Little Beaver State Park, Beaver, West Virginia
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. ~ Matthew 5:10-12 I think the highlighted words are important. We can be persecuted for all kinds of reasons, just look at any social media and you’ll find angry, hate-filled words and taunts against people about all sorts of things – from the way you look to the clothes you wear to your political views, and the list goes on and on. But Jesus says, we are blessed because of being persecuted because of Him. Jesus Himself was persecuted because He dared to go against the world and do and say what was right according to God. They insulted Him. They persecuted Him. They lied about the things He said and did. They tortured Him. And this is the same way people have always treated those sent to speak for Him. When this happens to us, we need to fall upon the Words of God Himself Who reminds us of the heavenly blessing that awaits those who belong to Him. It’s not easy, but we can do it.
It was necessary for us to bundle up to go out today – coats, boots, gloves, head warmers – the whole nine yards! So I put on a crock pot of chili. It’s pretty crazy how much cooler it is considering the temperatures we were just in! It was supposed to be a nasty day, but they’ve now moved that to tomorrow. You just never know what the weather will do! It’s the one thing people really can’t understand or control. I’m pretty sure God designed it that way for a reason. 😊
We just did an in-the-Park hike today. There’s still some extra water around, and I’ll bet after tomorrow, there’s gonna be even more.
Much of the time, it was like walking in a tunnel.
Imagine what it would look like when they’re blooming!
I’m standing on a bridge.
but for whatever reason it looks more tan than the brilliant white it was. : (
Pretty sure it doesn’t always look like this. : )
That’s the trail marker for crossing from the other side!
Trying to play catch up on the blog and other activities consumed the remainder of our day. And there was nothing to write home about on Wednesday because the weather was more conducive to remaining indoors.
Except . . . .
It SNOWED!!!
It was really wet and didn’t stick to anything, but still . . . it gave me joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!