Surprises

        I have always LOVED surprises. I love that someone has cared enough to put their time, effort, and energy into doing something thoughtful just for me. That is just what God does for us all of the time! If you are on the lookout, you can find them all around you. I have heard them called unexpected blessings. God loves us so much that He has put them in place in ways specific to each of His children. One that He has really used to encourage me is the appearance of hummingbirds at just the right time. Hummingbirds have come to have a very special meaning in my life, a sweet reminder that there is so much good in life if we are looking for it, even in the midst of the hard.  

        My week has been full of surprises, some good and some not so good. (OK, so mostly very bad like finding a rat in my backyard, but I am trying to be optimistic here!) It has been a rollercoaster of a week! Some surprises I could do without and they leave me feeling drained and weary. This morning God brought Psalm 23 in front of me twice within a few minutes. I love when He does that! There is no doubt that He meant it specifically to encourage me this morning. It is a very familiar passage to me but the words washed over me in a new way as I read them this morning.

        Last night I gave my four year old a surprise I had gotten for him at the store. He was giddy with excitement as he opened the box to see what it was. He exclaimed “Thank you, Mommy! Thank you, thank you!” as he opened the box. Before he even saw what it was, he was so grateful and excited because he trusted me to bring him something great. It is the same way with our heavenly father, we can say “Thank you”, knowing that He has great things in store for His children, far greater than anything I could ever do for my own children. Many great surprises await us!

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

Ephesians 2:10

       I am attaching an adorable video of a little cutie reciting Psalm 23. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsNptw29OyQ

Beauty that surrounds you

          I just got back from spending a week in my hometown celebrating my dad’s birthday. I haven’t lived in Amarillo for 20 years now. (So hard to believe!) There are so many things about it that I didn’t appreciate or even notice when I was growing up there. I never thought the flat prairie with no trees was beautiful, but now I appreciate it. I didn’t think twice about being able to see stars forever in the clear night sky, the amazing views at Palo Duro Canyon, or even the quirky Cadillac Ranch. I actually had never even been out to the Cadillac Ranch until this trip. It wasn’t until I moved away that I began to notice and truly appreciate the things that make my hometown special. Some of these things I never thought about until friends who had never been there were asking about things to do on vacation. Then I started to think about it in a different way. What I thought was dull and boring when I lived there, has taken on a new light now that I live 10 hours away.

         It reminds me of an object lesson from a Bible study earlier this year about vultures and hummingbirds. Both of them fly over the same area. Vultures seek out and find death and decay. Hummingbirds seek out and find beautiful flowers and sweet nectar. Both can be in the same place at the same time, but find something completely different. It is all in what they are looking for. The same is true for us, our perspective has such an impact on what we look for and find. What a great reminder to look for the beauty that surrounds you right where you are!

         Enjoy some of the beauty of the Texas panhandle as well! Here are a few of my favorite pics.