Poetry & Prose ~~ "Always The More"

As I reflect upon the countless blessings

            That You have showered down on me,

I am thankful for each and every one of them,

            Even for those blessings I cannot see.           

For unconditional love that flows from Your heart,

            For the breath of life You breathe into me,

For the gift of salvation and words of eternal life,

            For the gift of grace and mercy in a time of need.

For the gift of forgiveness that is freely given,

            For the unspeakable joy that floods my soul,

For the peace that calms the raging storm,

            For the gift of healing that makes me whole.

For Your light that shines in the darkest of nights,

            For the gift of faith and hope when all else fails.

For the song of deliverance when I am afraid,

            For the freedom I have to worship You above all                             else.

For Your gift of redemption, my soul is redeemed.

            For your Presence in my life that You are here.

For Your promise that You have overcome the world,

            And Your words to us to be of good cheer.

For the gift of my family, loved ones and friends,

            There are not enough words to adequately express,

For the many ways You have shown me Your love,

            And that through them my life is truly blessed.

           

For You alone are the One I worship and praise,

            You are the One I am living for.

For You, oh Lord, are a God Who is never-the-less,

            For You are a God Who is always-the-more.

Contributed by Lesta of Heartsong Treasures.

Happy Reading in Poetry's Presence.

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Real Women - Real Answers: The Demise of A Pretty Pink Dress

THE DEMISE OF A PRETTY PINK DRESS

     Years ago, when I was a young girl, I heard the story of how Jesus walked on water, held out His hand to Peter, said "Come," and Peter obeyed. Somehow, I missed the part that Peter sank!  In the same sermon, the Pastor read the scripture that with God, all things are possible.  Those are the two things that I heard in that sermon so long ago.

     You can do anything if you have enough faith, even defy gravity and walk on water.  Sounds easy enough!  In my young and innocent mind, I just knew this to be true, and I came up with a bright idea that would simply put that truth to the test.  After church and still dressed in my pretty pink dress of many pleats, I bravely walked out to the canal behind our house and just knew without a doubt I could do the same thing as Jesus did – because after all – all things are possible with God – right? 

     Well, I took my leap of faith, stepped off the canal bank and into the water – and guess what? Yep, you got it right!  I got wet – very wet, and my pretty pink dress with many pleats was now a brown muddy mess without any pleats.  Oh dear, now what was I going to do to?   How on earth was I going to keep my mother from finding out that I ruined that dress?  (She had bought it for me as an Easter dress and told me to take good care of it as it was a ‘dry clean only’).  I literally trembled with fear.  I hid that pretty pink dress and to this day, I have no idea or remembrance of what I did with it.   Must be lost in the sea of forgetfulness!  My mom, well, she never asked about it.  Talk about the mercy of God at work in my life and me not getting what I am sure I deserved! 

      I believe God had a good chuckle because of my foolishness. I did not drown that day and that dress was never to be found.  And -- I was spared my mother’s wrath!  It did not even enter my mind that she just might have been grateful that I didn’t drown! 

       While we are sojourners in this life, we walk by faith and not by sight.  Sometimes it is a blind faith because we do not see beyond our first steps as we travel life’s pathway.  Sometimes it may be a leap of faith by launching out into deep waters trusting God with the outcome.  Then there is a child like faith that is simple and uncomplicated by letting Him love us, taking Him at His Word, and knowing His promises are true.  There are other types of faith, some of which might be a misguided faith, foolish faith, unfounded faith and/or a misplaced faith.  Without question, the faith I operated in that day long ago was definitely one of those last four mentioned.  I took the portion of the Bible that I heard and by not hearing anything else, I acted very foolishly.  My question is, do we do that today?  Do we hear just what we want to hear to make us feel good, or do we desire the whole counsel of God?  Do we earnestly seek His face, study His Word, and learn to walk in His ways – or do we just pick and choose what we want to believe, see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear, and choose to walk our own way?

        I learned a few lessons about that event long ago.  God definitely has a sense of humor. He keeps us from drowning in the sea of our own foolishness, ignorance, and stupidity.  He forgives our sins and throws them into the sea of forgetfulness.  He holds out His hand and lifts us up out of the sea of circumstances.  He helps us up out of the miry clay, cleans us off, and places our feet on solid ground so we can walk with Him as we learn to walk in His ways.  Let us seek His face, study His Word, and learn His ways.  Let us walk in the Light of His Presence and trust Him in all things. The Holy Spirit is with us and abides within us. He will guide us, teach us, comfort us and empower us as we surrender our lives to Him.  God is more than able to keep us on the right path as we put our faith and trust in Him.  I just need to learn to do things His way, not mine. Yes indeed, I still believe with all my heart that with God all things are possible.  (Matthew 19:26)

Contributed by Lesta of Heartsong Treasures.

If you have a comment related to child-like faith or faith in general, I would enjoy hearing from you.

Keep the faith and Happy Reading!

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