Ahhh…the past couple of evenings and mornings have been gloriously cool. Our lazy chocolate lab, Bruno, has found a fresh spring in his step at 4:30 in the morning as he and Papa go out to play a bit of ball. The A/C is off, the windows open, and the fresh, gentle breeze is cleaning the stuffiness out of the house. Fall is in the air…early and never more welcomed around the Kyzer Compound.
Much to my dismay the past couple of months I have taken to sleeping late. Since boot camp some 25+ years ago I’ve been a “morning” person. Don’t get me wrong…I needed plenty of time to wake up…I had a great routine; morning pot of coffee, news on the television, a bit of the newspaper, my Bible…then shower, add the face and do the hair before I was suited up and out the door at 7 or 7:30 to take on the world. However, since my retirement I’ve found myself sleeping quite late into the morning.
Today was different though. I had to get up early and meet my grandson, Gage, at the county fair along with his entire pre-k class. While I have never been one of those of babysitting, taking field trips kind of grandmothers…he turns five today and how could I disappoint him?
I got up as Papa was heading out to work around 5 this morning and bleary eyed, stumbled about in the kitchen while attempting to make coffee. I still need those extra hours to gird myself up for the day. I slipped into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, pulled my hair into a pony tail, and jumped into the truck. Let’s do this…I’m not afraid of a bunch of five year olds, am I?
As I sat in the drive way waiting for the wipers to clear the condensation from the window I surveyed the landscape. Sadly, I noticed the dead tree that stood for many years in the middle part of the front pasture was now laying on the ground no longer a monument of the once vigorous oak. I watched the fog lift from the pond as cows and calves gently nibbled the grass or slowly drank from the cool water.
I sat there amazed at the beauty I have so long taken for granted and it dawned on me… that fog rising from the pond was much like the fog that lifted from my heart the day I became a child of God. I was overcome with the joy and happiness I felt on that very day. I was reminded that His mercies are renewed daily, that each morning, we get yet one more chance to act and react in a manner worthy of His name. We put off the old and put on the new, we die to self and live for HIM!
So often I fall short…either I’m rambling around in this old house all alone, or I’m in a hurry to do the duties set for the day that I brush past people (strangers and friends alike) who need a kind word, a gentle touch, a helping hand. That behavior can cause the fog to return and slowly and lightly engulf a once “Son” filled heart. Just reading the Bible, praying and going to church is not enough! It takes action…this living out the Christian life. Oh, the dictionary says the word is a noun…but the person…the person is a verb!
I knew right then and there it was going to be a great day and I was not disappointed.
Psalm 42:1 “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”
2 Corinthians 4:16 “Therefore we do not loose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”
Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature, with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Much to my dismay the past couple of months I have taken to sleeping late. Since boot camp some 25+ years ago I’ve been a “morning” person. Don’t get me wrong…I needed plenty of time to wake up…I had a great routine; morning pot of coffee, news on the television, a bit of the newspaper, my Bible…then shower, add the face and do the hair before I was suited up and out the door at 7 or 7:30 to take on the world. However, since my retirement I’ve found myself sleeping quite late into the morning.
Today was different though. I had to get up early and meet my grandson, Gage, at the county fair along with his entire pre-k class. While I have never been one of those of babysitting, taking field trips kind of grandmothers…he turns five today and how could I disappoint him?
I got up as Papa was heading out to work around 5 this morning and bleary eyed, stumbled about in the kitchen while attempting to make coffee. I still need those extra hours to gird myself up for the day. I slipped into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, pulled my hair into a pony tail, and jumped into the truck. Let’s do this…I’m not afraid of a bunch of five year olds, am I?
As I sat in the drive way waiting for the wipers to clear the condensation from the window I surveyed the landscape. Sadly, I noticed the dead tree that stood for many years in the middle part of the front pasture was now laying on the ground no longer a monument of the once vigorous oak. I watched the fog lift from the pond as cows and calves gently nibbled the grass or slowly drank from the cool water.
I sat there amazed at the beauty I have so long taken for granted and it dawned on me… that fog rising from the pond was much like the fog that lifted from my heart the day I became a child of God. I was overcome with the joy and happiness I felt on that very day. I was reminded that His mercies are renewed daily, that each morning, we get yet one more chance to act and react in a manner worthy of His name. We put off the old and put on the new, we die to self and live for HIM!
So often I fall short…either I’m rambling around in this old house all alone, or I’m in a hurry to do the duties set for the day that I brush past people (strangers and friends alike) who need a kind word, a gentle touch, a helping hand. That behavior can cause the fog to return and slowly and lightly engulf a once “Son” filled heart. Just reading the Bible, praying and going to church is not enough! It takes action…this living out the Christian life. Oh, the dictionary says the word is a noun…but the person…the person is a verb!
I knew right then and there it was going to be a great day and I was not disappointed.
Psalm 42:1 “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”
2 Corinthians 4:16 “Therefore we do not loose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”
Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature, with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
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