Grace Notes

Cooters Pond, Alabama November 19, 2010 The weather and changing colors on the trees have been reminding me lately of death and dying  (maybe it's also that I'm missing my Papa, who died in July).  What do I want the end of my life to be like?  Do I want it to be a beautiful picture of my faith in Christ, or do I want to be ugly, shriveled up and dry?  I thought how the trees and their fall foliage reflect this.  Some trees have such beautiful fall foliage, and others do not.  I want my own personal fall foliage to be bright and shining, like the tree in the center of the above picture.  I want to stand out not for myself, but for Christ!  Wouldn't it be awesome to leave behind such a beautiful picture, a life that reflects Christ? Another thought -- when the leaves on the tree die in the Fall, the tree itself is not dying.  So it is when we die physically. If we are Christians, we are instantly born into life eternal (II Corinthians 5:8).  As the Bible puts it, to be

Here in central Alabama, it takes a while for the colors of the leaves to change.  What's changing right now are the maples and the crepe myrtles.  We really haven't had any cold weather to speak of yet, either, although it did go from the 90s to the 70s in a week's time!  God has blessed this area of the country with the color green.  Lush trees, grass, hills and valleys.  Unfortunately the last few years we have been going through a dry period, even to the point of drought for a few years.  Very unheard of in this area.  Sort of like our seasons of life. Sometimes we are verdant and watered by the word of God, and other times we are dried up and cracking with thirst for want of spiritual rain.  It's really up to us, isn't it? "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever." Isaiah 40:8 

Jeffcoat Engineers & Surveyors, LLC, Montgomery, Alabama Ambassador:  A diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as representative in residence by one government to another.  Friday afternoon I was out running errands for my employer. I was driving the company pickup truck and started thinking about my actions in the truck such as: I really shouldn't run any traffic lights, and I really shouldn't exceed the speed limit, and I really need to signal properly.  If I did these things, it would get back to my boss.  After all, I was in the company truck, which has the company logo and phone number on it.  I mean, I couldn't kick the truck down a gear and just step on it, could I?  Not that I would...Driving the truck made me think about being a representative of where I work.  I realized I needed to present myself in a manner that would reflect well on the company.  God used Friday's driving experience as a thinking time.  Thoughts carried

Thanks to all of you who were praying for my son Ben and his surgery. Surgery was Friday morning, and although it took longer than expected, everything went well.  I know that Tina mentioned making sure he followed through on rehab.  That's going to be tough, but I have some friends and family who I am sure will assist. As it is, my son is in a groin to ankle cast hopefully only for a couple of weeks, but he has to be in a cast for six weeks.  Not going to be cool for a 13 year old guy!  :-)  It's wonderful meeting all of you special ladies on here (sorry guys, but they are the ones who posted comments)!  Please let me know when and how I can encourage each of you, too. I Thessalonians 5:18 "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." ~ Reese

A Year with God Make His Thoughts Your Thoughts Daily Readings and Reflections on God's Own Words by: R.P. Nettelhorst Thomas Nelson Publishers Copyright 2010 Open this book and you will find God speaking to you through His words in the Bible, written out in a daily format and divided into sections such as "Hope and Fear" and "Love and Hate" just to name a few.  Through this book, R.P. Nettelhorst brings God's words into today's daily living.  He asks and answers questions from a Biblical perspective using insight into Biblical times, and causes you to think in a new light about what God is saying to us.  This is a beautifully presented book in a daily reading format.  Each page begins with a thought for the day and is followed with a good sized portion of Scripture, followed by thoughts on the Scripture.  To my surprise and delight, Scripture takes up one-third to one-half of each page!  I personally found this book to be a timely reading so

  Sunset view from my parent's home in central Alabama     "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.  In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.  His going forth is from the end of heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it:  and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."   Psalm 19: 1-6 Yesterday morning as I was driving to work, I chose a different route and was so glad I did!  As I crested a hill and looked towards the east, I saw blankets of fog tucked into the valleys below.  Just ribbons of clouds lying close to the ground.  Above you could see beautiful, clear blue skies.  The scene made me s

I felt overwhelmed by the news that my youngest son had fractured his knee.  He had a bicycle accident, the paramedics showed up, it was said that if he were their teen son, they would take him home and ice his leg.  I did that. Over the course of the weekend I petted and coddled, and enjoyed spending one on one time with him.  He learned to use crutches (although not very effectively), and even managed to shower and change by himself.  He enjoyed a visit from his aunt.  He enjoyed several visits from his dad.  He took pain medicine and he slept.  Most of the time he was just bored, because his older brother was spending time with their best friend!  Sunday evening it was decided that he would go stay with his dad and work more on crutches so he would be ready for school.  Monday morning I had a phone call from his dad telling me that my son had fractured his knee!  That he had been taken to the emergency room, and that he was scheduled to see an orthopedic specialist Monday afterno