A selection of photos taken during my daily dog walks over the last week or two

I am reading an awesome book by, Joshua Luke Smith. The book is called This is the Main Event and I think everyone should read it. If we fully believed what Josh says we could all get on with being rather than climbing some deceiver’s ladder to some imagined success.

The first section of the book is about Lamenting. We’ve all got sadnesss and griefs that we need to give to God, to be healed of, to see where the great Creator was in them, to accept them as they were/are. You can find a few of mine dotted through this site and my older one site that I no longer post on.

But at the moment my life is ok. I’ve got enough. More than enough. And, on the whole I get to potter about and enjoy things. I live in a safe part of the world and even the Welsh wild fires have been far enough away that I might have smelt them but could ignore them.

As I was reading through the Lamentations part of Joshua’s book, and was reading a reworking of the Beatitudes by Red Letter Christians, I got to wondering what are the blessings for those of us who at the moment are doing ok. And here’s what I got

Blessed are those who are doing ok!

Blessed are you when you’ve reached the point where you’ve got enough money that if the fridge breaks you can buy a new one without it impacting your daily spending, when you realise you can be generous to others without fear, where you are safe in your generosity, that you are no longer giving in the hope God will bless you financially or in trying to prove a point that you WILL give your ten percent because the Bible says so.

Blessed are you when your health and that of your family is ok and you aren’t building your life round tests and hospital appointments, and even your elderly parents are just dealing with minor age-related issues, where you can see ok, hear ok, and are able to enjoy walks, fresh air, sunrises and sunsets.

Blessed are you when your life is calm, peaceful and you realise it is all that it should be, where you can live in a place of low crime, can feel safe and don’t have to be looking over your shoulder, when you no longer worry about “what ifs” or have to fight the demons within, where you can live the life you want because you’ve made peace with your past.

Blessed are you when good things happen to you, when others want to sit with you because you radiate peace and calm, when you can enjoy ice cream and good food, when you have enough that being hospitable isn’t stretching.

Blessed are you when your relationships are enriching, when you can share thoughts and ideas, “chew the fat” without fear, when you disagree, still be friends and have no fears of being reported to the authorities, when the worst your spouse does is not stack the washing up or make the bed as you believe is the correct way to do it or doesn’t laugh at the joke you’d worked so hard to share, and at least 50% of your children think you’re alright.

Don’t look over your shoulder at what was or peer into what should be or strain to see what might be coming in the future, or feel you’re special or that you are less than you should be because things are ok.

Enjoy the moment. Live within this season and let it flow to those who are placed along your path

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And to finish two contented dogs in the sun from a week or so back. Although this morning they weren’t so happy because it was hammering it down with rain but until they can use the toilet inside they do need to go out!!! 🙂

You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Psalm 23:5b

I went for a long walk on a very windy beach to ponder this one.

I get the first bit – that God anoints me as his special person, his ruler, his one who can rule in his place. I am anointed and special to God even when I have to make peace with the enemies without and within, even when I’ve walked through horrid, depressing, dark, death-like things, even when I’ve been made to lie down in a calm place and do nothing. In all those things God says “you are anointed. You are important and special to me”.

It’s not what I do or don’t do but it is all about God’s unconditional love for me. See I’m back to that again. This does seem to be the crux of everything – God’s unconditional love for me in whatever situation – good, bad, busy, still, being important or not being noticed – in all of those things I am God’s special anointed person that they love for who I am. Amazing.

And I think it is once we realise that then are “cup”, our lives, our way of thinking, will overflow with blessings and gratitude. But, I think, we need to be willing to let God lead us wherever they want always knowing we are loved unconditionally, that God sees as us awesome, and that God has our backs and we can trust them with our lives – however good, bad or indifferent our lives are at the moment.