{"id":5833,"date":"2016-05-31T06:46:16","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T12:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=5833"},"modified":"2016-05-31T06:46:16","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T12:46:16","slug":"a-morning-dove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=5833","title":{"rendered":"A Morning Dove"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I enjoy this time of year. Just warm enough to be able to open the windows to allow the breeze to flow through the house. And the sounds of nature\u2026it is calming to hear the birds singing, the frogs croaking and crickets chirping.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flowers-1325012_1280.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-5728 \" style=\"border: 3px solid #000000; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flowers-1325012_1280-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"flowers-1325012_1280\" width=\"246\" height=\"164\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flowers-1325012_1280-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flowers-1325012_1280-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flowers-1325012_1280-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/flowers-1325012_1280.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 246px) 100vw, 246px\" \/><\/a>One of my favorite sounds is that of the morning dove. Their cooing reminds me of my Grandpa and Grandma Ike. When I hear a morning dove, I\u2019m transported back to their home, listening to the call of one morning dove to another.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>These are precious memories to me and I am thankful to have the reminder of those moments years ago.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>God has placed reminders all around us to help us remember Him. A beautiful sunrise or sunset. Snow on the mountaintops. A gentle breeze. Fresh fruits and vegetables. All of these things remind us of God our Creator.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>God\u2019s reminders don\u2019t stop with nature. Do you think of God when you discover a particularly truth-bearing verse of Scripture? Or when there is an answer to prayer? Or when you are encouraged by a smile from a stranger? Or when you feel peace in your heart? These are all reminders that God is with you.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>God reminds us each day to stop and see Him. To stop and speak with Him. To stop and enter into His presence. To stop and seek His will. To stop and be Jesus to others.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>You see, it\u2019s easy for us to forget and neglect and dismiss God in our lives. We find ourselves too busy to see the reminders God has placed in our path. Sometimes we just don\u2019t care. At other times we are nearly bold enough. And that my friend, is exactly where the enemy wants us to be. In a state of apathy, busyness and fear.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Today I would like to encourage you to open your spiritual eyes to God\u2019s reminders. Then I\u2019d like for you to recall all that God has done for you and perhaps through you. But these steps are not enough. There might be something you need to do. If so, do it. Do not allow fear to hold you back. Allow God\u2019s Spirit to move within you and then through you.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Several verses are going through my head right now. Like, <em>\u201cGod did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.\u201d <\/em>(2 Timothy 1:7 \u2013 NIV) Or, James 4:17 (NIV),<em> \u201cAnyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn\u2019t do it, sins.\u201d <\/em>And, <em>\u201cBut seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.\u201d <\/em>(Matthew 6:33 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What is God reminding you of today?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Donna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; I enjoy this time of year. Just warm enough to be able to open the windows to allow the breeze to flow through the house. And the sounds of nature\u2026it is calming to hear the birds singing, the frogs croaking and crickets chirping. &nbsp; One of my favorite sounds is that of the morning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3762,4664,12,5600,296,16,3770,17,3438,27,23,14],"tags":[3120,5703,2523,1053,76,2643],"class_list":["post-5833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abide","category-choose","category-discovering-god","category-encounter","category-experiencing-god","category-following-god","category-listen","category-obeying-god","category-reflect-god","category-remembering-god","category-seeing-god","category-seeking-god","tag-2-timothy-17","tag-a-morning-dove","tag-james-417","tag-matthew-633","tag-memories","tag-reminders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5833"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5834,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5833\/revisions\/5834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}