Four Goodness Sake!

Yesterday, we voted to elect the next president of the United States. By both electoral and majority vote, incumbent President Barack Obama was reelected for a second four-year term. Today, I feel very much the same as I did four years ago, and, in the "For What It's Worth" category, here are my thoughts about the next four years.

1) While earthly leaders are established, elected, and allowed, my ultimate Authority, Provider, Protector, and Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ.

2) While my presidential candidate of choice was not elected by the majority, I will continue to recognize his position of authority and power, and I will continue to pray for him and his family.

3) While my current residence is the United States of America, I will abide by the laws of the land ... unless they directly contradict the laws of God, in which case my Heavenly citizenship trumps my temporary residence.

4) While it's somewhat shocking to realize that Christians appear to be the minority in America and while it's sobering to witness the continuing moral decline of our country, I recognize that light shines brightest in the dark. My ultimate hope is that all, including our president, would find their ultimate hope in Christ.

5) While it's sad and grievous to witness the unravelling of America, in the end, it's all about Israel.

6) While I understand, admire, and celebrate strong convictions, I recoil at the venomous way many of them are expressed. Hate gives the enemy legal access. You can be absolutely right ... and still be dead wrong. Our battle is not against flesh and blood.

7) While God is sovereign, He gave us free will, and Divine sovereignty does not negate human responsibility. He works all things for good for those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose, but we will most likely endure the consequences of our choices.

8) While I don't believe that unrighteousness in any form is ever God's will, He can choose to work through any one, any thing, or any circumstance.

9) While you may not agree with me, if you choose to leave a comment, please be respectful. I don't debate, and I don't tolerate hate.

10) God is good. All the time. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. All hope. No change.

Copyright 2012. Kathryn B. Wells. All Rights Reserved.

Tempering Transplant Trauma

"Restore us, O God Almighty;
make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
You brought a vine out ... and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
It sent out its boughs to the Sea, its shoots as far as the River.
... O God Almighty ... watch over this vine,
the root Your right hand has planted ...
Restore us, O LORD God Almighty;
make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved."
(Psalm 80)

New Year's Blessings, my friends! Many of you are aware that the Lord recently moved us to Flower Mound, Texas, and that the repositioning has been more difficult than I anticipated, especially for our normally adaptable and resilient 14-year-old daughter. As I prayed with her and for her last night, the Lord said to me (among other things!), "Transplant gently."

This morning, as I researched "transplanting", I stumbled across a couple of articles that seemed applicable to people as well as to plants. I've morphed the two together in one narrative below. :-)

"Minimizing Shock for Successful and Gentle Transplanting"

More often than not, new transplants will experience some degree of shock. This is simply reaction to having been moved, and it is generally caused by damage to the roots of the plant during the repositioning.

It seems to be a straight-forward process, but please appreciate that plants don't typically move of their own volition; once they've germinated in a particular site, they tend to stay put. That's the way nature works, so that's the way plants were designed, with very few mechanisms to deal with the shock of being moved--very much against their will.

Consider how disruptive this process is: you've been told all your life that you will grow in that one spot where you sprouted. You were born and raised there, accustomed to that amount of light, that degree of moisture, that soil type, and that climatic condition. All your life, this is what you've known, and no one ever told you that it would suddenly all change one day.

Now, you're being asked to grow in a completely different spot, with different light patterns, different rainfall, different soil, and and a different--possible dramatically different--climate. Your branches that once faced south, branches which had grown in a particular manner to buffer against prevailing winds, now face north, and the prevailing winds are now from the west! Your roots, which feed your entire being, are either wetter or drier than they have been all your life, and they've probably been severely damaged when you were dug up, since they were not designed to survive being ripped out of the ground by force. Major roots were inevitably cut as your root ball was dug out, and fine, moisture-gathering root hairs (actually the most important ones, but which are farthest away from you) were torn apart during transport. In losing these little "feeder" roots, you're not able to draw the required amount moisture and nutrients to thrive and grow, and the resulting imbalance manifests as transplant shock.

