Special Card

Today's Scripture Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing." -John 15:5 (NRSV)

Two rose bushes in my garden are a true gift from God. They are planted close to the house, and I have a perfect view of them. I can see and enjoy these plants all the time, especially when they are in bloom.

A few days ago, in a bit of a rush, I cut a few flowers and placed them temporarily in a container with water. Several hours later, I decided to transfer them to a vase. Much to my dismay, two short-stemmed blooms were drooping and lifeless. I quickly noticed that the stems of these two roses did not reach the water level. Consequently, they did not look as fresh as the other ones with longer stems.

I began to think about Jesus' words in John 15:5: "Apart from me you can do nothing." There are those among us who are fragile. They too are God's children. We have a responsibility to care for them by offering the Living Water, Jesus Christ, through our love, witness, prayer, and wise counsel. When we help them to find this Water, these fragile ones can grow stronger and bear beautiful flowers, as they were meant to.

*excerpt taken from The Upper Room online devotional.

Comments

[Lisa Walston]

Hello
I thank God for people like you. I to like to share my crafting with others. While being a foster mom to three little boys. When i look for people to scrap with like you its very hard to find. Keep up what God has bless you with.

[Lydia Milliken]

Hi Julie

Thanks for your devotional. I have been cardmaking and scrapping for nearly two years and I love it. It has provided lots of opportunities to share my faith and God's word with others.
Your site was one of the first I found and is still one of my favourites. While many others have come and gone from my bookmarks, yours remains. I love your crafting style, your web page layout and information and your engaging smile. I was very excited today to discover that you are a Christian. I hope you have many opportunities to share your faith with others as you have in this devotional.

[Julie Hardin]

Hi Julie,
You don't know me. I live in MI and have been checking out your site for about a year now. I've enjoyed all your creations. Today, I'm so blessed by what you shared. "Apart from me you can do nothing". See...... I lost my husband of 22years suddenly 4 weeks ago. (He was only 45) We have 3 beautiful children and God's amazing grace is what has seen us through. Over 2000 people blessed my family on 2 visitation days and at a celebration of his going to be with our Lord. Family/Friends and people we don't know keep saying they cannot believe how peaceful we all seem. Well that scripture sums it up. "Apart from HIM we can do nothing". You blessed my evening in the few quiet moments I've found tonight. Thank you and God bless you for posting that. God knows why you posted that today.

[Dianne]

Hi Julie.... I have so enjoyed (along with our SU stuff) watching your progress with weight loss. How/Can we continue, please, to do so?? Best Best regards, Dianne

[Linda Q]

Amen!

[Sue]

Some times we tend to forget what has helped us get to where we are in life. This scripture & many more are a gentle reminder & we can be thankful for JULIE as she reminds us of this in her blog. Perhaps Jule has started a new style & will include something of this sort, weekly/monthly, in her posts.Thank you for all you do!

[Crystal L.]

That was beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

[Veronica]

Amen!

[Cheryl Hirzel]

Thanks for the note - I do love and appreciate these kind of reminders with your personalized metaphors.