The Sugar Cookie Saga

The Sugar Cookie Saga
Broken Cookies Are Useful and Wonderful!

 I had a wonderful plan! It was only a small part of my Christmas goodies plan, but I fully expected it to be a spectacular part of the table. I imagined the little pies stacked neatly on a lovely tiered stand, filled with chocolatey goodness. It would be wonderful, just like I planned. (Recognize those famous last words?)

I started my plan from the ground up, or crust up as the case may be. I divided up the sugar cookie dough into small pecan-size balls, coated them with sugar and pressed them into the tiny muffin tins. They looked just perfect. 

Sugar cookie stubbornness.

The trouble started in the oven. They mushroomed out far beyond the limits I had discussed with them, but finally settled into a reasonable compromise. I am a seasoned baker, so I knew they would need to cool slightly so they wouldn't fall apart coming out of the tins. 

After a few minutes, they were cool enough to touch, so I began the careful surgical extraction of my little sugar cookie pie crusts. The first one put up a fight, but these things happen even to the most seasoned bakers, so I persevered on to number two. This little guy fell apart too. So did numbers three, four and on and on. Apparently in the oven, they cooked up a conspiracy.

No pie crust here.

Rather than give up entirely (after all I had a Christmas goodie table to prepare and I am a seasoned baker) I implemented plan B. I took the little conspirators and pressed them into a glass pie dish to form a single pie crust. They weren't having any of it. With that many holes in any "crust" I could read the "this is going to be a mess" writing on the wall. Time for this seasoned baker to find a plan C.

Sometimes rather than force my plan to work when it obviously isn't, I have the wisdom (sometimes) to go with what is working (sometimes.) I have sixty years under my belt and wisdom does pop up sometimes. This time I sought it out, and found it waiting right under my nose, well, on my kitchen counter.

They are sugar cookies, an unruly lot, but sugar cookies nonetheless. The chocolate mousse, and whipped cream awaited their company. So, I layered the crumbs, mousse, and whipped cream into a clear glass bowl and topped it with some more crumbs and chocolate hazelnut star cookies. It was lovely and delicious.

~ What God taught me in this process ~

Be Patient. 

When explaining the gospel, or encouraging someone in the faith, I must be patient. 

They have a place in the kingdom, and I can't push them into my preconceived notion of where that might be, or bully them into submission. 

We are all a little broken.

Persevere. 

Don't give up when it seems your plan might be futile. 

Even if they resist, try again. 

Even the most seasoned have to learn new ways of completing the task, 

especially when dealing with brokenness.

Pray. 

Even though I may be seasoned in teaching and encouraging others in the faith, 

God may have a plan that I might not have considered. 

He gives wisdom to those who ask. 

Point to Him. 

The project did not have to be my vision of tiny bite-size pies to be successful. 

It was completely successful as one big bowl of chocolatey goodness 

with sugar cookie crumbles and whipped cream deliciousness. 

He uses my brokenness, and yours too, to make us beautiful and fruitful, 

even before we see the outcome.

Dear Father,

Thank You for your patience with me as I try to do things my way so often. Thank You for loving me enough to place adversity in my path, so I will learn to persevere and look to You even more. That will always be my ultimate goal ~ to draw nearer to You.

I ask that You give an extra dose of patience and perseverance to me and the one reading this right now, that we will remember to both call upon You and point others to You even in the midst of our struggle.

I pray in Jesus' name,

Amen.

What is your struggle today? Can you (will you) apply this to your circumstance? Have you found this to be true in your walk? Please leave your comment below. It might be the encouragement someone needs today! 

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If you have a chance, please check out these books with more faith-filled stories. I pray they will be an encouragement to you in your walk.

Blessings to you, friend! 

    

Click here to see The Wisdom Tree on Amazon.com

Click here to see
(the true story of)
Oscar The Extraordinary Hummingbird on Amazon.com

Meet Scott Boucher, author of When Goodness Finds You

Author Scott Boucher

I am pleased to introduce you to author Scott Boucher. He has been involved in numerous aspects of Church ministry for over 30 years and served as Administrator of Mount Carmel Bible Institute from 2004-2006. 

