Matthew 13:10-17

(Isaiah 6:9-10) "Go, and say to this people, “Listen and listen, but never understand! Look and look, but never perceive!”  Make this people’s heart coarse, make their ears dull, shut their eyes tight, or they will use their eyes to see, use their ears to hear, use their heart to understand, and change their ways and be healed.

The New Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1985), Is 6:9–10.

It the course we take through life that provides us with all we need to survive, to thrive. That course has no direction that will bring us to eternal life if we are not being guided by Christ. Despite what we might think it is by every word of the Lord that is spoken in the good book that we are to live. Not one syllable of that word is to be changed because it is not what we want or believe. If there is no healing in our lives it is not because there is no God, it is because Isaiah's words are still true in your life. If what you see and want in your life it is not what the Lord wants you will never see it come to be. Having total control, to be able to do what you want, without regard and without consequence will only lead to ruin. Isaiah's prophecy has again come true for you. It is certainly evident in those who want to destroy lives that have not yet had the chance to have the dreams that we have had. Life is precious and has no price. Freedom has its price. It is not free. Many have given their lives for that freedom including Christ. Hear His words and give yourself to Him that you might hear, understand and perceive. 

There is no image this week. This was a week of turmoil in many ways. I had stress trying to get my prescription medications refilled with only 2 days left on the old one. We were accidentally exposed to Covid by a family member who just found out they had it. It has been a week now and we still have no symptoms. We home tested at the time and it was negative. We will test again today or tomorrow to see if we are still negative. The heat wave here (95 to 110 degrees in the sun with humidity high) has kept us indoors. We only have air conditioning in our living room and bedroom. Jill's brother slept here on Sunday since he has no air conditioning. Sleep at night is difficult with all that is happening here and around the world with friends and family. 

Jill and I pray for the health and safety of all of you. May God bless and keep everyone well and safe. Until next post, remember to always "Love The Details."

, Psalm 107:2-9 (YHWY's Guiding hand for a people)

https://faithlife.com

Our savior is the guiding hand of those who believe in Him. He is the life and the resurrection for our nation. There is nothing but darkness and wandering for those who turn away from His guiding hand. The nations that followed His word and believed in Him were were strong and united. The Lord provided for them, fought for them, guided them in all they did. His people are those who know He is real and follow Him. He reveals Himself and through Him our father in heaven. We have not not been fortunate enough to have been there when He walked the earth with us but that does not mean we are unable to know HIm. Our walk with Him has not survived for over 2000 years because He is dead. Our Lord and savior has been providing for us, healing us (Yes, even with miracles), correcting us, guiding us, blessing us, calling us to His side for those 2000 years. Now as then the world is in turmoil, in disarray. We need to be aware and not silent about the state of things. It seems people want to do whatever they want whenever they want no matter if it is morally correct or not. A sad statement for the world view of things in this day and age. Self destruction is the path the world is on. 

This is a sheet from Imagine and Do. It was colored with Copic Pens.

Pray for the world and may the good Lord protect you and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

1 Kings 19:9-16

 

There are those in this world that hide themselves away in fear of their fellow man. For what reason do you hide from man? He can only kill the body never the soul. No matter how evil the the pursuer the only power he has over you is the body that is in this world. He has no power over the spirit that lives within the soul. Yahweh keeps our spirit safe and secure, protecting us from harm. The title of today's post is my absolute favorite reminder of God's awesome power and gentle mercy. Read 1 Kings verses 9 through 16. Though God's presence caused the hurricane, mountain shattering, earthquake and fire it was the slightest of breezes that the prophet knew as the voice of God. Jesus was the physical image of His father on earth. I am sure that when He spoke it was soft, gentile and consoling. Even when confronted with the raging weather or other threats the disciples felt safe knowing He was with them. That same thing is true today if you believe in Him. That same voice can be heard today if you are willing to rest in Him. We all fail at times to stop and  listen for that quiet, barely audible voice within our hearts that guides us and assures us that we are safe, secure within His hands. Rest assured! He is with us always and He is guiding us in the ways of God our father. Remember the 23rd Psalm, "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil for thou are with me"? When you recite this psalm take it to heart for it is real and true.  

Today I am sharing an image of a daffodil. It is a simple image and not overly hard to color.

The Copic colors are:

That is it for this week. I hope everyone is staying cool and hydrated. This has been one HOT summer thus far. May the good Lord keep you safe and bless you exceedingly. Remember to always "Love The Details."

Our Robin

 Just a quick post to share that our robin chick has fledged and left the nest. The first picture is of moma and chick.

The chick is hard to see with mom right there but she did leave the nest to scold me while I took these images.

This is the fledgeling. It was hot so it was trying to cool off by opening its beak to pant.

Here is a closer view of the chick. Momma is quite close and scolding me.

This last shot is the final time we saw the baby robin. It had found a pile of trimmings to roost on next to our porch. It was quite hard to see unless you knew where to look. Cute little thing when you got a good look at it.

