Grateful For Self-Control

I was thinking last night and this morning about how important and absolutely imperative it is to have self-control.

You know, when you control your own motions, body, language, thoughts, and feelings.

I'll be the first to say that I'm not the best at that, especially when it comes to the feelings, but I recognize the importance of self-control and strive for it every day. It seems like every day I'm thinking about something or feeling an emotion that should be controlled and re-directed.
And it is with deep deep gratitude that I'm thankful these days for the self-control that I have exercised. The self-control muscles came in handy during moments of weakness and I am so grateful that I have them! What an absolute mess I'd be in right now if I always acted on what I wanted to do or feel or think. Every whim, or strong desire would have been satisfied in the moment, but my life would have been so complicated. My natural instincts are not always the wisest or best choices. I've found that I tend toward easy things, and selfish things, and sinfulness.

Learning self-control doesn't come overnight. And it's not a process that is easy. It requires work and determination. And a knowledge of what is right and good, so you know how to direct the control. And it calls for constant practice and constant awareness. And it calls for constant calling out to Jesus for grace in those moments when its hardest to control yourself.

Just a few thoughts for a Tuesday morning.

Remembering

I was cruising through some facebook pictures and came across an album I published while in Israel and this picture was among them.

It reminds me of a Sunday morning, a breeze blowing, no shoes, and this rocky shore. I had my Bible and my journal, and I was staring out at the sea, listening to the water splash and soaking in the land of the Bible. The land Jesus walked. It lay before me, the names and places like a live map, bringing the black and white words to life. The breeze blew the ship across the sea, and the pigs ran down the hill near me as Jesus healed the man who lived "among the dead" in the crypts above where I sat. The stones were hard and rough under my feet as I thought about the ones that would not allow the seed to grow in the parable, told just over there to the right. The knoll where Jesus sat to tell stories, overlooking the sea and boats and people coming and going.

And I could hear the shouts and smell the fish as the fishermen washed their nets, just there, where the seven fresh water streams emptied into the Sea of Galilee, the Kinneret. Nets that were later stretched to the limit by an unbelievable amount of fish, caught at an unbelievable time of the day in an unbelievable place.

Sitting there, I let it all wash over me, let it soak in, deep in my heart and mind. I saw it all as I sat there, that Sunday morning. Saw it, and will never forget it. The Jesus I know lived and breathed here. Lived and breathed, touched lives, healed hearts, and worked miracles.

And the lapping of the water against the stones, the sun coming up behind me, the breeze blowing gently was all there, making it as real as the Bible stories in front of me.

Unforgettable.

Save The Storks

Check out this news story.

This is really cool. The approach really appeals to me. Just offering help and resources at a time when it is most needed. Social justice, indeed.

Check out the website here.

The Bud Of Promise

The bud opens as the sun warms the ground and scatters rays of hope for beautiful days to come. A little rain brings rich color, and fresh revitalization.

It's a new day. A new day full of beginnings, fresh and clean with no mistakes. A new day full of promise and new things to do and new things to accomplish. A bud opening to the full bloom of joy and living. The full bloom of beauty as the sun shines down, bringing life and energy again.

Thanks be to God.

Heralds Of A New Season

The daffodil trumpets the entry of Spring.

Don't you love the fresh scent of daffodils? They smell so yellowish-green.

Amazing Details

This photo makes me happy. I think I say that for every photo. But this one reminds me of Georgia O'Keeffe. And I know about Georgia O'Keeffe because my Mom taught us to recognize her paintings. I love the shape of the petals and the crown in the center. I was just thinking about the details of this flower. God paused long enough to create beauty in even the smallest detail of a flower on a tulip tree. Every bloom on every tulip tree has all these same gorgeous details. Amazing that God can pause long enough to bother with something so small.

Dramatic