Paul's Prayer

Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners!  Happy May First! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! Sunshine and cool air; a spring day at last instead of summer. The lower humidity makes for a beautiful time for outside activities, like the beach!

That is for other folks, not me. I avoid the sun as much as possible, with my sensitive skin.

Have I ever told you about the time I was almost elected May Queen at Woodlawn Elem. school? I was in 4th grade and the talent show decided the winner. I sang Harbor Lights, a pop song and would have won, except for the chickenpox, which I came down with and could not be queen. We even had a Maypole with ribbons, which pupils wound around and around. Sigh. Those were days before drugs and other violence became prevalent in our schools..

I have already had an estimate on trimming my oak trees in front and back, and have another tree man coming tomorrow morning with his estimate. They give wonderful shade, but they need upkeep. Fortunately, .they are healthy.

I was able to get some errands run yesterday, that I had been putting off, so I felt good about that, which included lab work at the order of my primary care doctor. The tech was so good that there is not a trace of a bruise where the needle went in. I asked him if he was good and he said yes. He was right!

After I left there, I drove on to the Park, saw an anhinga, several ibis, and noted that the water was still high in the canal. Everything is so fresh and green with all the rain we have had in just a couple days. God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Ephesians 3:14-23

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 filled with the fullness of life and
power that comes from God.

Now glory be to God! By his might power at work within us, he is able
to accomplish infinitely more than we would 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 give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving,
joy and love!

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Generosity and Diligence

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 wind is blowing, and the air is cooler, so it is a beautiful day! We have been blessed with pretty weather and even when it rains, that is a nice gift.

I had an appointment with my dermatologist yesterday and since he is downtown, I drove by the property where a new, large grocery store is being built. The public does not know which store is going in, but there is a lot of excitement about it. Downtown St. Petersburg just keeps getting better!

While I was waiting to be called back, two friends came out after their appointment and we had a nice chat, catching up. One always has to be on one's best behavior while out. You never know who you will meet up with!

I decided to take a drive down by the beautiful waterfront after my session with the doctor. My face was burning from the zapping and my eye is swollen underneath today, but, anyway, I enjoyed seeing the lovely water, boats, and hundreds of people eating at the restaurants and shopping in mid afternoon.

Then I headed for home, stopping at Office Depot for ink cartridges for my printer, but could only get one since they were out of the color. Sigh. However, my friend across the street works part time at another O.D. so she will bring me one Sat.
Then, I went on to the Park, and saw a great, blue heron,lots of squirrels and several ibis pecking around as usual. God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Ecclesiastes 11:1-6

Give generously, for your gifts will return to you later.
Divide your gifts among many, for you do not know what
risks might lie ahead.
When the clouds are heavy, the rains come down.

When a tree falls, whether south or north, there it lies.
If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.
God's ways are as hard to discern as the pathways of the wind,
and as mysterious as a tiny baby being formed in a mother's womb.
Be sure to stay busy and plant a variety of crops, for you never
 know which will grow---perhaps they all will.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Psoaring thru Psalms

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 this morning with puffy clouds drifting across the sky...beautiful!

After the rain yesterday morning, I headed out to gas up the van. On the way, I drove into the park and there on the bank in front of the weir was the large gator sunning himself. On the other side of the canal was a graceful white heron. Typical Florida. Further down, I noticed that two trees had collapsed and fallen into the canal. One was smaller near the bridge and the other was very large and brushing the water. Neither one was blocking the flow. Their roots must have gotten too wet and caused them to fall.

We have so many mockingbirds chirping around here, I get an earful whenever I go outside. I also heard a cardinal the other day, but did not see him. The crows I can do without, as their call is strident and loud! But it takes all kinds, like the osprey I saw on the wire around Lynch Lake the other day. God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Psalm 139:1-6. 23,24

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

Paul's Thorn in the Flesh

Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord had made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! I know, if is almost noon, but because it is a rainy, dark morning, I am taking my time doing everything. The weather prediction was spot on about the rain coming in early. But that's ok, because I have everything I need and don't have any appointments or errands that need to be run today.

The yard crew came yesterday and sliced up the fallen branches and stuffed them in the dumpster. The branches are so long that they are holding the lid up, so I guess there is rainwater accumulating in the bottom. It will get dumped out when the trash gets picked up Thursday. But, the yard looks much neater, now.

Here I am concerned with my own small world, and bad events are going on all over the world...riots in Baltimore, earthquake in Nepal and plane crashes. God is in control, but He gives people choices and sometimes they are not good. All I can do is pray for those in trouble and leave the rest to God.

On a lighter note; I watched Dancing With the Stars last night and my favorites, Noah and Sharna got a really good score for their fantastic jazz dance. Yay! He is a hunky, good looking guy with dimples, even with only one leg and one arm! He gets my vote!

