Daily Drawing #262, Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

Growing up Autumn was one of my favorite seasons. No not because of school but because I knew Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas were not far behind. Now, I am in the late Autumn of my life time. I am not so much looking forward to what comes in this season of my life. While there are bright sides to the Autumn season of life like retirement and having more time to do things you always wanted to do there are also drawbacks. As we age our bodies loose some mobility and aches and pains seem to pop up out of nowhere. Don’t get me wrong. I am not whining. I have just realized that as I age each new day is a gift from God to be used for what ever He needs me to accomplish. I now look at the Autumn of my life as new days of opportunity and if I do get to retire someday I will still be working for Him anyway I can.

Daily Drawing #261, Chasing Raindrops

As a child one of my favorite things to do was run through the rain drops. Catching a stray raindrop or two on my tongue. Back then there seemed to be something refreshing and magical about the rain. I no longer run around in the rain well on purpose. Sometimes I get caught in a rainstorm and have no choice but to get wet. I also know now their is nothing really magical about rain because I know it is a gift from God to help His creation, the plants and man refreshed and hydrated. I hope you enjoy today’s drawing.

Daily Drawing #258, My Church is Bigger Than Your Church

Over the course of my Christian life I have attended or visited many churches. Some of the churches have been mega churches with a couple thousand member, still others have had moderate membership upwards of a few hundred and lastly are the smaller churches with around 50 members. The most recent church I attended was a small church. I found I like the small church the best but sadly churches are at a disadvantage because they are not always viable financially.

Our church was in this position so we switched to an affiliation with another church. This at first glance is a good thing but now it appears our church is locked into getting the number of the attendees up. Now as we expand those of us who once called the church home have left and are being replaced by new members. This leaves some us long timers feeling lost in the membership shuffle. So in my thinking it is not always better when my church is bigger than your church especially when you loose the focus of why we are ALL entering the building in the first place…to honor God and fellowship with other believers.

Daily Drawing #252, Seeings Things With Both Eyes

I was born blind in one eye. I am not telling you this because I am seeking pity. No I say this only because all my life I have learned to live with my disability. I didn’t even know I had I a disability until the someone in a state office told me. Due to my lack of full eyesight I can only pay attention to certain things. My wife is always stopping me from running into people because I have no peripheral vision on my right side. I also have no depth perception so am hindered when it comes to playing sports like baseball. Still with all this going on I have had a productive life.  Because of my minor disability I have learned to respect and admire anyone who strives to not look at their disability as a hindrance but as a one more stone to be cross than other people in order to achieve all they want to achieve. I want people reading this to know that people with disabilities are still people.

Daily Drawing #251, In Times of Trouble Take A Knee

One thing I learned as a child was self-sufficiency. You see my parents split up when I was young and being the youngest child meant all my siblings had married and moved out. I loved and still love my mom and I know she tried her best to help me deal with things but she didn’t understand the comings and goings of many of my situations. So real early in my life I had to figure things out for myself. As I grew I learned not to ask for help. I tried to do everything on my own. When I gave my life to serving God I still struggled with trying to do everything on my own. Believe me, I got myself into a lot of jams financially with which I’m still dealing. I have learned from all my missteps God is there waiting for me to get on my knees and ask Him for help. So don’t be stubborn ask God in prayer He will be always be there.

Daily Drawing #250, Some Things Just Don’t Go Together

Anyone who has ever tried to wash a cat knows in most cases cats and water don’t go together. The same is true of many things including the world and followers of Jesus. The Bible says, “Be in the world but not of the world.” What this means is that we are not supposed spend our lives consumed by worldly things like greed and over consumption. Instead we are to set ourselves apart from the world living as examples of a, “the truth, the life and the way.”

Daily Drawing #247, Looking for Fairytale Endings

Who

Who doesn’t like a good fairy tale. I know I do. Shrek is one of my favorites. In the end the not so handsome ogre gets the pretty girl…well girl turned into an ogre because of true love. Like all fairy tales Shrek had a happy ending. Well I am sad to inform you life does not always have fairy tale endings. Instead there are many more sad ending where nothing seems to work out for anyone involved. Like I always tell anyone who will listen, I trust no matter what happens in my life God will use it according to His purpose. So in the end life will happen it is how we handle it which will define who we are and who we will become.

Daily Drawing #246, Home Is The Nicest Word There Is

As I grow older the definition of what a home is has changed. I believe a home is not a building. It instead is a place where you heart feels the most comfortable. I have lived in many houses in my lifetime but the only thing which made them a home to me is the love shared inside the walls. Some of my homes were among friends and coworkers. I have also been in many houses I would not consider homes because it is was obvious to me there was not much love shared between the people who live there. These houses were sad places to me. As I said since my youth my idea of a home has changed. I now believe you don’t have to me among blood relatives to feel like you’re home. You only have to be around people who truly care for you and would give up everything to show you that love. Jesus did just so that, so someday I know I will be in a home not of Earthly origin but of Heavenly design.