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.
Cees’ Close Up challenge is always a reason for me to play with my camera and try to figure out what I am doing. Now that August is upon us, the bee are closing in on the end of summer rush to gain as much nectar as possible.
I am always fascinated at the details that come through with the macro lens. Its amazing how fuzzy bees are…and how they let me get that close.
Here is a reminder to always be kind. You can even be the fuzzy kind, up close and personal. but not for a macro amount. Be kind in a big way.
I enjoyed my devotion from Quiet Times with God this morning as it reminded me of how very unique each of us are. We have a tendency when seeing someone gaining success in their life to either imitate them or give up because we could never be like them. Scripture reminds us just how special we are and how each individual was purposefully made.
The more we try to be like someone else, the less we show how beautifully God created us, hindering the ability to share the gifts He gave each of us. We are handcrafted for a purpose.
We all have different shapes, different colors, different gifts…but the same God. He has poured Himself into each of us for us to be able to share His love. He created special plans for each of us so we must allow Him to use us in the ways that are uniquely us.
The things in your life that make you different are assets. Joyce Meyer
Stay encouraged in your uniqueness and let His love reflect from you to others. And remember to share kindness in all that you do. It shows the true warmth and love of God.
We all love our flowers, some of us more than others but still I think everyone enjoys flowers to some degree. And we all love summer and summer weather…most of the time. Sometimes summer weathers is just down right destructive. Case in point…todays weather…
This mornings storm
And with the wind and heavy rain we have damage…
These big blooms are heavy
With large heavy blooms, they easily fall victim to wind as it whirls down our street and up from the river valley. But we do have a little enjoyment left from these beauties…we bring them inside…
I still have some big beauties left to help my yard smile…
Even though the wind was not kind, I am still enjoying the kindness of the flowers inside. Remember to always be kind, even if you have to be creative.
I enjoy joining in with Hammad Rais and the gorgeous skies that can relax you at the end of the week, but we had a storm early this morning…that I spelt through. So I did not take these photos but thought they were awesome to share. The local TV station took them and posted them on FB. Spring and summer can create some pretty horrific storms here in the Midwest and with it being as hot as it has been, it is no wonder we had one this morning, only to be topped off with more triple digit heat. Enjoy the pics.
Hail stones size references
Even when we are faced with the rough side of nature, we can still find was to be kind. Being kind to others also brings peace to you.
While I do agree with Cee on the beauty of nature, but it can also has a fun whimsical side. My case in point, I give you the story of the potato family members where mother potato refused to let any of her children go out on their own. This family was pulled this morning from the community garden of my church.
The balancing act mom had to do did not bode very well so she used my juice glass from this morning to help stabilize herself. Even her other children stuck close to protect the baby in the center…
All in all, they are a very loving family. They must have been watching how elephants come in close to always protect the younger ones in the herd. And I am sure they will be tasty with my string beans tonight. 😊. Always remember the beauty of nature even when it looks funny.
Thank you for stopping by for a moment of silliness. I hope it made you smile. Remember that smiles are contagious so share them often.
Cee always amazes us with fabulous photos for Flower of the Day. It is still Monday, August 1, so I am combining FOTD and Macro Monday.
Fan Flowers
These are delicately beautiful flowers that only have petals on one side – therefore looking like a fan.
I have shared them before but some just need an encore.
They have been an exceptional tiny flower this summer with yellow centers that reach out to white, then bright pink that stretches out lightly to the edges of the petals that end in a point.
I also want to point out the magic of kindness and how it can brighten a person’s day just like these color brighten these flowers. So be kind and watch the brightness begin to glow.
I had to show you the t-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday last year that shows…my favorite color(s).
If you follow my blog at all, then you know I am a little over the top at Christmas. My oldest tree(1 of 5) is really tired this year, so I will half to buy a new one…oh darn…lol.
And I remind you as always try hard to be kind…..color kindness wherever you are and in all that you do.
Flower of the Day is fun, interesting and sometimes mysterious. Today I give you mysterious, mostly because I have no clue what any of these are. I ordered this cool idea that had a biodegradable roll embedded with wonderful summer seeds. Yeah, the idea was cool but the results in my opinion were mostly weeds. If the weeds bloomed, that would also be acceptable as some weeds have lovely blooms. And that being said…these may be weeds with lovely blooms.
This one kind of looks like a poppy but it never opened up any more that here. The actual bloom diameter is about 2.5 inches.
These I am naming Small white flower. It is a single layered, 5 petal flower about .5 inch in diameter. Below is a macro of a single bloom for you to see the delicate beauty.
Flower Bud and TINY friend.
The next flower is also white but I am calling it Tiny flower. It is on a cluster but the cluster itself is only about 1.5 inches wide and the singe bloom is probable as small as .125 inch. It will have a macro for it below as well.
The weed leaf give perspective of the flowers tininess.
We only see the tiniest glimpses of beauty nature gives us to enjoy, so pay close attention and you may be surprised at what you see.
And always remember to share kindness in all you do. That has a beauty all its own.
