INSPIRATIONAL REFLECTIONS ON GOD: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts

I wonder if God looks back to His creation when it was untarnished by pollution, unblemished by famine and disease, and not scarred by the ravages of war. When unpolluted oceans bristled with life as He walked in the garden with Adam; when He created strange-looking creatures just for the sheer enjoyment of creating; when sunsets danced to colors our eyes cannot see and waterfalls beat to the pulse of His heart before we broke it; when rocks proclaimed His glory and flowers sang His praises; when life was found in everything and death did not exist; a world we have never known, at least not yet. A world that was and a world to come, joined by a tiny thread of love woven through the fabric of time. A remnant of His perfection is hidden in our DNA. The crust of earth beneath our feet gives hint to His creations from ages past. The stars that shine as angels in the night sky proclaim His lordship over every living creature. The winds that mount on eagles’ wings fill the earth with His spirit of redemption. Even the animals know. “Ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you, or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:7). God longs to live within our heart.  He shouts to us in our suffering.  At the crossroads of who we are and who God desires for us to become, we are either consumed by evil or we are conquered by love. If our sinful thoughts lose their grip, evil will lose its power.  Someday God will fill in all of those cracks. But during our time here, He wants to prepare us for a better place; a place where we will be perfect, even as He is perfect. God delights in the process of molding us. I take comfort in the fact that God wastes nothing and uses everything. Truly, no eye has seen or ear has heard what God has prepared for us. Our deepest hurts and failures will become God’s fertile soil for something far greater than we could ever have imagined. “...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us” (Romans 5:3-5).

MY RESCUED ANIMALS: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts

I"ll always be by your side while you write the best books in the whole world.

I'm an animal lover. Always have been, always will be. Animals have taught me lessons I couldn't have learned otherwise. When I see animals, I see the hand of God.

Sometimes I laugh when I see strange creatures, whether on TV, on the internet, in the wild, or in the oceans. I saw many weird ones when I scuba-dived. At other times, I mourn when I see the heartless killing of them. I don't mean for food, I mean for sport, for pride, for evil.

Lest I get too depressing, because that's not what this post is about, with the earthquake in Nepal and finishing my latest book, I am rather emotionally drained. Therefore, I decided to write this post for sheer enjoyment. I have pulled out photos of some of my pet animals, and yes, I have way too many. We have seven neurotic cats and one devoted dog.

All of them are rescued animals—from the streets, the Human Society, and unwanted. Actually, I think they rescued us. Yes, I would be much richer without their upkeep in heartworm medicine and food and vet bills, but how much poorer I would be without their love. 

Enjoy these snapshots. Laugh, cry, but mostly, remember God brings love to us through our pets. Every good thing comes from above, and yes, I do believe our cats and dogs and other critters will be in heaven. Does God not give us the desires of our heart? And my heart's desire is to see Gypsy, Gretchen, Shelley, Abby, Rex, Molly, Thomasina and Lewis (who have gone to their reward) as well as those still with us. How many blessings I would have missed without their licks, wags, kisses, purrs and—well, even their little messes. (As only a mother would understand:)

Yes, another dumb commercial.

Can I come in, too?

I'm so beautiful. Eat your heart out!

I'm in charge around here

I'm a cat on a hot Florida roof.

The best thing about Christmas is I get to play with the boxes.

Water always tastes better from a toilet.

Help! I promise I'll never do this again.
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Thank you for fostering us for a future home:)

Peek-a-boo

I just love these blankets.