The Nothing Blog

Nobody creates beauty better than God. Nobody.  Interior decorators and designers must take cues from His gorgeous creation of hues and of the way He combines those colors with textures. Oh, the way God puts colors together! I've heard someone say they think God's favorite colors are blue and green because there is so much sky and so many trees! Maybe. But it's all beautiful. I just took this picture while My Hubs and I had a refreshing lunch on our deck today. The trees are just beginning to fill out with leafy shades of green. And the clear blue sky...oh, that shade of blue didn't come from a crayon box. Nope. God came up with it first. Today my sister, Julie, sent me a photo she recently took of teal-colored robin's eggs in a cozy nest -- all perched on top of a bush. These glorious colors look fake don't they? But what they really are is perfection because man did not make them, God did. Look at that splash of yellow in that flower. Ahhhh. Beautiful!  These...

There's a lighthouse in our kitchen . That thought popped in my head late last night when I was walking from our bedroom through the dark family room into the kitchen area. I didn't hurt myself or trip on anything in the dark because there is a little night light plugged in the wall beside the toaster oven. It is a little red and white striped lighthouse! And it gives off just enough light to scatter the darkness. Just like His grace. He gives us enough grace for the day. Awesome thought isn't it?  (Yes, I really did go back to our bedroom and get my cell phone to take these pictures in the middle of the night! Well, I've learned when inspiration comes I need to respond. I knew when that thought "There's a lighthouse in our kitchen" came in my head that God wanted me to write about it!) God is in the absolute, minute details of every area of life! And the writer in me loves His analogies to things in our lives. You know, like "What fellowship can ligh...

Drops of blood began to fall from Jesus' tortured body, long before He was brutally nailed to a wooden cross. He was in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane knowing what was ahead. And yet, He willfully submitted to the will of His Father in Heaven. He knew what was coming...He was going to take on the wrath of God for the sins of the whole world. He had to suffer excruciating beatings with a multi-stranded whip made with metal and bone fragments in it to tear the flesh.  Soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and pressed it on his head. They mocked Him. They spit on Him. They beat Him. Jesus endured because He knew why He came to earth. He did it for love.  And then, after his beatings they crucified Him! "Crucifixion was a slow and agonizing death. Nails were probably driven through the wrists rather than the palms. The weight of the suspended body made breathing difficult and painful. Involuntary efforts by the legs to ease the pressure greatly increased pain in the feet....

Ever notice how hard it is to be around a humble person when you're puffed up with pride? Oh, sorry, maybe it's just me who sees this in myself. Pride is so manipulative and brings out a very rude, controlling spirit. We begin to believe the lie that we are better than everyone and we know better than everyone! We're easily angered and very controlling. Anxiety and stress are our constant companions, too, because people around us are not doing what we want them to do! And we're not getting the attention we believe we deserve. Wah! Wah! Wah! It's just not working for us, is it? Of course not. God "hates pride and arrogance..."   (Proverbs 8:13). But in His wisdom He will let us squirm and struggle in our prideful state until we get it and repent. King Nebuchadnezzar learned that hard lesson and said about God, "everything He does is right and all His ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to humble." (Daniel 4:37). God always giv...

Take a look at this photo. What do you see?  What did you notice first: the vibrant, lively pop of yellow and deep green of the daffodils? Was it the fruitless, skeletal tree branches casting an eerie shadow on the wooden fence? Maybe you saw the dry pine straw peppered with crackly leaves leftover from a previous season? This picture was taken in early spring, it was March. The temperature was 49 degrees that day. Obviously spring was coming but there were still remnants of the previous season. I call it in-between seasons.  And it's just like God, the Creator of all things, to insist that the daffodils break through the soil while the temperatures are still in the 40's and 50's. It is God who decides when the seasons begin and end.  That's how He deals with us. We all know what it feels like to have our own personal winter. It's can be an overwhelming season of a breakup, a breakdown, disappointment, loss, pain, sickness, grief, frus...

Mercy Mornings "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The LORD is  my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.'"  (Lamentations 3:22-23) God is totally devoted to the love and care of His people. "Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love. For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men." (Lamentations 3:32-33).  I can testify to His faithfulness. In 2007 my precious husband, Don, had a stroke during the night. We were shocked because there were no health issues and he exercised regularly and ate well. I  didn't know it was a stroke, it was the EMT guys  who efficiently showed up in our bedroom who said, "He's having a stroke!" We rode in the EMT truck straight to the hospital and Don ended up in ICU.  Relief temporarily showed up for us the next mor...

The second half of Proverbs 15:15 says,  "...the cheerful heart has a continual feast."  The first time I saw this verse I was drawn to it. I dug in my Bible commentary to see exactly what is meant by a continual feast . It read, "Life is as joyful and satisfying as the days of a festival." Whoa.  Who doesn't want to have a continual feast? Words began to pop into my mind. Festive . Party . Celebration . Joy. Fun. Peace . Wow. I want that.  All of it! I dug a little deeper into my  Bible to see where else Proverbs 15:15 would lead me. Three more Scripture passages were listed: "A happy heart makes the heart cheerful..." ( Proverbs 15:13) ;   " A heart at peace gives life to the  body" ( Proverbs 14:30)   and " Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance to come; celebrate it in the seventh month"  (Leviticus 23:41). I was so drawn to wanting a life like a continual feast that...