SPRING JOY!

One of my NC neighbors is an amazing gardener----from tropical greenhouse gardens and herbs to scatterings of jonquils/daffodils of many varieties; a husband willing to plant them...and both wiling to share them!

Spring Joy

 Maybe it was Spring Hope! She was't sure. I wouldn't know.

If I chose a name, it would be Spring Peace. Their garden is so serene---it calls for one to come and "sit a spell."

Since we moved here 6 months ago, I have had a constant need for peace.

Today's Jesus Calling DAYBRIGHTENER, reminded me "peace is one of our deepest needs."

God  planted that peace in the garden of our heart. Sarah Young also pointed out weeds can also grow there as well---pride, worry, selfishness. God, who is the Gardener of our heart works to rid our hearts of weeds. He uses times when we sit still in the light os His Presence. In His heavenly light flowers flourish and  weeds of troubling can shrivel up and die away or at least become bearable as we face them with Him!

His joyful Presence brings Spring Joy, Spring Hope or Spring Peace.

Take your pick!

GOD'S WORD STANDS FOREVER!

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

Our first months in North Carolina, from hurricane floods to gusting winds and wildfires from drought conditions were unlike any weather induced conditions we had ever experienced. But God in His love and mercy showed truth to be shared off a beaten path.....

......Hope remained even on a toppled sign in the boonies!

Thank you, Lord.

A STAR IS BORN!

All performers have to begin somewhere!

For our youngest grandson it started on the yellow brick road.

Think......WIZARD OF OZ. A county high school production that needed a few kindergarteners as munchkins!

Ready to go..........

We welcome you to Munchkin Land!

Even if the loud nose hurt this ears, he remembered the hand motions with one hand while his other hand covered his sensitive ear----and kept dancing as well. 

For the "show must go on" as this budding "star" learned!

He even learned it kept going on two more times......in the same clothes no less.

BLESSINGS WITH BOUNDARIES!!

The sun comes up----

It's a new day dawning"

Sun Star Ornithogalum

As "10,000 Reasons" reminds me......

"It's time to sing your song again."

What song? The song one can sing regardless of circumstances. 

Fix eyes on Jesus. Think about where your steps will lead you. (Proverbs 4:25-26) Remember God's  design is for His glory and our good, not necessarily our ease. 

Worship His Holy Name.....then sing like never before!

RED SKIES!

RED SKIES! 

For years whitish or rosy  skies in the morning were seen by many ancient mariners to indicate stormy weather ahead. The skies were used in weather prediction, especially for sailors and shepherds/farmers. Shakespeare even used the image of red morn in his poem "Venus and Adonis" to foreshadow, "wrack to the seaman, tempest to the field, sorrow to the shepherds, woe unto the birds". It might be folklore but I bet my DangDang used it to schedule his tobacco planting. A bit ambiguous, I know.

I assume weather with red skies was their version of the FOX Weather app.

What about red skies at night??

My son-in-law told me the redness is intensified as the setting sun is sending its light through a high density of dust. That could certainly be true looking out my windows.

We saw them Friday night as the sun began to set. 

During Saturday morning prayer time, I only saw blue skies!

However, I did a red skies Bible search and found a "new to me" truth, or possibly one I had forgotten.

The Bible verse related to red skies in the morning is found in Matthew 16:2-3. Jesus answers the Pharisees and Sadducees saying, When it is evening you say it will be fair weather because the sky is red. And in the morning, you say, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening. You know how to interpret the sky but you do cannot interpret the signs of the times. (ESV) 

A TOUCH OF TRUE ART!

TRUE ART......touches all one's senses!

Disclaimer---Sometimes the sense of taste comes as I eat chocolate while enjoying it.

My eyes see it as I enter the room! 

My fingers touch and outline the words! My hands enjoy the quilting of the fabric. 

I can even smell the freshness of the fabric.

How does one "hear" such art? The words of my favorite hymn flow from the art right to my heart and my own humming and singing reach my ears.

It's a "SCENT"sational gift of true art from the artist who uses her ability as a ministry to touch the hearts of others! 

It certainly touched  mine

ACCESS BY GRACE

Grace, Grace --God's Grace!

God's grace costs us nothing! It cost our Savior everything!

A glorious gift of His life on our behalf. 

Unearned and undeserved. Wrapped in His blood.

A gift with access, not only to the righteousness of Jesus, but "access to the unlimited power of the Holy Spirit" as well. (Stacy Tyson, The Best Times, March 2025, p.8)

Other descriptors for God's grace gift are free, through faith, favor, lavished, poured out, precious, redemptive, riches, 

Grace, Grace--Glorious Grace with access in abundance!

KITH AND KIN!

Kith and Kin jumped off the page of MUHH devotional today. 

Kith was used in Angela's Ashes: A Memoir as a way of describing the feeling of relational loneliness. Even the dog was gone. 

In Scripture, Abraham's life was an example of one who left kith and kin to follow God. 

It's faith at its best. Faith might not know where God's leading will take them but knowing the One who is leading provides the faith and assurance needed to go. 

Kith, without  Kin, is an old English word for friends and neighbors. 

For me, the Kin part reminds me of kin as related by blood in family or by adoption. Kin can also include believers in fellowship---one's church family!  Think "heart" family! 

 

But God, in His love and mercy, has shown me the necessity of connection through the blood of Christ regardless if the mileage separation! I have greatly experienced that KIN in our recent move. 

I would have been dismayed if I had not seen the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)

Kith and Kin are my land of the living!

BLESSINGS!

Blessings from friends quoting others. a great way to start the day.

I have cast myself into the hands of Almighty God who reigns everywhere!

(St. Patrick of Ireland)

Blessings of celebration from the mountain folks who not only find joy ...

but celebrate with dance---clogging with some Irish type steps.

Blessings.....May the Lord bless you and keep you!

CUSHION OF CALM!

A "Cushion of Calm" prevails before the predicted storm filled with gusts, ball-sized hail and tornadoes hits! 

How special to await it on our front porch with

a devotional book, a new book and a cuppa in my Lake Junaluska mug. The cushion in the chair, for the physical comfort I needed, even included the reminder. 

LIFE ISN'T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS. IT'S ABOUT LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN.

In times of storm His sovereignty gives us His strength and peace, aka a "cushion of calm".!

A time of God's peace to rule in our thankful hearts. So we dance.

LINGERING AT LAKE JUNALUSKA!

My daughter's well-planned day just for the two of us. 

A time of lingering by the lake where I went to a Methodist Camp in 1963.

"Be still and know that I am God..." (Psalm 46:10)

So many memories teenage memories. Ann Ryder Randolph from Princeton, Ky. Donald Davis, who worked in the bookstore at the camp and later became a nationally known storyteller. He's still telling stories and comes to Memphis every other year. MS Carolyn Meacham, later to marry hubby's dear friend Hal, & I were in the group picture under the cross but I never met her until years later after we were both married and discovered our shared adventure.

A time of quiet beauty: Giving glory to God and grace for me physically and spiritually....

Lingering in the labyrinth.

Meditating in the Memorial Chapel. 

Praying in the chapel when 3 young men came in and went to the front and began quietly playing their guitars.

Recording my prayers for family, Wednesdays folks &, special needs to be prayed for by others in the in LJ prayer ministry.

An AMEN Time to a "Wonderful Wednesday."

EMBRACE GRACE!

EMBRACE

GRACE

IN THIS 

PLACE

TODAY!

PRAYERFUL WISDOM!

Words of Wisdom. 

A big thanks to friend, Doris, who shared these. 

Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. (Psalm 25:4)

Use prayer to....."Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them." (Proverbs 4:5)
May we be directed to the right path as our "discerning heart acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out." (Proverbs 18:15, paraphrase mine)

WISDOM WINKS!

WISDOM, My One Word for 2025 needs to come from Biblical truth along with understanding and retention. 

Thus, the winks this week. Pithy. Pertinent. Cited.

Julie Andrews singing "Do-Re Mi" reminds us, "Let's start at the very beginning, A very good place to start"....Reading starts with A-B-C...

Wisdom starts with A-W-E! 

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. (Psalm 33:8)

Awe & Worship of God help one gain His wisdom.

WINKS 

• Careful of the words you speak....they are an overflow from your heart. 
• WISDOM walks with intentionality at each step. 
• Your checkbook will tell you what you worship. (Billy Graham)

A BiG wink--True wisdom comes from God's Word!

NO WANDERING IN WISDOM

A WISDOM Walk is intentional!

God has shown me that sometimes I need to trek away from the chaos  and head to the calm. 

My actual path.............

The terrain was a little rough/tough but so were the thoughts bombarding my brain. But God had me there for a reason.......to reflect and gain wisdom for upcoming decisions. Not to just sit and be still to hear His voice but to walk closely with Him in all areas of life......to find the narrow road that leads to wisdom.

Today's Jesus Calling entry stated those very points. 

• God loves me for who I am, not for what I do. 
• Walk closely with Him each moment. 
• Discern His voice. 
• Listen for His directives. 

My sheep know my voice and follow me wherever I lead. (John 10:4)

WOW = Words Of Wisdom from His word NOT my wandering guilt laden thoughts!

HERE COMES THE BRIDE!

Saturday's Blessing....even if it was Livestream.

A beautiful bride. An awestruck groom.

A sanctuary filled with answered prayers.

Here comes the bride.....

.........There goes the family.

A beautiful event, orchestrated by God!

SATURDAY SHORT!

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8)

Key Prepositions all about Him---IN, ON, FOR.

Pair with verbs as needed.....even if it's not Saturday!

TRUST! RELY! WAIT! BELIEVE! REJOICE! RELAX!

MEANDERING MONDAY!!

The actual meandering took place last week but it took awhile for me to load the video.

 The sound,................... which I'm still trying to get,

.........is what calmed me on my most recent meandering!

SWEETEST GIFT!

Sometimes "bearing with one another in love" (Ephesians 4:2) 

can be the sweetest gift one can give;

To a needy loved one,

To a stranger, 

To a friend,

To a spouse of 56 years, 6 months & 5 days.

At our house, I am the recipient as hubby is more than my Uber, chief cook and bottle washer. He gives up his time to care for me.....even searching our town when I have a food hankering.

Think shortbread cookies.

Today, I get to look forward to homemade short bread cookie used to create a "Pink Cadillac" ice cream sandwich with soft-serve vanilla ice cream and homemade jam.Then frozen..... 

A pink and red delight for Valentine's Day.

Pink Cadillac, Voted Best in North Carolina for Ice Cream Sandwiches-YELP

The sweetest gift given by the "Sweetest Gift Giver" in NC.

PRAYER PLACES!

I have "plopped" for prayer in many places!

The phone table at 2211 with a party line, though I'm not sure of many prayers in those early years.

Hospital rooms as I visited others. 

Homes and porches of many friends and funerals.

Church pews, as I attended weddings.

Fireside @ Camp Loucon, Lake Junaluska, Pinecrest and the Cove.

In Hungary it was in a field of sunflowers.

In Ukraine it was by the river at Kompas Park between sessions with kids.

In Antalya, Turkey it was on a sandy beach on the Mediterranean coast between speaking times at a Biblical conference under the guise, for safety, of a business leadership event.

In the mountains of Tlapia, Mexico, a cloth was over my head.

In Costa Rica it was on a train bench in the rain forest.

In Honolulu, Hawaii it was seated on boat ride to the USS Arizona with a snarky, pushy line-breaker. I had to pray for forgiveness for my attitude.

In my "Prayer Chair," in our Tennessee home, often occupied by a grand. 

During this season, with "final" move to NC, I can plop on a large prayer chair, stretch out on a bed, kneel on a floor pillow or stand and look out an eastern view of the mountains because this home has a "prayer room"....... A PERFECT PLOPPING PLACE!

 What a view for worship..... a worthy place to plop and pray for all those devoted to prayer. (Colossians 4:2)!

ROADSIDE REVELATION!

Movement is important........think critical for me........ during this new season of building needed muscle mass.

Often that requires exploring new places to peak my interest.

Recently that required a drive to the boonies. "

There in the scrub of small trees and tall grasses were 8 important words for all to remember!

THANK YOU IN ANY LANGUAGE!

TRUE GRATITUDE FLOWS FROM A GRATEFUL HEART!

Hungarian

SIGN LANGUAGE

SPANISH

TURKISH

UKRAINIAN

YIDDISH

GREEK

Eternal thank you to the "Alpha and Omega....the One who was and is and is to come!" (Revelation 1:8)

WORTH REPEATING...............TRUE GRATITUDE FLOWS FROM A GRATEFUL HEART!

REGARDLESS OF THE LANGUAGE!

FELLOWSHIP / BEYOND FRIENDSHIP!

Abide in the Lord (the vine) love one another.

Y'all-ianity--a community of believers. Folks who love one another "in Christ" 

Southern speak of sorts, created by Pastor Buddy. 

Y'all-ianity that rolls off the tongue and flows from the heart..

Fellowship beyond friendship!

COVERED IN PRAYER!

Yesterday's mail included a card of prayer from a God Squad prayer warrior. She has been covering me in prayer for many years as different health issues, often rare ones, arise. I saw that most recent card again this morn on my prayer chair. Her inscription let me know she still prays for me. 

That's how she uses God's word to protect me; she covers me in prayer.  (Psalm 91:4)

Jesus, my intercessor, does the same. God, the Lord Almighty, My Maker and Comforter has "covered me" (and those who seek Him and pursue righteousness) with the shadow of His hand as His word reminds me in Isaiah 51:16.

Praises for being covered in prayer by God and His people.

Think being protected & enveloped in His Presence.

Wrapped in prayer like a gift. 

May I reciprocate----whether in health or weakness!

SATURDAY SHORT!

Wisdom

Of

Words

Jesus + 0 = EVERYTHING!

 Words

Of

Wisdom