Colossians

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!  The sun is shining now, very brightly, but we had a good downpour about 5 or 6 this morning. I woke up and heard it just pouring and was so content to go on back to sleep to the sound of rain!

My paper carrier, who is still putting the Times in the chair on the front porch, did the same this morning, and even though the paper was sitting in a puddle in the chair, it was dry, because he had knotted the end of the wrapper. He is the best carrier I have ever had. Much improved over the one who used to throw it on the roof!

Well, we had a little excitement the next block over late yesterday. When I drove out to go to the park, the street was blocked off by a police cruiser, and I could see a lot of cars plus cop cars further down the street. They remained there for quite some time, but I still do not know what was going on. Whatever it was, was pretty serious. Maybe I will find out sometime.

I went on to the quiet park and saw anhingas, a few people, lots of squirrels, and lots of shade, greenery, and peacefulness. God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Colossians 1:9

So we have continued praying for you ever
since we first heard about you. We ask God to
give you a complete understanding of what he
wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you
wise with spiritual wisdom. Then the way you
live will always honor and please the Lord, and
you will continually do good kind things for others.
All the while you will learn to know God better and better.

We also pray that you will be strengthened with his
glorious power so that you will have all the patience
and endurance that you need. May you be filled with
joy, always thanking the Father, who has enabled
you to share the inheritance that belongs to God's
holy people, who live in the light. For he has rescued
us from the one who rules in the kingdom  of darkness
and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son.
God has purchased our freedom with his blood and
has forgiven all our sins.

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

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis

Love is the Greatest

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 understood rain was forecast for today, but, once again, we have sunshine and a slight wind. Well, maybe we will get the much needed rain later on.

It was a good weekend, with a stop at one of my favorite shopping places Saturday, and then, in the early afternoon, Brian and I drove to Clearwater where we had dinner with old friends and shared a wonderful time of eating delicious food and swapping stories of old friends and old times. It is always good to reconnect with friends from many years ago!

Then, Yesterday, after a good worship time, I attended the Cong. meeting at church, which ended with a time of confession, thanksgiving , and group prayer. It was very special. I was in a group which included good friends and powerful prayer partners! I was blessed!

As I drove various places over the weekend, I could not help enjoying the beauty of the jacaranda trees all over town. Some of the blooms were in great clusters and as they fell, they covered the ground and anything else under them. I remember visiting Louis on the fifth floor of Bayfront Hospital, looking out the window and seeing lavender blooms all over town from the high up perch.

I also drove to the park saw turtles, an anhinga, which I also saw at Lynch Lake, lots of squirrels, and the usual ibis. It was a beautiful time for enjoying nature's beauties! God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous
or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not
demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and
its keeps no record of when it has been wronged.
It is never glad about injustice but rejoices when-
ever the truth wins out. Love never gives up; never
loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through
every circumstance.

Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in
unknown languages and special knowledge will all
disappear. Now we know only a little and even the
gift of prophecy  reveals little! But when the end comes
these special gifts will all disappear....

There are three things that will endure- faith , hope
and love-and the greatest of these is love.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Love

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! More sun and more warm temps today;just another is a string of near perfect weather.
 
I did not see the pink moon last night nor the planet arrangement. I tried but apparently there was too much haze , although I saw several photos on FB last night from locals, so I know it was visible from other places. I just know I had difficulty sleeping. Sometimes the full moon causes that!

I took a trip across town out to Macy's yesterday, right after lunch, and it must have been good timing, because after circling up and down the rows a couple times, I found a perfect parking space almost right in front of the doors, leading into the cosmetic counters which was my destination. The sales associate who latched onto me by asking my name and giving up on the first name, decided to call me by my last name, was very chatty with a fast southern accent and sold me on some things I did not come in to buy. However, what I bought, I will use, and I had not been there in a long time. BTW, I received a call from her a few minutes ago, thanking me for coming in and assuring me she would be glad to help me in the future. I predict she will reach her sales goal, if she has one!

On my way across town, I appreciated the beauty of several jacaranda trees in full bloom! They are lovely and messy when the blossoms fall.

I have heard so many bird calls when I step outside here at home. Maybe because of the long winter up north, they have decided to stay awhile here. I stopped in at the park and saw the larger birds there...the anhinga, the egret and the ibis, all looking very busy with the business of eating! God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

1 Corinthians 13:6

If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth, but
didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless
noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the
gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future
 and knew everything about everything, but didn't love
others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith
so that I could speak to a mountain  and make it move,
without love I would be no good to anybody. If I gave every-
thing I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I
could boast about it, but if I didn't love others, I would be of
no value whatsoever....

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Paul's 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! This is the start of another beautiful day, with sunshine and breezes and cooler temps. Still very few clouds in the sky!

Well, my house is almost completely lizard free! When Cheryl and Kim,. my cleaning ladies came, I discovered that Kim is the intrepid lizard hunter, while Cheryl screeches, because she does not want them to jump on her! So, Kim cleared out three in the bedrooms and I still think there is one in the kitchen, but I can deal with that, just so he stays there and not in my room! I think they must come in when I open the front door, because they always hang out around the mailbox.

The ladies did not come until almost 2:30 which is late for them, so after they left, I went to the library, and exchanged books. I thought libraries were supposed to be quiet...not so, with this one yesterday! A small child was screaming for his daddy, and other children were making noise as if they were home. Since the children's section is right in front of check out, I think the workers get their ears full. Just wait until this summer when school is out!
But it is good to get the children acquainted with books and good stories. I know my guys always were interested in reading and we made regular trips to the library to get lots of books.

