Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the slightly warmer day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! Temps are going up instead of down and by this weekend we will be in the seventies again! Yay! My hands stay so cold that it's hard to warm them up even to type...guess I would not be happy in snowy country!
I was ambitious this morning and felt like making cheese biscuits, so, as usual, when I took them out of the very hot oven, the detector went off with a loud screech. At least I know it works. And the biscuits were good, but maybe not as good as Red Lobster!
But the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day! After doing some cleaning yesterday, I went over to the park and saw a tri-colored heron all huddled up looking very sad, an anhinga with wings outspread, drying, and an ibis in the water, looking for lunch. The maples have lost their leaves now, and the bare branches look very stark, as they are reflected in the water. It is good to see the seasons change even in Florida...just a little later than north of here. God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
Psalm 95
Come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come before him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing him psalms of praise.
For the Lord is a great God,
the great King above all gods,
He owns the depths of the earth,
and even the mightiest mountains are his.
The sea belongs to him, for he made it .
His hands formed the dry land, too.
Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
for He is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
the sheep under his care.
Oh, that you would listen to his voice today!
The Lord says, "Don't harden your hearts,
as Israel did at Meribah,
as they did at Massah in the wilderness.For there your ancestors tried my patience,
they courted my wrath though they had seen my many miracles.
For forty years I was angry with them and I said,
They are a people whose hearts turn away from me.
They refuse to do what I tell them
So in my anger I made a vow.
They will never enter my place of rest.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Loving One Another
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 am not rejoicing so much as I am trying not to shiver...I have the space heater going in the bedroom because it is always cooler in there than the rest of the house! But our cold wave will soon be over and temps will warm up again to the seventies by the next few days!
I was out and about yesterday and it was chilly but sunshiny and pleasant.
What a contrast in attendance at the Park between yesterday and Sunday! Hardly anybody there yesterday, but Sunday it was packed! The ( I think it is Koreans) had their annual gathering and the picnic shelter was full and overflowing with people listening to the speaker. The bridge was crowded with people looking over at the turtles and maybe gators and others were walking along the sidewalk. I saw lots of black turtles sunning on the weir and the gopher tortoise lumbering along by his tunnel. God is Good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
1 John 4:7
Dear Friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God---for God is love.
God showed how much he loves us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God-for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
I was out and about yesterday and it was chilly but sunshiny and pleasant.
What a contrast in attendance at the Park between yesterday and Sunday! Hardly anybody there yesterday, but Sunday it was packed! The ( I think it is Koreans) had their annual gathering and the picnic shelter was full and overflowing with people listening to the speaker. The bridge was crowded with people looking over at the turtles and maybe gators and others were walking along the sidewalk. I saw lots of black turtles sunning on the weir and the gopher tortoise lumbering along by his tunnel. God is Good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
1 John 4:7
Dear Friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God---for God is love.
God showed how much he loves us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God-for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Thursday, December 22, 2011
A Stewardship 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! Seems like the sun is a little reluctant to come up these mornings, but goes down too early. Can't get used to darkness at 5:30! This is my small rant about DST. I don't like it!
This will be my last Gator Bytes for a week or so, since I am looking forward to having Daryl and Matthew driving down from TN tomorrow night for Christmas and staying for a week afterwards. They will have warm weather while here if this warmth keeps up!
I have been trying to say out of crowds, which is pretty much impossible if you are out and about, but a man behind me in a store had a really bad cough and I really prayed for the germs not to touch me. I don't have that problem in the park...out in the open with lots of space around. The water is still very low but it doesn't seem to bother the birds and wildlife. I don't know where the squirrels get their water. I have an old Cool Whip container on my porch wall the birds and squirrels help themselves to. The bluejays are very possessive and keep the others away until they are satisfied. Then they hop in and with great splashing, wash and cool off. They are funny! Maybe I told you before, but I saw a bob-tailed squirrel in the park last week, and at first, I thought it was a bunny, but it didn't hop, just scampered about. Apparently, he got along fine without the tail! God is good!
From Hymns for the Family of God:
A Stewardship Prayer
Lord, we gather in comfort and security today, while many of Your children huddle in fear and die of starvation. We know that merely feeling guilty for our comfort does not minister to the needs of others. Lord, we want to be involved in helping and serving, and healing. Help us this day to gain more understanding, to feel more deeply the hurt of others, to come to new commitments of ourselves and our substance to You.
Amen -Gary W. Demarest-
I always give thanks for you, remembering you with thanksgiving , joy and love!
Love and hugs and a very Merry Christmas to all!
Amaryllis
This will be my last Gator Bytes for a week or so, since I am looking forward to having Daryl and Matthew driving down from TN tomorrow night for Christmas and staying for a week afterwards. They will have warm weather while here if this warmth keeps up!
