I've realized I've been confusing those two things. Both are good, but their sources are different.
This morning, I was thinking about two new income ventures I've started.
One is Avon. Tash (my daughter) and I have been having a ball with it over the past week. And it is so easy to sell. Ladies LOVE Avon... and so do we. But to make it work, we need to work and get the books out. I realized that is really a reward, our wages for the effort we put into it.
Now the other income venture is VERY different, and it has to do with my Prince Froggy who's smiling at you below. He's on his was to London!! 
Okay, I'll tell you the story...
Friday night was my first sighting of our beloved froggy after his long winter sleep. I was so excited to see him. I just love taking photos of him and his froggy friends. And he SMILED for the camera. How neat is that?
Anyhow, Sunday night I get an email from a chappy in London. His company are looking to sell images of Green Tree Frogs for some endangered species promotion. And as it works out, he wants as many photos as I can send him.
Well, the last couple of nights I've been up "working"!!! ...taking more froggy photos and editing them to upload on this site.
So isn't that amazing? Just out of the blue!! These happenings are none of MY doing and completely beyond my control. If these photos sell, it is something beyond what I could have imagined. It is something I haven't worked for. It truly is a blessing of the Lord.
10:22 The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. And then I got thinking about other things for which we work and we get a financial gain or other benefits. It is something we work for and we deserve the benefits. So that is not a blessing, in the true sense. It is a reward. And the Lord does want to reward us as well as bless us.
18:20 He brought me forth into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. 18:21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me. 31:16 Thus says the LORD: "Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. 31:17 There is hope for your future, says the LORD, and your children shall come back to their own country. 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who (diligently - NKJ) seek him. So God loves both to bless and reward!
Now I realize that often I pray wrongly. I ask the Lord for a blessing, when really I am seeking a reward for being diligent in seeking Him.
And with these two new income sources, Avon and Froggy, what I earn from Avon is a reward, and what comes in from Froggy is just pure BLESSING!!
And a final thought...
God blesses us because HE is good...
... and He rewards us for believing and diligently seeking HIM!! |
