#notesfromthevicarage
PREPARE YOUR HOPE PT. 3
This year our church has been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“
I am breaking these seven prepare statements into 21 daily devotional thoughts which I am sharing once a week. We are currently on…
WEEK 18- Prepare your hope and faith( think hope, speak hope, act in hope).
We have established that thinking in hope and speaking hope in the days ahead is going to be absolutely necessary. But there is something more… James writes, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
If we want to change ourself we must change how we view ourselves, how we think about ourselves. But if we want to change the world (which is part of our mission statement by the way) then we have to change the way we speak and change the way we behave.
WHAT ARE SOME ACTS OF HOPE YOU ARE BEING LED TO DO?
Digging Deeper Devotional June 1, 2024
Paintbrush
I love the Indian Paintbrush that comes at the end of Spring. We have a little at The Vicarage, but my neighbor has it in everywhere!
DIGGING DEEPER DEVOTIONAL MAY 31, 2024
Spring Festival 2024: Finale: Ready For Summer
We may have another month until summer officially begins. The rains may have returned the temperatures here back to the 50’s, but the gardens know the Spring is almost past and the summer is upon us.
The lupine is fully in bloom.
The Korean lilac has fully blossomed.
The tomatoes and the summer squash are in. The garden beds are ready to begin producing.
The daisies are about to open.
Even the hostas are giving attention to the coming of the warmth. Yesterday I caught the fragrance of the black locust trees mixed in with the scent of basil and mint. That is a sure sign of the passing of Spring into summer.
I found two large patches of wild oregano growing where I was weed whacking another sign of what is to come. As we close out this FESTIVAL OF SPRING CHALLENGE HOSTED BY DAWN, what does it look like in your part of the world when Spring passes into summer? SHARE A PICTURE!
A Day Off At the Vicarage
Sabbath days at the Vicarage come on Wednesdays. One of the things I’ve learned about Sabbath is that the rest that comes with it is really just a change of rhythm.
I spend a lot of time in prayer on Sabbath. That is not different than any other day, but I am not preparing for a ministry work on Wednesdays so the prayer I do on Sabbath is more of a restorative prayer.
I love to start the sabbath with a gentle walk through the gardens.
Again,that is not different than any other day, but the purpose is different. On my sabbath, I walk the garden to notice what is growing, to take time to enjoy the scent of the garden. Every other day of the week I am planning on what job I have to do in the garden.
This morning, I walked the garden with my cell phone as I was talking to Brenda. She enjoyed the garden with me.
I had Sevy with me for the sabbath morning. Again that is not different than any other day. I have been watching him while his mother works at the local community college. Usually my daughter Amanda watches him, but she is recovering from surgery so Sevy has been staying with “Oz” (that’s what the grandkids call me).
Today, Sevy and I went shopping for some new summer shirts, but only after we watched a few episodes of what he calls “Bickey Bouse”
Then we went to one of the local playgrounds.
After picking up my daughter-in-law from work, I went to have fun in the garden.
After some more prayer and a supper of pork Sinagang, white rice and watermelon, the dogs and I are enjoying a cup of coffee while the sun sets.
It was a perfect day off.
What’s your idea of a perfect day off?
SABBATH THOUGHTS ON READINESS
I am getting myself ready for Sabbath tomorrow. I will probably be spending a good deal of the day in prayer and in gardening. I am preparing for the summer…and beyond. Here are some of the meditations I will be considering on the subject of readiness.
WOW! I NEED TO THINK ON THIS ONE!!!
TUESDAY DIGGING DEEPER DEVOTIONAL: THE SONG IS OURS TO SING
Notes From the Vicarage 