Scott describes himself as a teacher at heart.  “I love to inspire others to experience the freedom that intimacy with God provides.” Although he doesn’t have a writing background, he is a man “who simply adores God, and enjoys spending time with Him.” 

“When you are passionate about something, and you know that millions are longing to experience God in the same way that I have been experiencing Him for years—it makes it easy.  By the grace of God, I began seeking the Lord passionately when I was just a teenager.  I planted my roots deep into God early in my walk with Him.  One of the important truths to developing intimacy is this: you can’t be in a hurry!  I patiently waited on the Lord till I found Him—you have to search with all your heart.  God taught me about the concept of approach.  I grew in confidence and did away with the performance-oriented approach I used to have toward God.  The deeper I believed His Word, and the more I meditated upon it—the more real He became to me.”

When Goodness Finds You, was written to “help people discover the 5 keys to intimacy with God that empowers them to approach God with confidence and begin to exhale in His presence.  Millions are longing for a breakthrough in their life.  Many are frustrated; they have been a Christian for years, but they feel like something is missing—there has to be something more.  You won’t find many books like this one.  There are countless books on prayer, but the focus of those books is how to pray.  The focus of my book is on how we relate to God, and how that affects our approach to Him, which ultimately affects whether we will experience intimacy with Him or not.”

“One of my favorite stories from the book is how I used to delight myself in the Lord.  I used to call it “taking God golfing”.  It was typically rather spontaneous.  It was similar to a man and woman saying to each other, “Hey, let’s do something tonight.  Yeah, let’s go out on a date.”  I would usually wait for a laid-back Sunday afternoon in the summer when the weather was pretty much perfect.  Then I would say to God, “Hey, let’s go golfing today, just you and I.”  God would always say yes.  So off on our date we would go.  I’ll leave the rest of the story for the readers of my book to enjoy.  Don’t want to spoil you.”

What do you want your readers to take away from it? “I want them to not only be inspired, but start taking the steps that will lead them toward intimacy with God.  I want to see them turn experience into relationship…a relationship where intimacy is an everyday reality for them.  I want each and every one of my readers to fall so deeply in love with God that their desire for God is taken to a much higher level.”

An excerpt from When Goodness Finds You -

“We are all just trying to find our way through life.  Some of us might not even be aware of that, but it’s true.  

Unfortunately for the majority of us, we rush expeditiously through this adventure called life.  We don’t take the time to smell the flowers, dance in the puddles, or linger at the crosswalk.  We rush right past a thousand faces on our way to…nowhere.  The beauty and delight of a dream is lost to the reality of a life of busyness.

I’ve watched my daughter several times from the front window of our house as she dances in the puddles during a rainstorm—with boots, a raincoat, and an umbrella.  The funny thing is that she ran outside to do that a few years ago—when she was eleven years old!  I think I’ll join her next time.  Oh—the simple pleasures that life provides!  What an opportunity that has been bestowed upon us.  If only we would allow ourselves the freedom to dance in the puddles, to linger at the crosswalks of life.  But we are too mature for all of that, of course.  That is how we think; that is who we are.  Hence, the longings go unfulfilled; the dreams remain a wish that never comes true.   

Indeed, we all have deep longings inside of us.  Some of them are as simple as the desire to dance in the puddles.  Most would admit that they are unsure as to what those longings really are.  The reason we have a hard time identifying them is because we are largely unaware of who we are, and what we are to be.  So we spend precious little time in pursuit of the discovery of these longings.  The admission of their existence reminds us of the harsh realities of life—too painful, too complex, and extremely boring at times.  We look the other way; we don’t even want to consider it.  

To find a way through the dream is to find God in the midst of the dream.  Someone may say, “I have forgotten how to dream.  I don’t like to think about my days of innocence—they are gone.  How can I return to a life of innocence and begin to dream again?”  If that’s you, I’m glad you asked.  Here’s the answer: Find God in the midst of your dreams.  God can enable you to dream again.  Set yourself free to allow the dreaming to begin in your life.” 

Find Goodness on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Christian Book Distributors and WhenGoodnessFindsYou.com

Scott Boucher

I live in Menasha, Wisconsin with my wife, Mary, and our two children, Josiah and Victoria.  

