White, a Positive Color, Weekly Prompt

Today is June 1, the start of a new month. When we think of starting anew as it were we feel we can start with a clean slate. The weekly prompts is a continuation on with the monthly color challenge and June is the color of “white”. Appropriate color as June brides dress are usually white but out of a day of total relaxing I took the time for a little research.

White is a color of innocence or purity. It is also a color for completion, as in finishing one status and wiping the slate clean for newness. I think of the biblical purity or cleansing purity associated with white. Psalm 51:7 states – Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. But we also think of things in heaven as white like the robes of pure white, angels as being white, God or Jesus being in white. White is a positive color.

In the manufacturing word of plastic injection molding, some people don’t realize that white is actually a color. You have to add white color beads to get white product. White is not the absence of color, it is actually a color.

But for me today, as the sun is in its 3 rd day of shining, my flowers are finally reaching out to the beauty of the light and are showing off a bit. Below are my white blooms.

I am joining in with SueW and GC to play with the weekly prompt for June and white color.

Photo Challenge White

So join in with us and show of you ideas, thoughts or pictures on white. And in closing as I like to do, I encourage you to be kind. Kindness through a gentle smile can brighten someone’s day.

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Morning Silence, #SoCS

As the morning wakes today, the birds are chirping, sun is ever shining reminding us of the hope of survival. This morning’s reading came from Isaiah 41:13 says, For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you.

That is so profoundly true as we watch and wait for the Mississippi to once again crest, hopefully for the last time at this stage for many years, currently at 21.54. But this morning is beautiful and as I sit and watch the birds fuss over the feeder, I am reminded of God’s care and love of them. Then I see the sun as it shines over my violets, their flowers shimmering like they are covered with tiny glitter.

And then I remember the history of this beautiful plant. I had bought three little violets to have in my office area when I was still working, you know, the $2.00 variety at Walmart. We were under florescence lights so they should do well. I worked in a manufacturing facility that make plastic buckets. The presses were on one side of the building and my office along with maintenance and the print shop were on the opposite side of the building, a building more long than wide. One day a hydraulic line ruptured from one of the presses just across from my no wall office shooting my side of the building with hydraulic fluid. Talk about a mess. And of course the three little violets were covered in oil, plants where the leaves should not get splash with water as it could cause them to spot and die. Now what. Well the thought was they are going to probably die but lets at least try to save them. So I gently washed them off and re-potted them in fresh soil and clean pots. I only lost one and you see how big they are today. This is proof of survival beyond visual odds with God’s loving hand.

So silently this plant reminds me every day, this too shall pass. So, grab God by the hand as he offers his love and strength and hang on. He will get you through. And as you are trudging through, remember others are trudging as well, although you may not realize it. We all trudge through life’s ups and downs. So remember to always be kind. Kindness reflect God’s love and hope for all.

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As Linda’s prompt for today’s SoCS of silence, I am reminded of the healing powers of silence. So come along and share your silent thoughts.

Gardening Pitfalls – Too Much, Too Many

I do enjoy my gardening as it reflects the beauty of God’s many colors. But this year has been a real challenge. The temps throughout the winter were excessively harsh and planting time for spring has been delayed several weeks with cooler than average temps and excessive rain. I fell sorry for the farmers who got a jump start on planting only to be drowned with rain when the ground was already saturated from nearly 2 feet of cumulative snowmelt. Then other farmers who waited are just now getting a chance to plant due to saturated ground. While my flowers are trying their best…..

The waterlogged effects are beginning to take its toll with rotting plants and dying leaves.

Then there are in inevitable pest that you fight that dig in your plants looking for food or raid you feeders for the birds.

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At least the shortening greased pole keeps him out of the feeder itself. But last night I had a new visitor….ate half of my strawberry plant.

Now I wasn’t getting enough strawberries from one plant to really do a whole lot but still it’s not there to feed the deer…good grief. So I guess I am being a good subsidizer for extra tasty morsel for the animal kingdom. Not really what I had in mind. These are the pitfalls and joys of gardening but still we strive onward and try to smile.

Smiling even in the midst of disappointments is how we can keep afloat. Always remember the effects a smile can have on someone. That one smile may be the only smile that person sees that day, so smile often and let the kindness of that smile spread all about you as you go through you day.

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Smiling… and Laughter

As you go day to day do you think about the things that make you smile? When heading to work today, I passed a car that had two dogs in the back seat and both of them had their heads out the window, tongues flapping in the breeze. Dogs are so funny. I know that if Mimi gets loose which has happened a couple of times, if I go after her in the car and open the door for her, she will jump right in. The only time she has ever been in the car is when we go to the vet. Does she love going to the vet? Don’t think so, she just likes riding in the car. Her silliness always makes me smile.

IMG_20190524_183923 — On guard for anything that may be on the sidewalk

Other things that make me smile is my flowers. They bring in that beauty of creation and they seem to smile when the sun splashes in their face.

Then there is the bulb that bloomed again this spring, the angel holding a flower pot …or the birds helping to grow sunflowers.

All of these make me smile…but what makes us laugh. Why does watching someone slip, knowing they didn’t get hurt, make us laugh. Or a clown throwing a pie at someone else can make us laugh. Silliness. I have seen women get so tickled and laugh so hard they are making no sound what so ever, just tears. I want to stop them and remind them to breathe. Too funny. Laughing people make us laugh. And how about the most precious laugh that there is…a babies laugh. I don’t know too much else as sweet. About a week ago my daughter and I went out to eat and while we were there a family with a grammar school age child and a baby were eating about 3 table over from us. The older child got the baby laughing and the baby was so tickled it got that end of the restaurant snickering and giggling. It was marvelous to have so many strangers all laughing at the same time without understand what the baby thought was funny. We took that joy with us as we left. Laughter a true release of joy.

In Genesis, Abraham and Sarah both laughed at the Lord. Not something I would recommend doing but know the circumstances, I can understand. Sarah was 90 and Abraham was 100 and the Lord told them she was going to have a child. Wow. And when the child was born they named him Issac, which means ‘he who laughs’.

So I remind you to store up for yourselves the smiles of life and the joys of laughter and share them with others in kindness. Kindness shared with smiles can create laughter so smile often and be kind.

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Winter Didn’t Kill Them

This past winter was brutal for a large part of the US. We had a week of -30 temps with wind chills reaching -51. Crazy, right. It’s not like I live with Santa or anything. But with the temps that cold,the heating systems in the area really struggled and so did my indoor plants. I though I may loose my violets because they are so sensitive but as you can see below, they are doing well. My thumb is more brown than green.

I love the delicate flower in rich purple with the bright yellow…stamens? I think that is what they are called. See, brown thumb.

Regardless of thumb color, I am enjoying the flowers inside as well as out. Once I finish planting, I will show my outside flowers, that last week were brought inside due to threat of snow…in May!!

I am also enjoying my bird watching. I guess its a retirement thing as I never had time before to really enjoy them. Saw my first Gold Finches this week. Awesome beauties.

IMG_20190501_185805_233 — Gold Finch, Wood Pecker and Cardinal

IMG_20190430_153843 — Wood Pecker & Gold Finch

If you are wondering what the white stuff is all over the pole of the bird feeder…squirrel deterrent…Crisco shortening. They can’t climb the greasy pole.

As we enjoy the fun, warmth and the beauty of spring, lets remember to share the warmth, fun and beauty of kindness. Kindness is God love shining through our action, even if its just a smile. A smile is a frown turned upside down and a smile can turn your upside down mood back into a light mood of love. Always be kind.

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Memories of Spring, Escapist Coloring Club

For Linda G Hill’s monthly challenge of the Escapist Coloring Club, I have created another idea of spring. Our winter was brutal and spring is not being very friendly either. So I color you a fun idea of spring in hopes that your spring will be kinder than mine here in Iowa.

HOP INTO SPRING!!!

IMG_20190501_204343 — The fun side of Spring

As you enjoy your spring, remember the beauty of new life as plants start bringing forth their beauty. As this beauty makes you smile, remember to share that smile with others and be kind. Kindness is a reflection of God’s love so share it often.

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Love is…

What an open ended statement. Love is many things to many people. I have been away from my computer for a few days as I have been busy with one of my loves…gardening. We have finally been blessed with spring weather, temps anywhere form low 60’s to mid 70’s. Awesome. And this is what I did. You can buy the plants and put them in hangers or buy plants already in hangers. I did some of both. Plus added some to the ground. But in reality, I am just getting started.

I was trying to get it all done before the rain started last night. Thank goodness I didn’t as what we call where I come from, Blackberry winter, has come upon us. Good grief, wasn’t the real winter long enough. Apparently not. Therefore…the hangers are now decorating my living room as temps are expected to drop below 30 with an inch of that dreaded white stuff. Sorry guys that are already in the ground, hang on.

So since there was no loving to do outside I sat down with another love and read. I finished the next to the last book of a 14 book series by Jan Karon called the Mitford Series. It is a wonderful series set in the North Carolina mountains about everyday life, its tragedy’s and triumph’s. Since I am from the south, I was very familiar with the areas she she spoke of and how very true the conditions she wrote starting in the early 2000’s are even today. I strongly suggest reading this series. You will laugh at the absurdity of its richness and cry with the truth of the pain.

Reading this series really brought home to me God’s love for us as people, human beings and how we as humans are just so…lost sometimes. It is astounding how we as a creation of love can cast off another human or animal as discarded trash or a conquest as we strive to what we believe is a higher purpose leaving destruction in our path. I looked through my study bible to see how many time the word love was used – didn’t want to count them as it was a full page and a half. Scripture tells us to love our neighbor as we love our self. Do we not love our self? And who exactly is our neighbor. My opinion is we are all neighbors, all brothers and sisters, all family. Do I fail at loving my neighbor …daily. But if we as humans who can reason with some form of clarity about how we are supposed to be, we should be getting closer to our created purpose, yet at times we are in far left field.

So as I write my blog, I always try to remind all of us about the beauty of life that has been handed to us. Yes our circumstances may be in the bottom of the barrel but we can always CHOSE to have joy. There is a vast difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is a feeling we get due to circumstances around but joy is having inner peace. This peace comes from Christ. Jesus says “My peace I give you.” Its a peace beyond all understanding to our human minds but it is a free gift. A gift we often do not use.

As you go through your week next week, remember the inner joy and let the light of it shine through you to others around you so that to may enjoy the light and the joy it brings and always be kind.

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The Fun Side of Easter

We approach this new season with a lightness in our hearts. New life comes up from the ground as new flowers begin to show their faces. The air is warmer and we enjoy outside more. We open the windows to breath in fresh air and thankful for the brightness around us.

Where we have fun at Christmas while we celebrate His birth, the celebration of His rising at Easter brings us all new life, new hope and the strength to carry on. Even if you are not a believer in Christ, the understand of what it means is somewhat familiar to all. It is fun to share the newness of life about the resurrection and be able to relate it to children with the newness of spring.

New flowers who have been dead all winter are not waking up to new life parallel with the resurrection story. The trees and bushes coming back to life with the new leaves of new life.

New wildlife babies are born representing the newness of life as created by our Father in heaven.

Then there are those who love to decorate their home to show a newness of life or the welcoming of spring, like door wreaths.

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This pair of purple house finches are the first to visit my feeder this year. They are really pretty.

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I also like to show off some of my mothers fun Easter stuff as it makes me smile and remember the fun parts of her. The silly waving rabbit family I painted for her when I was in college.

So while Easter is a celebration that should never be taken lightly for its true meaning, we can enjoy the newness of spring as it also bring us new life and new hope for the coming year. And as you take in the new life, let it send out kindness roots that spreads kindness seedlings wherever it goes.

Gift of Thankfulness, SoCS “fab”

My devotional reading this morning was about thankfulness. When you focus on what you don’t have or on situations that displease you, you inner mind becomes dark and disgruntled. When you approach God with thanksgiving, the light of His presence surrounds you. Lets have some examples from my life –

The harshness of this past winter only to be reminded of the ever resilient fabulous bulbs of spring.

The poor commitment of the “handy man” that showed up to get the old curtains down but has yet to show up to put up the new rods. But yet the light shining through the windows has been beautiful and helped my violet to burst forth in fabulous white and purple blooms.

The most inconvenient idea of being without a refrigerator for 10 days, yet I can still enjoy a fabulous cup of hot tea. And last but not least…

The ability of being able to enjoy fabulous fruits all year long from those warm climate zones and the trucking industry getting them to the stores for us to enjoy.

The inconvenient challenges of life can drag us down or we can give thanks to God that we have an ability to view those challenges through His eyes and find that silver lining – there is always one however small it may be.

So all the more reason to understand you inconvenience and be thankful of the light they can shed on us and bringing forth kindness to others who are also experiencing inconveniences themselves. Remember to always be kind.

Linda G Hill’s challenge today for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “fab.” And I think if we really look around we can find more fab than non-fab. You just need to correct frame of mind. So I challenge you to review and give thanks for all the fabulous things you have in life. You could probably amaze yourself in seeing your gifts.

Escapist Coloring Club Prompt; Spring

The monthly prompt from Linda on coloring gives those of us who enjoy the adult coloring books, calender’s, desk blobs, etc. to show off how much fun we had. Its not about the beauty and perfection of your drawing, however some are quite strikingly as Linda’s dragon, but its about the fun. I do my doodling/coloring at night when I have trouble sleeping because my brain is still going 900 miles an hour…and I am retired…semi-retired. Compared to what I used to do, answering the phones 3 days a week at the church is a major cake walk. However, being ADD, well…y’all know how that can be.

Anyway, since the winter was so brutal, we are all excited for spring being right around the corner so I drew a reminder spring. Come join in Linda G Hill’s Escapist Coloring Club Prompts this month’s and share your fun.

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The bird even with out coloring was quite elegant.

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And as always, I remind us all to be kind. Now that spring is getting close, we will be outside more so remember to share this great gift; the immeasurable gift of kindness.

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