Picnic

For the past year, Jan has been the one who has diligently prepared the lessons for our HOW group, and they have not only been wonderful and have clearly been initiated by the Holy Spirit but her words, examples and gentle persuasions and encouragements  continue to resonate in our hearts.

This past Monday, I offered to give the lesson so that she could just walk in for once without having to "come prepared".  So I prayed and asked God to give me a topic.  Little did I know when Monday morning,  I was setting up  for the HOW dinner, and ordering Chick Fil A that God was nudging my wheels of thought to begin. Chicken was the perfect foundation for a picnic theme. So beginning with a blue and white checkered tablecloth, and then borrowing from Jennifer, my daughter,  a darling Lilly Pulitzer picnic basket,(that I filled with white impatients) accompanied by five oversized plastic ants to walk amidst the tall candles;  this would be the springboard of God's answer.  

As I readied for the night, and ran my errands, I knew God had something brewing and so it was, and here it is! 

When you think of a picnic, you think of some basic essentials. And with creative license, I came up with five of them;  all "B" words, to make it a little easier to remember.

1) Basket

2) Blanket

3) Buffet

4) Bugs

5) Blessings  

Basket: a woven vessel for carrying things. We are God's vessel, woven together with our flaws and strengths, gifts and talents, our personalities, our unique physical attributes, our attitudes, and our beliefs. We walk around each day as a carrier of encouragement, comfort, fun, forgiveness and love. All, God's gifts to share with our fellow man. 

Blanket: a covering, usually a large rectangular piece of fabric. On a picnic we use a blanket to cover the ground on which we sit. It provides a comfortable place to rest.  Oh but to a baby and even to some of us who are hesitate to admit it a blanket provides security... I have a friend who used to write me and her salutation was "May you be wrapped in God's blanket of love."  

When things get harry and the world seems to be closing in, we are able to wrap ourselves up in the security of God's love. And when we remember to do that there is a peace and a security that enables us to relax in that trust that God is there.  He has wrapped us up in his Love and he will get us through the tough times, and we are secure in his grace.  

Buffet: ok I know this is a stretch and when recounting this part of my lesson to my husband and Molly, my daughter , as they were trying to guess the "B" words. I did get some flack.. they said the food was a spread....not a buffet. But I happily explained that Spread does not begin a "B". back to the tropic...Buffet, the food, we need for nourishment, food for comfort, food for enjoyment, food for conversation...oh but we need for for thought, I read this on a blog and loved it.  

We need food for our bodies oh but the food for our Spirit is an unchallenged necessity for those who know and love the Lord.  His words,

his ways, his example and his unconditional love for us is found in scripture. But also his words when repeated and taught by pastors and friends are used by God himself to nurture us and to nourish us and bring us closer to him through His Holy Spirit. It is said that man cannot live by bread alone....he needs a plentiful amount of food for His spirit as well. 

Bugs:  Mosquitos, flies, and ants... to just name a few. Bugs bite, bugs annoy, bugs infest, bugs distract.   But the overall point of this bug deal is: "what is bugging you?" I told Jennifer that I needed ants for my picnic table decorations and she of course had five oversized ants which she loaned me that made a statement for sure.  We all have things that bug us but that are most certainly some oversized ones that make a daily statement in our lives, and if we are not careful and do nothing to alleviate their existence then they will quietly and methodically take over life's picnic and wreak havoc.  

God knows what is bugging you and he sits on his heavenly throne waiting for you to turn whatever it is that is eating at the crumbs of your joy over to him. He is the only one who can truly manage the situation and bring back to you a secure and restful state of mind. So instead of swatting and tryng to kill the bugs yourself. give the situation over to God.  Really give it up!  And release your grip on trying to conquer it yourself. All we have is a measly fly swatter ...God is able to launch an enemy destroyer.

Blessings:  Yes there are blessings at every picnic.  You just have to look for them, and some are a little more hidden than others.  Start with the basket, filled and overflowing with God's love that is woven into our very core.  His very presence in our daily walk is blessing enough to be mindful of.  We carry assets such as encouragement, comfort, strength, hope and love  given by God that he expects us to use and calls us to share. We have his blanket of security to rest upon and wrap up with.  We have food for the soul that comes from His spirit and fills ours. 

He gives us food for thought so that we can decipher his whispers and act upon his calls. He can use our faith and his power to fumigate the bugs that make their way through the cracks of doubts.  And then there are the tangible things like a roof over our heads, and a comfortable place to sleep, and family and friends and health. Just take a minute and come up with your top ten blessings....is your relationship with God your number 1 blessings. I would like to think he is mine but I know I fall short everyday and every way in proclaiming his sovereignty, his power, his love, his grace and most of all his infinite ability to handle my tiny life as well as the universe around me.  Blessed, all of us who know and seek Christ are blessed in ways too imaginable to comprehend.  

Dear Lord, Life is a picnic, in spite of the bugs.  For you have laid our your blanket of love for us and given us a buffet of offerings to  

enjoy regardless of circumstances. If any of us are having a hard time realizing the blessings that are before us,  please God help us to recognize them..appreciate them and thank you for them! Amen

Happy Picnicing! 

The following verses were some that I chose for this lesson:

Basket

Psalm 31:19 How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work

Blanket

Jeremiah 33:6“‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.

2 Corinthians 1:5For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ

Buffet

Matthew 4:4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Psalm 107:9for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

John 6:35Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty

Bugs

Psalm 119:50My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

Psalm 23:4Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

Blessings

Hebrews 12:28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

Psalm 118:1[ Psalm 118 ] Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

1 Thessalonians 5:18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

   

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!