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 another beautiful day leading up to Easter Sunday, which will also be a beautiful day because of the meaning of that day. O Happy Day!
Yesterday was a quiet day for me, spent doing some chores around the house. There is always something to do, which I don't usually get done because of reading. When I did go out, I noticed the baby osprey in the nest on top of the field light pole at Sawgrass Elem. It looks almost big enough to leave the nest, now. Also, the birds have really been noisy. Seems like a lot of them are chirping and singing. they love the weather, too! God is good!
Last evening I attended a very moving Maundy Thursday service at church, which was very solemn with scripture reading and a message and then communion. We saw a video depicting Christ's crucifixion which brought me to tears because of the thought that Christ suffered agonies because of my sins! But then came Sunday!!
Luke 22:14 -24 NLT:
Then at the proper time Jesus and the twelve apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, "I have looked forward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won't eat it again unitl it comes to fulfillment in the Kingdom of God."
Then he took a cup of wine, and when he had given thanks for it, he said, "Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come."
Then he took a loaf of bread; and when he had thanked God for it, he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." After supper he took another cup of wine and said, "This wine is the token of God's new covenant to save you--an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you."
But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. For I, the Son of Man, must die since it is part of God's plan. But how terrible it will be for my betrayer!" Then the disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing...
We will hear the rest of the story Sunday at church. What a glorious morning that will be!!
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Psoaring thru Psalm 139
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! It's Maundy Thursday and the sky is blue with just a few light, puffy clouds scudding across the sky..looks like another beautiful day.
I had an interesting day yesterday, with some surprises in it. You just never know what God has planned for you each day, so it's kind of fun to see what happens. When I went to Publix, I was surprised to see a very old friend from St. James's days, so we chatted a bit and caught up on our families. and I saw another old friend, but not to speak to. Then, later on, A cousin called me from California. I had not heard from him since probably we were both pre-teens! Now, that's a long time!! He found me on Facebook, so that social network can do some good after all!
After that, my friends, and neighbor ladies came to clean the house, so I caught them up on my Not So Great Adventure #4. They are always interested in what goes on with me. One of them, Cheryl, looks after me and almost called me at 11 night before last to tell me my porch light was not on. I had forgotten to turn it on. She always warns me to lock my doors and wear my home companion button. I am blessed to have people looking out for me!! God is good!
I had asked God to direct me in the scripture for today, and when I opened my Bible it fell open to the one I had decided on;
Psalm 139:1-6, 23-24 NLT
O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my every thought when far away.
You chart the path ahead of me
and tell me where to stop and rest.Every moment you know where I am.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
You both precede and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to know!
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path
of everlasting life.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
I had an interesting day yesterday, with some surprises in it. You just never know what God has planned for you each day, so it's kind of fun to see what happens. When I went to Publix, I was surprised to see a very old friend from St. James's days, so we chatted a bit and caught up on our families. and I saw another old friend, but not to speak to. Then, later on, A cousin called me from California. I had not heard from him since probably we were both pre-teens! Now, that's a long time!! He found me on Facebook, so that social network can do some good after all!
After that, my friends, and neighbor ladies came to clean the house, so I caught them up on my Not So Great Adventure #4. They are always interested in what goes on with me. One of them, Cheryl, looks after me and almost called me at 11 night before last to tell me my porch light was not on. I had forgotten to turn it on. She always warns me to lock my doors and wear my home companion button. I am blessed to have people looking out for me!! God is good!
I had asked God to direct me in the scripture for today, and when I opened my Bible it fell open to the one I had decided on;
Psalm 139:1-6, 23-24 NLT
O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my every thought when far away.
You chart the path ahead of me
and tell me where to stop and rest.Every moment you know where I am.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
You both precede and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to know!
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path
of everlasting life.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Encouragement
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! Today is Wednesday and Then Came Sunday!! What a wonderful day that will be!
We have much the same weather we had yesterday, so no surprises there. Windy and warm. Sunshine and beautiful. I know there is another stormy front going across the country, including Tenn, today, so I have prayed for safety for my family there.
Yesterday morning, I was feeling not so good..I think because of the busy day Monday. I tried to do too much. But I started feeling better in the afternoon, so I went to the park and enjoyed watching the squirrels scampering. I noticed on my walk the other day, that the squirrels are now so used to people feeding them, they expect it. One of them stopped right in front of me, sitting with its little paws folded and looking so cute, but I never bring anything for them, because it's bad for them to be fed unnatural stuff. And, it's against the rules of the park.
But I also went shopping, so you know I was feeling better, :o) God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
What do I do when I feel overwhelmed?
Colossians 1:11-14 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 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.
Our encouragement comes from what God has done for us. He has given us the power to be patient and persistent and to keep our minds set on the great hope that awaits us. When we remember that we are already free, the problems of this world lose much of their power over us.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs, Amaryllis
We have much the same weather we had yesterday, so no surprises there. Windy and warm. Sunshine and beautiful. I know there is another stormy front going across the country, including Tenn, today, so I have prayed for safety for my family there.
Yesterday morning, I was feeling not so good..I think because of the busy day Monday. I tried to do too much. But I started feeling better in the afternoon, so I went to the park and enjoyed watching the squirrels scampering. I noticed on my walk the other day, that the squirrels are now so used to people feeding them, they expect it. One of them stopped right in front of me, sitting with its little paws folded and looking so cute, but I never bring anything for them, because it's bad for them to be fed unnatural stuff. And, it's against the rules of the park.
But I also went shopping, so you know I was feeling better, :o) God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
What do I do when I feel overwhelmed?
Colossians 1:11-14 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 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.
Our encouragement comes from what God has done for us. He has given us the power to be patient and persistent and to keep our minds set on the great hope that awaits us. When we remember that we are already free, the problems of this world lose much of their power over us.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs, Amaryllis
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Don't condemn others
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 are having a long string of beautiful days and it will continue right on through Easter. I remember when my boys were little how we would have Easter egg hunts for them in the yard, and how much fun they would have looking for the eggs. I still have their baskets! Now that's a long time ago, since they are both in their fifties now. Hard for me to accept that! :o)
And then, on May first, we would make little baskets out of colored paper, and put flowers and maybe a little treat or cookie in the basket and leave it on the doorstep of the single older lady who lived next door. She was a crafty lady and made a lot of things for the boys. Those were the days when it was easy to know your neighbors and be trustful of them. Sigh. Speaking of May first, I was almost elected May Queen at Woodlawn Elem. one year,, but came down with the chickenpox and had to let the title go to someone else. We actually had a Maypole with ribbons fastened to the top, and would dance in and out until the ribbons were all wound around the pole! Good memories and good fun!
Yesterday was a busy day...we finished up the Stephen Ministry training, then I went shopping to CVS and Publix, came home to eat lunch, collapsed a bit, and then got ready for our Faith Group last night. I did stop in at the Park, and saw a large great blue heron stoically staring down into the muddy waters, hopeful for a snack to come swimming by. God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
Luke 7:37-41
Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. Stop criticizing others, or it will all come back on you. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven. If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure to you , pressed down, shaken together to make room for more and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving--large or small--it will be used to measure what is given back to you."
Then Jesus gave the following illustration: "What good is it for one blind person to lead another? the first one will fall into a ditch and pull the other down also. A student is not greater than the teacher. But the student who works hard will become like the teacher.
And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, "Friend, Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye, when you can't see past the log in your own eye?" Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye, the perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye."
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
And then, on May first, we would make little baskets out of colored paper, and put flowers and maybe a little treat or cookie in the basket and leave it on the doorstep of the single older lady who lived next door. She was a crafty lady and made a lot of things for the boys. Those were the days when it was easy to know your neighbors and be trustful of them. Sigh. Speaking of May first, I was almost elected May Queen at Woodlawn Elem. one year,, but came down with the chickenpox and had to let the title go to someone else. We actually had a Maypole with ribbons fastened to the top, and would dance in and out until the ribbons were all wound around the pole! Good memories and good fun!
Yesterday was a busy day...we finished up the Stephen Ministry training, then I went shopping to CVS and Publix, came home to eat lunch, collapsed a bit, and then got ready for our Faith Group last night. I did stop in at the Park, and saw a large great blue heron stoically staring down into the muddy waters, hopeful for a snack to come swimming by. God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
Luke 7:37-41
Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. Stop criticizing others, or it will all come back on you. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven. If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure to you , pressed down, shaken together to make room for more and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving--large or small--it will be used to measure what is given back to you."
Then Jesus gave the following illustration: "What good is it for one blind person to lead another? the first one will fall into a ditch and pull the other down also. A student is not greater than the teacher. But the student who works hard will become like the teacher.
And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, "Friend, Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye, when you can't see past the log in your own eye?" Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye, the perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye."
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Monday, April 18, 2011
A Prayer of Protection
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! What wonderful weather we are having. Cool air, bright sunshine...who could ask for more? We are blessed! I am so sorry for all the people affected by the tornadoes in NC. Such devastation! I pray they will be able to get their lives back together!
I saw some unusual sights yesterday. Right outside my window, a lady cardinal landed in the podocarpus hedge and started attacking the leaves on the branches. She was furiously pecking and pulling them off and doing it so hard that she tipped over, climbed back up and then moved to another twig, still frowning, and attacked that one,too. This time she fell down to the branch below, climbed back up once again and pulled until the leaves were flying. I don't what the bush did to offend her, but she was sure getting revenge on it! It was funny!
Then, last night, I went outside and watched for the international space station, and sure enough, I saw it come up out of the southwestern sky and move swiftly overhead until it was very bright and went out of my field of vision behind some trees. It was truly awesome. I had seen it once before when it went over, but it was hard to see and very small compared to this time. Then, I saw behind me the moon coming up. A very full moon just rising over the trees! God is good!
This prayer is from the Sacred Assembly our church had some years ago. I still pray this for myself each morning:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We honor You as our Lord. We acknowledge that You are always present with us. You are the only all powerful and only wise God. You are kind and loving in all Your ways. We love you and we thank you that we are united with Jesus and spiritually alive in Him.
We thank you for the life that we have in Christ, and we ask You to fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we may live our lives free from sin. You are the Vine and we are the branches, apart from You we can do nothing. We take our stand against Satan and command all his evil spirits to depart from us. We ask these things in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
I saw some unusual sights yesterday. Right outside my window, a lady cardinal landed in the podocarpus hedge and started attacking the leaves on the branches. She was furiously pecking and pulling them off and doing it so hard that she tipped over, climbed back up and then moved to another twig, still frowning, and attacked that one,too. This time she fell down to the branch below, climbed back up once again and pulled until the leaves were flying. I don't what the bush did to offend her, but she was sure getting revenge on it! It was funny!
Then, last night, I went outside and watched for the international space station, and sure enough, I saw it come up out of the southwestern sky and move swiftly overhead until it was very bright and went out of my field of vision behind some trees. It was truly awesome. I had seen it once before when it went over, but it was hard to see and very small compared to this time. Then, I saw behind me the moon coming up. A very full moon just rising over the trees! God is good!
This prayer is from the Sacred Assembly our church had some years ago. I still pray this for myself each morning:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We honor You as our Lord. We acknowledge that You are always present with us. You are the only all powerful and only wise God. You are kind and loving in all Your ways. We love you and we thank you that we are united with Jesus and spiritually alive in Him.
We thank you for the life that we have in Christ, and we ask You to fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we may live our lives free from sin. You are the Vine and we are the branches, apart from You we can do nothing. We take our stand against Satan and command all his evil spirits to depart from us. We ask these things in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Friday, April 15, 2011
The Message Psalm 23
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 more wind this morning, but the sky in clear and the puffy clouds are no where in sight. Looks like another beautiful day!
The yard got all cleaned up yesterday, and Dave fertilized it. I went to the local nursery, instead of Walmart and bought the fertilizer and found out later that I paid twice as much. If the locals want to have more business, they should be a little more competitive in price. I realize they cannot buy in bulk like the big stores can, but still....lesson learned.
Last evening, after supper, I went over to the park for a short walk, because it was such beautiful weather. I saw lots of ripples in the water along the canal and watched for a few minutes, and decided it was turtles. There were lots of small turtles swimming around under the surface, both at the bridge and in the middle of the canal. Unusual. I also saw two immature ibis pecking along the road on the way in. A few people were enjoying the evening coolness, as I passed them. God is good!
From The Message
God!, my shepherd!
I don't need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
Even when the way goes through,
Death Valley,
I'm not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd's crook
makes me feel secure.
You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.
Your beauty and love chase after me
Every day of my life,
I'm back home in the house of God
for the rest of my life.
As we approach Palm Sunday, I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
The yard got all cleaned up yesterday, and Dave fertilized it. I went to the local nursery, instead of Walmart and bought the fertilizer and found out later that I paid twice as much. If the locals want to have more business, they should be a little more competitive in price. I realize they cannot buy in bulk like the big stores can, but still....lesson learned.
Last evening, after supper, I went over to the park for a short walk, because it was such beautiful weather. I saw lots of ripples in the water along the canal and watched for a few minutes, and decided it was turtles. There were lots of small turtles swimming around under the surface, both at the bridge and in the middle of the canal. Unusual. I also saw two immature ibis pecking along the road on the way in. A few people were enjoying the evening coolness, as I passed them. God is good!
From The Message
God!, my shepherd!
I don't need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
Even when the way goes through,
Death Valley,
I'm not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd's crook
makes me feel secure.
You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.
Your beauty and love chase after me
Every day of my life,
I'm back home in the house of God
for the rest of my life.
As we approach Palm Sunday, I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
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! It's a little cooler this morning, or at least, the humidity is lower, so it feels great! The grass is growing, now, so it looks like summer is here. Dave, my yard man and friend will be coming tomorrow to take care of the grass and do some trimming and then it will look neater.
My beauty berry bush, planted by the birds, is flourishing and very green, so the purple berries should be showing up soon. It's good that hardly anyone hangs out clothes any more, because the berries are very purple and stain everything!
My friends, Jim and Karin, took me to lunch at the Taco Bus, yesterday. First time I had been there and it was fun. A very unique place. The cooking is actually done in the bus, but there are lots of places to eat, both outside and in. I really appreciated my fish tacos, which were very good. Thank you, Karin and Jim.
I also had an appointment with my doctor as a follow up to the episode Saturday. The nurse and doctor had amusing reactions to the story of the fainting on the motorcycle... The nurse stopped typing, and said she had to know more, so I told her how God had planned for everything to happen as it did, and when I told her about Kevin being a paramedic and on the scene, she said "thank God!' I don't know if she is a believer or not, but she , at least, knew who to thank. She also said it wouldn't have happened if I had been on a Harley! :o) But since I am off the med. that caused the problem, I am feeling back to normal. Praise God!
I took a trip to the park late yesterday afternoon, and everything was quiet and peaceful. A couple of ibis, one immature and dark feathered, were pecking peacefully along the bank of the weir and a few people were walking their dogs along the sidewalk, but not many people were there. It is still a very peaceful place. God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT: Dedicated to my friends and family:
1 Corinthians 13:4-13
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 it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever 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.
It's like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.
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
My beauty berry bush, planted by the birds, is flourishing and very green, so the purple berries should be showing up soon. It's good that hardly anyone hangs out clothes any more, because the berries are very purple and stain everything!
My friends, Jim and Karin, took me to lunch at the Taco Bus, yesterday. First time I had been there and it was fun. A very unique place. The cooking is actually done in the bus, but there are lots of places to eat, both outside and in. I really appreciated my fish tacos, which were very good. Thank you, Karin and Jim.
I also had an appointment with my doctor as a follow up to the episode Saturday. The nurse and doctor had amusing reactions to the story of the fainting on the motorcycle... The nurse stopped typing, and said she had to know more, so I told her how God had planned for everything to happen as it did, and when I told her about Kevin being a paramedic and on the scene, she said "thank God!' I don't know if she is a believer or not, but she , at least, knew who to thank. She also said it wouldn't have happened if I had been on a Harley! :o) But since I am off the med. that caused the problem, I am feeling back to normal. Praise God!
I took a trip to the park late yesterday afternoon, and everything was quiet and peaceful. A couple of ibis, one immature and dark feathered, were pecking peacefully along the bank of the weir and a few people were walking their dogs along the sidewalk, but not many people were there. It is still a very peaceful place. God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT: Dedicated to my friends and family:
1 Corinthians 13:4-13
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 it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever 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.
It's like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.
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
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