Fw: feathers

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2016 7:29 AM
Subject: feathers

This lone feather was floating at the water's edge this morning.  I wondered whether it had come from one of the gray herons that live there.  I thought about the function of feathers, as the Creator fashioned them.  A quick search on my phone told me they have three basic uses: flight, insulation and nest lining.  So feathers play a role in bringing young into the world, keeping the bird warm and waterproof and allowing the bird to carry out its primary activity of flying.  Of course one feather can't do all that...it takes a lot of feathers together.  Feathers have a natural beauty as well and men have used them as quill pens for centuries...in fact the word "pen" comes from the Latin "penna" which means feather.  How wonderfully efficient our Lord designed the feather...to accomplish so much in a lightweight package.  And how wonderful has the Creator been in our design as well, caring for us from the cradle, keeping us insulated from harm and teaching us to fly to Him and for Him.

-

Psalm 91:⁴ He will shield you with his wings! They will shelter you. His faithful promises are your armor.

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: thorny purpose

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2016 7:38 AM
Subject: thorny purpose

The plant with thorns caught my eye this morning.  I don't like thorns...they're ugly and painful.  But they do have purpose.  They discourage animals from eating them.  As porcupine quills discourage enemies and a turtle's shell wards off attackers, the thorns of a plant are a defensive design.  It occurred to me that we, also, need to recognize the "thorns" the Lord has provided us for defense.  His Word is a strong defense against many threats...temptations, attacks, discouragements. 

-

Psalm 119:⁹² If your law had not been my delight,
    I would have perished in my affliction.

-

Thorns may be unattractive to some but, to the plant, they mean protection and preservation.  The Lord has provided defense in His design for us as well.

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: beauty in the weeds

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2016 7:43 AM
Subject: beauty in the weeds

Weeds aren't beautiful, of course.  They are some kind of plague to a well manicured yard.  But the simple beauty of the pictured roadside weed that I saw this morning had a positive message to me.  Although this plant was totally random and not planted by any human hand it was actually pretty.  As I looked more closely I saw that it had little blossoms with several pure white petals surrounding bright yellow centers.  It occurred to me that what appeared to be random beauty was actually the intentional handiwork of the Creator.  There is beauty from His hand in unexpected places.  We are so busy traveling down the road that we may not notice some of this random beauty by the roadside.  We may feel that we, ourselves, are little more than a roadside weed.  But when you consider that each of us was fashioned and planted by His road it may encourage to realize that He looks on and sees beauty as He walks by.

-

Numbers 24:⁶ Like palm groves that stretch afar,
    like gardens beside a river,
like aloes that the Lord has planted,
    like cedar trees beside the waters.

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: surrounded

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2016 7:20 AM
Subject: surrounded

This morning it felt good to be "surrounded".  I felt surrounded by the towering trees overhead and was reminded that the Lord surrounds and towers over me.  And that is a good thing.  I was thinking about getting back to the most basic aspect of walking with the Lord...having that knowledge and awareness that He is with me.  I realized in a fresh way that this is the essence of the personal relationship with Jesus.  He is with me.  And His presence surrounds me and towers over me.  In the quietness and simple beauty of this late spring morning, when many thoughts about the day ahead tried to take me down paths of anxiety, it was good to refocus those thoughts on the One who came so far and gave so much that I could walk through the day in assurance...assurance that His towering presence would continue to surround throughout the day.

-

Psalm 125:² As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
    so the Lord surrounds his people,
    from this time forth and forevermore.

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: new life

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 8, 2016 7:33 AM
Subject: new life

A surprise greeted me this morning at the pond.  A turtle had come out of the water and was digging an opening in the sand to lay her eggs.  I didn't stay for the actual egg delivery but watched for a while as she used her hind legs to dig the opening.  She was very focused on the task and didn't move when I drew near to photograph her (she just tucked her head inside a bit).  It seemed like a special privilege to witness this aspect of new life coming.  How wonderful that the Lord has set in motion the capability for all creatures to reproduce and then raise offspring to maturity.  And turtles can live long...some live well over 100 years.  And how wonderful that we, fashioned in His image, can receive new life as we are born again through the realization of His love and His great rescue, accomplished at Calvary. 

-

1 Peter 1:³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: starting point

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 7, 2016 7:31 AM
Subject: starting point

I don't know about you but when I'm awakening to a new day my thoughts are in a fog.  There is some kind of mixture of dreams and concerns and what is about to happen in the new day that come together in a confused soup inside my mind.  As I become fully alert those thoughts will take a certain tack...confidence, fear, problem solving...something will usually form the main theme within my mind.

-

I think that's why I like to start the day down at the pond.  I think about the beauty there that is changing with seasons and weather but shows the handiwork of the Lord and takes my thoughts outside of self and reminds me that there is a better starting point for my thoughts.

-

I thought this morning about scripture and how it is a better starting point for my thoughts than my own thoughts...on their own.  If I start with the mind of the Lord through His words then my thoughts are realigned with His. 

-

Just as the pond is a better place to go to start the day, so the word of God is a better place to start my thought picture for the day.  It's best to let Him speak first into my day!

-

Psalm 119:¹⁸ Open my eyes, that I may behold
    wondrous things out of your law.

-

blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: around the bend

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 1, 2016 7:30 AM
Subject: around the bend

around the bend I cannot see...

but there is where I go.

-

I cannot tell what I will face,

like the twisting of a road.

-

I only see the path ahead,

with light for one more step...

-

How can I go to the unknown?

What will I face beyond?

-

So good to know that He can see

beyond the bend...while leading me...

with every move...He walks with me...

-

And even more, with plans that wait,

around the bend...

-

He'll work in me some mystery,

And life complete as He with me,

walking now eternally.

-

2 Corinthians 5:⁶ So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight.

-

blessings,

Rob Smith