Shadow of His Wings

A couple of weeks ago I had a great weekend with my cousin, her husband and their three young girls at our cottage. It had been quite a while since we were able to spend time together so it was quite a gift. Tonight I opened a picture of their youngest little girl holding the neighbour's puppy. She was so excited to pick up the puppy and wrap her arms around him. She held him tightly close to her and looked up at us with a look of excitement, love and pride. The poor little puppy wasn't as excited to be hugged and loved by our little one and he began to squirm his way out of her arms. In no time he fell out of her arms to the floor. Without broken paws, bruises or bangs he ran into the living room with his tail wagging. Our little girl quietly looked at him with worry and I am sure a bit of a hurt heart.

That memory had me thinking that Jesus must feel the same emotions when He sees us. He is so excited that He wants to pull us near and hug us close with His protective arms. Only too often we squirm out of His loving, protective arms, running away and often falling on our faces. The good news is that He is still standing there waiting to scoop us back up again, despite the number of times we struggle to squirm away.

I am thankful He never tires of picking us up. It is not He that drops us to our faces, it is our squirming that does. He loves us and covers us with abounding love and grace. I am confident that I can run to Him for protection and refuge in the most difficult of times. He will pour out His reassurance and love and provide a place of rest for us at all times.

Matthew 18:12 "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, will He not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if He finds it, I tell you the truth, He is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost."

Psalm 57:1 "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed."

Sometimes in the midst of trials or troubles, I have found myself running, flailing my arms and pacing in a place of confusion forgetting to seek refuge in His arms. This week if you find yourself facing trails or troubles, seek Him through prayer, worship and scripture. He promises to be there.

Night....... Cheri

Part 3 - "The Beginning"

As you have probably gathered from my writing the past two days, I am truly in awe of the world around us - the incredible and magnificent miracles we are surrounded by. I seem to take more notice of the creations of nature when I am at the cottage. I look forward to my moments of ponder and reflection where time almost stands still for me in the "forgotten village" where our cottage is.

In the forgotten village, there are no interrputions of busy highway traffic, the rush of the world in my normal days in the city with the honking horns, barking dogs and squeeling car tires a place where it is not possible to hear the buzzing from the bees, dragon flies and other such insects. Sitting by the lake I am able to hear the buzz of the black fly as he furiously zooms about his business. I am able to hear the small still quiet of the day.

I find myself wondering things like;

How awesome it is that He formed so many rocks of so many varied textures and colours.

How interesting it is that He planted grass to grow in such diverse blade sizes, shapes, and colours. I wonder why He created so many types of birds, each with their own distinct colouring, size, chirp and cry? I continually ask, why did He create snakes?? (that's with a double question mark!) He created so many little creatures for our distinct pleasure, yet I am not sure why He thought we'd find pleasure with misquitos all summer, black flies in May and again, snakes slithering almost hidden in the grass.

I am grateful for the magnificent beauty, power and wonder of the lakes of water. I smile as I watch the blue dragon fly land on my toe as I ponder creation, but why is it that he never sits long enough for me to get his picture? I adore the little chipmunks that rush along the side of the cottage looking for food, stopping only for an instant to check me out.

After spending a couple hours pondering and writing, I lay back on the lawn chair, arms folded behind my head, I am met with blazing warm sun caressing my face and I know it is He who waved His hand so that a warm breeze of wind would gently brush over my face leaving the swishing sound of air in my ears.

Please be encouraged to continually bask in the glory of all He has created. Be aware of the most magnificent power and glory of our God, the creator of not only this beautifully forgotten village, but of our universe and all that is in it.

Oh, by the way, I hear the loud banging of dropping charcoal on metal and a sigh of relief.... looks like my husband has completed his venture.... dinner shall be served from the BBQ tonight.

Genesis 1:1-2 - Recap

And God said, "Let there be light", and there was light......."

And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water...."

And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky...."

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth..."

And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground....."

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea...."

Take time this week reading and pondering Genesis 1-2 - "The Beginning"

Night & God Bless,
Cheri

God's creation - Part 2

One morning last week, the Lord gave me this scripture:

Psalms 11:4 "The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord is on His heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; His eyes examine them"

As I am watching this week I am reminded that He is watching, you and I.

