Category: Kindness

Our Firm Foundation

Good evening friends. Tonight we are reflecting on this past year and WOW…what a year. Definitely a year for t-shirt recognition…

Or here in the US we had a toilet paper crisis….even now I don’t understand that and now its all paper products are scarce.

Putting aside all joking, this has been a rough year. The isolation had been detrimental to our elderly, people who are social butterflies have not done well, jobs have been lost and the tensions in our homes is high. But on the flip side there has been some good with it all. We have learned that those who are able can in fact work just fine from home. Some people’s stress level has lowered and they have rediscovered themselves, and gotten reconnected with their families and some have reconnected to or just now connected with God. I have always been a believer that God will get your attention one way or another and while, I do not believe God caused this virus, I do believe God will use circumstances around us to help us learn or relearn to refocus on Him. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he explained that there would be times of suffering but that the Lord would always rescue us…maybe not how we envision to be rescued but rescued nonetheless.

All through the scriptures, we are reminded of the importance of a firm foundation which allows us to stand firm and that foundation for Christians is Jesus Christ. He is the rock that can not be broken.

So I encourage you tonight to stand on the rock we know is firm and stand tall. We will get through this mess, all of it, together, and hopefully somewhere we will recognize God’s might and love as He pours it out for us. Click on the link below and listen/watch the video of a version of Christ the Solid Rock. The song is beautiful but the videos of nature are amazing. I think you will enjoy it and be encouraged by God’s beautiful creation. And as always, remember to be kind.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCuOW6bdfMU

Evening Encouragement, Come

Good evening friends. I want to share a few words from the devotion I read this morning from My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers. It brought me hope.  This year has really been rough for a lot of people and the last few months in the US with all the political nonsense…oh my goodness. I felt like this country was going to implode. And we are not done yet, still fighting. United States of America…not so much.

Oswald reminds us that even in stressful times we have the essential opportunity to act on the truth of God. It is up to each individual to do so. We can’t do it for someone else and no one can do it for us.
It must be our own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead us to that action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously.  Oswald Chambers

Throughout scripture, Christ told people to come to Him and He would show them a better way.  “Come to me” means “to act“. And He will always makes sure we learn His ways with which to act.

Through the learning and the trials we learn the value of His ways and His truths that set us free. But the truths must be shared. The love of God is cyclical. You are given the tenderness and love of Christ and then you act in sharing it with others, which cycles back to Christ, that shares it back to you, then you shares it onward, circling it back to Christ and then back to you…and so on.

“When a truth of God is brought home to your soul, never allow it to pass without acting on it.” Oswald Chambers

Yet sometimes, it’s the last thing we want to do. We don’t want to be bothered; we are fearful, or feel unready to act; or think someone else can do it better than us. All excuses, all weak excuses but I love what Oswald says about the weak saints, of which most of us are. He says “The weakest saint who transacts business with Jesus Christ is liberated the second he acts and God’s almighty power is available on his behalf. 

We are created to act.
And everyone who acts can feel the supernatural power of life as Christ fills him. The dominating power of the world, the flesh, and the devil is now paralyzed; not by your act, but because your act has joined you to God and tapped you into His redemptive power. Oswald Chambers

I love that. It is encouraging to know God fills us with what we need when we act accordingly to His will, like he did with the disciples. 
So as tired and discouraged as you may feel right now, relax, rest and look for opportunities to act so that the supernatural power of life in Christ can fill you and lift you to new heights. And always remember to share kindness in all that you do.

The beauty of Autumn

We all know that each season has it own type of beauty but the reds this year seem to be brighter than usual. Maybe its because we need something better to focus on with all the chaos of the pandemic, the violence and basic unhappiness we all seem to be in. So I give you the beauty of the trees here in the Midwest. I am sure the leaves for you area are just as beautiful, so share those and let us focus on the beauty of nature for a while.

And remember, kindness is usually contagious, so spread it around a little as you go about your day.

Escapist Coloring Club Prompt

I am not sure if I am allowed this type of coloring for this month as I used paint instead of pens/pencils. The month of October is the month of getting crafts ready for Christmas. This year I ordered large wooded ornaments (18″ diameter) to hang on my fence outside. There are 11 of them but I thought I would post my favorites as my escapist coloring for the month. I hope you enjoy them. I really enjoyed doing them. Here is what they looked like before painting. I have posted some earlier but now that they are varnished, I thought I would show them finished. When I hang them with the garland, I will show the fence off, but its still early for that. The trees are not finished as I am making an tribute to the local police, fire and ambulance services that keep us safe. I will post those when done. I have someone making me a Merry Christmas text stencil to paint to put under them.

This one is probably my favorite because it is colored like my dogs.

Daisy Mae has a white tipped tail and nose, Mimi is solid black
I cheated a little on this one as I found a picture I liked and traced the outer edges

This next one is my other favorite as it shows the wise men heading to Bethlehem.

Holly is a symbol of Christmas representing the future for the Christ baby with the pointed leaves to represent the crown of thorns and the red berries to represent His blood.

And you got to have reindeer for Christmas and this one has a cardinal on it antlers. The cardinal is called the Christmas bird representing the beauty and warmth of the season. This year more than most, we all need to feel a little warmth and good cheer to surround us and bring us hope.

I hope you don’t mind me not fully following the Coloring Prompt rules and I look forward to getting back into coloring some soon. Thanks to Linda for setting up a prompt that allows us to having fun and sharing it with others on Escapist Coloring Club.

And remember, especially now with the chaos surrounding us all, try to always be kind. It helps us to manage this mess a little easier.

Different Perspective on View

Good evening friends. Hope you are all doing well. I went to the doctor today for just a checkup and I am healthy as a horse…and heavy as one. Not a good thing. No wonder my knees are bothering me. I was so discouraged when I left and then I realized how very lucky and healthy I really am. I am fortunate to not be on any medication at all, a few supplements and that is it. I have always joked that I am not fat – just fluffy. But now it’s real.

Then on K-Love radio an encouragement message came on that gave me a different perspective. Yes I am still overweight and will work on it but the reality of it is our bodies are God’s temples. It’s where He lives. And He loves His homes, all of them regardless of how the exterior looks.

We as people stress a lot on appearance. Sometimes it is for our safety against the elements but sometimes it is judgemental, not only against ourselves but against others or what we think other people may think. But since God lives in us, He knows what our innermost parts look like and that is what he is interested in.  He doesn’t care about our exterior, He wants a beautiful interior.

So while we need a healthy exterior, and interior, the condition of our heart and attitude is what needs to be the most beautiful part of us. It’s hard. There is so much around us that brings up that negative vibe that causes cracks in our beautiful interior. Then we then have to, with God’s help, do some interior renovations to make it beautiful again.

Remember that God loves you, that He will never live where He is not wanted but will thrive in us if we allow it, making us bloom like spring regardless of how it may look.

  With God it is always a matter of the heart. May you feel His love this evening as He brings love, peace and flowers to your heart.  And as your flowers grow, remember to be kind. Kindness is the most beautiful type of flower.

Funny Words, SoCS

You know how some words sound funny when you hear them or when you speak them. Yeah, I know I am from the south and a lot of my words sound funny to those around me now here in the midwest but do you have those words that you over enunciate because they are fun to say. Linda Hill has challenged us to day with Stream of Consciousness Saturday to use a word we had to look up.

For me, one of those is in scripture and while it may sound different, it has a powerful meaning – propitiation. That’s a 5 syllable word, at least it is in the south. It’s a word that has  tripped me up a bit because for a long time I didn’t really understand its significance. A devotion I read the other day with Oswald Chambers spoke about it in 1 John 2:2.

Webster’s defines propitiation “1 – the act of gaining the favor or goodwill for someone or something, something that appeases; 2 – an atoning sacrifice.”

An atoning sacrifice, that is a phrase I fully understand. Jesus sacrificed himself to satisfy the wrath of God so that we would not have to. Wow. Intellectually I understand that but my humanness asks the age old question…“WHY”.

That’s why.  It is a gift of grace. Something we don’t deserve or have the ability to earn.

His love for us can not be shaken, destroyed or matched.

There are some of us who are hurting today in some form or fashion, or we have family or friends who are hurting and scared. I encourage you today to hang on to His outstretched hand. The road you are on is hard, bumpy and filled with holes but God’s love for you is strong, smooth and everlasting. And remember, it’s only temporary and He is always walking right beside you.

So feel His love and surrounding peace today. I promise the Holy Spirit inside of you knows exactly how you feel and He is letting God know even when you can’t tell Him. Take a deep breath of His love and relax in His grace. And as you go along your journey, remember to always be kind. It is a reflection of Christ in your inner being.

Been Busy

I have been so super busy since the end of September that I have not had time to even look at the computer much less get on it to write. In September I finished painting and decorating the kitchen from the grossness of tacky wallpaper…

I show this corner of the kitchen as it goes down to the basement because it shows the most wall. Tiny kitchen…way too busy a wallpaper. Time to get rid of it. So I stripped it off, and repainted and added more interesting décor.

The plants in the hangers are live. I decorated the grapevine wreath on the wall and now the room looks bigger. Then my Christmas project came in…

So since the kitchen was done, I have been getting the wooded decorations painted to hang on the fence with garland and red bows. Here are a few of the 11 balls. They go up 1st week of November. Yes I decorate early. And this year we are looking to get it done and have better things for the coming year.

So now we are varnishing them to protect them. And while the paint is drying, I am posting. As I sit on my couch and watch the feeders, I forget how big the Blue Jays are when I usually just have the Chickadees or sparrows.

Striking birds

It is fun in life sometimes to just stop and watch nature’s beauty that is all around you. So take the time today to see the beauty surroinding you and remember to always be kind.

One all the painting is done, I will get back to my daily words of interesting tid bits. Be safe.

Negative to Positive

Good evening family. I sincerely pray you are doing well, even those who are really struggling, I pray you can find joy and peace in His presence. I read something last week and caught myself needing it today so I had to check myself.  In Jesus Calling, Sarah Young made the comment of how easy it is to become negative when life explodes around us. We all have those moments where we just vent before exploding and we jump on the negative train as it starts to barrel down the mountain. If we don’t stop the train quickly it will spiral downward gaining momentum and darkening our perspective and possibly ending in an ugly mess at the bottom.

It is hard to not be negative when nothing seems to be going right around us but God tells us to trust him. He has a plan and He has got you in His hand.

When we “go all in” with trusting the Lord, a sense of hope surrounds us and transforms the negatives into positives creating an anchor of  inner peace.

God stands ever ready in every storm of our life to turn those hopeless situations into victories. We may not see the victory at first but with trust in Him we know it will eventually rise to the top. 

So, I encourage you tonight to trust Him and feel His love, hope and inner peace lift you with calm reassurance as He holds firmly to your hand.

Have a blessed evening and great day tomorrow and remember to always be kind.

Insurance verses Assurance

I missed church yesterday. Bummer. I walked out to the car, got in, drove to the corner and noticed it didn’t feel right. THEN I noticed the light was on telling me I had tire pressure issues. We get so intent on our task sometimes, we totally miss the warning signs given us. Sure enough, when I got out and looked I saw the driver side front tire was flat. So I drove around to the alley and parked in the driveway to change the tire(which in itself was a nightmare). I usually park out front because that keeps me on one level with no stairs. Stairs and I are not good friends anymore, due to that thing we call aging. So today I took the tire to Blain’s for review because I have road hazard insurance with them since that is where I bought those tires. A great thing to have by the way as I got a new $139 tire for $15. While there I found out that the hole was in the sidewall. How in the world did that happen so I asked to see it. This is what it looked like. The angle of the cut was …well…

My daughter says I was having a conspiracy theorist moment thinking why someone would do that on one tire. But after the spray paint issue of last year, yeah I believe it. Then when I get home, my neighbor has the auto club changing their drivers side front tire. Coincidence?? Maybe…but here is what I do know. It really doesn’t matter because God is in full control and He is good all the time. I was safe in my home and not on the road when this hole suddenly appeared. 


We have life exploding all around us and a lot of it we don’t even see in our visual realm.

But John  reminds us we have someone who is ever watchful in all we do; protecting, loving and nurturing.

The bible is filled with encouragement to help us when we get scared and unsure of what is happening. He is always reminding us that He is close by.

To think that He sings over me. How awesome is that. So we can be ASSURED of His love and it strengthens us with faith and hope.

I think that sometimes we get so consumed with what is going on around us, we forget WHO lives in us. Even when things are going good, we forget that. So let us close our eyes in grateful praise to Him above who is mindful of everything that comes our way.

And remember to allow the goodness we feel to shine outward to those who need a taste of it and be kind. Kindness has a beauty all its own.