SALE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

(linking up at Andrew's place while Kate is on leave)

Word prompt--SALE

Five minutes to free-write about it

-------------------------------------------------------

When I saw this week's prompt it made me think of how grateful I was for all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales that enabled me to buy Christmas gifts for my grandchildren and great-crandchildren at greatly reduced prices. That was what I started writing about.

However, the flow of my thoughts was abruptly interrupted by an unrelated passage of scripture that popped into my mind. It was about Simon the Sorcerer who offered money to the apostles when he saw them laying hands on believers, and the believers receiving the Holy Spirit through their touch (Acts 8:9-24).

"Give me also this ability," he said, "so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit (v. 19)."

The apostle Peter rebuked him for thinking it was a gift that could be bought--"May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money (v.20}!"

God's gifts are freely given. They are not for sale, nor can they be earned by our good works. They can only be received by faith.

How quickly my thoughts turned from gratitude for the great sales that enabled me to buy some great gifts, to Jesus, the greatest gift of all. Jesus, who willingly took on human flesh and was born into this world to die for our sins so we could be forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life. 

For 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. -- (John 3:16, NIV)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. -- (Romans 6:23, NIV)

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. -- (Acts 4:12, NIV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. -- (1 John 1:9, 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)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

PRETTY THINGS

 

The Cover of my 2026 calendar.

An unexpected gift outside my door.

A Christmas cactus full of buds. 

CHRISTMAS SWEATER

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

(linking up at Andrew's place while Kate is on leave)

Word prompt--CHRISTMAS SWEATER

Five minutes to free-write about it

-------------------------------------------------------

Just wondering how the tradition of calling Christmas sweaters "ugly Christmas sweaters" came about. I've had several Christmas sweaters over the years, but never considered any of them ugly. I don't even think this picture of a Christmas sweater Andrew posted is ugly. To me it looks colorful and festive.

Anyway, that led to a totally unrelated thought of a post I had written a very long time ago on a now defunct blog. It was about a big old turkey vulture I had spotted sitting on top of a roof. I had added the word "ugly" to my description of it, and one friend commented that she bet his mama didn't think he was ugly, and another, that all God's critters are beautiful. They were both right.

Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. It's all a matter of perspective.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

TUESDAY THOUGHTS

Two statements I've been pondering lately:

"We live by demands when we should live by priorities."

"To put your trust in human resources is to lean on a shaky crutch."

I know there's a message in there for me (and maybe you as well?).

TURKEY

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

(linking up at Andrew's place while Kate is on leave)

Word prompt--TURKEY

Five minutes to free-write about it

-------------------------------------------------------

One of my granddaughters hosted Thanksgiving this year, and my grandson cooked the turkey. It was a tasty turkey, but like Andrew, given a choice between turkey and something else, I probably would have opted for the something else.

There were 19 of us this year, so we sat at two different tables, and it made me sad that even though we were celebrating Thanksgiving, no one brought up the topic of what we were all grateful for. And then after I got home I felt really convicted and remiss for not having brought it up either.  

My list of gratitudes is long.

I am grateful for the gift of one more Thanksgiving, and for the loving family that surrounded me.

I am grateful that everyone was healthy, with not even a runny nose among the kids.

I am grateful for the gift of becoming a grandmother and a great-granny, a miracle I would never have dreamed possible back in the day when I was a young widow with two small children and a scary experience led to an irrational fear that I would not live long enough to see them grow up. And yet I did. And I've seen their children grow up as well, and been blessed with 7 grandchildren, and 7 great-grands. 

I am grateful for a most amazing daughter who I surely don't deserve, and for the unexpected healing and restoration of the estranged relationship between me and my son. 

I am grateful that God is longsuffering and patient, and never gives up on me, even when I would long have given up on myself, and I am grateful for His unconditional love and His promise to never leave me or forsake me.

Most of all I am thankful for Jesus and for His gift of salvation. 

I am thankful that the Lord is my shepherd who walks beside me even through the darkest valleys, and that I can trust that He is always in control.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

PENGUIN

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

(linkup at Andrew's place while Kate is on medical leave)

Word prompt--PENGUIN

Five minutes to free-write about it

-------------------------------------------------------

Interesting prompt this week. Curious to see what my fellow FMF participants come up with.

All I can think of is that they really do look as though they are wearing tuxedos. 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

CHOCOLATE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

(temporarily being hosted by Andrew Budek while Kate is on medical leave)

Word prompt--CHOCOLATE

Five minutes to free-write about it

-------------------------------------------------------

I once was a chocaholic.

I have not had any in over 30 years, but this week's prompt reminded me of the days when chocolate was my favorite indulgence, and led me down memory lane to a specific incident that happened during that time.

It was right before Christmas, long ago, when I went looking for a special gift for a very special friend. 

Back then, Cadbury made huge, oversized chocolate bars, and she loved them all, so I decided the perfect gift would be one of each kind. They had five varieties--dairy milk, almond, fruit and nuts, caramel, and a fifth that I can't remember. 

I made my purchase, wrapped them ever so carefully, and put them under the Christmas tree, bubbling with excitement as I anticipated her reaction when she opened the gift. I could hardly wait.

There were two issues, however, that I failed to consider, and that proved to be my undoing.

The first one was that I also loved those huge, oversized Cadbury bars, AND, my friend did not show up the day before Christmas as we had planned.

Christmas came and went, and after a few days of seeing that carefully wrapped gift sitting all alone under the tree, I could not take it any longer. It seemed to be calling my name, and after a brief struggle with my conscience, gluttony got the best of me.

With the greatest of care, I unwrapped the gift, slid out one Cadbury bar, and rewrapped the other four. She will never be the wiser, I rationalized.

When she still did not come, I wound up repeating this shameful process four more times.

When my friend finally dropped by, I had no gift to give her. Fortuately though, she was a real sport about it, and we ended up having a good chuckle.

Hope this post gives you a good chuckle as well. 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

COFFEE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

(temporarily being hosted by Andrew Budek while Kate is on medical leave)

Word prompt--COFFEE

Five minutes to free-write about it

-------------------------------------------------------

To answer Andrew's question, I don't drink coffee, although I do love the smell of it.

 Like his dog Sylvia, however, I too like coffee-flavored ice cream, and one of my favorite beverages is a coffee caramel milkshake made with Talenti cold brew coffee sorbetto, almond milk, and caramel sauce. Yum!

Well, that's all I have to say on the topic of coffee, so I'll keep this post short and sweet this week (pun intended).

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

THANKFUL TUESDAY

 

The frustrations continue, but as I glance out the window from my little corner on the floor, my heart overflows with thanksgiving. 

The sky is so blue, and the fall colors still at their peak. Is God not an amazing artist? 

My mind wandered from my devotional to a mental list of all the things I am grateful for. Jesus was at the top of the list.

I am so thankful to have a shepherd who watches over me, and that I do not have to weather the storms of life in my own srength.

RECOGNIZE -- PART II

Not sure if we're allowed to write two posts for our weekly FMF challenge. I've never seen anyone do that before, but these thoughts came to me after I posted my original one and I feel they are really important to share as well.

The last ten days or so were filled with many hassles and frustrations, which led to a greater recognition and appreciation of the blessings I tend to take for granted, as well as an important insight.

As far as some of the blessings I tend to take for granted--frustration that Sun Chips has added sugar to its original variant to convert it into a "savory sweet crunch" led to recognition that there are many other snack options to choose from. It made me think of how blessed we are to have such abundance and variety available to us in this part of the world.

An emergency "boil water" alert issued by our Town because there was a break in one of the pipelines, causing the water to become contaminated with bacteria, was annoying and inconvenient, but it was quickly fixed and within a couple of days we again had safe, clean drinking water, It made me think of the people in other parts of the world who do not have that luxury. Not only is the source of their water polluted, but many of them do not even have running water. They have to walk great distances to a river or other body of water and then fill and carry heavy jugs of it back home.

Those are just a couple of examples of the thoughts that were going through my mind as I drove to church on Sunday morning for my shift in the prayer room. As I prayed over the service, I thought of the false security many of us in this great nation feel about being able to go to church and openly worship the Lord without fear of persecution. Definitely not something we should ever take for granted.

Like many other churches these days, ours also has a security team that patrols the entrance to the building, the sanctuary, the lobby, the Sunday school classes, and the parking lot outside as well, but things can still happen.

Complacency is dangerous, and it is so important for us to recognize that, appearances to the contrary, there is a real enemy (Satan) silently prowling around looking for an opportunity to catch us off guard, No one is immune.

I got a wake up call to that truth just recently when a very dear friend, and one of the strongest women of faith I know, inadvertently allowed Satan to worm his way in through a chink in her armor and derail her. Who would hae thought.

The Word tells us to be alert and vigilant, and on our guard because in these end times, even the elect will be deceived. These are truths that are very real.

I exhort you to watch this livestream on the danger of deception and take heed to the warnings it contains.

--------------------------------------------------------

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8, NLT) 

The thief comes only to seal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10, NIV)

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7, ESV)

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13, NIV)

So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. (1 Thessalonians 5:6, NLT)

Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21:36, NLT)

For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones. (Matthew 24:24, NLT)

Put on the whole armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:11-12, NIV)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT)

RECOGNIZE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--RECOGNIZE

Five minutes to free-write about it

------------------------------------------------------- 

The town I live in has many Maple trees.  A good many of them are on my street, which is called Maple Avenue. Today was a beautiful day, and the fall colors are peaking in my neck of the woods, so I decided to go on a photo shoot on my way home from church.

The maples are a familiar sight, but what I recognized today (only by the colors of their leaves), was that the name of the street notwithstanding, there are several other types of trees that live on Maple Avenue as well. 

I kept pulling over to take pictures, and at several of the stops I made, drivers who didn't recognize that I had pulled over to take pictures thought I was in distress because they saw me get out of my car and start walking around with my cell phone (which is also my camera), and came by to see if I was okay or needed help. 

It felt good to recognize that there are kind and caring people in my neighborhood.

Not only were the trees beautiful, but I recognized that even the leaves that had blown off were creating beauty where they lay on the ground below.

These are a few of my favorite shots (plus a cute mailbox and "Give Thanks" turkey that also caught my sight.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

CAPACITY

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--CAPACITY

Five minutes to free-write about it

------------------------------------------------------- 

Who would have thought these wildflowers on my balcony still had the capacity to keep blooming even when the temperatures have dropped considerably, we've been having frost warnings, and they stopped getting watered after I brought the rest of the plants inside.

I'm guessing there are many of us who don't know what we have the capacity to do until we are faced with the very thing we fear, make it safely to the other side, and "I can't" becomes "I did it.".

Such is what happened to me several years ago as a result of faulty reasoning and a decision driven by fear that led to a far scarier outcome (almost two weeks on a ventilator) that I almost did not pull out of, and that could have been avoided had I not been so afraid. But God was good, and not only spared my life, but He also used the experience to teach me valuable lessons I might not have learned otherwise. (If you are interested in reading about it, you can click on this link to my post entitled Do Not Be Afraid.) 

The two things I learned the hard way through this experience were to trust God instead of my own intellect, and to turn my fears over to Jesus and lean on His strength instead of my own whenever I don't feel I have the capacity to handle something I am about to face.

A third thing as well. Life is so much less stressful when I remember to do the above two.

-------------------------------------------------

Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.  (Isaiah 41:10, NLT)

Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. (Psalm 55:22, NLT)

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7, NLT)

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13, NLT)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT)

Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. (Psalm 119:165)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

REAL

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--REAL

Five minutes to free-write about it

------------------------------------------------------- 

All I can think of right now is how upset I feel, and that I have no one but myself to blame.

One of my constant prayers is for the Lord to make me supersensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and most of the time I listen when I feel one, but yesterday I did not.

Yesterday I went for a much needed haurcut. I booked ahead online, and the person I really wanted to see did not have anything available. I didn't want to have to wait any longer as I had already put off getting the cut for way too long, so I booked with someone else. 

It was someone I had wanted to try because of the good reviews I'd read about him--including one about a mom who had brought in her daughter who was really upset with the haircut she had gotten, and how he had been able to fix it for her and make it look real good. 

As I was filling out the form, I felt a check in my spirit, but I did not listen. I did not believe it could be real. Why would it be, when I had really wanted to try him before, but back then he wasn't available, and now he was?

When I got to my appointment, I explained what I wished my ideal haircut could look like, but also that I realized it was not possible because of all the cowlicks I have. So just the best he could do without leaving me with cowlicks sticking up on my head. 

I also requested that it would be something I could just wash and let dry without having to do any styling.

The end result was a real delight. It looked beautiful and too good to be true. He had been able to achieve a look that no other stylist had been able to do. When my daughter came over for lunch, she too said how good it looked. But would it be real?

I was starting to have some faint misgivings. To me, the proof of a good harcut is what it looks like in the morning after I have slept on it. That's when I can really see if it is real or not.

Well, alas, as the picture shows, it was not real at all. What was real, was the check in my spirit prompting me not to make the appointment with him, and to wait until I could get one with the other stylist. 

Lesson learned the hard way.

EXPLAIN

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--EXPLAIN

Five minutes to free-write about it

------------------------------------------------------- 

I can't explain how the plague of lanternflies that were swarming my windows, balcony, and outdoor plants suddenly disappeared without a trace (literally overnight).

Or how this dying spider plant I put out on the balcony to speed up the process... 

...miraculously rallied, despite becoming infested by said lanternflies.

Nor can I explain how my very good friend who has been sober 26 years, loves the Lord, and has the strongest faith of almost anyone I know, has gotten derailed and seems to be headed off the deep end. Or why another friend's son who seemed to be doing so well suddenly OD'd.

Five minutes are not enough to tell it all.

God's thoughts are not our thoughts, or His ways our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). But of one thing we can be sure. Even when nothing seems to make sense, we can trust that He is in control and weaving everything together according to His perfect purpose and plan. 

My questions were not answered with any explanations,  but this little poem showed up in my devotional as I pondered these things during my quiet time.

Overheard in an Orchard

Said the Robin to the Sparrow:

    "I would really like to know

Why these anxious human beings

    Rush about and worry so."

Said the Sparrow to the Robin:

    "Friend, I think that it must be

That they have no Heavenly Father

    Such as cares for you and me."

(Elizabeth Cheney)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

WOW!!

Watching the super moon emerge from behind the trees was a sight to behold. All I can say is wow! (It would have been perfect for Friday's FMF prompt "thrill.")