Sharing more on my pondering of God's creation, I notice the BBQ builder's noises have become faint in comparison to the numerous singing birds I find myself almost singing with. One bird is peeping a good bye to one other as he flies off into the sky, the other bird chatting in excited tones as the bird up in the aged tree above me, chirps noisily in a much aggitated tone. As I stop to count how many birds are "voicing or singing", I see pieces of bark fallen at the foot of the tree. Must be the work of my "grand-doggies", I am certain the strong woodpecker above couldn't have pecked bark pieces that big!

If you listen extra attentively, you can actually hear the movemenets of the lake water as the gentle slow moving ripples wash up against the shore rocks. The wind is so still this morning that it could only the movement of the fish beneath the water and the landing force of the dragon flies that is actually moving the water.

Far in the distance I hear the growl of a lawn mower and above that the echoe of a man's laughter. The only one of two things that brings noise to this tiny village are the few times daily that the train rushes through. The bells whistle loudly as the train shakes up the sleeping village on demand. The other sound that wakes up this forgotten village is the crackling banging noise the lakeside campfires make on Saturday nights. Occasionally joined with loud music and happy voices.

Have you ever just stopped long enough to watch a fat colourful yellow bumble bee dance from one blade of grass to a bobble of purple clover flower? His little body buzzes like a dog's wagging tail. As I watch the bee, my eyes are drawn to the long wheat like blade of weeds that leans into the water poking through the rocks. The rocks of distinct colours of grey, black, sparkles and special rusty tones.

While I am writing, the one noise that can be heard is the constant rattling of leaves from behind me. I can see the flurry of movement as the culprit bird flutters from branch to branch.

Today I want to remind you that as we watch the world around us.... praise God for all He has created. Be reminded of all that is important. Mostly remember:

Psalms 11:4 "The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord is on His heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth His eyes examine them".

Part three tomorrow.....I hope you are encouraged by the story I am sharing of God's beautifuly created world.

Night....

Cheri

Top of the tree

The top of the tree....

God's Creation

I often wonder about not necessarily what makes me tick, but WHY I TICK the way I do. Some of the things that have me pondering about often has me stuck on the thoughts for a long time.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" Genesis 1:1

Our family has been blessed with the most beautiful small piece of land in the country by the lakeside. A little piece of heritage that has been passed down from the roots of my great-grandfather, Harry Hagen from Norway.

As I sit on the "queen's lounger" (long story which I may share one day), my breath is taken away by the view I am taking in from my reserved seating in the gold area by the lake. I have spent countless hours over the years pondering God's creation - the earth around me. In the next few days, I want to share the beauty that God has given me a glimpse of. The appreciation for His creation.

Our car hugs the twists, turns and curves of the country road as we slowly decend into a week of peace. A big turtle crawls on my side of the road and a rabbit jumps from the bushes just ahead. As we coast down and to the left a view of a marsh land appears, up and over a hill crossing the rail road tracks, anticipation mounts as we decline down the hill and the view of the lake appears out of no where. Down and around we go by the lakeside, our dog bolts up as he too whines with anticipation, his tail furiously wagging. The beginning of another adventure for us, my senses, hearing, smell and emotions highten.

This morning what do I see? A land so beautifully created by the master creator, God. So perfectly drawn and orchestrated for us, His children. I sit on green grass, each blade's colour and texture different. My eyes wander up as I marvel at the way He has designed the bark on the tree next to me. Different in colour, thickness and pattern to the tree at the back of the cottage. The bark is only the beginning of the tree. I notice the stature to which it stands, this tree only a small one carries to a height of maybe 25 feet. Some branches appear dead, not many leaves hanging from it's lifeless limbs. I wonder if this tree is just so tired, probably having stood in it's place for hundreds of years. Yet, as my eyes wonder further up the worn bark as I see the top with many extended branches, each bearing small beautiful greens.

As I am wondering about the many things in front of me this morning, I hear the noise my hubby is making as he puts together our BBQ. The first nosie started when he shared that the book included with the BBQ had everything in it, except instructions. (Yes I did come to his rescue and assist him as I picked up the manual flipping quickly through and miraculously finding a diagram and instructions that somehow was not thee when he picked up the book). His grunts and groans are now almost slient and the clearing of his throat are confirmation that he's well on his way to having the BBQ ready in time for lunch. (he's so adorable!)

The sounds of the BBQ builder are faint in comparison to the numerous signing birds. There is more than irritation of the regular 6:00 a.m. morning wake-up call of singing of birds.... stay tuned later this week for the rest of the story!!

May God take you on a journey today that opens your eyes to the incredible world He created... just for you!! Maybe this week you would be inspired to go back to Genesis...the beginning and marvel at all He has done.

God Bless,
Cheri