{"id":8358,"date":"2004-12-19T18:13:12","date_gmt":"2004-12-19T23:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=8358"},"modified":"2011-07-06T08:28:47","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T13:28:47","slug":"4012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2004\/12\/19\/4012\/","title":{"rendered":"It Helps When We Lift Our Eyes"},"content":{"rendered":"

WILLMAR, MN (December 19, 2004)\u00a0 – Editor’s note: In preparation for the\u00a0 Christmas observance, Covenant Communications is sharing seven\u00a0 devotionals that originally appeared in local church newsletters and are\u00a0 being published here by permission. The following comes from Cheryl\u00a0 Perry, an associate pastor working with children and families for First\u00a0 Covenant Church.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Cheryl Perry<\/p>\n
I was reminded of something recently by my little dog.<\/p>\n
Due to the fact that my family and I have been automobile challenged\u00a0 lately (my car is in the shop), I had to walk down to the local post\u00a0 office to get our mail. On one beautiful sunny day, I decided our dog,\u00a0 Maggie, would probably enjoy a walk too.<\/p>\n
Maggie is an 8-pound mutt. Keep this in mind – she is not so bright, and\u00a0 that she also has an 8-pound body. I’m thinking that the brain can only\u00a0 be a couple of ounces! Anyways, she loves to chase anything that moves .\u00a0 . . balls, Frisbees, cats and squirrels are her favorites. As we were walking I noticed two cats crossing the road back\u00a0 to their yard about a block ahead. I was thinking, “Now this would be\u00a0 interesting.” But as we approached Maggie did not even notice the cats\u00a0 that were crouched down and peering at us as we passed.<\/p>\n
A few blocks down, I spotted a squirrel in a yard and, again, wondered\u00a0 what Maggie’s response would be. I got another ‘non-response’ and\u00a0 wondered, “How could this be?” Well, Maggie’s problem was that she was concerned with what was\u00a0 going on right under her nose. Literally, she had her nose to the ground\u00a0 just sniffing whatever was one step ahead of her. She missed out on the\u00a0 potential of two great chases because she never looked up!<\/p>\n
Our church has recently had an incredible 40 days of community building\u00a0 and have heard stories of how people have been looking around for\u00a0 opportunities to reach out and meet a need . . . and I’ve thought of how\u00a0 awesome it is when our eyes are up, clearly focused on those around us, looking for ways to really make a difference.<\/p>\n
The holidays are upon us. Let us not get so consumed with our “to do”\u00a0 lists that we neglect to keep our eyes up, focused on Jesus this season.\u00a0 Let’s not miss the joy because we have our noses buried in busyness. And\u00a0 let’s all continue to be ever watchful for opportunities that God brings our way to share the love of Jesus with\u00a0 those coming and going around us.<\/p>\n
And for me, “Open my eyes that I may see . . .” (Psalms 119:18)<\/div>\n
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Copyright \u00a9 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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WILLMAR, MN (December 19, 2004)\u00a0 – Editor’s note: In preparation for the\u00a0 Christmas observance, Covenant Communications is sharing seven\u00a0 devotionals that originally appeared in local church newsletters and are\u00a0 being published here by permission. The following comes from Cheryl\u00a0 Perry, an associate pastor working with children and families for First\u00a0 Covenant Church. By Cheryl Perry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nIt Helps When We Lift Our Eyes - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2004\/12\/19\/4012\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It Helps When We Lift Our Eyes - Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WILLMAR, MN (December 19, 2004)\u00a0 – Editor’s note: In preparation for the\u00a0 Christmas observance, Covenant Communications is sharing seven\u00a0 devotionals that originally appeared in local church newsletters and are\u00a0 being published here by permission. 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