365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 351

My daughter picked out this book at the library called Christian, the Hugging Lion. It was well written and we loved the illustrations and in the end found out that it was based on a true story. The back of the book indicated that there was a video about the reunion of the lion with the two guys who bought him and set him free.  Here is a link to that video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozXwG-bAf1k&feature=fvwrel

     I think ultimately God created us to be in communion with animals and not them eating us and us eating them kind of thing that is predominant in our fallen world. So, I am betting that what I will see in heaven are animals and people in a communion of love. This story is just a glimpse of how God created us to be in relation to animals. Praise the Lord for these little snipets of truth and hope.

Genesis 1: 24 And God said, "let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds; livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so.



365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 50

Last night I was reading a children's book to my daughter called Wherever You Are by Nancy Tillman. I picked this book up at Khol's last month as I was shopping. It was one of their $5 books they typically sell up at the front near the checkout. All of Tillman's books were there and I wanted them all but I had to have self-control and only got this one. The illustrations are amazing and I love the words. As I read it, I thought she was talking about God's love but from the stuff on her website it sounds like she wrote it with a parent's perspective, a mother or father's love. In any case, this part gave me good chills last night as I read it to my daughter: In the green of the grass...in the smell of the sea...in the clouds floating by...at the top of a tree...in the sound crickets make at the end of the day... "You are loved. You are loved. You are loved," they all say. So I am thankful for this wonderful reminder of God's love being everywhere that I am.
Psalm 108:4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 19

Today I am thankful for a children's book that reminded me of a good lesson. The book is called Are you Grumpy Santa? by Gregg & Evan Spiridellis.

We have a collections of Christmas themed books that we pull out at this time every year and I read one of those books every night to my daughter. Sants is grumpy because throughout his day lots of negative things are happening to him like a stubbed toe, a plate of healthy food from Mrs. Claus, having to wear the itchy wool red suit, getting stuck in a chimmeny, etc. At the end, Santa sees a letter with a plate of cookies and milk and reads the letter which in a nut shell tells Santa, "we love you". Love can do and be all things. In the midst of my grumpiness from the pain in my shoulder to my hormones starting to go haywire again, I was reminded of the love that God has for me and a smile came over me. I was ungrumpified! So thank you God for reminding me of your love and helping me get out of the grumpy's.
Psalm 85:7 Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.