Ain’t Old Yet!! FOTD

Even though there may be gray hair on the head and wrinkles on the face…which I earned with life…I ain’t old yet.

grandma-turtle — Picture courtesy of Grandma Illustrations

After the nightmare of trusting the wrong company to put up a fence for me, them backing out half way done, then sending a single guy who tried to work with the mess they created…then putting the lattice sheets 8″ too high per county code, it is now almost completely corrected, and I did it myself. Ordered a drill from Amazon. I had posted earlier how they put the post in, left all the dirt in the yard for me to move and then the post were not all the same height, which means they are in the ground at different depths. Good grief! When the guy(and I) started adding the lattice, we saw the post were not even either. Below you will see the misaligned posts (thank goodness I am using plastic lattice), The front board height that I corrected next to height he had used, and the the boards not being the correct length on the inside and just put in haphazard.

My drill came Friday so Saturday I went to work and got the front sections to the correct height, which also meant I had to rehang the lattice sheets. But it is done. This morning after video church service, I put out my concrete block planters and added the flowers. Looks pretty good – not bad for a 69 year old turtle! It is not perfect but better than it was. And it serves the purpose of no have the dogs on a chain.

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I am enclosing the pictures of the flowers that are in the block planters to tie in the Cee’s Flower of the Day. Since the dianthus around the mailbox did so well last year and came back beautifully this year, I felt like that is a less expensive planter situation and less likely someone to want to walk off with you planter of flowers.

In all this mess, I am at lease beginning to see the light of my vision and when the plant hangers are up and the gate is complete, I will repost those. The gate will make you laugh. And we all need a little laughter now a days as the US is imploding on itself.

In the chaos of life and stress we are all facing remember the value of kindness, a much needed value for right now…and always.

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The Guiding Spirit

Good morning friends. Hope you are all well this morning. Do you ever have those times where you have understood for a long time meanings of certain scriptures but then you read a verse and a new understanding shows itself…a light bulb moment as it were.

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I think this is how God uses His word to keep us be refreshed and on track, always learning something new…that we already knew one small part of it. Today’s devotion with My Utmost for His Highest was concerning the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. We know the disciples had to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit arrived but the dots for me didn’t fully connect on Jesus having to be Glorified first before that could happen. He even told Mary to not hold him as he had not returned yet to the Father. I have always known Jesus was fully God and fully man and considered him our glorious Lord…but not at this point. The Holy Spirit was not given because Jesus had not ascended and was not yet glorified.

But Paul explained to the people during Pentecost what they were now seeing and hearing. The Holy Spirit was now being given freely to all of those who believed, about 3,000 that day, with growing numbers even today to where God’s love and Spirit covers the world to those who believe. We are reminded in today’s devotion that once the Holy Spirit was let lose into this world, it has remained forever.

Even Isaiah told us this was going to happen nearly 800 years prior to it happening.

“The attitude of receiving and welcoming the Holy Spirit into our lives is to be the continual attitude of a believer.” Oswald Chambers

Some think that when we die, we then live on in eternity but I think eternity is now and how we need to live day to day with the guiding of the Holy Spirit.

So breathe in today his love and allow the Spirit to guide you as you go.

Remember as you follow this spirit filled direction that God’s love is leading you on, His love for you is strong, so bring in this love and share it with others and always be kind.

Fun Foto Challenge: Man Made

With this challenge from Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge the gate is wide open. The first thing that popped in my mind was the new I-74 bridge connecting Illinois to Iowa or the other way around. It has been fascinating watching this huge thing go up, then they will tear the old one down. I give you a before and after scenario with one side of the arch almost complete and the the closing of the arch. When you think of the power and amount of water that goes down the Mississippi at any given moment, this is amazing.

The other side of man made which hits closer to home…and my kitchen as “home made”, with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Breakfast includes a good southern helping of buttered grits covering scrambled eggs that are smothered in sausage gravy. Lunch is scrambled dogs (how you spread three chili dogs for 4 people) and Dinner is fried pork chop, turnip greens, black-eyes and tomato gravy on buttered toast.

The following are a few other photos I took that are worth mentioning with man made. The wooden statue on the end was of a tree that died so the owner carved a knight out of what was left. The home now is a home for those trying to get back on their feet.

In this fun of looking at Man Made items, remember one of the easiest, least expensive and most beautiful things man can make is…kindness.

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The Value and Power of Prayer

Good morning friends. I hope you had a good holiday yesterday. I was glad the rain held off here as I was able to play outside.

My Pastor has been doing a daily devotion on line where he is going over the Lord’s prayer slowly to help us understand the intricate details of its meaning. I want to piggy-back on that slightly as today’s devotion in My Utmost for His Highest was “Thinking of Prayer as Jesus Taught”.

“Our thinking about prayer, whether right or wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it. The correct concept is to think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts. Our blood flows and our breathing continues “without ceasing”; ” Oswald Chambers

Therefore…

pray without ceasing 1 thessalonians 5 17

Prayer is not an exercise, it’s a valuable privileged. A privilege we do not use enough, at least I don’t. We need to be aware of the distractions that get in our way of praying and be fully aware of prayer’s power when released. I think we forget with the business of life, just how much power is in prayer.

There may seem like times when God didn’t answer our prayer but scripture never says anything about unanswered prayer. God answers all prayer, we just may not understand His answer but we must believe in its truth. God sees what is best for us and His love is even stronger than anything we know; He only wants what is best for us.

So feel encouraged today knowing that He listens to every prayer. Even those prayers you can not mutter for the pain you may be feeling. He knows them before we say them. He just wants us to have the courage to ask for His help.

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May you have a blessed day and as always, be kind.

Kind breeze

What Do You See? Prompt

A chilling picture in this week’s “What do you see?” prompt, so I thought I would chime in if this is right.

The block path was wet from the fog that hung heavily in the air as I walked slowly toward the caretakers cottage. The older tomb stones were hidden in the dark foreboding shadows as though waiting for the next stones to be erected…

Evening Peace

I usually do a morning devotion each morning with members of my church but thought I would also do one for the evening to help shelter in the peace we should have before shutting our eyes in sleep.

During the day hours, we tend to focus on our problems instead of focusing on our faith because sometimes we tend to put faith only on things we only see. But scripture reminds us of a different thought pattern concerning Faith.

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Oswald Chamber’s has a devotion book which I enjoy called “My Utmost for His Highest” which is a wonderful devotion book(also online). A lot of people may not know who he was but he was an early twentieth century Scottish Baptist Evangelist that had a profound way of teaching the truth in the scriptures. And he taught a lot about faith, courage, grace and peace wrapped up in the love of God.

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Trusting in a God, that we don’t see takes faith, which builds trust, which produces hope for us to survive anything that may come along our path of life.

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And that process is what brings us Peace.

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May you feel God’s peace tonight as the day winds down and you close the doors of today’s problems in hopes of starting a new day tomorrow with renewed kindness from above.

Eph

FOTD, May 25

Cee posted a beautiful purple iris for her FOTD post and my iris are sad this year. I had major construction to the steps around my iris bed and you know some workmen have no clue. Ah well, we will see if they make a comeback. In the mean time I will share my columbine that I swore last year was pink.

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Since the blooms hang upside down, I wanted to catch one picture looking into the bloom. You know how on your phone you can take a selfie by flipping the direction image of the camera, I tried that to see what I would come up with and it turned out kind of neat with the bright sky in the background.

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While my iris are not doing well, I did found it interesting that my annual “Johnny Jump ups” came back…in pots where I didn’t plant them. Thank you, birdie.

Some calls these weeds but I actually planted these on purpose last year. They look like tiny pansies.

Flowers make me happy. When we are happy we are usually kind. Try to be happy all the time or at least try to be kind even when you don’t want to be. Kinds looks better on you than the person receiving the kind gesture.

How Humility Will Make You the Greatest Person Ever — There is no greater beauty that to show kindness to another being.

Sunshine’s Macro Monday, 5/25

Today my goal was to get the gate that I tore out due to very poor workmanship, rebuilt myself, even thought I have no skill in that regard. Now it is kind of haphazard but I think it will be cute when done. As I was finishing up priming it I saw something white in my lilies. I did not want a spider or bug nest in my lilies so when I went to investigate, and I found naughtiness going on. Well, it is spring so I guess it is acceptable, seeing its what they do this time of year.

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In trying to locate the type of butterfly, the internet called white butterflies cabbage butterflies but then there were over 1,000 variations of that white butterfly with a wide range of black spot colorations. The only black I saw on these were the tiny black spot mid wing and there seem to be black stripes on the legs.

Regardless, I thought they were cute and hope they are not dangerous to my flowers. So I left them alone, being kind, even when I didn’t know if I should shew them away. I go with the philosophy of being kind even when it may not be right because being kind is always right.

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Come join in on Sunshine’s Monday macro to see the beauty other’s have found to share.

Morning Encouragement

Good morning friends. Each morning as I read from my devotion book and the bible I try to follow that lesson I have read for that day. Today’s encouraging message is one that really speaks to me while we are in this time of uncertainty and I thought I would share my thoughts. I find it interesting that if we stop and listen, ignoring all the noise that goes around us daily, God’s scripture will open to us and start to make sense. His word never changes and never gets old and can encourage us differently each time we read it depending on what we are going through at the time.

Paul tell us in Colossians Chapter 2 how he personally struggled but that if we all come

together in love, the love and riches of Christ will be made know to us.

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While some of these treasure may come to us wrapped in the form of a trial, the trial itself is designed to shake us free from our perceived thoughts of how we think we are to be, to help understand His prepared path for you for that day. Although it can be a scary time, it is the key to the hidden treasures He has placed strategically along the way to richly bless us.

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God’s treasures also come in the form of many things we enjoy like sunshine, birds singing, colorful flowers, friendships and answered prayers. He has not abandoned this sin-wracked world, He is strongly present, in every sun rise, every flower, every smile you see and the kindness he shares with you that lifts you up so that you can share kindness with others to lift them up. My hope in sharing this with you today is that you are lifted up knowing He is there with you.

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And regardless of what is on your particular road of life, whether is be bright sunshine or seemingly gray darkness, God never lets go of our hand and will walk safely with you so hold tight to His hand.

May you have a richly treasured day and always try to share kindness. It may be the only kindness a person sees on any given day.

Flower of the Day, Coreopsis

When I went flower shopping, I wanted something bright as this weather lately has been anything but bright, and we are due another week of rain…enough already.

I love Cee’s challenge of Flower of the Day and we see so many beautiful post from everyone. Once I got home to put these in the ground I chuckled to myself and said had I see the color variation of this particular Coreopsis, I would have bought them any way as reminiscent of my college day and the bands I listened to. This color is “Jethro Tull” – what a hoot. A flower named after a rock band…or maybe the band named themselves after this lovely flower. What came first – the chicken or the egg…

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I love how the petals form a little tuber. I hope my hummingbirds like them as I know they are fond of tubers. And then the tiny little flower inside center section. Amazing.

As you go along enjoying the flowers, remember the joy they bring you share that joy and kindness with others. It may just make someone’s day.

Kind fire