3/17/24

BEAUTIFUL SPRING: PART 1


This post was written for Five Minute Friday
Word prompt--HURRY
Five minutes to free write about it
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We've been having such beautiful weather lately, it's been hard to stick to my daily routine. I would much rather be out and about.

On Friday, I had a bunch of errands to run and my intent was to hurry and get them done as quickly as possible, come home and hurry through the rest of my must do's, and get this post written and posted on Friday. However, as you can see, that's not what happened. I am writing this on Sunday evening instead.

There were so many things that caught my eye, I kept pulling over and getting out of the car to take pictures instead of hurrying to get home. By the time I finally did get back, I felt like that little cupid resting on the steps of a friend's house and needed a nap.

I don't like to always be in a hurry, but feel as though I need to be or I won't be able to get everything done that needs to get done. Lately, however, I've been trying to slow down and become more in tune with what the Lord has for me to do each day, instead of trying to be the one in control. That way there always will be enough time, and I won't be stressed out by the constant hurry, hurry.

As I was writing this post, Luke 10:41-42 came to mind. "Martha, Martha," the Lord replied, "you are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her" (BSB).

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Following are some of my favorite shots taken on Friday. Enjoy!








 

3/12/24

PRETTY PINKS AND BLUES



This cute display in the floral department of our Local Harris Teeter store caught my eye.






























On the way home I saw many beautiful trees full of pink blossoms.  So beautiful. I'm not sure what kind they are. Maybe almond trees? Does anybody know?

The picture doesn't really do it justice as it was taken through the dirty windshield of my car. 





I also saw some pretty little pink and blue wildflowers in the grass in front of my building.

Maybe if my back feels up to it tomorrow, I will take a little walk to get some better pictures of the trees.





3/10/24

PROMPTS MISSED AND MISUNDERSTOOD


The Five Minute Friday prompt from two weeks ago was SUFFERING. I did not participate because it brought up too many painful memories to process in five minutes. However, it kept hounding me until we got this week's prompt, which I thought was DEPEND. It would have been so perfect. Except it turned out that the weekly challenge was DEDICATE, not DEPEND. How I made that error, I'll never understand. The two words don't even look or sound alike. 

Anyway, the word depend brought to mind a time when I left everything behind and relocated to accept a job and a marriage proposal from a man I believed was a mature, trustworthy, responsible Christian and who made a big point of telling me how his word was something I could bank on. In the end it all fell through and there was no turning back.*

Lesson learned was that only God's word can be banked on. His word alone can be trusted one hundred percent of the time. People make commitments they don't or can't always keep. Sometimes it's because they make them impulsively without considering the ramifications. Other times it's because circumstances get in the way. Even the most honorable, best intentioned folks are subject to unexpected events such as sickness, unavoidable delays, and death.

We have been going through the Book of Psalms in church on Sundays, and today our pastor gave an excellent message on Psalm 96, which is about worship, and about singing to the Lord because He is worthy of our praise, and for the things that He has done, and when he asked us to think of things we are thankful for, this lesson--albeit painful and confusing at the time--was definitely one of them. 

At the end of the message he gave us a challenge to sing a song of worship to the Lord for what He has done, out loud, every day this week. As I wrap up this post, I commit to dedicate myself to doing just that.

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*This was one of the major pivotal points of my life. It is included in my memoir Sincerely Wrong: An Improbable Journey.

DEDICATE


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is post was written for Five Minute Friday
Word prompt--DEDICATE
Five minutes to free write about it
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It's March, and there's a lot of noise coming from the water tower across the way. Loud, raucous, quark quarks as the ravens dedicate themselves to getting their nest ready for the babies soon to be born. 

This particular raven family first arrived in town quite a few years ago, and built a nest on the water tower across from my balcony. They became very dedicated to the spot and returned to it every year when it was time to lay their eggs. again 

At one point their nest got removed due to some major maintenance work to the tower, including a much needed paint job. I wondered what would happen when they returned to find it gone. 

They just surveyed the situation and built themselves another nest on the temporary tower that had been erected behind the original one to house all the cellular carrier antennas and telecommunications equipment while the work was going on. 

When the work had been completed, the temporary tower was dismantled and their second nest removed along with it, but it did not seem to put a damper on their dedication to returning to this location one bit. They just built another (third) nest on the original, now spiffied up, tower. 

Disappointlingly  for me, this nest is on the other side of the tower that is not visible from my balcony, so now I just hear them but cannot watch them the way I used to be able to do.

For any of you who might be interested, the first year the ravens arrived and chose the water tower to be the site of their abode, I spent many hours on my balcony taking pictures of them and their babies learning to fly. which became the inspiration for my first children's picture book--THE WATER TOWER RAVENSIt even made the front page of our local newspaper at that time. 

Alas, I am not very dedicated to marketing, and so sales have dwindled since then, but maybe when and if I ever have more time to spare, I will try and spread the word once again. 

2/25/24

FALLEN THROUGH THE CRACKS

Do you ever feel as though you have fallen through the cracks? 

Mostly my heart is full of gratitude for the many blessings in my life, but there are times when I feel like that—especially when something happens that triggers old painful memories of feeling overlooked, left out, insignificant, or “less than.” 

 Whenever that happens, I think of the wildflowers (called weeds by some) that bloom where they are planted and grow out of cracks in the road or sidewalk. It reminds me that even when I feel unseen or forgotten, I am never invisible to God. He always knows exactly where I am, and my identity lies in Him alone and not in how I feel I measure up to others or what they might think of me. 

Neither you nor I were accidents. God designed us to be Divine originals, created for a special purpose no one else could fulfill (Psalm 139:13-16; Ephesians 2:10). 