Fun facts: I used to trade highly-volatile stock options on a regular basis.  And the most adorable looking cat in the entire world lives at my house.  She goes by the name of Macy.




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Grapes Grace and Glory

Grace grapes and glory.

You may remember when I shared about how happy I was to plant the these "sticks in the ground."( Read Grapes and the Gardener here. ) No root, no leaves and certainly no fruit. I soaked them in a rooting hormone for a week, then babied and sweet-talked the sticks in their infancy with all the encouragement I could muster. You can imagine how very proud I was of their first tender pink leaves. They soon put out lovely little tendrils and held on to their line (clothes line strung between posts) for dear life. The more the vine held to the line, the more the foliage grew and gathered nourishment for the root system and the fruit to come later.

There was some pruning involved now and then. I didn’t enjoy it one little bit, cutting those beautiful vines that I encouraged to grow, yet it was necessary to train the vines into the proper position and to make the vine able to bear the fruit that was yet to come.

Grapes oon the vine.

The purpose of a grape vine is to (you guessed it) produce grapes! This was the year, and it was worth the wait. Cluster upon cluster of lovely purple pods of juiciness hung from vines that showed extraordinary brute strength and stamina to just to bear the load.

More pampering for each little cluster, flicking off Japanese beetles and spreading out the vines to avoid crowding. They were inspected every day for health and readiness for consumption, until this week when their color revealed they were ripe for the picking.

Brought from outside
into the master's house.

I didn’t have a way to explain to them why I was doing it but, I carefully selected and snipped these precious bundles and brought them in, so the canning could begin. They couldn’t have known they were chosen for a wonderful purpose. 

Their first stop is the sink for a washing. I gently removed each grape from its family stem and tossed them into a colander. Now, they appeared pretty clean so when a large hairy spider ran for his life, (over my finger) I almost did too. He didn’t make it. I did. (May he rest in peace.) Two more crawlies were discovered and removed, along with those grapes that did not mature.

Washed grapes,
minus a spider and two crawlies.

Their next stop was the cook pot. Now grapes have a tough skin, so it is necessary to crush them to get the best flavor. The crushing revealed the succulent insides that would ultimately provide the flavor for the jelly. The skin and seeds and insides are boiled all together for a good ten minutes. A full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down.

What is left behind.

That is when you get the first sniff of the real inside of the grapes. With the skin off and the heat rising, the aroma of each grape is released. Their grapeness filled the air and anyone nearing my kitchen would have no doubt of what was happening.

Then the grapes, skin, juice, seeds and all go into a strainer to remove the unnecessary parts. While the pulp will be used for another purpose, it will not go into the jelly. Then, this luscious juice goes back into the pot for another heating and mixing then carefully ladled into jars. The jars are then yep, placed into a boiling water bath.

Back into the heat.

The result? Beautiful sparkling grape jelly that will bring delight to our tongues for the coming year! Still grapes? Yes, but different.

Glorified grapes.
Refined and preserved.

I have felt like those grapes, maybe you have too. Pruned, snipped, crushed…and at times plunged into heat that seems unbearable. I have learned that God uses those times to make something better out of me. He truly is the Master Gardener Who tends to His vines. 

Things to remember when life gets hard

• God planted you in love. He will tend you and nurture you. He expects you to grow and mature.
• God will prune you with love. He wants you to be strong and be able to bear fruit.
• God will cause you to bear fruit in His time. He will bring you from outside, into His home.
• God has a plan for you. You may not understand it but, He wants to clean you and remove anything that would be harmful to you.
• He will allow you to be squeezed to the point of being crushed – what is inside comes out. It proves your faith is real to you and to those around you.
• He will allow you to go through a refining fire. It will cause you to release the unnecessary, the dross that contaminates you. The refining is a process that is repeated more than once but, His grace will not allow it to consume you.
• You will leave your skin and seeds behind. You will still be you, but you will be changed into something glorious! You will be sealed and preserved into His kingdom!

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your loving care through my life. Thank You for watching over me and tending me and pruning me when I needed it.

While I long to be beautiful in Your sight, I struggle in the times of the refining fire. It is hard. Thank You for staying by me side through it all. May I be an example of perseverance in my trials, that another would look to You for that same faith. I pray You will give comfort to those in the fire today. I pray You will encourage those who feel alone today in their time of testing. Thank You for the grace to endure it.

