True wisdom comes from God

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 clouds are in the sky this morning, but they are white and puffy and the dark ones don't usually show up until late afternoon.

I have noticed outside my window that the bluejays seem to really enjoy the berries on the large podacarpus hedge that belongs to the neighbors. I see them flying in and out all day. Of course, they like peanuts, too. I throw out nuts for the squirrels and before they can get one, a jay swoops in and it's gone! They are thieves!

After doing some chores around the house yesterday, I took a little ride over to the park and caught a glimpse of a roseate spoonbill way down the canal near the entrance ...a beautiful spot of pink against the greens and grays of the foliage. In all the years I have walked the park, maybe twenty or more, this is the first year that they have shown up. I have seen huge gators mating, caught a snake on the boardwalk and watched baby hawks mature and leave the nest, but never have I seen the spoonbills until just this year. God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

James 3:12-18
If you are wise and understand God's ways ,
live a life of steady goodness so that only
good deeds will pour forth. And if you don't
brag about the good you do, then you will
be truly wise! But if you are bitterly jealous
and there is selfish ambition in your hearts,
don't brag about being wise. That is the worst
kind of lie. For jealousy and selfishness are not
God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly,
unspiritual and motivated by the Devil. For
wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition,
there you will find disorder and every kind of evil.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first
of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all
times, and willing to yield to others. It's full of mercy
and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always
sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant
seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Psoaring thru Psalms

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! Clouds and sunshine are on tap for today and maybe rain later on this afternoon. But the breezes are ruffling the branches of the shrubs and breaking off small twigs on the trees. Soon my yard crew will be here and take care of the cleanup.

I had a quiet day yesterday. Unfortunately, time ran out on me, and I missed church...one of the first times. Guess I am just moving slower these days! Later on in the afternoon, I drove over to the Park and saw the roseate spoonbill in the middle of the mud in the canal. What a beauty! God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Psalm 119:1-8

Happy are people of integrity,
who follow the law of the Lord.
Happy are those who obey his decrees
and search for him with all their hearts.
They do not compromise with evil,
and they walk only in his paths.
You have charged us
to keep your commandments carefully.
Oh, that my actions would consistently
reflect your principles!
Then I will not be disgraced
when I compare my life with your commands.
When I learn your righteous laws,
I will thank you by living as I should!
I will obey your principles.
Please don't give up on me!

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! Lots of sun and some puffy, white clouds are greeting the day, but I still see glittering drops of rain on the shrubs and an occasional drip off the roof, from the rain last night. It was quite a thunderstorm, and since I did not have any place to go, I was snug in my house.

Well, I drove out to my dentist's yesterday, which is across town at Crosswinds. Saw some construction I had not seen before and passed a Shell station selling gas for 3.39 a gal.! I saw on FB that it is predicted to go as high as $10.00 a gal. due to the conflict in Iraq! I pray that does not happen!

My garage is empty right now, since my mechanic, Ray., came by to pick up the van and take it for servicing. What a convenience! He will bring it back at noon and swap for his SUV, which is in the driveway.I would not mind if he brought a Coney Island chili dog with him!

My across the street neighbor and cleaning lady took my dumpster down yesterday. I am so blessed with the helpful people around here and at church! God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:
Ephesians 3:14-23

Paul's prayer for Spiritual Empowering

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 his 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

Psoaring thru Psalms

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! Water is still dripping off the roof from last nights rains, but today is sunshiny and bright. Seems like the weather pattern is slowly changing though with the storms coming later. The weather report said that the rains will come earlier over the weekend...that's the way it always is...

I ran some errands yesterday and then went to the park and saw an anhinga at the weir and the usual ibis and egrets in the canal which is really overgrown now.  On my way home, I saw and osprey and anhinga perched on a telephone wire at Lynch Lake Park. God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Psalm 128

How happy are those who fear the Lord---
all who follow his ways!
You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.
How happy you will be! How rich your life!
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine,
flourishing within your home.
And look at all those children!
There they sit around your table as vigorous
and healthy as young olive trees.
That is the Lord's reward for those who fear him.

May the Lord continually bless you from Zion.
May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live.
May you live to enjoy your grandchildren and
may Israel have quietness and peace.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Planning

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 probably more rumbles in the evening again, but so far, we have not had rain in this area for the past few days. However, the grass is growing fast and the staghorn fern is enormous! It loves the rain!

I had to leave my cleaning ladies to keep an appointment with my podiatrist yesterday afternoon, because it was my regular visit, but I also had a very sore spot on the bottom of my left foot. Turns out I had a tiny sliver of glass embedded in my foot, which had become infected! He put a needle in to deaden it, and dug out the glass. My foot felt much better immediately, but is still very tender. I think a tiny piece of glass from a broken plate must have slipped into my slipper and got into my foot. The plate had slipped out of the cabinet when I was putting dishes up one day last week and shattered into a hundred pieces or so! Anyway, it was good to get that taken care of.

This morning I took time to watch the Celebration of Anne Dwyer's career with Channel 13 Fox. She has been a favorite of mine for 28 years and this was her last day as she is retiring.  I wish her the best!

After I left the doctor's office, yesterday, I thought I deserved a treat, so drove to Steak and Shake to get a Happy Hour milkshake, then took it to the park and sat in the shade to slurp it. Problem was; it was so thick I could not suck it through the straw. But I enjoyed looking at the very large gopher tortoise as he headed into his burrow, and the ibis and egrets pecking in the mud in the canal, which is now very low on water. But God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

How am I supposed to plan my life?

Proverbs 2:1-11
My child, listen to me and treasure my instructions. Tune your
ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for
insight and understanding. Search for them as you would for lost money
or hidden treasure. Then you will understand what it means to fear
the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of  God. For the Lord grants
wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He
grants a treasure of good sense to the godly. He is their shield, 
protecting those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of justice
and protects those who are faithful to him. Then you will understand
what is right, just and fair, and you will know how to find the right course
of action every time. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge
will fill you with joy. Wise planning will watch over you. Understanding will
keep you safe.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Comfort

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 this morning with the thundershowers moving to late afternoon, although we did not get a drop yesterday.

Well, I spent a lot of time on the phone yesterday, moving appointments around. I did not go to the dentist after all, since I had another plumbing problem and had to wait for Inman's to get here  Looks like I may or may not, have to have the Orangeburg pipe replaced. Depending on what the city says. The blockage may be on the city line and not mine. Sigh." This old house", as Rosemary Clooney used to sing. One repair after another! Now, My doorbell does not work any more!

So...all I did yesterday was laundry and wait; but I did get to notice squirrels and birds in my own yard, so wildlife is always near. God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT, God offers comfort to all:

2nd Corinthians 1:3-7

All praise to the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy
and the God who comforts us. He comforts us
in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.
When others are troubled, we will be able to give
them the same comfort God has given us. You can
 be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more
God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
 So when we are weighed down with troubles, it is
for your benefit and salvation! For when God comforts
us, it is so that we, in turn, can be an encouragement
to you. Then you can patiently endure the same things
we suffer. We are confident that as you share in
suffering, you will also share God's comfort.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Psoaring thru Psalm 90

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 sun this morning and no rain yesterday, although I heard rumbles in the distance last night. But it is already up to 80 and will get much warmer as the day goes on.

We had a lively service yesterday with dedication of all the VBS workers and the O Happy Day song from several years ago. That's one I want sung at my Celebration of Life service whenever that time comes! It was a good Sunday with lots of hugs and chats with friends!

Well, this afternoon I have a dental appointment with Danielle, my teeth cleaner. She is so nice, married, with a little girl. I don't think I would like the job of looking down in the mouths of so many people and poking around and cleaning, but she does a good job.

Well, I saw where former Pres. George H. W. Bush did another tandem jump on he 90th birthday, and I had in the back of my mind that I would like to do that, but after looking up the procedure on the internet, I have changed my mind...all day prep, instructions, high altitude and good physical condition, (although the former Prez cannot walk). And the cost is a little too high just to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.  Sigh. Should have done it when I was younger.

I saw an egret stretching its neck to get something in the water at the Park yesterday, and the gopher tortoise was being examined by a little girl and her dad. Then, As I was leaving, I stopped to let a moss covered, wet, snapping turtle cross the road from the weir side to the lake side. As soon as he passed in front of me, he stopped and stretched out his long, snakelike neck! God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Psalm 90

Lord, through all the generations
You have been our home!
Before the mountains were created,
before you made the earth and the world,
you are God, without beginning or end.

You turn people back to dust, saying,
"Return to dust!".
For you, a thousand years are like yesterday!
They are like a few hours!
You sweep people away like dreams that disappear
or like grass that springs up in the morning....

You spread out our sins before you---
our secret sins---and you see them all
We live our lives beneath your wrath.
We end our lives with a groan.

 Seventy years are given to us!
Some may even reach eighty.
 But even the best of these years are filled
with pain and trouble;
soon they disappear, and we are gone....
Teach us to make the most of our time,
so that we may grow in wisdom.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis