{"id":25890,"date":"2019-06-17T03:30:58","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T10:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=25890"},"modified":"2019-06-14T09:51:03","modified_gmt":"2019-06-14T16:51:03","slug":"june-17-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2019\/06\/17\/june-17-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"June 17, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.”\u00a0<\/em>Psalm 145:5<\/p>\n

Lift Your Eyes!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In one of the recent updates, I wrote about looking for the good in the hard things. I have a fresh opportunity to do that!\u00a0I’m not a fan of winter.\u00a0The cold, rainy, windy winter season is rather miserable and discouraging for me.\u00a0Thankfully, in between the stormy weather, we have some lovely days of sunshine.\u00a0I’m grateful for those days.\u00a0And there’s no snow to shovel here! That’s definitely a blessing.<\/p>\n

As I was reflecting on this season that I’m not fond of, I realized that there are two beautiful gifts that we have in winter\u2014certainly things to thank the Lord for.\u00a0One is that all the aloe plants start blooming.\u00a0There are lots and lots of aloe plants around, and their flowers are beautiful.\u00a0They bloom in winter. They are already so gorgeous. I’m attaching a few photos I took recently.<\/p>\n

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Another gift is that we have the most awesome winter sunsets.\u00a0They are majestic masterpieces, like huge celestial paintings…and they are at their absolute best in winter.\u00a0The colors, and the combination of colors, are just stunning. I stand in awe some nights watching the sun set.\u00a0I’m attaching some of those photos too\u2014although it’s so hard to “capture” the magnificence.<\/p>\n

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Seeing these gifts in the midst of the winter weather that I don’t like was a good personal reminder to me to look for the good things in the midst of hard, unpleasant things.\u00a0As I said before, they are ALWAYS there!<\/p>\n

The J.B. Phillips’ translation of James 1:2,3 says,\u00a0“When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!\u00a0Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance.”<\/em><\/p>\n

I can’t really say that I always welcome the trials, pain, suffering, and unpleasant circumstances as “friends.”\u00a0But I’m trying to see the good in them, the things I can thank the Lord for!\u00a0I believe God wants to bless us as we go through the hard times.\u00a0He trusts us that we can\u00a0make\u00a0it<\/u>\u00a0through them!\u00a0And He brings beauty to us in the midst of them.<\/p>\n

I read this quote somewhere: “Life’s burdens are designed not to break us but to bend us toward God.”\u00a0As we look for the good things in the hard things, it bends our hearts in gratitude towards God!<\/p>\n

I’ve realized that many times the “battles” in the hard times and situations are not just in what I’m going through, but in my thoughts.\u00a0If I let my thoughts run rampant, it can lead me into doubt, fear, insecurity, and unbelief. But if I bring my thoughts to Him, and choose gratitude and worship\u2014it changes my whole perspective!\u00a0I’m so very grateful for all the good, all the beauty He brings into the trials of life!\u00a0It’s a daily gift from my Father to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, we know You have placed beauty and blessings all around us. Help us to lift our eyes to see when we are down. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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