Tuesday, August 10, 2010


HOLIDAY TIME

I'm taking a holiday week from blogging to recharge ... and take care of a few small chickens I love.

Blessings,
Dorothy 




Friday, August 06, 2010

Who's the Boss?






Don't we just love to think we are in control?


We mark the calendar with our plans, decide what meat we need to defrost for tomorrow's dinner and lock the doors. We kiss our kids goodnight, and set the alarm before we tuck ourselves into bed, and who could blame us when the sun rises next morning, for believing we're in control of our little worlds?

We smile when our kids wash a jam jar and label it Savings. We know setting goals and working towards them develops character so we cheer to see them experiment with plans of their own.

In many ways we do enjoy a large measure of control over our lives, but only so far as God allows it. To have faith in God means to recognize His rulership over all His creation. To be in a relationship with Him is to submit to His plans for our lives and desire them over anything else.

This week's Facebook Friday winner is a little cutie whose mum shared one of those golden moments in childhood when 'control' become an issue. Three year old Evie has one older sister and one younger sister. In the world of siblings, I guess she needed to raise her voice one day... and her mama responded as all good mama's do. Here's how the day unfolded for them;

Coral - Just put Evie in her room because she hit Jassie with a piece of Thomas train track. I walked past and she was laying on her bed quietly saying to herself, "Somebody help me...I'm not the boss anymore!" 

Too cute isn't it? What an important life lesson Evie learned that day. For a minute, she thought she was in control, until Mum set her straight. I loved Evie's ability to admit she is not the boss. Even more priceless was her cry, 'Somebody help me." 

What a clever tot to ask for help when faced with her own helplessness. And what blessings await her when she yields her desire to be boss, and follows the real "somebody". 

Psalm 54:4 Surely God is my help, the Lord is the one who sustains me. 
and
Psalm 73:23 Yet I am always with you: you hold me by my right hand.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010






An Open Hand



If you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, can you judge a painting by its title?  I almost overlooked a key detail in this painting by Michael Frederick Halliday until I read the title; 

 The Blind Basket Maker and his First Child. 

It reminded me of the four devoted parents who presented their babies at church for a dedication ceremony last Sunday. In their limited capacity, which we all share as mums and dads, they promised to raise their children to know God, and to demonstrate their love for Him in ways their children could follow. They gave thanks to God for the blessing of their babies and acknowledged God's true ownership of families.

One phrase caught my attention during the service. "We will hold you with an open hand..." 

How does a parent hold with an 'open hand'? My instinct is to hold with one closed fist, and my other hand clamped over the first one. As a mum of two teenagers and one 'almost' teenager, I've thought about this some more since Sunday. 

Holding with an open hand is the promise to cradle until the time comes to let go. It means to provide a soft place to land but not smother. It's only when we hold our hand open that we're able to receive from God and to offer our children back to Him. I confess, this is not always easy to do when the darkness of this world hovers like a blinding fog.

How would the basket maker feel about his new role as father? Would he feel equipped to provide a home worthy of his baby? He has the means to support his family, little though his income would be. We know he's not afraid to show affection and interest in his child and I suspect a love of music will be shared before too long. Most of all, the parents in this home love one another... with all their imperfections. 

No one will ever be the perfect parent. We all come to the job with our weaknesses. Thankfully we can hold our children out to God, as we wait on Him to finish the good work He began in them... and in us.

Philipians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Do you 'hold your child with an open hand?' Is it something you find easy to do?