Are you okay?

 

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

They all looked so normal. Holding coffee cups, reading books. Someone on their phone. Others heads together chatting softly. Normal people stuff. Sure looked like regular people having a regular day. Right? Are you picturing a coffee shop perhaps?

The fact is, this is taking place in a hospital waiting room.Waiting for lab work to be done. Waiting for radiology. Which means all these normal, average looking people have some real issues they are contenting with.

It sure is hard to tell just by looks who is dealing with pain.Worries. Strife. Anxious over the possible outcomes. They sure looked okay - just by looking. But this scene could very easily be found in a coffee shop, grocery store line, worship center, at the bank, at work, any group gathering really. 

It made me pause and think - so many of us, carrying burdens, yet carrying on with regular normal routines of daily life.

Looks don't tell the whole story. Stuff is going on the the life of the one with the smile. Stuff they are trying to grin-and-bear through. More people than you realize.

So let's be gentle. And kind. You don't need to know the whole background story. Just like we all have sinned, we all have trials and tribulations too. 

Let us pray for the known - and the unknown - burdens of each other.
Let's just be a little more gracious and forgiving.
Let's draw everybody a little closer to God.
The God Who carries us through it all.

And you know that the Lord has taken care of us the whole time we've been in the desert, just as you might carry one of your children. (Deuteronomy 1:31 CEB)

Whose turn is it?

I think I need a rest from all the pursuing and striving; the trying; and being so focused on being a good servant every minute. It is draining and daunting. God doesn’t refer to us solely as servants. But also Beloved. Child. Friend. I think we are meant to enjoy life as it comes. Trusting the Lord to lead us into good service - in His timing - His place - His ideas - His energy.

You will hear His voice. He knows how to reach you. He knows how to lay things on your heart. You must believe that you won’t miss a thing. In the meantime, enjoy His blessings until He summons you. And when He calls, may your spirit respond. “I get to serve the Lord! With His wisdom and His power infused in me!” You can’t miss! And gladness will fill your soul. Be grateful for this thin-space, this bonding time with the Lord.

Yes. When He calls on you, when it’s your turn - serve the Lord with gladness. Share in His smile. Walk cheerfully into the commission. You don’t need to run and chase after opportunities to serve God. God already has it proportioned out. Which one of us does this or that. When and where. He won’t let you miss your turn to share in the joy of working closely alongside Him.

And in between - rest and play and enjoy living in His love and care. It is to His good pleasure to see us enjoying Him and all the benefits of being His servant, beloved, child, and friend. 

 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing!

Know ye that the Lord, He is God; it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. 

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise!

Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name!

For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.

- Psalm 100

 

Growing in comfort and ease

 

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence … (Hebrews 4:16)

We rescued our two cats from the shelter several years ago. One of them had been left alone a lot in her previous home, so she hid under the couch and behind the bed all the time when we first got her. Of course we worried. We wanted to love her and feed her and let her know she was safe with us.

Do your fears sometimes keep you from spending time with God?

Eventually she dared to come out in the open. She was cautious and she wasn’t crazy about being picked up; didn’t want to be held.

Are you sometimes cautious about how you allow God to approach you and what you allow Him to do with your life? How you let Him love and care for you? 

After some time, she felt safer and more secure and moved more freely about the house. On occasion, she even jumped into my lap for a back rub. But it was on her terms.

Do you also need to be in control of when and how you meet with God?

And now she’s grown to the point of letting us pick her up and hold her.

Are you comfortable living in front of God? Are you able to enjoy His presence – get up in His lap?

We didn’t get to the comfort and ease part with her right away. We had to keep connecting with her, seeking her out. A safe and comfortable – approachable - relationship developed with constant nurturing.

Are you growing into a confident relationship with Christ?

May the peace and love and care of the Lord be yours…

Instead of…

Many of you have flower gardens and I know you spend a lot of time pulling ugly weeds to make more room for your beautiful flowers; in hopes that the flowering plants will overrun the weeds and take over the space.

Grow, flowers, grow! Reach down deep and suck up all the nutrients from the ground. Leave nothing for those weeds. Reach up high for the sunlight and all it offers as well. Keep the weeds hidden beneath your leaves so they die in the darkness. Yes, speak softly and gently to those flowers and prune a little back for more growth. Right?

As one grows; the other will surely die for lack of attention.

And so it is, or can be, in the world around us. So much attention to the weeds and thorns of life. When the Bible says to overcome evil with good - isn’t that just like tending to your garden? Drown out the hurtful; crowd it out, with more lovingkindness.

Can you see it; envision it? Dream. Imagine. And now begin replacing. Displacing.

And let it begin with me. In my heart. My motives. My outlook. My impact.

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Starve the old out of its energy and strength and power. And the old, bitter, hurtful will be outnumbered. Spend less energy on trying not to be sinful and more focus on being more of what God wants you to be. Let the better take root. Let the better take over. 

Grow, dear child of God, grow! Reach down deep and suck up all the nutrients from the ground (the firm foundation of Christ). Leave nothing for those weeds. Reach up high for the sunlight and all it offers as well.  Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12 Keep the weeds hidden beneath your leaves of trust and belief so they die in the darkness. Yes, speak softly and gently to those flowers of faith and prune back any doubts for more growth. 

Let the earth be full of His glory. 

From 1 Peter 3:8-12 MSG

 Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing. Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here’s what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you’re worth. God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he’s asked; But he turns his back on those who do evil things.

Orders to be shipped

 Effective August 1, 2025 - there will be a price change for those orders that need to be shipped versus picked up or delivered locally. THIS IS FOR ORDERS THAT NEED TO BE SHIPPED ONLY.

10 cards for $12.00

to help absorb some of the cost of postage

All other orders will remain -

12 cards for $10.00

Thank you for your continued support of this ministry!

Julie

More seeds, please

 

Today I’m thinking about seeds and how small they are. And how we often think of an act of kindness is a small seed that will hopefully grow into something! But I’m thinking about seeds plural and multiple seeds, that maybe somebody has already planted seeds in someone’s heart and maybe it just takes one more small seed in order for that person to have their life completely changed in Jesus.

 We often reference the stick that broke the camels back. Piled up and piled up and now that last one made all the difference. So don’t think your seed is too small to make a difference. Don’t think you’re one little act of kindness as ineffective. You’re one little share about Jesus… that one moment you have in the closeness of God - then you tell someone else - don’t think for a minute, that it’s not having an impact. Surely, surely … God is at work and is piling up seeds until that one last seed makes all the difference in the world to someone’s life … and then the miracle. Because we all made an effort to contribute a seed. So whether you are the first seed, or the 19th seed, or the hundredth seed, they all play a role, they all have purpose, in getting to that end result of every seed glorifying God. Know that every seed has purpose. You have purpose. Your story has purpose - you’re sharing has purpose like building blocks. And who knows whether you’ve come for such a time as this? At some point, the scales will tip, and someone’s heart will be overflowing with all this goodness from God. And they finally realize in their head and heart and mind that this is God, the real God, over and over again piling on His love and blessings and care.

My work was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos’ work was to water it, but it was God, not we, who made the garden grow in your hearts.

- 1 CORINTHIANS 3:6 TLB

Words of comfort and of hope

 Which one meets your need today?

How may I pray for you?

Tell me…. juliecrane.57@att.net