Friday, November 29, 2013

Our Thanksgiving

 
Our Thanksgiving was not normal
But it was nice.
With family scattered,
Our family of four spent the day "home alone."
 
 
We didn't prepare quite the "traditional" meal.
We fixed ham, mashed potatoes and brown gravy, macaroni and cheese,
And Sister Schubert's rolls
And topped that off with pecan pie.
 
Then we broke out all our Christmas boxes
And the Christmas tree!
A snake skin was sticking like glue
To our Christmas box that had been in the garage!
 
After taking a country walk with the sheep,
And taking a nap
We turned on "It's a Wonderful Life" as always ...
 
Karalee chose the first ornament
Here is the first ornament ...
(Grinning)
 
 
Stockings hung


Our cat Lucy already under the tree
 


Aslan and Lucy under the tree ...
 

 
Our stack of Christmas books to read throughout the season ...
I believe every one was given to me by
 my sweet mother.
She loves Jesus. 

 
Karalee placing the star ...

 
The star lit up ... yay!

 
My favorites ...



Ornaments from years past ...





 


My sweet husband began wrapping three presents.
The girls were so excited.
 
 
He let us open the presents because
We should celebrate Christmas every day.
 





We were blessed with movie tickets, $2 bills for a movie snack, and fuzzy socks!


All lit up inside ...

 
And shining brighter through the darkness ...
 
 
We hope you had a very special Thanksgiving!
And that your heart is preparing
For what lies ahead ...
 
Our Jesus is breathtaking
Our Jesus is captivating
Our Jesus is heart-capturing
 
 

 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Do You?

Remembering what our Jesus went through for us ...

So that we could go through life with Him. 

Do You?


Do you ever feel abandoned?
Do you ever feel despair?
Do you watch a loved one turn and go?
Do you watch the fragments tear?
 
Do you hear the words: "I - hate - you"?
Do you feel them pierce your heart?
Do you feel your whole world shatter?
Do you gather broken parts?
 
Do you realize your Jesus knows?
Do you know what He went through?
Do you ponder His heart-wrenching question:
“You do not want to leave too, do you?”
 
 
Inspired by John 6:67 NIV
 
By Shelli Littleton Copyright 2013



Jesus, you are breathtaking.
 
 

Monday, November 25, 2013

Gathering

We all suffer hardships.
 
Yesterday, teaching Sunday school
from Jesus feeding the 5K+,
the most amazing feast
John 6:12 leapt off the page:
"Gather the pieces that are left over.
Let nothing be wasted."
 
My mind went to the movie
Home Alone.
Do you remember when the kid, Kevin, 
had gone grocery shopping?
On his way home,
his grocery bags burst and
everything he had lay strewn on the ground.

Regardless of the apparent mess 
He gathered the pieces that were left over.
Nothing was wasted.
The pieces helped nourish him, protect him, and save his family.
 
When we are feeling broken
When we are scattered on the ground
Jesus says, "Gather the pieces that are left over.
Let nothing be wasted."
 
He takes our pieces, and through Him,
We are nourished, protected, and enabled to minister to others.
 
 
 
 

Thursday, November 21, 2013

SLR

SLR (Single-lens reflex) camera ...
I really want one.
But they are pricy.
What I love, as you know, is
By simple actions, they make the object you want to capture prominent
Leaving the background blurry around the "subject."
 
This is exactly how we need to be with our Shepherd.
We need our focus on Him
Allowing everything else to blur a bit.
We need an SLR view.
This is the way to a sound mind.
 
What does it look like to lose focus on the Shepherd?
 
This is Sammy, our neighbor's dog.
He  has fifty+ acres, and "twin lakes"
Yet he continually swims through his lake, under a fence, and
Settles for our five acres and a swimming pool.
He has taken his eyes off his Shepherd.
 
 


This is another's neighbor's duck
The girls have named it Snowy
It has the largest pond I've ever seen
But every summer, it settles for this: 

 
 
 
It has taken its eyes off its Shepherd.
 
 
We have two sheep, Bindi and Sandy.
 
 
 
 
They are provided for ...
A nice barn for shelter
Food till their heart's content
Protection from the flood waters that used to pass through the barn
 
 
 
 
Bindi is the black one.
And though she has a Shepherd,
She continually tries to lead.
We walk around our property trail
The sheep always follow.
But it never fails, Bindi will move in front
She wants to lead.
She has taken her eyes off the Shepherd.
But then she stops in her tracks.
She doesn't know where to go.
She doesn't know how to lead.
The Shepherd can't lead her if she is in the way.
The Shepherd is not being allowed to lead.
 
 


Progress is blurry.

She often has to be gently nudged to the side
Returning to the following position
So progress resumes.
 
And if the sheep don't see their Shepherd daily
They barely recognize their Shepherd.
They didn't know their Shepherd.
They keep their distance ...
They run, jump, and kick at mere touch and
Prefer to be with their own kind.
 
But when they meet the Shepherd daily,
They feed right out of the hand
They allow love.
The more time spent with the Shepherd,
The more they want to be with the Shepherd.
They cry out to the Shepherd
At the mere glimpse.
 
We are the same.
We try to lead
Instead of following.



 
Some surroundings are wonderful
Some are not.
Regardless ...
God deserves our total focus.
Again, this is the way to a sound mind.
And it  may cost us.
Nevertheless ...
We can't lead our direction/destination properly.
Simple actions ...
Move over and follow.
It will cost more if we don't.
Never settle for less.

Will we let God lead?
Will we let Him near?
Will we let Him feed?
Will we let Him comfort?
Will we let Him protect?

The more time spent with our Shepherd, in the Word,
the more we'll want to be with Him.
We will not want anything more than Him.
 
 
"The Lord is my Shepherd,
I shall not want."
Psalm 23  


 
 
 



 

Monday, November 18, 2013

Is it Real?

We have the cutest storage shed.
It was made to look like a little house.
I love the joined chairs in front ...
Reminds me of my mother's parents.
 
 

 

The original owners built the storage building.
I think it would make a wonderful writing cabin.
It had a broken window on it ...
But after investigation,
the window wasn't even real.
It was just made to look like a broken window.
 
The "not real" broken window accidentally got hit,
And now the broken window panes have fallen out of the "not real" window.
 
 
 
 
I was disappointed.
But when you step back from the "loss,"
The walls, frame, door, and foundation are still strong.
And they are real.
Not all is lost.
 
I've had a personal window knocked out lately.
I have been under the weather for the last two weeks ...
On and off.
Been on an antibiotic for two weeks.
Allergies.
I just can't seem to shake it.
And now I have a cough that is zapping my strength.
I don't feel like doing my normal stuff.
It's so tempting to feel like a failure.
I feel like I've failed at everything these last two weeks.
 
With my strength depleted,
The girls have been spending more time together.
They've had sleepovers
And a chance to pull out old toys to play with "one more time"
Before giving them away or placing in storage.
As I was uploading the storage shed photos for this post,
I found this little treasure.
The girls had taken this photo of their old dolls they are soon to part with.
The Lord was reminding me that though my plans have failed this week,
His plans have not failed.
The girls are making long-lasting special memories together.
That is real.
 
 

 
 
When discouragement tries to sneak in and knock out our windows.
Go easy on yourself.
Look for the windows of opportunity the Lord will bring
In spite of apparent setbacks.
Don't focus on the loss.
Remember your sure foundation.
Remember who you are joined with.
After all, Jesus is our true window of opportunity
So it's okay if our plans fail or fall out.
And in comparison to the cross ...
You might discover your situation wasn't even real.
 
 
Remember ...
God's will prevails,
Regardless of what else fails.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

My Best Friend

We've moved a time or two
And I've been so needy in the past ... in my youth.
I wanted acceptance.
Who doesn't?
Moving is hard ...
It's always hard to fit in when you are "new" ...
Whether at school, church, work, home.

Oh, God has always provided that special friend for me.
But I remember specifically when I didn't "need" that special friend ...
I only needed God.
We were moving ... I was about to start home schooling ...
I had been delving into Bible study, and the Lord had truly become my all.
That's a good place.
In our new location, I didn't even try to make friends.
Oh, I was friendly, but friends were not my focus.
Acceptance was not my focus.
Knowing God was my focus.
And that is when the Lord brought into my life one of my dearest friends and
My girls' best friends.
God's rewards came from earnestly seeking Him.
 
We all want acceptance
At school, church, work, home ...
Yes, even at home.
I know my spouse "loves" me, but I'd be a fool to say he always "likes" me.
Regardless of the location,
Feeling shunned hurts.
 
Have you made God your best friend?
You must seek after Him and long for His company
ABOVE ALL OTHERS.
When you do that, something amazing happens.
You become comfortable with yourself.
You don't need acceptance.
Yes ...
 
When you feel the LEAST bit shunned,
Grab hold of the GREAT KING of all NATIONS.
 
My best friend and I ... He may not be visible,
but He is the one who will never leave me nor forsake me.
He is with me.
The Great King of all Nations


Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The Green

 "He makes me lie down in green pastures."
 
Y'all, this morning I read Psalm 23 ...
This section of the verse got me so tickled for a minute.
I never thought of it this way before.
When we look upon a green pasture, it is a beautiful sight to behold,
and what a seemingly beautiful place to lie down ...
"If" it has no cows or animals grazing on it.
I had the blessed opportunity to spend many days on
my grandparent's green pasture.
The green pasture had cows grazing on it ... and you know what they leave "behind"!
I remember as a kid walking in that green pasture,
and we'd always have to walk around what my grandmother referred to as "cow poo."
 
And there was so much of it.
It's over here ...


 (the girls at my grandparent's pasture)


 It's over there ...
 
You couldn't let down your guard even in that  beautiful green pasture.
Once, there was ice on the ground in winter ...
we made sleds out of cardboard boxes ...
and when I slid down, my gloved hand landed right in cow poo.
The same is true for life ...
those green pastures we lie down in ...
there is always a little cow poo nearby...
something that seems a little unpleasant.
But remember the unpleasant is what promotes growth and maturity
and keeps that pasture green.
The bad is always there ...
we can't prevent it ...
but the sight of it  in that green pasture, following after God
should keep us on our guard,
allow us to grow in our faith,
 keep us mindful where we lie down and where we step,
... in other words, keep us on the green.
 
Following after God will keep you on the green.
 
He makes me lie down in "green" ...
 

Atlanta, Texas

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Overwhelm

“Your daughter has a Wilms tumor”
And your heart sinks
You grab her sleeping body in your arms and as you rock,
You capture the way that she breathes and the way that she blinks
And you are overwhelmed
And then God came down
Through sisters and brothers just like you
Courage comes and fear seems to drown
And you know that you can face this day
And you can face the next day...
And you walk on stones of faith and hope and love
And at Jesus’ feet, overwhelm is laid.
 

- by Shelli Littleton (copyright 2013)


2001 at Cook Childrens
2001 at The Ronald McDonald House