These “things with feathers” frequent our yard, hoping for food and safety.
This “thing with feathers” lives in the heart of love and faith
In the midst of raging fires, devastating wars, and rampant illnesses, falls and broken bones, may we too fly with hope perched in our souls and a wordless song of love ringing in our hearts!
May God’s angels guard you and may you be safe and healthy. May all your wounds heal and your body be renewed.
May all your prayers be answered.
The Lord Bless You and Keep You and give you Peace and Hope for a brighter tomorrow!
Yesterday we had “Christmas in January” for our nursing home residents because they were in “lock down” in December due to an outbreak of COVID among the residents. It was a glorious party. I am so grateful for their recovery, and the fun we had gifting them each with a pillow handmade and personalized by my friend, Linda Maydak. What a wonderful treat! Thank you, Linda!!
I had a wonderful time playing Santa and distributing the lovely gifts and the tasty treats w provided. It’s never to late to celebrate Christ’s birth and gift our friends with something to celebrate the wonders of Christmas! I hope you are remembering His gift of salvation and thanking Him every day, too. He gives us reasons to HOPE every day. Praise God!!
Oh, and before I close, please pray for my Writers’ Group friend, Janet Hill, who fell and broke her hip today. Join me in prayer for all those affected by the CA wildfires… and pray for peace in the middle east… and in the world. Amen!
Gone from home for three weeks Wonderful holidays and birthdays Shared with family and friends Missed my daily sanctuary quiet time
Back home and falling into routine Up around 8: and make coffee Climb the stairs to my “sanctuairee” Spend time with Jesus and His Word
Spend time with David Jeremiah Spend time with Guideposts devotionals Spend quiet time with God in prayer Ask God to be with each of you
Meditate with “All God’s Creatures” Contemplate love and life with Bob Goff Compare scriptures with Eugene Peterson “The Message” paraphrasing inspires me
What’s your favorite way to spend Quiet time? Do you carve out space for it everyday?
Where?
When?
With whom?
Regardless of when, where, and with whom, May your day always include space for Quiet Time
Pray with me, will you? For all those who are in distress: the homeless, the sick, the frightened, the lonely, those who feel helpless or hopeless. “Bee” the Light. Shine His Light wherever you go in this world. Lord, help us to reach out and to love as You love! Amen
If you have followed my blog in the past, you know I used to post sermon notes every Sunday afternoon. I’ve not done that for a while. Today I decided, on a snowy May 23rd in SW Montana, that I have nothing better to do than to share with you my notes from last Sunday’s sermon… because with winter weather in late May, I need encouragement to “Keep Hope Alive”… and I thought maybe you could use a little encouragement, too. So here’s what Rev. Mary Grace Reynolds preached last Sunday (as filtered through my ears to my brain to you)…
Sunday’s sermon on hope was inspired (not by Jeremiah 29:11 which is one of my favorite scriptures) but by Romans 8:22-27.
Romans 8:22-27 New International Version
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
(Bold print added by me)
Paul wrote this a couple of decades After Christ descended and ascended. Paul addressed the anxiety of Those who questioned Christ’s return.
We who have the First Fruits of the Spirit Are saved by the HOPE of what we do not see. God, who searches our hearts, knows… God knows our every mood and emotion.
And with that scripture in mind, Mary Grace shared her sermon. Here are my notes:
KEEP HOPE ALIVE
Calvin Coolidge’s young son Passed away because of a toe infection. It was over 100 years ago – Before the discovery of penicillin.
Today we have the promise of A new vaccine to retrain cells Of a brain tumor to attack the tumor. The narrative of lives is being changed.
People who walked with Jesus Had interpreted Him as saying, “I’ll be right back…” But Jesus was taking too long!
Paul wrote to tell the early Christians, Who had been given the Holy Spirit, To be patient … and keep HOPE alive. Maybe Hope isn’t a whisper, but a shout!
Hope is more active than faith. It is a fighter and a screamer. The world is groaning, crying out in pain, And people who’ve been stepped on must also.
Don’t accept the pain life throws at you. Cry out in pain. Bark as a threatened dog. Hope is harder to lose than faith Because it is louder… and persistent.
We hope for things beyond our reality. Hope gives us the strength to wait – To be cheerleaders who, with discipline, Keep HOPE (through the Holy Spirit) alive.
Hope feels like pain, burns like passion When we see all the world’s injustices. But HOPE is alive and will not give up. Keep it alive in you. Expect its miracles!
I love this meme!
Keep hope alive! If you have time, go to YouTube and select one of the renditions of “It Took a Miracle”… and absorb those words. So profound! (For whatever reason, I couldn’t imbed that song here.) I love it…
It Took a Miracle
To hang on to HOPE in a fallen world may take a miracle… But that miracle is yours for the taking. Take HOPE And keep it alive! Amen?
That’s my granddaughter, Hope, with me… and her daughter, Sienna, my great-granddaughter, who will be 5 next month, and our last Boston Terrier, TazE. HOPE is alive and well in our family. How about yours?
Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, is a holiday that celebrates the date of the Mexican army’s May 5, 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. The day, which falls on Sunday, May 5 in 2024, is also known as Battle of Puebla Day. While it is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States, Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican American populations.
I love the color, the food and drink, and the joy associated with this date.
This video is a fun way to learn a few facts about this day from the Mexican point of view:
A very informative video… with a powerful message: “A grain of hope, no matter how small and insignificant to others, can make the impossible possible.”
Will you celebrate Cinco de Mayo today? If so, how? I wish we had a mariachi band here in Ennis. I’d be there in a minute!
Mariachi music is synonymous in my mind with this date. How about you? Are you a mariachi fan, too?
I’m off to make and enjoy a Margarita. Wish you could come join me!!
I love the words of this hymn of grace. If you are in a place where you can tap on the arrow and hear it, I wholeheartedly recommend you do so. But, if you cannot link to it and listen, at least read these beautiful lyrics!
“Come and find the quiet center In the crowded life we lead, Find the room for hope to enter, Find the frame where we are freed. Clear the chaos and the clutter, Clear our eyes that we can see All the things that really matter. Be at peace and simply be.
Silence is a friend who claims us, Cools the heat and slows the pace. God it is who speaks and names us, Knows our being, touches base; Making space within our thinking Lifting shades to show the sun, Raising courage when we’re shrinking, Finding scope for faith begun.
In the spirit let us travel, Open to each other’s pain. Let our loves and fears unravel, Celebrate the space we gain. There’s a place for deepest dreaming, There’s a time for heart to care, In the Spirit’s lively scheming There is always room to spare.”
Words by Shirley Erena Murray Music attributed to B.F. White
You can live at peace Even in the midst of strife Find center in life
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” He had also told His followers “…in this world you will have many troubles. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). So peace is not the absence of trouble; it is the presence of God.
Come and find your space. Yes, we have some room to spare! Come and visit us!
God bless you, my friend. You are in my heart of hearts, My quiet center.
Happy Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day, my friends! Today’s writing prompt from JetPack asked for a suggested title for a biography should there be one written about me.
Daily writing prompt
If there was a biography about you, what would the title be?
One of my devotionals this morning was about “A Closed Door.” It used this scripture as a prompt for the commentary:
Matthew 6:6 “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees you in secret will reward you.”
There may be a need for some people to pray behind a closed door, but my favorite prayer room is up my circle staircase in our entryway to my cozy 12’x12′ “Sanctuary” where I am never alone. The Holy Spirit is alive and well up there… and the front door in that entryway always is open for you to come and join me. My life is An Open Door – an open book! If you’ve followed my blog for awhile, you know I am quite a transparent person. I have nothing to hide! And my Father is not “in secret.” He has an open door for you, too! Go – and sit with His heart – and Let Him into yours!! Open up your heart and let the Son shine in!!
If you have time, and if you can, click on this delightful children’s song below It will make you smile. It’s guaranteed to make you want to sing along, and open up your heart… the door to heart can remain open without fear if the Son shines there!
“An Open Door – a biography about Jan Beekman“ Waiting to “bee” written – someday – hah!
Meantime, let me share openly with you about this little light of mine that I always try to shine.
1 Corinthians 15:14
“Let all that you do be done in love.”
Today is Ash Wednesday when we begin a 40 day period of waiting with love for Easter (Lent). It is a time to reflect on the great gift of eternal life that Jesus made possible through His life and death and resurrection. May we celebrate Lent with the same fervor that we acknowledge February 14th each year as Valentine’s Day!
My dear friends, Lee & Loleta, know how to celebrate Valentine’s Day in style. And Bob & I celebrated Valentine’s Day early in 1962 by using that red & white, hearts & flowers theme for our wedding.
Here we are 62 years later:
Yup, still celebrating our love… with an open door to our hearts and our home.
Today we’ll get a cross of ashes on our foreheads that will symbolize our devotion to the One who brought us together and whose mercy and grace has kept us together all these years.
Yes, He prays with us He stays with us His heart is an open door Mine is, too. Is yours?
I hope that link opened for you – and I hope you were inspired to sing along!
What does the Bible say about singing?
Singing is part of our human experience. Songs have been used to express some of the deepest human joys and sorrows from the beginning of time. Of course, the Bible has a lot to say about music and singing. You may wonder what God thinks about that toe tapping song you sing every Sunday morning. What does the Bible actually say about singing? Here are a couple of m favorite scriptures:
“Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!”
Do go back up to that youtube link, if you didn’t click on it before… and this time, do sing along! Nothing will lift your spirits quite like that! Sing to the Lord… He’ll lift you up and you’ll smile in spite of yourself. Really!! Try it!
God will send you beauty In the skies and on the land Look for His surprises everywhere Many of them really are quite grand
It’s hunting season here in Montana So the deer and antelope are convinced If they come here to our yard They’re protected as if they’re fenced
Something good happened here today The doe and the buck stuck around I enjoyed their company – you would, too Shhh… don’t scare them. Don’t make a sound!
They see me; they hear my steps Off they go – but they’ll return Good things happen here You’re safe, my friends. Come and learn!