Transplanting is quite hard on a plant, no matter how big or small it is. As a result, almost all transplants go into some degree of transplant shock, where normal growth patterns and biological processes are upset, with varying degrees of resultant symptoms. In minor cases, this might just be a slight disturbance of its growth processes, which return to normal shortly after the plant has settled into its new home. In more severe cases, ... (NOTE: I'm choosing to leave out what happens in more severe cases. I cancel severity!) :-)

Transplant shock is not something that can be completely prevented, even in the best case scenarios, but it can be managed to minimize the negative impacts. The best way to manage it is to pamper your plant through its readjustment, which typically ranges from one month for a perennial to a year or even two for a tree. Make your transplant as comfortable as possible, as close to its ideal growing conditions as you can recreate, so that it feels a minimum of disturbance and takes to its new conditions with relative ease. Make its new home a place it wants to live.

Many factors that disturb a plant during transplantation are beyond your control. For example, you can't control its new climate and weather conditions. You can't control the rain, and you can't control the wind. One thing, however, that is fully within your control is the earth in which you are setting your transplant. You can control the characteristics and quality of the soil in which it will start its new growth, and you can control the foundation on which it will sit.

This can not be repeated enough: a successful transplant is utterly dependent on how it is planted in its new home. The eager gardener is often tempted to force the plant into a growth spurt as soon as it is transplanted, which can be disastrous. A transplant's roots have been compromised, and the last thing it needs is to be driven into vigorous growth without having the root system to support it.

So, devote the first growing season to developing a healthy root system. Beside feeding plants, roots also anchor them into the ground. It is wise to stake a new transplant until it has developed enough roots to anchor itself against the winds. Your new transplant is likely stressed to begin with from the move alone, the last thing it needs is other troubles to add to its misery. Keep a close eye on it; patience is your best course for transplant shock, but deal with other unexpected and uninvited stresses immediately.

The ideal planting foundation is geared towards giving the plant its best new living conditions. It has soft, pliable, high-quality soil surrounding the root ball, to give the plant an easy time of regrowing the roots lost during the transplant. The space should be sufficiently wide to give the plant an easy time of forming new roots before it has to encounter generally tougher soil. The soil should be a balance exactly between what the plant wants and the type of soil immediately outside of the hole. The allows the roots a smooth transition between soil types with so sudden shocks or surprises.

When placing the plant into its new home, pay careful attention to the height at which you set it. It is critical to always try and match the level of the soil on the root ball to the final level of the soil in the new hole. The key here is the location of what is known as the crown of the plant, the spot where the roots meet the trunk or above-ground stems; this must never be either too high or too low relative to what it was in the plant’s original growing site.

Finally, consider applying some kind of mulch to the finished planting hole, at least for the first while. Mulch serves a few purposes; it keeps the root area moist in between waterings and prevents it from drying out. It also discourages weeds and grass from trying to grow into the new soil, which will happen! Discouraging other things from growing in your transplant's new home lessens the competition for your transplant's needed moisture and nutrients, which will help it through its reestablishment period.

Face it, plants were never intended to be moved by nature, so they don't respond well to it, even in the best of circumstances. Transplant shock should be expected. More often than not, your transplant will take a full growing season, or even more, to adjust to the new surroundings and to compensate for the stresses of transplanting. Allow it this time, and don't try to force it to grow and perform as soon as it gets to its new home! Your plant may not look happy for a year or two; just accept this, and do your best to help it out. That extra effort you give it in the early stages will be rewarded with a happy and healthy plant, which experiences a minimum of transplant shock and gets back to growing as quickly as possible. In time, it will recover from the transplant and get down to the business of doing what it does best.

So, this novice gardener, so inclined to unceremoniously plop my transplant down, expecting her to root and thrive right away, is being gently apprenticed by the Master Gardener. And, I, in turn, can gently nurture the precious one that He has purposefully repositioned. Thank You, Lord.

"... blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in Him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."
(Jeremiah 17:7-8)

(Excerpts from "Digging the $100 Hole" by Jim Kohut, Staff Writer, and "10 Tips for Minimizing Transplant Shock: Secrets to Successful Transplanting", www.northscaping.com)

Copyright 2010. Kathryn B. Wells. All Rights Reserved.

Great Expectations

"Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
Who does not change like shifting shadows."
(James 1:17)

Christmas blessings, precious friends!

It has been a long 16 months since I last wrote, and I have missed it, thinking so often of my cyber-siblings in Christ. My writing sabbatical has been at the Lord's direction, as this season, rather than one of speaking forth or reflecting back, has been one of living out.

How I wish I could accurately convey all that He has graciously and lovingly directed in this time! Suffice it to say that His revelation has been rich and has led to our repositioning from Virginia to Texas.

We've been in our Texas home for a mere two and a half weeks now, after months of transitioning, including seven weeks of hotel living. While we know without a doubt that this purposed placement was the Lord's pleasure, the personal cost, especially for my newly-turned-14-year-old daughter, has surprised me. In the midst of the great blessing, our hopeful trust and obedient faith has been laced with grief, a mourning of what--and who--was left behind. Not lost, but left. Not forever, but for now. Not in spirit, but in flesh. Our hearts reach forth, but our heads remind us that we're over 1300 miles away from everything familiar and everyone dear.

I underestimated the cost, especially for my precious girl.

Expectations are funny things, and realities are rarely what I imagine them. And, knowing that we're right where the Lord want us to be--as uncomfortable, unfamiliar, and unlikely as it may be--just really defies my expectation and imagination. It doesn't "look" like what I expected, but I know it's just right. It doesn't "feel" like what I imagined, but I know it's just right. It doesn't "seem" like what we thought it would be, but ... I know it's just right.

And, this Christmas day, I ponder blessings missed because they came in an unexpected manner, without grand wrappings and expensive trappings. A Baby in a manger--the Savior of the world, recognized only by His earthly mother and father (who surely didn't expect to parent God in flesh!), a few humble shepherds, and the wise men who traveled westward from the east, faithfully following the promise held in a star. So easy to dismiss it. So easy to miss it.

Jesus Christ--the King of kings and Lord of lords--didn't meet the expectations of most. But, thanks be to God that He exceeded them for all!

And, as I sit alone on Christmas Day in this unfamiliar house, surrounded by unpacked boxes and sleeping dogs, it's not what I expected. But, I know it's just right. And, while my husband and daughter are Loiusiana-bound to visit someone precious and familiar, I'm Homeward-bound, laying my expectations at the feet of my Lord, asking Him for every good and perfect gift that He has purposed for me and praying for eyes to see--and a heart to know--the treasure beyond the wrappings.

"My soul, wait thou only upon God,
for my expectation is from Him."
(Psalm 62:5, KJV)

For further reflection on this topic, see also ...

• "Homeward Bound (I'll Be Home for Christmas ... if Only in My Dreams"
• "A Star is Born"
• "The Waiting is the Hardest Part"

Copyright 2010. Kathryn B. Wells. All Rights Reserved.

The Real Deal

"Trust in the LORD
with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones."
(Proverbs 3:5-8)

I wavered before publishing today's post. I prayed. And prayed some more. For my purpose at "Pure Wells" is to focus on the Lord and to reflect Him through the living waters of His Word.

My worldview is eternal: Bible-based, Jesus-focused, and Holy Spirit-driven. I believe that the common denominator behind all of our societal ills is a failure to live, work, serve, and govern for Him and through Him. (Reference Ephesians 6:7-8). "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD ..." (Psalm 33:12) and/but "... the nation or kingdom that will not serve (Him) will perish; it will be utterly ruined." (Isaiah 60:12).

