A Web walk each day with Peggie through a home called Peggie’s Place! . . . . My roots spring from the State of Pennsylvania, where someone far more famous than I, is having a field day today…meet Punxsutawney Phil, the charming, delightful groundhog who appears every February 2 to tell us if winter is soon to end–or if we have six more weeks to shovel snow, sniff with colds, and stay inside the cabin!
Now how is this determined? By the groundhog’s SHADOW–whether it appears or does not appear is crucial to the entire event. Don’t ask me which is which…I can never remember! I only know it is a very big deal in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania–they have a lot of fun, whatever happens!
Shadows a groundhog makes may be fun–shadows that people make are not–and yet there are many shadow people in our world today…Meet three of them–maybe you will find yourself!
1. I’m AFRAID of my shadow! Fear becomes the tagalong of this shadow person. It follows him night and day, causes sleepless nights, anxious days and finds something to worry about every minute of the day. A miserable shadow–one that God came to dispel!
Scripture: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee. Be not dismayed; for I am thy God. I will strength thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness (Isaiah 41:10).
2. I’m MAD at my shadow! Anger becomes the fighting foe of this shadow person. It rears its ugly head without notice, flying into temper tantrums when it gets not its own way. It hates everyone–but in particular, the person it shadows. Low self-esteem, no self-respect–the shadow does its dirty work deep in the heart of the shadow person. A MEAN, angry shadow–one that God came to dispel!
Scripture: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven you (Ephesians 4:31,32).”
3. I DOUBT there IS a shadow! Unbelief becomes the ruling force of this shadow person’s heart. We must SEE to believe–faith flies out the window and suspicion comes in to stay. We don’t believe in ourselves, we don’t believe in other people, we don’t believe in our God–and the shadow of doubt looms over everything we are and do. A dark, unbelieving shadow–one that God came to dispel!
Scripture: “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me (John 14:1).”
Now God does not dispel ANYTHING without replacing it with something of HIMSELF….and the replacement for the shadows that follow you night and day? It’s found in the SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY: “He who dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1).”
Run to HIS shadow today–your fear will be turned to faith; your mad to glad, your doubt to sure belief–and you WILL have a great day–whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not!
Prayer: “Lord, shadows follow my path through life–they bring heaviness and unhappiness to my world.
Dispel them with Your love–and hide me, O God, in the shadow YOU provide–
there I will be safe, there I will be free, In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
TODAY’S FEATURED LINKS!
Annie’s Groundhog Day
Punxsutawneyphil.com
Groundhog.org–Official Site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club
An encouraging perspective: “The shadow of His hand” (Isaiah 49:2 KJV)
“Lessons in the Shadow” – Streams in the Desert (WomenofChristianity.com)
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Today’s devotional links – devos by Peggie
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Today’s humor and inspiration
“Marvelously Mature” and “Seven Wonders of the World”
“Why I Don’t Go to Church!” and “Recall Notice!”
See TNT archives for lots more!
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Kid Thinking!
This is a story about a little girl who, on the way home from church, turned to her mother and said, “Mommy, the Preacher’s sermon this morning confused me.”
The mother said, “Oh! Why is that?”
The girl replied, “Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?”
“Yes, that’s true,” the mother replied.
“He also said that God lives within us. Is that true, too?”
Again the mother replied, “Yes.”
“Well,” said the girl. “If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?”
–reprinted from Mikey’s Funnies.
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Today’s link: SuperBowl Menu and Recipes
Today’s page from Peggie’s Place: Pot o’ Pastors! – a fun page of Peggie’s pastor friends!
Today’s quote:
“Sometimes God calms the storm; sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child!”
Today’s cartoon: Daily Christian cartoon – Reverend Fun
Have a great day serving the Lord!
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–Archived sources:
The Devotional Buffet – 500+ archived devos
Tickles ‘n Truth archives
The Virtual Chocolate Shop
–Quote credits: Mikey’s Funnies and/or Walking with Jesus Ministries .
–Copyright 2012 by Peggie C. Bohanon, Springfield, MO. All rights reserved.
–A weekday feature from Peggie’s Place, “the most fun Christian home on the Web!
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–Want to read more? Visit archives at Fun ‘n Faith blog.
