Diligence or Complacency

"For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them..."

(Proverbs 1:32)

Such small and easy actions.

Turning away.

Complacency.

The first is saying,

"No, I don't like this path, I'll do my own thing."

The other is simply not caring enough to do anything, refusing to see the consequences of not diligently seeking God and His wisdom. Simple as these actions seem, their end is death!

But if you wish to "understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God." ( Prov. 2:5)

you must

receive His words,

treasure up understanding,

call out for insight,

raise your voice for understanding,

seek it,

search for it, as you would search for rich treasures.

It is this active, diligent search that the LORD rewards with true understanding and wisdom. And it's this wisdom that, in turn, will guard your soul and keep you on the path of righteousness, away from the ways of sin and crookedness, turning and complacency, that the LORD so hates!!

---

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world..."

(Eph. 2:1-2)

"He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake."

(Prov. 23:3)

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand , that we should walk in them."

(Eph. 2:10)

"So you will walk in the way of the good, and keep to the path of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it."

(Prov. 2:20-22)

"The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied..."

(Prov. 19:23)

Sugar Overload :)

And no sooner is Kate's birthday past, than it's time for Carrie's...

...and more frosting!!!!

Theme: see below

And how exactly does one cope with frosting for 3 hours?

Quite easily, really, when it's cake decorating and fun. But Pandora complements many an activity quite nicely. And I highly recommend the "Keith and Kristyn Getty" station!

Time for the horses to hit the cake.

This one got a bit rowdy and actually knocked holes in the cake

...which gave me ideas...

Not sure why this was so fun, cutting holes in my cake.

But it was!

I think it had something to do with the looks I got. It's fun when nobody quite knows the picture you have in your head, and all they can see is the process!!

And to keep the horses well fed and watered overnight...

grass and water.

LOTS of water because I loved my sparkly blue gel stuff.

Survival tool #2.

A few more horses joined the party at this point, and a sprinkling of flowers.

Ta Da!

Of Marshmallows and Sunflowers

Did you know the stores don't sell marshmallow peeps this time of year? They really should be a year-round commodity. However, when not to be had, there's always Grace!

Kate's birthday cake this year called for said marshmallow peeps. Not finding them, I asked Grace if she could possibly make me some homemade marshmallows to use in their place.  She most willingly obliged, dear girl!

So here are assembled all the ingredients for what was going to be the cutest birthday cake for Miss Kate's 11th birthday.

Mini chocolate chips.

Always most welcomed by the siblings wherever the little brown fellas show themselves.

Green buttercream frosting.

(*note to self: always beat 'till STIFF)

The lovely LARGE yellow marshmallows.

Hearts?

Hearts.

Put them all together and you have....

A green cake with yellow hearts slapped on it.

Yeah...

The marshmallows were a little...big.

The frosting was a little...runny.

And what IS that pile of chocolate chips?

And being about midnight at this point, I was too tired to feel like fixing anything and just decided to let it be.

However, I couldn't STAND it the next day.

So, I...

disassembled the top of the cake,

cut and cut back on the marshmallows,

re-frosted top and sides,

wiped my icing-coated brow and...

Sighed with relief.

Presentable and much enjoyed by Kate.

:)

Unhealthy Soul

“Surely that man must be in an unhealthy state of soul who can think of all that Jesus suffered and yet cling to those sins for which that suffering was undergone.”

--J.C. Ryle

I Am Not...

"I am not what I ought to be,

I am not what I want to be,

I am not what I hope to be in another world—

but still I am not what I once used to be,

and by the grace of God I am what I am."

--John Newton

Giant Squid!

(Giant squid, Architeuthis sp.,

modified from an illustration by A.E. Verrill, 1880.)

So, I was thinkin' about the Giant Squid the other day. Not quite sure why or where it came from. BUT...knowing only generalities about them (e.g. their eyes are enormous!) I decided to read more about them today (here).

Oh my goodness.

Those creatures are just fascinating!!!!! And to think God first created this strangely beautiful creature out of nothing!

And when He made the Giant Squid, He also had to perfectly know the environment He planned to put him. He had to know the levels of pressure, levels of darkness, the squid's enemies and prey. He had to know EVERY LAST DETAIL in order for his creature to thrive and survive in its place.

Just think about it!!!

A body made to withstand the great pressures. A HUGE set of eyes for piercing the deep darkness. Tentacles for both warding off enemies and catching needful food.

And the Giant Squid has lived happily in the Deeps because it habitates the place for which God specially formed it, and is living in the way God created it for.

"Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him,"

(1 Corinthians 7:17)

No one knows our lives and futures better or more fully than God. He knows what responsibities, what pressures, what "trials and tribulations" we'll face. He knows the great darkness of our world. He knows our enemies. And only HE can prepare us best for what our days on earth hold.

The question is:

Will we follow the wisdom of the rest of His creation and accept the place God has prepared for us?

Will we take hold of His provisions for us in the bottomless riches in Christ, to live fully for Him?

Will we choose to LOVE the place He has put us, without wishing we had received another's place?

Just think if the squid were to decide the dolphins had a better life, and moved to higher waters and attempted to leap out of the water! He'd die. But if he enters fully into being the Giant Squid that God made him...he gives his Maker GLORY, and lifts Christ up!

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;

You hold my lot.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance."

(Psalm 16:5-6)

Trusting, Leaning, Acknowledging

"Being perplexed, I say,

Lord, make it right!

Night is as day to Thee,

Darkness as light.

I am afraid to touch

Things that involve so much;

My trembling hand may shake,

My skilless hand may break;

Thine can make no mistake.'

"Being in doubt, I say,

`Lord, make it plain;

Which is the true, safe way?

Which would be gain?

I am not wise to know,

Nor sure of foot to go;

What is so clear to Thee,

Lord, make it clear to me!' "

--Unknown

Streams in the Desert, July 6

"Neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon thee."

(2 Chronicles 20:12)

A life was lost in Israel because a pair of human hands were laid unbidden upon the ark of God. They were placed upon it with the best intent, to steady it when trembling and shaking as the oxen drew it along the rough way; but they touched God's work presumptuously, and they fell paralyzed and lifeless. Much of the life of faith consists in letting things alone.

If we wholly trust an interest to God, we must keep our hands off it; and He will guard it for us better than we can help Him. "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass." (Psalm 37:7)

Things may seem to be going all wrong, but He knows as well as we; and he will arise in the right moment if we are really trusting Him so fully as to let Him work in His own way and time. There is nothing so masterly as inactivity in some things, and there is nothing so hurtful as restless working, for God has undertaken to work His sovereign will.

-- A. B. Simpson.

Steadfast

"Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,

for His steadfast love endures forever!"

(Psalm 107:1)

"The LORD is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He will not always chide,

nor will He keep His anger forever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him..."

(Psalm 103:8-11)

"Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;

let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD."

(Psalm 107:43)

"May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ."

(2 Thessalonians 3:5)