Welcome to Cee Neuner’s Flower of the Day Challenge (FOTD). There used to be a Macro-Monday challenge out there as well, so I tag along with that as well.
And since its not Monday, I am also breaking the rule by showing several flowers in Macro form.
I have several shades of dahlias but this particular plant is really showing off with bright yellow leaves stripped with red.
Dahlia
I plan ted two separate flowers for butterflies and hummingbirds but can not remember what they are called. So I am calling the below flower a butterfly flower. Its a tiny orange flower growing in clusters that the bees love.
The other tiny flower I have is also orange but it is a tube flower growing on a tiny stalk that floats in the wind. You can see by the fly enjoying a drink just how tiny these flowers are.
This is just proof that beauty in nature comes in all sizes. Not that a pesky fly is beautiful, colorful at best but still part of nature.
An expression of our lives that is always beautiful, regardless of size, is kindness. Even the tiniest show of kindness can change someone’s bad day.
This week after bible study on how we handle grief, I went on a rabbit hole review of the book of Isaiah. Chapter 43 reminds us of how God grieves when we don’t listen to Him when He reminds us, through all 66 books, how very much he loves us and created all of us for Himself – because he wants us always near Him.
In Steven Scott’s book, Jesus Speaks, we are reminded how much harder it is for us to believe in this relationship versus the disciples believing. They were there. They heard him, touched him, they saw his miracles first hand. We have to believe with out seeing.
We believe because we have faith in what the prophets and disciples have told us through the words they wrote thousands of years ago. Faith, Hope and Love are all tied together throughout all 66 books of the bible. Are these book hard to understand, sometimes, but sometimes God allows us to see with unseen eyes and hear with unheard ears the precious words of his unimaginable love that he shares with us, just for the asking. If you care to read further in this post, I wrote a quick Non-poetry on Faith. It will be the first writing of my new book entitle Faith. My current book called Hope was so poorly edited, that I can’t leave my encouragement writing with that. So, we are are going again with professional editors so that the readers experience encouragement better. And after Faith, we will have to close off the series with Love.
UNSEEN ENTITY
How is it that a creature can put its trust of life into an unseen entity?
To allow its values and the things it loves to be driven by the ideals of this unseen entity.
Integrity is a component the creature uses to measure the ideals and values of this unseen entity.
Affirmation of the unseen entity’s integrity proves the love that is always given by the unseen entity.
Final trust and hope are driving forces given to the unseen entity by the creature in the form of faith.
Faith is confidence in what we hope for. (Heb 11:1)
For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor 5:7)
Faith as small as a mustard seed moves mountains. (Mat 17:20)
Assurance of faith proves God is our refuge. (Psa 46:1)
Assurance of faith reminds us we are children of God. (Rom 8:16)
Assurance of God’s love is the strength of my heart. (Psa 73:26)
In all things, God works for the good of us. (Rom 8:28)
I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. (Jer 29:11)
I am your God, I will strengthen you and help you. (Isa 41:10)
Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. (Prov 3:5)
Trust helps my heart jump for joy, with song I praise him. (Psa 28:7)
Trust that He will never leave you, not forsake you. (Heb 13:5)
Hope doesn’t disappoint for God poured love into our hearts. (Rom 5:5)
Hope in the Lord will renew our strength. (Isa 40:31)
Hope of eternal life was promised by God before time began.(Titus 1:2)
For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
Anita
As we move about in this life, remember the opportunities we are given to show the beauty, warmth and power of Kindness and share it often.
Cee gives us the wonderful opportunity to share the flowers we see or grow…even if its a weed.
Today I want to share some of the various lilies that are growing in my front yard. The ones out back have yet to bloom, they are a late season daylily, pinkish in color.
These are my early lilies that grow on a stalk like an Easter Lily. They are small blooms but fragrant. For some reason I forgot to take a picture of the yellow one.
Below is the first bloom of my yellow daylilies. Currently there are 26 buds waiting to open.
Flowers always make me smile. They have a beauty and fragrance to remind us the wonders of creation. So as we enjoy these wonders share the joy they give by being kind to others.
Cranny’s Cove word challenge for today is something I miss, the fun of clowning around.
The word clown brings to mind images of silliness to the extremes of horror. But to a few of us, we were Christian Clowns, and we had a specific purpose…prior to Covid.
Before we were no longer allowed to get close…we had hospital duties where we tried to bring a few smiles to those who sometimes forget to smile. We had nursing home duties where people needed the goofiness of clowns to help them forget where they were or help them remember to laugh. Then there were those of us who were face painters and even the adults would join in on that fun. Yes, clowning was a fun way to share in the goodness of laughter than now the fear of closeness seems to squelch that activity. But maybe one day…
These shoes may again get to share in some laughter. But even if they don’t, we can still share in the kindness of what they use to represent.
Thank you Cee for the fun in sharing our flowers with everyone.
Today I post the picture of my first sunflower of the season. This particular one was planted by the birds from several of the sunflowers that bloomed in that area last summer. The bloom is not as large as some I have had but the color is a yummy lemon yellow.
It stands about nine feet tall and has multiple blooms forming for future openings this summer. The twelve footers I planted this year are not ready yet. I was late getting them planted, so we will have warm smiles all summer long.
If you get the opportunity, share the warmth of kindness with others this summer. Kindness can alleviate a lot of sadness in our lives so spread it around.
I try as best I can to be kind. I signoff all posts with a reminder of the power of kindness. But sometimes I am just speechless and no kind thought comes to mind. And the culprit is no longer around to get a good ___ slapping.
Let me give you a little history. Since I bought this house, and I know all houses have history, I have managed to repair multiple issues that the owner(a contractor) did to this house. The gutter system on the house was improperly installed and caused flooding of the basement twice before we realized what the problem was. I should have asked better questions when I saw the store rooms flooring had been removed but it was a storage room, concrete is fine. Wrong thought. Then two winters ago when it was excessively cold even for here, the pipes froze and then ruptured and flooded the basement a third time. Solution, improper insulation for the pipes. Corrected. Then we wanted a new heater unit as the current one was well over 12 years old and not heating adequately. New system put in and discovered that the original wiring to the unit was done with an extension cord. It is a wonder we didn’t burn the house down. Surround sound(which I don’t use) was wired all through the upstairs. When I had an electrician remove it all, it was a nightmare of crossed wires and excessive wiring – nearly 200 feet of unnecessary wiring.
Today’s fun reveal was in the downstairs kitchen where all I wanted to do was replace the overhead fluorescent fixture. Simple task, right ?? Oh yee of little expectancy!!! When the electrician TRIED to pull the fixture from the ceiling, he had to use a hammer first to remove the excessively large ‘nail’ holding the fixture to the ceiling. Seriously??!!??
Not sure I would call this a nail!!!
I just get amazed at the corners people will cut to get a job done…poorly at that. Well, we now have a nice fixture, properly installed by a trustworthy electrician. So I guess for now all is well. I can honestly remind everyone of the power of kindness and truly mean it.
Coming from the south, triple digits during the summer are generally a norm especially considering the heat index. But here in the midwest, it is not a norm but is this a sign of the times? Global warming and such? Don’t know, I am just glad we got a break from this three week oppression and temperatures of relief. However…
My petunias did seem to catch the brunt of the deluge. But I am sure they will bounce back in better form.
Cee Neuner gives us a great way to share the beauty of nature around us with her different challenges. During the summer, I love sharing my flowers. Today I share my many colors of Petunias.
These purplish ones look blue in the shade
The white ones have a majesty all their own.
The creamy yellows ones have a softness to them that reminds me of yummy frozen custard.
Then we get into the fun ones. Candy cane petunias can make anyone smile.
But my favorites this year are ones I have never seen before. Each bloom is spotted differently so as they grow all summer they will change. And being purple, that puts them on the favorite list anyway.
Awesome
In closing as we enjoy the beauty of flowers, remember the beauty of kindness.
I have not posted in awhile as I have been burning candles on both end and in the middle. Since the church community garden did not have a host this year, I took it own. How hard can it be, its not that big. GOOD GRIEF!!! Alas, it is growing and producing vegetables for any who come to pick. Then there is my yard…my flowers which is a must as I do love my flowers.
Cee’s Flower of the Day today is dahlias and I have several types of those so I will share my dahlias with you as well. I am partial to the smaller ones with varied colors.
Then there are the mediums sized ones that remind me of small mums with their rich dark reds, reds with yellow tinges and bright yellows with touches of orange.
Since I feed the birds as well, I usually end up with various mystery plants in my yard and this years mystery plant I am sure is some type of vegetable, possibly in the squash family. Its not very tall, has leaves shaped like a fig leaf and tiny yellow flowers. It could also b e a weed, lol. We will see.
I will let it grow until it proves to me it has to go. Flowers bring me joy and remind me of kindness and if we can be anything, we should at first be kind.
For the Love of 