Frolicking with God

There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

Psalm 104:26

Imagine, kayaking in the open ocean when the largest mammal ever to exist on earth, a Blue whale, comes up alongside. With great care, the man lowers himself into the water and films the amazing creature, which can be 100 feet long and weigh 200 tons or more. Imagine a heart the size of a car and tail flukes 25 feet wide.

I am filled with a sense of awe at a God who would create such an amazing animal for the pure joy of it. Our God delights in His creatures frolicking. He enjoys me, and wants me to have fun. Rather than being a hard taskmaster who cracks the whip and demands obedience, this verse reminds me that God wants me to know Him.

God reaches out to man to reveal Himself. He constantly sends reminders of His existence and causes us to stand in awe of His incredible creativity, diversity, imagination, and love.

The book of Genesis reveals God kneeling in the dust to form man with His own hands, gently breathing life into his nostrils. At creation, God called everything good. He created man in order to love him and to be loved by Him in turn.

Ponder this fact, the Creator of the universe sees you as someone special. He delights in you and wants you to know Him. If you’re not close to God, perhaps these whales can change your perception of Him.

Open up the Bible, it is filled with instances of His tender love. Learn to frolic with God and enjoy Him. Draw near to you so that He can enjoy you.

Check out this video of an encounter with a blue whale at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVtw94PJ8XA

© Copyright by Norma Gail Thurston Holtman, November 3, 2011

About the author:

Norma Gail’s debut contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, released in April 2014. She has led weekly women’s Bible studies for 20 years. Her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, FaithWriters, Romance Writers of America, and the New Mexico Christian Novelists. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 39 years. They have two adult children.

Connect with Norma:

Website: www.normagail.org

Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQbZIoC_JSE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNormaGail

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+NormaGailwrites

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/normagailth/boards/  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7874459

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Norma_Gail

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/norma-gail-thurston-holtman/42/71a/3b2

Book Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail/dp/1941103170

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/land-of-my-dreams-norma-gail/1119606864?ean=9781941103173

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas Bookstore: http://store.lpcbooks.com/product/land-of-my-dreams/

Created Creative and Lovin' It!

Happy, Blessed, Favor-filled Wednesday, y'all! Caryl McAdoo here, and I'm so glad to be with you today on Stitches Thru Time! "Woven Wednesdays" are to share crafts (or recipes). And I do love trying new recipes. I saw one that looked so good and easy the other day on Facebook, that I went and got ingredients for it today, so I'll have to let you know how it goes! 

1-2 tsp melted butter in each cup of a cupcake pan, then a Tbsp brown sugar, then place a maraschino cherry in the center. Drain a can of crushed pineapple (retain juice) then put a heaping Tbsp crushed pineapple into each cup on top the butter/brown sugar/cherry :) 

Make a yellow (or pineapple cake) batter up  according to box instructions except replace water with the drained pineapple juice - adding a little water if needed to get to required amount of liquid for the cake. Then pour batter over the rest to fill each cup. Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven 30-35 minutes until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5-10 minutes. Place cookie sheet on top the muffin pan and invert! Serve warm...

Doesn't that sound SO EASY? 

One lady said some people like to use pineapple tidbits because they look like a flower, but her family preferred the crushed by far. Another lady said spray every cup first, too. But that isn't what I'm writing about :) Don't you just love it that every single person has a desire to create inside them? It's because we're made in His image, and He is a Creator! The Master Creator!

One creative outlet He's given me is singing new songs. He gives them to me, and I love to sing them. I'm reminded of a part in one called "Angels Unaware", a part of the chorus goes:  "He can count the stars! He hung Jupiter and Mars! He made every bird and butterfly as different as you and I." I'd love to sing it to you if only I knew how to attach a song URL!

At our River Bottom Ranch in Grand Prairie, TX

But we all love to create, make things, from scrapbookers to painters and recipes to quilts! My husband likes to build barns. He's on his fifth now! Here's one of his firsts built when we inherited TWELVE quarter horses from his dad. PawPaw bought on Mare, Lady Bingo, then "created a herd". 

My horseshoe, saw blade, creation

And here's something I did with some of Ron's old junk to decorate one of the outside walls of barn two :) That's my shadow :) And my son takes all sorts of old furniture and stuff--a lot he picks up free on people's curbs. He saws, sands, paints, hammers and repurposes it into something brand new he sells for buckage! There's TV shows of men who do this for a living! And I love watching them.

And guess what else I like to create! Stories! I've always loved the written word and God led me to an awesome writers' workshop where I was mentored and learned the craft of creative writing. I just released my 19th title this month! Story & Style, The Craft of Writing Creative Fiction. I pray it will help many many aspiring authors and also, multi-published authors!

What qualifies me to write a teaching book? Thirty years writing for publication and fifteen years editing manuscripts professionally...and I did mention nineteen titles. I'm currently writing three series: two romance - historical and contemporary and a Biblical fiction. So this is another way I enjoy creating.

We ALL do! Even people who say they don't have a creative bone in their body. They excel at wrapping the most beautiful gift packages you ever saw, or maybe their garden is their outlet. The expressions of creativity are as numerous as the stars in the sky! BTW, if you're a city dweller, you owe it to yourself to drive to the country and check out the night sky!

So what do you like to do to when your creative juices are flowing? Inquiring minds want to know :)   
If you write, or know someone who does or wants to, I'd love to draw a name from among the commentors to this post and bless her or him with a copy of my new book!  

AND check out the Stitches Thru Time Giveaway going on this week! A COMPLETE Declaration of Independence Anthology by Amber Schamel, Murray Pura, Joseph Lewis, and John Amadeo. So your ONE COMMENT gets you in both drawings! 

More blessings to your and yours! Come back and see us :)