I have been trying to say out of crowds, which is pretty much impossible if you are out and about, but a man behind me in a store had a really bad cough and I really prayed for the germs not to touch me. I don't have that problem in the park...out in the open with lots of space around. The water is still very low but it doesn't seem to bother the birds and wildlife. I don't know where the squirrels get their water. I have an old Cool Whip container on my porch wall the birds and squirrels help themselves to. The bluejays are very possessive and keep the others away until they are satisfied. Then they hop in and with great splashing, wash and cool off. They are funny! Maybe I told you before, but I saw a bob-tailed squirrel in the park last week, and at first, I thought it was a bunny, but it didn't hop, just scampered about. Apparently, he got along fine without the tail! God is good!
From Hymns for the Family of God:
A Stewardship Prayer
Lord, we gather in comfort and security today, while many of Your children huddle in fear and die of starvation. We know that merely feeling guilty for our comfort does not minister to the needs of others. Lord, we want to be involved in helping and serving, and healing. Help us this day to gain more understanding, to feel more deeply the hurt of others, to come to new commitments of ourselves and our substance to You.
Amen -Gary W. Demarest-
I always give thanks for you, remembering you with thanksgiving , joy and love!
Love and hugs and a very Merry Christmas to all!
Amaryllis
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Open Up Your Heart
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! Another beautiful day waits for us to go and do! the Wind is blowing today, though, which makes the air feel cooler, but the sun is shining and will get up to seventies today. Beautiful!
While driving around Lynch Lake yesterday, in front of the newly finished Lynch School, I watched a couple of woodstorks by themselves, and across the lake another woodstork with a flock of ducks, the white contrasting with the black ducks. The woodstorks seem to really like Lynch Lake.
Later in the afternoon, I drove to the park, which was very quiet, and enjoyed the lengthening shadows, the moss hanging down and swaying in the breeze and a single white egret standing beside a tri-colored heron. God is good!
From the little devotional book Knowing God:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 NIV
If you want to know God in a more meaningful way, you'll need to open up your heart and let Him in. C. S. Lewis observed, "A person's spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God." If you hope to receive a full measure of God's spiritual blessings, you must invite your Creator to rule over your heart. When you honor God in this way, His love expands to fill your heart and bless your life.
St. Augustine wrote, "I love you, Lord, not doubtingly, but with absolute certainty. Your Word beat upon my heart until I fell in love with you, and now the universe and everything in it tells me to love you."
Today, open your heart to the Father. And let your obedience be a fitting response to His never-ending love.The truth of the Gospel is intended to free us to love God and others with our whole heart.
John Eldredge
-Great Thoughts-
You will trust God only as much as you love Him. And you will love him not because you have studied him; you will love him because you have touched him-in response to his touch.
Brennan Manning
Man was created by God to know and love Him in a permanent, personal relationship.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
While driving around Lynch Lake yesterday, in front of the newly finished Lynch School, I watched a couple of woodstorks by themselves, and across the lake another woodstork with a flock of ducks, the white contrasting with the black ducks. The woodstorks seem to really like Lynch Lake.
Later in the afternoon, I drove to the park, which was very quiet, and enjoyed the lengthening shadows, the moss hanging down and swaying in the breeze and a single white egret standing beside a tri-colored heron. God is good!
From the little devotional book Knowing God:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 NIV
If you want to know God in a more meaningful way, you'll need to open up your heart and let Him in. C. S. Lewis observed, "A person's spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God." If you hope to receive a full measure of God's spiritual blessings, you must invite your Creator to rule over your heart. When you honor God in this way, His love expands to fill your heart and bless your life.
St. Augustine wrote, "I love you, Lord, not doubtingly, but with absolute certainty. Your Word beat upon my heart until I fell in love with you, and now the universe and everything in it tells me to love you."
Today, open your heart to the Father. And let your obedience be a fitting response to His never-ending love.The truth of the Gospel is intended to free us to love God and others with our whole heart.
John Eldredge
-Great Thoughts-
You will trust God only as much as you love Him. And you will love him not because you have studied him; you will love him because you have touched him-in response to his touch.
Brennan Manning
Man was created by God to know and love Him in a permanent, personal relationship.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Monday, December 19, 2011
Luke 2:6-11
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! Yesterday and today have been just perfect with bright blue skies and cool temps. It is good to get out the sweaters for a change in the mornings and shed them by noon, with many people in shorts no matter how cool it gets! Ah, St. Petersburg!!
Seen at the park over the weekend... a couple of gopher tortoises walking one in front of the other, and the same size and color, as I drove in, and black turtles sunning across the street on the bank of the weir. A flock of ibis in the canal, with the water very low and muddy banks showing.
Crowds of people with babies in strollers, kids on skateboards, older folks with walkers and canes and young people jogging...and on the way out, the same two gophers, only one had flipped over and was frantically trying to right himself. The man driving a pickup in front of me stopped and waved me by, so I asked him if he was going to turn him over and he said "Yes!". God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
Luke 2:6-11
...And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.
That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. they were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize him: you will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!"
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others--the armies of heaven--praising God:
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors."
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Seen at the park over the weekend... a couple of gopher tortoises walking one in front of the other, and the same size and color, as I drove in, and black turtles sunning across the street on the bank of the weir. A flock of ibis in the canal, with the water very low and muddy banks showing.
Crowds of people with babies in strollers, kids on skateboards, older folks with walkers and canes and young people jogging...and on the way out, the same two gophers, only one had flipped over and was frantically trying to right himself. The man driving a pickup in front of me stopped and waved me by, so I asked him if he was going to turn him over and he said "Yes!". God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
Luke 2:6-11
...And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.
That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. they were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize him: you will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!"
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others--the armies of heaven--praising God:
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors."
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Friday, December 16, 2011
Faith brings joy
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 sky is mostly clear this morning and very bright blue, and the sun is shining nicely on the new roof coating, which is good!
Yesterday, instead of walking in the park, I did my walking in Home Depot. The scenery was quite different, but interesting and a favorite for contractors and diys. My friend, Terry, and I went there to get the coating for the flat roof, and then we came back and he set out to wash, blow dry and seal the shingles over the place where the leak happened. He worked about four or five hours, climbing up and down the ladder, then trimmed some branches off the oak trees in the backyard, and blew off everything. I am so blessed to have friends who do work for me! God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. and this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs, and enjoy the fourth Sunday in Advent coming!
Amaryllis
Yesterday, instead of walking in the park, I did my walking in Home Depot. The scenery was quite different, but interesting and a favorite for contractors and diys. My friend, Terry, and I went there to get the coating for the flat roof, and then we came back and he set out to wash, blow dry and seal the shingles over the place where the leak happened. He worked about four or five hours, climbing up and down the ladder, then trimmed some branches off the oak trees in the backyard, and blew off everything. I am so blessed to have friends who do work for me! God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. and this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs, and enjoy the fourth Sunday in Advent coming!
Amaryllis
Thursday, December 15, 2011
God doesn't Change
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! Well, the day started out with sunshine, but now it is a little overcast, but, hopefully, no rain until the flat roof gets repaired! The sunset was beautiful last night, with peach and yellow colors on the clouds..God was using his paintbrush again!
After a great lunch with two long time friends, I went to the park, where all was quiet and peaceful. The canal water level is really low, with lots of the muddy bank showing, but still enough water for the gators and anhingas to swim in. I had to almost stop to allow a squirrel to make up its mind about crossing the road.
I heard a cardinal tweeting its call outside the house after I came home, but could not see it. They are very nervous birds, never still for long, but always moving. God is good!
From the little devotional book, Knowing God:
John said, "Change your hearts and lives because the kingdom of heaven is near."
Matthew 3:2 NCV
We live in a world that is always changing, but we worship a God that never changes--thank goodness! That means that we can be comforted in the knowledge that our Heavenly Father is the rock that simply cannot be moved: "I am the Lord, I do not change." (Malachi 3:6 NKJV)
The next time you face difficult circumstances, tough times, unfair treatment, or unwelcome changes, remember that some things never change--things like the love that you feel in your heart for your family and friends...and the love that God feels for you. So instead of worrying too much about life's inevitable challenges, focus your energies on finding solutions. Have faith in your own abilities, do your best to solve your problems, and leave the rest up to God.
With God, it isn't who you were that matters; it's who you are becoming.
Liz Curtis Higgs.
Conditions are always changing; therefore, I must not be dependent upon conditions. What matters supremely is my soul and my relationship to God.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs, Amaryllis
After a great lunch with two long time friends, I went to the park, where all was quiet and peaceful. The canal water level is really low, with lots of the muddy bank showing, but still enough water for the gators and anhingas to swim in. I had to almost stop to allow a squirrel to make up its mind about crossing the road.
I heard a cardinal tweeting its call outside the house after I came home, but could not see it. They are very nervous birds, never still for long, but always moving. God is good!
From the little devotional book, Knowing God:
John said, "Change your hearts and lives because the kingdom of heaven is near."
Matthew 3:2 NCV
We live in a world that is always changing, but we worship a God that never changes--thank goodness! That means that we can be comforted in the knowledge that our Heavenly Father is the rock that simply cannot be moved: "I am the Lord, I do not change." (Malachi 3:6 NKJV)
The next time you face difficult circumstances, tough times, unfair treatment, or unwelcome changes, remember that some things never change--things like the love that you feel in your heart for your family and friends...and the love that God feels for you. So instead of worrying too much about life's inevitable challenges, focus your energies on finding solutions. Have faith in your own abilities, do your best to solve your problems, and leave the rest up to God.
With God, it isn't who you were that matters; it's who you are becoming.
Liz Curtis Higgs.
Conditions are always changing; therefore, I must not be dependent upon conditions. What matters supremely is my soul and my relationship to God.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs, Amaryllis
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