A New Commandment

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 must have had a silent rain early this morning, because water is still dripping off the roof and when I opened the front door to get the paper, it was wet, (both the plastic cover and the porch). My thoughtful paper carriers still place the Times on a chair right by the door, so the rain had to blow in pretty far to get the paper wet.

But it is mostly sunshiny right now, and will still be very hot later on. I had a fairly quiet long weekend. Brian and I  had lunch at the Olive Garden yesterday and I enjoyed their soup and  salad. Bread sticks weren't too bad, either!

I saw the large, brown tortoise moseying almost up to the parking lot when I visited the park.. I drove in very close to him  and he looked at me, but did not seem afraid. They are really used to people. The ibises were methodically doing their pecking, slowly moving as a unit through the grass. They always have dirty beaks! But God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

1 John 2:7-11

Dear Friends, I am not writing a new commandment.
for it is an old one you have always had, right from the
beginning. This commandment-to love one another-
is the same message you have heard before. Yet it is
also new. This commandment is true in Christ and is
true among you, because the darkness is disappearing
and the true light is already shining.

If anyone says, "I am living in the light," but hates a
Christian brother or sister , that person is still living in
 darkness. Any person who loves other Christians is
living in the light and does not cause anyone to stumble.
Anyone who hates a Christian brother or sister is living
 and walking in darkness. Such a person is lost, having
been blinded by the darkness.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

A Prayer of Praise

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 a beautiful start to a long weekend, so there should be a lot of people enjoying the outdoors!

We had no rain again, for about the fourth day, so that is good! I saw a city truck across the street yesterday, stopping at each house, and thought the man was pumping water out of the water meters, so the electronic reader could read the meters accurately,. But when he finally came to my side of the street and stopped in front to work on my meter, I asked him what he was doing and he said he was replacing all the water meters. He was going to turn off the water for ten minutes, and since my ladies were inside cleaning, and I had a load going in the washing machine, I told him this, and he said he would wait for me to clear it. I turned off the washer and the girls cleaned without using water, until he was done. Other than the faucets spitting at first, all seems to be well! Our tax dollars at work!

I went to Arby's and had a beef and cheddar for lunch. While it was good, I wish I had ordered a Reuben or one of their other sandwiches. Oh, well.

I have a skinny lizard living on my bedroom window, and I am afraid he is not long for this world if he stays indoors, but I cannot catch him. I need some quick hands!

 I still have two azalea blooms showing, but I think they will be trimmed next time my yard man comes. Plants are growing fast with all the rain we have had. But God is good!

Jude 1:24 NLT

And now, all glory to God, who is able to
keep you from stumbling, and who will bring
you into his glorious presence innocent of sin
and with great joy. All glory to Him, who alone
is God our Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Yes, Glory, majesty, power and authority belong
to Him, in the beginning, now and forevermore.
Amen

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Psoaring thru Psalm 100

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!  Bright sunshine and few clouds greet us this early and it promises to be another hot day, but maybe a little lower humidity. Yay!

I did some more shopping yesterday at two drug stores, for specials, and in Walgreen's I stood in line behind two pretty young women, (early twenties), I think, who were behind an old, talkative man. He was talking to the girls while carrying on his business and they were very friendly toward him, not thinking he was a nuisance for holding up the line. They were both wearing ankle length dresses, one more revealing than the other. I was admiring their attitudes toward the old man and then one of them asked for a pack of cigarettes. Not trying to be judgmental, but I was a little disappointed to think that such a pretty young lady would harm her body that way. Oh, well, not my worry!

I drove on to the park and noticed that it was very quiet. Very few cars were parked and no squirrels were scurrying about. Maybe they were all taking a siesta! But I have critters from the outside inside my house...a very thin lizard is watching me as I type. He is on my window screen and was there yesterday. This morning,I picked up a dead frog from the carpet. I think it was the same one that was in the mailbox, but I don't know how he got in the house. So sad, but God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Shout with joy to the Lord, O Earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Psoaring thru Psalm 138

Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! Lots of sunshine and no breeze right now, but maybe rain much later. I heard thunder last night, but no rain fell, so that is good. The pothole in front of my house is still full of water, so we are not in need of any more rain. I called the city about the pothole several months ago, and someone came out at looked at it; decided that it really was a developing pothole and left. No word or action since. Sigh.

I shopped over at Disston Shopping Plaza yesterday, before school zones were up, and, as usual, that is a busy area. I took water with me, because it is still so hot, I get really dry.

I stopped at the Park, and saw that it was freshly mowed and really looks good again. I believe that the powers that be have rethought their position about letting things go, and only mowing paths, and as a result, the park looks better and better.

I saw the brown gopher tortoise half hidden in the brush, and thought I glimpsed the darker one nearby, but could not tell. A beautiful egret was curving his neck, and was almost hidden in the bulrushes of the canal. God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Psalm 138:6-8
Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble.
But he keeps his distance from the proud.
Though I am surrounded by troubles,
you will preserve me against the anger of my enemies.
You will clench your fist against my angry enemies!
Your power will save me.
The Lord will work out his plans for my life-
for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don't abandon me, for you made me.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Pressing toward the goal

Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! Lots of sun already and hopefully, lower humidity, but we may still get rain later this afternoon. Last evening, I heard the hard rain coming down all at once, with no thunder or lightning, so I was really surprised! It just poured five or ten minutes, but then quit. Water is still dripping down off the roof, so it has not dried off, yet.

As I was putting the dumpster in its place yesterday afternoon, I noticed some large, black splashes on the side of the house. They look like tar, like someone high up just took a brush and shook off three big splashes. I guess this is one of those mysteries that will never be explained, because I have had no roof work done, nor have the neighbors. I don't have a clue about how to get it off, either. Sigh.

Well, my butterfly bush  in the backyard is still attracting the beautiful critters as they go fluttering by my window, and the bird of paradise has a couple blooms on it. Also, I noticed a couple azalea flowers on my hedge in front, so the abundant rain must have caused them to decide to blossom! God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Philippians 3:12-14

I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things
or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working
toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me
for and wants me to be. "No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still
not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this
one thing. Forgetting the past, and looking forward to what
lies ahead , I strain to reach the end of the race and receive
the prize for which God through Christ Jesus is calling us up
to heaven."

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Psoaring thru Psalm 71

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 not had any rainstorms for three days! But the water is still draining out of the yards and is in the gutters in the street, so we don't need any rain for awhile.

My yard man is at work right now, so I will have to go in a few minutes...

We had a large crowd at church yesterday at both services because of the three women who gave their testimonies. All three were friends who run, and each had different stories to tell about their journeys through difficulties in their lives, including the heartbreaking story of losing a husband because he was killed in his service as a law officer.
I even saw the former mayor in attendance, but did not get to speak with him.

Well, back again, after chatting with Jason for a few minutes. He was in a hurry to get to his chiropractor app't.  Jason was dripping wet already because it is so humid today, Not so hot, yet, but very humid. He had already done three yards before mine.

Well, I woke up with a really red eye yesterday and was going to call the doctor about it, but it feels better today, although it still does not look so good. I will still call the doctor, though.

I drove to the park after church and saw the water had been up and over the weir from the very heavy rain we had last week, The water is very high in the canal. Everything looks green and is growing fast! There is a lady who rides her three wheeler, which has a cover for shade and she pedals on the wrong side of the road. I almost ran into her yesterday, because she was in the shade and coming right at me. She apparently does not know she should be on the other side. But, anyway, God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Psalm 71:19-24

Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens.
You have done such wonderful things.
who can compare with you, O God?
You have allowed me to suffer such hardship,
but you will restore me to life again
and lift me up from the depths of the earth.
You will restore me to even greater honor,,
and comfort me once again.

Then I will praise you with music on the harp,
because you are faithful to your promises O God.
I still sing for you with a lyre.
O Holy one of Israel.
I will shout for joy and sing your praises,
for you have redeemed me.
I will tell about your righteous deeds all
day long, for everyone who tried to hurt me
has been shamed and humiliated.

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

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis

A Prayer of Praise

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! Wow! What a thunderstorm we had last night! That was so noisy with lightning and thunder, it just hung around for over half an hour and I was praying that the lightning would not strike the trees out front! I did not turn the TV on because it is best to have all things turned off during a storm like that, but fortunately, the lights did not go out. It was still daylight, though, so I would not have had to use my LED candles. Hopefully, we will not have such a violent storm later today!

I opened the mailbox yesterday checking to see of the mail had come, and there was the tree frog plastered against the side inside! I don't know how he managed to get in, because when the lid is closed, it is pretty tight. I told him he was going to get clonked with mail if he did not move, but I don't know if he paid any attention to me or not.

I went shopping at Publix right after lunch, before school let out, and, even though it was not raining yet, the sun was blazing hot! I heard the heat index was over a 100 yesterday. I saw two men, formerly from church, got to speak to one, who looked at me so strangely, like he did not know who I was, even though we have known each other over thirty years. Maybe he was having a senior moment.

But then, I drove on to the park where it was shady and cooler, saw the canal was very high, and a few people were out in the heat, walking and jogging. I noticed the moorhen in the water on the lilies, and the squirrels scampering about. God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Jude 1:24
And now, all glory to God, who is able to keep
you from stumbling, and who will bring you into
his glorious presence innocent of all sin and with
great joy. All glory to him, who alone is God our
Savior, through Jesus Christ , our Lord. Yes, glory,
majesty, power and authority belong to him, in the
beginning, now and forevermore.
Amen

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis