Word Power, Good and Bad

Time to be serious. The blogging world is a wonderful place for friendships, creativity, sharing amazing photographs and…expressing opinions. I am a Christian and those who read my words know that my main platform is kindness. In December of last year I wrote a post about taming the tongue vs being kind. I have linked it in case someone wants to read or reread it. Words have power whether they are spoken or written and that power should never be misused to hurt any living being. Animals may not understand your words but they KNOW your tone and can tell if you are being mean or kind. And way too often we wound instead of bless.

“Words have such great power to bless or wound.” Sarah Young

(Pictures courtesy of Google Photos)

I was reminded this morning with my morning devotion of the importance of watching what we say.

“The ability to verbalize is an awesome privilege.” Sarah Young

Ephesians 4:29 tells us – “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Now as I read that I also realized that those who listen could also be bystanders. People all around us everyday are watching to see what we do in any given situation and will use it accordingly. God gave us two ears but 1 mouth for a reason. James 1:19 tells us – “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.

Being in control of our mouths helps gain control of any situation but we must always control with love. In this way, your speaking becomes more positive than negative and the response you receive in return will be more positive than negative. With more positive energy in the air, more joy will be allowed to infuse the area.

So I encourage you to be mindful of your words, spoken and written to allow for a more positive world that we live in and let the joy of our hearts fill the earth.

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Kindness, joy, peace, happiness…..

(Pictures courtesy Google Pictures)

Always try to end with kindness…and here is one of my most favorite pictures to date to help you smile.

Fun Times For A Year

I worked today so did not get to the computer until this afternoon and I found a surprise…

Congratulations, its your anniversary. Wow, I did not realize I had been blogging now for 1 year. I have talked to so many wonderful people all over the world and I thank you all for making this so much fun.

Thank you to all of the photographers I share such beautiful photographs with; Thank you to all the people who share my Christian beliefs with words of encouragement and profound truths; Thank you to all the people who share the funny stuff that make us all laugh at ourselves because we know we have done what you just talked about; Thank you to all the experienced bloggers who have helped us newbies make this an enjoyable time; And thank you to all who read my words from seriousness to silliness and give me such encouraging comments. May we all use this medium to spread the love and kindness that is meant to be spread across this world.

My favorite(for now) picture I have found shows how kindness can spread like the ripples when a pebble has been tossed in the water, so I challenge all, as I do with every post, to be kind. There is just not enough of it in this world and we need to increase it use so it will spread everywhere. Again, thank you for all your love.

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Spellcheck Not Enough

There have been several complaints going across the waves of WordPress about them eliminating the spellcheck feature and while that is a concern and something I use each time I am at the computer…with me, that just isn’t enough – I need a WORD check. I apologize to all who read my words…I promise I do re-read and edit before I post…yet I still miss blatant errors. It’s embarrassing…I even went to college! – like that would make a difference.

Recently I posted on my Instagram page to come over and see my blog for encouragement, flowers, dogs and silliness. So I went through the Instagram site to see how they would see things…”oh mi gudness”!! How did I miss that, oh and look at that dumbness…so embarrassing.

So yes, I feel like a dingbat but I remember reading an article where your brain knows what you are trying to say or read and does it for you eliminating the error in your brain. Even those silly games where the letters in the center are wrong and if you can still read the sentence, you are supposed to be smart. Yea I am good at that but still mess up here. Good grief.

And for those of us with ADD or who have brains that go two sentences ahead of what you are trying to say or do, its a real problem, especially if you are trying to convey and important message.

So I apologize in advance and hope that is not the reason you would never be interest in the book I am getting published this fall. I have editors to fix that nonsense. But if you are a lover of dogs and a believer in the rainbow bridge, it may be a book of interest to make you laugh or not, no pressure.

Regardless, I appreciate you stopping by to read my blog, even with my poor editing ability. Hope those mistakes can now bring a smile to your face as it does mine. We have to be able to laugh at ourselves and the silly harmless mistakes we make and go on without it dragging us mentally down a dark tunnel. Life is too short for that. Laugh and let those around laugh with you, then re-punt or start over.

And in all things, remember to always be kind. That kindness you share, even when you don’t feel kind, may be the very thing to remove that dark cloud that has engulfed you.

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What is or Who can be a Photographer, #JusJoJan

Cutting is down to the basics, in my mind, a photographer is one who has a eye for capturing and balancing the right angle of a subject to reveal an awe inspiring moment that makes the rest of us drool at its beauty whether it is a split second action shot or the beautiful contrast of nature at it best…or worse in some cases. Who are these photographers? Anyone who has the passion for being able to capture these awe inspiring moments. There are some amazing photographers I have seen in this bloggosphere world – if that is such a word, spell check says no, but I am sure you all know what I am talking about.

Examples of amazing photos I enjoy come from experts like jansenphoto of Dutch Goes the Photo, Irene of Heaven’s Sunshine, Debbie Smyth of Travel With Intent, Norm 2.0, Pedrol, and so many more. Check out their work as it truly is amazing. Then you have people who love photography and take pictures to add to their fun as they blog like me, and Shelley, Laurie, Dan, and again so many more people. Photography, while it can be very technical, it speaks to the eye then quickly moving to the heart to be shared in awe for all viewers. A wonderful and fun medium of expression.

I say all this to be able to share a meteorological phenomenon that I saw today called a Sun Dog. I had never seen or even heard of one until someone told me what it was.

Sun dog

Description

A sun dog or mock sun, formally called a parhelion in meteorology, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Sun. Two sun dogs often flank the Sun within a 22° halo.Wikipedia

Yea, what he said. Regardless it was amazing to see. Oh, and the temp was -8, with a wind chill of -30 degrees. Really? This is western Iowa, not Alaska.

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So sometimes photography is being at the right spot at the right time, like I was this morning. About an hour later it was snowing again. Total for the year so far is over 40″ (its still January) with another 4-8″ possible on Sunday thru Monday. That’s a lot of snow for someone who was raised in south Georgia, 15 minutes north of the Florida border. Now I am trying to balance 20 pounds of clothes to keep from freezing to death.

But even in the cold you can still find time to be kind, maybe even more so. So I remind all, of the wonderful attribute of kindness. I promise, sharing it will balance your day.

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Linda G Hill and her guest prompter JP has challenged with the word balance. Come

along and join in on the fun.

Something About A Smile

There is something infectious about a smile. Even though you may not know the person, you will smile in return. A baby smiles back at you just by seeing you smile or the mischievousness of children can make you smile.

img_20180924_110918 — A photo of my youngest stealing a piece of BBQ chicken (Now a chef)

Smiles are a way we show love, happiness, joy and kindness to name a few ways. Smiles are a way we show our inner light. But we are not the only beings that smile. Animals smile when they see someone they love, it being human or one of their own kind. Since blogging I have become fond of many photographers works but I found some pictures of Debbie Smyth that just made me giggle and I thought I would make a post on SMILING animals. Thank you Debbie and other photographers for making us smile.

This white dog even smiles with his eyes. Too very precious and one of my favorite pics.

Remember than a smile is also a show of kindness. If you can be anything…Be kind.

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Enigmatic Equals Mystery, #JusJoJan

Linda’s guest prompter today, Virgobeauty, gave us a word prompt of enigmatic. Such an interesting word reminiscent of times gone by with its amount of use for today but still an interesting word. Come join in on the fun of Just Jot January and say hey to everyone. It promises to be an enigmatically good time.

ENIGMATIC DAWN

The early light sneaks in, etching out shadows of night before

With mystifying stealth, where no man had trod before

With unfathomable skill she stares on open untouched land

Making sure she touched places where no one alone can stand

With brightness she increases, making the impenetrable darkness flee

The valley below eyes twinkle in hopes of the newness it may see

The enigmatic dawn flits quickly by as the brightness of the day begins

Leaving the question behind for all of “Who today will win?”

– Anita Neal –

May the brightness of your life shine as the start of a brand new day. We get the opportunity to start fresh each day, leaving the woes and dramas of previous days behind. Remember God shines His light on you so that you can shine it on others. Always remember to be kind. Kindness is a love gift from above. Let your drop of kindness flow outward creating ripples of joy across the waters of life.

For The Love of…#JusJoJan

What an interesting thing Linda has challenged us with today with her prompt of Why do you do what you do…in blogging. I made sure I add the part “in blogging” because then we would be trying to find the answers to “why do you try to get out of the car with you seat belt still attached” or “why are you looking all over the house for your glasses when you have them pushed up on your head”.

Some questions of why we do what we do really have no answers. But why do I blog, I can answer. I retired in February, not by choice as I enjoyed working but I was 66 and the new plant manager was a beast to say it lightly. So I said enough. Now what. I know, I will finish the book I started last year which was really a backwards way to write my memories so my children would have an idea as to “why I did what I did”. So as I sat down in February I got back to the book but it took on a life of its own and became more fiction that truth then it changed again to become a backwards way to tell others about Christ. Then I wondered if I could ever get this published so I joined the local writers guild and one of the guest speakers asked me what my platform was. Well she could tell from my “deer in headlights look” that I had no clue what she was talking about – still don’t but she did tell me if I ever wanted to be serious about writing I needed to have a blog. So in August, not having a clue as to what I am doing, I started a blog. The theme was sort of tied around the book but as the book has evolved, so did the blog. I use “For the Love of” to show anyone who reads my blog to know there is still a lot of love left in this crazy, chaotic and sometimes cruel world. I explore the beauty in nature, the beauty in people and I have become very fond of all the bloggers who are photographers. The beauty in this world that they show is enough to keep anyone blogging. It’s inspiring. I also enjoy all the friends I have met around this blue marble. At my age, it is still amazing I can talk to someone with a computer from countries I have never been to or never will get to. To see their world from their eyes and their heart is amazing.

With the tag line of “anitashope” I hope that to at least one person on any given day I have brought a smile, some encouragement, some love and have been able to reflect the light of Christ as he has asked us to.

Do I still want to get published, sure. Beside the book I have written several short stories, some flash fiction and now playing with poetry. But my style is not for everyone so finding that market is going to be tough.

And of course my end to all of my blogs remind all of us to be kind. Being kind is so easy some days and very hard some days but those are days when you will be blessed the most when you in turn are kind. Kindness is truly a gift to be shared with man and animal alike. So as always I encourage you to be kind.

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