Sunday Morning Surprise

Surprises are supposed to be good things …right??? Not always. It never ceases to amaze me the things satan will do to try to keep you from going to church; weather issues( 3+ inches of snow will do it for me and my southern roots), health issues and then home issues.

This morning I woke to milk being all over the floor in the kitchen – what?? Turned out it was not milk but melted ice cream. Fridge died during the night and every thing in it was dead as well…or dying. The way I looked at it – it will be there when I get home from church. Going to church anyway. I cleaned the mess off the floor and the freezer was quickly checked and what could be saved was taken downstairs to the big freezer. After lunch we tackled the refrigerator side.

IMG_20190331_133731 — Truth be known, there were some things that should have been tossed last month

So March is going out with a bang. Yippee! I guess the good thing was that due to commitments yesterday, I didn’t get to the grocery store as the normal Saturday chore.

Sunday service was great and I was glad I didn’t miss it. Worship was titled “Is It Real” and dealt with what is worship according to the scriptures and how does that translate to you. I guess satan didn’t want me hearing that message or lifting my heart in praise and worship. Sorry dude, you loose. Worship was great.

Life can throw curve balls at us and how we handle those helps us either strike out or hit a home run. I don’t strike out a lot, but do sometimes. I seldom hit a home run but once in a while it does happen. I am more of a base hitter trying to get all the way around the bases and with God’s help I usually do but I need His constant guidance knowing when to run and when to stay on base.

I pray that this week, you too get all through the bases, maybe even a home run. Feel His love as He guides your steps and honor Him with your praises. And as you are moving from base to base remember to always be kind. Kindness is a form of love and worship as he tells us “what ever you do for the least of these, you are doing it to me”. So be kind.

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In The Wake of a Train

When you think about trains…and wake…your brain automatically goes to sound, as train can be very loud. When you think about boats…and wake…your brain goes to the waves put put by a boat as it goes through the water.

Trains can wake you up…but trains don’t make a wake…oh yea…just watch. With the spring thaw the Mississippi is currently at 19 feet with full crest expected at 20.5 feet. The river leaves it banks at several places at different levels depending on the land shape but generally in down town area it starts flooding at 18 feet.

We are expecting rain tonight and tomorrow so who knows what that will do but we feel fortunate as the snow melt north of us has been slow. Their warm up has not been all at once so the snow melt has been gradual which is helping. When I left work today, I went down to see what it looked like from the ground level as from the bridge level it looked really bad. It isn’t good but could be worse. You can’t tell but just past the chain link fence are the white seats of the park with only the tops visible.

I saw some ducks, a mallard and his mate, feasting on the grasses under the water at the edge of the parking lot. Then I saw the train tracks well under water. I had heard that if train tracks get under water they are OK as long as the water is less than a foot. Really?? Amazing. While I was looking at the band stand by the river and the chairs being under water, I saw a train coming, so you know I had to wait and see how it would do.

Sure enough, they crept along very slow but has no issues. So in question to the wake issue, yes, trains can make a wake.

So that was mt fun for the day and my first walking and photo opportunity. I will be curious to see if the added foot of possible flood water will make that not possible. And I wonder how long the flood waters will hang around. It took several weeks last year and there was a lot more snow this year but the spring rains have not started yet. So we will see.

So as we get into a warmer spring, let us also remember to warm and kind to all of creation. As Jimmy Dean says ‘It does a body good.’ We all know what winter has been like and are so looking forward to spring. So remember…

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Things That Make Me Smile

When I have days like to day that get so busy with other stuff and I get nothing on ‘my list’ completed, I get refreshing relief by going to Pinterest and looking at the various animal categories and scripture categories and get my head back in to the correct groove as it were. Therapy was a beast but I have much improved mobility and only one week left, so that is a plus. The handyman didn’t show so the new curtains and rod are on the floor. I can do that but was trying not to have to climb on a ladder just yet. So that was a bum. Rearranged my living room and got my plants in a position to get outside as soon as the weather stays above 65. So all in all a good day. While we always seem to attribute good days as God being there for us, in reality He is always there for us. Especially on the dark days when we can not see His hand. I saw this picture today and it made me smile so I thought I would pass it on.

Love, what a wonderful word and there are so many forms of love. I wrote a post back in November giving my perspective on just how much God loves us but in reality it can not really be measured. But God doles out love to all who will accept it in all of His creation. Man has the notion that he is superior because of his analytical abilities. I wonder sometimes if that is an admirable attribute when it get so badly misused. Scripture tells us the LOVE is the key. There are well over 100 verses in the bible that involve teaching us about love. Why do we have to be taught about love when it is given so freely to us because he loved us first. Think on that for a minute but don’t over think it with your analytical mind. There are picture after picture of the animal kingdom showing great strides of tender compassionate love to their own kind and sometimes to a totally different specie. Our human minds have a hard time getting around that and we gawk at it in surprise when we see it. I feel sometime we are the silly ones. Its very simple to me, but I am a simple person. 1st – God is love. 2nd – God freely gives that love to His creation 3rd- we in turn are supposed to share that love. Its a circle. This picture I found shows true devoted love between several family members.

God's love — Nurturing, devoted and tender love

Wonder what it is going to be like in Heaven when we all understand what real love is and how to use it with out out analytical minds getting in the way. Then we can use the analytical minds that he gave us as a gift to further His purposes like it was meant to be.

And with love in mind, try to always be kind. Its as much a part of love as love itself.

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A Special Rock? Probably Not.

Tuesday’s Photo Challenge by jansenphoto today is an interesting one. I have been looking at this rock on my shelf for over a year now and can’t decide to toss it in the yard or leave it on the shelf. It was given to me by a friend named Lynn. She loved rocks and she said this was a rock she found while rock hunting and that it was a ___ rock, which means I don’t remember what she said and myself, I have no clue. It does have some interesting colors on it. It sat on my desk for several years but when I retired, I didn’t have the guts to throw it back outside because it meant so much to her. Now I am getting ready to spring clean and faced with again…what do I do with the rock. I will probably just put it in the rock bed out front but thought in tribute to Lynn I would post the pictures of it. If indeed it looks like a special type of rock to you, shoot me a line and tell me what I am looking at.

One side looks like maybe a fossil was embedded in it at some time, kind of a snail type shape.

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But my knowledge of rocks or anything of the fossil type would not fill a mother of pearl inlaid thimble or brass thimble with a petit point band or even a tiny much need of polishing silver thimble all of which belong to my mother’s thimble collection. Rocks need humor to go along with them.

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But regardless of my poor knowledge of that information, I am well acquainted with the need for kindness in this world. So always remember to be kind.

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1,000 Steps…and Counting

Thanks to many pictures of sunrise on internet

I was up and at therapy early today. While I did not see the beautiful sun pictured here, I did know it was to be a beautiful day. I am about 1/2 way through the proposed plan and seem to be doping well. Pain is down considerably and unless I get tired, the penguin walk is gone. Today on the seated step machine(I have no clue what you call really these machines) I got up to 1,000 steps. I was a wonderful milestone for me. Then I went to Lowes to get window caulk and a center rod bracket for the double window. Then coming home I stopped and took some cool door pictures. I am getting out. Yay me!

Today’s devotion was written especially for me I think. Waiting on Me(Christ) was the title and the first sentence said it all. ‘Waiting on Me means directing your attention to Me in hopeful anticipation of what I will do.’ Waiting is not a strong suit for a lot of us. It requires a lot of patience, also not a strong suit for some of us. Then there is trusting something we can’t even see. So waiting, patience and trust – that’s a lot. But he goes on to say : ‘Waiting on Me is the way I designed you to live; all day every day. I created you to be conscious of Me as you go about your daily duties. I promise renewed strength.’

Since my surgery I have been waiting to walk properly, waiting for pain to lessen and waiting for winter to get over. And even though we are forecast more snow on Saturday (really!) My daffodils popping through the ground and my lilac budding promise me that spring is coming, and 1,000 steps shows I am healing.

Isaiah 40:31 tells us : ‘but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.’

I know that several of us are healing from various things in our lives so I encourage you wait, have patience and trust. He will renew your strength.

And always remember the gift of kindness that is so easy and free to share. Sometimes when you feel surrounded in a dark spot, a shared gift of kindness can also brighten your day. So always be kind.

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With Praise and Worship We Come

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As our church is coming together to redefine the worship service to be more of a glory to God and not of man, today…today was amazing. The music starting the service was ‘All Creatures of Our God and King’, written by Sty Francis of Assisi in 1225 (794 years ago), music written 1623 and revised by William Draper in 1926. You could feel the electric presence of God in the room, the warmth, the love, the reverence. It was still there when we went to the ‘reaching out with hands of fellowship’ greeting. The sincere love of the people was evident, it bleed into the room of fellow Christians and visitors. Then when the sermon started Pastor Rob made a statement we knew to be true but probably didn’t think much about. Of all the many times we come into the church building throughout the week, whether it be for bible study, youth activities, choir activities, ladies circles, community activities and so on and so on, these are all activities to feed our own selves. We come to those activities to learn more about God or we are there to meet about other needs the church may have or other things we may need help with. But Sunday worship is about God. We are not there for us (but we are), we are there for worshiping our God and King. Its an entirely different purpose. God is always worthy of our praise and worship regardless of our circumstances and while we do that during the week, Sunday is the day set aside where we come together as a family(the church) and praise and worship Him together, sharing in the fellowship of love he bestows on us for us to bestow on each other. That love brings us peace, peace that can only come from God. John 14:27 tells us of Jesus explaining His peace – ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you….do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.’

So as the last verse of All Creatures of Our God and King says, Let all things their Creator bless, and worship Him in humbleness, O praise Him, Alleluia! Praise , praise the father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, three in one, O praise Him, Alleluia.

I don’t know if this link will work but if not go find this song on you tube and really listen to the words. There are several version, I just preferred Sovereign Grace Music, Prayers of the Saints.

https://i.ytimg.com/an_webp/MUZD0hgtSgE/mqdefault_6s.webp?du=3000&sqp=CPed3-QF&rs=AOn4CLDzKcfy3aCMFWH1RmqbF0wk3-pf_A

And as always, as you go through your day and encounter creatures of our God and King, remember He don’t ever make junk and all things have a love and a purpose so remember to always be kind.

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The Mailman Cometh, #SoCS 3/23/19

Mail is an event of major proportions according to Mimi, my black lab/coon hound cross. The first of the month brings bills but now that we are approaching the end of the month, its all junk. And since a lot of us receive and pay bills on line, is the mail man a dying thing? Who writes a real letter anymore. Not many that are under the age of 60. Sadly I feel its a dying art form.

But Linda Hill’s challenge for this Stream of Consciousness Saturday leads us to describe our last piece of mail.

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Well according to the Dispatch Extra, the local grocery store is now in the furniture business since spring is actually starting to show up. Various types of lawn chairs and awnings have discount prices for the grand opening of the yearly garden center being set up in the parking lot. They also have gas or charcoal grills for a fun outdoor experience, plus lots of flowers.

Then at the Mattress Outlet they are having a huge floor model closeout. Really? How do you have model of a mattress? More foam, less foam….

And Lowes is having a sale on the new models of lawn mowers. Again, why models. Its an engine with deck and 4 wheels with a rotating blade. It cuts grass.

The want-add section has an add for a lost dog. 1,000.00 reward. So sad. We do love our animals and periodically they can escape their housing areas.

Then on the upswing, Brenda and Jim are getting married in 6 weeks down at the park by the river. That could be interesting…no shelters there. Better hope it doesn’t rain.

Not really much else in the mail today. Although the warmth is bring out the tree killing process for multiple spring add. Almost as bad as Christmas.

So as you go about your conscious day of Saturday, remember to be kind to man and best alike. Kindness is a gift of gentleness, love and peace that reaches down to the soul.

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I Could Not Help It

I am doing some minor remodeling downstairs and I needed to go to Lowe’s for supplies. So as I came up to the register, they had in the aisle early bulbs coming up. I didn’t really need any bulbs but I could not help myself. I needed the proof that spring is actually coming.

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So tired of the cold, so ready for the warmth of spring and the smell of flowers and the stores know this so that’s why they put these right by the registers. I admit it, I am weak and I fell to the ploy of management impulse buying techniques.

Once it does really look like spring, I know this year I will not have to buy as much as last year. A lot of bulbs already planted, hopefully the bitter -34 degrees didn’t destroy them. Time will tell. Until then enjoy what Mitch Teemly calls Sprinter.

And as the sun begins to shine more warmly, try to shine yourself more warmly and be kind. It is a brightness that is much needed.

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Finally, #1LinerWed

It’s here, It’s here, it really is finally here, we jump and shout and twirl about as we sing and shout, It’s really finally here – Welcome Spring!

snoopy spring

And as we begin to thaw and relax hoping for more warm days, remember to always be kind.

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For 1LinerWed from Linda I chose to celebrate what day it is in reflection to the harsh winter we had. So come along and play with others playing with #1LinerWed.