makes things grow

A recent stop at my daughter's house reminded me of something that I have seen all the women in my life to hold in common:  They make all things grow.  My daughter has four children, ages 2-6 and she has corralled their energy to a home and yard that is now fenced in.  As she watches the children she also has developed garden plots around the perimeter of the yard.  Vegetables and flowers have been planted and tended along with children.  There is this wonderful quality of nurturing life that I first saw (and still see) in my Mom, who tends a garden still today and my wife, who even has me move bushes like furniture to find the best locations.   Where would we be without these marvelous creatures who bring us into the world, tenderly raise us and then direct their energy to bring life wherever they can.  Thank the Lord for women: who make all things grow.

Psalm 144:12 

May our sons flourish in their youth
    like well-nurtured plants.
May our daughters be like graceful pillars,
    carved to beautify a palace.

 

blessings,

Rob Smith

ever up

Problems swarm mosquito-like

annoying to distraction,

People don't know what to do

alone or larger factions,

The fog of living seems to cloud

a clarity of action.

We look around and get confused...

Opinions rage on issues,

But looking up we find His truth

Fog lifts, light shines, peace enters.

Forever up I must return the gaze that guides the ages.

instruments

We think we're free to do our will

To play our song of choice

But we're instruments that others play

Our lives become their voice

Our challenge is to choose the hand

That lifts our horn in song

The music that we pick each day

Will lead to right or wrong

The Master looks from Heaven's chair

To see which way we choose

In His hands the notes rise clear

In others' hands they lose

Don't let another play a note

Your instrument is dear

He's fashioned it and polished it

No other to come near

Psalm 33:2 

Praise the Lord with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

blessings,

Rob Smith

needle work

Heaven's hands with needles work

to sew eternal clothes

With threads of joy and pain so twined

His love through all does show

He's made for us a covering

All weather to endure

That we might wear this offering

This fabric's work is sure.

ground up

So I was thinking about government and how people organize to control each other.  Seems like a good place for God to step in and provide specific guidance:  what kind of body is best to rule...monarch...congress of elected representatives...tribal council?  There's plenty in the Old Testament for the Jews about leadership, authority, and laws to follow for them but what about society today?  We seem to struggle with governing ourselves.  Then it occurred to me:  God is building His kingdom from the ground up.  Just like the pictured solitary flower, He starts with individuals...reaches them with the energizing, activating truth of His reality and His redemption from death and sin.  Shifting analogies, He takes each individual, like a stone, and places him on a wall of stones to build an eternal structure where He lives and moves and expresses Himself.  He is truly on top of it all, but He is building from the ground up!

Isaiah 9:6 

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end

1 Peter 2:⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

blessings,

Rob Smith

a path, a bridge

Sometimes the path leads to a bridge.  Life is a path, itself, and there are times when we need to make a crossing to continue the path.  The Lord leads us on the path because the Lord is the author of life but the Lord not only makes the bridge, He is the bridge.  For only He can support us and carry us safely to the other side.

Psalm 25:12 

Who are those who fear the Lord?
    He will show them the path they should choose.

Joshua 3:¹¹ Look, the Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River! 

 

blessings,

Rob Smith

the gift

It's all a gift, this life of ours...

We've not come on our own.

And all we see and all we have's

been granted, made or shown.

All we see, and sight itself,

has origins above.

The credit cannot be our own

It's due the Lord of love.

We're free from ownership, you see

To celebrate this gift.

And live with grace, so grateful He

Made eyes to Heaven lift!

Psalm 95:6 

Come, let us worship and bow down.
    Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
⁷     for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
    the flock under his care.

blessings,

Rob Smith

deer

This deer was spotted by a visiting friend last night in our back yard.  I think deer are very beautiful...graceful and finely formed.  I know that they can be bothersome when it comes to eating from our gardens but I'm sure they look like buffet lines to the deer.  In many ways deer are unremarkable.  They live about 5-6 years, reach an adult weight very similar to human size and feed on plants exclusively.  But they are remarkably quick and I have been amazed to see how they can melt into a thick woods and seemingly disappear in seconds.  They are a perfect match for their environment and are comfortable with their surroundings.  

