Happy Sabbath!

I'm thinking of reviving my "Morning Glories and Graces" blog as I've been considering writing more in addition to my inspirational art and this seems a better place to do it than Instagram. Lately, I've been less inclined to post on the latter, looking for a less "trendy" format. I'm not sure how many of my original subscribers to this blog will even still get it, but I'd appreciate it if you can take a moment to respond (if you receive a subscribers email) and let me know if you are "in." 

As with everything I do with my art, the additional joy comes with sharing it and so many of you over the years have supported my sharing...I appreciate it always!

Words Have Wings

Rest In Me

An oldie but goody from 2009

And from Spurgeon:

"Don't you know that day dawns after night,

showers displace drought,

and spring and summer follow winter?

Then have hope!

Hope forever,

for God will not fail you!"

Looking Within

Waves of worry over "what the world is coming to" crash our bruised hearts, leaving us feeling helpless and concerned for our families, our nation, our world. We may feel overwhelmed, but we can start right here with examining our own hearts and asking God to show us where we fall short and where we can make changes in our own lives.

"I have learned

to kiss the wave

that slams me into

the Rock of Ages"

~Charles Spurgeon

Oswald Chambers

One Cloud

Smooth seas...

From Morning Glories and Graces

Love is a legacy that lasts far beyond the limits of our time here on earth and saying, "Here I am, Lord" sets God-adventures in motion. 

Courage

2 Timothy 1:7

"For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a 

spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline."

Romans 12

True Strength

When you become vulnerable like a lamb who relies on his shepherd, you realize true strength doesn't rely on YOU but upon God's gift of Christ residing within, and this becomes your greatest personal strength.

"There is the heart of a lion within the spirit of a lamb."

~Unknown

He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

~John 10:3b

Getting Jesus

“To follow Jesus implies that we enter into a way of life that is given character and shape and direction by the one who calls us. To follow Jesus means picking up rhythms and ways of doing things that are often unsaid but always derivative from Jesus, formed by the influence of Jesus. To follow Jesus means that we can't separate what Jesus is saying from what Jesus is doing and the way that he is doing it. To follow Jesus is as much, or maybe even more, about feet as it is about ears and eyes" 

~Eugene H. Peterson, The Way of Jesus


“The way of Jesus cannot be imposed or mapped — it requires an active participation in following Jesus as he leads us through sometimes strange and unfamiliar territory, in circumstances that become clear only in the hesitations and questionings, in the pauses and reflections where we engage in prayerful conversation with one another and with him.” 

~Eugene Peterson, The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus is the Way

Isaiah 8:11-13

A prayer:

Father, I have felt the fear that consumes,

that blinds and is foreign to any life with you.

Help me to follow the example of Isaiah

and "stop the hastening prey"

to PRAY

and place my hope in You.

Isaiah 8:11-12
11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: 
12 "Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it."

"Faith is the gift of God.

So is the air,

but you have to breathe it;

so is bread,

but you have to eat it;

so is water,

but you have to drink it."

~D.L. Moody

Ephesians 5:8-10

8-10 You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.

It's always

further than it looks,

It's always

taller than it looks,

And it's always

harder than it looks.

(The 3 Rules of Mountaineering)

"It's not the mountain that

we conquer,

but ourselves."

~Sir Edmund Hillary

"Each fresh peak ascended

teaches something."

~Sir Martin Conway

"It is not strange for the soul to find it's life in God.

This is its native air."

~Henry Drummond

It's OK to Put It Down

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not rely on your own insight.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.

~Proverbs 3:5-6

What We Do

"Show yourself in all respects

a model of good works."

~Titus 2:7

"This is a kind of life which needs great grace."

~Charles Spurgeon

Paul is writing to Titus who is pastoring the people on the island of Crete, but his message applies not only to those in a position of leadership, but to all of us. If we embrace the principles of our faith but do not apply them, there is a disconnect in how we model and live out our faith. 

As Spurgeon indicated, we need guidance and grace on a daily basis because we fail...often! Living out one's faith is a process and not merely a product of what we believe.