ENCOURAGEMENT

 

“Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!”            And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.”

Mark 4:39

The picture above was recently taken. When I snapped the shot, I could see the beautiful sunrise from another room, but when I looked at it from our sunroom, I saw it differently, foggy.

It reminded me of how we can allow things of this world to distort the glory of God and what He has planned for us.

Sometimes the fog, which life can create, forms a haze that makes us squint, not only squint our eyes, but our thinking. The kind of squint that may cause us to take a second look, a more determined look. One that makes us move our heads, turn sideways and wipe our hands across the window.  Searching for the true light. The light that is hidden behind the fog.

Because, behind the fog is a glorious sunrise.  The promises of God.

If you don’t take the moment to squint, or wipe the fog away, to look for the encouragement of a sunrise, you may miss it!

It’s that easy, in a moment, you may miss it.

You may miss the sunrise, the beginning of a brand-new day. How does that happen?

If you neglect to spend time with God during the day you can miss out.

Do you start your day with prayer and encouragement from reading His Word?

If you are centered on the world you may miss out on a day that may bring encouragement like that of a smile from a stranger, an unexpected visit from a dear friend, a new song that plays in your heart and you can’t help but sing it out loud,  a “thank you” from someone you encouraged but you had no idea, a child’s hug, – or just being with a child –  Our granddaughter, Morgan asked me to look for a collect acorns one fall day.

Our yard was FULL of acorns, I thought, come on Morgan, they are everywhere! Are we looking for special ones?  No, she said, just acorns, so we each had a basket and everyone she picked up would be examined and talked about how nice it was and then she would put it in her basket.

So, I followed what she did. I soon became so interested in finding these acorns that I forgot about everything else.  When it was time for her to go home, I reminded her to get her acorns.

Oh, that’s ok grandma, you can have them. What??

I realized it really had nothing to do with the actual acorns, but it was all about spending time together doing something no one else was doing. WOW, a beautiful life lesson from a four-year-old.

SO…LOOK FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT

Whether the fog is on the window or in your mind, wipe it away with a prayer, and of course a piece of pound cake and a cup of tea.

I know it’s easy for me to just say that – wipe it away – but if you concentrate, really think about how you want to stand for Christ, desire to live for Christ, plan your day to be bold for Christ, well don’t let this world blind you with the darkness and stop all that.

Let the light shine in, if you ask God for His light, and then shake off the dirt of the world His light will shine through the dust. You are His vessel that He wants to use.

BUT WE HAVE TO BE WILLING!

Mark 4:39 says 

“Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!”           

And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” 

Just imagine being in that boat, in the fog!   Memorize that verse – and imagine during a time of stress or even fear – you can call up that verse and surround yourself with His Word!

Jesus stood up in the boat and said to the sea PEACE, BE STILL…and the wind ceased and there was a great calm!

He stands up for you!

Are you willing to stand up in the boat for others – to give encouragement?

Prayer

Father, encourage me today, give me strength when you see I am weak, peace when I feel forgotten, comfort when I am distressed and hope when I look out to the world and see what is happening.  Guide me to share that encouragement with someone else, because so often when I give mercy and grace, like You so often give me, my weakness, distress, and hopelessness disappears. I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

You can watch this blog post as a Facebook live event on  my Bobbie Frazier Author Facebook page, which aired February 27th, at 4:00 PM EST.

Recipe for the orange pound cake –

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 5 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/4 cups plain greek yogurt
• icing:
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• additional grated orange zest, optional
• DIRECTIONS
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in orange juice, zest and extract. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Beat just until combined.
• Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350° until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 55-60 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For icing, in a small bowl, beat the sour cream and butter until smooth. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar. Beat in lemon juice and zest. Drizzle over the cake. If desired, top with additional grated lemon zest. Store in the refrigerator.