A new month ... one of the most beautiful of the year! May is a favorite of mine, even with all the various events that also make it a very busy month. I love the freshness of spring, the blossoms on our trees (apple, peach, and plum blossoms in our yard now ... photo above from one of our peach trees). A month full of festivities ... all the graduation parties to go to, and, three of our six (grown) children have birthdays in May, one of our sons-in-law, and also one of our nine grandchildren. I love May!
And blessed to start out the month viewing some video teaching at our church (as we missed our pastor, gone for the day). Francis Chan spoke yesterday (via video) on getting to the heart of things, of addressing the thing of most importance, the thing that influences all of the rest of life. The question ~ do we really believe and know that God loves us, really loves us? How we answer this question influences our thoughts, our words, and our actions. Growing in this love ... of prime importance, even this month. And the perfect month to focus on growing closer in this love ... beautiful spring weather, time for walks outdoors, soaking in God's love.
Thanking Him for His Love, and His many gifts ...
#389 - blossoms on our apple, peach, and plum trees ...
#390 - peace in the midst of trials ...
#391 - phone calls, emails, texts ~ connections with those we love ...
#392 - the joy of having a freezer meal day with three daughters (post coming tomorrow) ...
#393 - five grandkids playing in our playroom, outdoors, all through our house ...
#394 - the most amazing, helpful husband ~ spending time with grandkids while we prepared 25 meals for the freezer ...
#395 - opportunity to hear some very informative speakers, sharing the platform - a Jew and a Muslim, now brothers in Christ ...
#396 - encouragement from Francis Chan yesterday on the most important of all things ...
"I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources
He will empower you with inner strength
through His Spirit.
Then Christ will make His home in your hearts
as you trust in Him.
Your roots will grow down into God's love
and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand,
as all God's people should,
how wide, how long, how high,
and how deep His love is.
May you experience the love of Christ,
though it is too great to understand fully.
Then you will be made complete
with all the fullness of life and power
that comes from God."
(Ephesians 3:16-19)
#397 - thankful for these words, words we can pray - for each other, for ourselves ...
#398 - for a beautiful moment praying these words for a friend after we shared together, and having her pray this prayer for me later, as well ...
#399 - for opportunity today, and this month, to grow in confidence of this Greatest Love, a gift from God through His Spirit within ...
(One Thousand Gifts #389-399)
Stopping by from Ann's today and realizing that this is a whisper I need to hear deeply in my heart. This is the second post I have read in five minutes that reminds of His love unconditional for me, His beautifully created daughter. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLove your thankfulness glad that we can share our love of the LORD !!!!
ReplyDeleteYour blossoms are beautiful! I enjoy May as well. . . I love it that my husband's birthday is during this gorgeous time of year.
ReplyDeleteEspecially liked the gratitude about hearing a Muslim and a Jew, now Believers, sharing.
oh! friend...this is timely for me too and picturing those blossoms. May was always a favorite and then my mom passed away in that month 3 days after my own birthday (24th, 21st respectively) and it was hard for a long time. In the last couple of years, I've sensed the Lord nudging my heart to re-claim this month in JOY and celebrate my mama rejoicing with Him and the mama He's made me and given me. And that really is all about receiving His gifts, His love, isn't it? {I guess you already know to pray!}
ReplyDelete{p.s. just realized as I've been working on our Core Prayer Team list--that you're not on it! so sorry...I know you know through the blog, some, but know how faithfully you pray and so, yes, definitely want you on it--so you are now!!}
ReplyDeleteOh my just looking at your blossoms reminds me that we will indeed have spring sometime - hopefully soon. We have rain, rain and more rain. But I can see tiny buds on our trees, a few daffodils in the garden and the grass is certainly getting green.
ReplyDeleteKeep writing and showing us the lovely pictures of God's beautiful world.
Blessings,
Jan