Flutterby Garden

Ice crystals transform into lovely snowflakes.

Butterfly children curl up inside of cozy cocoons,

Dreaming of one spring day, one warm sunny day

When they will spread their new wings and fly.

Though frozen yet, the ground is vibrant, full of life.

Sleeping animals will soon awake from winter naps.

 Anxious seeds will remove their winter coats

And curious young sprouts will emerge.

Flutterby Garden will have new sights …

 and new sounds, once again!

We can choose our questions.

We can choose our answers.

But the only way we can choose

the consequences of our choices,

is by choosing wisely.

Family is gathering as a wonderful lady we call Grandma Bernice is making her transition from earth to eternity.

“Tetelestai,” Jesus once said, “It is finished”. But, something new was just beginning.   

While we celebrate the Messiah's coming to birth we will also celebrate the passage of one precious Saint who made herself available to and was loved by so many here on earth.  She has fought the good fight, she has finished her race, she has kept the faith.  Now there is a crown of life awaiting her in heaven. 

The earthly body gets tired sometimes, but the spirit never dies. It follows the divine path laid in place by God, Himself.  This transition, though hard on the rest of us, is necessary.  So, Precious Mom and Grandma, go with our blessing to your new home beyond the stars where Angels and Saints alike worship before the Throne of God.  We have been touched, encouraged, embraced, comforted and warmed by your smile.  We have been challenged by your words, amazed by your resilience and now, brought to tears by your leaving.

Just as we say good bye with mourning though, many others will greet you with, out-stretched arms.  Just as we embrace and hold each other tight for comfort, you will say hello to those whom you have waited a lifetime to see. You are restricted by earth’s limitations, no more.  It will never hold you back again.

We are stunned and broken for now.  Like the North Star, you were always there.  We feel a great sense of void when we look for you because you have moved.  We cannot see you with our eyes, hear you with our ears or touch you with our hands and that leaves us feeling a little lost for now.

We can find an ap for just about everything else today.  But all the world’s greatest technology, cannot bring us back together again at this time.  God has an ap though, it is called, appointed time. This means that this same time that separates us now, will bring us back together again. Until then, we will hold you in our hearts and be grateful for the incredible memories.  These memories, like little space shuttles, will carry us through time.  We will see you again.

Lovely Grandma Bernice, you have simply gone on ahead.  We know where you are though and want to be with you.  Thank you for your generous love. 

 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” ( John 14:3)  Jesus said it.  Bernice believed it. We know where she is and that it is a good place to be.  Now, she waits for us.  (O:

            

Knowledge is a commodity.

Understanding is a lost art. 

Wisdom is not expendable.

Accountability is for all.

I am reading a book, "Between A Rock And A Grace Place" by Carol Kent.This is how it begins:

"If you picked up this participants's guide, it no doubt means you are someone who is living in the middle of circumstances you wish were more favorable."  Then, it goes on to say:

"One day when I was struggling, my sister emailed me a verse from the Bible.  Romans 9:33. (Eugene Peterson's rendering from The Message)

"Careful! I've put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion, A stone you can't get around;
But the stone is me! If you're looking for me, you'll find me on the way, not in the way."

Furthermore, Carol writes:

"It has now been more than a decade ago, right in the middle of my life, that I ran into a huge boulder, the likes of which I had never encountered on my lifelong walk with God. It could have been my stopping place, the point at which I lost not only some of my most cherished dreams but also my faith and passion to go on.

Instead, I found out that the rock in my path represented not an obstacle but an opportunity to encounter the living God in surprising, sometimes astonishing ways. As I have learned to "press into" the Rock in the middle of my hard places I have learned that I am actually in a position of safety, refuge, and grace ..."

"If you too feel caught in one of those tight spots that seem unusually difficult, if not unbearable, I pray that you will come to realize that the pain of being in this place need not cause you to lose hope. If you press into the Rock instead of trying to get around it, you will discover a surprise far better than a birthday or a Christmas gift.

On the road that is your life right now, you can find a new way of thinking about your circumstances, as well as an astonishing experience of grace, tailor-made for you. As you encounter God, on the way, not in the way....you may come to know Him as you never have before."

Thank you Carol for that teaching and thank you Most Gracious God for helping Carol to turn her time of great distress into a precious, teaching moment.

1 Timothy 2:2. Pray for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness
.
We pray for our president and his administration not because we like them or agree with them, but because God commands us to pray for the one in office.. Obedience is that sacrifice we make but it pays great dividends.

Wow. That truth just blind-sided me. I failed God, Obama, our country and myself by not obeying this command. There were many of us Christians and only one of him. Our prayers could have made a very great difference. Obedience to God's Word could have spared us all a lot of distress.

We think it is all up to the Man in the Oval Office to make us healthy, wealthy and wise. It's not. It's up to God, our obedience to pray and him. Scripture says that God literally changes the heart of kings. Do you suppose He could change the personal and collective hearts of His Body, The Body of Christ?

God help me to trust You and be obedient, even when my mind and will call me off into another place.

Even a royal palace would not have been good enough for Him.  He brought royalty to a new level, in the barn …