Good morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the coolish day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! This must be our last brief visit from winter as we enjoy the cooler air this morning. This afternoon it will be quite warm again, though.
When I stepped outside earlier, the brilliant crescent moon was hanging low in the southeast and Venus was quite far away, higher in the south. But the skies were brilliant with stars, so today is already sunny and beautiful! God is good!
When I walked out to see the baby gators yesterday, already a few people were there. I watched two of the babies walk on the dry land, (muddy) and then stop. Three were together and two were separate at the edge of the shelter. I am wondering why Mama gator is not visible anywhere, because they usually stay very close to the babes. I saw a large gator come swimming toward the shelter, but I don't think she was the Mama. She would not have left them so far off.
I stopped and talked to Steve, the naturalist, who was expecting 58 second graders to come for a tour. Francia already had a class she was instructing. Steve said he prefers older students, because second graders don't focus for long and can't remember what they have been told. I told him I had the same problem a lot of times, and he laughed and said he did too. :o) Life 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 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 filed 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 wold 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, love and joy!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Matthew 6:34
Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the overcast day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! When I stepped outside this morning, the clouds were glowing from the city lights, but no sign of the moon or stars, because of the cloud cover. It really looks like winter outside, but the weather is warm!
Lots of people were taking advantage of the warm, windy weather yesterday at the Park, I would rather walk early in the morning, when just the regulars are out, but one day I was following behind a father and his two children, a boy about three and a girl about five.
Dad and daughter, who was talking non-stop, were walking ahead of the little boy, who was unaware that I had caught up with him and was walking beside him. I was thinking how cute he was, just trudging along by himself, so I spoke to him about what a long ways he had walked and he looked at me and then he started talking . I couldn't understand what he was saying, but Papa turned around and started to pay attention to his son, then. You can never be too careful, even on a boardwalk, in the Park.
But, anyway, all was quiet yesterday. Two anhingas were on the ground drying out their wings, and we saw two peacocks posing in front of a blue garage door, on our way in. God is good!
From Quiet Moments with God:
The Worry Tree
"Do not worry about tomorrow. For tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
There was a man, who, at the end of each workday, would visit an old tree in his front yard before entering his home. As he passed the tree, he would reach out to gently touch the trunk and branches.
He did this so he could mentally "hang his troubles" on the branches so that he would not take them inside to his wife and children. He left his troubles with the assumption that if the problems were important, they would still be hanging there when he came out the next morning. But many mornings, he found they had disappeared.
Of course, hanging your troubles on the worry tree is not always easy.
In his book "Still Married, Still Sober," David Mackenzie describes another practical method for remembering to cast one's cares on God:
To act out the principle of turning prayers over to God, we took a paper bag, wrote "God" on it, and taped it up high on the back of our kitchen door. As I prayed about matters such as my career, my role as a father, my abilities to be a good husband, I would write down each concern on a piece of paper. Then those pieces of paper would go in the bag. The rule was that if you start worrying about a matter of prayer that you've turned over to God, you have to climb up on a chair and fish it out of the bag. I don't want to admit how much time I spent sifting through those scraps of paper."
Using God as your "Worry Tree" takes practice, but it's a skill worth developing. And your effort will be rewarded with the peace of knowing God is with you, ready to handle you're heavy load-if you will only let Him.
Worry is like a rocking chair.
It gives you something
to do, but doesn't get you
anywhere.
Bernard Meltzer
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Lots of people were taking advantage of the warm, windy weather yesterday at the Park, I would rather walk early in the morning, when just the regulars are out, but one day I was following behind a father and his two children, a boy about three and a girl about five.
Dad and daughter, who was talking non-stop, were walking ahead of the little boy, who was unaware that I had caught up with him and was walking beside him. I was thinking how cute he was, just trudging along by himself, so I spoke to him about what a long ways he had walked and he looked at me and then he started talking . I couldn't understand what he was saying, but Papa turned around and started to pay attention to his son, then. You can never be too careful, even on a boardwalk, in the Park.
But, anyway, all was quiet yesterday. Two anhingas were on the ground drying out their wings, and we saw two peacocks posing in front of a blue garage door, on our way in. God is good!
From Quiet Moments with God:
The Worry Tree
"Do not worry about tomorrow. For tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
There was a man, who, at the end of each workday, would visit an old tree in his front yard before entering his home. As he passed the tree, he would reach out to gently touch the trunk and branches.
He did this so he could mentally "hang his troubles" on the branches so that he would not take them inside to his wife and children. He left his troubles with the assumption that if the problems were important, they would still be hanging there when he came out the next morning. But many mornings, he found they had disappeared.
Of course, hanging your troubles on the worry tree is not always easy.
In his book "Still Married, Still Sober," David Mackenzie describes another practical method for remembering to cast one's cares on God:
To act out the principle of turning prayers over to God, we took a paper bag, wrote "God" on it, and taped it up high on the back of our kitchen door. As I prayed about matters such as my career, my role as a father, my abilities to be a good husband, I would write down each concern on a piece of paper. Then those pieces of paper would go in the bag. The rule was that if you start worrying about a matter of prayer that you've turned over to God, you have to climb up on a chair and fish it out of the bag. I don't want to admit how much time I spent sifting through those scraps of paper."
Using God as your "Worry Tree" takes practice, but it's a skill worth developing. And your effort will be rewarded with the peace of knowing God is with you, ready to handle you're heavy load-if you will only let Him.
Worry is like a rocking chair.
It gives you something
to do, but doesn't get you
anywhere.
Bernard Meltzer
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Monday, April 28, 2008
Reputation
Good morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! A little late this morning, because of a sleepyhead in the family! This is the beautiful day the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! When I stepped outside this morning, I could not see the moon or stars, because of overcast skies, but looks like they have blown over and we won't get the rain we need.
Our pump is primed and ready to turn on tomorrow, though, so the grass and shrubs will be watered. Our staghorn fern, which is huge, broke one of its chains, so, our friend Terry, came over Sat. night after he closed the Park, and put a new chain on it and raised it up on the limb of the tree it hangs on. We are blessed to have such good friends!
When I walked Saturday, I stopped to watch the baby gators swim about in the oily looking water from an air boat which had just passed by up the canal. The air boat was going very slowly, but still disturbed everything. Sometimes they use it to clear out the water lilies, which are a nuisance plant, but I hadn't noticed many this year. But God is good!
From the Promise Bible:
Does God care about my reputation?
Colossians 3:23-24
"Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ."
What matters most is not what others think of us, but what God thinks of us. When we seek to please the Lord, he will give us favor with others.
What is the basis for my reputation?
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 "God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who make us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom. As the Scriptures say, "The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what the Lord has done."
Ultimately, we should be known not for what we have done but for what the Lord has done for us. We are "exhibit A" of God's greatness and goodness.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Our pump is primed and ready to turn on tomorrow, though, so the grass and shrubs will be watered. Our staghorn fern, which is huge, broke one of its chains, so, our friend Terry, came over Sat. night after he closed the Park, and put a new chain on it and raised it up on the limb of the tree it hangs on. We are blessed to have such good friends!
When I walked Saturday, I stopped to watch the baby gators swim about in the oily looking water from an air boat which had just passed by up the canal. The air boat was going very slowly, but still disturbed everything. Sometimes they use it to clear out the water lilies, which are a nuisance plant, but I hadn't noticed many this year. But God is good!
From the Promise Bible:
Does God care about my reputation?
Colossians 3:23-24
"Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ."
What matters most is not what others think of us, but what God thinks of us. When we seek to please the Lord, he will give us favor with others.
What is the basis for my reputation?
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 "God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who make us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom. As the Scriptures say, "The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what the Lord has done."
Ultimately, we should be known not for what we have done but for what the Lord has done for us. We are "exhibit A" of God's greatness and goodness.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Friday, April 25, 2008
Guidance
Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the beautiful day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it!
When I stepped outside this morning, the waning three quarter moon was brilliantly shining through some clouds and then they were gone, so Venus and Mr. Moon had the sky to themselves, ( along with billions of other stars.)
Yesterday I had a surprise when I walked to the first covered shelter... five baby gators were swimming around just below the platform, and a very large gator was sunning on the bank across the canal. The reason for the surprise is that this is totally not the season for babies. Maybe due to the warm winter the gators felt romantic and rushed the season. Usually June is egg-laying time. Francia said she heard that baby gators have hatched out at Boyd Hill Nature Park, as well.
When I walked on to the tower, the ospreys were circling again, but I didn't see them hover. Then, another surprise! As I looked down at the old gator nest, a catbird flashed by, almost hidden by the heavy shrubbery. God is Awesome!
From the Promise Bible, NLT:
How can I experience God's Guidance?
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths."
The first step in guidance is knowing where to put your trust. Travelers rely on maps when visiting new places. In the same way, we must trust God to lead us and realize our own limitations. We do not understand all the complexities of life, but the Lord does.
Matthew 7:7-11 "Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. You Parents-if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him?"
God invites us to pray so that we will know him more fully as our loving Father and understand ourselves more clearly as well. Even as a parent gives more and more responsibility to a child as he or she grows, so the Lord expects us to take responsibility for seeding and following his direction.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
When I stepped outside this morning, the waning three quarter moon was brilliantly shining through some clouds and then they were gone, so Venus and Mr. Moon had the sky to themselves, ( along with billions of other stars.)
Yesterday I had a surprise when I walked to the first covered shelter... five baby gators were swimming around just below the platform, and a very large gator was sunning on the bank across the canal. The reason for the surprise is that this is totally not the season for babies. Maybe due to the warm winter the gators felt romantic and rushed the season. Usually June is egg-laying time. Francia said she heard that baby gators have hatched out at Boyd Hill Nature Park, as well.
When I walked on to the tower, the ospreys were circling again, but I didn't see them hover. Then, another surprise! As I looked down at the old gator nest, a catbird flashed by, almost hidden by the heavy shrubbery. God is Awesome!
From the Promise Bible, NLT:
How can I experience God's Guidance?
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths."
The first step in guidance is knowing where to put your trust. Travelers rely on maps when visiting new places. In the same way, we must trust God to lead us and realize our own limitations. We do not understand all the complexities of life, but the Lord does.
Matthew 7:7-11 "Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. You Parents-if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him?"
God invites us to pray so that we will know him more fully as our loving Father and understand ourselves more clearly as well. Even as a parent gives more and more responsibility to a child as he or she grows, so the Lord expects us to take responsibility for seeding and following his direction.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Your Shining Light
Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is another beautiful day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! I slept a little later this morning, and when I stepped outside the dawn was already beginning to break, but the lopsided moon was still shining brightly, trying to outshine the sun!
Yesterday we saw two peacocks on the way in to the park, but their very long tails were drooping and they were not showing off.
I walked a little ways on the bridge and down the sidewalk and met the two Marks, who were on the trash run before quitting time. They offered to take me down the sidewalk a ways, so I could walk back. I thought it was a good idea, except I would have to sit in a dumpster. :o)
I enjoyed watching the tilapia make little circles in the water as they swim back and forth over there nests and guarded their eggs. God is good!
From the little book Knowing God (Two Minutes a Day):
"It is God's will that your good lives should silence those who make foolish accusations against you. You are not slaves, you are free. But your freedom is not an excuse to do evil. You are free to live as God's slaves."
1 Peter 2:15-16 NLT
All of us are examples-examples that should be emulated... or not. Hopefully the lives we lead and the choices we make will serve as enduring examples of the spiritual abundance that is available to all who worship God and obey His commandments.
Ask yourself this question; Are you the kind of role model that you would want to emulate? If so, congratulations. But if certain aspects of your behavior could stand improvement, the best day to begin your self-improvement regimen is this one. Because whether you realize it or not, people you love are watching your behavior, and they're learning how to live. You owe it to them-and to yourself-to live righteously and well.
Living life with a consistent spiritual walk deeply influences those we love most.
Vonette Bright
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Yesterday we saw two peacocks on the way in to the park, but their very long tails were drooping and they were not showing off.
I walked a little ways on the bridge and down the sidewalk and met the two Marks, who were on the trash run before quitting time. They offered to take me down the sidewalk a ways, so I could walk back. I thought it was a good idea, except I would have to sit in a dumpster. :o)
I enjoyed watching the tilapia make little circles in the water as they swim back and forth over there nests and guarded their eggs. God is good!
From the little book Knowing God (Two Minutes a Day):
"It is God's will that your good lives should silence those who make foolish accusations against you. You are not slaves, you are free. But your freedom is not an excuse to do evil. You are free to live as God's slaves."
1 Peter 2:15-16 NLT
All of us are examples-examples that should be emulated... or not. Hopefully the lives we lead and the choices we make will serve as enduring examples of the spiritual abundance that is available to all who worship God and obey His commandments.
Ask yourself this question; Are you the kind of role model that you would want to emulate? If so, congratulations. But if certain aspects of your behavior could stand improvement, the best day to begin your self-improvement regimen is this one. Because whether you realize it or not, people you love are watching your behavior, and they're learning how to live. You owe it to them-and to yourself-to live righteously and well.
Living life with a consistent spiritual walk deeply influences those we love most.
Vonette Bright
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Good morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the beautiful day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it!
When I stepped out in the cool air this morning, the football shaped moon was beaming brightly in the cloudless sky and birds were already singing. It promises to be another lovely day!
Right in our own neighborhood yesterday, I watched two pelicans splash down in the lake near here and dive after their dinner, then a hawk took off swooping across the lake! This is the time of year for mating and nesting and that seems to be true of gators, also. I saw the story of the 8 and a half foot gator that broke through a screen and made himself at home in the kitchen of a lady's condo. Guess he was looking for gator bait!!
We saw a beautiful great white heron glide gracefully over to a lake at the park and many squirrels were happily digging for acorns in the grass. God is good!
This is a repeat of My Morning Prayer that a friend gave me years ago:
"Oh, God, for another day, for another morning, for another hour,
for another minute, for another chance to live and serve Thee, I am truly grateful."
Do Thou this day free me
from all fear of the future
from all bitterness toward anyone
from all cowardice in face of danger
from all laziness in face of work
from all failure before opportunity
from all weakness when Thy power is at hand.
But fill me
with Love that knows no barrier
with Sympathy that reaches all
with Courage that cannot be shaken
with Faith strong enough for darkness
with Strength sufficient for my tasks
with Loyalty to Thy Kingdom Goal
with Power to lift me to Thee.
Be Thou with me for another day and use me as Thou will for Christ's sake, I pray.
Amen
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
love and hugs,
Amaryllis
When I stepped out in the cool air this morning, the football shaped moon was beaming brightly in the cloudless sky and birds were already singing. It promises to be another lovely day!
Right in our own neighborhood yesterday, I watched two pelicans splash down in the lake near here and dive after their dinner, then a hawk took off swooping across the lake! This is the time of year for mating and nesting and that seems to be true of gators, also. I saw the story of the 8 and a half foot gator that broke through a screen and made himself at home in the kitchen of a lady's condo. Guess he was looking for gator bait!!
We saw a beautiful great white heron glide gracefully over to a lake at the park and many squirrels were happily digging for acorns in the grass. God is good!
This is a repeat of My Morning Prayer that a friend gave me years ago:
"Oh, God, for another day, for another morning, for another hour,
for another minute, for another chance to live and serve Thee, I am truly grateful."
Do Thou this day free me
from all fear of the future
from all bitterness toward anyone
from all cowardice in face of danger
from all laziness in face of work
from all failure before opportunity
from all weakness when Thy power is at hand.
But fill me
with Love that knows no barrier
with Sympathy that reaches all
with Courage that cannot be shaken
with Faith strong enough for darkness
with Strength sufficient for my tasks
with Loyalty to Thy Kingdom Goal
with Power to lift me to Thee.
Be Thou with me for another day and use me as Thou will for Christ's sake, I pray.
Amen
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Cruisin' thru Colossians
Good morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the gorgeous day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it!
When I stepped outside early this morning, the moon with just a tiny bit of the side gone, was shining brilliantly in the southwestern sky with not a cloud in sight. It was almost out beaming the stars!
What a great walk I had yesterday! I came upon the first covered shelter and heard the raucous cry of a bird. Curious, and not recognizing the call, I looked up, and in a dead tree, an osprey was busily snacking on a fish which was being held down by one claw, while he crowed about it to anyone listening. Fortunately, I was far enough away to escape the fall-out when he eliminated the part he had already eaten. It landed on the roof of the shelter! Whew! Close! Not a pretty sight!
I went on to the tower and there were four ospreys soaring and gliding around, and, yes, I saw the hovering! And as I came back to the shelter, there was a large gator sunning himself on the bank, and the osprey was still eating his fish! God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
Colossians 1:9... Paul's prayer
"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 you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father, who enables 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
When I stepped outside early this morning, the moon with just a tiny bit of the side gone, was shining brilliantly in the southwestern sky with not a cloud in sight. It was almost out beaming the stars!
What a great walk I had yesterday! I came upon the first covered shelter and heard the raucous cry of a bird. Curious, and not recognizing the call, I looked up, and in a dead tree, an osprey was busily snacking on a fish which was being held down by one claw, while he crowed about it to anyone listening. Fortunately, I was far enough away to escape the fall-out when he eliminated the part he had already eaten. It landed on the roof of the shelter! Whew! Close! Not a pretty sight!
I went on to the tower and there were four ospreys soaring and gliding around, and, yes, I saw the hovering! And as I came back to the shelter, there was a large gator sunning himself on the bank, and the osprey was still eating his fish! God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
Colossians 1:9... Paul's prayer
"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 you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father, who enables 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
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