Happy Anniversary To Me – A Gift For You!

Today is my one year anniversary! Who would believe it? Not me!


I started blogging as a way to practice and improve my writing skills, and hopefully, to encourage someone in the process. It has turned into a sweet blessing for me, making so many new friends in cyberspace. My life will never be the same because of you!

To thank you for your encouragement and support over the past year, I am hosting my first “give-away”. Everyone who shares a comment will be entered in a drawing for the newest Max Lucado book “Fearless”. To be eligible to win, please leave me a comment on the blog (http://www.eternitycafe.blogspot.com/) or reply to this email. Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win. At the end of the week, one of my kids will pull the winning name.


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To commemorate this anniversary, I’m sharing my first blogpost, still one of my favorites!
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Monday, October 13, 2008
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Thanks for visiting Eternity Cafe today. Well, friends, I’m finally in the 21st century, and here’s my first post!! It is my desire that this blog will serve to shine God’s light in your life and mine. I just love to share ideas, stories, illustrations, photos, even recipes as they come to me, either through my crazy brain or by way of email, devotions, sermons, conversation, etc. I hope that you will join me adding your insights by posting your comments.

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For my first post, I chose a story that is near and dear to my heart. Years ago, when my 20 year old daughter was just four, we were standing side by side in church singing during the worship service. (By the way, she now stands beside her dad as she plays bass guitar leading the worship with him! How time flies!) But at that time, my observant little girl asked me a question. She said, “Why do people raise their hands when they worship?” I was just about to share my great wisdom with her, providing some brilliant answer when I felt the Lord just shutting my mouth tight. So I asked her, “Why do you think that people raise their hands when they worship?” To which she thoughtfully replied, “I think that they are holding hands with God.”
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From that moment on, I always asked her (and my son) what they thought before I provided my answer!
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Her answer revealed so much insight into what our relationship with God ought to be. It was the prophet Micah who said, “He has showed you, O man (or woman), what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” You might say “… to walk holding hands with God.”
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Now just imagine that you are a child holding the hand of your Father. His hand covers yours, and you feel His protection. He is so much bigger than you are. He is gripping you tightly because He doesn’t want to lose you. He doesn’t want any harm to come to you. He wants to protect you, even though sometimes He allows you to reap consequences, because that too, is for your good.
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Imagine as you hold His hand where His eyes are. He can see across the street. He can see what lies ahead. He can see where the dangers are, and He can shield you from them. Imagine His vision and realize how limited your vision is. And remember, when a child holds her daddy’s hand, it is gripped and supported – He is doing the holding! It is not nearly as difficult as when you try to keep your hand raised in your own strength.
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Imagine how much the owner of that Hand loves you. How He cares for your every need, even those that you don’t realize you have. How His grip is a confirmation of how you are tenderly loved with a strength beyond your own understanding. Realize that if a great danger were heading your way, how He would push you out of the way, and sacrifice Himself that you might live.
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This is what it is to be a child of God.





Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. Psalm 37:24
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“I want men (& women & children!) everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer.”
1 Timothy 2:8.

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Susan

Ten Pounds

So I’ve been walking more and eating right,
and still fit into all the same large clothes! Arghhh!
I have to shift my perspective from earthly to eternal. 
Keep the temple healthy.
Be a disciple – exercise discipline.
“Be still” – is not an excuse to be lazy.
Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please!
Workouts in the gymnasium are useful,
but a disciplined life in God is far more so,
making you fit both today and forever.
You can count on this. Take it to heart.
1 Tim. 4:6 The Message

Your Roots Are Showing

“But blessed is the (woman) man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in Him.
(She) He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8







Once a month or so, my pup and I have “Grooming Day”! She visits the groomer, and across the street, I get my nails done. This Thursday was a triple grooming experience as I needed to have my hair done as well.


 
I hadn’t visited my wonderful hairdresser, Nina, since May. You can imagine the mess. I need regular touchups to cover the gray, but I had to confess that I had been cheating on Nina. I was using a product called Root Touchup which got me through the summer, but that only takes care of a small portion of my head. My roots needed real attention, and thanks to AnnMarie & Nina, on Thursday, they got it.

The Bible has something to say about our roots from a spiritual perspective. Jeremiah tells us that the woman who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him, is blessed. And it’s not just feeling blessed, it’s a blessing with tangible benefits.



(She) He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.




The roots of a tree planted by the water naturally grow in the direction of the water. They stretch out to be fed by the stream. They search for that life-giving source. They don’t wait for a gardener to show up with a watering can. Likewise, we ought to seek the life-giving flow of Living Water, the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to nourish us, not just depending upon a church sermon or Sunday School class to feed us.





It does not fear when heat comes;


The droughts in California cause the timber to be bone dry allowing a tiny spark to ignite a devastating fire. But wetlands have no fear of the fire. If we have partaken of ample Living Water, we need have no fear of the heat when it comes – and note, Jeremiah says “when” heat comes, not “if” it comes. We can be sure that heat will come, but if our roots are well watered, we will be like that tree standing firm.





its leaves are always green.


Years ago, my friend, Therese, and I sat in a car under tree near a streetlight for hours sharing our hearts. It was autumn, and we noticed that most of the leaves had fallen off the tree, except for one area of the tree near the light. The light kept the leaves on that part of the tree green and alive reminding us of our need to stay near our source of life-giving Light.





It has no worries in a year of drought


Why wouldn’t the tree have worries in a drought? Because it has stored up enough water to sustain it during dry periods. There is no doubt that we will have dry periods, too. But that is not a cause for worry. The Bible calls itself our spiritual food (milk and meat). I’ve heard it said that sometimes reading the Bible is like dessert, so delicious we could savor every morsel. Sometimes, it’s like cereal, a bit dry, but we eat to sustain us and provide building blocks for growth. And still other times, it’s like medicine. It may not satisfy our tastebuds, but it provides healing. Drought or not, we ought not to worry (Matt. 6:33, Phil. 4:6).





and never fails to bear fruit.


The by-product of abiding in the Vine is bearing fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is not like a gift of the Spirit which is given at the discretion of the Giver. Fruit is the consequence of obeying and remaining with Jesus, the Vine. An apple tree can’t produce more fruit by force or wishful thinking. No huffing & puffing on the part of the tree will result in more fruit. Fruit is produced on a branch that is firmly attached, is fed, watered and in the light . . . over a period of time.






One last thing about roots – the Bible tells us that we if we miss the grace of God, a bitter root can grow and cause trouble (Heb. 12:15) and that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10). These are roots to be avoided because they will poison the tree.






The roots are what sustain the tree. No more root touchups here! Let’s make sure our roots are firmly planted, stretching toward living water, free from fear and worry, and bearing good fruit. Then we can be proud to say our roots are showing!






Susan