Father, may any fruit borne be to Your glory and leave seeds of righteousness sown for Your kingdom. I trust You with my eternity and I trust You with my today.

In Jesus’ name I pray.

~~~~

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” 1 Peter 1:6,7

“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:10

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12

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For more faith-filled stories, including a hummingbird I named Oscar, read the first chapter here.

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Follow Him without excuses

Follow Him without excuse or delay

“Another of the disciples said to Him,

“Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”

But Jesus said to him,

“Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”

Matthew 8:21,22

Dear Father,

They saw Jesus perform miracles, healing and crowds were following him. Some were following and proclaiming their intention to follow Him further still. Jesus knew their hearts, and answered accordingly. When He he told one not to expect creature comforts, He seemed to expose a heart looking for what he might get from this One who could do miracles.

This disciple He told to let the dead bury their own dead.  While I don’t presume to understand every aspect of the answer to this man, I see myself. I see my “wait until later” attitude crop up when I know following Your path will interrupt my plans. I see myself rationalizing that I need to take care of family instead of kneeling at Your feet, studying Your Word, or evangelizing the lost.

Forgive my tendency to procrastinate when I see giving up something or suffering ahead. Forgive my efforts to build up treasures here instead of building up Your kingdom in heaven.

Lord, give me a heart of obedience, of immediate action when You give instruction. I do not desire to neglect my earthly duties, but desire even more to fulfill every command from You. Forgive my excuses, and bring my heart back into obedience to You, no matter the cost.

I pray in Jesus’ name – my example of obedience.

Click here for more about me

A book of devotions like this coming soon! You can find more devotions here.

You might also enjoy the faith-filled stories of the hand of God, and a hummingbird I named Oscar... 

Read the first chapter of Oscar here 

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Fearless Faith

Daniel honored God, no matter the cost.

“All the commissioners of the kingdom,

the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors

have consulted together that the king should establish a statute

and enforce an injunction

that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king,

for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den.

Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed,

he entered his house

(now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem);

and he continued kneeling on his knees

three times a day,

praying and giving thanks before his God,

as he had been doing previously.”

Daniel 6:7,10

Dear God,

How thankful I am for the example of Daniel. When faced with the option of just closing his windows to hide while praying, he chose to pray openly. Father, I long to have such fearless faith in You when faced with persecution.

How much more thankful I am for Your faithfulness toward me. Even though You allowed Daniel to go to the lion’s den he was never in danger or alone. I see a glimpse of Your purpose revealed when the King recognized Your power to protect Daniel and proclaimed that all in his kingdom fear and tremble before You!

Give me strength and courage to remain faithful and obedient to You when any manmade decree or law conflicts with Your commandments to me. I purpose in my heart today to remain faithful to You on my knees, in prayer and thanksgiving though it costs my life.

Let those who would mock me or seek to harm me see Your mighty hand and turn to You.

I pray in the precious name of Jesus, my Savior and example.

Click here for more about me

Coming soon, a book of devotions like this one! 

Meanwhile, click here for links to more devotions

And, for true stories of faith...

Read the first chapter of Oscar here 

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Sparrows, Surprises and the Sovereignty of God

Five baby sparrows in a three bedroom home!

There are “Welcome” signs in the form of birdhouses all around the yard. Some have vacancies others are occupied. None however, are located under our back porch. So, knowing there was housing available, I was a little surprised to find the beginnings of a bird nest tucked into a potting soil bag that was resting in our wheelbarrow. Mrs. Sparrow and I both did a bit of a squawk and a flutter upon our mutual discovery. I assured her she was welcome to stay; I could wait until she raised her brood before I scooped from “her” bag. I promised not to harm her family in any way. Indeed, I thought it was a brilliant location and was quite honored she allowed us to watch her little family grow.  

Equally brilliant Mr. Sparrow allowed his Mrs. to have complete control in the building and construction phase. It was a dandy little nest, just right for three little babies. The finely appointed cradle was finished just in time for the placement of three adorable light blue eggs. Then, surprise! When we came by for our inspection the next day, two more eggs had appeared! 