Even before the beginning of time, every single detail of your life was recorded in His book (Psalm 139:16-17). You are of great value to Him and He loves and cares for you. If you have any doubts about that, just think of the Cross. 

John 3:16 tells us that "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." It is a gift that can only be received by grace, through faith. Salvation cannot be earned by good works (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

Although it is not God's will for anyone to perish, He will not impose His will on you or force you to accept it. The choice is yours. 

Jesus stands at the door of your heart, knocking and waiting for you to let Him in (Revelation 3:20). If you have not already done so, I pray you would open the door now and accept His invitation to enter your life, forgive you of your sins, and make you a new creation. 

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For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. . . . My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. – Psalm 139:13-16, NIV 

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10, NIV

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV 

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, -- John 1:13, ESV

2/23/24

RESPITE

 

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is post was written for Five Minute Friday
Word prompt--RESPITE
Five minutes to free write about it
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RESPITE: "A short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant."

RESPITE CARE: "Short-term, time-limited break for families and other unpaid caregivers."

At first this prompt did not bring anything to mind, but after I pondered on its definition for a bit it got me to thinking of a beautiful lady (inside and out) who is one of the most generous, caring, kind-hearted, funniest, warmest, loving, Jesus-like people I know. She has a big, big heart, and His love just flows through her.

She had been a caregiver to each of her parents, and after they both passed and she became the official owner of their home, one of her first thoughts was to use it to be a blessing. She named it after her mom, and created a special respite room for caregivers to use as a getaway for a night or a weekend at no charge.  They have an option to be alone B&B style or to hang out with a group of ladies and "do dinner, movies, games, (and/or) devotions" 

In the introduction to her Facebook page she quotes 1 John 3:18 --"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." And that she does with all of her heart. She's the genuine, real thing.

2/16/24

SPOILER ALERT


Th
is post was written for Five Minute Friday
Word prompt--SPOIL
Five minutes to free write about it
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My mind is still ruminating on thoughts from my last trip to the grocery store that I posted as an addendum to last week's prompt, Consumer. Thoughts of how spoiled we have become in my little corner of the world (me included), and how wasteful we are and quick to consider things spoiled and throw them out.

On a lighter note, as I was dumping my trash where all the spoiled things get dumped, I heard a bird loudly singing and other birds responding from other trees as though they were having a conversation back and forth. It took
me quite a while to spot it because it was so small, and when I did, was surprised to see that such a small bird could have such a big voice. 

It seemed strange for so many birds to be out and about, merrily chirping away, when the weather forecasters have issued a winter storm warning for tonight and into the weekend. 

Could it be they know something we don't? Are they singing, spoiler alert, spoiler alert. Spring is the only thing on its way?

2/13/24

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, AND AN ADDENDUM TO LAST WEEK'S FMF PROMPT "CONSUME"


The display of Valentine's Day goods at our local grocery store is so pretty. You can't miss it when you enter the door. I stopped to admire it before starting my trip around the aisles to do some much needed restocking after my No Spend January challenge last month. 

The child-sized "customer in training" shopping carts made me smile, but for some reason, when I looked at them today, I thought the sign said "consumer in training" instead.

That got me to thinking about last week's FMF prompt CONSUME, and of how one of the participants, Carole Duff, started out her post with the words: Consume: to eat, drink, buy, buy, buy, and use it upThat definitely seems to be the mindset in my neck of the woods. 

My gratitude at being surrounded by so much abundance and being able to come in here and freely buy whatever I want was tinged with guilt over how mindlessly and often frivolously I shop for food. Not everybody is so fortunate.























By God's grace, I have never had to go hungry, but according to recent statistics, 46.9 of the world's population lives in poverty, and as many as 828 million people (an average of about one in 10) goes to bed hungry every night.

It made me want to empty my shopping cart, go home, and start another no-spend month challenge right then and there, but I didn't. The thought did stay with me though as I unloaded my bags and filled the pantry and freezer.

We're in the middle of a month right now and I don't want to wait until next month to start, so given that tomorrow is both Valentine's Day and the first day of Lent, I'm seriously considering a no-spending-on-food challenge for Lent.

2/10/24

CONSUME

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is post was written for Five Minute Friday
Word prompt--CONSUME 
Five minutes to free write about it
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This may seem like a stretch, but one of the things that came to mind when I saw this week's prompt was Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 6:12 -- You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is good for you. And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything (NLT).

Whether it be food or money or time, there is only so much of it you can consume. Consuming too much time on one thing, for example, may leave less or none to spend on something else that may be better for you. 

In January I participated in two challenges that helped me be more mindful of how I was consuming my time and my money.

The first challenge was joining my church family for 21 days of prayer that included a daily online devotional that was interactive for those of us up early enough to watch live. This wound up doubling and sometimes even tripling my daily devotional time and consuming a much larger portion of my day than I had anticipated. To make it work, I had to reset my priorities and give up some worldly pleasures, such as an hour or two of my sleep, my daily word games, and most of the books on my to read list. In return, the Lord redeemed the time I offered Him and enabled me to get a lot more done in what was left, and with a lot less stress.

The second challenge was to join No Spend January. What a great feeling to actually complete it without even making a trip to the grocery store except for one where I went to purchase something for someone else. 

My pantry and freezer were pretty well stocked going into the No Spend challenge, but it didn't take long to consume all the items needed for my same old same old easy-to-throw-together meals. Instead of going out and replacing them, however, I looked for creative ways to make substitutions. The end result took a bit more effort and consumed a little more time, but some healthier and more balanced choices were the result.