Are You A Bud Or A Bloom?

On the rose bush at the front of the house, there are two tightly-closed buds. I know from experience that they have the potential to be huge, bright pink flowers. But for the moment they are tucked away, wrapped up in their shell of petals.

These two rose buds are like the Christian women who are satisfied with the mediocrity of life. They are very pretty just as they are - I could trim one bud off and it would make a lovely gift the way it is now. But there is so much more available to these women if they move past contentment.

For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. James 1:23-24

Mediocre women feel like they're fine the way they are. There's no reason to change or grow or be better and different than they are right at this moment. They're lovely rose buds, but there's so much more.

A little further down the bush is one huge pink blossom. It catches your eye the moment you pull into the drive way. It has unfurled its petals to reveal all of the beauty inside and has the most wonderful aroma. It's just a joy.

This is the Christian woman who surrenders her entire being to the Lord. What was once the tightly wrapped bud of a woman is now a blossoming woman ready to share her God with the world!

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 1:3

Which one are you? If you're saved, you are one or the other. The joy of the Lord comes when we move past being content with who we are and decide to become someone greater by His grace.

I pray we all become vibrant blossoms for the Lord. Throw open your petals as a testimony for what God has done in your life!

Comments

  1. BarbaraMay 9, 2011 at 10:03 AM

    Wow that is such a powerful message, thank you for putting your heart into words for us, have a very blessed day my friend, Barbara

    ReplyDelete
  2. LauraMay 10, 2011 at 5:39 AM

    Praise God that He's touched your heart! It's amazing how He uses the simple things in life to do so. Have a fabulous day in the Lord!

    Laura

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit...
Read more