Living a life of lemonade...

My daughter captured this photo the first evening our wonderful foreign exchange student arrived. She was only with our family less than three hours when she heard “There has to be a blog in this.” With an inquisitive look she asked what my daughter meant. We all smiled and she is a photographer herself so who knows, you might see one of her photos in the next few weeks.

I love this picture for a few reasons. The bright boldness of the yellow lemons, with the red picnic table backdrop, ever so slightly held by the moist white napkins, with only a hint of green and blue in the background. I just love it and made it my new screen saver, it brings a smile to my face each time I look at it. Often when I have a photograph I plan to blog about ~ it earns the title of “screen saver” so each time I walk by my computer monitor its image revisits the creative side of my brain. I also pray each time I look at the picture knowing God has a message hidden within the pixels of the photograph. This photograph is no different.

Have you heard the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”? I’ve decided this is exactly what I have done. My sister was kidnapped over seventeen years ago. The first ten years were mostly lemons with a taste of lemonade, but it was made by someone else so its flavor and sweetness didn’t last. It wasn’t until  I chose to cut my own lemons open and squeeze them out that I was able to not only make my lemonade, but an eternal and heavenly sweet glass. 

It took me ten years to realize God hadn’t taken my sister and I had a choice. A choice to live a bitter and sour life blaming others and Him or open up my those same feelings, squeeze out of the negativity, anger, hate and fear ~ add a relationship with my Jesus for the sweetest life one can have. Of course I still have lemons tossed at me sometimes yet keeping my eyes, heart, and mind in the Word ~ is the protection I need. It is my armor. I will use the sword of Spirit to deflect the lemons. It isn’t always easy yet with God’s strength and armor ~ I’m drinking the sweetest lemonade and have a voice, a pen if you will, to share my lemonade with others searching for something, for someone to stop the lemons from flying at them long enough to cut and squeeze the ones they already have into lemonade.

Enjoy the summer and some homemade lemonade! God’s Word is alive and active, providing the answers, encouragement and strength to eliminate all the lemons in our life. I pray you choose to make lemonade today.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_lemonade/

I choose to live and celebrate! With God by my side...all is good! He has the strength, wisdom and know-how to accomplish everything as I persevere through life.

I hope you choose to celebrate by squeezing the lemons of your life into a glass with sugar and make lemonade!

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I hope you all will join me and my fellow writers as we present our very first public reading at the River’s End Bookstore @ 6:30 pm.  The night will be entitled "An Evening  with Writers from The River's End: Readings from Neighbors You Never Knew."  Programs will be handed out prior to the evenings event that will include author bio’s and a synopsis of the work being read. Below is the link to the bookstore for more information:   http://www.riversendbookstore.com/event/rivers-end-reading