Shirlee Abbott

In Remembrance

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

We forget. God knows it. That’s why he established the annual Passover celebration (Exodus 12). That’s why 12 Jordan River stones became a memorial (Joshua 4). The reason? So that children would ask why? and the stories could be retold.

On Memorial Day, my grandmother picked buckets of flowers and placed arrangements on her loved ones’ graves. Her grandchildren helped. I must have asked why? because I remember her answer: “To show our love and respect.”

It’s Memorial Day. Show your love and respect. Why? To tell the stories.

Posted in other | Tagged Memorial Day, Passover, remember | Comments Off

Come, Let Us Adore Him (Friday)

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

I drove to work yesterday morning with the window down and the heater on. It was chilly, but I didn’t want to miss the scent of the honeysuckle along the roadside.

Do our prayers carry a scent to our Lord? Let’ s imagine . . .

Whining smells like spoiled milk.
Bitterness smells like skunk.
Adoration smells like honeysuckle.

May your prayers be sweet.

Posted in other | Tagged adoration, prayer | Comments Off

Come, Let Us Adore Him (Thursday)

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

The requests I make of God conspicuously outnumber my expressions of love for God.

I have the opportunity to talk with the Creator of the universe, the eternal Source of life and light, the Fount of all wisdom–and somehow I make the conversation all about me! Really?

Posted in other | Tagged adoration, prayer | Comments Off

Come, Let Us Adore Him (Wednesday)

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

You probably know the song, Jesus Loves Me. How about this additional verse?

“I love Jesus, does He know?
Have I ever told Him so?
Jesus likes to hear me say,
That I love Him every day!”

I couldn’t track this back to the author. Whoever you are, thank you for the great advice!

Posted in other | Tagged adoration, Jesus Loves Me | Comments Off

Come, Let Us Adore Him (Tuesday)

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

Philippians 2:10-11 (NIV)
At the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Sooner or later, we will all adore Christ. Why not make it sooner?

Posted in other | Tagged adoration, Philippians 2:10-11 | Comments Off

Come, Let Us Adore Him (Monday)

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

Who (what) do you adore?

I adore her outfit
We adore babies
I adore my spouse
Come, let us adore him

We sing, “Come, let us adore him” over the Babe in the manger. What about Christ the teacher and healer, Christ on the cross, Christ on the throne? What about the heavenly Father and the holy Spirit?

In Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer writes:
“Just now we happen to be living in a secular age. Our thought habits are those of the scientist, not those of the worshipper. We are more likely to explain than to adore.”

Come, adore God.

Posted in other | Tagged A.W. Tozer, adoration, In Pursuit of God | Comments Off

It’s My Father’s World (Friday)

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

Sometimes I wonder if severe weather demonstrates God’s wrath, warning us to turn from our wicked ways. Could be, I suppose.

But God sent me down a different thought line. His words to me, more or less:

Bad weather isn’t punishment, it’s the norm. I hold my hand between you and it, blessing and protecting you. It’s my gift.

There are people who insist that they don’t want what I offer. Every now and then I remove my hand, just to give all of you a taste of life without divine intervention.

Let’s be careful what we wish for.

Posted in other | Tagged weather | Comments Off

It’s My Father’s World (Thursday)

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

Posted in other | Tagged eco-friendly, This is my Father's world | Comments Off

It’s My Father’s World (Wednesday)

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

This has been a punch line in all the states I’ve called home, but it is credited to Mark Twain:

“If you don’t like the weather . . . just wait a few minutes.”

Somewhere along the line, it morphed from a joke to a problem. A problem we have to solve.

Is it solvable? Is it a problem? Or is it just a joke?

Posted in other | Tagged climate change, Mark Twain, weather | Comments Off

It’s My Father’s World (Tuesday)

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

I don’t think God got up one morning, smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand and said, “Fossil fuels! I didn’t factor in fossil fuels.”

Remember God’s dialog with Job:

Job 38:25-27 (ESV)
Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
and a way for the thunderbolt,
to bring rain on a land where no man is,
on the desert in which there is no man,
to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground sprout with grass?

Do you think God is surprised by weather . . . ever?

Posted in other | Tagged climate change, Job 38 | Comments Off