Monday Morning Rain

The subject of rain has made it into so many songs from Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head by B.J. Thomas to Rainy Days and Mondays by the Carpenters. CCR did a song in the 70's called Who'll Stop The Rain? Almost every song about rain is cast in a negative sense. If most people had their way the USA would be a desert- due to the way people complain about the rain.

Gardeners love rain. I am a gardener. Among the blessings this rain is bringing this morning are my fish pond getting filled with non chemical water, the Jerusalem Artichokes out back, now in bloom, getting watered, the air being cleared, the lawn getting watered, the trees receiving what will keep the beautiful fall leaves on them just a little bit longer and the list goes on including my car getting the dust (as well as the streets and sidewalks) washed off. I remember places like Cairo, Egypt I have visited where there is not much rain. The were dry and dusty. I prefer the occasional precipitation.

Its Monday. Its raining and I am sing in it once again thanking God for watering the earth! Besides if it never rained you would never see this:

What You See and What You Don't

Look outside and you will see the growing season winding down. Apples are being picked in the northeast and west. Flowers are making their final appearances for the most part. Mums are blooming along with some late summer-early fall blossoms. Many think that this is it. While the visible stops growing and blooming the roots and bulbs and things "down under" continue to develop, getting ready for the spring. 6 weeks of deep freeze in January and early February and things will begin to show "up" again.

Life is so much like a garden. Grave errors are made by assessing visible results. In the hearts of people things are developing. We can get discouraged with bad info if we just "see" the visible. Have patience, wait, don't get sucked into the lie that what you see is all that is happening. As in the garden, so in life. Stick with it. Stick around. It is amazing what will appear shortly.

A Record of Your Tears

God is a God of details. Just look at His creation, the incredible things we can see under a microscope, are amazing! He has rhe hairs of our head all numbered. Our fingerprints and DNA are different from the other 6 1/2 billion people on this planet. The list of things goes on.

In Psalm 56.8, there is an interesting truth. David writes, "Record my lament; list my tears on Your Scroll-are they not in Your Record?" God keeps a record of each tear we shed!

Recently my family experienced a devastating loss. They have all been on my heart. Christopher was 23 years old when he went to heaven last month. He was to be married next month. This morning as I was reading this Psalm, this verse came to my heart and the realization that God has a record of our tears. That is how precious we are to Him. He is close to the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. He is with us in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He comforts our souls with eternal things. He is faithful to all His Promises.

Cool Links From the Yards

Here are some fall pictures from past autumns here in New York:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=73038&id=1058525670&l=1304795660

My good friend Dennis Hodulick posted this on his blog this morning:
http://networkedblogs.com/7MzUN

Enjoy!

Long Island's Best Kept Secret

My friend, Roy Probeyahn calls the fall on Long Island, its best kept secret. While we are stillm "officially" in summer for a week and a half we entered into this wonderful time last evening. The humidity and temperatures dropped. The air is clear. There are cool ocean breezes today. It is delightful outside.

Out back the mums and Montauk Daisies are budding. The golden rod and Jerusalem artichokes are starting to bloom. There are still supplies of tomatoes and squash. It is easy to work outside because the heat of the summer is gone.

Soon fresh apples will appear in the stores. My favorite is the Jonagolds. For football fans the season begins. For baseball fans we are looking forward to the fall classic. It is a glorious time.

This time brings back memories of runing cross country at Mepham High School. Into those beautiful autumn mornings and afternoons we would run, not realizing that we were a part of Long Island's Best Kept Secret... now we know.

God's Promises

This week has been an unspeakably difficult one for our family. My cousin Lee and her husband Jason lost their 23 year old son after 8 days of being diagnosed with a rare form of acute leukemia. We are walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death today. In a few minutes i will leave and join them for church- at their church.

They lost their son but they haven't lost their faith. Someone said this week faith is not faith until it has been tested, if that is true then they and their son Brian are passing the test.

I would love to take away their pain but I can't. I'm not God. I am simply a servant of His. He will help them in the days ahead. He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. The LORD is faithful to all His Promises. So while we grieve deeply today, our faith still holds. Our God reigns. He is in control. We rest in His everlasting arms.