Therefore, although I am aware of all (well, most!) of the issues with the potential to affect and effect our country and our world, I tend not to latch on to individual causes or trends. As I watch the unfolding of the ever-increasing evil in our world, however, I find myself increasingly alarmed at the true state of our nation. I discern our presidential administration to be dangerous, reckless, and, frankly, indifferent to (and ignorant of) the true long-term best interests of Americans.

While I am not an alarmist, I consider the currently proposed health care bill, for example, to be dangerous, in more ways than one, and I believe this address from former president Ronald Reagan to be unfortunately prophetic.

On another level, I am watching the rapid weakening of Christ's Body, the Church. Dismay follows dismay as I witness individual Christians making seemingly benign but truly dangerous choices, such investing in the current secular book and movie sensation, Twilight. Some say it's "just" a love story ... except, of course, for the vampires. Others attempt to justify it by saying that it contains redeemable material and life lessons. Whatever.

I say it is evil and birthed by the father of lies (reference John 8:44), the same liar who craftily preyed upon Eve in the Garden of Eden--not blatantly denying the Lord's instructions to the first of His creation but subtly defying them. "Did God really say 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden.' ?" (reference Genesis 3:1; my highlighted emphasis) satan murmured, thereby omitting facts, creating doubt, and inciting rebellion against the Holy God and Creator.

"Did God really say (fill in the blank)?"

"Did He really?"

"Really?"

The enemy asks: "Did God really say ... that a government shouldn't decide what is best for the people?"

I respond: "God says, " 'I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you what is best for you, Who directs you in the way you should go.' " " (Isaiah 48:17; reference also Isaiah 58:11; Psalm 32:8).

The enemy asks: "Did God really say ... that you couldn't enjoy a little fictional love story?"

I respond: "God says, "... whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." " (Philippians 4:8).

There's not enough time and space here to refute all the lies the enemy plants. But, the ammunition is all contained in God's Word, the Holy Bible. When tempted by the enemy during His 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus' winning weapon was the Word of God (reference Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). Our must be the same.

"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:17). "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:12-13).

God doesn't compromise His righteousness. God doesn't weaken His justice. God doesn't play favorites.

To truly honor, glorify, and please Him, we must choose to speak out and stand up. He demands that all things (and all people) devoted to destruction within His Body be identified and removed (reference, among others, Joshua 7:12-13; 1 Corinthians 5).

The enemy's plays may change, but his game remains the same: to undermine the one and only Most High God. Our individual, national, and international defense (and offense!) is also unchanging: to stand firm and straight upon the Word of the Lord.

"... Jesus said, 'If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples.' " (John 8:31)

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the One Who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." (Galatians 1:6-7)

"For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 3:8)

"Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. ..." (1 John 2:18-19)

"... the reality, however, is found in Christ." (Colossians 2:17)

He's the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth (reference John 1:17, 5:19, 14:6, 18:37; Ephesians 4:21; 1 Timothy 4:6; Titus 1:1; 1 John 5:6; 2 John 1:3). He's the real deal. Really.

Precious Father, You are holy, righteous, and blameless. Forgive us for failing to honor You in our every thought, word, and deed. Purify our hearts and our minds, O Lord, and align them with Yours. "Create in [us] a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within [us]." (Psalm 51:10). Let us meditate on Your Word as our unfailing plumbline and our unending delight (reference Psalm 119). Let us view one another in love, seeing all people as You created them to be, but never let us compromise Your standards in the process. I pray, Precious Father, in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, "the Author and Perfecter of our faith" (reference Hebrews 12:2). Amen.

"... let the one who has My Word
speak it faithfully."
(Jeremiah 23:28)

For further reflection on this topic, see also ...

