Fun Foto Challenge: Man Made

With this challenge from Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge the gate is wide open. The first thing that popped in my mind was the new I-74 bridge connecting Illinois to Iowa or the other way around. It has been fascinating watching this huge thing go up, then they will tear the old one down. I give you a before and after scenario with one side of the arch almost complete and the the closing of the arch. When you think of the power and amount of water that goes down the Mississippi at any given moment, this is amazing.

The other side of man made which hits closer to home…and my kitchen as “home made”, with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Breakfast includes a good southern helping of buttered grits covering scrambled eggs that are smothered in sausage gravy. Lunch is scrambled dogs (how you spread three chili dogs for 4 people) and Dinner is fried pork chop, turnip greens, black-eyes and tomato gravy on buttered toast.

The following are a few other photos I took that are worth mentioning with man made. The wooden statue on the end was of a tree that died so the owner carved a knight out of what was left. The home now is a home for those trying to get back on their feet.

In this fun of looking at Man Made items, remember one of the easiest, least expensive and most beautiful things man can make is…kindness.

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The Value and Power of Prayer

Good morning friends. I hope you had a good holiday yesterday. I was glad the rain held off here as I was able to play outside.

My Pastor has been doing a daily devotion on line where he is going over the Lord’s prayer slowly to help us understand the intricate details of its meaning. I want to piggy-back on that slightly as today’s devotion in My Utmost for His Highest was “Thinking of Prayer as Jesus Taught”.

“Our thinking about prayer, whether right or wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it. The correct concept is to think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts. Our blood flows and our breathing continues “without ceasing”; ” Oswald Chambers

Therefore…

pray without ceasing 1 thessalonians 5 17

Prayer is not an exercise, it’s a valuable privileged. A privilege we do not use enough, at least I don’t. We need to be aware of the distractions that get in our way of praying and be fully aware of prayer’s power when released. I think we forget with the business of life, just how much power is in prayer.

There may seem like times when God didn’t answer our prayer but scripture never says anything about unanswered prayer. God answers all prayer, we just may not understand His answer but we must believe in its truth. God sees what is best for us and His love is even stronger than anything we know; He only wants what is best for us.

So feel encouraged today knowing that He listens to every prayer. Even those prayers you can not mutter for the pain you may be feeling. He knows them before we say them. He just wants us to have the courage to ask for His help.

Phil 4 6 7

May you have a blessed day and as always, be kind.

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Evening Peace

I usually do a morning devotion each morning with members of my church but thought I would also do one for the evening to help shelter in the peace we should have before shutting our eyes in sleep.

During the day hours, we tend to focus on our problems instead of focusing on our faith because sometimes we tend to put faith only on things we only see. But scripture reminds us of a different thought pattern concerning Faith.

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Oswald Chamber’s has a devotion book which I enjoy called “My Utmost for His Highest” which is a wonderful devotion book(also online). A lot of people may not know who he was but he was an early twentieth century Scottish Baptist Evangelist that had a profound way of teaching the truth in the scriptures. And he taught a lot about faith, courage, grace and peace wrapped up in the love of God.

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Trusting in a God, that we don’t see takes faith, which builds trust, which produces hope for us to survive anything that may come along our path of life.

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And that process is what brings us Peace.

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May you feel God’s peace tonight as the day winds down and you close the doors of today’s problems in hopes of starting a new day tomorrow with renewed kindness from above.

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FOTD, May 25

Cee posted a beautiful purple iris for her FOTD post and my iris are sad this year. I had major construction to the steps around my iris bed and you know some workmen have no clue. Ah well, we will see if they make a comeback. In the mean time I will share my columbine that I swore last year was pink.

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Since the blooms hang upside down, I wanted to catch one picture looking into the bloom. You know how on your phone you can take a selfie by flipping the direction image of the camera, I tried that to see what I would come up with and it turned out kind of neat with the bright sky in the background.

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While my iris are not doing well, I did found it interesting that my annual “Johnny Jump ups” came back…in pots where I didn’t plant them. Thank you, birdie.

Some calls these weeds but I actually planted these on purpose last year. They look like tiny pansies.

Flowers make me happy. When we are happy we are usually kind. Try to be happy all the time or at least try to be kind even when you don’t want to be. Kinds looks better on you than the person receiving the kind gesture.

How Humility Will Make You the Greatest Person Ever — There is no greater beauty that to show kindness to another being.

Sunshine’s Macro Monday, 5/25

Today my goal was to get the gate that I tore out due to very poor workmanship, rebuilt myself, even thought I have no skill in that regard. Now it is kind of haphazard but I think it will be cute when done. As I was finishing up priming it I saw something white in my lilies. I did not want a spider or bug nest in my lilies so when I went to investigate, and I found naughtiness going on. Well, it is spring so I guess it is acceptable, seeing its what they do this time of year.

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In trying to locate the type of butterfly, the internet called white butterflies cabbage butterflies but then there were over 1,000 variations of that white butterfly with a wide range of black spot colorations. The only black I saw on these were the tiny black spot mid wing and there seem to be black stripes on the legs.

Regardless, I thought they were cute and hope they are not dangerous to my flowers. So I left them alone, being kind, even when I didn’t know if I should shew them away. I go with the philosophy of being kind even when it may not be right because being kind is always right.

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Come join in on Sunshine’s Monday macro to see the beauty other’s have found to share.

Morning Encouragement

Good morning friends. Each morning as I read from my devotion book and the bible I try to follow that lesson I have read for that day. Today’s encouraging message is one that really speaks to me while we are in this time of uncertainty and I thought I would share my thoughts. I find it interesting that if we stop and listen, ignoring all the noise that goes around us daily, God’s scripture will open to us and start to make sense. His word never changes and never gets old and can encourage us differently each time we read it depending on what we are going through at the time.

Paul tell us in Colossians Chapter 2 how he personally struggled but that if we all come

together in love, the love and riches of Christ will be made know to us.

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While some of these treasure may come to us wrapped in the form of a trial, the trial itself is designed to shake us free from our perceived thoughts of how we think we are to be, to help understand His prepared path for you for that day. Although it can be a scary time, it is the key to the hidden treasures He has placed strategically along the way to richly bless us.

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God’s treasures also come in the form of many things we enjoy like sunshine, birds singing, colorful flowers, friendships and answered prayers. He has not abandoned this sin-wracked world, He is strongly present, in every sun rise, every flower, every smile you see and the kindness he shares with you that lifts you up so that you can share kindness with others to lift them up. My hope in sharing this with you today is that you are lifted up knowing He is there with you.

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And regardless of what is on your particular road of life, whether is be bright sunshine or seemingly gray darkness, God never lets go of our hand and will walk safely with you so hold tight to His hand.

May you have a richly treasured day and always try to share kindness. It may be the only kindness a person sees on any given day.

Flower of the Day, Coreopsis

When I went flower shopping, I wanted something bright as this weather lately has been anything but bright, and we are due another week of rain…enough already.

I love Cee’s challenge of Flower of the Day and we see so many beautiful post from everyone. Once I got home to put these in the ground I chuckled to myself and said had I see the color variation of this particular Coreopsis, I would have bought them any way as reminiscent of my college day and the bands I listened to. This color is “Jethro Tull” – what a hoot. A flower named after a rock band…or maybe the band named themselves after this lovely flower. What came first – the chicken or the egg…

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I love how the petals form a little tuber. I hope my hummingbirds like them as I know they are fond of tubers. And then the tiny little flower inside center section. Amazing.

As you go along enjoying the flowers, remember the joy they bring you share that joy and kindness with others. It may just make someone’s day.

Kind fire

Love Encouraged

“Greater love has no one then this….John 15:13

HE CAME

The creator of this universe, I ask is he really there?

Is He someone you can trust on, or someone to beware?

If trusting is the way to go, do we go all in? Do we dare?

Or do we back off and hide, to not get caught in His snare.

Trusting what you can’t see, seems more a grand dare,

Than trusting what you can see with a chance to be fair.

But the inner hope of all of us in waiting to clear the air,

Would be His eternal promise as one to profoundly care.

Surrounded in His light to the point of brilliant glare,

Lives a love so rich for us, that we could only stare.

Those who know this love, without it, would be the dare,

No other love as perfect as the creator who came to care.

Anita Neal 5/21/2020

Too Bee or Not to Bee, World Bee Day

World Bee day, what an awesome way to recognize the value and necessity of a creature. The entire world depends on bees for pollination and if we don’t have take care of them then we wont take care of us, as in we won’t have food to eat. Some crops are dependent on bee pollination. If you want to read more about it, read this interesting article. I posted about bees yesterday not know today, May 20, was honor day for bees. So I will post some of my past photos as well.

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How To Protect Bees: A Gardener Guide To Protecting Bees

So as you enjoy nature as it buzzes around you, remember to be happy yourself and let the happiness roll over into kindness for other people and all things living.

BEE KIND In a world where you can be anything by keryl | TpT

Flower of the Day, Superbells

I love Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge. So many of you post such lovely flowers for all of us to enjoy. Hoping it will warm up for good so that they can start growing again.

This particular flower has become a favorite of mine with its many colors and it hardy ability to stand tall when winter comes back through or we have a horrid hot summer. Their correct name is calibrachoa and this color is perfect for this southern girl – Watermelon Punch.

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They are probably in the petunia family or petunias are in the calibrachoa family. The leafs and bloom look very similar, they are just miniature in sized to a petunia.

As you enjoy the beauty of the flowers, remember the beauty of kindness and let that kindness radiate from you like the beauty of a flower.