Month: May 2021

FOTD – May 21

I love this time of year where we get to play with Cee’s Flower of the Day. For the last week it has been rainy and muggy – getting close to summer. But the weatherman told us today it would not rain…he was mistaken…it rain most of the day and my iris bloom opened this morning and got pretty beaten up by the rain. I took its picture anyway. Hopefully the two other buds will not have to fight the elements.

As we enjoy the beauty of flowers, remember they are a living thing. And all living things need kindness to help them through this life.

Always Be Kind

The Power of Love

We generally think of love as gentle, nurturing and healing. While it is ALL of those, it is also powerful. In the fruits of the spirit, it is the first fruit listed…without love, none of the rest matter.

Love is so important that an entire chapter of 1 Corinthians is dedicated to it. And the first verse of that chapter reminds us that it is not frivolously created but must ring true.

So show your love with abounding joy, through healing peace, With utmost patience, with rich goodness, with affirming faith, with quiet gentleness, and with firm self control. And yes I left one out, but this one is always my closing statement. Kindness. Even when we are faced with uphill battles we can still show kindness to others.

Kick Moodiness to the Curb

Good morning friends. I wanted to share some encouragement that I got from my devotion this morning. Oswald Chambers reminds us that when we become born again, we have a new way of thinking and a new way of reasoning.

Many of us miss a lot of the joy God has for us because we stay at the door of Christianity instead of walking through embracing His Love. We fail and blame things on the devil when it is really ourselves because we won’t get out of our own way. Think of where we would be if we fully embraced God’s truth. Its hard. We get discouraged and we let our moods run the show. Our moods are rooted in some physical circumstance that is surrounding us. We can pray about it but in reality we just need to stand up to the mood and kick it to the curb. It is a struggle to listen to these moods but we must stand firm against them and not give them the power to rule us.

The Christian life is one of spiritual courage and determination lived out in our flesh. Oswald Chambers

When we feel ourselves being beaten down by our moods, we need to pick ourselves up, shake the mood off and march forward into the peace Christ has for us – even when it seems impossible. Stand Firm!

Sometimes when you are in the midst of a hard struggle and you find that you can still be kind. That is when you have learned to stand firm. Try always to be kind.

Always Be Kind

FOTD – May 20

There are some flowers that are despised as pests and weeds but yet the plants themselves are beneficial. Cee’s Flower of the Day gives us a chance to highlight flowers and weeds alike so today I give you the dreaded dandelion.

The dandelion is considered a horrid weed as it spread everywhere. But how many of us as kids blew their seeds and watch them fly in the wind. In reality, the dandelion is a very nutritious plant sporting good amounts of Vitamins A, C, K, E, B, Folate, plus minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium. My bet is that if you buy the spring mix salad greens at the grocery store, there are probably some cultivated dandelion greens in there. I like the spring mix greens myself but I don’t like the dandelion flowers – they pop up like rabbits, everywhere. Rabbits however love dandelion greens as well.

Who Knew…right??

And as always, I give you a quick reminder to be kind. Scatter it as you go.

CMMC – May Pick a Topic

Cee has created a fun mid week challenge, CMMC, that can really get you thinking.

Due to where I currently live, there are various forms of murals painted on the older building downtown. I chose one that I may have posted before but it so depicts this area by the Mississippi River.

Even though the paint is beginning to chip, it is still a marvel to see. There is a railroad that runs on both side of the river and occasionally you will see a restored paddle boat taking a tour group up river. Beauty of a era gone by.

As we remember the eras of long ago, remember the simplices and the kindness we tried to share where we could and try to share them again today.

Regardless of the generation you are in, Always Be Kind.

Googled Puppies

See, this is what happens when it raining, or you can get out, or you are just plain bored or even all three. You google fun pictures. I saw one of these posted on Facebook with a caption so I had to go play too and then write a poem about it.

The Puppy Climb

Why did you go climb way up there?

I can’t come, it’s the top of the stair.

You are my friend and should be with me

Now you’ve walked off where I can’t be.

What do you mean, It’s not that hard?

I would rather we play here in the yard.

We can go roll and romp in the sun

Climbing stairs is no way to have fun

Must you look at me with that frown?

What goes up is bound to come down

I will try climbing up there just for you

But if I fall down I will blame you too

Even if you are not much on dogs, there is something about puppies that makes you smile. Remember to always be kind, to all kinds. Kindness can be the key we all need to survive this life.

Always Be Kind

View of Rain

On my day off it decides to rain, again, which delays my tasks scheduled for the day. So Instead, I write cheesy poetry and give you pictures of rain.

View of Rain

Some say it’s sad, the falling of the rain

Reflecting misery of remembered pain

Flowers see joy as the rain gently falls

Gathering on leaves to form little balls

This is a day of much dampness and wet

My planting schedule has yet to be met

Tomorrow with hope the sun may shine

Planting my flowers, a joy of mine

All forms of weather give us things to think about and tasks to either do or sit and watch. When I was younger I enjoyed being out in the rain but now it just makes me wet. But thank goodness this rain has been gentle…but this is day three – enough already.

So I went outside and took picture of the few flowers I did get in the ground. Hope you enjoy them.

Guess I will spend the rest of the day painting my wooden flowers and butterflies that will adorn my fence. Another fun task of spring. As you enjoy your spring weather, remember to be kind to all things. Flowers as well as people and animals enjoy the gestures of kindness.

Always be Kind

The Door of the Cross

The importance of daily study of the Bible creates for us light bulb moments. You know what I mean…those moments where you have looked at a passage a hundred times. You think you fully understand what it means and then something happens in your day that when you read that passage for the hundred and first time it gives it an entirely new understanding – a light bulb moment.

Although we don’t fully understand it, we all believe that Jesus was fully God and fully man. Oswald Chambers in his devotion this morning reminded us of the gift God gave us. He deliberately limited His, omnipotence, His omnipresence and His omniscience to be the Son of Man…for us.

During Jesus’ time, the people of God were under the law. Billy Graham reminds us that the law was a mirror reflecting the wayward heart of man. While the law in itself wasn’t bad, man would never be able to follow it, he was condemned by it. But the Cross and Jesus’ ascension into heaven redeemed us from the power and condemnation of the law.

 When Jesus ascended into heaven, He returned to His Father in glory not only as the Son of God but also as the Son of Man. And as He did this, He left the door wide open for anyone to have access through that door of the Cross to the Throne of Heaven. And now, Jesus, as the Son of God and the Son of Man, has all the power at the Throne of God. So take a deep breath knowing as hard as it can be sometimes, God always has our back.

And knowing that God has your back, remember to be kind. Someone next to you may not know that.

Always Be Kind

Too Busy

Too many times I have heard it said that “If you are too busy to spend time with God, then you are just plain too busy. Slow down.

God reminds us through His Word that He just wants to walk by you side being close. He wants an intimate relationship with each of us.

In today’s devotion of Quiet Times with God, we are reminded of the intimacy we should have with God. Normally when we think of intimacy, we think of the husband and wife bedroom scene, but intimacy is so much more than that. You can be intimate with someone from across the room. Webster define intimacy as something of a personal or private nature. I think it is knowing someone so well that you can speak volumes with them without saying a single word or making a single sound.

“Each of us can be as close to God as we want to be; it all depends on how much time we are willing to put into developing our relationship with Him.” Quiet Times With God, Joyce Meyer

Developing any type of relationship with a person or animal requires time. You are not allowed to be too busy or it just wont work. If we think our relationship with Jesus is not that important, we would be the losers of the equation, for…

Spending time with Jesus is probably the single most important relationship you could ever have. That makes it personal then it fills us with the assurance of His love.

So I remind you of God’s individual love for each of us. It is always available if we just SLOW down enough to enjoy its benefits. And as you do, remember one of the attributes of this love is kindness. Kindness is something that can be shared with man or beast and has the potential to send out roots of kindness out to others in distant places.

Always Be Kind