Spider in a Blue House

            All I could say was “Wow!”  What I stood and watched was like something out of a children’s movie. 

It all started on my mother’s covered front porch where she has hung many wind chimes.  On one particular day, my family and I were all standing on the front porch and talking. I was standing next to a wind chime that had a little blue house with white trim.  It also had two stories with its own miniature front porch.  A brown spider had built a web from the bottom of the blue house’s porch down to the porch hand railing.

As I’m sure most of you know I am terrified of spiders.  So I kept my distance from it as we all stood and talked.  A small storm was approaching and the wind picked up.  The spider’s web danced in the wind and the chimes rang out.  That little brown spider crawled up its web to the house.  Then it climbed up the little white porch and went in through the door frame to inside the house as if it actually lived in the house. It was truly like seeing something out of a children’s story.

 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1(NIV)

            That little spider knew where to go when a storm came up.  Do you?  If not, may I suggest turning to God for safety.  He can ride out any storm.  Nothing is beyond is Him. And I think God made you smarter than a spider. 

 

Vacation Time

                Not to rub it in, but I had my vacation last week.  Tim and I mainly worked around the house and ran a few errands, but we did take one day and visited The Biltmore House in Asheville North Carolina.  It was awesome.  If you have never visited there, I would suggest going at least once.  Its beauty and opulence are breath taking. I can’t imagine calling a place like that home.  Being a klutz, I would be afraid to touch anything.  But as believers in Christ, we have our own mansion awaiting us.

“The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.” Revelation 21:18-21 (NIV)

                I don’t think we can truly appreciate the beauty of Heaven this side of eternity.  But there are other appeals to Heaven as well. 

“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4 (NIV)

“The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” Revelation 21:23 (NIV)

                I hope these verses will give you all little encouragement this week.  Nothing on Earth can compare to what is awaiting us one day in Heaven!

Geroge and Wheezy

As a kid in the 70s, I loved to watch George and Wheezy on “The Jeffersons.” I thought it was hilarious and never missed a show!  For those of you who still don’t know who I’m talking about, George and Wheezy (Louise) Jefferson were the main characters of the TV show.  George started a dry cleaning business that became so successful that he and Wheezy were able to move from their old neighborhood to an upscale high rise apartment. In the older episodes, there’s a shot of a moving van in the show’s opening sequence. 

Have any of you ever moved?  Chances are you have at least once in your life.  What did you take when you moved?  What did you leave behind? I don’t know about you, but when we moved 3 years ago, I went through all my stuff and I was amazed that I had accumulated so much over the years.  I was even more amazed at how much of it was trash or stuff I didn’t need any more that I was still hanging on to.

 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)

            When we become Christians, we are new creatures.  We are reborn.  So we need to let go of the old stuff that is hampering our walk with Him and bringing us down.  Take it to the dump and don’t look back!  And by the way, we also have our own high rise upscale home waiting for us. And the best part is Jesus has paid for it in full.