A recent celestial phenomenon captured the attention of a nation. Social media was awash with pictures; some of the eclipse, many of individuals preparing to watch it. One picture grabbed my attention more than any other. It was of one awestruck little girl named Maggie. Uninterested in self or selfies, she was fully in the moment; watching in wonder as the moon passed in front of the sun. While she was captivated by the eclipse, someone was captivated by her. The photo with its caption, ‘Best Shot I took of the Eclipse’ sent my mind wandering to biblical places; to the palace in Jerusalem.
Musing of a King
What sparked the king’s musing while considering the heavens? Was it a muted sunrise on a misty morning that drew him? Perhaps a thumbnail moon against a star-peppered midnight sky sent his thoughts to places far beyond his view. Whatever the splendor, the psalmist penned a question worth the thought of both lofty and lowly alike. “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? Psalm 8:3-4.
It’s not hard to imagine that God would be mindful of kings. But God was mindful of this king, King David, when he was still a shepherd. David was heaven-picked from a pasture and placed in a palace. It’s no wonder he’d ask so humble a question from so high an earthly place.
How About You
Have you ever experienced that sweet exchange, when you captured the magnificence of creation while it stole your breath away? When was the last time you stood in jaw-drop wonder at the creative genius of the God of the universe? Did you dare to imagine the bigger picture; that while you marveled at creation, the Creator was mindful of you?
Take a moment to consider the vastness of the universe and your privileged place in it, then ask the psalmist’s question for yourself, and maybe I will too. Perhaps we will conclude as King David did, “O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!” Psalm 8:9.
God bless you and keep you,
Roxanne
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. ® Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
**A special thanks to Maggie’s folks for allowing me to use this precious picture.
**Dear, sweet Maggie, I hope your life is beautiful and filled with many more wonders.
America just swore in the 45th President of the United States. Once again, we witnessed a peaceful transition of power. No cracked crowns. No military coup. We saw the public display of well wishes, hugs & handshakes and the departure of the previous President and his family. Yet, somewhere between the pomp and the platitudes lies a nation in crisis.
Steadfast Hope
The day was long and dismal; the haters many. Evil enjoyed its finest hour as the Savior of the World hung dying on a cross. Darkness seized the day. Mockers shouted blasphemous cruelty at the One who came to seek and save that which was lost. While gamblers parted His garments, the Son-of-Man made provision for His mother and gave eternal hope to a dying thief.
It was the third day. Morning came and the last vestige of night rolled away with the stone. The Son of God rose with power, conquering the very death that once slew Him. Women came to anoint His body for a proper burial but He wasn’t there. The tomb lay empty, housing nothing more than a linen napkin and the empty shell of grave cloths. Life and Light conquered death and darkness; and every hope once buried with Christ rose with Him. And so we live.
You can almost smell it in the air. It should have its own season. Yep, it’s back-to-school time. While I don’t have a pony in this race back-to-school, I have perused the supply aisle at least once this summer. Why? For the love of school supplies and the memories they evoke. New pencils & pens, rulers & notebook paper. Love it, love it, love it! Protractors & compasses; not just for geometry. I could make flowers and measure angles & circumferences. Okay, so I wasn’t a math whiz. All those supplies in my well-appointed binder made this organization-loving heart of mine sing.
perfectionist tendencies. He demanded perfection. My failures are many and grievous. Good deeds and sacrifices could cover my them but could never take them away.
My first encounter with the author was brief and interesting. I spent little more than a few minutes mingling with other conferees when Cynthia approached the group. She was warmly greeted and seemed to be known by most. I introduced myself, expecting a cursory nice-to-meet-you. Instead, she was friendly and welcoming; stating how glad she was to meet ‘me’ and how much she looked forward to our time together. It was a far cry from the pseudo-smile this newbie expected to receive.
Our 15 minute meeting turned into an hour as she instructed and encouraged me. She showed me what to remove, what corrections to make and how to paint pictures with words. Cynthia went on to talk of beauty, possibility, potential and what she envisioned for the future. It was amazing.
Make lemonade. That’s the solution-part of the adage, ‘when life gives you lemons’. Those proverbial lemons refer to life’s trials; bumps that pop up on an otherwise pretty smooth road. Those trials take many forms, i.e. car problems, illness, trials of faith, etc. It could be ‘that one person’ that comes at just the right time with just ‘the wrong’ thing to say that sets your teeth on edge. In any case, the advice is the making of lemonade. In other words, make something good out of a bad situation.
“My heart is overflowing with a good theme.” So speaks the psalmist in 
How can anyone call them weeds? We were out one evening deciding where to set up the garden and I saw the cutest little daisies. Without hesitation, my husband deemed them weeds. We didn’t agree on the garden location or the ‘flowers’ that evening.
The disciples returned and though they said nothing, they too marveled that Jesus spoke with this woman. She ran into the village and told the men all what she heard saying, 
I bring good news! The marigolds are in. After a season of barren trees, flowerless planters and brown grass, I long to look out my kitchen window and see the cheery colorful blooms of marigolds. You can imagine my opening the sale paper of our local nursery to find these little lovelies on the front page. My flower-loving heart was overjoyed! Well, it was. My husband once asked if we needed to plant so many marigolds. In a word…yes!
As much as I enjoy the flowers, I really enjoy tomatoes. I was disappointed to find that there were not very many tomatoes though. Just behind the flowers, I found a bunch of tiny green tomatoes shaded from the much needed sun. I realized that something was going to be sacrificed that day and I wasn’t pleased. The solution came with the answer to one simple question, “What are you growing here?” Since I was growing tomatoes and the marigolds became detrimental to them, the marigolds had to go. It was that simple.
I love words. I always have. English was my favorite subject in school, with Spelling running a close second. I loved adding new words to my vocabulary. I often kept a dictionary nearby when reading and still feel compelled to look up unfamiliar words rather than settle for the gist of the sentence meaning.
Hopefully Devoted 