2 Timothy con't.

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! I still have the A/C on and since the temps are supposed to get up to the middle eighties today, it looks like I will keep it on.

Yesterday when I was out, the shade felt very good, because the sun was hot! I need to remember to use sun block all over exposed parts. I have had too many skin cancers in the early stages to be careless!

After doing some shopping, I drove to the park and saw the little moor hens paddling around in the lake, runners, bikers dog walkers, and people enjoying a quiet moment of just enjoying the beauty of nature. All the greens are back on the trees and I noticed the jacarandas are now blooming although some of the trees still look barren without many leaves to go with the blossoms. But still, God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

2 Timothy 2:12

If we die with him,
we will also live with him.
If we endure hardship,
we will reign with him.
If we deny him,
he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful,
he remains faithful
for he cannot deny himself.

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

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis

2 Timothy excerpts

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! Looks like spring is here and summer close behind...I have the A/C on and it will stay on as long as the air is humid and filled with pollen.

The air was quite warm yesterday, but the breeze was cool as I came out of the doctor's office. Hopefully I am through with that for a while! Once again, I did not take a book , but just sat while people watching...always an interesting pastime. I have learned to be thankful that my health is as good as it is, since I see persons younger than I, who have great difficulty moving around and others with caregivers, bringing them in to their appointments. One bright spot, though very noisy, was a baby about five months old, whose mother finally picked him up out of his carrier and he immediately got quiet and just looked at everyone with his big, brown eyes. So cute!

After I finally got out, over an hour later, I drove on to the park, to see a car parked while the passenger took pictures of a great white heron, posing on the bank of the weir. A beautiful white contrast against the green backdrop.It was late in the afternoon, but lots of people were still there. I don't know how many birds nest at the park, but already a dove has laid eggs in my oak tree over the driveway. I noticed when I retrieved the dumpster last week that an egg had fallen out and was on the ground. Doves build very sloppy nests, but God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

2 Timothy 2:3
 

Endure suffering along with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 

And as Christ's soldier , do not let yourself become tied up

in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy  the

one who has enlisted you in his army. Follow the Lord's will

for doing his work. Just as an athlete either follows the

rules or is disqualified and wins no prize. Hardworking farmers

are the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Think about

what I am saying. The Lord will give you understanding of all 
these things....

`I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and 

eternal glory  to Christ Jesus  to those God has chosen.

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

Love and hugs,

 Amaryllis

Paul's Thanksgiving and Prayer

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! Lots of sunshine and just right temps, so this is another in a string of beautiful days!

We had a good service yesterday, including communion, but it was unusually long, so the parking lot had very few cars when I left. I drove on to the park, because I had planned to have Quiche Lorraine for lunch. so did not go to Boston Market. Lots of people were out, walking their dogs, or running or just walking, but the weather was just beautiful!

I have had some people experiences while waiting in line in various stores. While waiting behind a man, who had a heavy accent at the pharmacy in CVS, the young cashier could not understand him very well, and he proceeded to open all the products she was waiting for him to pay for, including meds in a bottle, which he poured in his hand! This took about ten minutes, so finally another pharmacist came to open another window to take me, but she was so interested in the conversation going on next to her, she didn't even hear me, so I just stood there until she realized I was waiting. The outcome was that she moved over to the conflict and switched places, so the inexperienced worker moved to me. BTW, the man ended up not taking anything they had ready for him, after rendering the meds useless because he had handled them. Sigh.

I gave a little jump while opening the mailbox Saturday, because a lizard jumped on my hand when I opened it. I am not afraid of lizards, but he startled me! They really like my mailbox and sometimes I find eggs in it where mama lizard has dropped them. Not a good place, but God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Philippians 1:6

And I am sure that God who began the good work within you. will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.

It's right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a very special place in my heart. We have shared together the blessings of God, both when I was in prison and when I was out, defending the truth and telling others the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. I pray that your love for each other will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand   what really matters so you may live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns . May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation--those good things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ --for this will bring much glory and praise to God!

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Isaiah 43

Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice in it!  Still damp and cloudy and last night the rain was coming down when I went to bed, so all in all, we got some nice rain that we really needed.

