The truth of God's love, the Encouragement we all need and occasional humor
Author: anitashope
Retired Quality Manager but still have the "Why" curiosity drive so I am turning my love for Christ and nature into my new why chase and am trying to discover more of His word as it relates to His love for His creation.
Those of you who have read me over the last few years know that I go a little “Griswold” at Christmas. Because of a modification to my Christmas village this year, I had to move my train set and railroad station. So where…where do we put it??🤔 I know, I will go by to childhood years and put it under the tree. Okay, which tree?🤔 The living room tree and the dining room tree are too formal…
the ocean tree is not thematically correct…
and there is no room under the bedroom tree because of the large 4 foot stuffed Santa Claus…plus Daisy has issues with moving things.
That leaves me with only one option…buy a new tree…lol. And since it is going in the sunroom with the other outdoor themed decorations, lets make it an outdoor tree…so here we have the bird tree featuring many owls. And below we have the working train carrying its many imaginary visitors home for Christmas.
So as you enjoy the fun parts of Christmas, remember the heart of and why we do Christmas. God sent us a marvelous gift that came to give us life and to show us His power love that is to be shared with all of creation. Merry Christmas and remember to always be kind.
I have been so busy lately. I have not had the chance to visit but I always had my camera (ie, my phone) along and I wanted to share this photo of our first snow back in November.
The dianthus had been beautiful all summer and even with the snow, it was showing a different side of beauty. Now that we are approaching the colder months, let your kindness warm the hearts of those around you.
Hello…remember me?? A person of a certain age…my certain age…should not be so busy that they can’t even do the small simple things they enjoy doing. But alas, that is where we have been for the last six months. But now, I can sit and do nothing…or the small things I enjoy doing. My Christmas decorations of course have been up since mid November so now its just a few presents that need wrapping. Whew!!
The Christmas season, although busy, is where we seem to share the most kindness to those around us and sometimes we focus this kindness on those less fortunate. The Covid years took their toll on all of us – physically, emotionally and financially. And some of those effects are still lingering creating uncertainty. So I want to share a thought from my morning devotion that kind of hit home for me concerning the true purpose for this season…or any season.
Why do we celebrate this season….I think the most trustworthy answer in all categories is...LOVE.
I recently saw a picture on facebook showing pictures of movie portrayals of Mary with baby Jesus next to a picture of Mary crying over the body of Jesus after he was crucified…both pictures reflecting overwhelming gifts of LOVE. God’s gift of baby Jesus for his love of mankind and then Jesus’ sacrificial gift of his life for mankind’s salvation. And lets not forget Mary’s sacrificial gift of raising Jesus, knowing who he was and what his mission was – to save mankind. Colossians reminds us of the visible image and invisible image of God.
Jesus…the visible image of God’s invisible image. How many times do we say – I won’t believe it until I see it. Even the disciple Thomas would not believe in the resurrection until he saw the holes in Jesus’ hands. And modern man is having a very hard time in believing in a God they can’t see. But I challenge you to look around at the beauty of creation, not just the nature side – which is amazing – but the human side as well. While man can sometimes be persnickety, man can also show a beauty and power through kindness and love towards others that can make us see the beauty and love of our invisible God.
16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…all things have been created through him and for him.
The fact that even in this chaotic world we have the ability to show this love and kindness is proof that the invisible God is still here. There will be a day when He will leave and when he leaves, all the love and kindness will leave as well. It won’t be pretty.
So share this wonderful season of love – not just now at Christmas but make every day Christmas by reflecting the love we have been shown by our invisible God and His visible Son…and always be kind.
While this is not a true b&w, it is mostly white…snow white. The picture really does not capture the beauty of the snow, our first for the year. I am not really a fan of the snow but I do enjoy it beauty when I don’t have to get out in it.
I thought this shot interesting showing the contrast of my bright blue gate (yes I made it myself. No respecting contractor would do that. But my contractor was horrible so…there you go.)
Evergreens always show the beauty of the snow as it clings to it branches. The shot of the street below is the most beautiful of my shots this morning.
Well, its November in the Midwest, so I guess its time. It will melt next week as temps will climb into the 40s. But the snow today will continue to fall spreading a blanket of visual purity on a less pure world. Remember in all that you do, to be kind. It is a form of love that helps us all heal.
It has been a while since I posted an encouragement, but when I read this morning devotion with Billy Graham, I felt I needed to share his thoughts. There are a lot of storms we face in this life, some weather related and some within our hearts and sometimes they are both. In late September, Hurricane Ian demolished the west coast of Ft. Myers, Florida. Being raised in south Georgia, I fully understood that the late storms of hurricane season were usually the meanest. Now the east coast of Florida braces for a November storm, a rarity.
Storms of the heart are no less powerful. They can come from misunderstandings between people to down right meanness and we have all faced them, maybe even caused a few of them – whether we meant to or not. The problem is, we are all imperfect. We are all sinners. BUT all of us are still loved. God’s love for us reaches beyond anything we could ever imagine, even to those who do not love Him. But to those of us who do love Him, we feel that love. It holds us on course until the storms are over. He stands right beside us fighting the battle for us when we no longer can. He is our warrior.
Billy Graham’s message this morning reminds us of the limitless power of God for all of us.
God can be everywhere at once, heeding the prayers of all who call out in the name of Christ; performing mighty miracles. There is no limit to God. There is no limit to His wisdom. There is no limit to His power. There is no limit to His love. There is no limit to His mercy. Billy Graham
As you fight today’s battles or this weeks battles, always remember there is simply no limit to God’s love for you. As you stand tall in your battle, remember to be kind. Kindness during battle has an extra power of God with it that has the opportunity to open the eyes of the storm and help it resolve.
Its Sunday so technically, in my mind, it is still the weekend. I wanted to share this beautiful sunset. That is one thing I really love about fall and winter – the evening skies. Their colors are so rich and beautiful.
Hope you all have a good week ahead. I myself will be glad when this week is done and the political adds will stop. Take care everyone and remember to be kind.
I fully realize today, in my time zone, is Friday morning BUT I loved the idea of tomorrows SOCS prompt. My Saturday is going to be out of control busy so I are doing it today.
My favorite word is a word of action or an expansive adjective, and sometimes it can be an adverb. Its a word that is uses in every language on earth. Its an action that is used by every creature ever made that shows our inner hearts. It is a characteristic of one of the nine fruits of the spirit mentioned in the book of Galatians. It is the forerunner of all things beautiful. I close every post I create with it in some form. That word is….Kindness.
Kindness in any of its many forms, like kind, kindly, kinder… etc. is a base word for growing beauty. Think of all the actions you do on a daily basis but kindness is where you start from…like love, sharing, gentleness. It is a word we should always have in our pockets to use at any given moment. The dictionary has 197 synonyms and antonyms for the word kind proving the power of this one tiny word. Animals use it within their family units but how often do you hear about an animal reaching out to a different specie with an act of kindness and even protection of the other specie. I could tell you countless stories I have read, the most recent from National Geographic about a diver and a whale. It happens more than we know.
Kindness can be as simple as sharing a smile, a soft hello to someone scared, or a much needed hug from which you also benefit. It is a word we ALL benefit from so let’s use it often and help the world become a better place.
WHEW!!! It has been a crazy busy few weeks. I have not had time to even think about anything to share much less actually sit down if front of my computer for a few minutes. But that is how fall is for me. The community garden needed shutting down and cleaning, my yard needed cleaning out the old and planting the bulbs for next spring and then…there is Christmas prep with crafts that needed to be done while inventory in stores was still available. And if any of you follow me regularly you know Christmas is HUGE for me – 5 trees, Christmas village(50 piece hand painted plaster houses) and yard stuff so a lot of prep the first week of November. So before we get that going, lets play with Cee‘s Flower of the Day.
These are pictures from my yard this morning with those who precious flowers who refuse to give up even though we have had a few freezes. So we will share a few week’s worth of FOTD for the last of my holdouts. Enjoy.
This lovely mum type flower came from that mystery seed imbedded cloth I put down early summer.
This one also came from that cloth. I have posted these beauties some this summer. They are quite striking.
This is the last one of those from the mystery cloth. This cluster is tiny being about two inches across with the individual blooms about 1/8-1/4 inch in sized.
This one I planted but can not remember its name. You can see the leaves and majority of the plant has died but the bloom refuse to quit. Nature is a powerful reminder to never quit.
This last one is my daisy. It keeps on blooming as it is somewhat sheltered by the edge of the roof so it remains beautiful, even though the leaves are turning yellow. Its that time of year.
As the season change, let us never change in being kind as the colder winds start to blow.
Always share a kind smile, a gentle word or even a loving hug. Kindness can melt even the coldest wind or comfort a hurting heart. Always be Kind.
Spring is usually the time to catch a rainbow so it is with wonderous awe that we see them in the fall. This one was on my way to work Wednesday and I felt it needed sharing, the picture at least.
Beauty of the Rainbow
The beauty of the rainbow, hanging in the sky
Ignored by many as they hurriedly zoom by
Its colors so radiant for only a short time
But a reminder still relevant made for all time
It was a promise for Noah and all of mankind
Proving God’s love, even though we seem blind
The rainbow is beautiful but not really a gift
It’s a reminder to God, for our spirits to lift
Anita☺
As we go through our zooming day, remember to glance around at the beauty surrounding you, even if it seems a gray day. Then let that beauty bring on a smile for you to share with others to maybe lighten their day. And as always, Be Kind.
The slight chill around me begs me to pull my sweater close, but I am not wearing a sweater. Wait, I know this place. Have not been here in a long time, since that day. They said she was now at peace. Cancer had eaten her body but her mind and spirit were still strong. I am glad now she is no longer suffering. But why am I here, I wonder as I continue onward. “What are those silly people doing?” I ask myself. People are sitting on top of the gravestones. How rude. And they are laughing, having a good time. Really, in a graveyard.
“She’s here,” I heard loudly from behind me. I turn to see my mother running towards me. No, that ridiculous. Its just someone who looks like her.
“Janey! You are here with us now.”
“What?” I gasped as I look around at all the faces of loved ones I once knew, but they were different, younger.
“You have come to join us as we wait for the grand appearance.”
“Grand appearance ?”
“You know sweetheart, when Jesus returns to take our bodies home.”
I look down at myself and realize I am not the 92 year old woman any more, I too am young. I guess I have gone the way of my ancestors.
For the Love of 