Kickstart! 20-09-2009

Just the kick you need to get rid of the Monday morning blues and sail into your week with Jesus by your side and a smile on your face!

Dear Friends

Reflect on this...
In an effort to get the work of the Lord done, we often lose contact with the Lord of the work.

The Lord is my Teacher
The Lord is my Teacher;
I shall not lose the way to wisdom.
He leadeth me in the lowly path of learning.
He prepareth a lesson for me every day.
He findeth the clear fountain of instruction.
Little by little He showeth me the beauty of Truth.
The World is a great book that He has written,
He turneth the pages for me slowly;
They are all inscribed with images & letters--
His voice poureth light on the pictures & the words
Then am I glad when I perceive His meaning.
He taketh me by the hand to the hilltop of wisdom,
In the valley, also, He walketh beside me
And in the dark places He whispereth in my heart.
Yea, tho' my lesson be hard, it is not hopeless,
For the Lord is very patient with His slow scholar.
He will wait awhile for my weakness--
He will help me to read the Truth thru' tears.
Surely Thou wilt enlighten me daily by joy & by sorrow,
And lead me at last, O Lord, to the perfect knowledge of Thee.
--Henry Van Dyke

Don't Go Until the Lights Come On.
One late afternoon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, wanting to be alone, I entered a strange cathedral & sat down amid the silence & semi-darkness. It was a gloomy place at that hour. The stained glass windows were especially forbidding. Presently a caretaker approached me, & thinking he wished me to leave so that he could lock up, I started to go. "Oh no," he whispered, "don't go until the lights come on!" So I waited. The room became darker, the shadows deepened, the windows were ugly & repelling & I wanted so much to leave. Then suddenly the street lights came on in full & the whole scene was changed!
What a transformation! I thought I had never seen such exquisite colouring, such Heavenly suggestiveness as the windows gave forth in their wonderful colouring! Everything was enhanced with unearthly beauty that fed my soul, & I wanted to capture & keep it forever!
Then I thought of the darkness which had shrouded many times my spirit, & how inexplicably it can vanish with the joy of the Lord coming in & His light flooding the soul. "The Lord will lighten my darkness!" I had learned a secret from that old caretaker, yes I had!--Don't go until the lights come on!
- Francis E. Seaworth

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
John 10:14

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Have a great day!