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SUMMERTIME by <a href=http://www.faithcycleministries.org/Articles/profile/Rhonda-Clark/8>Rhonda Clark</a> I love summer! I can’t deny it, I just truly love summer, and being from the south, with its scorching heat and stifling humidity, summer days can sometimes (most often) be downright unbearable. For some reason, I still love it. There are just so many things that are great about summer. No school means we can all sleep in, and breakfast is at our leisure. Since the kids are here most of the day and I seem to either be stuck in the kitchen cooking for them, or burning the tires off the van carting them from one fun adventure to another, the kids take over extra chores. If they want to do my chores in return for an outing—then God bless them; I’ll happily play chauffer if the house is clean and I’m not the one doing all the cleaning! While these are good reasons to love summer, none of them are on the very top of my list. 
 
My most favorite time of summer is the evening. The sun slips just below the horizon, taking the heat—but leaving the humidity—with it. At this time, the cicadas begin their serenade. I like to sit and listen to their distinct, relaxing little song. If you’ve never heard one, you’ve really missed something. It’s a sound that you just can’t describe. It winds up, last a few seconds, and then unwinds again. Over and over, these little creatures call to each other, and their friends respond with their own little winding and unwinding song. Then, you begin to see little, tiny blinks of green lights. The fireflies begin their courtship ritual. My children are fascinated by the dancing firefly lights and chase them around the yard, giggling. 
 
Laughing myself, I begin to fully relax. There’s just something about watching your kids running barefoot through the grass giggling as they try to capture tiny blips of light that puts your whole life into perspective. I begin to reflect how I fit into God’s great creation. A faint smile slips across my face as I dwell on His promises. 
 
That’s when the humming war cry of the mosquito is heard and their onslaught begins. Quickly, we all begin to smack our skin, and each other’s, as we try to prevent the little menaces from munching on us. Hurriedly, we rush into the house without leaving the door open long enough for the thirsty little attackers to invade our living space. Slamming the door, we spend the rest of the evening inside. 
 
That’s exactly how Satan works. He lies in wait for us to become comfortable with where we are in God’s plan and let down our guard. At this moment Satan sends an assault that should drive us into God’s word in the same way my family is driven into the house when the mosquitoes descend. God should be our refuge from Satan’s attacks just like our home is refuge from the mosquitoes. On the other hand, if my family would put on mosquito repellant before we go outside, the mosquitoes wouldn’t be able to attack us, or, if they did, they wouldn’t enjoy their dinner. In the same way, we should clothe ourselves in God’s protective shield. 
 
Ephesians 6:10-18 gives explicit instructions for how we are to put on God’s holy protection. When we correctly clothe ourselves in God’s armor, Satan has a more difficult time breaching our barrier. That is why wearing the full armor of God is so important. We can endure all the pest and annoyances of this world while enjoying the station we are at in life. 
 
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Eph. 6:10-19 NIV

Article Source: <a href="http://www.faithcycleministries.org/Articles">FCM Articles</a>

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SUMMERTIME by Rhonda Clark

I love summer! I can’t deny it, I just truly love summer, and being from the south, with its scorching heat and stifling humidity, summer days can sometimes (most often) be downright unbearable. For some reason, I still love it. There are just so many things that are great about summer. No school means we can all sleep in, and breakfast is at our leisure. Since the kids are here most of the day and I seem to either be stuck in the kitchen cooking for them, or burning the tires off the van carting them from one fun adventure to another, the kids take over extra chores. If they want to do my chores in return for an outing—then God bless them; I’ll happily play chauffer if the house is clean and I’m not  the one doing all the cleaning! While these are good reasons to love summer, none of them are on the very top of my list.

My most favorite time of summer is the evening. The sun slips just below the horizon, taking the heat—but leaving the humidity—with it. At this time, the cicadas begin their serenade. I like to sit and listen to their distinct, relaxing little song. If you’ve never heard one, you’ve really missed something. It’s a sound that you just can’t describe. It winds up, last a few seconds, and then unwinds again. Over and over, these little creatures call to each other, and their friends respond with their own little winding and unwinding song. Then, you begin to see little, tiny blinks of green lights. The fireflies begin their courtship ritual. My children are fascinated by the dancing firefly lights and chase them around the yard, giggling.

Laughing myself, I begin to fully relax. There’s just something about watching your kids running barefoot through the grass giggling as they try to capture tiny blips of light that puts your whole life into perspective. I begin to reflect how I fit into God’s great creation. A faint smile slips across my face as I dwell on His promises.

That’s when the humming war cry of the mosquito is heard and their onslaught begins. Quickly, we all begin to smack our skin, and each other’s, as we try to prevent the little menaces from munching on us. Hurriedly, we rush into the house without leaving the door open long enough for the thirsty little attackers to invade our living space. Slamming the door, we spend the rest of the evening inside.

That’s exactly how Satan works. He lies in wait for us to become comfortable with where we are in God’s plan and let down our guard. At this moment Satan sends an assault that should drive us into God’s word in the same way my family is driven into the house when the mosquitoes descend. God should be our refuge from Satan’s attacks just like our home is refuge from the mosquitoes. On the other hand, if my family would put on mosquito repellant before we go outside, the mosquitoes wouldn’t be able to attack us, or, if they did, they wouldn’t enjoy their dinner. In the same way, we should clothe ourselves in God’s protective shield.

Ephesians 6:10-18 gives explicit instructions for how we are to put on God’s holy protection. When we correctly clothe ourselves in God’s armor, Satan has a more difficult time breaching our barrier. That is why wearing the full armor of God is so important. We can endure all the pest and annoyances of this world while enjoying the station we are at in life.   
      
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Eph. 6:10-19 NIV

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First Things First.
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