The Front Porch: God's Loving Ways

Think of the loving ways that Jesus speaks of His relationship to you: Groom to the bride, Brother to a brother, Friend to a friend. . Having Jesus call you His friend doesn’t mean a casual, informal friendship, but a deep, intimate friendship. Every quality that we desire in a best friend is found in our relationship with Him. Jesus abides with us, walks with us, and speaks His heart to us. He is completely trustworthy, loyal, and true. He is always there for you, He gives you His complete attention, He cares about your needs, and He loves you unconditionally. .

God wants you to experience His “alls," not just “portions." He wants to give you all of the grace you will need, not just a portion. He wants you to receive all spiritual blessings, not just a portion. He wants to fill all of your heart with His love, not just a portion. . Praise to the Lord,

who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee! Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee; How oft in grief Hath not He brought thee relief, Spreading His wings for to shade thee! -Joachim Neander . God’s love is too great to comprehend, Too awesome to be replaced; Too high to climb its summit; Too wide for arms to embrace. . Your love, Lord, Oh Your love- Like a flower unfolding, Like strong arms upholding, Your love strengthens me. Your love, Lord, Oh Your love- Like words unending, Like prayers ascending, Your love nurtures me. Your love, Lord, Oh Your love- Like rivers cascading, Like the oak tree's shading, Your love shelters me. Your love, Lord, Oh Your love- Like wings that are soaring, Like dew in the morning, Your love covers me.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from Come Sit Awhile, Roy Lessin. Used with permission.

The Front Porch: God's Everlasting Love

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15 (NKJV) . God wants us to continue to grow in Him because there are—

more moments to delight in than what we’ve enjoyed,

more blessings to have than what we’ve received,

more love to embrace than what we’ve experienced.

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“The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” Jeremiah 31:3 (NKJV) . God’s love for you never runs out or dries up. He doesn’t love you on your good days, and cease loving you on your bad days. He loved you even before you were born. Everlasting love not only refers to the length of time that God has loved you, but it also refers to the quality of His love. There is nothing shallow to be found in God’s everlasting love. It is out of the depths of His love that He drew your heart to His. . Perfect love is not a feeling you have, but a person that your heart comes to know. . “Always” is a word that fits God perfectly. God is eternal, and every attribute and aspect of His nature is eternal. He has always been who He is now, and who He is now, is who He will always be. All that He has been to you, He is, and will always be. God is love, was love, and always will be love. He is good, was good, and will always be good. He was faithful, is faithful, and will always be faithful.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from Come Sit Awhile, Roy Lessin. Used with permission.

The Front Porch: God's Hands

God’s hand is extended to you like the hand of a close friend. He doesn’t reach out to you to keep at a distance, but to draw you close to His heart; not to forbid you access to His love, but to pour it upon you in abundance.

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Jesus is the sunrise of your morning, and the sunset of your day. His mercy will greet you every morning, and His goodness will tuck you in each night.

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“Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.” Lamentations 3:23 (NLT)

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Loved with everlasting love,

Led by grace that love to know;

Spirit, breathing from above,

Thou hast taught me it is so!

Oh, this full and perfect peace!

Oh, this transport all divine!

In a love which cannot cease,

I am His, and He is mine.

--G. Wade Robinson

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The Lord wants you to rest in His love. His love will never fail you. Everything that is good in your life has been started by Him, is sustained by Him, and will be completed by Him. He is involved in every detail of your life.

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“…I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” 2 Timothy 1:12 (NKJV)

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“I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.” Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from Come Sit Awhile, Roy Lessin. Used with permission.

The Front Porch: God's Love

God’s love is beneath you, above you, around you, upon you, within you, behind you, and before you. If fills every moment of your life, and will embrace you through all of eternity. . “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19 (NKJV)

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God is thinking about you at this very moment. He’s not just thinking one thought, but more thoughts than you can count. God’s mind is filled with thoughts about you because His heart is filled with love for you. . “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,…Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.” Psalm 40:4-5 (NKJV)

. When God speaks to us about His hands He wants us to recognize His power,

When He speaks to us about His face He wants us to see His glory,

When He speaks to us about the cross He wants us to know His heart.

. He opened His arms to press you to His bosom; He opened His heart to welcome you there; He opened up all His Divine fullness of life and love, and offered to take you up into its fellowship, to make you wholly one with Himself. —Andrew Murray . God’s love is all embracing. And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. Luke 15:20 (NKJV)

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from Come Sit Awhile, Roy Lessin. Used with permission.

From the Front Porch: Grace

Grace fills our lives with good things;

Grace is a gift from above—

Grace fills our home with beauty;

Grace fills our hearts with love.

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Because God is love, there is grace…and because there is grace there is hope…and because there is hope we can put a song into our day, faith into prayers, joy into our obedience, and love into our actions.

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In our own strength we can only do so much, in our own wisdom we can only know so much, in our own love we can only give so much. Jesus Christ said that He came to give us life and He gives it to us in overwhelming generosity and abundance. He wants us to daily focus on His resources, not our limitations. 

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The heart of God will always move you on to new vistas of His goodness, new treasures of His grace, new understanding of His purposes, and to new discoveries of His love. He will do it with the beauty of His presence, with the affirmation of His promises, with the hand of His blessing, and with the endless assurance of His love.

-Paraphrase Ephesians 1:17,18

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God’s blessings are endless, His grace is measureless, and His love is matchless.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from "Come Sit Awhile" by Roy Lessin. Used with permission. 

The Front Porch: God’s “One Another” Family

...so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. Romans 12:5 NLT

God has given every true believer in Jesus Christ a membership in His family. In His family, each member belongs to one another, and needs each other. Your “one another” family is bigger than you’ve ever dreamed. You belong to the family of God around the world…and they belong to you. 

God has made us dependent upon one another. We have a built-in need for the fellowship, prayer, support, encouragement, and help of others in God’s family. God wants us to come to Him in prayer, but He also wants us to pray for one another. God loves us deeply and personally, but He often expresses His love to us through others. Think of all the times that you have felt God’s touch through the hands of others, heard God’s voice through the words of others, sensed God’s comfort through the support of others, and known God’s provision through the gift of others.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from Come Sit Awhile, Roy Lessin. Used with permission. 

The Front Porch: Friends

I love to visit with a friend on my front porch in the early evening, when dusk transitions into nightfall. It is the perfect time of day to sit on our porch-rockers and talk as the stars begin to fill up the night sky. The conversations often vary between baseball, family, food, and the things that God is doing in our lives. One thing I especially enjoy is the unhurried atmosphere the porch creates as my friend and I enjoy the pleasures of each other’s company.

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God is a loving, forgiving, restoring, embracing, caring, faithful Father.

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There is no place beyond God’s strength...no boundaries to His love...no limit to His mercies...no shortage of His grace. He responds to us with lovingkindness and a multitude of tender mercies.

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One day you will be amazed to discover the many ways that God has used your life to be a blessing to others.

The impact of one life upon another can bring change, comfort, hope, encouragement, and many other influences for good that will make an eternal difference.

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It is in our times of deepest need that we find the depths to which the tenderness and grace of Jesus can reach. For who alone but Jesus can bring us comfort and assurance with His all-embracing love.

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There’s something special about creating a new memory with an old friend.

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The footprints of a friend will follow you into the valley as well as onto the mountaintop.

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When you don’t feel that you have to be perfect to be accepted…When you are given the freedom to be yourself in every situation…when you can ask for an opinion knowing you’ll be given the truth…when you can share your heart without the risk of betrayal…when being together is more important than what you do…that is when you know that you are in the company of a friend.

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God made us dependent on each other.  Even though He is with us and in us, He does not want us to walk alone. We need each other to help us grow in grace, to be supported in prayer, to express the Father’s love, to sense the Spirit’s comfort, and to know the Shepherd’s care. We need each other to be formed in character, to be encouraged in our fight of faith, and to persevere until that day when all our needs shall be fully met when we see Him.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow, all rights reserved. Photo by Marina Bromley. Used with permission.

The Front Porch: Neighbors

Neighbors are so special,

They bring blessings without end;

Especially when your neighbors,

Turn out to be dear friends.

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The love of God covers you on every side,

in every direction, inside and out, over and under, in front and behind.

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The impact of a true friend upon your life 

is something that words can never fully express,

and something that your heart can never fully measure.

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Be persuaded, that neither death with its voice of fear, nor life with its many cares, nor the attacks of the enemy which falsely accuse you, nor things present with their pressing claims, nor things to come with their dark shadows, nor the height of any mountains that stand in your way, nor the depths of a great trial that you may walk through, nor any person or circumstance which tries to quench your joy or rob you of your peace shall be able to move you away, by even a single inch, from the Love of God that covers and guards your life.

(Paraphrase of Romans 8:38-39)

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Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

-1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV

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©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow, meetinginthemeadow.com

The Front Porch; Making Memories

The Front Porch; Making Memories - Roy Lessin A front porch is a great memory maker. When you count your blessings, the number multiplies when you count a friend. “Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.” Psalm 6:4

We can look up to God because His love will never let us down. "The true measure of love is to love without measure!" - St. Bernard. May you daily be— Kept in God’s perfect peace, Blessed with His matchless grace, Assured of His caring presence, Sheltered by His awesome greatness, Covered with His steadfast love.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from Come Sit Awhile, by Roy Lessin.

Come Sit Awhile: The Front Porch

Come Sit Awhile: The Front Porch

- Roy Lessin

The shade provided by a porch brings great relief as we seek shelter from the strong rays of the summer’s sun. God’s loving presence is also our protective covering, providing us with the needed relief and shelter from the trials and difficulties we face in life.

“You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat…..”
Isaiah 25:4 NIV

There are front porches and back porches…side porches and wrap-around porches…screened porches and open porches…country porches and city porches…lake porches and ocean porches. The important thing about a porch is not its size, type, or location, but its usage. Porches need people to pass by, to walk through, and to sit down and linger awhile.

A porch is so hospitable that even a pair of dirty boots can find a welcomed place to land.

The best meal you can enjoy on a porch is when love is passed from heart, to heart, to heart.

“Love never fails.” 1 Cor. 13:8 NIV

When our hearts are heavy, love comforts us…when our hearts are fearful, love assures us…when our hearts are anxious, love quiets us…when our hearts are restless, love keeps us…when our hearts our troubled, love calms us…when our hearts are downcast, love lifts us—for love never fails.

The front porch provides the perfect climate for visiting, sharing, listening and caring.

Love turns a house into a home…grace turns a home into a haven.

“Then those who feared and loved the Lord spoke often of him to each other. And he had a Book of Remembrance drawn up in which he recorded the names of those who feared him and loved to think about him.” Malachi 3:16 TLB

“Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24 KJV

There’s a blessing in the sunshine,
And in the morning dew.
But one of my greatest blessings
Is the time I spend with you.

Jesus said to those who followed Him, “I have called you friends.” Think of it, the God of creation wants to have a personal relationship with us. God delights in being with us person to person, heart to heart, friend to friend. In His presence there truly is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. What better company could we possibly keep!

“How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. Psalm 133:1-3 KJV

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from Come Sit Awhile, by Roy Lessin. Used with permission.

Come Sit Awhile: Sleeping Out

Welcome back to Meeting in the Meadow! Roy found some delightful materials that were written and published several years ago.

The Come Sit Awhile gift-book series was a collection of heart-warming stories, scriptures, recipes, quotes, prayers, and inspirational thoughts of hope and encouragement. They had chosen the theme of the front porch because it not only speaks of a place where people gather, relax, and enjoy the pleasures of each others company, but it is also symbolic of a special place in our hearts where rest is found, where we enjoy the sweetness of God’s presence, and where priceless memories are gathered and cherished always.

Abraham…was called the Friend of God.

James 2:23

The brilliance of a full moon, the fragrance of honeysuckle, the sounds of crickets and frogs, the flashes of fire flies, the clean smell of the air after a summer’s storm, the darting of a hummingbird as it goes to gather nectar, the laughter of children playing in the distance, the secrets shared between best-friends on the porch-swing, the warmth of unspoken love that surrounds you— These are only a small part of the simple pleasures that are found by those who on spend time on the front porch.

Come Sit Awhile

Sleeping Out

I have many special memories from my growing-up years on our farm. One of those special memories is the experience of sleeping out on our screened front porch. The only disappointment I experienced on those nights was when, during a storm, lightning came too close to the porch, and I had to gather my bedding and come into the house…

The porch was on the West Side of our gabled farmhouse, and faced the rolling grain fields of our neighbors. The only piece of furniture on our porch was an old coiled-spring bed. Most of the year the porch was unused, but in the warm days of summer that porch became my treasured place. My heart will always remember the joys I found there—the wonder of gazing at the star filled heavens, the delight of the soothing sound of chirping crickets, the overwhelming beauty of lightning flashes from a distant thunderstorm, and the pleasure of the company of a girl friend as we laughed and talked long into the night.

—Charlene Lessin

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow.