hi! my name is Joe
i am a pirate
I LOVE GOD!!!
A SMILE THAT CAME MY WAY
THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO TYPES OF SMILES. THERE IS ONE WHERE THE EDGES OF THE LIPS SIMPLY TURN UPWARD, BUT THERE IS A SMILE THAT’S SO MUCH DIFFERENT. IT’S A SMILE WHERE THE PERSON’S EYES SOFTEN TO REVEAL THE TENDERNESS, COMPASSION AND EMPATHY WHICH GOD HAS PLACED IN THEIR HEART. IT’S A SMILE WHERE THE PERSON’S FACE GLOWS AND RADIATES PENETRATING WARMTH. IT’S A SMILE WHICH IS A WARM SOOTHING POOL OF HEALING WATER.
WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE FRIENDS GOD HAS PUT IN MY LIFE, I THINK ABOUT PEOPLE WHOSE SMILES HAVE MELTED MY HEART, NOT BECAUSE THEY NECESSARILY KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON IN MY LIFE AT THAT INSTANT (ALTHOUGH OCCASIONALLY THEY DID), BUT BECAUSE THEY WERE JUST BEING THEMSELVES. THEIR SMILE WAS SO CAPTIVATING AND SO OVERWHELMING THAT EVEN THOUGH I FELT LIKE CRYING AT THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT, THERE WAS NO FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE THAT COULD OVERCOME THE WARMTH THEY RADIATED, OR OVERPOWER THE URGE, BURSTING FROM WITHIN, TO RESPOND TO THEIR SMILE WITH A SMILE JUST AS BIG.
IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS, WHO HAVE BLESSED YOU IN THIS WAY, THIS MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY THANK YOU, FOR THEIR FRIENDSHIP AND THEIR SMILE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT’S AN EXCELLENT TIME TO SAY THANK YOU TO OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, HIS SON AND HIS SPIRIT FOR ONE OF THE MANY WAYS HE CHOOSES TO REVEAL HIMSELF.
GOD USES THE SEEN TO REVEAL THE UNSEEN. HE USES FRIENDS TO TOUCH OUR HEART, AND TO ALLOW US TO TASTE A DROP OF HIS LOVING KINDNESS, ENDLESS MERCY, AMAZING GRACE, ABSOLUTE HEALING, AND MAGNIFICENT JOY, THAT WE MAY HUNGER AND THIRST FOR HIM, ALL THE MORE.
WE MAY, OR MAY NOT, MAKE THIS CONNECTION WHEN WE THINK OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST, BUT THERE ARE NO OTHER EYES WE CAN LOOK INTO, NO FACE WE CAN LOOK AT, NO HEART WE CAN SEARCH, AND FIND A MORE PERFECT SMILE.
PIRATE JOE
P.S. I’LL SAVE THE EXPLANATION OF A HUG FOR ANOTHER TIME.
AND THAT TIME IS NOW. :) :)
ROMANS 1:16-17
16 I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL, BECAUSE IT IS THE POWER OF GOD FOR THE SALVATION OF EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES: FIRST FOR THE JEW, THEN FOR THE GENTILE. 17 FOR IN THE GOSPEL A RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM GOD IS REVEALED, A RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT IS BY FAITH FROM FIRST TO LAST, JUST AS IT IS WRITTEN: "THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH."
RICH IS THE PERSON WHO HAS A PRAYING FRIEND. - JANICE HUGHES
"WHEN WE HONESTLY ASK OURSELVES WHICH PERSON IN OUR LIVES MEANS THE MOST TO US, WE OFTEN FIND THAT IT IS THOSE WHO, INSTEAD OF GIVING MUCH ADVICE, SOLUTIONS, OR CURES, HAVE CHOSEN RATHER TO SHARE OUR PAIN AND TOUCH OUR WOUNDS WITH A GENTLE AND TENDER HAND. THE FRIEND WHO CAN BE SILENT WITH US IN A MOMENT OF DESPAIR OR CONFUSION, WHO CAN STAY WITH US IN AN HOUR OF GRIEF AND BEREAVEMENT, WHO CAN TOLERATE NOT KNOWING, NOT CURING, NOT HEALING AND FACE WITH US THE REALITY OF OUR POWERLESSNESS, THAT IS A FRIEND WHO CARES."
HENRI NOUWEN
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Psalm 84:4
