Vision

To the degree that we try to partake of the world, we diminish our brightness.   - Bill Gothard

I read this today: “We are all just plagiarists of a real artist, and her name is Mother Nature”.

It needs modification, I think: “We are all just plagiarists of a real artist, and His Name is God”.

Blogs and other social read/write media are great for staying in touch across the miles.  But don’t forget to interact with those closest to you, you know, the people you see every day, like your family and/or church group. This picture from a business e-newsletter I received today sparked these thoughts. So, now I’m going to go wish one of those amazing people in my life, my mom, a wonderful Mother’s Day, in person!

I read an excellent post over on javalon’s xanga this morning concerning work. It’s worth a slow thoughtful read.

Here’s a quote:

Work cannot be merely something we must do to make money, to gain the ability to enjoy leisure time, or to propel us to “higher” things. No, work should be the expression of our creative energy being used in service of humanity (which cannot be separated from our service to God).

Work really does have value and it is not all tied up in economics. One of the best most rewarding jobs I had paid minimum wage, but the value I provided in the service of others can’t be measured in dollars and cents. Some of the greatest inventors, missionaries and people that changed the world, worked voluntarily. Jesus was a transient who didn’t own his own home or any form of transportation (they borrowed the donkey for that famous scene where he rides into Jerusalem), yet he changed the course of history and helped more people in 3 years than any of us could in a lifetime.

This winter has felt unusually rainy in my experience, though that’s to be expected here in the Pacific Northwet. Today though, the sun is out in all its glory and I am loving it!

I wonder if the sun was shining when Eliza Hewitt penned the following words:

Sunshine In My Soul

There is sunshine in my soul today,
More glorious and bright
Than glows in any earthly sky,
For Jesus is my Light.

Refrain
O there’s sunshine, blessed sunshine,
When the peaceful, happy moments roll;
When Jesus shows His smiling face,
There is sunshine in the soul.

There is music in my soul today,
A carol to my King,
And Jesus, listening, can hear
The songs I cannot sing.

There is springtime in my soul today,
For, when the Lord is near,
The dove of peace sings in my heart,
The flowers of grace appear.

There is gladness in my soul today,
And hope and praise and love,
For blessings which He gives me now,
For joys “laid up” above.