Can You Spot the Thing of Beauty Right in Front of You?

This seems a fitting metaphor for how our lives turn out sometimes. Amidst the drab and darker colors of our personal landscape, we sometimes fail to see the thing of beauty right in front of us. When we feel utterly overwhelmed by the "undeveloped" areas of our lives, we may not take the time to squint and look for things of beauty. Yet, could it be that God intentionally places such beautiful things right in the midst of it all?

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When Hope Seems Lost (part 1 of 2)

These were two of Jesus' disciples. They had eaten with him, followed him, been taught by him, and had their lives shaped by him. In short, they believed (trusted) in him. But they also believed (assumed) certain things would be true about his future ministry, eventual kingdom and their place in it. They had big dreams about what that would be like. Death by crucifixion didn't fit those dreams.

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When Winter Feels More like Death than Dormancy

"Daddy, is it dead?" "No, it's actually just gone dormant for the winter. It will bloom again in the spring." "It looks like a stick. Eeewwwwww!" I have to admit that a Plumaria plant does look like an ugly, gnarled stick in the wintertime. Dropping all of its petals and its leaves when the colder weather sets in, it's not much to look at...

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