• "Calculating Correct Change"
• "Wishing Well: Be Careful What You Wish For"
• "Unmasking & Illuminating Halloween: Trick or Treat?"
• "Rising Waters"
• "Believer or Deceiver?"
• "Fools for Christ"
• "The Battle Rages; Stand Firm!"
• 
  

How can I encourage and pray for you today? Please let me know by clicking on "Sparkling Springs Say" at the end of today's reflection, and scroll down to the "Comments" box. You may choose to comment anonymously, if you prefer. Feel free to leave your praises and insights as well!

A Declaration of Dependence

"So if the Son sets you free,
you will be free indeed."
(John 8:36)
Saturday, July 4th, is America's 233rd birthday, an annual celebration and commemoration of our country's "Independence Day".

While I am grateful for the blessings and privileges that have resulted from my American citizenship, I am not heralding my country's independence in this post. Instead, I am proclaiming complete and total dependence ... on the Lord Jesus Christ. The liberty that interests me is the freedom found in Him.

Our earthly homes and temporal circumstances are just that: earthly and temporal. Yet, where we live and what we face are neither random nor insignificant. Acts 17:24-28 reveals the purposeful eternal kingdom plan of God: "The God Who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.' For in Him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are His offspring.' "

There's a fine line but an imperative distinction between independence and freedom. As my associate pastor illustrated in his message this past Sunday, independence implies self-sufficiency--the ability to stand alone and the exemption from reliance on or control by others. Freedom, in contrast, intimates a deliverance from bondage and oppression, including full and unrestricted access to accompanying rights and privileges. Just consider: those who proclaim Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord are His heirs (reference, among others, Acts 3:25; Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:29, 4:7). Therefore, we have every legal right and freedom to His full and gracious inheritance (reference, among others, Ephesians 1:13-23; Colossians 1:12, 3:24; Hebrews 9:15; 1 Peter 1:4)!

An individual who--and a nation which--attempts to live independently of the Lord Jesus Christ is choosing a proverbial hard row to hoe, risking current freedom in Him as well as eternal freedom with Him. Why would we choose self-sufficiency when His grace is sufficient (reference 2 Corinthians 12:9)? Why would we choose independence when our salvation and honor depend upon Him (reference Psalm 62:7)?

"This is what the LORD says: 'Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.' " (Jeremiah 17:5-8)

That principle applies to nations as well as to inviduals. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD ... no king is saved by the size of his army," extols Psalm 33:12, 16.

Dependence is defined as "the state of relying upon someone or something". The Someone on Whom every nation and all of creation must rely is the Lord Jesus Christ. Job 8 recounts: "Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? ... Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water? While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass. Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. What he trusts in is fragile; what he relies on is a spider's web. He leans on his web, but it gives way; he clings to it, but it does not hold." (verses 3, 11-15). Now in this particular passage of Scripture, Bildad, in attempt to explain Job's suffering, wrongly accuses him. However, the generalization of Bildad's words ring true: those who forget (or outright reject) God are deceived and will eventually find themselves groundless.

Precious ones, time is short. Independence is inconsequential. What matters is freedom, eternal liberty in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our glorious inheritance in Him hinges upon our humble dependence on Him. Let's declare it.

Precious Father, thank You for being our depender and our defender (reference Psalm 68:5)! Thank You for the freedom You provide through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, forgive us for failing to depend upon You. Forgive us for striving in self-sufficiency when You have promised to provide our every need (reference Philippians 4:19). Forgive us for remaining in self-inflicted bondage when You have set us free (reference Psalm 81:6, 119:32, 146:7; Romans 6:18-22; Galatians 5:1). Forgive us for preferring to stay in our little corner of the world when You have given us the keys to the kingdom (reference Matthew 16:19)! We depend upon You. We declare it, Lord, and we ask for boldness as we share it. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, My Savior, and "Heir of all things" (reference Hebrews 1:2). Amen.

"I have declared to both Jews and Greeks
that they must turn to God in repentance
and have faith in our Lord Jesus."
(Acts 20:21)
For further reflection on this topic, see also ...

• "Don't Forget to Remember"
• "There's a Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On"
• "In God We Trust"
• "The Great Depression"
• "Blessed is the Nation ..."

How can I encourage and pray for you today? Please let me know by clicking on "Sparkling Springs Say" at the end of today's reflection, and scroll down to the "Comments" box. You may choose to comment anonymously, if you prefer. Feel free to leave your praises and insights as well!

Copyright 2009. Kathryn B. Wells. All Rights Reserved.

Don't Forget to Remember ...

"... they were longing for a better country--
a heavenly one."
(Hebrews 11:16)
Beloved, today is Memorial Day in the United States of America, a day when Americans pay tribute to the men and women who have served--and are serving--in our country's military forces. It's also a day when we memorialize those who have died in their service.

My father and husband have served in this nation's armed forces, and even as I lift prayers and give thanks for the lives and service of all in our military, my heart is longing for a country of my own, the one in which I, and all Christians, will eternally dwell (reference Hebrews 11:13-16).

And, as I remember our American troops, I am also interceding for those serving the country of Israel, God's chosen land. My spirit is grieved for the battle-weary state, and the words of the Lord as recorded by the prophet, Joel, have been on my heart this past week: "In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter in judgment against them concerning My inheritance, My people Israel, for they scattered My people among the nations and divided up My land." (Joel 3:1-2).

This morning, I was also drawn to remember a different kind of memorial, that which Aaron, the high priest, wore on his shoulders and over his heart (reference Exodus 28): " 'Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the LORD.' ... 'Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the LORD.' " (verses 12b and 29).

Beloved, even as we give thanks and praise for the abundant and gracious blessings, which the Lord has bestowed upon us in our temporary residence, let us never forget that this earth is not our home. "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3:20).

Today, as you pause to remember American veterans, remember, too, those soldiers in the Lord's army, serving the cause of Christ (reference 2 Timothy 2:1-7). And, don't forget to remember the source of our true freedom, for "... the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:25; see also 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:1).

Precious Father, thank You for the gift of this day. Let us never forget to remember You and Your eternal kingdom plan; may our every thought, word, and deed be in accordance with Your good will, purpose, and pleasure. Keep our eyes eternally focused, precious Lord, and keep our hearts heaven-bound. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, the great High Priest in Whom I confess (reference Hebrews 3:1, 4:14, 6:20). Amen.

"I will perpetuate Your memory
through all generations;
therefore the nations will praise You
for ever and ever."
(Psalm 45:17)
For further reflection on this topic, see also ...

• "There's a Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On"
• "In God We Trust"
• "Blessed is the Nation ..."

How can I encourage and pray for you today? Please let me know by clicking on "Sparkling Springs Say" at the end of today's reflection, and scroll down to the "Comments" box. You may choose to comment anonymously, if you prefer. Feel free to leave your praises and insights as well!

Copyright 2009. Kathryn B. Wells. All Rights Reserved.

Every Day is Mother's Day!

"Fix these words of Mine
in your hearts and minds;
tie them as symbols on your hands
and bind them on your foreheads.
Teach them to your children,
talking about them when you sit at home
and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses
and on your gates,
so that your days and the days of your children
may be many in the land
that the LORD swore to give your forefathers,
as many as the days
that the heavens are above the earth."
(Deuteronomy 11:18-21)

"Mom, I'll Need You ..."


(This video clip is brief but powerful.
If you're receiving this post via e-mail or blog subscription,
click here to view.)

May the Lord richly bless you and your family on Mother's Day
... and every day!
"Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old
he will not turn from it."
(Proverbs 22:6)
For further reflection on this topic, see also ...

• "Because He Says So"
• "Righteousness Rules"
• "In the Shadow of His Wings"

How can I encourage and pray for you today? Please let me know by clicking on "Sparkling Springs Say" at the end of today's reflection, and scroll down to the "Comments" box. You may choose to comment anonymously, if you prefer. Feel free to leave your praises and insights as well!