Hope in the storm clouds

These flowers were outside a delightful little old-fashioned country store.

We were traveling to see some friends for a graduation party and I took these pictures on the way there.

We don't have such beautiful hills and landscapes where we live. Even the trees are different varieties than what we are used to! Our Lord designed so much variety in this world, one can never get tired of the ever changing scenery.

spring calves

Sisters we are... friends we'll be!

A

solitary

tree

spreads

roots,

underneath

billowing

clouds.

A white picket fence and a chair on the front porch....

reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting- the place where everyone gathers to visit during the long summer evenings.

I had fun capturing these brief snatches of color and movement. Little glimpses of life now frozen in time, they will probably be around forever in this digital age.

Maybe sometime in the future, say in 2091, someone will find this blog and say, "Whoa these pictures are ancient,they used a digital camera to take this!? Now we have more advanced technology! You can take a trip to the moon in less than a week now, in 2010 they were like, sooo primitive!"

Will the actions and words from our short lives have eternal consequences? Of course they will! What we need to ask ourselves is, will the fruit of our labor be hay and stubble? Wood or stone? Or, will they be sparkling jewels for our Master's crown?

We need to be continually thinking of how we are furthering the Kingdom of God.

Write letters to friends and family. (using snail mail) Be a penpal to someone who would love to receive letters from you, maybe a younger sister in the Lord who you can encourage and build up in the faith. Memorize a chapter of God's word. As Christians, having His Word written on our hearts is one of the best things we can do.

Letter writing is getting to be rare these days, with everyone glued to the computer checking their Facebook, Youtube, Myspace, blogs, and Twitter accounts every 3 seconds! They seldom talk to their friends in real life because they are too absorbed in an imaginary, perfect world.

We can be different from the status quo. Our lives should contrast sharply from the rest of the world- because we have completely opposite goals in life.

A few years ago I wrote a birthday card to an elderly lady who was celebrating her 97th year. I saw a little section in our local newspaper suggesting people write a card to her. So off went my card in the mailbox. Later on, I got a nice reply from her daughter thanking me for my card. She said her mother had been sick but was now recovered and wanted me to know she appreciated my thinking of her. I kept the card and forgot all about it.

Then this spring I came across the note again. I decided to send her a card again this year and see how she is doing. I asked her to share stories from her girlhood, it would be so interesting and I could learn a lot from her! I am still waiting for a reply but I am excited to see how the Lord will use this opportunity of reaching out to someone I have never even met!

As we watch the world transition into spring, with new life, let us also witness the spiritual growth in our hearts as well.

~Elizabeth