Grace and Nurture

My dear friend Jackie gave me this award which her innovative and creative daughter Fixer created. Gracias Amigo!
This morning my Bible passage for devotion was about grace.
2 Cor 12;9 "My grace is sufficient for you for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weakness that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (NASB)
I am weak but Thou art strong . I love that song too.
I wanted to show you our grapefruit blossoms. Aren 't they lovely. The tree is laden with them and they are falling on the ground and smell so good.
Also some poppies.

I got this article by Lisa Bevere of Messengers International. I sometimes watch them on God TV.Thought it was really good so I am sharing it with you. Now I am going for a Friday evening prayer meeting .

NURTURING

Were you ever cared for?...Watched for?... Loved?... Did you belong?... Was there one who was bigger and wiser who would know and understand what you needed? Who instructed you and, when the time was right, taught you to fly? These are the very questions that drive our human quest for connection. In an atmosphere of nurture, the answers are revealed. The truth is there has never been a more desperate need for the presence of nurture. The problems are so big, the needs so vast, so that our response must also be intimate and enormous. Big government with big guns will not answer the human cry for safety and connection. We are heartsick and in need of intimate, safe connections so we can heal and help others. It is the purpose of my book, Nurture, to help position you to make those heart and relationship connections.Where is your connection? Who are your friends? From whom are you gathering wisdom? These are connections we need to actively search out and begin to develop. If you have never experienced this, it is time you did. If you experienced a violation of safety or trust where you should have had nurture, it is still imperative that these intimate connections happen. We must be surrounded by nurture if we are to thrive. I believe it is our time. There is a stirring, a gathering, and an awakening happening around the world. Nurture is an answer to our need for connection.

Nurture Defined & Applied 1. Tender Care…an approach when handling sensitive situations or dealing with the young.Tender care is a genuine interest and concern coupled with a gentle approach as you tend areas in another’s life. We are charged to be tender with children because their spirits are so pliable. There is never a need to be harsh when someone looks up to you. 2. Protection…a quality often hard to navigate.
As Christians we are to be involved in each other’s worlds. If we see others at risk or in harm’s way, we should intervene to see that damage is prevented. If we are in fact one body, then we are not isolated, and an injury to one is an injury to all. To protect is to prevent harm or damage from occurring. We need to know when to get involved.
3. Encouragement…the most priceless gift you can give or receive.
To encourage is to gift another with courage, hope, and confidence, The world is filled with those whose hearts are failing them. Encouragement is in its purest form when encouraging someone lends no benefit to you.
God alone quickens life within each of us and causes it to grow. He gives seed to those He calls to sow and moisture to those who are to water. Still, others prune and harvest.
“I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.” 1 Corinthians