softening shadow of the cross."

This quote has always moved me as I've read it over the years. It certainly reminds me that I have much to do in my own little sphere of note. As I share when I speak on note writing: "This may appear to be a very small service in God's family, but it has the potential to change a life. I should know . . . my life was changed by a note."

And the same may be true as you share your gifts from God with others. It may seem very small, but in actuality, it may change a life.

In Look Upto Me: The Devotions of Charles Spurgeon, the September 10 devotion opened with Mark 3:13: "Jesus went up on a mountain side and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him."

"This is an example of God's sovereignty," Spurgeon wrote. "Impatient souls may fret and fume because they are not called to the highest places of ministry, but dear reader, let your heart rejoice that Jesus calls whom He wills. If He asks you to be only " . . . a doorkeeper in His house," Psalm 84:10, cheerfully bless Him for His grace in allowing you to do anything in His service."

Yes, my little acre is quite enough to fill my time in living for Jesus and sharing encouraging words. It is done because of His grace in me, and I can rejoice that I can do this for Him.

Whatever God has given you to do in your little acre, do it faithfully for you never know when your gift will change a life!

The picture above is of Sammy playing "stick" in our little acre.

I saw a fawn and doe by the side of the road the other morning and quickly turned around to see if I could get a picture. They moved into the trees so I turned into the next street, parked the car and walked just inside the tree line. It took about 5seconds before I spotted the fawn, who was looking at me. I was able to get several snaps before my camera said, "change the batteries." I never saw the doe.

It wasn't until I was working with the picture in Photoshop at home that I noticed the doe in the picture. It caught my breath! What a thrill.

The Missionary Warrior . . .

Steams in the Desert is widely known and widely read. Written by Lettie Cowman, better known as Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, her devotion book has changed many lives, including mine. As a new believer, an older Christian gave me a copy and it has encouraged me down through the years.

As familiar as Mrs. Cowman’s name is, what about Mr. Cowman? Is his name familiar? Where does he fit in?

In her September 8 devotion in Volume 1, Lettie Cowman tells us:

“It costs to carry the message. ‘Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone,’ were the words spoken by the Holy Spirit to a humble servant of His who had, after a day of heavy toil, gone aside into a quiet room to spend a night in prayer. What followed that trysting time with his Master during the brief hours of that night? What had happened that so completely changed his life thereafter? He had met Someone! To the one known throughout missionary circles as “the Missionary Warrior”–Charles E. Cowman–had come a revelation of God’s will that every home in an entire nation was to receive a portion of the sacred Scriptures, that a personal invitation was to be given to everyone living within that nation. That the time for such a crusade was now. When God says ‘today’ He does not mean ‘tomorrow.’

“The challenge was accepted and in the name of the God of the impossible, action began–for action ever follows vision. During the following five years the greatest gospel distribution crusade since Pentecost was launched when 10,320,000 homes in the mikado’s empire were visited personally and given portions of the precious old Book we so love. Thousands destroyed their idols and accepted the invitation of the One who said, ‘Come unto Me.’”

Mr. Cowman was the founder and president of the Oriental Missionary Society. His story is the history of a great missionary enterprise. So closely were his personality and the cause of missions linked, that it is impossible to separate them. His work was his very life.

Lettie Cowman wrote her husband’s biography in 1946, titled: Charles E. Cowman: Missionary Warrior . I haven’t read this book yet but I believe it will be an interesting story.

If you’ve never been introduced to Streams in the Desert I encourage you to purchase a copy and discover the pearls of treasures inside. In my young days of following Jesus, this book sowed bountiful riches in my mind that have played a huge role in handling the disappointments of life. There now are several books, written by friends of Lettie, who took her papers and combined them to continue her legacy of words.

Below is a picture of a buck I saw on my way in to work last week. There was a doe behind him, whose ears are barely visible over his rump. His antlers are visible, and the sun shining on half of the trees in the back is refreshing. He was quite a distance away, yet I love the effect of the snap.

Because of Jerry . . .

At least he says so. All summer I’ve tried to get the elusive Great Blue Heron, and I finally captured him. I see him most mornings when I drive a particular country lane, and I had only been able to get one decent snap of him.

Saturday, Jerry and I were coming home from a visit with my Mom, and Jerry chose the country lane. It has a nice little stream that runs beside it, is a refreshing drive, and it’s where I captured newborn lambs earlier in the season.

I wasn’t looking for Mr. Heron but spotted him on our drive through. I grabbed my camera and Jerry stopped the truck and backed up, unrolling my window at the same time. I only got two snaps off before Mr. Heron was gone again. But it only takes one . . . and this time I got him!

I guess I’ll have to give Jerry some credit in this capture. I couldn’t find the window button because I was rushing to be ready with the camera. Jerry saved the day when he unrolled the window without me even saying anything. I guess I’ll keep him a while longer. At least until December. That’s when we celebrate our 25th! Ah . . . I think I'll keep him another 25 too!

It can happen at anytime. That one snap that makes the difference. My commute to work keeps getting longer as I find more country lanes to travel. What a way to go!

The bird below was enjoying an afternoon bath!

Encouragement Divine . . .

Before I let it go . . . just another post from the book Amazing Grace . . .
I’ve had this book for many years, but my practice has been to skip over hymns that I don’t know. I’m not sure why I do this; possibly because I don’t know the melody of a particular hymn, or something crazy like that!

Recently, I didn’t skip over the assigned reading for the day and found a treasure. The song is “Thy Word Have I Hid in my Heart.” It is treasure for me to find because the hymn writer paraphrased a few verses from Psalm 119, which is one of my favorite Psalms.

Ernest O. Sellers wrote both the words and music around 1908. For the chorus, Mr. Sellers used the words directly from Psalm 119:11: “Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.”
The first reads: “Thy Word is a lamp to my feet, A light to my path always, To guide and to save me from sin, And show me the heav’nly way.” Another verse reads: “At morning, at noon, and at night I ever will give Thee praise; For Thou art my portion, O Lord, And shall be through all my days!”

Throughout Psalm 119 we read about God’s word--obeying it, meditating on it, hiding it in our heart, delighting in it, and loving it. I may not know the melody of this hymn, but I can delight in the words.

Following are some quotes regarding Psalm 119:

“This psalm is a chest of gold rings, not a chain of gold links.” Matthew Henry

“A psalm dedicated to the praise of God’s Word.” Liberty Bible Commentary

“Although Psalm 119 is lengthy, it is not tiresome. Its subject, the Word of God, is more than worthy of its one hundred seventy-six verses." Liberty Bible Commentary

A few of my favorite verses . . .

“Oh that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!” Verse 5

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." Verse 18

“Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws.” Verse 43

Verses 74, 81, 147 and others proudly proclaim: “I have put my hope in your word.”

“The entrance of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." Verse 130

Now I have another treasure to sing in meditating on Psalm 119 in “Thy Word Have I Hid in my Heart.” I think I’m going to have to stop skipping over hymns I don’t know so I can find the gold nuggets meant just for me.

The above picture was unplanned. Imagine my surprise to find this blue heron in the stream when I went to take a picture! I had stopped at my very favorite scene to snap deer and decided to go past where I usually stop to get a different snap of the property. It was only when I checked to make sure I had the stream in the picture that I saw this guy just having an early morning shopping expedition for breakfast. My eyes jumped up from behind the camera and went "look who's here!" I only got three snaps off before he stepped behind the brush. For a hand-held, out the car window, from 60 yards or so, I'm pretty pleased!

The snap below is at that same location, but the first time I noticed a lamppost at the bridge. I can't ever remember noticing it before because I've always been focused on the deer. I am very pleased to finally have it in one of my snaps!