Freshwater: What Do You Value?

Freshwater

Located in the wilds of Wyoming, the name Freshwater was chosen as a Western analogy to Christ. Just as He is the Living Water, and we must have Him to have eternal life, any desert dweller knows the importance of fresh water to life, both for self, and the nourishment of crops or livestock. By taking nourishment in God and His word, we strengthen our own relationship with Him, our faith, and the quality and abundance of our fruitfulness.

Our keystone verse is from Jeremiah, Chapter 17, Verse 8: "For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see whenSave heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."

The fruit that we speak of is mentioned in Galatians 5:22
"²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

And the heat could be anything we experience that might test our faith in God; trials and tribulations, relationships, anything that focuses our love and attention anywhere but on Him...

Monday, November 19, 2012

What Do You Value?

I know my blog has been light on the posts lately, and for that I apologize. I could scapegoat it all on the past week, but I'm sure you've noticed that post traffic was light well before that!

I will tell you that this past week we experienced an event that I'm still reeling in shock from. It wasn't a violent "stick 'em up" burglary or home invasion, but the fact that someone broke into the car and took things from it is still something I'm having trouble processing. I feel like it didn't really happen, it's just a nightmare, and all the stuff will be back where it belongs when I wake up.

On one hand, I feel like I'm being overly dramatic, because there are people who have experienced far worse trauma, but on the other, it was a violation. And a loss. And yes, it was just stuff, but I will admit that it was stuff I had grown attached to, like pictures of my children's field trip that day that were on my camera, and other pictures, music, and writing that was on my computer. My library book! My notebook with all of my stories from the writing class I took this summer, sermon notes, blogs written, and those yet to write. All the girls' spend, save, gift and tithe money. Three of my favorite Thirty-One bags, including my beloved Cindy Tote, brand new zipper pouch and the mini zipper I carry all the kids' medicines in...and all the kids' medicines themselves. There's another thing to be thankful for! I am very, very thankful that no one got sick this weekend, since I didn't have any children's Tylenol or Motrin!

And more than anything, I am thankful that all of my family members are okay, and that it was just a lesson, albeit an expensive one, about not putting too much value on stuff.

What do you value?