A Morning of Encouragement

I step out to the early autumn day to feel the light coolness still present from the night before. The summer has been hot and we are ready for it to move on. With camera in hand I head out to see the beauty of the day. The sun is awake but the trees are hiding its heat for we know summer is not ready to fully let go.

My gourds are still blooming but the vine has seen its better days. I find it interesting that the older sections of the vines are becoming dry and leafless while yet it determines to reach out with new life.

My neighbor still has cherry tomatoes robustly growing. They have grown over the fence daring anyone to stop their journey. The dew is quite heavy this morning beading up on the fuzzy leaves to drip further down the plant to nourish the lower limbs.

Further onward I see sweet peas displaying their rich dark red color including splashes of yellow. They too are covered in this morning’s heavy dew.

I am always fascinated with droplets of dew or water drops that cling to leaves and flowers after a shower; God’s attempt to refresh the earth.

As the sun reaches higher into the sky, the clouds begin to make their way further on in their destination wherever that may be.

The beauty of nature shows us the beauty of God as he left us these sights for us to enjoy his creation. He created all of it for Himself to enjoy but then gave it as a gift to us so we could enjoy it together with Him.

As you enjoy the beauty of this earth, remember the beauty of you, as you are part of His creation as well. We are all beautifully and wonderfully made.

As you remember the beauty of everything around you, remember the beauty of kindness and share it as much as you can.

A Gift of Hope

Enclosed is a short story I wrote this afternoon as I am slowly gathering my crafts together to get them done for Christmas. I ran across my glass hearts and thought of how to me they resemble hope more than love. Especially at Christmas. This year, year two of Covid, there are many who have lost hope so we must find ways to encourage others. So I wrote this story. Its kind of long, over 900 words, but I think it has a message we can all understand. We all have been hurt at one time or another and can sometimes lose hope. We must come along each other and rebuild each others hope so that they can then encourage others, thus creating a circle of encouragement. So if the story is too long for you to read, remember to encourage each other and help rebuild hope.

Buried Hope

“Hey sweetie, hand mommy that heart,” said Meredith as she motioned to her daughter.

“Are you going to put it back in the dirt like you found it?” questioned her daughter Hope. Her young blond curls fell into her face as she bent to pick up and examine the small glass heart.

“I am.”

“But why. It’s pretty. You could wear it.”

“It’s a little big for a necklace, but it is pretty isn’t it?” Meredith examined the heart before she carefully placed it under the flower she was potting. She though back to when she had been given a similar pot of flowers and this lovely poem of hope. She was miserable and had lost all hope because she had miscarried her second child. She had wanted children so badly and now that hope evaded her. The poem had encouraged her and gave her some peace. The following spring as she followed the instructions in the poem by planting the plant in the yard, she discovered in the bottom of the flower pot a tiny laminated copy of the poem and the glass heart was attached to it.

“This is a heart of hope for someone who is very sad right now,” explained Meredith. “When this was given to me, I thought I would never be able to have children and I was very sad.”

“But Mommy, you had me,” Hope said matter of factly.

“Yes, I did, two years later. And now you are a grown-up 5 year old who starts school in the fall. Won’t that be fun?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” said Meredith dusting the remaining dirt from her hands. “Let me go get the poem and I will deliver the flower.”

“You going to give it to Mrs. Lawson?” Hope said sadly.

“Yes. I think she needs it, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I know that Bobby is really sad too. I can’t imagine us losing Daddy.”

“They all need our love and prayers to get through this tragedy.”

As Meredith got out of her car at the Lawson’s home, she saw Nancy working in her flower bed. Nancy sat back on her heels with a soft wave and a sad smile on her face.

“Hey Nancy. I know how much you love your flowers and I just wanted to give a little extra color. This lily will be beautiful all summer, and then this fall you can add it to your garden.”

“Oh, Meredith. You are so sweet. Thank you.” Nancy stood to take the flower and give Meredith a hug. They had been good friends for several years. As Nancy reached for the flowers she froze staring intently at the flower pot and the poem that was being held by the flower stick.

“This is a white lily,” said Meredith. “Lilies represent hope and faith and white represents peace and purity. I thought this would help bring you peace.”

“Did you write this poem you placed on the stick?” she whispered softly as she reached just for the stick while Meredith held the flower pot.

“No. I copied it from one I received when I was going through a particularly hard time in my life. It brought me peace and I wanted to do the same for you.”

Meredith noticed the tears coming down from Nancy’s face.

“Nancy, I did not mean to upset you. I wanted you to know you always have a friend with me. I am so sorry I upset you.”

“No, no. You have not upset me but I do have to ask….did you also bury something in the dirt?”

“Yes. How did you know that?”

Nancy hug Meredith in a strong loving hug as tears and laughter came from her. “Oh, Meredith, you have no idea how happy you have made me. Come sit down and let me tell you the story.”

As they settled on the chairs on the front porch Meredith placed the lily on the table between the chairs.

“Meredith, this really is a lovely lily. So delicate and small but its fragrance is wonderful.” Nancy settled in her chair and began her story. “When I was a little girl my grandmother was a prominent member in our family. She loved Christmas and had clear glass ornaments for her Christmas tree. She loved the way the light twinkled through the glass. Some of the larger ornaments were cut class that refracted the light into tiny rainbows on the walls. When she found out she had cancer, she refused to go through the treatments. The doctors told her she would not last longer than a year without treatment.”

“I heard that treatments back then were a lot less effective and the effects were more painful than now,” said Meredith.

“I can hear my grandmother now. ‘I would rather have one good year than three years of being sickly like I have seen some of my friends. Especially when it’s gonna get me anyway.’ She was a pistol. The spring before she died, she dug up her lilies and put them in flower pots and in the bottom of the flower pot, she placed one of her small heart ornaments along with this poem. Then she took them to the hospital and gave them to patients to help give them hope. Mom told me there were close to thirty flower pots. I had heard over the years how some people had regifted them but never thought I would ever see one. This is so very special, Meredith,” said Nancy as fresh tears flowed.

“I would have given it to you sooner had I know. I am excited and amazed of this story.”

“It just shows the full circle of love, hope, faith and even life if we allow it to grow.”

Anita Neal

Thank for reading my story. It was fun to write but it does show the importance of kindness and encouragement to rebuild shattered hope. Never forget the importance of kindness. It can be a spark someone needs to brighten their day.

Fandango’s Story Starter #14

Fandango has a fun story starter this week as I immediately went into Halloween mode, after all, it is October. Come join in with your imagination on this fun Story Starter and let your creative juices flow.

I heard the music as I entered the room, but all that was there…

The storm had been relentless last night and this muddy mess did not help in getting up the driveway to the house.

“Why am I being drawn back to Grandma’s house? She has been gone for over three years.”

Her mom had told her that everything in the house had been sold but her old broken piano. They would dispose of it when the house sold. She thought back to the summers she spent there. The laughter…the music. This was why she studied music. She so wanted to be the pianist her grandmother had been but the talent seemed to have eluded her so she taught instead. But many people loved her playing and her teaching was highly sought after. So she stayed in the background away from the dreams of being onstage. As she pulled up in front of the house, the sun began breaking through the clouds. The ‘For Sale’ sign loomed ominously sideways from the storm. The thought of someone else living here made her sad. Taking her keys, she open the door to the empty mustiness that was far from the memories of the bright sunny days she remember so well. The sun was streaming with split rays through the dusty living room windows. The light caught an object leaning against the wall and made Jessica smile. Her walking stick was still leaning in the corner. She could not believe it was still around. She walked over and picked it up, studying her name that her grandfather had carved. She remember fondly the great adventures from the back yard. He had a small apple orchard in the back but to a small child it was huge. She walked over to the sunroom and stood in the doorway remembering the beautiful music her grandmother would play as she and Grandpa would explore the vast outdoors. The piano leaned crookedly against the wall as one leg was completely broken off. Then she remembered the music again…no wait…she is hearing it.

“I heard the music as I entered the room, but all that was there was the broken piano against the wall,” she explained later to her mom when she told her about her visit. She told her of the whispers she heard about not giving up on her dream, that her talent was there and of other things only her grandmother knew. She was shaken but renewed and peaceful as well.

“It may have been a dream or some sort of hallucination of remembered love but it was more real than I have know in some years,” Jessica explained.

“So, what are you going to do about it?” her mom asked hoping that whatever this was, it would be enough to help her get over her stage fright and weak self-esteem. She knew the local symphony was searching for a new pianist and that in her mind she thought her daughter would be perfect for it. Of course she was prejudiced as this was her only daughter of 3 other children.

“I don’t know,” said Jessica, “but I think I owe it to Grandma to not give up just because of some bad experience from college. Oh, and I found my walking stick that Granpa made for me.”

“Maybe that will help you walk a different path. Not to pressure you, but the Symphony still has not found a pianist.”

“I dunno, mom. That’s an awful big step. That’s like trying to win the Olympics without training.”

“You train every day, Jessica. What have you got to lose?”

“I will think about it.”

In all of life we face challenges that can either enhance or thwart our dreams. If our dreams are not fully attainable, we must never lose the love those dreams gave us. Use that love to make another dream. That dream may be better than your original dream. And with all paths in all our dreams, remember to be kind. Kindness can make dreams for others come true.

Morning Encouragement

Good morning friends. Today in the Mid-west it is a wet and gloomy day. No rain but just heavy humidity and gray clouds. It is a great day to visualize and understand the true joy of Christ. In my reading this morning in Jesus Calling, Sarah reminded us that joy is not dependent on what we see, what our circumstances are or how we feel. We can be on top of a mountain enjoying the beautiful sunshine or in the bottom of the damp valley surrounded by foggy gloom. Regardless of what is going on around us, we can feel the true joy of Christ.

“True Joy is a by-product of living in God’s presence.” Sarah young.

We are creatures of habit trying to gain our happiness from the things we see instead of knowing or understanding who is standing right by us, that we may not see. God’s presence in our lives not only breaks through the gloomy clouds but can reflect from us onto others as we go through this life. And there is no limit to the love He wraps around us for us to give also to others.

And although we don’t like the trials, the trials can give us perspective, understanding and hope. And Romans reminds us that “hope does not disappoint”. It strengthens our faith to survive the trials.

The Holy Spirit is ever present reminding us of His constant love even though we may be hurting from the effects of this world. That pain is not forever, but His love is. He speaks of His love all through His Word, and He showed us His ultimate love by dying for us when we didn’t deserve it. So when you face gloomy days, remember the light reflecting off of His face, just for us. He is always close by.

May you feel His love and Peace engulf your possible gloomy times. Know that the brightness of His love will melt that gloom. Embrace it and remember to be kind. Giving kindness, even when not deserved, can show others the beauty of God’s love.

Fun and Wet Walk

Today, our community came together to walk for the awareness of hunger across the globe. I have not seen the total amount we raised in our area but it was fun getting together with others and sharing a common cause. We in USA have a tendency to take for granted the ability of opening our fridge and grabbing a snack or being able to plan a wonderful meal. There was a message I read recently from the missionaries that we help support through International Missionaries. They stated that the mind set of the people they serve in the Dominican Republic was thankfulness if they got to eat that day. They feel it is a gift from God for each meal on any given day. That is a hard concept to get our privileged minds around. So I challenge all of us to pray for the people across the world – even in our own privileged countries, there are those who go without food. And lift a special pray for those impoverished countries who think it is a gift from God to be able to eat. If you get the opportunity to join in on one of these special fund raisers, do so. It really does go to a great cause.

Below are pictures of our group along with others who joined in for a great day – even though we got rained on.

