SUMMER'S COLORS

PHOTOS I TOOK AT MY FAVORITE WALKING TRAILS, THE PARK, THE MEMORIAL GARDEN, AND THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS. I ALSO LOVE THE MORNING GLORIES THAT GREET ME EVERY MORNING.

S

LOUISVILLE BOTANICAL GARDEN

MY SON CAMERON TOOK ME TO VISIT THE NEW GARDEN IN LOUISVILLE, KY. IT WAS A VERY HOT DAY SO WE DIDN'T STAY LONG. I HOPE TO GO BACK WHEN THEY GET IT ALL FINISHED.

listening

I will hear
 what God the Lord will speak,

For He will speak peace
To His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to folly.
Surely His salvation is near
to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.

Psalm 85:8

PRAYING

SO NICE TO WALK AT THE PRAYER GARDEN

PRAYING FOR OUR NATION.

Revive us again.
Fill our hearts with Your love.
May our souls be rekindled
With fire from above.

Lily of the Valley

One of my favorite songs is

 "He's the Lily of the Valley". One verse says:

"He will never, never leave me, 
nor yet forsake me here,

While I live by faith and do His blessed will;

A wall of fire about me, I’ve nothing now to fear,

With His manna He my hungry soul shall fill."

Charles Fry

SPREAD A LITTLE SUNSHINE

I love to see the flowers bloom from spring throughout the fall

But summer's glorious colors are the sunniest of all.

Glads make me happy
 and lilies lift my chin

And those bright-eyed black-eyed Susans always make me grin.
Karen Rice

When our family lived in Buford, GA, we had a neighbor who would spend her summer mornings picking day lilies, Queen Anne's lace, sweet pea, and whatever flowers she found in the fields along the road. Then she would arrange them in vases people saved for her, and take them to widows and those who were sick.

THANKS TO MY SISTER FOR SENDING ME PHOTOS OF ALL THE LOVELY FLOWERS IN HER YARD!

ROSES

Roses, roses, roses,

I thank all the roses
that bloom in the spring.

SUMMER MEMORIES

Lightning bugs, June bugs, bumble bees, butterflies, and busy little ants. Summer is almost here! We are already having thunder storms in the heat of the day.

I remember sitting on the screen porch glider with my mother and sister during rain showers, listening to thunder rumble and mother telling stories and singing songs from her childhood.

I'll let you in on the sweet old truths,

Stories we heard from our fathers,

counsel we learned at our mother's knee.

We're not keeping this to ourselves,

we're passing it along to the next generation—

God's fame and fortune,

the marvelous things he has done.

Psalm 78:2-4 Message

Strong Tower

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; 

the righteous run to it and are safe.

Proverbs 18:10

A note of encouragement from my son

You are in good hands. You are in His hands. The Lord hears your prayers. Do not be anxious for anything. Be yoked with the Lord's righteousness and faithfulness and goodness. Do not carry judgment, or worry. You cannot make anything happen. Trust in the Lord. He shall direct your steps. Be yoked with confidence and faith.

FEAR NOT

Fear not. I am with thee. 

Oh, be not dismayed,

For I am thy God 

and will still give thee aid.

I'll strengthen thee, help thee,

and cause thee to stand

Upheld by My righteous 

omnipotent hand.

From the hymn: How Firm a Foundation

Carried

Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!

For each day he carries us in his arms.

Psalm 68:19

The same Lord who carries us,

carries our burdens, too.

PEACE

How beautiful upon the mountains

Are the feet of him who brings good news,

Who proclaims peace,

Who brings glad tidings of good things,

Who proclaims salvation,

Who says to Zion,

“Your God reigns!”

Isaiah 52:7

I AM ENJOYING PHOTOS MY SON TOOK LAST SUMMER AT YOSEMITE.

COMPASSION

"The mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” 
Says the Lord who has compassion on you.
ISAIAH 54:10

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses
indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23

"I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
MATTHEW 28:20

LABELS

I HATE scratchy labels sewn into the necks of my clothes! The first thing I do is cut them out before wearing a garment. 

Our Bible study leader was talking about getting rid of negative labels from our past. I thought about the labels that people have given me: in high school it was Beanpole or Bones. (I have since 'outgrown' those!)

"Rip those hurtful labels off!" our leader said.

Father God has some labels for us to wear: Beloved, Mighty Man of Valor, Bride of Christ, Ransomed, Precious, My Delight.

I like those labels.
. 
Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord said, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with my lovingkindness."

Beautiful Mercy

There is no pit too deep
that Jesus cannot reach.
There is no sorrow too strong
that will overtake his beloved ones.
He's brought me to the wilderness
where I will learn to sing 
Laura Hackett

Worries into Prayers

Instead of worrying, pray.

Let petitions and praises

shape your worries into prayers,

letting God know your concerns.  

Before you know it,

a sense of God's wholeness,

everything coming together 
for good,

will come and settle you down.

It's wonderful what happens

when Christ displaces worry

at the center of your life.  

Philippians 4:6-7 (MSG)

SEASONS IN PERRIN PARK

TO EVERY THING THERE IS A SEASON AND A TIME TO EVERY PURPOSE UNDER THE HEAVEN.
ECCLESIASTES 3

I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WALK IN A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY OWNED PARK RECENTLY, EVEN WHILE MANY PARKS ARE CLOSED. I HAVE GREAT MEMORIES OF NATURE WALKS, PICNICS AND BIRTHDAY PARTIES THERE THROUGH THE YEARS. THESE ARE SOME PHOTOS I TOOK IN DIFFERENT SEASONS.

ALL IS WELL

ON TRACK

TRUST GOD FROM THE BOTTOM OF YOUR HEART. DON'T TRY TO FIGURE OUT EVERYTHING ON YOUR OWN. LISTEN FOR GOD'S VOICE IN EVERYTHING YOU DO, EVERYWHERE YOU GO. HE'S THE ONE WHO WILL KEEP YOU ON TRACK.
PR0VERBS 3:5-6

My Redeemer Lives

My Redeemer lives 

And I have seen His glory

As He works all things

Together for my good.

Whatever things occur

Of this I can be sure

I know my Redeemer lives.

Martin Nystrom

Thinking of all of my blog friends .

It is strange to think of 

Resurrection Sunday

without going to church 

or getting together with family.

I like the words of this song

that whatever occurs we know that

Jesus our Redeemer lives.

PINNACLE

“So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.
His going forth is as certain as the dawn;

And He will come to us like the rain;

Like the spring rain watering the earth.”

Hosea 6:3

As a teen, I went to Camp Pinnacle in Clayton, Georgia, for summer camp. On the last day the staff woke up us at 4 a.m. to hike up Mount Pinnacle. My friends and I chatted and laughed as we made our way up the steep slopes with our flashlights. It was still dark when we got to our destination and our leader told us: sit down, turn off your flashlights, and do not move or talk.

Suddenly the brilliant sun burst over the horizon revealing that we were on the edge of the pinnacle overlooking the hills and valleys, pastures and farmhouses of north Georgia. Someone started singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty" and all the girls joined in. It was a goose bump moment I'll always remember.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning
our song shall rise to Thee;

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.

Nothing Can Separate Us

I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor power, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38

Deeply Rooted

May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.

Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. May he be given glory forever and ever through endless ages because of his master plan of salvation for the Church through Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 3:17-21 Living Bible

GOD'S WONDERS

The whole earth is is filled

with Your wonders.

Where morning dawns,

where evening fades,

you call forth songs of joy.

Psalm 65:8

ENJOY

Enjoy the little things, 

for one day you may look back
and realize:

they were the big things.

Robert Brault

When all means fail—

God's love prevails. 

Hold fast to your faith. 

Stand fast in his Word. 

There is no other hope in this world.

David Wilkerson's last words

on his blog shortly before his death in 2011.

view from my living room!

COMFORTING WORD

YOU, O LORD, 

ARE A SHIELD ABOUT ME,

MY GLORY 

AND THE LIFTER OF MY HEAD.

PSALM 3:3

WHATEVER THINGS ARE LOVELY...

THINK ON THESE THINGS.

PHILIPPIANS 4:8

BE STILL

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD,

I WILL BE EXALTED 

AMONG THE NATIONS.

I WILL BE EXALTED IN THE EARTH.

PSALM 46:10

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:25

One Day

Living He loved me

Dying he saved me

Buried He carried

My sins far away

Rising He justified

Freely forever

One day He's coming

O glorious day!

Hymn by John Chapman

2 CORINTHIANS 4:16-18 NEVER GIVE UP!

Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 
For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 
So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

EACH DAY

 ON THE DAY I CALLED, 

YOU ANSWERED ME,

YOU MADE ME BOLD 

WITH STRENGTH IN MY SOUL.

PSALM 138:3

LOVING HANDS

Hands that pulled up anklet socks

and buckled leather shoes.
That rolled my hair in pin-curls
for Sunday morning do's.
Homemade cakes they baked and iced
for family and friends.
They hung out clothes upon the line
held fast by wooden pins.
Mother's hands were full of love;
gentle was her touch.
Her hands were busy dawn 'til dark
because she loved so much.

By Karen, in memory of Mother

Your love has given me much joy and comfort...your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God's people.
Philemon 1:7

SPRINGTIME IN MY SOUL

 

THERE IS SPRINGTIME
IN MY SOUL TODAY

FOR WHEN THE LORD IS NEAR,

THE DOVE OF PEACE
SINGS IN MY HEART,

THE FLOWERS OF GRACE APPEAR.

-ELIZA HEWITT

WE HAVE SEEN HIS GLORY,
THE GLORY OF THE ONE AND ONLY SON,
WHO CAME FROM THE FATHER,
FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH.
JOHN 1:14

LIVING WATER

Whoever believes in me,

as the Scripture has said,
 ‘Out of his heart will flow
rivers of living water.
John 7:38

 In our ladies' Bible study group, I have many friends with disabilities and limitations, but the grace on their lives makes their smile even brighter, and their testimony sweeter. Our teacher is 88 years old, and full of joy, in spite of chronic illnesses. She inspires us to keep on keeping on!

BOBBING ALONG, SINGING A SONG

IT WAS WARM ENOUGH TODAY TO OPEN THE WINDOW FOR A FEW MINUTES. I COULD HEAR A RED WINGED BLACKBIRD IN THE BACK YARD. SO ENCOURAGING TO KNOW THAT SPRING GETS CLOSER EVERY DAY!

REMEMBRANCE

Jesus made this promise:

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
John 14:26 NASB

I remember my Sunday School teachers when I was a child. They told about Zacchaeus climbing up the sycamore tree to see Jesus and hear his every word.

My teachers have all gone on to Heaven now, but I wish I could tell them that I did treasure those songs, memory verses and stories. I can picture Mrs. Cleo at the old upright piano singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children".

Lord, Help us encourage the children while they are young. Thank you that, just as You did for us, You will bring Your words to their remembrance through life's joys and trials.

PRAYER

The LORD will command his lovingkindness

 in the daytime,

 and in the night 

his song shall be with me, 

a prayer unto the God of my life.

Psalm 42:8

All the saints and angels 
bow before Your throne
All the elders cast their crowns 
before the Lamb of God and sing:
You are worthy of it all, 
 For from You are all things, 
and to You are all things,
 You deserve the glory
SONG  BY DAVID BRYMER

WHEREVER YOU ARE - THE MARTINS

Are you standing at a crossroad
Wondering which road you should take?
And you're dreading the decision
And a possible mistake.
But the will of God won't lead you
Where the grace of God can't keep you.
You will never be out of His care.
Remember that the Lord's already there.

MAJESTIC SWEETNESS

Majestic sweetness sits enthroned 

Upon the Savior's brow.

His head with radiant glories crowned,

His lips with grace overflow.

To Him I owe my life and breath

And all the joys I have.

He makes me triumph over death

And saves me from the grave.

Since from His bounty I receive

Such proofs of love divine

Had I a thousand hearts to give

Lord, they should all be Thine.

Samuel Stennett

Walk in the way of love,

just as Christ loved us

and gave Himself up for us

as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:2