Friday, April 4, 2008

Spiritual milk

1 Peter 2: 1-3
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.


These are powerful words this morning from Peter. I admire those that have the gift of condensing what they want to say down to just a few words forcing thoughts into our heads that linger all day. This is what Peter does here with the beginning words of this chapter. Today we call this a writer’s hook.

In my own life there have been times when I did have malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander thriving within me. Even today I know I am capable of these sins and guard against them. Still, I'm not always successful. The older I get the more grateful I am for the power of Jesus Christ, His love and His sacrifice. God is good and His mercy endures forever, thank God.



Travel virtually with me today to a place I hope to visit one day, the Cotswolds. I was first introduced to the Cotswolds through a special devotion book, Meeting God in Quite Places, by F. LaGard Smith. Reading Smith's book about his time in the Cotswolds makes me know already that visiting a few days will not be enough. Still, if I could steal a few days away, this is a place I want to go. Enjoy.

6 comments:

Joni said...

Oh, Phyllis...I love these pictures. I've always dreamt about shedding responsibility and slothing around England for a few months...contrary to what the writer says, I think Bath Abby has endless charm...of course I am easily intrigued by a stain of rust that runs down the side of a building because it implies history, so I'll never be an authority on charm, but I know what I like...and the Botanical Gardens...I'd probably never want to come back...

thank you for the virtual tour, I loved it and the "spiritual milk" complemented my coffee this morning, but then you are always good for providing that...just know I always welcome the "stirring in" of your words...they kick start my morning.

I appreciate you :)

Have a beautiful day doing the things you like to do ~

Joni said...

I forgot to mention...

I'm going to check out this book you have posted, have you read it?

and...

did you notice I put "Jittery Joe's" on my blog...makes me feel a little closer to Georgia!

:)

kimberly said...

phyllis.....thank you for the wonderful visit this morning......made me want to jump right into the countryside and take the walking paths talked about. love the names....bridge of sighs....windrush river....bourton-on-the-water! and the buildings.....so quaint and lovely.....another place to put on my list!
enjoy your day,
hugs,
kimberly

Phyllis Russell Franklin said...

Thanks Joni. Yes, I have read this book many times. I have two copies, one hard back and one soft. You can find copies really cheap on ebay and www.half.com. I bet a book reseller close to you would have one too.

My life has been crazy for the last couple of weeks... I haven't had time to notice much and had not noticed the Cheap Joe link. :) I've been painting some flamingos on two full sheets of plywood and it's been absolutely awful to get my body around the plywood to paint. I can't seem to find a good way to do this. I am not a mural painter for sure and don't do well on ladders and all that. One sheet is complete front and back. I didn't take a finished photo... but will once vacation bible school gets going or I find out where they are going to place it. http://www.phyllisfranklin.com/blog.html shows the beginning of the flamingo.

kimberly said...

phyllis, my square is shown on the sidebar of my blog.....words that say "everyone deserves a lifetime"
hugs,
kimberly

Annette said...

Good morning, or late afternoon Phyllis, I won't look at milk the same, in a good sence, I loved the picture's in the book, other places are always to fun learn about, I love to learn about other cultures and religions! I feel the same as Joni about the rust on the buildings, Thank you for taking me to another exciting place. Hug's Annette

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