Remember, there are those who are struggling in life just as we all do. Let us remember to always be kind. Kindness shows a beauty that some never get to see.

Amazing Stonework, 9/28

Welcome to my ongoing post of beautiful old architecture. If you know of wonderful old buildings with interesting architecture, post them here. I would love to see them and the only criteria is brick, stone or mortar and of course concrete but we are focusing on older buildings instead of the mega concrete structures of today with modern straight lines. The architectures of yesteryear would cost a fortune to replicate today so I share them to show their beauty that I feel we should appreciate. So, welcome to Amazing Stonework. Link up and share what you see.

Today’s post is a bit of this and a bit of that instead of a single building. Some buildings only have one little feature that sparks my interest so this is a shout out to the many building that showoff their minimal creativity. Some are intricate designs around a column, or a window or along the roof line. So enjoy these photos. All buildings(except 1) were built in the late 1800 era and have some of the same flavor as other building I have posted.

This building was not of the older era but they tried to mimic the architecture of that era. I thought this concrete casting quite interesting so I am including it in this “details” posting of interesting parts of buildings.

The is the corner monument is for the building for the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Davenport.

“The Fraternal Order of Eagles is an international non-profit organization uniting fraternally in the spirit of liberty, truth, justice, and equality, to make human life more desirable by lessening its ills and promoting peace, prosperity, gladness and hope.“

These are three different types of rooflines that I thought interesting enough to share here. I fully realize this is not everyone interest but this middle picture with its “ship port” type windows faces the Mississippi River for viewing or at least bringing in the light.

Watch towers and bell towers are prominent all along the river.

Then in closing is the tallest lookout tower but instead of the tower, I took pictures of the huge winged dragon type creatures that are on the four sides of the tower that sit on the top roof six floors high. The tower itself is another two or three floors high and this building was probably in the middle of the town when it was built.

This Amazing Stonework post is created for us to share the beauty of old buildings. As we all go through life, remember we are always building something – whether it be tangible or intangible and with each thing we build, let us build more bridges of kindness than walls of coldness.

ALWAYS BE KIND

Monday Portrait, Daisy

Bushboy gave us a fun challenge to post a favorite picture. Those of us who take lots of pictures for fun find it hard to choose a favorite so I give you today’s favorite.

Daisy did not learn from Mimi, my other dog who recently passed, how to knock or scratch on the door when she was ready to come inside. So instead, she has learned that the window works both ways. She jumps up at the window to let me know she is ready to come in. That is a sad looking face of being left out alone in the cruel world. LOL

Our pets become a favorite source of photos as they have part ownership of our heartstrings. They remind us of the value of kindness, compassion and love. So I remind you tonight to always be kind. It will bring you as much joy in giving as receiving a like response.

An Evening Encouragement

Good evening friends. This is coming a little later in the week than normal but I still wanted to send out an encouraging hug even though late. For we all need hugs from time to time. Pastor’s sermons for the last couple of weeks have been on Ephesians 6. A wonderful series to assure us of God’s protection that is there for us to use. After Sunday’s sermon on the Breastplate of Righteousness, I spoke with him on how I knew intellectually I was not righteous but yet we are told to be righteous as He is righteous. But his series shows us how Jesus’s righteousness is given to us because of His love for us when we follow His lead. It got me to thinking about the word righteousness – what does it really mean? The dictionary says it is the quality of being morally right. A Christian layman’s definition is simply standing right with God.

I saw that there were over 520 scriptures in the bible that talk about righteousness, therefore it is important and I need to pay attention. But my evening devotion Tuesday night talked about another object of righteousness, a crown of righteousness.

God’s righteousness is there for all of us who love Him. So when life’s trials seem to have run over you like a bulldozer, know that God knows your heart. He has promised a reward that none of us deserve but because we love Him and are eagerly waiting for His return, he has a crown of righteousness to give us. The righteousness we have is not our own by what we do but is the righteousness of Jesus Himself that He has passed on to us.

