Leave it with HIM

A friend of mine sent this thought and poem to me, and it was too good not to share:

LEAVE IT WITH HIM

"I need oil" said an ancient monk; so he planted an olive sapling.
"Lord," he prayed, "it needs rain that its tender roots may drink and swell. Send gentle showers."
And the Lord sent gentle showers.
"Lord," prayed the monk,"my tree needs sun. Send sun, I pray Thee."
And the sun shone, gilding the dripping clouds.
"Now frost, my Lord, to brace its tissues," cried the monk.
And behold, the little tree stood sparkling with frost, but at evening it died.

Then the monk sought the cell of a brother monk, and told his strange experience.
"I, too, planted a little tree," he said, "and see! it thrives well. But I entrust my tree to its God. He who made it knows better what it needs, than a man like me. I laid no condition. I fixed not ways or means.
'Lord, send what it needs,' I prayed, 'storm or sunshine, wind, rain, orf rost. Thou hast made it and Thou dost know.'"

Yes, leave it with Him,
The lilies all do,
And they grow--
They grow in the rain,
And they grow in the, dew--
Yes, they grow:
They grow in the darkness, all hid in the night--
They grow in the sunshine, revealed by the light--

Still they grow.
Yes, leave it with Him
'Tis more dear to His heart,
You will know,
Than the lilies that bloom,
Or the flowers that start
'Neath the snow:
Whatever you need, if you seek it in prayer,
You can leave it with Him--for you are His care.
You, you know.

Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

Quick Update

Hey folks,
Have been busy over the last couple of weeks - a lot of things happening in my life now!!
So, will split this to two posts - this one about my move.

I've moved my residence from Lafayette to Walnut Creek last weekend.

One of my buddies from my Church in India has come to work here in a company in San Francisco, and we decided to rent a 2 bed 2 bath place together, since the rent here in the Bay Area is so expensive!!

My buddy Prashanth and moi at the Lafayette Reservoir........

This is Prashanth's friend Robert and his wife Sheila....

Kitchen in our apartment....

Living room...

Gifts given by my office staff on the dining table...

Bed rooms....

View of the kitchen from the living room...

I'm doing the dishes when my buddy clicked this picture!!

Fitness Center in our apartment...........

Swimming pool in our apartment....

I thank God for all the wonderful people who helped me with a LOT of stuff as I moved in to my new apartment.

First, I thank God for Char, who was with my buddy and I the whole day, and helped us move, and thought of many small details like spoons, forks, plates, paper towels, toilet paper, sheets, pillows, bowls, etc, etc. Kelly and Keri, who are Char's daughters had given some of these things too!!

The staff at my office collected money and bought a whole lot of kitchen things. The list is too long to type here. Awesome people!!

My old house mates Mark and Cary gave a couch and Iron.........

I did drop the couch on my foot and it still hurts a bit, but I'll live!!

Well, with all these wonderful people's help, I'm settled in pretty well in my new place.

I had a lot of people praying for me, and I thank all of them!!

It's great to know that there are so many people who care.............

Seeds.......

I had a great day today!!

The Church service today was awesome. The message was about the parable of the sower, and pastor Judy made me ponder some things which I haven't thought of during the many times I've read this parable.

She actually had some real rocks, weeds and good soil up in the front of the Church on the floor, and had all the kids around the exhibit, and pulled out a basket of real sunflower seeds and began scattering them on the exhibit, and explained beautifully about the seeds, and what they meant, depending on where they fell - rocks, weeds, on the path, and on good soil.

She brought our attention to the farmer, and wondered what kind of farmer would really scatter the seeds anywhere other than the good soil. And wondered if the farmer was God, and the seeds were Jesus. God gave Jesus to everyone......Jesus died for everyone and not just for select people.

Another aspect was the fact that the weeds, rocks, path and good soil are in each of us. There are some things that God wants us to do, that we hear, but don't do, like the seeds on the path which is taken away by the birds. There are instances where weeds choke the growth of the seeds, like when we succumb to peer pressure or other pressures we face - sometimes in our family too!
And then, like the seeds that fell on good soil, there are nice things we do in our homes, at work, and anywhere else.

Was pretty thought provoking!!
The closing hymn was Amazing Grace, and one of the stanzas really struck me today, and set me thinking of the paths I've tread leading me to where I am now. Have updated that as my blog description too!!


And now in the evening, I went to the Martinez homeless shelter to help cook and serve dinner for about 9 adults and 6 kids. Dwight Johnson from my Church took care of the food, and I requested my friend Char to make dessert, and invited her to go with me to the shelter. We had a few good hours preparing the food, serving, and eating with the people there. The people were mostly with young kids, and this shelter, while providing a roof over their heads, also helps them get back on their feet.

Char, Dwight and I had a wonderful time with the people at this shelter.
Our Church does this once a month.



There is something I'm very excited about since yesterday - the fact that one of my buddies from my Church in India, is moving to CA near where I live, and we are considering moving in together. My current housemates are great, but I feel it will be nice to live with someone I've known for many years, not to mention the Indian food which I don't know how to cook!!

I'll share more on August 18th, which I promised to do in one of my previous posts!!

Have a great week folks!
God Bless!!

Pill Counting Party!!

Yesterday (07/31/08), and on 07/17/08, I went and helped out in sorting and counting pills for a few hours in the evening.
A team from here in California will be going to Zimbabwe in September and distribute these pills.
Most of these pills are for HIV/AIDS patients.

I have never seen so many pills in one place at the same time (except of course in a pharmacy).
We take the pills out of the bottles and the strips to save space, and count them and package them in 3 or 4 month supplies.
The host David, in whose home we did the sorting, counting and packaging, was very gracious and provided dinner on both nights.
Oh when I say we, I meant a bunch of us from our Church.


Here are a couple of pictures taken there.
Bev Fellows, who has been going to our Church for 35 years (wow!!) is in the picture:




I was glad I could help in a small way.
I'm forever grateful to God for the good health He has given me all my life.
I have medical insurance through my employer now, and was sharing with a few friends that I don't remember when was the last time I went to a doctor - not in the last 15 years or so!!
Praise God!!