Want to be a pansy with me?

Smiling pansy.

If you know anything at all about me you know that I have a thing for bloomers.  This one is so inspiring it makes me want to be one too! Just look at its happy little smile on fancy yellow cheeks! Makes me want to smile right back at it! (Go ahead, you know you want to.) There, now wasn’t that fun?

Pansies are like that; they smile right in the middle of winter when everyone else is locked up tight refusing to show their bloomers. If I could give you a 360 degree view of this lone bloomer, it is hanging from a tree (near the kitchen window) that has dropped all its leaves, over a bed of grass that is grumbling about the temperature and packing its leaves to go underground for a few months, and alongside some Mexican petunias that shriveled at the first breeze of frost. Above, below and all around this little basket are the faint of heart that gave up when winter stepped foot into the yard.

While many think of pansies as weaklings and use their name as an insult, I beg to differ. If I were to be given a flower name “Rose” or “Violet” would be lovely. They have pretty blossoms and delightful fragrances. But, I think I might just choose to be “Pansy.” The kind of pansy like this little guy, blooming for all its worth right in the middle of winter when everyone else has given up.

It can’t be easy. All the others withered away for a reason. Winter is hard. It takes great courage and strength to grow, much less bloom under such circumstances.

What does God expect from us in hard times? First Thessalonians 5:11 – 26 was written to a group that was “mistreated”, “suffering affliction,” “much tribulation”, and “amid much opposition.”  They were told;

• Encourage one another.
• Build up one another.
• Live in peace with one another.
• See that no one repay with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men.
•  Rejoice always
•  In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
•  Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Does it seem to you that this little smiling face could be greeting us “with a holy kiss”? A smile from God, winter is here – rejoice. It is hard –rejoice. God is at work – give thanks.  Could it be that He is reminding us through a dainty (but strong) flower that we are an encouragement to others when we give thanks, rejoice and smile?

Look closely at the basket again. Do you see it? There is a viola and another pansy trying to bloom right next to him! AND, a sunflower coming up too! When we give praise, rejoice and stand strong, it give others the courage and strength to do the same!

   Courage is contagious.

    Praise is contagious.

   Smiles are contagious.

Which are you willing to share today? Come on, be a pansy with me!  

Father in heaven,

We see reminders of Your love for us in all creation. Thank You for loving us before we even came to know You. Thank You for encouraging and sustaining us through hard times. Give us strength and courage to rejoice and give You thanks through it all. Let us be a smiling beacon of Your love to someone who needs it today.

As always, I encourage you to leave comments below. Your words are not only an encouragement to me but to all who read them!

Blessings!

 About me - about.me/Lisawsmith57

 Find more stories of faith in

 Oscar the Extraordinary Hummingbird

and Other Tales From Life In My Father's World

 Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Oscar-Extraordinary-Hummingbird-Other-Fathers/dp/1490882197/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1434117054&sr=1-1

Westbow Press -http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU-000990255/Oscar-the-Extraordinary-Hummingbird.aspx
Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/oscar-the-extraordinary-hummingbird-lisa-worthey-smith/1122075111?ean=9781490882178

Comfort Food

Comfort food for the belly.

Today is a dreary day in North Alabama with record-tying cool temperatures, and drizzle.  In mid-July we are more likely to have mid 90's than high 60's.  But, today that is what we have, and it is the day that the LORD has made, my job is to rejoice and be glad in it.

So, I heated up some left over potato-gnocchi soup.  In the South, we call it potato dumplings, but either way, it is comfort food.  It started with vidalia onions cooked to caramelization, then some chicken flavored seasonings, some smokey paprika, lots of water, then the Idaho potatoes cut into bite-size pieces.

When the potato bites were mushy (a culinary term) and fork tender, in go the gnocchi (dumplings) for a few minutes.  This is the point when I really have to watch my step because the resident canine has olfactory overload and is underfoot with pleading eyes, and watching every move of my hand with hopeful expectation. (Yes, he is spoiled, what can I say?)  I also had some leftover biscuits, so they were cut into tiny cubes, sprinkled with garlic salt and toasted in the oven while the gnocchi cooked.  (Don't tell my husband they were leftovers.)  Take a deep breath, can you smell it? Doesn't it just make your mouth water?

Comfort food for the soul.

Comfort food satisfies on a hungy-belly level, but real comfort only comes from being filled with the Comforter. that is how we can rejoice even on a rainy, dreary day.   Paul referred to God as "the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2Corinthians1:4" 

Did you get that? What is one reason that He provides us with comfort? SO THAT we may be able to comfort others.

This is the day which the LORD has made, rejoice and be glad in it, even if it causes you discomfort. My precious brothers and sisters, you have access to the source of all comfort, and He wants you to not only use it, but share it today!

May we hunger and thirst after His righteousness today, at the feet of the Comforter, pleading to be filled to overflowing - a may we be a blessing to those around us.

Click here for more about me.

Interested in more practical stories of faith including a hummingbird I named Oscar?

Amazon

Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan

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