Posts Tagged: bluebird
“HANDS FREE TO WELCOME GOD’S BLESSINGS”
I sometimes do a prayer thing called, “Palms down, palms up.” It is simple, perhaps even simplistic, but I find it helpful.
When I turn my palms down, I am dropping into the hands of Almighty Love all my concerns about the past, worries about the future, and concerns of the day.
Then, when I turn my palms up, I picture myself receiving all the blessings of the day. Sometimes I say something to the effect, “God, I welcome all the blessings you have for me today.” I said that this morning.
And as soon as I said it, a bluebird landed on the garden fence post right outside my study window. And I am not exaggerating! It was right after I prayed this! And immediately after that, a goldfinch swooped through and landed on another garden fence post!
So, the first three items on my gratitude list today were:
- A lovely morning.
- A bluebird I saw, right after praying to God, and saying, “Help me to accept gratefully whatever you give me today.”
- The goldfinch I saw right after I saw the bluebird.
Of course, a skeptic would say, “How do you know those birds wouldn’t have landed on those fence posts anyway?!” And of course, the skeptic would be right.
But one thing is for sure: I don’t think I would have noticed the birds if I had not prayed.
And one final thought. It is only after I’ve dropped a lot of stuff that I am in a position to receive God’s gifts. I need my hands free to welcome God’s blessings.
What do you need to drop in order to see and enjoy God’s blessings? Remember that it is first “palms down,” before it can really be “palms up”!
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- DTEB, “Getting Christ and Ourselves Back in Focus” November 11, 2024“Col. 3:1 ¶ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col. 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden […]
- “Search Me!” October 27, 2024“Psa. 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, English Standard Version) I am participating in a Bible study, and this is a prayer […]
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- “God is in the Details” October 11, 2024“The devil is in the details.” (A general saying, often quoted by lawyers, reporters, and negotiators.) “God is in the details.” (Me, almost certainly not original.) “Luke 12:7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Jesus) God does not micromanage, but God […]
- “Grandma’s Pump” October 8, 2024When I was a little critter, I would stay at my grandma’s house for a night or two sometimes. I liked this for a lot for many reasons. One thing I liked about staying with her was that Grandma’s house was much more technologically advanced than ours was. For one thing, she had indoor water—sort […]
- “Wearing the #14 Wrong-Side-Out” October 5, 2024Pete Rose, #14, is dead. Many of the old guys with whom I play softball watched him play and appreciated him greatly. I do as well. He was one of the greatest players who ever played the game. Yes, he admitted (eventually) to betting on baseball. But many of us still regard him as one […]
- “Passing Along the Love (and a Link)” October 4, 2024Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I […]
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
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