Multiple inspections later, some tiny “peeps” let us know some babies had hatched. With a gentle lift of their bag door, three naked babies were visible, so I made the proper introductions. Like any good neighbor, I checked in frequently and was pleased to see the remaining two safely hatched the next day.

In a bungalow built for three, I worried about the crowded situation. Naturally, the firstlings were stronger and stepped up higher in the nest over Babies Four and Five but it wasn’t the first rodeo for Mom and Pop. They organized a feeding plan of about one bug per minute alternating between Mom and Pop for all five hungry little mouths, uhm, beaks. That’s a lot of creepy crawlies!

After a steady diet from the critter smorgasbord for several days the tiny peeps turned into demanding screams. Precious little baby fuzz sprouted into baby feathers. My (well, Mrs. Sparrow’s) babies were growing up!

We didn’t have it marked on OUR calendar, but “Leave the Nest Day” came and we got to watch! This little guy started the exodus. He shot out but, didn’t know where to go, so he lit on this screen window until he could assess the situation. Mom and Pop called for him to come out into the yard, so he opened up his brand new wings and flew to them. That brought out Two and Three. They only made it up to the eave of the porch. They looked around for several minutes to get their bearings and finally heard their call from Mom and Pop and joined them (and One and Two.)

Babies Four and Five were desperate to not be left alone and came out of their comfy apartment but were unable to fly as well as their older siblings. Southern hospitality requires that I do what I can to help, so I did what I could to usher the clumsy siblings into the general direction of their family.

Bless their itty bitty hearts, they were perfectly fine in their nice little home (complete with room service) until someone got the bright idea to go explore the world and left them behind to fend for themselves. Not only that, a giant was following them and making all sorts of funny faces and motions to them, and Mom and Pop were nowhere to be found. They hopped around and stopped from time to time to “cheep” but there was no reply. They couldn’t see what I saw. Mom and Pop were taking care of One, Two, and Three. They were not far away, they just didn’t answer right away.

With some encouragement, I was able to guide Four to the rest of the gang. Little Five, the baby, was heartbroken. He didn’t even have the heart to try. He wouldn’t hop or chirp. He just sat all alone, his head down in despair. He appeared to accept his fate of life alone and abandoned and probably eaten or squished (Southern for crushed) by this giant woman. I told him his “family is only a few yards away and a new and wonderful life is ahead of him – different from life in the nest, but wonderful just the same. Just hold on” but, he couldn’t understand.

It was only a couple of minutes, but finally Mom chirped his name and his little downcast head

popped up. I got behind him and prompted him to hop a half-hearted hop toward his family. Another chirp from Mom led him to take another baby hop in the right direction. Finally, Mommy Sparrow came out from under a bush and chirped loud and clear, and Baby Five saw her. He ran with all the strength his little baby-bird legs could muster straight to her and they disappeared under the bush amid lots of congratulatory chirps, peeps and flutters.

I thought about what I had just witnessed in terms of God and life and His plans for us. Life has certainly thrown me some surprises, maybe you have experienced that too. When life takes a turn that sseems unfair or I don’t understand much less know what to do, these are some thing I try to remember.

• I remember that He knew me before I was born and knows the number of days I will be here. “Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance and in Thy book, they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” Psalm 139:16
• I remember (whatever it is) it is not a surprise to God. “Oh, LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; for You have worked wonders, plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.” Isaiah 25:1 “…He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world..” Ephesians 1:4
• I remember God is there whether or not I can see or hear Him, and I need not be afraid. “Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 “…The eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him…The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him. Psalm 33:18, 34:7
• I remember I can trust Him even when things don’t seem fair. “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.” 1 Peter 4:19
• I remember He has a plan that is for my good. “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 29:11 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
• I remember I can count on God to lead me in the right direction.  “For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me. You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth…I trust in the LORD. I will rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness, Because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul, And You have not given me over into the hand of the enemy.” Psalm 31:3-8

Dear Father in Heaven,

Thank You for demonstrating over and over how much You love us.

When life surprises us with changes and difficulties for which we see no way out, help us see You and trust in Your mighty hand to guide us. Thank You for being our “refuge and strength a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) I rejoice in Your provision for me even when I can’t see it.

I pray the person reading this at this moment will also seek You and find You and rest securely in Your loving hand.

   

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My hupomeno umbrella tree.

It is a short and somewhat unimpressive tree with a distinctive shape. The Chinaberry tree naturally grows with a rounded top and densely layered leaves on a multitude of branches, thus earning the common name of Umbrella tree. I can testify to the effectiveness in blocking out the oppressive Alabama summer heat. It is 15-20 degrees cooler under this tree than under the Maple trees twice its size!

This particular tree is a direct descendant of an Umbrella tree that grew at my grandparents’ home. Their children played under the shade, protected from the scorching heat. A sweet uncle gathered seeds and shared as a reminder of that precious memory.  

At this time of year, not only does it provide wonderful shade, it also has lovely and fragrant blooms. When visitors come into our garden area, it only takes a few seconds for them to look around to try to find the source of the sweetness permeating the air. They usually expect to find honeysuckle or lilac. When they follow their nose, they arrive under the umbrella tree and are rewarded with the full effect of hundreds of little purple and white bloomers mostly visible from beneath, looking up.  It is a heavenly aroma; entirely worth the search.  From a distance, the dainty blossoms are almost invisible, but from under the tree, they hang in clusters of purple striped beauty. A double blessing from under the tree!

I like to call it my “hupomeno tree.”  If that sounds like Greek to you, it is!  Hupomeno is the Greek word transliterated “endurance, patience and abide under”.  It is used in the first chapter of James as we are told to “consider it all joy when we encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”  These trials come in the form of suffering, pain, and difficult situations. During these times it is common to feel alone, abandoned, and weak. That is where the hupomeno comes in!  Enduring the situation may be impossible humanly speaking, BUT God provides a covering, a place under which we can abide, in order to get through the trial and prove (grow) our faith in Him.

Asa was an Old Testament king “who did good and right in the sight of the LORD, his God.” 2 Chronicles 14:2. When his army of 300,000 was outnumbered by an opposing army of a million, he called out to God and God shattered the opposing army. Asa had an insurmountable problem in front of him, and responded by calling on and trusting God. God proved He is worthy trust, Asa’s then and ours now. “The eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” 2 Chronicles 16:9. 

Asa was reminded “the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake him, He will forsake you…in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him…be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.” 2 Chronicles 15:2,4,7. Even after he relied upon God and saw Him work, and he was reminded to continue to seek God, yet he didn’t. Some years later he was in a situation and tried to resolve it with silver and gold and a treaty instead of seeking God. He did not rely on God, acted foolishly and he did not win that battle.  

In the New Testament, the book of 1 Peter echoes the theme of James in that we can “greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1Peter 1:6,7.  Did you catch it? The result of the testing of our faith will be when He returns will be praise and glory and honor! Now that is worth rejoicing about! Like a woman in the midst of childbirth looks forward to the outcome – a child – she eagerly endures the temporary suffering.

Some lessons I have learned under the hupomeno/umbrella tree;

• God is able to help me endure every trial in my life (just as this type tree sheltered my ancestors) because He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

• God (like this tree) is near the ground to be close to you and surround you and protect you.

• God will provide blessing during the trial if you look up to Him.   

• When you look up, focus on the blooming blessings rather than the storm around you.

• The storm will come to an end.

• Other storms will come. Remember to seek God (stay near the tree).

• Invite someone to join you there.

• Share some seeds for more trees to be planted.

• Abide and endure to the end – there is a reward.

Father in Heaven,

How thankful we are for the reminders all around us of Your faithfulness. We pray that You will help us abide under Your love to persevere and endure with patience the times of testing in our lives. Help us remember the rewards that await at the end, and of the blessing of Your presence during these difficulties.

I pray that the person reading this right now will seek You and find You and rely upon You as their stronghold for the rest of their life.  

Thank You for using this little tree to teach me. Spread the seeds of truth as You will.

Have you been through a trial when God saw you through? Are you in one now? Your comments are always welcome and encourage us!

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For more true stories of faith including a precious hummingbird I named Oscar, 

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 For the rest of the story, find Oscar on   Amazon.com ,  

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a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, and

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