God Made Farmers – 1st Sunday Devotional

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 10 Comments

The farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn’t still be a farmer. – Will Rogers Most of you who read my posts here know I’m a farm girl. I grew up on a farm and have lived on a farm all my life. While my husband has retired from farming, we still enjoy farm living. A young farmer …

A Lesson from Crows – 1st Sunday Devotional

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When a crow says an intelligent thing, chickens may laugh at it. This is the laughing of the sand castles at the powerful waves! ~Mehmet Murat Ildan I love birds. I like watching them fly in and out to my birdfeeder. I like it when one of them comes close to my window to perch on the windowsill. I like …

1st Sunday Devotional – Patience

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 “Have patience with all things but first of all with yourself.” —Francis de Sales All things includes all things. Even dogs. And especially Frankie. Many of you have probably smiled at the story you might sometimes hear Christians share about how a woman asked a preacher to pray with her to help her have more patience. As the story goes, the …

1st Sunday Devotional – The Common Daisy

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Do you like seeing daisies? Usually by June, the fields where I walk the dogs have plenty of daisies to enjoy. There is just something so cheerful about a daisy bloom, especially when it just pops up out of the green grasses to add color and a sunny feel to the field. The common name daisy originates from the Old …

1st Sunday Devotional – Surprise Kittens

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 7 Comments

This morning at church we sang the song “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” What a beautiful song with such meaningful words. I love the line  “Morning by morning, new mercies I see” in the chorus. I think if we look, most of us can see those new mercies or blessings each and every day. A little history of the song– The …

1st Sunday Devotional – The Gift of Birds

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Have you ever wondered why we say the bluebird is a harbinger of happiness? Is it those blue feathers with the stain of red on the bird’s breast? One legend explains the bluebird’s red breast by claiming the little bird blew on the fire in the stable to keep the flames going and warm the Christ Child on the night …

The Wonders of Winter – 1st Sunday Devotional

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 23 Comments

Are those the magic fairy wands glistening on the trees or only winter icicles that I see? (Anonymous) Every day I  take a break from writing and go walking with my two dogs, Frankie and Marley. Dogs are very good motivators for keeping a person moving. They love walking. Well, Frankie loves it more than Marley, but that’s because Marley …

1st Sunday Devotional – Footprints We Leave Behind

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I’m sure nearly all of us can remember being the first outside after a snowfall when the ground was a smooth, beautiful landscape of untouched white. Freshly fallen snow seems to shout an invitation to get outside and see the transformed world. And then we tramp through the snow leaving boot tracks and maybe, if you’re like me and walk …

1st Sunday Devotional – My Neighbor’s Bible

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“Many people who will not read a Bible will read a Christian.” (Author unknown) We had a special holiday service at our little country church this morning. Instead of our regular hymns and sermon, we had special music from our talented pianist, Christmas songs from a guest singer and from our preacher. We did sing “Joy to the World.” That’s …