Momma could find it easily but if you didn't know it was there you would walk right by it without seeing it. This was the last we saw of our little one. We could hear momma robin squalking from time to time so we know the chick was on the move but OK.

That is it for now. I will not post next week but will be back after that God be willing. Until then may the good Lord bless you and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

Psalm 33:12 to be published Posts June 21

 

(Psalm 33:12) We seem to think we are in charge of our destiny and are able to mold our path to the future as an individual and a nation. We believe we are in control of everything and have all the answers to the problems of the age we live in. A quick look at the headlines says we are in woeful disarray and out of control. Our government has chosen to push down and ignore the word of God and hide him in every way possible. "One Nation Under God" is no longer true in many respects. The headline I read recently said that the number of people who believe in God has is at an all time low. That is a sad statement but is also bourn out in the rise of crime in the world and in our country. Psalm 33:12 states "How blessed the nation whose God is Yahweh, the people he has chosen as his heritage."(The New Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1985) Like the nations of old that sinned and refused to honor God's word or to recognize that He is in control we find ourselves not in control, not going down a path to greater peace. Wars and enemies pound at our doors ready to carry off all they can and enslave all who think they are in charge. Our heritage is only safe with Jesus and God our father in charge. Since we are all sinners it is only by belief in Jesus, His sacrifice, that He is the son of God that we are saved. It is only by Him that we will see everlasting life. Pray for the world to be at peace and to turn to Him.

I will post some crafty things or pictures next post. I may be taking a week or so away for the blog. Remember to always "Love The Details" in all you do. God Bless and keep you always safe.

Beam Me Up Scotty

 

This post is about being transported from one place to another instantaneously. Impossible you say? Not according to the bible! (Read Acts 26-40) Philip was instantly taken elsewhere. This is without question an extraordinary happening. He was transported to another place instantly where he began to preach the good news to others on his way to Caesarea. The scientists of today doubt that it is possible to accomplish this feat because it is so complex. Not only the body but the spirit and all memory not to mention other features of the person would need to remain intact for them to remain who they are. Yet the Lord did it with ease many times in the scriptures. ( 1 Kings 18:12; 1 Kings 2:16; 2 Corinthians 12:2, 4; 1 Thessalonians 4:17 ) The Lord Himself appeared in many different places instantly to instruct and prove His being risen from the dead. Even many of the Saints had the ability to appear and be seen in other places. These are things of science fiction that are documented to be true. There is much to be awed about in the scriptures that we cannot comprehend even today. I am left dumbfounded with what our Triune Lord can do. He is truly worthy of praise and worship. Scriptures are awe inspiring and humbling. Make it a habit of regular reading of scriptures taking note of the "impossible" things that happen. What was impossible is becoming possible In this day and age. 

Today I am going to share our resident nesting robin. Robins are members of the Thrush family of birds. Two years ago I put up a nesting platform under the eave of our back porch to prevent the robins from creating nests on our security flood lights. That would have been a fire hazard. I moved the partially constructed nest to the platform and the robins completed it where I put it. That was two years ago and the robins have used it every year since. She has gotten used to us coming and going and stays on the nest most of the time watching our every move. Of course she keeps an eye on us but never leaves her nest unless we get too close. Usually there is a male and female but this year she is alone. I think the male may have abandoned her but most likely he was killed.   

She is sitting on our neighbor's fence scolding me.

On my shed roof still telling me what she thinks just before she goes back to her nest.

Now that she is sitting again she is quiet but still making sure I am at a safe distance. The only time she scolds is when she is off the nest to feed, bathe in the birdbath or some other reason.

That is it for this week. May God bless and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

Resurrection ( 1 Corinthians 15:35-49)

 

(1 Corinthians 15:35-49) Have you ever wondered what this means? Have you ever wondered what it will be like? Have you ever wondered what you will look like when it happens? This reading gives us a hint at what being born again actually means. The decree in genesis "From dust to dust" is a bit scary but isn't the whole story. (Genesis 3:19) Jesus and the apostles better explained it as death before being born to a new body in heaven. Death to what? Self and your old ways? Death is a necessity for new life. Death is not the end unless you choose it to be. Following Christ is by choice, your choice, if eternal life is what you want. It is, however, the only path that leads to life. (John 14:6-7) There is no way of knowing beforehand the how-when-where of our resurrection. All we know for sure is that it will happen because our God is true to His word. Christ promised He was going ahead of us to prepare a place for us and we would receive an new body that is incorruptible, eternal. What it will look like or feel like is beyond our ability to comprehend. It is sufficient to know it will be glorious. This body we inhabit now is but a temporary dwelling place we inhabit while we mature and grow in the faith of our Lord. Rejoice in the gift you are given. Rejoice in the promise of new life and new body. Believe in the word of our Lord. It is true and does not waver but remains ever true.

Today's image is from the Supercoloring.com 

pages. They are lilies that I think are a good choice for the post today. The real lilies are beautiful in person. 

The Copic colors are:

I would like to invite anyone who visits this blog to comment and leave a suggestion on a subject to write about. Thank you for visiting and until next week, may the good Lord bless you and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

Genius

What is genius? I think it’s safe to say that intelligence, creativity, and outside-the-box thinking are all part of making a genius a genius. This, of course, does not limit on which side of good or evil it is used. The devil is the ultimate evil genius. We humans are capable of ranging through the full gamut of genius output. The highest I.Q. recorded is a bit subjective but what I have found is 228. Albert Einstein's was estimated to be 160-170. The average I.Q. is between 85 and 115. 100 is considered to be normal. What is considered genius (mensa) is 130 or higher. Why am I going into this subject on my blog? It is not important that we are geniuses. The capacity to think outside the box or be highly creative does not mean we are of no merit. The thing that is important is the quality of our humanity toward others. No matter the IQ our ability to treat of others kindly, with compassion and justly is important. (John 15:12) IQ or some other measure of ability or status does not mean you are above the command Jesus left us to love one another as he loved us. He saw the heart not the IQ. The heart was His measure of a person's status with God. Having high status in this world took a back seat when it came to whether or not you were worthy to enter heaven or not. (Acts 1:20-26; Psalms 113:7-9) 

Today I am sharing another image from Imagine & Do from Finland. Such drawing talent should be a celebration. This is one of several images the artist has created that are by far my favorites. 

The Copic colors are:

That does it for this post. May God bless you and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

Please pray for world peace and harmony.

Life

Notice: to those who comment on my blog, I will attempt to comment in return but if your comments are set to embedded, not popup, I will not be able to do so. Please reset your Settings, Comments from embedded to popup. This is a problem many are having and they are also not able to comment. Check your blog spam folder to see if you are missing those who manage to comment. That is where I found a few comments, about 6, that google deemed as being spam. Google did some "helpful" reprogramming and messed things up royally again. Thank you for visiting and commenting.

I have often observed that, as the quote above states, popularity and the snares it brings are not a benefit but a trap. The need to be recognized is part of our nature for most of us. But the trap is that it makes us feel safe and empowered. The empowerment can easily become a snare that the Jewish religious leaders succumbed to in Jesus' day. Popularity does not hold any guarantees that you will be safe from your mistakes or even revered for your successes. Jesus performed many miracles in His time on earth. His life was not spared even though He gave proof of His being the messiah. He was crucified anyway. The heart of man is not devoted to the long term but to the here and now. Being popular is only good for this life not the next. It is one thing to be famous and have kudos thrown your way and to be a servant and be barely noticed. The servant takes solace in a job well done with an occasional appreciative "well done." Those who demand to be noticed are usually the same ones who desire popularity and think they are always right. Though you are popular it does not mean you are above everyone else. It is a sign that you love your life and it can cost you your life. (Matthew 10:39, 16:25-26, Mark 8:35-36, Luke 9:24-25, Luke 17:33, John 12:25)

This image is another downloaded image from "Supercoloring.com". They have some very nice images to color that anyone can have fun with. This image did not photograph well due to the lighting.

The Copic colors are;

That is it for this week. May the good Lord bless and keep you safe and healthy. Remember to always "Love The Details".

Self

 Notice: to those who comment on my blog, I will attempt to comment in return but if your comments are set to embedded, not popup, I will not be able to do so. Please go to your settings, comments and change it from embedded to popup. This is a problem many are having and cannot comment. Check your blog spam folder to see if you are missing those who manage to comment. That is where I found a few comments, about 6, that google deemed as being spam. Google did some "helpful" reprogramming and messed things up royally again. Thank you for visiting and commenting.

What is the most difficult problem you face in life? The number of answers would astound you. If you were completely honest the real answer would be self. Yeah, I know, daily life has all sorts of challenges to face and some seem overwhelming. The truth is that human kind sees the world differently than any other living creature on God's earth. Few would consider the problem to be one's own self. The happiest people I know have come to know who they are and are at peace with themselves and with those around them. The ones that are struggling are those who think everyone else is the problem. They in turn make those around them miserable when they try to reform others to be more like them. This is true of both Christian and non-Christians. Everyone is different, unique, singular. It is OK to struggle with who/what we are but it is not OK to expect others to be like us. It is not OK to persecute or rule over others. It is not OK to isolate or hurt those we do not agree with or differ with. The problem then becomes me if I do any of these things. Self is not something that Christ considered important other than to serve. Self in His eyes was only seen as being the property of God and servant of His father in Heaven. He led by example. (John 13:1-16) He washed the disciple's feet as a servant would do. Though His authority was above all others He was foremost a servant of the most high. Self was not something He dwelt upon but was confident in the knowledge that He was one with His father and servant to the children of His father. 

 This another image from "Paint The World"  that I really like. It is what I know as a tiger lilly. They are very impressive in the garden. When we visit Longwood Gardens and they are in bloom they are a sight to see. 

The Copic colors used are:

That will do it for this post. May the good Lord bless and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."