I am back with a dog Adventure---Ears Just a Floppin"

                                                       Ross Parry HRPets Best.

Ears Just a Floppin’

Hebrew 11: 1

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

NIV Bible

His ears were flopping in the gentle wind as the old red pickup truck sped by me. Don’t know if he had been on an adventure or going to one, but it made me laugh to see that big red bloodhound positioned perfectly in the bed of the truck sniffing the marsh air like he was the “Top Dog of the Marsh.” His snout pointed upwards baying at the sky---here I am. He definitely did not have a care in the world just faith that wherever his master was going, he was going too.

We too are on a journey that is directed by our faith.  Faith sometimes is the hardest concept to grasp on to. Where does it come from? How do I see it? How can I have faith going through the misery of life?  As in the scripture suggests with our faith comes hope and the certainty that God will provide our pathway. As Christians we are taught to have faith, as it becomes our passageway to our eternal life. Faith may be blind to the unbeliever, but to the believer it is knowing that Our Master will bring us a peace of mind as we travel the broken road of life.

Just as that ol’ bloodhound had complete trust in his master to get him to his next destination so must we have faith that Our Master will deliver us to our eternal home. Let us grow our faith in God and remember the ultimate sacrifice Jesus gave for us.  And as for that dog in the red pickup truck, I hope his ears are still a floppin’ in the gentle wind. TOTT

O Forgiving and Loving Father,

  We all want to be believers that Faith alone will achieve our finally destination of eternal life.  Our prayer today is one for hope and peace as we continue to try erasing our doubts about our faith. Continue to guide and direct our lives.

Amen

Commitment for today: Read the Bible to expand your faith and belief in God and Jesus.

On Palm Sunday the children sang praises as well as the adults as Jesus rode into town on the donkey colt.

The Toddler Prays

     Proverb 22:6 (RSV)

Train up a child in the way she should go, and when she is old she will not depart from it.

       Matthew 19:14 (RSV)

Jesus said “Let the children come to me and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

My three-year-old grand daughter, Ainsley loves to pray before eating. Her parents have taught her our family dinner prayer---“God is great…thank him for our food.” As we gather around the table and hold hands, she immediately nods her head and says, “pay pease”, in the way only a toddler can tug at you heart, and we pray. But she has the idea that we must pray throughout the meal. So during the meal she announces, “Pay pease” and we comply. How can the adults deny this child’s act of praying as she is learning about her prayer life?

In Gospel of Matthew, Jesus instructs to allow the children to come to Him and in no way hinder them from following Christ and His ways. We as parents and grandparents have a responsibility to our children to see that they seek Jesus even at a young age. Just like my grand daughter’s fascination with praying we must “train up a child in the way she should go.”  How else will they learn how to live a Christian life? Or develop a life filled with praying? I believe Ainsley feels the tugging and power of the Holy Spirit growing within her.

Yes, I am sure at the Easter table this spring, the dinner will be interrupted many times as Miss Ainsley reaches out her precious hands and says “Pay Pease.”  It is my hope and prayer that throughout her life, she will turn to pray not only in blessing the food, but also in time of need, for understanding, and to praise God. 

And may she continue throughout her life to pray over and over. TOTT

Prayer:

Praise God, Oh my soul, for He hath brought me to see another day --- Heavenly Father, help me to live as thy child and to walk in thy ways. Teach me to speak the truth, to shun what is evil and to do what is good. In all my thoughts, words and deeds. May I bear in mind that thou God, sees me.

   Bless my dear parents and all people, pardon my sins and hear my prayer, for Jesus Christ’s sake.

Amen

Written by Mrs. N.R. Blay, 1909 (It is said she prayed this prayer over and over)

Commitment for the day: Remember to pray and give thanks for your blessings.

TOTT Today: God gives us strength to pull ourselves out of the...

TOTT Today: God gives us strength to pull ourselves out of the...:                                                                                                                 The Pluff Mud      ...

God gives us strength to pull ourselves out of the “pluff mud" in life. Dedicated to my sister and family as they pull themselves out of the devastation of their house fire.

                                          

                                                                    The Pluff Mud

                                   

                                                                         

        Psalm 40:1-2

RSV

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit. Out of the miry bog and set my feet upon a rock, making my step secure.

Yep, there she went walking lickety-split right through the pluff mud. She had been warned by the locals not to do it, BUT oh no, she didn’t heed the warning.  At first she was only ankle deep in the silky muck but as she wiggled and tried to release her feet she just sank deeper to her knees. She cried out  “Please someone help me! I am sinking into the earth.”  Some suggested to leave her to teach her a lesson; others knew that the high tide was coming in and that offered new problems only leaving her to sink, sink sink…

Our Lord is there at all times to help us when we get stuck in so called in the “pluff mud of life.” He hears our cries in the middle of the night when no one else is there.  He understands our prayers when crisis abounds, He gives us strength to pull ourselves out of the “miry bog of life.” Our weakness is God’s Opportunity to demonstrate to us His Strength, Power and Redemption. He is our rock where we can firmly place our lives on solid ground. The Creator does not promise to always prevent crisis but the promise is He will always be there for guidance through our vulnerability and exposed wounds.

The muck releases her from its grip. Slowly she gathers her strength and leaves the oozy sediment just in the nick of time before the high tide roars in. Her boots---Well, the pluff mud will forever own

them.

Dear Lord,

Please be patient with me as I get stuck in the crises of life. I ask you to guide me and protect me from my vulnerability and expose wounds. Bless me on this day.

Amen

* Pluff mud is gooey mud found in marshy areas of the Lowcountry. It contains lots of organic matter and produces its own distinctive aroma. If you step in it up to your knees and pull out your foot, chances are the resulting sound will be similar to “pluff.”

Commitment for Today: Please pray for my sister and family as they try to rebuild their lives after the devastation of losing their home to a fire. Pray for someone who seems to be stuck in the “pluff mud of life" including yourself.          

The scriptures explain that no man (or woman) knows when the day of our death will happen.

The Man and the Ocean

No man has power to retain the spirit, or authority over the day of death…

Ecclesiastes 8:7

RSV

This is the reason we don’t give up.

Our human body is wearing out. But our spirits are getting stronger every day.

2 Corinthians 4:16

NLV

The ocean winds called to him every summer. So he packed his beautiful wife and his precious little girls into the ol’ Chevy and off they went to the beach. Oh, but it wasn’t just a vacation it was an adventure filled with historical site visits, practical jokes, games, sand castles, laughter and of course ice cream cones.  Life lessons were learned in the most inconspicuous ways.  The highlights of each day was the early morning beach walks to say “Hello” to the sun and ending the day with a trek to the top of Jockey Ridge Sand Dunes to bid the world a “Goodnight.” It was a serendipitous time filled with wonder and happiness for all.  Grievously the laughter fell silent; the practical jokes subsided; and the vacations ended as the man fell into terminal sleep at very early age. But the yearning for the ocean was deeply imbedded in the heart and soul of the living.

Ecclesiastes and 2 Corinthians speak to the power of death. The scriptures explain that no man (or woman) knows when the day of our death will happen.  Our human power cannot and will not reign over The Almighty’s Power. Even when a person is too young for death, the power of illness and sickness may weaken the worn out body but in Christ we are promise an everlasting life.  Within us, the Spirit will provide solace and understanding as we mourn.  The living will embrace the lessons taught and the love given--- those beliefs will live on.

And so it is with my father who passed away forty-five years ago on this date. The legend of this hard workingman lives on in his town, county, but most importantly among his family. A man whose God-given talents were embodied in his character and was an unpretentious leader practicing much wisdom, integrity and Faith in his everyday living. And oh my, how he loved the ocean and it saddens me that he will never know that I returned to the ocean to live my finals days. Then again, when I look up at the stars and one seems to blink, it just might be he sees my life at the beach and that is just fine with him. TOTT

 Dear Heavenly Father,

On this day I want to thank and  praise You for my father. Even though he was with me such a short time in my life, he taught great life lessons that have inspired me to follow You. Bless my family as we remember a wonderful father, husband and friend.

Commitment for Today: Remember to tell your father that you love him.

He is “King Of the Wind."--the Gray Stallion.

The Gray Stallion

Jeremiah 10:12-13 (NIV)

But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. 
He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

His nostrils flares, he snorts through his muzzle and powerfully scrapes the dirt. He neighs and whinnies restlessly. He lowers his head and kicks up the dust as he makes a thrashing movement with his hind legs into the air. There is not an ounce of weakness in his body and he almost appears rogue like as he trots around the paddock. It seems as if nothing will spook his confidence. Unexpectedly like a bolt of lightning he begins to gallop the length of the corral not just once but several times. The head of this beautiful beast is held high with his nose pointed to the heavens. His powerful presence is obvious to the other horses in the pasture. Nothing will deter his fortitude. He is “King Of the Wind.”

   The powerful stallion is a visible reminder of God’s supremacy. There is not an ounce of weakness in God. He has the divine power to restore our very being when we are weak.  God offers “His Hand” to rebuild lives and give you strength when your life feels broken. He has the ability to blow the dust out of your life when life seems to be in shambles--- but only if you seek Him.  God can offer a protective shield for you and “bomb proof” your life so you don’t become spooked by what life may bring to your paddock.  It may seem like the wind isn’t at your back, but God has your back. Like the stallion, God may whinny or even snort at you to get your attention. This is your reminder that His might and power surrounds you but only if you allow Him into your pasture of life.

   After several minutes of displaying his power and endurance in his territory of life, the Gray Stallion settles his gait into a deliberate walk. He nickers unassumingly and calmly turns his head and faces the wind. TOTT

Dear God Almighty, 

Please empower me to utilize my ability to rebuild my life where necessary; the strength to blow the dust out of my life that is weighing me down; and empower my spirit to face the wind when it is not at my back.  Throughout this Lenten season I want to let you in my pasture of life. 

Amen

Inspired while watching the horses at the Seabrook Island Equestrian Center

Commitment for Today: Use God’s power to rebuild and restore places in your life.

25 M.P.H.---sometimes we just need to slow down.

25 M.P.H.

Passionate Worship

Psalm 47:7

God is the King over all the earth. Praise Him with a Psalm!

RSV

On Seabrook Island the speed limit is 25 M.P.H., and everyone knows that the Island police will ticket at 26 mph. So many people go less than 25 mph, don’t know why but they must do it to make up for the times that they may go over 25 mph.  Being a past Chicago driver, this is a challenge for me to make this adjustment, particularly since I must drive about 2 miles from the entrance of the Island to my place on the Island--- it seems as if it takes FOREVER!  But I have learned to relax and enjoy the scenic drive noticing new things along the way.

   I believe this is what God demands of us--- Slow down --- He wants us to have time to worship Him passionately. The presence of God in our lives gives us refuge and strength when we are experiencing calamity in life.  Through prayer and supplication we are to praise God and place him in the center of our lives.   So ask your self, "Are you ready to slow down?"Or even a better question “Do you have God in the center of your life?”  There are many ways to put God back into the center of your life--- attending church, Bible Studies, daily prayer time, volunteering at local mission out reach and the list goes on. Call your local churches and I am sure they will be happy to assist you in your search.

   During this Lenten season dedicate yourself to slow down to 25 M.P.H. and discover how you can put God in the center of your life once again, maybe even literally slow down your own traveling speed --- both may just save your life. TOTT

Prayer

I am in such a rush, please help me to slow down and reduce my speed so I can honor and praise your name.  I admit I want to slow down and help me discover new ways to praise you by placing you once again in the center of my life. Amen.

Commitment for today: How are you going to place God in the center of your life. Pray on it today.