GRADUAL

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your
adversary the devil prowls around
like a roaring lion, seeking someone
to devour.  (1 Peter 5:8 ESV)

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--GRADUAL

Five minutes to free-write about it

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Several thoughts popped into mind when I saw this week's prompt--the fable of the boiling frog; a memory from long ago when I joined a gym and after going in daily for quite a while, had to skip a  day, and then not too long after that I skipped another, and then another, and gradually, with each day I skipped, it became easier and easier to find excuses not to go in, until before I knew it, I had stopped going altogether; and the time one of my favorite sweet treats had been discontinued and a couple of years later my daughter surprised me with a bag of them she had found on a visit to Cracker Barrel. I thought of how excited I was, and then disappointed when I opened the bag and noticed the candy didn't look the same as it used to, nor taste the same either. Even the picture on the bag, on closer inspection, wasn't quite the same. It was a facsimile manufactured by another company, and not the real thing at all. Nevertheless I kept going back to the bag for more, and each time I did so, the difference started to fade, until gradually I wasn't noticing it at all, and was  quite enjoying my treat. How quickly my taste buds had dulled.

Except for the boiled frog, none of those things had been of any great consequence in the big scheme of things, but in retrospect, they were warnings of how easy it is to lose sight of the things that used to be the most important priorities. It happens so gradually, they are hardly noticed.

I'm thinking that's why there are so many warnings in Scripture to stay vigilant in these last days lest we be distracted, deceived, and spiritually blinded as our eyes become more and more fixed on the pleasures and cares of this world instead of on the things of God. Always busy, always entertained, always sidetracked by the cares of life, but seldom watching and praying or aware of the evil rising around us, until it is too late. (Luke 21:34, 2 Timothy 3:1-4, 1 Peter 5:8, Matthew 24:37). 

When we receive God's gift of salvation, we become new creations in Christ. The past is washed away, and all things are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are given a clean slate, and a new standard of living--not to restrict us, but rather to open the door for us to receive God's blessings, and to become the very best that He intended for us to be. 

Sometimes though, it's hard not to fit in with the crowd, and easy to start making little compromises. After all, what's the big deal about reading that book everyone's talking about? Or going to the movies with friends, even though it's one I wouldn't think of asking Jesus to watch with me. 

It may take a while before giving in to that first little compromise, but then how much easier it becomes to justify the next one, and the next, until gradually our lives are no longer distinguishable from anyone else's in the non-believing world who we were supposed to be setting an example for. How like the unsuspecting frog. 

For those of you who may not be familiar with the tale, it's about a frog dropped into a pot of water. If the water had been very hot, it would have immediately hopped out, but if it was cool or pleasantly tepid, and then brought to a boil ever so slowly, the frog won't notice the gradual change in temperature until it is too late and it gets gradually boiled to death.

Only a fable, I know, but also some good food for thought.

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In those days before the flood, the people were

enjoying banquets and parties and weddings

right up to the time Noah entered his boat.

People didn't realize what was going to

happen until the flood came and swept them

all away. That is the way it will be when the

Son of Man comes.  (Matthew 24:37-39, NLT)

LEAVES OR BUTTERFLIES?

A couple of days ago I caught a glimpse of what I at first thought were bright yellow leaves falling off the trees. 

The thing was, they seemed to flitter and swirl rather than just fall straight down the way leaves usually fall when blown by the wind. Plus, there was no wind, and there were no trees with yellow leaves on them in that spot, plus nothing was blowing off any of the other trees.

After I saw this happen several times, I got up and looked out the window. There were no leaves on the ground where they would have landed either. That piqued my curiosity and I decided to consult Google. Its AI feature suggested they were actually a kaleidoscope of migrating cloudless sulphur butterflies.

I couldn't find a video I could embed in my post, but I did find this link to an Instagram post that kind of looks like what I saw.

So, leaves or butterflies? A mystery it will remain.

FRIDAY FUNNY

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

APPROACH

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--APPROACH

Five minutes to free-write about it

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This week's prompt is very timely, and I am excited to write about it.

As some of you may know, I am a  writer of children's picture books. However, for the last couple of years I have been feeling so overwhelmed by other priorities that my writing--even blogging--has pretty much dwindled  to a standstill. 

Recently, by Divine orchestration, I was introduced to a virtual group. of children's picture book writers. Long story short, mostly out of curiosity, I attended my first meeting which turned out to be all about the best approaches to take in order to promote our books. As I took it all in, a tiny spark started to get fanned, along with the thought that if this was the Lord's nudging me back into writing, He would make a way where there seems to be no way.  

The picture of Blue Violet is the cover of a book I started writing quite a few years ago but never finished. It is on this post to remind me of the commitment I am making to go back and finish it. With the Lord's help and the approaches I learned about at our meeting I know it can be done.

Part of my new approach is to view my current circunstances from a new perspective and trust God to help me meet my needs His way, instead of thinking my way is the best and only way. 

One of the thigs I am working on is creating a newsletter, which means I will then need to build an e-mail list of people who might be interested in receiving it. If any of you would like to be on that list, please send me your e-mail (sksteinde@yahoo.com).

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

ABANDON

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--ABANDON

Five minutes to free-write about it

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My first thought was Hebrews 13:5b--"...God has said: 'Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."

The second thought was something I had written in my memoir about how God is the only one we can bank on; the only one whose word can be trusted one hundred percent of the time. 

I don't remember ever actually being abandoned, though in retrospect, that's what my husband did when he chose to take his life and leave me and our two young children behind. But I have been lied to and deceived many times. Once by someone I trusted who told me his word was something I could bank on. 

Lesson learned (quoted from my memoir), Man's word is subject to change. People make commitments they don't always keep. Sometimes it's because they make them impulsively, without first considering the ramifications. Other times it's because circumstances get in the way. Even the most honorable and best-intentioned folks are subject to sickness,  accidents, unavoidable delays, and death.

Circumstances have often gotten in my way, causing me to delay contacting people I care for and think about. That is something I need  to rectify. I have also abandoned projects I really wanted to complete because more pressing priorities robbed me of my time.

Today I went out on my balcony and realized I had abandoned my plants prematurely. Once the weather turned cooler and there was frost at night, I stopped tending to them. I figured the wildflowers were probably all dead by now, and the tomato plant that never bore a single tomato all summer was certainly not going to be producing any now.

Wrong! The tomato plant may not produce any tomatoes, but it is not dead. The leaves smell more tomatoey now than they ever have. And in one pot, a hardy little purple wildflower is blooming--and is surrounded by several little buds. Can you see them?

I am so grateful that God is patient and longsuffering and that He never gives up on me (or any of you) the way I had given up on these poor plants.

My five minutes is up.

FRIDAY FUNNY

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

FRIDAY FUNNY