Snapshots of life

Actually, that's what I was going to call yesterday's post.  But when I sat down to start typing, the clever title left my mind.  Today, I have no pictures, but I wasn't going to waste an idea.

We'll settle for verbal "snapshots".

Shot 1: A charming little grasshopper.  "You're kidding, Missouri has insects?!"  Oh yes, they're finally reappearing.  But the windshield was still icy this morning when we left for church.  I also spotted a clothesline with a whole assortment of darling baby clothes hanging up on it.  One could call it a contradiction.  I call it Springtime.

Shot 2: A hill.  Around a dozen lively boys between the ages of 5-10 (each with a heap of imagination).  Toy weapons of varying shapes and sizes.  Whooping and hollering.  Flying projectiles.  Sometimes it seems that I live in a war zone.  I'm just waiting for the day when I'll get caught in the cross-fires.  Wild or not, I must say I kind of like it.  It makes life more exciting.

Shot 3: Pastor Bob asked this morning, "How many know someone who is materialistic?"  Everyone raised their hands.  "And how many of us would consider ourselves materialistic?"  Ouch.  My hand should have been raised again, I know.

Shot 4: We can be so thoughtless and forgetful sometimes, can't we?  I left a very important item somewhere and fretted about it for half an hour.  Went back to look for it, and it wasn't there.  My shoulders sagged.  I felt sick.  How could I be so careless?  I thought, and kicked myself the entire way home.  In the end, everything was taken care of with minor inconvenience.  Thank You, Lord!

Shot 5: A loaf of bread...No, I'm not referring to the baking I did yesterday.  Pastor Bob said this in his sermon this morning - "Daily bread is plenty when God is your portion."  I don't know about you, but I kind of like to see or have my "bread" for six months...six weeks...or at the very least, a week.  Surely that's not too much to ask, is it?  Except that God doesn't work that way.  He gave the Israelites manna everyday - for that day.  He tells us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread."  But bread for one day never seems like very much.  I start coming up with ways to stretch God's provisions for the day so that they'll last a week or something like that.  And then...the Lord reminds me that He will give me "bread" tomorrow.  And the next day. I'm not responsible to provide for myself - ultimately, He is.  If I would only learn to trust more.

Well, that's all for today, folks!  So long and have a good week!