Bills blog stop: Aug 21, 2008

Pepe's Great Escape!

Today, while we were foraging for a new food supply for our Love Bird, Pepe, we spied some new environmental enhancements for his cage(er, living habitat). An attachable, edible, beak sharpening branch to enhance his hunting and pecking skills and a beautiful red ring the size of a large swing with a bell hanging from it to accompany his visions of swinging in a tree in the jungle! After fighting the strong currents of traffic on the asphalt river to arrive back at camp, I proceeded to “green up” Pepe’s habitat. Well, as soon as I brought one of these strange new objects in through the door, he was having none of this! With wings of steel, he squeezed through as space so small I couldn’t see it without my glasses and off he went into the wild blue(uh, wondrous air spaces) in our house! Sooo… armed with nothing but a couple of soft towels and a non threatening, wooden back scratcher, we set out on a find and capture expedition that should have aired on “Wild Kingdom”! Through sheer strength and maneuvering on our part, we began to wear down the resolve of our adversary! At one point, I had to hit the switch for the overhead fan with the swift dexterity of a gazelle to extricate the fowl winged beast from his perch without flinging him into the wall! After many attempts to cast our nets(ugh, towels) over our ungrateful friend, I guess he just valued his newly found freedom too much, he finally managed to fly into the side of a cliff(wall) and wedged himself between it and a large bookcase! After great thought about our dilemma, we decided to pull one end away from the wall, then I proceeded into the dark recess with my trusty little belt flash light and towel. Much to my chagrin, the little beggar pushed forward behind the next book case! So with great trepidation, I place the towel next to this opening with one hand, and with the other, proceeded to simulate the tremors of a minor quake to the other case! Low and behold, I saw a small red and green streak flash into the towel and voila, I had him! So I transported him to his home and gently extracted him into his own, familiar environment with the new additions and left him to himself to get used to them. I came back a little later hoping to catch him happily swinging on his new swing only to catch him soundly sleeping away, totally oblivious to his new toys! oh well, so much for the great jungle experience!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Daily Word from Dr. Jack Graham

Welcome to Power Point with Jack Graham, a free devotional from Crosswalk.com, the world's largest Christian website. We honor your privacy and time. If this newsletter no longer meets your needs, please use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this newsletter and you will be removed immediately.

August 21, 2008

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

--1 Thessalonians 5:24

Maybe someone has let you down recently. Or maybe you've let yourself down. Take heart! God is faithful. He will do what He says He will do.

And not only is God faithful and reliable, but He is committed to your spiritual growth and maturity. First Thessalonians 5:23-24 says, "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."

I love that! Because it promises you and me that God is constantly working on us... creatively, constructively, and continually. The Spirit of God is working in your body and in your soul. And His purpose is to make you more like Him!

Remember when you were a teenager and you couldn't wait to grow up? That's how we feel sometimes as Christians. When will we ever grow up? When will we ever be responsible in the Christian life? When will we ever be obedient in the Christian life? It's so easy to become frustrated with ourselves!

But we need to remember that God is patient... and that God is persevering. And according to Philippians 1:6, "he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

And when God gets through with you, you're going to stand complete, perfect in the glory of Jesus Christ. You shall arise in His likeness. You will be like Jesus. That's God's goal in your life and mine... and He will be faithful to perform it!

ARE YOU TRYING TO STAND ON YOUR OWN TODAY? OR ARE YOU DEPENDING ON GOD?