When life may seem to be going fast and difficult for you, he wants you to reach up for His hand and He will walk with you through any trial you may face and bring you peace.

May you have a peaceful evening and remember tomorrow to show kindness wherever you can. Kindness given to others creates fertile soil for more kindness to grow.

FOTD -“The Penthouse” Doth Fall

Cee Neuner has created a wonderful challenge called Flower of the Day where we can share beauty, amazement…and laughter. Today we are sharing amazement with a hint of laughter. Last week I posted a FOTD called “The Penthouse” where I highlighted my last sunflower that had been taken over by my Birdnest gourd with a gourd hanging from the drying flower. So we are going to give a little history of this summer’s fun time so you can get a better idea of “summer’s last effort” to hang on.

The sunflower itself grew 13.5 feet tall before it created the largest bloom of any of the other sunflowers planted. I thought it interesting that although all the seeds came from the same package…they indeed did not have the same parents. Or maybe its the magic the bees create as they move from flower to flower. Some plants created many smaller blooms and some created one massive bloom.

The picture to the left was one plant with 16 blooms while the picture to the right is one huge 9.5 inch bloom. The plant that created the penthouse was featured in a separate post due to the massiveness of the stalk – 4 inch wide and 13.5 feet high.

***Picture taken early summer , now much thicker***

“The summer’s last effort was a thunderstorm to mark the end of 90 temps of summer. While I love summer, this was a hot one and I am glad to see the season begin to change. Although if Farmer Almanac and my exterminator are correct – its gonna be a cold rough winter here in the upper midwest.

When you have a huge sunflower, weighing in at 3.5 pounds, two Birdnest gourds, one weighing 2.5 pounds and mix in 35 MPH winds, that is no match for that 13.5′ high, 4 inch stalk, and down she came. The sunflower measured in at 14 inches and while one the gourds is still attached to the the mass of vines, one broke lose and I brought it inside to hopefully finish curing.

The glare on the tape of the first picture did not show its numbers so I added a second photo. You get a visual of just how large these flowers can get and then the gourd is no small fry. This is not even one of the bigger ones, so we will see how they all do.

Now I wait for the cold air to come in and dry out the vines. It will make an interesting Halloween decoration. Not a big fan of Halloween but it is what it is.

In closing I remind you the beauty and power of being kind. It creates a brightness like nothing else.

Amazing Stonework, 9-21

Good morning. I bring to you another church in the Quadcities area between Iowa and Illinois. This church, on the Illinois side, seems to be one of the older churches from the late 1800s. If you know of wonderful old buildings with interesting architecture, post them here. I would love to see them and the only criteria is brick, stone or mortar and of course concrete but we are focusing on older buildings instead of the mega concrete structures of today with modern straight lines. The architectures of yesteryear would cost a fortune to replicate today so I share them to show their beauty that I feel we should appreciate. So, welcome to Amazing Stonework. Link up and share what you see.

This church is made of stone block with a central bell tower that is still quite stunning and well cared for. Again we are seeing rounded corners, angled walls and interesting small turrets with spires and other architectural details.

First African (D) Methodist Episcopal Church, 1889

I could not find a reference as to what the D stands for. If you know please let me know. This church’s very impressive bell tower is next to the main entrance that has a door that is painted red. Most Episcopal church have a red doors and the legend comes from England during the Middle Ages noting that the church was a safe sanctuary to come to for protection.

The window designs vary from pointed arches, rounded arches and a few are square. While I could see their colors from the inside you could see their intricate details from the outside.

I want to tie in with Ludwig’s post of Monday Window as his challenge highlights the beauty of windows. Churches have many windows that reflect the light from the sun by sprinkling colors inside of the building. This particular church has many windows and most of them are stained glass.

Look around you area with fresh eyes and see the beauty in older buildings. Oh, the stories they could tell.

I close with reminding you of the value of kindness. In this hurry-up world we often go to fast and forget how to be kind. It’s a simple gesture that has astounding benefits not only for the receiver but also for the giver.