Tag Archives: WATER

Strength To Stand On My Own

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Yesterday I was out watering my plants and when I came around to watering the Japanese Maple Tree I noticed that it had some what detached itself from the stick it was connected to.  In the beginning stages of growing a tree sometimes a stick is attached to the tree to keep it from growing crooked and until it is strong enough to stand on it’s own.  I planted the tree almost a year ago and I honestly didn’t think that it was going to make it because it wasn’t producing anymore leaves and the leaves that remained were falling off. Even the branches were dying on it. I kept watering it every other day and prayed that the roots would have settled and were strong enough to make it through the winter. I kept checking to see if there were any changes and there wasn’t anything. By spring it flourished and the leaves were beautiful as it stood looking healthy and strong.  As I looked closer at the tree the stick that was attached had snapped in half and some of the strings had come a loose.  That let me know that the tree had grown and it was strong enough to stand on it’s own.  So I removed the string and the stick.  I stood there for a moment just to make sure that it was able to stand on it’s own and sure enough it was.  That made me smile.  I was glad that I didn’t do what I had initally started to do which was to up root it and throw it away.  Just because you don’t see any evidence of life on the surface doesn’t mean that their isn’t anything growing underneath the soil.  Sometime’s the greatest things are produced in a dark place. Give it some time to be produced. Don’t give up on it just yet.  God will send people and things in ours lives to help us along the way, but if we aren’t careful they can become a crutch.  If we continue to use our crutches how will we know what we can do on our own.  Crutches can become a handicap when they are used past their season and we become so depended on it that we think that we need it survive.   At times God will remove the things that we have become depended on to hold us up (crutches) so that we can see just how strong we really are. Your greatest strength is sometimes found when you are finally able to stand on your own.

They Are Depending On Us

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The other day I was going out to water my plants and some of the neighborhood kids came around me like flies asking could they help me.

I have been out here several times and have never had that happen. When I am in my garden this is normally part of my meditation time with God and to be honest I was needing that time, but I saw this as an opportunity to minister by way of help. I put my needs aside and humbled myself before God so that he could use me in that moment. So as I began to let them take turns some of them would try to spray the others, drink the water or play with it and I would have to guide them back to focus on what they were suppose to be doing while still having fun. It was a very simple task and I realize it probably had a lot to do with it being water, but the excitement and the energy they displayed in wanting to help made it hard to resist. My next door neighbor said if they are bothering you, you can send them back. I responded that they weren’t a bother. You know I love the kids and I will get them if I need to. Lol, he said please do. Two of the kids I had known since they were babies, but only one of them remembered me and she gave me a hug. She is 8 years old, boy do I feel old. As we completed the task together I told them thank you for helping me and they said you welcome with big smiles on their  faces and then they ran away. My heart was filled with joy, now that I miss. Back at my old church I worked with the Youth Ministry and they have always been one of my passions. Though I don’t deal with them in a great capacity as I did then I realize that was my teaching ground for what is to come and I try to be open to what he is doing now. The words that Jesus spoke are  so important as it gives us our direction, but I believe his greatest impact in his ministry was what he did. When I reflected back on it God showed me how I ministered to them at that moment. 1. You showed them how to serve 2. You gave them opportunity 3. You gave them direction along the way 4. You showed them love by allowing them to come in your space and with a cheerful heart 5. You showed them appreciation 6. They went away filled 7. You were ministered back to you. WOW! I was blown away. That happened within maybe 15-20 mins. We can sometimes make ministry so hard and really it’s that simple. I thank God for being humble enough and open to what he was trying to do in that moment. Although I may never know the impact that one moment may make on their lives, but Ican only image the thought if I would have turned them away.  It still takes a village. Don’t be so caught up in the former glory that you miss out on what God is trying to do through you now. He’s coming another way.

