The Love Rose

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Hallejuah! He is Risen. Happy Easter.

High Hopes

Recently, while reading a friend's blog http://tynertellings.blogspot.com/ she wrote on "Presentation". I began to ponder this topic and came up with some interesting things to consider. This rose is vigorous, upright and arching. It is sweet smelling, sometimes strong. It makes a good presentation.

Have you ever felt like no one really understands you? No one really knows your heart. The real you. So the question becomes how do you "present" the gift. The real you, your heart, the part that no one knows. The person who wants friends, romance, adventure, beauty, hospitality. How do you present the mystery of what is on the inside. I want presentation of my home, myself, my servanthood to be a reflection of the hidden treasure that God has created in me. How do I present my home that others will feel welcome? How do I present myself that others will want to be my friend? How do I present "me" that others will want to know more about my Lord, Maker and Creator.

Charles Trumball wrote in his book Victory in Christ - "I need never to ask Him to help me as though He were one and I another, but simply to do His work, His will in me and with me and through me. My body is His, my mind is His, my will is His, my Spirit is His and not merely His but literally part of Him."

We do this by building a relationship with Jesus. He is the Creator and just as He presents the marvelous beauty of nature, His Presence shines through us to others in our home, in our servanthood, friends and life. Our Hope is Christ in us. Christ in you the HOPE of glory..We proclaim Him...so that we may present every man complete in Christ. Col 1:27 - Our HOPE is Christ in us. What a presentation!

Queen of Beauty and Fragrance

The Queen of Beauty and Fragrance has a sweet, spicy and heady fragrance. It's habits are to be bushy, dense and spreading. The names of the roses always amaze me. Of course, we always associate Queen Esther as the Queen of Beauty and Fragrance. There is a wonderful story about her in Scripture that not only talks about her beauty but also about her tenacity and grace to protect her people.

The story is about how Esther had a time of prayer and fasting before she put on her royal robes to go before the king. She requested the king to save her life and her people's lives. Because the king had sealed the edict with his signet ring he could not overrule the dispatch to destroy her people. However, an edict was granted for her people to assemble and fight to protect themselves. They entered the battle, fought, and won with plenty of plunder.

"And who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14 is a call to all women to rise up and enter the battle for such a time as this. This was true in Esther's day and it is true in our day as well. There will be conflicts and fears in our life. We need not take a "this is life" attitude. We need not feel hopeless. The Lord has given us the tools to enter the battle, but we must enter the battle and fight for the victory to be ours. The beauty of this plan is that the Lord fights for us. Do not be complacent. Put on your royal robes and go before the King of Kings. Trust Him to protect you and give you a plan to restore hope and peace to your life.

Mystery Rose

In the first line of her poem titled the "Christian" Maya Angelou penned "A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her." I think this is phenomenal wisdom.

Col 1:27 says "To them God has chosen to make known...the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." What a challenge to us as women to have the heart of God and be mysterious enough to draw others to us. (Maybe that is one of the things that drew King Xerxes to Queen Esther.) We as women all desire beauty, adventure and romance according to Stasi Eldredge in her book "Captivating." Could it be the mystery of accomplishing our desire is the mystery of Christ in me, Christ in you?

It is my desire to teach Col 2:2 "My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Doesn't this picture make you want to enter into a relationiship with our Lord who bestows His love and beauty upon us and gives us the desires of our heart as He leads us to the plans He has for us. He has so much for us. Such a mystery and so exciting to discover the hidden things of Christ in me.

"Dawn Chorus"

One of our favorite sayings is to "Take time to smell the roses."

A thought occured to me as I was reading the Psalms this morning.

"where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy."

"the hills are clothed with gladness."

"the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing."

When we really take time to enjoy the wonders of nature, to watch the beauty of the sunrise and sunset, the peacefulness of the hills and valleys, we are entering into the presence of the Lord who bestows songs of joy and gladness into our lives.

Take time to smell the Roses today.