On My Heart Today - Is Jesus with Us?

I am doing a study with Caleb right now on Obedience - ways to be obedient, the true definition of it, the rewards for it and the consequences for not.  While we were doing our study today, we were instructed to read from Luke chapter 2, which we obeyed =)

At the end of that chapter, we find Mary, Joseph and Jesus in Jerusalem for the Passover.  The group heads home after their feast, but that night, Mary and Joseph are unable to locate Jesus with family or friends.  Quickly, they turn around and head back to Jerusalem, worried about their son.  It takes 3 days before they actually locate him - in the temple with the teachers.

I went through and had my discussion with Caleb for his lesson - Jesus' attitude toward his parents, his not arguing back, his willingness to return home with his parents and the blessings that came with that obedience.  (Read this section of scripture to see the benefits of obeying, even if you think you are doing a good thing.)  It was a great lesson and we had an amazing talk.

However, as we moved on to his next subject, I couldn't stop thinking about those verses.  How could Jesus' parents leave their young son behind and not even notice for a whole day?  Why did they not make sure he was with them before they left the city?  Then I wondered, were they so busy - in their lives, their trip home, their 'to-do' list - that their son's absence easily went unnoticed?  How did they not know that Jesus was not with them - why were they not communicating with him along the way?

Then, I wondered... How often am I so busy that I forget to pay attention to whether or not Jesus is with me?  Have I ever gotten caught up in my life - the to-do lists, the schedules, the daily routines - that I haven't noticed that He is not with me?  How often have I not made the time to be in His presence, ensuring that He is with me wherever I go?  I don't want to be so busy that I am able to continue to operate even if He is not with me.  I need daily, moment by moment fellowship with my Lord that ensures that close walk with my Saviour!

My daily time with Jesus is the most important part of my day - it is the part that ensures He walks with me as I go!  I never want to forget that priority or think that I can get through a day without Him.

Psalm 63:1:  O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Psalm 34:10:  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

Psalm 22:26:  The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

Psalm 27:8:  When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

1 Chronicles 16:1:  Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

May you be encouraged today on your walk to make sure that Jesus is with you as you go.  It will make all the difference if He is!

May - Part 3

Saturday evening, after getting cleaned up, we went to watch the sun set on the beach.  If you have never seen the sun set on the gulf, you just don't know what you are missing!  It is breathtaking...

While waiting, the kids had fun playing in the sand:

My two favorite boys, hanging out for the 'ball to drop':

My two favorite girls, doing their share of waiting:

Mark and I - pictures just don't do it justice!

Beauty:

So peaceful:

Fun running on the cool sand:

Silly girls, making memories and having fun:

The next day was Mother's Day.  My family decided to take me on a boat ride to see dolphins.  However, you know me... we had to find some coupons and a good deal!  So, we did some research, found some coupons and headed out.  Oh, did I mention that we had to talk them into letting us take Maggie on board??  We had her with us and couldn't just leave her in the hot van.  After talking to the captain, showing him our backpack carrier for her and convincing him that she would be amazing to take along, he agreed to it.  She was so sweet on the boat and even liked it, somewhat:

Then, sometimes she would hide her face in Holly's arm!

All of us on the boat.  I love being their mom and his wife!

Mark and I - We were married on Mother's Day 20 years ago!!!

The views were amazing as we sailed around the bay:

Not to mention, the dolphins:

Later, before heading home, we found this great beach area, off the beaten path, with this lovely cluster of trees:

Inside the trees:

Loved the boat just sitting there, waiting...

We had such a nice weekend just being together. Family time is so important to us and every sacrifice made was worth the memories created with each other.

May - Part 2

So, after a picnic lunch of sandwiches, pasta salad, carrots, apples, pretzels and other yummies, we decided to go for another walk.  We were now on a beach called Honeymoon Island - a small but beautiful piece of beach north of Clearwater.  From our picnic spot, we had seen signs for the nature trail, so we packed up and headed out.  As we walked, we came to a sign that pointed us to the "Osprey Trail" and we took that path, not really knowing what to expect but a nice walk together!  Looking up at the trees ahead, I caught a flash of red and saw this beautiful Cardinal - he is so far away that my camera was on max zoom to get this shot:

We all love bird watching - it may be one of our favorite hobbies.  We are always watching for them outside our windows at home and keep track of the types, the families, the nests, etc., as much as possible in our little corner of the world.  So, continuing the walk, Caleb suddenly spotted a nest in a tree.  Looking closer, we noticed a mommy osprey sitting inside and 2 little heads poking out, crying. I never could get the right angle and timing to get the baby's heads, but here is the momma:

 

Isn't she beautiful??

 We stood there just forever, watching her and catching glimpses of the babies.  Suddenly, the momma started to call out, loudly, and began to look all around:

See how she has her neck craned, looking up?

Her calls became louder and more frantic sounding as she continued to look all around:

 

Then, we started to hear another call that was not hers and within seconds, the daddy came flying home, carrying a snake for his family to eat!  I was too busy standing in amazement at the sight to take a picture, but after the daddy dropped off take-out, he went to a branch nearby to watch and wait.  We found this very comical and wondered about the way they interacted with each other.  Here is daddy, waiting and watching:

Just to give you a perspective, this is an actual, no zoom shot of their tree from where we were standing and watching:

They are in a nest just behind the Y of the tree in the center.

So, after observing them for about 20 minutes, we decided it was time to move on.  Up ahead, just above us, was this beauty:

Can you see that he is holding a fish or something under his claws?

Moving further on, we found this pair:

Same pair, different angle.

Ok, see the two nests below?  One is the same as those above and then we noticed the other.  What we think is the daddy hopped to the branch above, as you see him in the top right corner:

Then, for some "guy time", he flew over toward that other nest and met up with his neighbor, to compare notes on children, I'm sure!

Well, we ended up being on that trail for a few hours, watching birds, getting lost, wandering in circles, wondering if we would find a way out and taking pictures of trees, sun and flowers:

Picked for me by my amazing children!

When we finally found our way out, we headed back for more beach walking!  We found a lonely spot where Maggie could be with us.  It was peaceful, serene and beautiful.  I leave you with one last shot that captures our spot just right:

Stay tuned... There's more to come!

May - Part 1

May - the month of many blessings in our house!  Going into the month, we realized that we could use some family time to prepare for all that lay ahead.  With that in mind, we started looking into our [budget friendly] options and came up with a short Beach trip.  We headed out to the Dunedin area on the Gulf coast for a couple of days of relaxation and family time.  Below, in pictures and words, is how our time went.

We were heralded in with:

and...

and on our arrival, we were met with this sky:

While we waited for it to pass, we let Maggie run around and picked weeds flowers:

But soon, the sky cleared and the sun came out:

The storm clouds moved away from us:

and we had the whole beach to ourselves:

We walked for miles, collected a few shells, and watched the birds, but we mostly just enjoyed getting our feet wet, hearing the waves lap on the shore and laughing together.  Just being at the beach is so peaceful and relaxing - not to mention awe inspiring.  It is amazing how small you feel when you look at the wonder of His creation.

"The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters."  Psalm 29:3  

Well, I'll tell about our next adventure tomorrow, so stay tuned!