Picture Dees #37 Hole in the Cloud

Picture Dees are devotionals with a picture. Read them alone or share them with your family and friends to get the opportunity to talk out what God wants us to learn through the simple use of pictures and words.


Picture Dees #37 Hole in the Cloud

In life there will be days when it seems like everything is clouded over dark and stormy with things going on at school, problems in the family, parents splitting up, and so much more. No matter how stormy life gets we need to know there is a hole in the cloud, a break in the storm, a ray of sunshine if we would only look and wait.

The clouds don’t have to part for us at our command like grown-ups think they can do with a traffic light getting it to change at their demand. In the midst of the storms we need to hang on to Jesus, get into His Word which is the Bible and stay close. Before we know it there will be a break in the clouds. Like the tree in the picture pointing to the hole in the cloud there will be something out there pointing to that hole in the cloud in your life.

Like it or not, there’s no such thing as a life that is storm-free, we all go through them. Its how prepared we are that matters. We don’t need to chase after them for the thrill of it. We don’t need to hide from them either. Jesus is our guide through them, our hope to hang on, and our strength to endure.

We need to be watching, waiting, and willing to hop on board with Jesus.

© 2010 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Kid Dees---Joy and Trials James 1:2,3

Kid-DEES are devotionals for kids from Bible verses in the word of God. On March 8, 2010 I asked the Lord to lead me to a name for my devotionals when He told me “Kid Dees” as in kiddies. Get it? I did and here they are. The Picture DEES we do are devotional thoughts from things we see and Kid DEES are from things we can read when we open up God’s word and allow it to enter our hearts. The third thing I write about is “Words to Live By” which are thoughts or devotionals coming from quotes I’ve heard that carry a good message to share. Perhaps you can help me name those something that goes along with the “DEES” as in ‘devotional’ line of writing. Anyway, read on and enjoy.

James 1:2,3 (NIV) Consider it pure joy, my brothers whenever you face trials (difficult times, temptations) of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance (firmness, determination).

Being young and just starting out in life you may not know what a trial feels like or maybe you do. If your parents ever separated, you were picked on at school, or you have a brother or sister that is always trying to get you into trouble you have faced what can be called a “trial.”

God tells us we need to consider it a good thing when we go through these types of things. That sounds kind of odd doesn’t it? It’s because of what we learn from these times is why we should be happy. They prepare us for things that might come along in the future. The more we learn how to properly handle these times the better at it we get.

Take for example going through an earthquake. I’ve never been through one before, have you? If you have then you already know what to do to get through it. You’re one step ahead of me because I wouldn’t know.

One of the biggest lessons we learn during these times is how to trust the Lord to see us through. As our faith and trust in God grows so does our spiritual maturity. We don’t need to wish bad times on us so we can grow and learn more. Those times will come invited.

Prayer and learning verses from God’s word will help see you through these times. Following your emotions won’t. Getting mad, upset, angry, depressed will lead you away not towards where you need to be.

Precious Heavenly Father, forgive us Lord for the times that the trials we are going through don’t seem so joyful. Help us Lord to keep our eyes on You and not on the situation. May we always know in our hearts that sooner or later this moment also will pass in our lives. Praise you Lord for giving us the avenue of prayer we can use to stay in contact with You to walk us through and carry us around life’s trials and temptations. An path opened up through the blood of Christ shed upon the cross. We love you Father, In Jesus’ name we pray in His name. Amen.

© 2010 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing