2 Peter

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 had a little rain a couple hours ago, and I heard the rain before I went to bed last night, which was welcome, because now maybe the pollen will be settled! The wind is blowing and it is still overcast, but according to the forecast, we are over the rain. He (the weatherman)called the atmosphere "juicy". Meaning humid. That's funny to me! Now the sun is shining, so it will be a great day!

The Grand Prix is over. The PGA Tournament is over, so I"m sure the interstate was crowded with people heading home last night. But we still have the Rays in spring training and soon the season will open, so there is still plenty of activity in my town.

We had another good service yesterday, even though attendance was down a bit, due to Stake out for the Youth, which took quite a few away and the time change which may have affected a couple people. I found a parking space right away, so that was another way I could tell that attendance was down.

A dear friend came over to me before church and reminded me that they are available to help me in any way should I need it, which was a very kind thing to offer! The service ended with the song "Breathe" which is my favorite! God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

2 Peter 5-9
So make every effort to apply the benefits
of these promises to your life. Then your
faith will produce a life of moral excellence.
 A life of moral excellence leads to knowing
God better. Knowing God leads to self-control.
Self control leads to patient endurance, and
patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness
leads to love for other Christians, and finally,
you will grow to have genuine love for everyone.
The more you grow like this, the more you will
become productive and useful in the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to
 develop these virtues, are blind or,  at the least
very shortsighted. They have already forgotten
that God has cleansed them from their old life of sin.

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! It is another windy day, but sunny and very warm. Yesterday it got up to eighty and today will be the same, if not warmer. I think of the golf tournament going on and while the wind may be a factor in how the golfers play, the heat might also affect them.

I still have my A/C on and as a result, my allergies are much better.

My cleaning ladies came yesterday and caught me up on the neighborhood news. They always look out for me. I gave them each a chocolate bunny for their Easter presents and they were delighted.

My new computer has been ordered and I should have it March 31st. My friend, Gil, took care of research on it and I am getting what looks like a good one from Walmart, which is where this one came from 7 years ago! So it will mean straining my poor brain learning the new "puter!
What with the ipad and iphone, this electronically challenged person has a lot of brain work to do!

I heard one of the squirrel family fussing yesterday, so I am thinking that the stray cat who wanders around the neighborhood was too close to the tree. Actually, the cat is one of three which belong to a man in the next block. He does not take care of them, but just lets them wander all over. I think the birds look out for them, also. I saw a mockingbird hopping through the hedge next door, but he was well protected by all the branches. God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Psalm 106:1-3
Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
Who can ever praise him half enough?
Happy are those who deal justly with others
and always do what is right.

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!  This is another breezy, sunny, and pollen filled day with temps going up in the eighties today. I turned the A/C on yesterday evening and, as a result, my allergies are better!

I see the last of the oak leaves blowing past my window, since the wind has picked up, so next will come the little buds and then the bright green new leaves on the trees. Right now, they look stark and almost bare. Only the live oaks have their leaves on. Which is not to say that all other trees are bare...just the jacaranda and oaks around here.

Well, in case anyone noticed, I did not send a message yesterday, because I have been having problems with my desk top computer. My repair man says the hard drive is going out. I think my personal hard drive is also giving out.

Well, my yard guys came Monday, and the cleaning ladies are due today Yesterday. I stopped by the Audibel office and picked up some batteries for my aids, getting another compliment on my name from the new receptionist. I also visited the park and then went on to CVS. Coming back from there, I noticed an osprey perched high in the air on a new nest at Sawgrass Elem. School. The platform is built on one of the high pole lights. Lots of seagulls, ibis, and egrets were gathered around Lynch Lake on a beautiful day! God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Romans 8:28
And I am convinced that nothing can ever
separate us from his love. Death can't and life
can't. The angels can't and the demons can't.
Our fears for today; our worries about tomorrow.
and even the powers of hell can't keep God's
love away. Whether we are high above the sky
or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation
will ever be able to separate us from the love of
God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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! We have another in our long list of beautiful days, with temps climbing up to the seventies and as high as the eighties in a couple days! While no rain is expected for the rest of the week, that still means that the pollen count is high, so i have been sneezing, blowing, and wheezing more than ever. I take Allegra as the doctor told me, and that helps some. However, I see lots of people on Facebook are having the same problem. Too many oak trees! And I have four in my yard!

I drove to the Disston Shopping Center Saturday, to do some shopping at Bon Worth, which I had not been to in a long time, and after the salesclerk spoke to me she asked if I were Amaryllis Green. I looked at her more closely, and discovered that she is the daughter of my friends who live down the street, and I have known her since she was a little girl. She has changed so much, I did not recognize her! Small world!

After I left there I went on to the Car Wash on 66th st. and had to wait in line while two pick up trucks got washed. One was a long bed and he got the deluxe wash with wax. The second just got the regular wash and then I got the quickie wash which got all the pollen off the car so now it is all nice and shiny for a little while.

We had another of Pastor Kevin's wonderful sermons yesterday , followed by Communion. Once again I had to wait for about ten minutes in the parking lot for a handicapped space to open up from first service. As I was leaving afterwards, walking down the ramp, two men with their walkers were waiting for their cars to come pick them up, so they made room for me to get through, while we chatted for a minute about the "walker parade". When I got to the car I saw a lady coming down the ramp with her walker, so we have an abundance of people who do not miss church because of minor disabilities.

Afterward, I drove to the busy Park, where lots of dog walkers, picnickers, and explorers were enjoying the beautiful day! God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Romans 8:35-36
Can anything ever separate us from Christ's
love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if
we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted
or hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with
death? ( Even the Scriptures say, "For your sake we
are killed every day. We are being slaughtered
like sheep") No, despite all these things, overwhelming
victory is ours through Christ , who loved us.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Promised rest for God's People

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 and warm temps seems to be the forecast for the future. Well, except for a "cold front" which will mean lows of around 55 for a night or two, then we will zoom up to the high seventies or maybe eighty!

Meanwhile, in Cleveland, TN, Daryl said they had snow flurries and sleet yesterday...this is just 600 miles away! What a contrast! We are already having spring!

So this morning I tried to get my lab work done once again. When I got close to Quest, I saw about a dozen cars parked out front, which meant a large crowd inside, so it looks like I will have to try once again to make an appointment. I decided I would go on to CFA to get my breakfast, since that had been my plan, anyway.
After waiting about fifteen minutes in line, slowly creeping in the drive thru line, I came home with oatmeal and a fruit cup. The oatmeal is served with packets of brown sugar, assorted nuts and dried cherries, and the fruit cup was full of apples, with blueberries, Mandarin oranges and a couple pieces of strawberries. I really enjoyed the oatmeal, after adding milk, but I could do with a lot fewer pieces of apple in the fruit cup. I had my own orange juice and hot tea. As usual there was a long line in the drive thru and just about all the parking spaces were full! The 4th St. CFA is a busy place!

On the way there and back, I drove around Lynch Lake which was as still as a mirror, since there is no wind today. Ducks were placidly floating in a group and a few ibis and great white herons were waking up to a new day. God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Hebrews 4:12,13
For the word of God is full of living power.
It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting
deep into our innermost thoughts and desires.
It exposes us for what we really are. Nothing
in all creation can hide from him. Everything is
naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the
 God to whom we must explain all that we have done.

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

Love and hugs,
 Amaryllis

Cruisin' thru Colossians

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 than yesterday because the air is dryer, but the sun is out and the temp is warming up fast!

I got up later than usual this morning, for some reason. There was no reason to get up early, but it seems like part of the morning is wasted if I stay in bed past my usual time. Some people get out early, though. I already had a pair of Jehovah Witnesses knocking at my door while I was having my prayer time. I did not answer the door, but they slipped a card in which I have not even looked at. This was a husband and wife duo. I had a couple women come by just last month, and that time I spoke a few words with them and refused their literature. They are persistent!

I had Dave, the computer man, come and check out my PC yesterday, because it kept crashing on me, so after spending nearly an hour checking it out, he fixed it and did not charge me much. So, I will see if it works ok from now on. These electronic gadgets can be very annoying to me!

My cleaning ladies came yesterday and told me they had been to Sav-A-Lot just to check it out and were very pleased to find bananas at only .39 a pound, grapes very low priced and Kim bought a liter of diet cola for her husband for just 88 cents, which is less than half what he pays anywhere else! I may have to check it out one of these days..God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Colossians 3:23-25
Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do,
 as though you were working for the Lord
rather than for people. Remember the Lord
will give you an inheritance as your reward,
and the Master you are serving is Christ. But
if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back
for the wrong you have done. For God has no
favorites who can get away with evil.

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! It's overcast and humid, but the temp is in the high sixties, so it will warm up later on and no rain is predicted. Right now the wind is blowing, so it is still a gorgeous day!

Surprise! My yard crew came yesterday, instead of Monday, and blew all the leaves into piles and then put them in the dumpster. My handy man raked up 9 bags a couple weeks ago, and I did not think my yard crew would do any more raking. Guess I was fooled! Anyway, it looked nice for a while, but now the leaves that are left on the trees are falling.

Also, later in the afternoon, the roof man came and inspected and could not find any cause for the leak in the flat roof. He sealed the ends of the shingles where the slant roof joins the flat one and said over all the roof should last me several more years. Yay! Good news!

I heard a loud mower close by while I was busy on the computer and went to the living room to see where the mowing was. I could not see anything, but later, Cheryl called and told me that the yard next door was mowed and edged. A young guy I have known since he was born lives there and does not care for his yard, so his mom came and hired a yard man to clean up the place. That is the best it has looked for a year or more!

Well, I saw a mocking bird sitting on the line this morning. It was such a contrast to see this lone wild bird sitting among all the wires and connections on that particular pole! God is good!

From the Promise Bible NLT:

Psalm 37:3-8
Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the Lord
and he will give you your heart's desires.

Commit everything you do to the Lord,
Trust him and he will help you.
He will make your innocence as clear asthe dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine
like the noonday sun.

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

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis