Don't Know Much (with Aaron Neville)

Spring

An old wheelbarrow turned beautiful yard/garden focal point!

How many days until Spring arrives? Only 22 days until Spring! I saw the above photo on Facebook a few days ago and got almost giddy. In my defense, the sun was shining and it felt like Spring will be here soon. It's still cold, but the sunlight is fooling. I love Spring. I love it more than any other season! Everything seems to come alive in March and April and the Spring flowers are so beautiful! I can't wait for the weather to feel warmer and flowers to bloom. 

Some of my flowers from last year are inserted below. I didn't take pics after they filled out, but they were beautifully lush the entire summer.

Sunday Sermon

An Undeserved Gift

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 1 Timothy 1:15

READ 1 Timothy 1:12-16

When my friend gave me a gift recently, I was surprised. I didn’t think I deserved such a nice present from her. She’d sent it after hearing about some work stress I was experiencing. Yet she was going through just as much stress, if not more, than I was, with an aging parent, challenging children, upheaval at work, and strain on her marriage. I couldn’t believe she had thought of me before herself, and her simple gift brought me to tears.

In truth, we’re all recipients of a gift that we could never deserve. Paul put it this way: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). Although he “was once a blasphemer and persecutor and a violent man, . . . the grace of our Lord was poured out on [him] abundantly” (vv. 13–14). The risen Jesus gave Paul a deep understanding of the free gift of grace. As a result, he learned what it meant to be an undeserving recipient of that gift and he became a powerful instrument of God’s love and told many people about what He had done for him.

It’s only through His grace that we receive love instead of condemnation, and mercy instead of judgment. Today, let’s celebrate the undeserved grace that God has given and be on the lookout for ways to demonstrate that grace to others.

By Karen Pimpo

This entire post was borrowed from Our Daily Bread daily email devotional on February 11, 2023.

odb.org

REFLECT & PRAY

How have you lost sight of the miraculous gift of grace? What would it look like to be motivated by grace once again?

Dear God, help me understand more fully what it means to extend Your gift of grace to others.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Stephen was one of the seven men chosen by the twelve apostles to help them with some of their duties (Acts 6:3–6). Soon he began performing great signs and wonders (v. 8). But false charges were made against him, and he was brought before the Sanhedrin, the supreme judicial council of Judaism at that time. There Stephen gave an impassioned speech, concluding with condemning them for their part in the murder of Jesus (7:52). Furious, the members of the Sanhedrin dragged Stephen away and stoned him to death. That’s where Paul (then called Saul) stepped into the story. “The witnesses laid their coats at the feet of . . . Saul” (v. 58), who approved of the killing (8:1). Saul began to persecute the church, dragging off men and women to prison (v. 3). In Acts 9, he was on his way to Damascus to arrest followers of “the Way” (vv. 1–2) when Jesus suddenly appeared, and Saul was forever changed (vv. 3–19).

Alyson Kieda

Andrea Bocelli - Hallelujah (Live at Teatro Regio di Parma)

When you feel unseen

When you feel unseen

I will see you

When you feel unappreciated

I will celebrate your brilliance and applaud your success

When you feel unwanted

I will welcome and embrace you

When you feel unheard

I will listen to you

When you feel unloved

I will shower you with love and affection

When you feel weak and powerless

I will remind you of your inner strength

When you feel exhausted and weary

I will let you rest and recuperate

When you feel hurt and betrayed

I will give you space to heal and mend your heart

When you feel stuck and stagnant

I will empower you to regain momentum

When you make mistakes

I will celebrate your growth and progress

When you stumble and fall

I will help you recover, then rise

When you feel shame

I will remind you that no single human being is perfect

When you feel insecure

I will remind you of your gifts, talents and strengths

When you feel strange, weird or quirky

I will embrace your uniqueness and authenticity

When you feel ugly

I will remind you of your unique beauty

When you feel like giving up

I will remind you of the reason you first began

When you feel discouraged

I will comfort and reassure you in your depths

When you feel suffocated by life

I will hold your hand through the darkness

When you feel lost

I will help you navigate through the murkiness of life

When you feel lonely

I will show up fully for you

When you doubt yourself

I will remind you of your potential

And when you feel invisible and insignificant

I will remind you who you are.

by Tahlia Hunter

“six triangular stones” by Jos van Wunnik is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Eye of the Forest

 

The photographer named this stunning shot of Ice on the surface of a pond. "The Eye of the Forest"

Photographer: Amy Kierstead

Facebook: Planet Earth

Alla Luna - Ekaterina Shelehova - Steve Raiman

Highly Sensitive

The highly sensitive [introverted] tend to be philosophical or spiritual in their orientation, rather than materialistic or hedonistic. They dislike small talk. They often describe themselves as creative or intuitive. They dream vividly, and can often recall their dreams the next day. They love music, nature, art, physical beauty. They feel exceptionally strong emotions--sometimes acute bouts of joy, but also sorrow, melancholy, and fear. Highly sensitive people also process information about their environments--both physical and emotional--unusually deeply. They tend to notice subtleties that others miss--another person's shift in mood, say, or a lightbulb burning a touch too brightly.

~ Susan Cain

Found on Facebook: Philo Thoughts

Talking to the Wild

 

I met the moon for coffee

It was Friday night I think

When she watched me hardly sleeping

And invited me for drinks

We found ourselves a table

In the middle of the night

And the constellations twinkled

Like a thousand fairy lights

She asked me how I’d been

As she poured coffee from a pot

For she said she’d watched me

Waking up at midnight quite a lot

I said my brain was far too full

My mind was always on

And when I woke it felt as if

I was the only one

The only one who lay awake

Whilst I sat on my bed

With thoughts that raced at lightning speed

Around my busy head

My thoughts were stuck in orbit

And I couldn’t pull them back

As they preferred to swim against

A sky so vast and black

The moon said simply nothing

But she opened up a book

And I saw it was a diary

So I took a closer look

And listed there were names of people

All around the world

And all the thoughts and worries

That the moon had overheard

Just then, my eyes were drawn towards

The name that was my own

And that was when the moon said

“See, you shouldn’t feel alone”

And then she pulled me close

Using the night sky as a blanket

And said “I know you sometimes feel

So lonely on this planet

But when you cannot sleep,

Get up and watch me from your room

And you’ll see so many others

Having coffee with the moon”

********

Date Night from What the Wild

Facebook: Becky Hemsley - Talking to the Wild

Sunday Sermon

God's Arms Are Open

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins. 1 John 1:9

READ 1 John 1:5-10

I frowned at my cellphone and sighed. Worry wrinkled my brow. A friend and I had had a serious disagreement over an issue with our children, and I knew I needed to call her and apologize. I didn’t want to do it because our viewpoints were still in conflict, yet I knew I hadn’t been kind or humble the last time we discussed the matter. 

 Anticipating the phone call, I wondered, What if she doesn’t forgive me? What if she doesn’t want to continue our friendship? Just then, lyrics to a song came to mind and took me back to the moment when I confessed my sin in the situation to God. I felt relief because I knew God had forgiven me and released me from guilt. 

 We can’t control how people will respond to us when we try to work out relational problems. As long as we own up to our part, humbly ask for forgiveness, and make any changes needed, we can let God handle the healing. Even if we have to endure the pain of unresolved “people problems,” peace with Him is always possible. God’s arms are open, and He is waiting to show us the grace and mercy we need. “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). 

By Jennifer Benson Schuldt

This entire post was borrowed from Our Daily Bread daily email devotional on February 8, 2023 except for the pic.

odb.org

REFLECT & PRAY

How does forgiveness create peace? What steps will you take in God’s power toward reconciliation with someone this week?

Dear God, remind me of Your unending grace. Help me to be more humble and to commit all my relationships to You.

For further study, read What Do You Do with a Broken Relationship?

TAKE THE LOVE

Take the love you have for me

and turn it into laughter

turn it into blinding light

to shine on you thereafter

Take the love you have for me

and show it to the world

something so amazing

needs to blossom and unfurl

Take the love that made us

keep it burning bright

let that fire guide you

let it warm you through the night

Take the love you shared with me

and spread it out with gladness

my life will not have been in vain

if you can fight the sadness

Take the love my darling

it’s yours to carry on

grow that love forevermore

and then I won’t be gone.

Donna Ashworth

From her new book ‘loss’

Art by MarfyArt

The Right Words

 

Don’t prioritise your looks my friend, as they won’t last the journey.

Your sense of humour though, will only get better with age.

Your intuition will grow and expand like a majestic cloak of wisdom.

Your ability to choose your battles, will be fine-tuned to perfection.

Your capacity for stillness, for living in the moment, will blossom.

Your desire to live each and every moment will transcend all other wants.

Your instinct for knowing what (and who) is worth your time, will grow and flourish like ivy on a castle wall.

Don’t prioritise your looks my friend,

they will change forevermore, that pursuit is one of much sadness and disappointment.

Prioritise the uniqueness that make you you, and the invisible magnet that draws in other like-minded souls to dance in your orbit.

These are the things which will only get better.

Donna Ashworth

From ‘the right words’

Post on Facebook

Snippets from The Eighth Letter (from “Letters to a Young Poet“) by Rainer Maria Rilke.

So you mustn’t be frightened if a sadness rises in front of you, larger than any you have ever seen; if an anxiety, like light and cloud-shadows, moves over your hands and over everything you do. 

You must realize that something is happening to you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any misery, any depression, since after all you don’t know what work these conditions are doing inside you? Why do you want to persecute yourself with the question of where all this is coming from and where it is going? Since you know, after all, that you are in the midst of transitions and you wished for nothing so much as to change. 

Don’t observe yourself too closely. Don’t be too quick to draw conclusions from what happens to you; simply let it happen. Otherwise it will be too easy for you to look with blame (that is: morally) at your past, which naturally has a share in everything that now meets you. But whatever errors, wishes, and yearnings of your childhood are operating in you now are not what you remember and condemn.

If there is anything unhealthy in your reactions, just bear in mind that sickness is the means by which an organism frees itself from what is alien; so one must simply help it to be sick, to have its whole sickness and to break out with it, since that is the way it gets better.

Spandau Ballet - True (HD Remastered)

Huh huh huh hu-uh huh Huh huh huh hu-uh huh So true, funny how it seems Always in time, but never in line for dreams Head over heels when toe to toe This is the sound of my soul This is the sound I bought a ticket to the world But now I've come back again Why do I find it hard to write the next line? Oh I want the truth to be said Huh huh huh hu-uh huh I know this much is true Huh huh huh hu-uh huh I know this much is true With a thrill in my head and a pill on my tongue Dissolve the nerves that have just begun Listening to Marvin (all night long) This is the sound of my soul This is the sound Always slipping from my hands Sand's a time of its own Take your seaside arms and write the next line Oh I want the truth to be known Huh huh huh hu-uh huh I know this much is true Huh huh huh hu-uh huh I know this much is true I bought a ticket to the world But now I've come back again Why do I find it hard to write the next line? Oh I want the truth to be said Huh huh huh hu-uh huh I know this much is true Huh huh huh hu-uh huh I know this much is true This much is true This much is true This much is true I know, I know, I know this much is true This much is true This much is true (huh huh) This much is true This much is true I know this much is true This much is true (huh huh) This much is true (I know this much is true) This much is true (huh huh) This much is true (I know this much is true) I know, I know, I know this much is true

Happy Valentine's Day

 

And remember: Having a "Valentine" doesn't make you worthy.

You ARE worthy because you are YOU.

From Every Day Spirit on Facebook

The Valentine was created in Canva.

Some days...

May 12, 2021

some days, I wear hope
like a blanket.

when the warmth fades,

I pull it in tighter.

it holds me in a way

i can't hold myself.

though carrying it is heavy, 

i've never felt lighter.

k.p.k

Found on Facebook: Her Grey Side

Week of Love and Kindness

It's a new week that celebrates love and kindness.

It is also a beautiful time to gently put down the self-judgment and remember that you are infinitely loved and magnificently beautiful 365 days a year.

All of you. All the time.

Accept all parts of yourself with compassion and love.

And remember: Having a "Valentine" doesn't make you worthy.

You ARE worthy because you are YOU.

From Every Day Spirit on Facebook

When Angels Visit

When angels visit us, we do not hear the rustle of wings, nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove; but we know their presence by the love they create in our hearts ..

Mary Baker Eddy

Artist Credit : Bijde Hansje

Found on Facebook: Serendipity Corner

Sunday Sermon

Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.

- Margaret J. Wheatley

Photo by Jesse Bowser on Unsplash

And, one day

And, one day

I looked back for you

But you weren’t there anymore
A stranger did I see
Looking back at me
And, in that very moment
I did promise
That I would keep on looking back for you
As I know
One day
I will
See you again

Poem written by Athey Thompson

Taken from “A Little Book Of Poetry”
by Athey Thompson
Art by S. Hee
From Facebook: Tales of the old forest faeries

Hazard Kentucky

Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley. ~ Theodore Roethke

Breathe

She sat at the back

and they said she was shy,

she led from the front

and they hated her pride.

They asked her advice

and then questioned

her guidance.

They branded her loud

then were shocked by her

silence.

When she shared no ambition

they said it was sad

so she told them her dreams

and they said she was mad.

They told her they'd listen

then covered their ears

and gave her a hug

whilst they laughed at her

fears.

And she listened to all of it

thinking she should

be the girl they told her to be

best as she could.

But one day she asked

what was best for herself

instead of trying to please

everyone else.

So she walked to the forest

and stood with the trees,

she heard the wind whisper

and dance with the leaves.

And she spoke to the willow,

the elm and the pine

and she told them what

she'd been told,

time after time.

She told them she never

felt nearly enough

she was either too little,

or far, far too much.

Too loud or too quiet,

too fierce or too weak,

too wise or too foolish,

too bold, or too meek.

Then she found a small clearing

surrounded by firs

and she stopped and she heard

what the trees said to her.

And she sat there for hours

not wanting to leave -

for the forest said nothing,

it just let her breathe.

Becky Hemsley, Breathe

The Mud Maid sculpture, representing a sleeping woman, located in The Lost

Gardens of Heligan, in Cornwall, in the Southwest of England. The artists are

brother and sister Sue and Pete Hill

Found on Facebook: Poet's Corner / Esquina Poetica

Madam Jeanne Louise Calment

Meet Madam Jeanne Louise Calment, who had the longest confirmed human lifespan: 122 years, 164 days. Apparently, fate strongly approved of the way she lived her life. She was born in Arles, France, on February 21, 1875. The Eiffel Tower was built when she was 14 years old. It was at this time she met Vincent van Gogh. "He was dirty, badly dressed, and disagreeable," she recalled in an interview given in 1988.

When she was 85, she took up fencing, and still rode her bike when she reached 100. At the age of 114, she starred in a film about her life, at age 115 she had an operation on her hip, and at age 117 she gave up smoking, having started at the age of 21 in 1896. She didn't give it up for health reasons; her reason was that she didn't like having to ask someone to help her light a cigarette once she was nearly blind.

In 1965, Jeanne was 90 years old and had no heirs. She signed a deal to sell her apartment to a 47-year-old lawyer called André-François Raffray. He agreed to pay her a monthly sum of 2,500 francs on the condition he would inherit her apartment after she died. However, Raffray not only ended up paying Jeanne for 30 years, but then died before she did at the age of 77. His widow was legally obliged to continue paying Madam Calment until the end of her days.

Jeanne retained sharp mental faculties. When she was asked on her 120th birthday what kind of future she expected to have. Her reply, "A very short one."

Here are the Rules of Life from Jeanne Louise Calment:

"I'm in love with wine."

"All babies are beautiful."

"I think I will die of laughter."

"I've been forgotten by our Good Lord."

"I've got only one wrinkle, and I'm sitting on it."

"I never wear mascara; I laugh until I cry often."

"If you can't change something, don't worry about it."

"Always keep your smile. That's how I explain my long life."

"I see badly, I hear badly, and I feel bad, but everything's fine."

"I have a huge desire to live and a big appetite, especially for sweets."

"I have legs of iron, but to tell you the truth, they're starting to rust and buckle a bit."

"I took pleasure when I could. I acted clearly and morally and without regret. I'm very lucky."

“Being young is a state of mind, it doesn’t depend on one’s body. I’m actually still a young girl, it's just that I haven't looked so good for the past 70 years."

At the end of one interview, the journalist said, "Madame, I hope we will meet again sometime next year. " To which Jeanne replied, "Why not: You're not that old; you'll still be here!"

The image with the wings is a piece of art by L. Lichtenfells

Save from Facebook: Daily Dose of Kindness

Cardinal

Cardinal Meaning and Symbolism

They say the vibrant red bird is an uplifting, happy sign that those we have lost will live forever, so long as we keep their memory alive in our hearts. As cardinals sing their pleasant song, people may recall cherished memories of better times.

When God sends a cardinal, it's a visitor from heaven. Cardinals appear when loved ones are near. When you keep seeing a certain type of bird, it is usually a heaven-sent messenger of love for you.

Cardinals are highly associated with a ray of hope in the cluster of worries, a beginning of new beginnings in the spring after a cold, harsh winter, and a beam of light within the world itself. There is also a common rhythmic quotation: “Cardinals appear when Angels are near.” This quote, taken from a poem, relates to the Christian culture and faith. When you see a red cardinal near your home, it should also serve as a reminder to embrace the new beginnings ahead and have faith that they will comfort your soul.

Photo from Facebook. Text compiled from various sources.

1950's Flour Sack Dress

I remember the patterns being much prettier with pastel colors and gingham prints. My mama made me dresses from flour sacks in the 1950's on an old Singer treadle sewing machine. 

The 1930’s Flour Sack, by Colleen B. Hubert

In that long ago time when things were saved,
when roads were graveled and barrels were staved
and there were no plastic wrap or bags,
and the well and the pump were way out back,
a versatile item, was the flour sack.

Pillsbury’s best, mother’s and gold medal, too
stamped their names proudly in purple and blue.
The string sewn on top was pulled and kept
the flour emptied and spills were swept.
The bag was folded and stored in a sack
That durable, practical flour sack.

The sack could be filled with feathers and down,
for a pillow, or t’would make a nice sleeping gown.
it could carry a book and be a school bag,
or become a mail sack slung over a nag.
It made a very convenient pack,
That adaptable, cotton flour sack.

Bleached and sewn, it was dutifully worn
as bibs, diapers, or kerchief adorned.
It was made into skirts, blouses and slips.
And mom braided rugs from one hundred strips
she made ruffled curtains for the house or shack,
from that humble but treasured flour sack!

As a strainer for milk or apple juice,
to wave men in, it was a very good use,
as a sling for a sprained wrist or a break,
to help mother roll up a jelly cake,
as a window shade or to stuff a crack,
we used a sturdy, common flour sack!

As dish towels, embroidered or not,
they covered up dough, helped pass pans so hot,
tied up dishes for neighbors in need,
and for men out in the field to seed.
They dried dishes from pan, not rack
that absorbent, handy flour sack!

We polished and cleaned stove and table,
scoured and scrubbed from cellar to gable,
we dusted the bureau and oak bed post,
made costumes for October (a scary ghost)
and a parachute for a cat named jack.
From that lowly, useful old flour sack!

So now my friends, when they ask you
As curious youngsters often do,
“before plastic wrap, elmers glue
and paper towels, what did you do?”
tell them loudly and with pride don’t lack,
“grandmother had that wonderful flour sack!”