Good morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! It is getting warmer day by day and this morning was only 57 and expected to go up to 75, so another beautiful day in St. Petersburg! God is good! All the while I was having my quiet time, I could hear squirrels stomping on the roof overhead. They may not weigh much, but they sound like they are wearing combat boots!
I noticed two osprey nests in busy places. There are two ospreys building a nest in the parking lot at Gateway Mall near the Publix, and also on the light pole at Sawgrass Elementary. Apparently, if the city builds around them, they do what they have to do, with the places at hand. I also noticed one on the light pole overlooking the creek near our house, looking for an unwary fish to take home.
We saw a peacock peeking in the window of a house on the way in to the Park, so even though it is still January, Love is stirring in the hearts of all the animals! :o) Our azaleas are blooming more and more and look really pretty.
From the Promise Bible NLT:
If I sent this recently, please bear with me, it seems I hear more and more of difficulties families and businesses are going through, so thought it very pertinent.
What purposes do endurance and perseverance serve in my life?
1 Peter 1:6-7 Be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold-and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
2 Peter 1:5-9 Make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop these virtues are blind, or at least, very shortsighted. They have already forgotten that God has cleansed them from their old life of sin.
Endurance is like the fire that purifies precious metals and hardens valuable pottery. It cleanses, clarifies, and solidifies our faith. Living through the trials and tests of life is often the most significant way to discover the riches of our faith.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
