Morning Encouragement, Jan 6

Good chilly morning friends as we are in single digits today. I hope you are all staying warm. I have several devotions I read each morning along with my bible and thought I would share some of those thoughts with you. I sincerely hope they bring you comfort, encouragement and a warm smile.
Billy Graham’s devotion this morning tied right in with bible study yesterday. He spoke of our need for constant anticipation of Jesus’ return.
If we could live everyday as though it may be the very last one before the final judgment, what a difference it would make here on earth! Billy Graham

“I never begin my work in the morning without thinking that perhaps he may interrupt my work and begin His own. I am not looking for death. I am looking for Him.” Dr. G. Campbell Morgan
I think some days we tend to plunge forward moving from task to task not thinking at all about the future of that glorious day and in turn totally missing the wonder of it and the beauty around us in all of the daily blessings we encounter. The purpose of both of these blessings is so that we can stop, breathe them in, and share the joys of them with others; the blessing of knowing that He is coming again and the blessing of knowing that whatever we face today…He has got our back.

Oswald Chambers reminds us that sharing our blessing only magnifies them not only for us but for others as well.
God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others. Oswald Chambers

So I encourage you today to be watchful in your daily blessings…the things that make you smile, the things that make you laugh, the song that is forever in your head today – all of these have a purpose that turns our thoughts and love toward Him and others.

Feel His blessed tenderness as He holds you today and remember to always share His kindness.

JusJoJan the 3rd, Abundance

Linda Hill’s prompt for JusJoJan January 3rd, 2020, is “abundance.” Use the word “abundance” any way you’d like. Enjoy!

What truly is abundance? Merriam-Webster describes it as “an ample amount”…but that will differ for each person and each item to each person.

For example, on New Year’s Day we got an average of 7 inches of snow. To me, that is an abundant amount…for the year, thank you very much. Inside my house for Christmas (and its not a large house) we had an abundant amount of Christmas decorations – four 4 foot or higher Christmas trees upstairs and six 4 foot trees downstairs – not counting the small table trees and all the sit arounds. We have to have that many trees to place the abundant amount of tree ornaments we have, yes, it could be an addiction – but what a fun one to have.

Another example could be the abundant amount of cookie, breads and muffins made to give away as gifts. And so many more examples could be made.

I think we who have the ability to sit in front of a computer and share our ideas across the globe of blogging have an amazing abundance of opportunities to share love and kindness in everything we write and photograph. Even when we may feel tired, down trodden or of little use – a kind blogging friend will respond with encouragement of abundance that they have for that day to help lift them up so that in turn, they can share of that abundance.

My 14 inch Christmas stick lights are still outside, because they are now frozen in the ground. But they remind us that even though we may sometimes get buried by life’s dumps, we can still show our beauty as it shoots out from us in all directions.

Remember in all that you do, you can always be kind. Let you kindness abundantly shine through.

January 1, JusJoJan-SOCS

Resolve : to make a definite and serious decision to do something

Why do we silly humans think that January 1 is the time to resolve from a harmful habit? Only to make said resolution that gets broken by January 3rd – valiant effort? I think not. If we have a habit that is harmful to us or others, it needs to be stopped immediately…not some “traditional” day. It proves we really didn’t want to resolve it in the first place…maybe tomorrow.

Resolution : the act or process of resolving

May we be fully aware of the things we need to change in our lives to make us better people, and may we fully and completely go through with those changes and become better people.

Come join in on Linda’s prompt, Just Jot January and SOCS, and enjoy a positive side of just being.

And remember, if you can resolve to be anything, resolve to be kind in all you do.