The sun actually came out later in the afternoon, but not for long...just long enough for me to go out to get some supper, and a trip to the park. Not many people at the park, less than a dozen cars, so rainy days mean people find indoor activities. It would have been a good day for the movies. 

However, because the Rays played under the dome, it did not affect the ball game. I must say I was not happy about the umpires' goof, in the ninth inning. Should have had instant replay on that play! Oh, well, God is still good! Have a happy weekend, everyone!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Isaiah 43:1-2

But now, O Israel, the Lord who created you  says: "Do not be afraid, 

for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name,

you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great

trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers

of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through

the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up, the flames

will not consume you...you are precious to me. You are 

honored, and I love you.

I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving

joy and love!

Love and hugs,

Amaryllis

Psoaring thru Psalm 57

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! I woke up to rain and was thankful. Also, my Times carrier was faithful to put the paper in the chair sheltered from the rain, as usual. I do not know who he is, but he goes the extra mile for me and I am grateful.

My cleaning ladies came yesterday, full of information about their activities and what is going on , places to eat, and so forth. They started their business about 14 years ago, and are next door neighbors, with one married and one single, but they are closer than most sisters, and do everything together. They seem to get along very well and do well with their business. I appreciate them. However, my pest control man did not make it before I had to go to my doctor's appointment. Guess I will hear from him in the future. It would help if I knew when he was coming, maybe I could schedule any dates around him...

I got to the library and loaded up on books again, then took a trip to the park, which had been freshly mowed. I did not see the gators, but saw the moor hens and and ibis. There were not too many people , but school was not out yet, when I was there. But God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:
 
 Psalm 57 :7-11

My heart is confident in you, O God;
no wonder I can sing your praises!
Wake up, my soul!
Wake up, O harp and lyre!
I will waken the dawn with my song.
I will thank you, Lord, in front of all the people.
I will sing your praises among the nations.
For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens.
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
May your glory shine over all the earth!

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

 Amaryllis

Holiness before Happiness

Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will be glad and rejoice in it! We had 80 degree temps yesterday and it looks like today will be more of the same! I have had the air on for the last couple of days and it has felt good. The house gets a little stuffy in the afternoons and we have had seventy for a low for a couple days.

Yesterday I had the yard man and today I have an appointment, the pest control guy, and my cleaning ladies coming, so it looks like a busy day shaping up! Which means taking time to pray more!

I arrived at the park yesterday in time to see the wet, shiny, big gator pull himself up on the bank near the weir. The other small one was still behind the cattails. Yesterday, while I was out talking to the Jason, after he mowed, a couple ibis came flying by, but one flew up in the oak tree where we were standing and just perched and looked at us. Evesdropping! But God is good!

From the little devotional book Knowing God:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.  Matthew 5:6

Because you are an imperfect human being, you are not 

"perfectly" happy--and that's perfectly okay with God. He is far less
concerned with your happiness than he is with your

holiness.

God continuously reveals himself in everyday life, but He does not do so in 

order to make you contented:

He does so in order to lead you to His Son. So don't be 

overly concerned with your current level of happiness; it will 

change. Be more concerned with the current state of your 

relationship with Christ. He does not change. And because your

Savior transcends time and space, you can be comforted in the 

knowledge that in the end, His joy will become your joy...for all

eternity.

                                     Great Thoughts

Sin will grow without sowing, but holiness needs cultivation.

I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with

thanksgiving, joy and love!

Love and hugs,

 Amaryllis

Romans 8:38

Good Morning, almost afternoon, 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 so late that I almost decided not to try to send a word this morning. 

My yard man was here and I was involved in talking to him about my well and the improvements he is going to make to my yard, so that took quite a while. I probably should have gotten up a lot earlier, but I never know when he is coming.

Well, I went to the park yesterday, and saw the gator who is partly hidden by a clump of cattails next to the bank by the weir. I don't think anyone notices him, because the tail is the only part of him that shows from the road. I drove on down and the contrast between the crowd that was there on Sunday and yesterday was marked! Very few people, even though spring break was still going on. But God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Romans 8:38-39

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate

us from his love. Death can't and life can't. The angels

can't and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our 

worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell
 can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high

above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all

creation will ever be able to separate us from the love

of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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

and love!

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis