"And the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased"-Luke 3:22 (NIV).  

The Bible references birds 300 times and identifies 28-29 different species.  Do you know the first bird mentioned in the Bible?  Noah released a raven to determine if the flood waters were receding.  The most often used...the eagle; the most well known...the rooster.  The dove, however, was the Holy Spirit's chosen form when He descended upon Christ Jesus and is mentioned in all four of Gospels (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32).  An appropriate choice...doves were the required sacrifice for guilt and purification.  God sent down "His pure Sweet Love," on our atoning Sacrifice..."a sign from above"..."on the wings of a Dove."   

"Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!  For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready"-Revelation 19:7 (NIV).

Think of the time spent preparing for a wedding.  Choices have to be made: What to wear, flowers, music, food, pictures....These preparations begin as soon as the "who" decision has been made.  It's a time of great excitement...a once in a lifetime event!  Our Who decision is made...we wait on the when.  Christ's bride should be preparing and be ready.  Rejoice!  Oh, and don't worry about the budget...everything's paid in full.  The sky's the limit!

"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"-Jeremiah 32:27 (NIV).

Why do we limit our prayers to the grounded, the possible, and the appropriate? God is limitless! He is Omnipresent; time and space don't confine Him. He is omniscient; He knows everything, our very thoughts are known by Him...controlled by Him.  He is omnipotent; He controls of all things...on earth...as it is in heaven!  When a speaker presents, he considers his audience, and purposes his presentation accordingly.  Next time you pray, consider your Audience...is anything too hard for God?  No...He is limitless!

"Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son"-2 John 1:9 (NIV).

As we "run ahead" into our day, we cast out seeds in words and deeds along the way.  The seed we want to sow is the love and redeeming grace of Christ Jesus.  Matthew 13:1-9 spoke of the results of those receiving the seed:  Some consumed by birds, some sun scorched  some choked out, but some produced a harvest.  As Christ followers, you want to cast good seed on to good soil, but you need to beware of the choice of seed you cast out.  Weeds come from seeds, too.  Your seeds (words and deeds) can produce crop of weeds...or a bountiful harvest!  Choose the Good Seed.

"From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another"-John 1:16 (NLT).

Each day is like an onion with multiple layers of blessings.  If you cut through it, instead of peeling off each layer individually, you may miss some or all of the hidden treasures God is trying to give you each day.  We step to the tune of ticktock ticktock ticktock.  That rhythm marks our movements throughout the day and we move numbly through each hour.  Don't let the routine deceive you.  It's not the same old landscape, it's a new day, a gift...look again, taste and see, the gracious blessings hidden within the layers.