Another Birthday

My middle son's name is Stephen and today is his 19th birthday. Stephen is just precious!

Now I realize that as a 19 year old young man, precious is probably not the first adjective you would want used to describe you. Perhaps handsome, intelligent, witty, fun, athletic, hard-working, friendly, crazy, kind, generous, compassionate... Stephen is all of that and more, but I'm the mom and this is my blog and I say he's precious.

Pre.cious [pre sh es] - adjective 1. of great value; not to be wasted or treated carelessly. 2. greatly loved or treasured by someone.

See, I'm right! Those of you who know him will have to agree. Stephen is of great value. That's how God created him... full of strength, character and potential to be and do great things. I think we've only just begun to see the awesomeness that is Stephen.

So, Stephen, my prayer for you today and every day is that you will know that you are greatly loved and treasured. You are precious!

Have I Dreamed Too Little?

Some days I think that there must be something else, something more I should be doing... or trusting God to do through me. Something more fulfilling, more eternally valuable.

For me it's much easier to stay where it's comfortable, where I can see the shore. But I sense that I need to be venturing out in new ways. I need to dare to try new things and trust God for the outcome. I need to rest in God's promise that he will daily provide my needs while I focus on eternal things. I need to lose sight of land and find the stars.

"Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim. Disturb us, Lord to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope and love." (Attributed to sixteenth-century explorer Sir Francis Drake.)

Ducks

To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment. - Jane Austen