Habakkuk 3:19 

The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
    He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
    able to tread upon the heights. 

summer pond-ering

Patience reveals subtle truth.  Standing by the pond this morning it seemed, at first, as if nothing was going on.  No eagle or heron sightings...no gorgeous rays of sun streaming through leafy branches...just a quiet, peaceful morning.  As I stood pond-side for several minutes, however, I saw that the pond surface was frequently disturbed as fish were gobbling insects on the water's surface or jumping just below.  I realized that beneath the visible table of water was a teeming body of life that was going about its business with great activity...it's just that most of it was out of my vision.  It occurred to me that life is happening all around, even in places that aren't immediately visible.  Perhaps the greatest activity of life is also the least apparent...the activity of the heart and mind that moves just below the surface of everyone...something to pond-er...

Job 32:8 

But there is a spirit within people,
    the breath of the Almighty within them,

    that makes them intelligent.

blessings,

Rob Smith 

a turtle day

(see picture)

Did you ever have one of those days...you wake up and feel like you're in the middle of the woods...you stumble out of bed and try, with great effort, to cross the road to get a bite of breakfast...and suddenly you just stop and just wonder: "What's it all about anyhow?"   You might be having a turtle kind of day...

Deuteronomy 1:²¹ Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don't be afraid! Don't be discouraged!'

blessings,

Rob Smith

morning eagle

I spied the pictured eagle this morning and looked up a few facts:

• There are about 20,000 bald eagles in the U.S.
  
• They have about 7,000 feathers each.
  
• They can live up to 30 years in the wild.
  
• They mate for life.
  
• They can fly up to 5 miles high and at speeds up to 35 mph.
  
• They have a wingspan of about 7 feet.
  

Deuteronomy 32:11 

Like an eagle that rouses her chicks
    and hovers over her young,
so he spread his wings to take them up
    and carried them safely on his pinions.

inner world

The outer world appears most real...

Of sights and sounds and hustle,

But we live on the other side,

where thoughts and cares like muscle

make fears and dreams and worries pulse

like wind through stormy skies.

We think that it's the outer world that matters most

and proves us...

But secretly we know the truth:

That life is on the inside.

And where we feel and where we learn

And where we hide and where we turn

And where the truth looks to find

us looking for the meaning...

For each of us has inner worth

Unique and precious treasure

Inside is where He finds us looking

up to Him for ever...

and ever.

Ephesians 3:¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man

blessings,

Rob Smith

sun line

As I rounded a bend this morning I spied a sharp line between sun and shadow playing across a field.  It occurred to me that this is how life truly is...light and darkness are clearly defined and distinctly different.  Yet, we tend to live with the idea that there are shades of light and darkness and degrees of right and wrong.  I suppose we are either standing in the light or standing in the shadow...we cannot stand in both.  We may forget how brilliant the light is when we have been lingering on the other side of the line.  The Son has come with brilliant light to cross our field and open our understanding to truth.

Matthew 4:16 

"the people who sat in darkness
    have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,
    a light has shined."

 

blessings,

Rob Smith

just beneath the surface

I drove up to a wedding in New York City this weekend.  It was located just across the East River from Manhattan.  The view of Manhattan was stunning from that vantage point.  I found a park by the river's edge on Sunday morning and snapped a few pictures.  You are overwhelmed with the size of the skyscrapers impressed with the grand scale of man-made structures...bridges, roads, buildings everywhere.  But I found myself thinking that there was a time when nothing was there but a beautiful broad river and lush woods.  Just beneath the surface of all those towering buildings on Manhattan is a bedrock of stone that is so strong it can hold crushing amounts of weight from the structures built above.  The broad river remains a passage for ships and barges and is still a home for wildlife and migrating birds.  It occurred to me that just below the surface of our lives there is a bedrock in the Lord, strong enough to support the skyscrapers we build through the days of our lives, as well.  Running through our lives is His river of life.  His strength and presence are always here, even if they may seem just below the surface.

 

Job 38:4 

"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
⁵ Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
⁶ What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone"

 

blessings,

Rob Smith

Two bird day

I think I'll rename Friday "Two bird day".  This morning I photographed a turkey and an eagle within ten minutes of each other...pretty rare around here.  What different creatures they are:  the turkey awkwardly skitters over the ground with an ungainly body that seems off balance perched on stick legs; the eagle poses regally atop a throne-like tree.  But they are both God's creatures and Benjamin Franklin famously suggested that the turkey was a more appropriate symbol for America.  I think the turkey may be a more appropriate symbol for us, individually, as much of the time we skitter through our days in a somewhat awkward and ungainly way.  But eagle and turkey share a common Creator (with us!) and the variety of His creation gives us insight into His creativity.  I suppose we're more likely to feel like an eagle on Friday and a turkey on Monday!

Genesis 1:²⁰ Then God said, "Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind."

 

blessings from this turkey to the other birds out there,

Rob Smith

draw near

Sometimes when we are quiet and still, we are able to draw near and capture a rare moment.  This morning a rabbit allowed me to get very close, as I attempted to be relatively still.  He granted me a chance to get within about 10 feet and capture him in a picture.  It isn't easy for us to be still, but when we are we can experience a precious closeness to our Lord and our heart will snap the picture.

 

Psalm 73:²⁸ But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
That I may declare all Your works.

 

blessings,

Rob Smith

view from the Cross

The other day I was thinking about the view from the Cross.  I have often pictured looking up to Jesus, as He suffered on that cruel device, but I have not so frequently considered what it was like for Him to be there looking out and down on the miserable ones below Him.  Looking up, as we look back, we realize our great shame over the incredible wrong we committed in putting Him there.  Looking down, as He did then...and as He does now from eternity, He saw that only His agony could atone for the cruelty that put Him there.  We did not realize that our God's love was so great that it had the capacity, not only to understand our deep flaws, but to cover them.  As Jesus was affixed to the Cross...apparently impossible to move or act or accomplish anything...He achieved the great work of dying in our place.  I wonder, as He looked down, if His gaze met the direct upward view of individual people.  And I wonder what response they felt, as their eyes locked with His!

John 12:²⁷ "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

blessings from the foot of the Cross,

Rob Smith

rain comes

Rain comes from unseen vaults above,

To quench our thirst from courts of love.

So hot and dry we are alone,

We need the water from the throne.

Announced with thunder, sealed with flash

He pours refreshment with His hands.

We drink and wash and grow and plant

Because the rain is Heaven sent.

One day we'll see this source of love,

The One who sends rain from above.

Psalm 147:7 

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises on the harp to our God,
⁸ Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

blessings,

Rob Smith

turtle heads

Turtles cautiously survey their domain by poking their heads above the water's surface, while their large shelled body floats safely beneath.  As you approach by boat they either see or sense your nearness and pull their heads beneath to disappear into the depths.  We can be like these turtle heads too...living cautious lives that only risk a peak at life.  In fact, we can find ourselves to be spectators more than participants in living.  It occurred to me yesterday that we are to be participants because there are divine spectators already who are watching us during our brief time on earth.  Now is the time for action...to be active...to act...and not merely to watch.  

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

blessings,

Rob Smith

more dreamers

Bring on the dreamers!  The world needs more who will dream deep and dream big and dream true.  Why settle for the rutted path of routine to carry us through every day when the potential of possibilities patiently awaits the one who will consider new paths.  Just as each new day is an adventure for a child, so can each morning bring a fresh new purpose throughout life.  The world needs more who will connect with the God who is there and listen to a fresh message and find a unique walk.  Dreamers like this may be the ones who are most in touch and most effective in the course of living.

Psalm 37:¹⁹ Then they said to one another, "Look, this dreamer is coming!

 

blessings to all who dream big and dream well,

Rob Smith

living water

As I stood by the reservoir this morning the water danced below me like a living thing.  Shimmering, shaking, dancing in lines like an endless array of chorus entertainers the water stretched out almost like a hand inviting me to jump in and join some celebration.  We start our lives in the water of our mother's center and find life and water to coexist from that point on.  Our thirst is especially evident in the searing heat we are now experiencing.  Perhaps this is why the Lord uses water as the illustration for the life He brings when we allow our spiritual thirst to be quenched in Him.

John 4:¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

 

blessings,

Rob Smith

man and the moon

We have enjoyed a gorgeous full moon this week...set against a velvet backdrop sky.  Shirley and I spied the moon through our telescope and I actually think that the moon is prettier without the benefit of magnification, which reveals the pits and craters.  From a distance it still is a very large, illuminating presence.  God hung it there to mark months and seasons for our benefit and its beauty and reflected light remind us of the source of all light and the maker of all creation.

Psalm 8:3-5

When I consider Your heavens, the work of your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;

What is man that You take thought of him,

And the son of man that You care for him?

Yet You have made him a little lower than God,

And You crown him with glory and majesty!

blessings,

Rob Smith

living on the edge

Each day we face the test of trust,

We're living on the edge.

Lean on self or slide to lust?

Or remember Him who pledged...

His very blood to free us from 

The problem of allegiance.

The dearest price that could be paid

Rescued us from falling,

Now we fix our eyes on Him

As many voices calling,

Try to pull us from His hand

Cause us to forget that Land

Even to deny His plan...

But No! We run to Him again

For on this edge our trust is fixed

Our faith defined, we know His kiss!

1 Peter 1:²¹ Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.

blessings,

Rob Smith

fuel

There are several large reservoirs in the area.  They are like lakes and are open for limited boating and fishing.  However there are restrictions.  The pictured sign shows that alcoholic beverages and gasoline engines are prohibited when on the water.  So electric trolling motors and ice tea provide the energy and refreshment.  It made me think about the kinds of fuel that we use for propulsion and refreshment on a personal level.  What are we putting in our tank?  On the reservoir they are concerned about safety and water purity.  In our lives, beyond physical beverages, there are other kinds of fuel for the inner person...the spiritual person.  We may need to top off our tanks with fresh water from God's reservoir to provide the energy and encouragement we need!

John 2:⁷ Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim.

 

blessings,

Rob Smith

alone

When I come to the quiet pond of the morning and I allow all my thoughts to grow still and I am absolutely alone...then I realize that I am not alone.  There is One who is always with me and His presence becomes the greater reality when mine fades to the background.  The heron of the picture today stands alone, but his reflection answers him as long as he stands at the water's edge and allows the sun to wash over him.

Never alone!

John 14:¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

blessings,

Rob Smith

ripples

I threw a rock into the pond and outward the ripples moved and I considered the impact of one life in the pond of living.  Jesus was the great rock and the ripples of His life continue to ripple across generations and into our lives.  We also are like pebbles that He is casting and the ripples of our individual lives can radiate outward in every direction.  Who knows how far the energy of your life might carry.  Perhaps you are the ripple that Jesus will personally ride into another life and even another place or time!

Isaiah 60:15 

"Though you were once despised and hated,
    with no one traveling through you,
I will make you beautiful forever,
    a joy to all generations."

blessings,

Rob Smith

little beauty

Beauty comes in different scales, like maps.  It can be as grand as a snowy mountain peak or as fine as a crystal of salt.  Here are some tiny wildflowers that captured the color of the sun in the size of a locket.  A thing of beauty is a reflection of its maker, whether large or small.  And our lives also capture and express the same beauty...of the One who crafted our design.

Psalm 95:6 

Come, let us worship and bow down.
    Let us kneel before the Lord our maker

blessings,

Rob Smith