Tag Archives: Fall color

Troubling Thoughts

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Beauty from the Bramble

I have nightmares that make me weep.
Dark thoughts unbidden from the deep.
Disturbing dreams that make me wonder,
Where did I get their ugly thunder?
The haunting of my sleep.

Then I think of Joseph, the dreamer from of old.
A baker asked Joseph what his dream foretold.
In this nightmare birds picked at his bread.
“It means three days till you’re hanged and dead.”

Shaken I ask, “What’s my dream’s meaning?”
This ugliness my mind is weaving.
Do they reflect what I am inside?
Take them, please take them, I can’t abide.

The Lord’s response:

Three days I spent in death’s dark terror,
that your nightmares may be condemned as error.
I arose with dawn just and true.
be assured I have good dreams for you,
Remember this, the fight’s been won.
My mercy is new as the coming sun.

epilog

Each morning I awake of this I know,
His unfailing love won’t me let go.
So if fears and hurts plague your thought,
Know that each one He has bought
and buried forever in the deepest hell.
That you might draw joy from salvation’s well.

Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies. Psalm 23:4-5

Where Is the Color?

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Recently I traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway looking forward to rich Fall colors. But, the recent abnormally hot weather had roasted the leaves turning them brown, and dropped them to the ground.

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Dreams gone dry

Disappointed, I sat dejected cursing my misfortune. Finally, I let out a feeble prayer, “Lord can You make something out of this nothing?”

Surprisingly He laughed for joy at my request, and pointed me to a small uninviting trail.

As I walked down the path the sun broke through the clouds revealing God’s wonderful creation.

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A beautiful way

“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
He rises to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for Him!” Isaiah 30:18

Troubles, anxieties, and hurts often color life an ugly brown. We begin to doubt the Lord’s goodness, and our thoughts become buried in the scorched dead leaves of our way. Yet there is hope because the Lord longs to show us compassion, and refresh our souls by His grace. Jesus desires to lead us to green meadows and peaceful streams, because He is our Good Shepherd.

The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
He leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to His name. Psalm 23:1-3 NLT

So, when life seems colorless––remember:

“I am His and He is mine.” Song of Solomon 2:16

Transformation Glory

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In dying there is transformation

In dying there is transformation


How can life’s difficulties be any more than what they are?
How can trials and heartache be worthwhile?
How can falling down and hurting be uplifting?
Because God promises to use it to bring about transformation in us.
At the root of this hope is the power of the resurrection,
God makes Jesus death become our death.
Dying to self we are raised to share in His resurrection,
And thus partake in His glory.
For now we must hold on to this promise, and our hope in Christ.
Knowing the transformation is hard but so worthwhile.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)