Always be joyful.
Never stop praying.
Be thankful in all circumstances,
for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT
Although the snow has finally melted, it still feels like winter here in Pennsylvania. The good thing is the ground (mud) in the backyard is frozen – at least in the morning. But it doesn’t take long for the mud to thaw and to end up on our labradoodle’s paws and from there onto our rugs.
I have 100 strawberry plants that arrived the day we got 6″ of snow. I need to get them planted but it’s still too cold and too wet and muddy.
Important papers in my office again are in the land of the missing. Seriously, how can the bills that I need to pay this morning, and that were on the top of my desk last night, have disappeared? I know they weren’t paid by a bill fairy.
Somehow my email address got hacked. I’ve received and deleted over 7,000 “thank you for subscribing” emails from around the world. Finally, after a four day battle, I’m only getting a couple every hour. I’m grateful most of them ended up in my spam, but legit emails I need to answer also turn up in my spam folder. I hope I haven’t deleted anything important.
To add to all this and more, I’m in the conference crunch zone and need to finalize the faculty and program for the July 26-28 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference, redesign the brochure, and update the website. Meanwhile, countless details for the May 16-19 Colorado Christian Writers Conference need my attention – now!
And the ants are back . . . Yep! Every spring, even though it doesn’t feel like spring, they know it’s spring and they invade my office. At least they are tiny little black ants and not giant size. Still, it’s distracting to have an ant run across my computer screen. But what if those ants are a reminder to turn my attention to the Lord? What if I choose to
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
For the Lord is always good.
He is always loving and kind,
and his faithfulness goes on and on . . .
Psalm 100:4-5 TLB
Write His Answer 
Remember Corrie complaining to Bessie she didn’t want to thank the Lord for the bedbugs/fleas (depending on source) in their Ravensbruck barracks? They did keep the German soldiers out so they didn’t interrupt their ministry. God uses ants, too.
My great-nephew (I think that’s what he is) has some, too. Last year his Little League team made it to the finals before they were beat. He’s aged out of them and this year is in some kind of club. Earlier this week he fell and tried to catch himself and broke his left arm just above the wrist. Both bones were broken. The x-ray makes me want to scream in pain.
David
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