The Plumbline

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." (Matthew 6:30) For years, I admired my neighbor's flowerbeds.  Each season brought a new batch of cheerful colors - the beds just filled to the brim with mums, pansies, one-eyed-susans, and the like.  I'd drive by, admiring the beauty they lent to the front yard, all the while secretly desiring that my garden looked that beautiful. Each season, I would head off to the local home store,...

23  The L ord  directs the steps of the godly.       He delights in every detail of their lives. (Psalm 37:23) I sat for several hours yesterday with my grandsons playing with the Lego building blocks at the kitchen table.  This particular building project had about 4 one gallon ziploc bags full of intricate parts in all shapes and sizes.  When it is all done, it will be the Batmobile...right now, it is a "form" of what it will become when it is done.  Needless to say, we did not finish the project, but we have a good start with a framework created to continue building upon at our next time together. My oldest grandson could look at the illustrations, find the correct pieces and then place them together in order.  My youngest, bless his heart, picked up those that interested him, placed them together and occasionally asked his older brother to assist in "making them fit" to accomplish what it was he wanted them to do.  ...

11  Even hell holds no secrets from  God —do you think he can't read human hearts? (Proverbs 15:11) As a little girl, nothing thrilled me more than to know a secret.  I was delighted to have that tidbit of information to hold onto because it somehow gave me a sense of "power" over someone else (I knew something they did not).  Today, secrets are sometimes unpleasant things to know - like that someone is struggling inwardly and they don't want others to know.  The secrets are still expected to be kept, but the things I must keep are much more difficult to know. For some, a secret is something that only the "privileged" have any access into knowing.  For others, a secret is more of a "gossip" channel.  Still for others, it is a means of controlling individuals through "protected information".  Regardless of the "reason" for the secret held, it can be both a burden, and a blessing for some.  I had a friend share a secret this wee...