Quote Of The Day

Story of the day:  That Little Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

    When we were stationed in Spokane, Washington, my father and mother took my brother and I on a Christmas Tree Hunting endeavour.  As we headed through the mountainous terrain and walked through hundreds upon hundreds of trees, I remember saying to myself, “That one looks good, or that one will work, so let’s just chop one down and head home.” 

    As we kept looking for the perfect tree, my mom and dad were quickly reminded that the tree we would have to cut down would have to be a small one, because the size car we had at the time wasn’t able to hold a 6 or 7 foot tree.  So, with that in mind, we finally came across a little 4 foot tree that looked perfect.  We chopped down the tree and strapped it to the top of our small car and headed back to the house.

    Once we arrived home, the first thing my brother and I did was run to get all of the things that we needed to decorate this little tree.  First we put the lights on, and everything seemed okay.  It wasn’t until when we put our first ornament on the tree that it just about gave way.  The branch of the tree, from which the bulb hung from sulked all the way down.  After all the ornaments were placed upon this tree, the tree looked as though it were going to break from all the weight that it was bearing.

    I remember being so sad that our tree didn’t look like every other decorated tree, like a perfect tree.  I remember sitting on my couch and just staring at this sad looking Christmas tree and wondering if this was really it.  Instead of rejoicing in the fact that my parents took their time to give us a great experience, I couldn’t look past that Little Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.

    How many times in our life, have we let little experiences that could really be blessings in disguise, slip by because of what we thought the situation should be like or look like.  If I had an opportunity now to go back to that time frame, I would rejoice in the fact that I got to do something that I had never done before and truly appreciated the time that I had.  And although I am able to take joy now, I could have had more joy in the blessings, had I done it then.  So, I wrote this to say, no matter what the situation is, or how it looks, even if it doesn’t look the way you think that it should, enjoy the time, the moment, and the people that can all be a part of God’s Miracles that can truly be your blessing

Quote of the day:   C. S. Lewis

“Joy bursts in on our lives when we go about doing the good at hand and not trying to manipulate things and times to achieve joy.”

Bible verse of the day:  Isaiah 12:3

“Therefore, with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the many blessings that You have placed into my life.  Even at the time, when I didn’t know they were blessings, I am now able to take joy in knowing that those little moments came from You and I am so thankful for them.  Lord, I pray that You continue to teach me how to not take for granted the time that I have here, not lose sight of Your purpose, and enjoy every moment that is truly a blessing from You.  I pray to not let the things that don’t appear the way that I want them to appear, bring me down, but know that these little things, just like that little Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, are truly blessings in disguise.  I give You all the praise and glory for those moments.

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

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Story of the day:  Glory in the highest