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.
I am mostly retired but I do work 3 days a week answering the phone at church. Its enough to keep me from being bored. Today I was very entertained with the wildlife out the window. If you remember, I was having issues with squirrels due to food change. I can assure you that safflower seeds work in keeping squirrels from your feeder. I still get chickadees, house finches, cardinal, titmouse, and occasional sparrows.
But today, something was very scary about the feeder. It looked to be a monster that could devourer…
It wont hurt you guys, I promise.
I guess the slinky did look kind of odd, but it is effective – no squirrels today. I know they are resilient and may come back, so we will see. There were at least ten of them sitting on the outer branches waiting on someone to get brave enough to go first. And finally it did.
Then they all tried to come at once…
May Day, May Day…
But the cutest thing was a parent and a fledgling or maybe it was just a demanding bird begging to be fed…
It was very entertaining. It was a good example of kindness in the animal kingdom. We should all strive to be kind to all things at all times. Kindness matters.
Devereaux Frazier and Beth Amanda are currently hosting the Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge. The prompts are designed to be quick challenges that can be written in 10 to 15 minutes, inspire you creatively, are fun, and get everyone interacting.
For today’s prompt, use the theme of unravelingin a piece of writing.
Life
Life should be filled in purity
Instead it shows prematurity
Unraveling itself in immaturity
Firmly bound in obscurity
Google pic
Remember to always share kindness with those who feel lost in this world. It will help them find heir feet of security.
Good afternoon friends. Since I am home all day today, I am playing on the computer a lot – daytime TV is beyond boring to me. So I will bore you withy my writings, musings and encouragement. The word encouragement has a key word encased in it – Courage. Some days courage is all we have to be able put one step in front of the other. But my devotion last night gave a different perspective – one I have always known but sometimes I need reminding. So today I am reminding you of where your courage, strength and perseverance comes from.
I am a big believer that God puts people in our paths to help us be able to not only connect better with Him but to also show us how to connect better with each other. Someone left a devotion book and its companion research book on my desk but no one seems to claim they did it. It is a wonderful devotion book called Jesus Speaks written by Steven K. Scott and it is written in similar a style of JesusCalling by Sarah Young. Both are written as if you were talking directly to Jesus. Sometimes you just need that, at least I do.
Last night’s devotion was “Courage to Replace Your Fears”.
The disciples were in the boat and Jesus was walking to them across the water. They thought it was a ghost. But he tells them, “Take Courage”.
So many times when storms are raging around us that is all we can see but Jesus reminds us like he did Peter – don’t look at the storm, look at Me and don’t be afraid.
“It’s okay that fear might get the best of you for a moment. but open the eyes of your spirit and see Me. I am here!” from Jesus Speaks February 14.
No storm or scary situation every comes by surprise to Jesus and He will make sure we get through it safely.
He reminds us all through scripture that He is there, regardless of what we are going through. Just reach out to Him.
So I am reminding you, regardless of your storm, take courage and feel God’s presence surround you with love.
And if you can, reach out to others to help them feel encouraged and surround them in kindness. Sometimes all we need is a little kindness.
I woke up this morning still tired from the pacing and stress of the night. My throat is still sore from all the yelling and pleading…at the TV. It was National Championship night for college football. And yes, my team won. Yeah, Go Dawgs.
But this morning I was reminded that we are all winners in a championship game. This life is temporary but we are in it for the win. Jesus is on the side lines, in the stands and standing right beside us cheering us on as we do good and pacing when we misstep, ever guiding us along the Way. He never leaves our side. And we must praise Him in this promises.
What is a promise – according to Webster – a statement telling someone that you will definitely do something or that something will definitely happen in the future.
All through His Word, Old Testament and New, he reminds us of how important each person is to Him and how He is ever on the sideline cheering us onward. His love for us knows no bounds. This picture below is called First Day of Heaven, but just remember, while we are on this earth, He is still hugging us that fiercely.
So I encourage you today to feel His love as it surrounds you. Embrace it and know that it is real and be assured that no person, no circumstance, no misstep you may make will ever turn Him away from His love for you.
Isaiah 41:10
As you embrace this day, let His light shine from you to others whose light may not be as bright. But the light is always there, sometimes you just have to dust it off a bit. Dust with kindness and that light will shine bright.
Good morning friends. I wanted to share some encouragement that I got from my devotion this morning. Oswald Chambers reminds us that when we become born again, we have a new way of thinking and a new way of reasoning.
Many of us miss a lot of the joy God has for us because we stay at the door of Christianity instead of walking through embracing His Love. We fail and blame things on the devil when it is really ourselves because we won’t get out of our own way. Think of where we would be if we fully embraced God’s truth. Its hard. We get discouraged and we let our moods run the show. Our moods are rooted in some physical circumstance that is surrounding us. We can pray about it but in reality we just need to stand up to the mood and kick it to the curb. It is a struggle to listen to these moods but we must stand firm against them and not give them the power to rule us.
The Christian life is one of spiritual courage and determination lived out in our flesh. Oswald Chambers
When we feel ourselves being beaten down by our moods, we need to pick ourselves up, shake the mood off and march forward into the peace Christ has for us – even when it seems impossible. Stand Firm!
Sometimes when you are in the midst of a hard struggle and you find that you can still be kind. That is when you have learned to stand firm. Try always to be kind.
The word NEVER is an absolute value even though it has nothing to do with math. And when we hear the word never we think of negative actions like “I will never”. In math, a true absolute value removes any negative sign in front of a number making it a positive value. I could not wrap my head around that when I was in college 50 years ago so I surely can’t do it now but…it makes perfect sense when we think of Jesus.
He will NEVER leave you…that is about as positive as you can get. It was so important for God’s people to understand this idea that so He said it again 2 verses later.
Even as far back as Genesis, God reminded us that He would always take care of us. He always honors His promises.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us again….
All through the Bible, we are reminded that he will never leave us – Joshua 1:5, Psalms 94:14, Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 28:20, Revelation 3:10, just to name a few. It is important we do not lose hope when the world blows up around us. He is there, sometimes carrying us when we don’t realize it. There is a new song on the radio that when it comes on, I sing it out loud and raise my hand out the car window. It was written by Zach Williams and Dolly Parton sings a duet with him. I will post it at the end if you care to listen but I wanted you to read a few of the words because the song talks about us straying as we do sometimes …but even then He never leaves us.
There Was Jesus
Every time I try to make it on my own Every time I try to stand, I start to fall And all those lonely roads that I have traveled on There was Jesus
In the waiting, in the searching In the healing, in the hurting Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces Every minute, every moment Where I’ve been or where I’m going Even when I didn’t know it Or couldn’t see it There was Jesus
No, I never walk alone Never walk alone You’re always there
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU0P19V_EFs Always remember He is as close as your reach so let that fill you with hope to face whatever you have to face and try to do it with kindness.
Tonight I release a little bit more. A little more pain, a little more hurt, and gain a little more courage and a little more self worth. Its been a long journey and I pour out a little more of my soul with the help of my computer to continue my journey in healing. Tonight I watched again, the movie “I Can Only Imagine”. Fabulous movie and the song is probably my favorite all time song. If you haven’t seen it, or heard the song, you need to.
This true story of pain and courage from an abusive home and the hope from its story’s journey has been a huge inspiration to me to remind me there is life after abuse. There is hope after abuse. And there are dreams after abuse.
While I did not come from a physically abusive home towards me when growing up, there were the occasional drunken brawls of abuse between my parents. And what so many do not understand is that there are many forms of abuse other than physical and all of them are detrimental to children of the home.
Colossians 3 reminds us of correct rules for Christian homes reminding parents that they are to love each other as Christ loves them and to not discourage and embitter the children. When children become discouraged from abuse in the home, it sets a standard for their understanding and let me just tell you – No one…No one…and I say it again…No one should be allowed to harm another person with physical action or with words, whether they are family, friend or a total stranger.
Because a lot of times it creates a cycle and it takes a lot of courage and effort to break that cycle. I was not strong enough to do that. Off and on for twenty years I stayed in an abusive marriage. It took two divorces from the same man for me to finally break free of this pattern. And it took another ten for me to gain strength and courage to survive on my own, with three children. Then it took another ten for me to find a new life of courage and self worth with new dreams. Life is hard and I don’t know how anyone can survive this life without Jesus Christ, its hard enough for those of us who do follow him.
My revisited dream of being a writer is actually coming to the front. Will I be a best seller, no, but my second book is in process of being printed and I am hoping it will be out in October. It is a sequel of my first book…about dogs. God instills in us survival techniques that sometimes can come out in various art forms. Some people turn to music, some to painting but I turned to writing. Dogs were a big part of my survival so I turned them into people and wrote about them. It was fun and encouraging for me as I still fight with self worth. When you are told for many years how worthless you are, it takes a while to flush that all down the toilet. I am enclosing one of the first poems I ever place of WordPress. I was inspired by a fellow blogger’s photo and it shows how even now I struggle with self worth in Christ knowing full well to him I am precious. Never forget how much God loves you and that he always has a plan for you. Grab hold of his hand and hang on.
Bailly Cemetery, Courtesy Irene Tron
The Climb
I see and maintain it still is not fair,
I have nothing to lay at the top of the stair.
It’s not my fault, I did nothing wrong,
Well, maybe I did, it’s just been so long.
How long has it been since I climbed to the top,
I remember its relief, why did I stop?
How can a symbol of such astounding grief,
Be given to us to bring us this relief?
With love so amazing, to the cross did He die,
To flood us with gratitude that still makes us cry.
The burdens we carry don’t always seem fair,
Always we can lay them at the top of the stair.
The first step looks brittle, can it carry my weight?
This burden is heavy and may seal my fate.
As I touch each step and climb ever higher,
Is this what I should do, is this really my desire?
As I clear the last step, the cross is before me,
I question my worth, did He also die for me?
As my knees get bent, I’m smothered by His grace,
And I lay all my burdens at the accepting cross base.
Anita Neal
Probably the reason I push kindness like I do is because I fully understand its benefits, it value and how easily it can spread. besides it is one of the fruits of the spirit. So I remind you as always the utmost value of kindness. Please be kind.
I encourage you as you start this day to be strong and confident with Christ at your side. Do not worry over yesterday but let Him hold your hand and guide you safely through this day.
And in all you do remember the value of kindness. When you show kindness to others it lights a light inside you to share with others you meet along the day. Shine strong.
Devereaux Frazier and Beth Amanda are currently hosting the Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge which was started by our star writer Christine Ray. We hope to offer all of you something that will spark your creativity and willingness to participate.
Today’s prompt: Write a piece of prose or poetry around the phrase “nine years old, and she never had a chance”
Nine Years Ago
It was nine years ago today, that faithless day, when life erupted with come what may.
The car she was in, offered no shelter within, as it hit the black ice and began to spin.
With injuries so grave, her leg they could not save, now at age nine she must be brave.
Her dreams of dance, was lost at first glance, knowing now she never had a chance.
Some dreams are alive, a determination to thrive, beyond expectation they too survive.
For others can see, the grace that can be, regardless of crutch, the beauty of she.
Now dreams of dance, where once was no chance, joyfully fill her with happenstance.
Anita Neal
As life can sometime throw you into a tailspin, try not to give up but continue to strive for your dreams. And always try to be kind even when it is hard.
For the Love of 