FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS

I am doing the book study this summer, A Confident Heart by Renee Swope. Meeting with about 11 women in our neighborhood. All ages...all kinds of circumstances going on in each of our lives. All reading the same truths about our constantly faithful Father. I have a dear friend walking through a hard time with her daughter. As I was doing my morning reading from A Confident Heart, I felt the Lord gave me this life application from my life right now to share with her. This is my God moment today. Focus on today and face the LIGHT. Here is my little story.....true and made me think about you (dear friend and you know who you are) and your circumstances surrounding your lives right now. I got new lenses for my old frames yesterday. The doctor said my vision had drastically changed in my right eye. I have been experiencing paralysis in my eyelids when I woke in the darkness. My left eyelid opened fine, but my right eyelid would not open. A strange feeling. I had to force it open to be able to see clearly. Well, I thought the new prescription would take care of my problem. Hummmm! Not so. Well, not yet but now I have an even more frustrating problem. I used to be able to read everything far off with no problem at all. Clear as a bell. Now, everything far off is not clear at all....just can't get my eyes to focus. I bet I move my glasses up and down a hundred times to try and fix the problem. They told me it would take me awhile to adjust to the new prescription. I am not sure. Time will tell. For now....I am just trying to focus on what is right in front of me. Don't worry about what is far off. Praying time will take care of the far off. The Lord, the Light, the step you are on is the same Lord in the FAR OFF. Focus on HIM. He will lead you and your family to the next step. DO NOT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF HIM. FOCUS ON HIM. THE LIGHT.....NOT THE SHADOWS.

GOD CAN USE ALL THINGS

Hot, hot weather.  My car thermometer read 111 degrees on Sunday.

My garden is almost done!  Dried up mostly except for the okra.

So, I have neglected it.  Didn't think there would be much to the harvest and not worth my time.

I went out early this morning after I finished doing a little quiet time drawing.

I had painted two sunflowers.  One downcast, old and tired.  (Hmmmmm!  Kind of like how I have been feeling.)  The other one standing tall and looking joyful and full of hope.

The drawing really was blah and I laid it down and headed outside to pick the garden before it got too hot.

I harvested a few almost stewed tomatoes and lots of okra.  Sadly, much of the okra was too old.  Not cut in it's prime.  Hard and not useful for anything.  So I thought.  The Lord gave me an idea.

Cut it up and paint with it. 

So, I did.

Used the old, hard, no good okra to make my picture really happy!!!!

God promises to use everything for His glory.  We are never unusable, not valuable to Him.

Just ask Him to use your life, no matter how old you are, what trouble you have walked through, mistakes you have made.  He loves us unconditionally and eternally.

Thank you Lord.

A happy painting and okra and tomatoes for dinner!!!!!  I am going to post that in my One Thousand Gifts journal for today.