Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Double Blessings

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! We have lots of sunshine and humid breezes , clouds and the promise of rain sometime today. Last night about 6:30, it suddenly turned as dark as 10:00 o'clock or so. and after a lot of rumbling and lightning, the rain came and  lasted quite a while. But that was okay, because I was watching the Rays game, which they won, and was not going anywhere.

Brian loaded up the back of the van with a couple bags of clothes I cleaned out of my closets, and I am working on another bag, so am not finished yet, with my contribution to the Salvation Army. What an accumulation of stuff!

I drove over to the Park, and all was quiet. It was quite hot, up in the nineties, but the shade from the big oak trees kept it much cooler. Not many people were out, so even though school is out, those with jobs still have to work, and a lot of families are on vacation now.

I did see a graceful egret, in the lake, and a squirrel hiding in the fork of a maple tree. God is good!

From the devotional book, Quiet Moments with God:

In your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
2 Peter 1:7 NASB

British statesman and financier Cecil Rhodes, whose fortune acquired from
diamond mining in Africa endowed the world famous Rhodes Scholarships
was known as a stickler for correct dress--but not at the expense of someone
else's feelings.

Once it was told that Rhodes invited a young man to an elegant dinner
at his home. The guest had to travel a great distance by train and arrived in town
only in time to go directly to Rhodes home in his travel stained clothes. Once
there, he was distressed to find that dinner was ready to begin and the other
guests were gathered in their finest evening clothes. But Rhodes was nowhere
to be seen . Moments later, he appeared in a shabby old blue suit. The young
man later learned that his host has been dressed in evening clothes but put on
the old suit when he heard of his guest's embarrassment.

Rabbi Samuel Holdenson captured the spirit behind Rhode's gesture, saying:
       Kindness is the inability to remain at ease in the presence
       of another person who is ill at ease, the inability ro remain
        comfortable in the presence of another who is uncomfortable,
         the inability to have peace of mind when one's neighbor is
         troubled.

The simplest act of kindness not only affects the receiver in profound ways, but .
brings blessings to the giver as well. It makes us feel good to make others feel
good. So do something nice for yourself today---commit a random act of kindness!

You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving,
joy and love!

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis