Unplugged from the news, the nasty noise of blame, I am well placed, with ears to hear what the Spirit is singing.  The sweet symphony of a gentle breeze rustling through the trees beckons my consideration of Who blows this unseen wind?   The world is quick to finger point at science, to cast a spell about man made assumptions.  Such untruths befall me not—– I remain unaffected by the turbulence of unsolved mysteries.  Like a placid pond, unruffled by the current buzz of discord, I embrace the lush hush with ordinary eyes and ears.  Slowed down, I am refreshed by the Truth, that stillness never stopped God, or time.  A young girl sat at the feet of her teacher, listening carefully to every word he spoke while her sister Martha grumbled in the kitchen, too busy to pause for Truth. The world moans within the wound of racing to hear the latest mayhem.  Yet life is more than avoiding calamity.  God told us how we might live more abundantly. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself….Do this and you will live.” It is not urgent, or helpful to fill the mind with the ongoing brawl of  what “he did, or she said”.  To live fully in my small Mexican village necessitates me to remember, to recount what Jesus has done in me, through me, and for me.  The truth is, Jesus loved me first, and it is the Love He is, the love He lavished on me that fills my heart and soul to overflowing. It is with His love that I can love others. It is His grace, mercy, and kindness that I can pass on. Oh praise our Lord Jesus as He is worthy of all our devotion, simply for Who He is, the Son of God, and the King of kings. Let us smash our own reflection with great expectation of seeing the love of Jesus when we look into the mirror. “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 —  Dear reader, be stilled, slow down and chew on the following words.  “He must be come more, as I become less.” John 3:30“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.  Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. Absolute TruthFor the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;  but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.  Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.  My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”  James 1: 2-26  – What did Jesus say about Himself?  Read John 17:5 and John 5:39-46  – What did Jesus say about John the Baptist? A wild looking man who ate bugs, who never made a spectacle of himself, but who consistently pointed to Jesus. Matthew 11:11