There’s an expression I love in French:
“Je me coucherai moins bête ce soir.”
(I’ll go to bed less dumb tonight)
That was me last night, and it’s one of …
Today’s #3GoodThings
- Chicken Ingenuity: When I first installed the raised bed in our garden, and was preparing it for planting, I soon realized that the chickens loved scratching in it. This spelled trouble so I used some recently trimmed apple branches to construct a makeshift little fence to crown the bed, and it worked… until yesterday. Now that they’re more fully grown, they realized they could simply hop up onto the fence and down into the bed. I came out to a near decimated bed and while I eventually found the broadbeans and radishes, which were just under some soil & straw mulch, the beets, chard and onions were nowhere to be found. I salvaged what I could and made a gridwork lattice over the entire top, with more branches to protect things from further harm until I can find a more permanent solution (remember… hardware & gardening stores are closed).
So… “je me coucherai moins bête ce soir.”; I’ll go to bed a little smarter than I was yesterday thanks to the chickens. That’s always a good thing. 😉 - Nearly published: Sophie is near to completing the first step of a journey that began in 2016: She’s written a trilogy of books called the Grey Flame series. She had tons of time to work on them when she was homeschooling, but since going into public school 2 years ago, it’s been a struggle. #Covid-19 lockdown has had the fringe benefit of giving her more time to tie up the loose ends. We nailed down changes to the jacket yesterday and will be able to publish in a week or two. It’s a major step and I’m very happy for her. It’s def-initely a good thing!
- Psalm 34.17-19: 17 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
Want to begin moving away from being dominated by fear? There are a few good things to focus on in this passage: the Lord hears, delivers and saves.
God hears: This fact alone should bring us a measure of comfort. For many, God (if he exists at all) is far away and not always ready to turn his ear our way. It’s particularly easy to feel this way if we’re also feeling a sense of shame, guilt or self-condemnation. But in these troubling times… the first thing you need to be assured of is that God hears.
God delivers: What does he deliver us from? The passage is clear… our troubles and our afflictions. These can be things that we’re going through or circumstances we’re subject to…. but he can deliver.
God is near and saves: These two are linked in the same sentence and by a common characteristic – being broken hearted or of a contrite spirit. When we aren’t focused on how strong we are, how self-sufficient we are, but are humble and willing to draw near to him on his terms… striving for righteousness, he is not far.
Note: Righteousness is not a prerequisite for coming near to God… he hears any and all. But when he responds to us… when he hears, delivers, draws near and saves us… cultivating righteousness in our life is a natural and logical response from a heart overflowing with gratitude. For those who have spent a lifetime cultivating righteousness… know that God takes note of it.
Fear not today!
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Looking for some good reading while your other activities are limited? Read about simple pleasures… like home-made ice cream, from my grandfather’s journal.
AIM Long 