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 glad that the weather is warming up and the sun is shining, and it promises to be a great day!
I have seen the big fat gator lounging on the bank of the lake at the park these past few days, and the little frisky moorhens swimming very near him, and very unafraid. Coexisting peacefully...wish the rest of the world could take a cue from them!
I have not been sending the morning emails for the past few days, because my old PC would not go on the standard version which allowed me to add the bcc list. However, my computer elves spent their Sunday afternoon running to Walmart to pick me up a new desktop and printer/copier and then spent hours setting it up. I am so blessed with good friends who shower me with kindness!
The following devotional is dedicated to the two of them. You know who you are!
From the little devotional Knowing God:
So prepare your minds for service and have self-control. All your hope
should be for the gift of grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ is shown
to you.
1 Peter 1:11 NCV
The teachings of Jesus are clear. We achieve greatness through service to others. But, as weak human beings, we sometimes fall short as we seek to puff ourselves up and glorify our own accomplishments. Jesus commands otherwise. He teaches us that the most esteemed men and women are not the self-congratulatory leaders of society but are instead the humblest of servants.
Today, you may feel the temptation to build yourselves up in the eyes of others. Resist that temptation. Instead, serve them quietly and without fanfare. Find a need and fill it...humbly. Lend a helping hand and share a word of kindness...anonymously, for this is God's way.
As a humble servant, you will glorify yourself not before men, but before God, and that's what God intends. After all, earthly glory is fleeting; here today and all too soon gone. But heavenly glory endures throughout eternity. So, the choice is yours: Either you can lift yourself up here on earth and be humbled in heaven, or vice versa. Choose vice versa.
-Great Thoughts-
Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing more than seeing Jesus. Christian service, in its purist form. is nothing more than imitating him who we see. To see his Majesty and to imitate him; that is the sum of Christianity.
Max Lucado
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Good Morning, Dear friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will be glad and rejoice in it! Well, no sunshine this morning and just a little rain, but the wind is blowing and the cold front is blustering its way in, once again.
But yesterday in the great warm day, I drove out to the Mall and tried to pick up our family photos from Penney's studio, only to discover they were closed on Tues. Afternoon. So, I drove back home to do a little shopping, and then visited the park, parked and walked out on the bridge to see the young gator. The water is very low and muddy, due to the construction, but still suits the fish and anhingas. It was very warm in the sun, so I walked over to the butterfly garden, avoiding lots of families. Many blooms were on the plants, but no butterflies.
I seem to be having lots of little things going wrong all at once...the lamp in my bedroom will not turn on, so I need to buy a new one, and now the drain in the shower is clogged. It does that every once in a while, but I have stuff to unclog it. Anyway, the house is warm and I have food, so God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
What kind of help does God give us?
2 Chronicles 16:9 The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
God wants To help us make the right decisions. He is looking for us to depend fully on him. Our openness is God's opportunity.
James 1:5-8 If you need wisdom-if you want to know what God wants you to do--ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do.
Some people fear that they are bothering God with their problems. Nothing could be further from the truth. God is looking for ways to help us because he loves. us. Our commitment to him releases his resources for us.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
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 sunshiny day and the promise of rain to come sometime later this week. We are blessed!
After a late afternoon trip to the doctor, I went to Wendy's to pick up my supper and then went to the park. Not to have a picnic, but just to see the long shadows, with brilliant green where the sun shone through. I saw two egrets looking beautiful in contrast to the leafless tree they were perched in and the gopher tortoise guarding his tunnel. I was surprised to see quite a few people there as close to dinner time as it was. Yellow butterflies were flitting about on their search for nectar. They are so pretty, and so are the others.
Last night I saw the "wolf moon". I had to google that to see why it is called by that name. Interesting That the native Americans gave it that name, because the full moon in January caused the wolves to howl for food when the icy snows covered their territory...things I never knew before.
God is good!
From the little devotional book Knowing God:
The Lord is with you when you are with Him.
If you seek Him, He will be found by you.
2 Chronicles 15:2 HCSB
Did you ever wonder if God is really "right here, right now"? Do you wonder if God hears your prayers, if He understands your feelings, or if He really knows your heart? If so, you're not alone: Lots of very faithful Christians have experienced periods of doubt. In fact, some of the biggest heroes in the Bible had plent of doubts-and so, perhaps, will you. But when you have doubts, remember this: God isn't on a coffee break, and He hasn't moved out of town. He's right here, right now, listening to your thoughts and prayers, watching over your every move.
If you'd like to get to know God a little bit better, He's always available--always ready to listen to your prayers, and always ready to speak to your heart. Are you ready to talk to Him? If so, congratulations. If not, what are you waiting for?
Great Thoughts
God's presence is with you, but you have to make a choice to believe--and I mean, really believe--that this is true. This conscious decision is yours alone.
Bill Hybels
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! The sun is shining, and the temps are warming up, so it will be another beautiful day! We are blessed!
I was so excited last night watching the Broncos game and Tim Tebow's inspired playing, I was shouting at the TV, trying to urge on the players! A columnist in the Times this morning wrote, "did you notice that there was not a sideline reporter? And now that you know, did you miss one?" I have to say, no and no. I don't really like the gals out there when they have never played football...
So, win or lose, I am looking forward to Sat. and the game with the Patriots. Go, Broncos!
I saw an unusual sight on my way to church yesterday. A small flock of five woodstorks were moving through a private yard. I have never seen them in a yard, before, just sitting by ditches and lakes. And, I stepped outside in the morning, in time to see a flock of ibis pecking its way through my yard and into the neighbors. They do a good job of aereating. When I drove to the park after church, I found it crowded with lots of people and dog-walkers, big folks and little folks. It was a good day to be out in the warm weather. Also, a cluster of black turtles were sunning themselves on the bank of the weir. God is good!
From the Promise Bible NLT:
Remembering Tebow's yardage yesterday and eyeblack scripture from college...
John 3:16-21
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. Their judgment is based on this fact. The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and Hugs,
Amaryllis
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
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
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