I had to go to the post office yesterday, so on my way back, I stopped at the park to check it out, and saw one of the gopher tortoises receiving admiration from about three people, and noted that the water is still pretty high. This rain today will keep it high, so God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

1 Corinthians 12:6-10

...I have plenty to boast about and would be no fool
in doing it, because I would be telling the truth. But
I won't do it. I don't want anyone to think more highly
of me than what they can see in my life and my message,
even though I have received wonderful revelations from God.
But to keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn
in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me
 and keep me from getting proud.

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each
time he said, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power
works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast
about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work
through me, Since I know it is all for Christ's good, I am quite
content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships,
persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Psoaring thru Psalms

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! Even though it was cloudy and sunny yesterday, we had no rain,and today looks much the same, except there is a large mass of rain hanging off the coast in the Gulf. It looks like it will be heading for the upper Pinellas instead of here. I really want the weather to behave today because my yard badly needs cleaning up and mowing. Hopefully, that will be done today!

Things I observed the past couple weeks:  A homeowner on the street I drive down when I go to the park, completely cleared his front yard of all grass, shrubs, etc, and then trenched, by hand, and laid pipe for sprinklers. After that he landscaped with plant sections bricked off, had sod hauled in and now his yard is attractively planted with a couple young trees and shrubs in the planted places, along with a hedge up one side. Good hard work! I have seen him doing a lot of woodworking, which I think, must be his profession or hobby.

While I was in my salon Sat. getting a haircut, another stylist was working with a young woman who had beautiful hair that reached down to below her waist. He combed and blew and brushed and wrapped strands around a flatiron and the end result was a lovely, loosely curled mass of dark, lovely hair. Two different types of work, but beauty in the end!

The water in the park is still high from the downpour we had last week, but this is good. It just means the herons, egrets and ibis cannot wade and peck because the water is too deep, but they fly to wherever the food is. The squirrels have no problem. I had to swerve around one in the middle of the street yesterday. I don't know if he moved or not, but I did not run over him! I drove there after church where we had another powerful sermon and a lot of good singing! God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Psalm 61:5-8

I wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.

So my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Roamin' thru Romans

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 we have sun, and clouds and high humidity. But yesterday, we had about 2 inches or more of rain, so we are caught up for a while. I like rainy days ever so often, because things seem to slow down and I like to watch the rain coming down.  That was a good soaking rain, with no wind around here.

I wrote about going through old pics and also came across an Evening Independent newspaper someone had saved, Dated April 12, 1945, with 4 inch headlines that read Roosevelt Dead!. Very historic! There were also front page articles about the war with Russia and Japan. I was in my teens back then and remember it well. I pray we never have to go through that again!

I like to read on rainy days and so I finished one book yesterday and had already read another one I had ordered from the library. I love the smell of new books, and the one I ordered was brand new by one of my favorite authors. I was happy for the rain for that reason. God is good to send rain when we need it!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Romans 15:13 (my favorite verse) Jude 24,25

So I pray that God, who gives you hope,
will keep you happy and full of peace
as you believe in Him. May you overflow
with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

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 forever more. Amen.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Psoaring thru Psalms

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, no sunshine this morning...as I sit here I can see rain dripping off the roof and it has gotten very dark, I have been hearing thunder for the last hour or so and we have had a severe weather alert, but there is no wind right now. My front yard is still a mess from the last storm. I guess when my yard man said he would come as soon as he could, he meant his regular Monday time. Sigh.

But we need the rain, so I am not complaining. After my cleaning ladies left yesterday, I went to Publix for my groceries, and it was a good time to go. It was not very crowded, so I had a good time shopping, but had to get help to reach a large bottle of Dawn. Apparently, I am not the only one who uses it, because it was at the very back of the top shelf.Shorties can't reach that high!

I pulled out a treasure chest of old photographs from my mother's collection, that had not been looked at since her death. Oh, my! One of me at 19 months, with my sister, 4. My face cannot be seen, because I am standing in front of a white house, and since, I was a tow-head, I kinda blended with the background. I have only seen a couple baby pics of me because I was a second child, so they did not waste film on me. Nowadays, every day of a child's life is recorded on an iphone, it seems, which is great. There are only a couple pics of my brother as a baby, also, so my sister got all the glory! That's the perc of being a first child!

Well, the lights just flickered and another weather alert just came in, so I had better finish up while we have power. But God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Psalm 18:25-30
To the faithful, you show yourself faithful,
to those with integrity, you show integrity.
To the pure, you show yourself pure,
but to the wicked, you show yourself hostile.
You rescue those who are humble, but  you
humiliate the proud.
Lord, you have brought light to my life;
my God, you light up my darkness.
In your strength I can crush an army,
with my God I can scale any wall.

As for God, his way is perfect.
All the Lord's promises prove true.
He is a shield for all those who look to him for protection.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis