TABLESCAPE OF PRAYER!

Some days can be harder than others and I have to go back to bed right after my morning cuppa! This morning was one of those days. I returned to bed for a 4 hour snooze. (...a bit longer than Gilligan's 3 hour tour)

I might still be a sleep if hubby had not awakened me at 11:15 am to check my pulse. When I went into the kitchen I saw a very welcoming sight......much like spiritual sky-writing.

I sat at the small table by our eastern window and was greeted by a large greeting straight from heaven.

I didn't even need to leave the table to go to my prayer chair. I sat right there with a glass of my iced tea, Bible and  my prayer journal......warmed by sunshine from heaven.....in His very Presence!

A great reminder of National Day of Prayer coming tomorrow, 5/1/2025.  

I can begin early!

A perfect  tablescape for National Day of Prayer prep!

 28,490 days old according to hhis NY family!

Oh what a day!

FRIDAY FOCUS!

How does one keep his/her "balance" in life, both spiritual and physical?

Steps that are steady and sure are needed in the whirlwind of today's culture!

What is one to do?

Jesus has the answer.....He is the Answer!

 fix your eyes on me (Hebrews  2:12)

Enough said!

REWARDING RAMBLE IN THE WOODS

Rambling can be good when one is trying to refocus!

Not rambling in speech but in a quiet time. Today hubby did the directing to the place and then allowed me to traipse among the woods. Soothing came as flowers appeared and he helped me to change position in order to get close-up views.

A trillium evoked memories of my childhood wild flower garden and took my mind off unnecessary worries. 

Springtime with its abundance of flowers. White. 

Foamflower

Vibrant colors.

Hooked buttercups

Dwarf Crested Iris

Red Columbines were also in my childhood garden.

Hubby took the pix and when we returned home I could use his iphone which gave horticultural info and lengthened my on-going quiet time!

PRAYER PREP!

Prayer prep is always important---not only with preparation but with the incluslon of prepositions! Though there are 150 connector words known as prepositions. Short words. Longer words. Multiple words or a short phrase. These words when grouped with a noun or pronoun can show direction.  

Pray is today's verb. "It" is the pronoun.

On. Over. Through. Propositions connecting pray and it. 

On ---can express location of in contact with

Over---at a higher level or layer

Through---a process from start to finish

"It" can be the Bible. God's Word. On a word from a verse. 

"It" can be the same word or verse. Pray over again and again using different versions each time to add to deeper understanding.

"It" can be through an entirety of a book of the Bible, a chapter, or verses from start to finish to gain context of true meaning

GO for "it!"......using any prepositions necessary to aid your prayer life!

WHITE EVERYWHERE!

Is white even on a color wheel? 

If you are interested in white, black, or variety of hues, it is!

Think Sherwin Williams! Paint mixtures can be softened with white.

Think Scripture. In the Bible white is often associated with purity and righteousness. White can also represent spiritual cleansing or God's glory.

Think Jesus! It's His righteousness that gives us righteousness  through His blood. Without that we have no purity!

All of these white pondering have kept me on a white search. Even my kids  share "white" with me this Easter Holy Week. From New York my son sent the Cherry tree pic with its white scattered petals. He recommended it to keep my mind's focus on a fun search, NOT worry!

Son from Texas, shared blooming of great, great grandfather's heritage snowball bush from His childhood home in Hampton Station, KY. A propagation to Clarksville, TN to Hopkinsville, KY, to Memphis, TN and on to Allen.Beautiful after years of waiting. 

Daughter from North Carolina saw the Dogwood on Main Street by the church where we joined her for the Easter Sun Rise Service. 

She even took it a step further teasing me at the bakery that on any of my selections, "add extra white icing" or just serve me icing.

They all know me well!

HAPPY EASTER, KIDDOS!

WAY OF PEACE!

I "know" God is with me. So..........why do unexpected circumstances throw me off course? I "know" the answer. I respond to the wrong stimuli! 

Sight and sound. Those loud thoughts of mine that bombard my mind as I try to live "without fear!" The last two hours of talking with medical folks on the phone and seeking info from recordings & portals......not people, have me desiring to have the "sky-writing" type affirmation from the LORD!

ALERT to self! Today is "Thankful Thursday"!

Though I might have struggle living without fear, a sign on cancer center windowsill, reminded  me to live with "faith over fear!"

A mere 2 days ago, I had "wall writing" at a doc appointment. A great summation of truth!" 

There is always, always, always Something to be Thankful for.

It might not be skywriting & it might end in a preposition....but it's a clear declaration of His way of peace. 

Trust in Him paired with gratitude for His steadfast love, is God's will for us in Christ Jesus! (1Thessalonians 5:18)

PATHS OF PURPLE!

Neighborhood Walk---from porch pansies to wild flowers and iris at every turn. 

Purple in yards............ 

along roadsides...........

along....park path, wild geranium growing in roots of a fallen tree 

and even in a crack in the asphalt.

Purple everywhere. I was blessed looking for it!

Purple, a royal color reminding me of the true King!

Purple to soothe my soul. I have heard the color purple is seen as "part and parcel" of Lent. Purple certainly nourishes my paths this time of year from the One who created Heaven and Earth! (Psalm 121:2)

COMPLETE COLOR!

Color has been taking on a new perspective for me lately. I am celebrating the hues springtime has begun offering. For too long, I have been fearful of colors invading my dreams/hallucinations from colorful starbursts to blobs of black and white switching when I would open or close my eyes. Eyes open....see black. Eyes closed see white......until I could fall asleep.

I prefer appreciating colors afresh. Yesterday, my son-in-law blessed us with bright red strawberries from Darnell Farms. Not just YUM.....but beautiful from inside to the outside. These sweet ones are red all the way through! (Proof in the Pic)

We would eat them as quickly as we capped them. 

Check them out--no white in Nate's crop. 

Red on the inside as well as the out. Sweetness and color through and through.

More pix would have shown brilliant red on top of our ice cream and this morning's bowl full of granola. God's grace pouring out from red resources picked in a field of strawberries. 

"He made everything beautiful in its time." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

A BAZILLION HUES!

A bazillion hues. Well said by my artist friend Anne B. when discussing the hues of color varieties found in creation. God's color spectrum throughout creation seems to be unending.....at least in our vocabulary.

Red can be in the form of burgandy, coral, crimson, mahogany, maroon,  orange red, ruby, scarlet, vermilion......you get the idea.

Compare to our neighborhood trees & red skies entry!

Maybe that's how she uses color so effectively in both her photography and her "threads."

Last year she began cross-stitching my "One Word, Hope" as a 'bye-bye" gift! Amazing that she got out her "instruments" from the past, things like hoops, needles, fabrics, threads, patterns and knots I have never heard of....and created for me the perfect farewell gift, catching my eye on this Thankful Thursday!!

A gift filled with hope!. 

Not only was "HOPE" my 2024 Word of the year, it carried through to 2025 with medical maladies incurred as 2024 ended. 

Hope much needed and freely given by a dear friend who certainly knows how to keep on giving "hope" in a bazillion ways.....all wrapped up in hues of love! 

GOD'S WISDOM --THE ONLY WAY!

The only way to walk on our life's journey is t take the path of unwavering faith. Faith faltering will take you through meandering moments that are way off  course. Think useless roaming on paths of unbelief.

Our WALK reflects the tenets of our lives.

What do our actions say we believe?

Almost 15 years ago, MS friend Carolyn F., shared with me how Isaiah 26:4 fortified her saying "God will supply my "fuel" for the journey. When looking for the RIGHT path, I've been told to take the first right and CONTINUE straight away to the FATHER!" (Emphasis hers)  

"My hope is in you all day long." (Psalm 25:5b) was written in her journal and yet at the end of the day, she realized once again that she had not Practiced the Presence of the Lord and thus her actions did not point to her "hope" and trust in Him! 

Her resolution was asking for God's wisdom to be reflected daily in her life.

What a powerful decision---choosing God's wisdom over man's wisdom as the only way to go! It's the right path.

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!