After I left the library, I made a trip to the park. An anhinga was fluffing his feathers on the weir and ibis were busy pecking along the grass. I noticed that the mowers were there a couple days ago and instead of leaving the tall weeds in between the trees, everything was mowed down for a change. It looked good! When I came back by Lynch Lake, a very big pelican was sitting over a drainage pipe. That is unusual, because they rarely show up there! But God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Ephesians 3:14-21
When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan,
 I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of
everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His
glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty
inner strength through His Holy Spirit.  And I pray that
Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as
you trust in him. May your roots go down  deep into the
soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power
to understand as all God's people should, how wide, how
long, how high and how deep  this love really is. May you
experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will
never fully understand it , Then you will be filled with the
fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within
us, he is able to accomplish  infinitely more than we would
ever dare to ask or hope. May he be given glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages.
Amen

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Priorities

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 a little cooler weather today, but still lots of sunshine and few clouds. No rain in sight for the rest of the week, I guess.

Yesterday, my yard man came and mowed. He said he would be coming every week from now on through the summer. I don't think the grass is growing that much, but the edging and trimming helps keep it looking neat.even though I don't have much grass. Whenever he gets the pipe laid and the well going, and the sod laid, then maybe I will have a nice lawn again. Lot of "whens" there!

I did not see the gator on the bank yesterday, but noticed lots of turtles lined up along the banks of the canal. Since they are black, they are easily overlooked. Also, an anhinga was perched on the weir just looking around.

I have almost as many anoles inside my house, as outside, I have noticed lately. There is one almost dead on the bedroom floor, and one on the north window of the same bedroom.Then when I went to the kitchen last night, there was one on the cabinet door. The last I saw of him, he was on the counter hiding behind a jar, Anyway, God is good!

From the little devotional book Knowing God:
 
 Keep your priorities in line with God's priorities;
Come near to God and God will come near to you.
You sinners, clean sin out of your lives . You who are
trying to follow God and the world at the same time,
make your thinking pure. James 4:8 NCV

Have you fervently asked God to prioritize your life?
Have you asked him for guidance and for the courage to
do the things that you know need to be done? If so, then
you're continually inviting your Creator to reveal himself
in a variety of ways. As a follower of Christ, you must do
no less.

When you make God's priorities your priorities, you will
receive God's abundance and His peace. When you make
God a full partner in every aspect of your life, He will lead
you along the proper path : His path. When you allow God
to reign over your heart, He will honor you with spiritual
blessings that are simply too numerous to count. So, as you
plan for the day ahead, make God's will your ultimate
priority. When you do, every other priority will have a tendency
to fall neatly into place.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Phlipping thru Philippians

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 another sunshiny day with temps expected to get up to the high eighties this afternoon, so we are back to summer!

I kept my dentist appointment yesterday afternoon, and there was a big black cloud hanging overhead around the Mall area, but no rain. However, because of the overcast, the air was very nice. It turns out, that even though it feels to my tongue that I have a broken tooth, even after an x-ray, there is no sign of one, so I was out of there in thirty minutes, with no charge. I am due for a cleaning next month, so if the tooth is still bothering me, I am sure the hygienist will find out what is wrong.

When I drove over to the Mall afterwards, I had thought I would go in Macy's, but it seemed like such a big crowd was out, I decided to give up, so I headed on home and on the way, turned into the Park, and was happy to see the large gator up against the bank of the canal, waiting to climb up on the top, I think. I saw lots of squirrels running back and forth across the road, and a pretty white egret fishing in the canal. BTW, as far as wildlife goes, I have two large anoles residing in my bedroom now. I do not appreciate their boldness! I need my grandson to come down and capture them! But God is good and maybe he will keep them off the bed!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Philippians 4:5-9
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again-
rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate
in all you do. Remember the Lord is coming soon.

Don't worry about anything, instead pray about
everything. Tell God what you need and thank him
for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience
God's  peace which is far more wonderful than the
human mind can understand. His peace will guard
your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more
thing as I close this letter. Fix your  thoughts on what
is true and honorable . Think about things that are
excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into
practice all you learned  from me and heard from me
and saw me doing and the God of peace will be with you.

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

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis

Psoaring thru Psalm 19

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! From the water dripping off the roof, I would think we either had a heavy dew or rain last night. I didn't see any signs of rain on the porch floor, and just a couple big drips from the roof, so it could not have been much wetness, but we will take all we can get!

It is still overcast , though, so maybe we will get  some more sprinkles. I have a dentist appointment this afternoon, out near the Mall, so maybe it will rain then.

Yesterday, after church, and a meeting, I drove out to Boston Market and ordered their barbeque chicken, rib combo once more. I had it last week and the ribs were so good, I wanted to try it again. They also, have squash casserole, one of my favorites, so I ordered that again. Their servings are so generous, I have a plate all ready for tonight!

A little later, I drove over to the Park, (after watching the Rays sweep Oakland), and saw the plump gator curled up on the bank of the canal near the weir. An anhinga was sunning on the weir, not paying any attention to the gator. Then, as I was coming around the circle, a hawk swooped very low in front of the windshield, and I stopped and looked to see where he was going, but could not see for the trees. That was exciting! God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Psalm 19:9-14
Reverence for the Lord is pure lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.
They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.
They are a warning to those who hear them;
there is great reward for those who obey them.

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
Keep me from deliberate sins!
Don't let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.

May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

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

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis