Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise.
Finally! After two years, I’m blogging again.
I really didn’t want to stop blogging but knew I had to because my writing didn’t bring glory to whom it was due. Instead, I was doing it to please people.
You see, I had been a people pleaser since the day I was told as a four year old that people wouldn’t like me if I said certain things or acted a certain way. For decades, I literally wore myself out trying to make sure others thought well of me. Eventually, I figured out that there will always be individuals who don’t care for me no matter how helpful, friendly or peaceable I am.
However, I didn’t know how to overcome the desire to please others, but experience told me that God did. So, I asked Him for help. It took many, many years to get to the point where I am today—a person set on pleasing God instead of people. In the process, He has humbled me to be a light to others.
As I relayed earlier, a couple of years ago I discerned that I was to stop posting to my blog. I knew this because of the many divine nudges to do so. Yet, stopping was one of the hardest things to do as a writer.
A lot has happened in the two years since my last blogpost that was written while I lived on a barrier island along the Florida Panhandle. After living there for only two months, I left the island, moved to South Carolina, and worked at a dental college in Charleston. However, eventually I returned to the Sunshine State.
Shortly after coming back to Florida, a friend asked me to housesit when she flew out of state for a family emergency. During the next three-and-a-half months while living in her waterfront home, I had the opportunity to write a book and hone my photography skills.
On top of all of this, God had been healing some deep-seated strongholds within me for the last few years. At times, I’ve taken two steps forward and one step back during the refining process. I know that all of His fine-tuning is for some future purpose that I’m not privy to yet.
Furthermore, through recent trials and my numerous moves to other locales, I’ve naturally gained greater wisdom even in the smallest of things. However, such wisdom did not come easy, especially if I turned my focus away the Lord. Additionally, there has been a lot of uncertainty about what a new career will look like for the remainder of my days here on earth. Nonetheless, I know the Lord wants me to wait patiently on His timing for such a future endeavor.
During the wait, I’ve been taking a lot of photos. Below are some images of Agama lizards taken last month at a local riverside park. The colorful lizards are the male adults of the species while the smaller, more muted-colored ones are its youth.
Knowing that I am now to give glory to God in my blogposts, I wanted to include a scripture in this entry but doubted lizards were even mentioned in the Bible.
Lo and behold, I found a reference for them in the Old Testament. The book of Proverbs lists lizards as one of four things that are small but extremely wise. (Hmm, didn't I just mention that I gained some wisdom in the smallest of things?) Some versions of the Bible use the word spider instead of lizard, so of course I’m using one that mentions a lizard.
Have a blessed day.
“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.” — Proverbs 30:24-28 (NIV)
I really didn’t want to stop blogging but knew I had to because my writing didn’t bring glory to whom it was due. Instead, I was doing it to please people.
You see, I had been a people pleaser since the day I was told as a four year old that people wouldn’t like me if I said certain things or acted a certain way. For decades, I literally wore myself out trying to make sure others thought well of me. Eventually, I figured out that there will always be individuals who don’t care for me no matter how helpful, friendly or peaceable I am.
However, I didn’t know how to overcome the desire to please others, but experience told me that God did. So, I asked Him for help. It took many, many years to get to the point where I am today—a person set on pleasing God instead of people. In the process, He has humbled me to be a light to others.
As I relayed earlier, a couple of years ago I discerned that I was to stop posting to my blog. I knew this because of the many divine nudges to do so. Yet, stopping was one of the hardest things to do as a writer.
A lot has happened in the two years since my last blogpost that was written while I lived on a barrier island along the Florida Panhandle. After living there for only two months, I left the island, moved to South Carolina, and worked at a dental college in Charleston. However, eventually I returned to the Sunshine State.
Shortly after coming back to Florida, a friend asked me to housesit when she flew out of state for a family emergency. During the next three-and-a-half months while living in her waterfront home, I had the opportunity to write a book and hone my photography skills.
On top of all of this, God had been healing some deep-seated strongholds within me for the last few years. At times, I’ve taken two steps forward and one step back during the refining process. I know that all of His fine-tuning is for some future purpose that I’m not privy to yet.
Furthermore, through recent trials and my numerous moves to other locales, I’ve naturally gained greater wisdom even in the smallest of things. However, such wisdom did not come easy, especially if I turned my focus away the Lord. Additionally, there has been a lot of uncertainty about what a new career will look like for the remainder of my days here on earth. Nonetheless, I know the Lord wants me to wait patiently on His timing for such a future endeavor.
During the wait, I’ve been taking a lot of photos. Below are some images of Agama lizards taken last month at a local riverside park. The colorful lizards are the male adults of the species while the smaller, more muted-colored ones are its youth.
Knowing that I am now to give glory to God in my blogposts, I wanted to include a scripture in this entry but doubted lizards were even mentioned in the Bible.
Lo and behold, I found a reference for them in the Old Testament. The book of Proverbs lists lizards as one of four things that are small but extremely wise. (Hmm, didn't I just mention that I gained some wisdom in the smallest of things?) Some versions of the Bible use the word spider instead of lizard, so of course I’m using one that mentions a lizard.
Have a blessed day.
“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.” — Proverbs 30:24-28 (NIV)
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| adult male Agama lizard |
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| Agama lizard |
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| Agama lizard |
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