Don’t Ignore The Signs

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Potters House by Tramaine Hawkins

I came into the house and I laid my stuff down. Of course my shoes are the first thing off. I went to hang up my coat and as I stepped onto the carpet I noticed it was wet. I kneeled down to see how wet it actually was and how far it went out into the carpet. The first thing I thought of was to call my contractor to see what I needed to do being that this is a fairly new house and everything is still under warranty. As one who has helped to physically build my home I knew the layout, so the next thought was to find out where the leakage was coming from. I noticed that the water was fresh so it had to have happened sometime within the course of the day. As I was describing what I saw to the contractor he asked if I saw any water leaking from the ceiling or if I noticed any water coming from out of the walls. The fact that we didn’t see any signs of those was a good possibility that it wasn’t a busted pipe. The hall closet is underneath the washer and dryer room so I immediately went upstairs and right before I reached to the top of the steps I noticed some dark spots. I felt the carpet and it was soaked which lead all the way out to the hallway. I knew then it was coming from the washer and dryer room because of the direction it was coming from. As I went in I saw water on the floor and in between the washer and dryer. I stood still to see if I could hear any water dripping and sure enough it was coming from out of the vials. My contractor told me to call the plumber, but being that it was after hours I probably wouldn’t be able to get in touch with anyone. I thought I would try anyway, but I had to leave a message and wait until the following day. In the mean time I started to lay down towels to soak up the water within the carpet and the water that had gotten on the floor. We determined the problem, what was the source of the problem, how to fix the problem and were there any long-term damages. The contractor said it is normal and over a period of time things become damaged or loosed. It could be a simple fix or if it isn’t caught in time there could be long-term damage. Just think if I would have ignored that or not noticed it what I could have walked into or woke up to. It is important that we take care of our natural as well as our spiritual house. Over a period of time there are things that need to be repaired, tightened up, things we need to get rid of or clean up like our attitudes, our thought process, a broken heart, the company we keep, the things we entertain, etc. If we ignore the warning signs that something in our house is wrong over a period of time it will cause more damage than what it’s worth. #CLEANTHISHOUSE

Are You Willing To Launch Into The Deep

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One day my mom was telling me how when I was around 2 or 3 years old they took me and my sister to the pool to swim or more like play in the water. The next thing they heard was this big splash and they saw me trying to fight my way up. Of course my mother panicked because she didn’t know how to swim so she had to get someone else to help get me out of the water. My mom said that the last time she saw me I was at the top of the steps. She turned her back for a split second and I decided to jump in. I couldn’t only imagine what my mom was feeling. I’m not sure what made me just jump out into the deep not knowing how to swim. I’ve always been a little fish when it comes to water and to this day it is where I like to go to find peace and strength. When God bided Peter to come to him and he began to walk out on the water as if to having a kids like faith, but all of a sudden he began to sink. It wasn’t the fact that the storm around him was so great but it was the fact that he took his eyes off of Jesus. There are situations and circumstances that will happen and in most cases out of no where. There was no warning though we thought, no point of reference of why or even how, but no matter how unstable your surroundings faith never takes its eyes off of the one it seeks. If you feel like you are sinking then who is the one that you seek. Even if you feel yourself you still have time to cry out HELP! #CLEANTHISHOUSE

Are You Willing To Launch Into The Deep

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Ocean by Hillsong

One-day my mom was telling me when I was around 2-3 years old and they had taken me and my sister to the pool. The next thing they knew they heard this big splash and they saw me trying to fight my way back up. Of course my mother started panicking because she didn’t know how to swim and had to yell for help. The last time she saw me I was at the top of the steps. She had no idea why I would just jump off into the deep part of the water knowing I didn’t know how to swim. From that point on I’ve always been a little fish. Even to this day any type of water is like serenity to me and I can go there and find refuge, strength and peace. When God bided Peter to come to him he began to walk out on the water, but suddenly Peter began to sink. It wasn’t because the storm that surrounded him was so great, but it was because he took his eyes of Jesus. There are situations and circumstances that will occur in your life that will come out of no where. There will be no point of reference on why or even how, but no matter how unstable your surroundings faith never takes its eyes off the one it seeks. If you feel like your sinking then who is it that you seek? Even if you have lost your focus and you began to sink you still have time to cry out HELP! #CLEANTHISHOUSE