Nightly Encouragement, Laughter

Recently we started a new out-reach with our church to do evening encouragements. Normally people do morning encouragements to help get your day going but with Covid still among us and seeming growing for a second wave, we felt like all of our members could use some encouragement at the end of the day so yesterday we rolled out the Nightly Encouragements. The pictures are not mine but found on Christian websites that matched the message of encouragement I am trying to share. Tonight we are discussing the value of laughter. My hope is that if you decide to read on, that you are in some way encouraged to stand firm for another day.

In a time such as this, where we are weighed down with life around us…we need some laughter. We have been told laughter is the best medicine but laughter has many documented medical benefits as well.

But better than that, the bible tells us laughter is good medicine…

The benefits of laughter make us glad….brings us joy…and make us smile..

When we are filled with joy, we are kinder people. When we are filled with joy, we reflect the love of Christ. So, let us always be filled with Christ and reflect His grace.

Even when times are tough, things look bad, you can’t see a way out…remember God is always there. He is our rock that we stand on, our hope that we cling to and our peace that knows no other understanding except Christ alone. I leave you with this prayer in hoping a bountiful measure of blessing gets poured on you and your family.

And as always…try to be kind

A Little Nighttime Encouragement

With our hectic lives that we live, zooming here to there or staying closed off in our homes, we all need a little encouragement that everything will be okay…eventually. While no one can guarantee that, I can guarantee this…you are truly loved by God and I share this with you as a little encouragement to help keep you going.

To be encouraged is to be filled with courage, to face life as it moves around us. Let’s face it, there are many things we come upon that fill us with fear and discouragement, like… Is this what I need to do, am I good enough to get it done, did I do it right according to whomever, the list is endless… but Jesus encourages us with His word as He reminds us that all discouragements that have ever made in this world… He has ultimately squashed…

It is the enemy’s job to undermine out thinking, making us feel fear and uncertainty. While we are now in the middle of scary and uncertain times, I know for certain who really is in charge, God. While we do not understand His ways, we can understand His love. So let us snuggle up to Him as He gently gathers us in His loving arms for the evening. Let us relax in His tender mercies with the hope he grants us for restful sleep and encouragement for facing another day tomorrow.

Have a blessed evening. And remember to be Kind. It is a true reflection of Love.

FOTD, July 7

I forgot to write down the name of this flower so I don’t know what it is…but its a happy flower cluster and deserve Cee’s Flower of the Day.

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Remember in all you do, try to do it with kindness. It brings out the glow of all you touch.

Kind fire

Tuesday Writing Prompt, July 7

The Stillness of the Morn

In the stillness of the morning, before day has ere began

The fog fill the tress and hangs heavy across the land

The moisture covers thickly and drips heavy from the trees

No sounds of life among them, not even birds or bees

One dare not be the first, the break this eerie sound

In the stillness of morning, there is no sound around.

Anita Neal

Go Dog Go Cafe has this fun Tuesday writing prompt that I enjoy, I just like adding pictures to help inspire me. Devereaux Frazier and Beth Amanda are currently hosting the Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge which was started by our star writer Christine Ray. The prompts are designed to be quick challenges that can be written in 10 to 15 minutes, inspire you creatively, are fun, and get everyone interacting.

Today’s prompt: Write a poem or piece of prose around the words “in the stillness”.

As you read the many who play along, remember the stillness of the new day and try to always start with kindness. It will make your day be filled with imagination and love.

Aesop-Quote kind

FOTD, July 6, Pansy

I have become a fan of pansies, even the miniature look alike that I can’t remember the name of. The deep rich purples are a favorite and have the best fragrance.

purple

Purples seem to be a theme this year in my front yard with pansies and verbena. A rich refreshing color.

Join in with Cee’s Flower of the Day and share the beauty you see. And as always, remember to share kindness, it one of the most beautiful things we have. Share it lovingly.

fall-Apart-Kindness

Freedom

Good morning friends. Today in the US we are celebrating our Independence Day. I am dropping in to wish those of you who live here a very happy fourth of July and those who do not live here a special kind of freedom day. The freedoms we celebrate must always be cherished knowing freedom has NEVER been free. It is a costly choice. Each country has many brave men and women that fight to keep us free for the oppression of others who do not share our ideas of our cherished freedoms.

Back over 2,000 years ago, there was another person who made a costly choice because He loved and understood the beauty and power of freedom and all through scripture we are reminded of the power of this freedom and how it must be treasured.

When we live in freedom, sharing God’s love, peace and kindness with others, we allow the spirit of God to live freely in us.

So as you enjoy your country’s freedom, also relish in the the freedom from all sins that can bind us, for Christ has set us free.

As you feel the freedom of Christ, try to always share the peaceful feeling with kindness to others.

A Photo A Week Challenge: Squirrel

I have gone to great links to keep the squirrels out of my bird feeders…refusing to buy to 150.00 whirly-gig that spins them off. I think maybe I finally won…at least for now..by removing easy access to the feeder. We will see but for now, this guy look pretty disgusted. I wrote a Haiku about him earlier in the week when I first saw him sitting there, yet each day he returns to sit on this post and “study how to get to the feeder”. You can almost see the wheels turning.

After awhile he turns away but remains on the pole. Memories of an easy treat now gone.

image000000 (21) — Need to clean my windows.

Come join in on Nancy Merrill’s A Photo A Week and show us the squirrels in your camera’s view. And remember, even squirrels know how to be kind…

flower squirrel

So, share the beauty of nature with a friend and be kind.

Morning Encouragement, July 2

Good morning friends. Today’s encouragement is straight from 2 Peter and reflects why I share what I read in the morning with you. We as Christians all understand who Jesus was, what the bible is but it does our hearts good to read the messages in His word and to share them with others to help us all feel the peace and love of God. The last section of chapter 1 in 2 Peter reminds us of the prophecy of scripture and these three pictures remind us of the core of His truths which allow us to stand firm on His word knowing the words bring us peace.

remimnder

And even though we have not seen Him in the flesh, we have felt Him in our hearts and in the works He has done around us as He shows us He is always there.

So we must stay tight in His teachings so that we understand the directions He gives each of us individually to help encourage fellow believers and to show our light to others in hopes to help bring them closer to Him.

So I remind you to stay enriched by His words and share your light with others who need to hear it. Have a wonderful day and remember to always be kind.

kind Eph

Cycle of Life, FOTD

Cee’s fun Flower of the Day prompt challenges us all to see the beauty on nature. My post today takes this a step further in showing the cycle of life in a day lily. They are called day lilies as their bloom last only a day to a day in a half but the life cycle of that bloom is well over a week if not two.

The Life Cycle

The life cycle is not long for those like me

for we start very small as you can see.

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My siblings and I, we number at six

On the same long shoot that looks like a stick.

With each passing day we grow to our size

Stretching our pods with goals to maximize.

The sun is so warm and helps us to grow

We all hope to open and put on a show.

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Some of us grow slow and some grow fast

But the life of our bloom is one that wont last.

image000000 (24) — First bloom of the season

The life cycle is short, but shed not a tear

For behold we will come back year after year.

For those of us who so enjoy your flowers, it does get sad at the end of the season when they go to sleep or die. But we are renewed in hope knowing when spring returns they also will return.

Enjoy the beauty, love and peace of flowers and remember to share their beauty and kindness with others as they share theirs with you.

kind beauty

Flower of the Day, 7/1

Enjoying Cee’s FOTD brings out the beauty of nature. So many lovely things to see. We have always heard the line “grass is not necessarily greener on the other side of the fence” so today I feature redness on the other side of the fence.

Verbena is always a favorite for its variation in color and bright happy look. Spread kindness like the flowers spread happiness and watch the world change for the good.

Happy Kind