Insignificant?

When I was in my teens, my brothers and I used to ‘hunt’ down insects; any bug will do.
Usually, the most common would be flies and bees. We made paper bullets and used a simple rubber band catapult to launch them with deadly accuracy. I used to think no one would ever miss them anyway! That was then; but now we know more about the importance of these “pests.” With the mass die-out of honey bees, scientists and fruit farmers are worried about the future. I understand that in China, many of the farmers have resorted to “human” pollinators doing the tedious work in place of the missing bees. They use a tiny feather and dust each blossom on every fruit tree. How can something so tiny, something we deem insignificant, affect our lives so profoundly?

Some Thoughts:

No one is insignificant in the sight of God.
We all have a function and a specific place in life.

OPEN UP

Now that the days are getting longer and warmer, the birds have returned from their Southern journey and the flowers are springing up all over the city.

It’s the most beautiful time of the year.

Have you ever noticed that tulip blossoms open up when the sun is out and close their delicate petals during the night?

It’s as if the tulips are welcoming the sun into their inner sanctum, to warm their hearts. I’ve discovered that the inside of each tulip is as unique as they are wondrous to behold.

Its fragrances and striking colours beckons pollinating insects to come and sample the sweetness that it contains. In this daily ritual, life goes on but more importantly, reproduction of life is guaranteed.

When we open up our lives and allow God into the inner recesses of our heart, our life is empowered and refreshed. “The heavens declare the glory of the God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” Psalm 19:1

HIGH CONTRAST

High contrast photography utilizes light and dark colors, black and white high contrast photos, or a complimentary color scheme image. Using contrast within your photos will give you very artistic shots. Contrast describes the brightness difference between the lightest and darkest portions of a subject.
When you think about it, God calls us to “high contrast” living.

Believers are "salt of the earth people" – we flavour life.
Believers are "light of the world people" – we stand out.
High contrast living is founded on a higher purpose.
High contrast living is built on higher values.
High contrast living is driven by a higher power.

Stop

Have you had one of those days when you woke up on the wrong side of the bed? Well two days of bad stormy weather plus a head cold can put a damper on your day. It could have been worse!
As I was driving into work I was just thinking how slow my reflexes were that morning, and then a little voice inside of me calmly screamed “stop!” I stomped on my brakes and slowed down to a crawl. Before I could say “why,” the car in front of me rear-ended another vehicle. That split second decision saved me a trip to the insurance company and whole lot of cash.
This is the first time something like this has happened to me. I’m glad I took heed to God’s timely warning.
I gave more thought to this all the way into work and came up with a few things.

• Sometimes when we fail to stop and consider the path we are taking – we end up wasting time and resources.
• Sometimes when we fail to stop and check the speed we're taking in life – we could be headed for a burn out.
• Sometimes when we fail to stop – we could be in no shape to carry on what we’re supposed to be doing.

We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. Psalm 39:6

Life’s Miracles

Life is full of miracles. It begins with the miracle of birth and ends with transformation for the believer.
Like the metamorphosis of the ugly caterpillar into the beautiful butterfly, often we miss out on miracles because we look in the wrong places or maybe we are not looking for them at all. Even when a supernatural God-event takes place, we look for natural reasons to explain it away.
Just because some don’t see it, or don’t believe in it, does not preclude the fact that miracles do take place every day in this amazing world we live in.

Miracles - expect it!

New Life

Just when I’ve had enough of the cold dark days, the sun breaks through and it’s a brand new season. Three months ago, I put into the ground over 400 tulip and daffodil bulbs.
For months, there seemed to be no life. What a waste of time and resources some might be tempted to think? What if they don’t come alive as promised?
What if they merely remained in the ground? But surely as the sun rises, in the twinkling of an eye, these harbingers of spring, rise out of the earth and with it bring hope of brighter days. Imagine what it must have been like for the Disciples of Christ. What started as a great week, with thousands waving palm fronds, ended with an earth shattering march to the killing fields, and then He was gone. Just like that, their hopes were dashed, their hero hanging from a cross!
They waited to see if He would miraculously descend from the cross, and ascend to the throne of David and restore Jerusalem to the Jews. Instead they had to reclaim His lifeless body and put Him in a borrowed tomb. One day passed, then two! Maybe death did claim another victim? The third day would be greeted by the defeat of death, when our Lord Jesus rolled away the stone and lives forever more.