Spending quality time with family is very important. These are the moments where our focus is on them. We listen, encourage, and spend time doing something together. Do something special and nurture your relationships. Plant a miniature garden in a pot and spend time caring for it as a family.
When we give time caring for something or someone it has the opportunity to flourish and become a beautiful and stunning garden of purpose and hope.
Where man sees but withered leaves, God sees sweet flowers growing. ~Albert Laighton
The ATC (Artist Trading Card) also known as ACEO’s (Art Cards, Editions and Originals) are miniature works of art exactly 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. They are usually original works that are traded between artists but it is now common and accepted to sell them as well. This gives a buyer who would normally not be able to afford original pieces an opportunity to collect.
You can now purchase blank ATC cards that are already cut to size but you can also cut your own. Make sure to use at least 140# paper that is acid free.
I recently found this photograph that I now leave tucked in my journal. It is an old photo of my daughter taken fourteen years ago. Every time I see it I smile. It’s not a perfect picture, not the beautiful one parents boast about, but it’s my favorite. It stirs the sweet memory of my daughters humor when she was very young.
Out of the blue (pardon the idiom) my daughter would strike this funny face to make me laugh. It was always this face. Of course I would laugh and then she would laugh. It was a precious moment. Since these moments were always spontaneous I feel blessed to have captured it on film. Little did I know I would still be laughing with the little bundle of joy who has now grown into a lovely young woman.
Do you have a photograph that makes you smile every time you see it? Tuck or paste it in your journal. You’ll be glad you did!
Doubt is an ugly word. It implies a belief that something most likely will never come to pass. When hope has not been met, it can leave us in doubt and at worse sinking deep into a sea of despair. Doubt over time can choke our hope, especially when years have fled without answers, we have lost our youth, and when sorrow occurs. There is no cure for doubt as it can attack at any time, but if we keep truth before us it can smother the doubt that is hostile to our hopes. Doubt is deceitful. Hope is promising.
Scripture for encouragement:
“You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your word.” Psalm 119:114
“The LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.” Psalm 147:11
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12
“There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” Proverbs 23:18
“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31
“in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,” Titus 1:2
Prayer:
“Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” Psalm 25:5
“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:11
“Sustain me, my God, according to Your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.” Psalm 119:116
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1:18-19
Note: Scripture from NIV
Jane Austen books provide the perfect late night, fireside reading or the ideal literature for the light breeze, big hat, toes in the sand beach day.
“What is right to be done, cannot be done too soon.” Jane Austen
What is your favorite book?
Select quotes from a book you love and add it to your journal!
Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth, and let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock, and her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her desired haven. No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God’s strength had you not been supported amid the water-floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.
Let not this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have trials enough without seeking them: the full portion will be measured out to you in due season. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise him for that degree of holy confidence whereunto you have attained: walk according to that rule, and you shall yet have more and more of the blessing of God, till your faith shall remove mountains and conquer impossibilities.
Morning and Evening: A New Edition of the Classic Devotional Based on The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
Cayenne pepper is a spice that is used frequently to season dishes. But did you know it is used often for medicinal purposes? While there may be some debate on just how much this pepper may help disease there is no arguing it does bring to the table a lot more than flavor.
How do you take Cayenne Pepper? Making a warm tea out of the spice is probably best for those who can tolerate the drink. Personally I take organic cayenne pepper capsules that I prepare myself. Another option I found to work well is to mix a teaspoon of cayenne pepper with two ounces of spicy v-8 juice and drink quickly. I have also tried mixing the spice with different types of food but found it all to be very unpleasant. Mixing the pepper with milk was the worst of my experiences. I am sure my gag reflex would have made a fine clip for the World’s Funniest Videos!
Did you know:
- It has been said that a teaspoon of cayenne pepper can stop a heart attack in 30 seconds.
- Known by some to remove toxins from the bloodstream, aid in digestion, ease toothaches, allergies and inflammation. Excellent for heart health, helpful in weight loss and even snake bites! I use it to help with energy and circulation.
- Cayenne contains capsaicin. Capsaicin is what gives Cayenne pepper its medicinal value and has been widely studied for its pain-reducing properties.
- The more heat the chili pepper produces the more capsaicin it contains. One of the hottest varieties is the Habanero.
- The heat of chili peppers is measured in Scoville heat units (SHU). Most with a rating of 30,000-50,000.
- Cayenne pepper is an excellent source of vitamin A. It also contains vitamin B6, C, K, manganese and dietary fiber.
- Make sure to store away from direct sunlight.
- Cayenne gives a bit of panache to hot cocoa. I even add a bit to my spaghetti sauce.
- Chili peppers have been cultivated in Central & South America for thousands of years but they were not introduced to the rest of the world until the 15th century. Christopher Columbus stumbled upon the peppers on his explorations of the Caribbean Islands and brought them to Europe where they were used as a substitute for black pepper.
Cayenne pepper anyone? It’s definitely worth the research!
Important Note: Please make sure to check with a trusted physician prior to use.
Project Gutenberg is a great site offering over 38,000 free e-books. It’s worth the visit!
“That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.”
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
Take a minute or two to read from the pen of Charles Spurgeon.
What does this sweet prayer teach me? It shall be my evening’s petition; but first let it yield me an instructive meditation. The text informs me first of all that David had his doubts; for why should he pray, “Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation,” if he were not sometimes exercised with doubts and fears? Let me, then, be of good cheer, for I am not the only saint who has to complain of weakness of faith. If David doubted, I need not conclude that I am no Christian because I have doubts. The text reminds me that David was not content while he had doubts and fears, but he repaired at once to the mercy-seat to pray for assurance; for he valued it as much fine gold. I too must labour after an abiding sense of my acceptance in the Beloved, and must have no joy when his love is not shed abroad in my soul. When my Bridegroom is gone from me, my soul must and will fast. I learn also that David knew where to obtain full assurance. He went to his God in prayer, crying, “Say unto my soul I am thy salvation.” I must be much alone with God if I would have a clear sense of Jesus’ love. Let my prayers cease, and my eye of faith will grow dim. Much in prayer, much in heaven; slow in prayer, slow in progress. I notice that David would not be satisfied unless his assurance had a divine source. “Say unto my soul.” Lord, do thou say it! Nothing short of a divine testimony in the soul will ever content the true Christian. Moreover, David could not rest unless his assurance had a vivid personality about it. “Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.” Lord, if thou shouldst say this to all the saints, it were nothing, unless thou shouldst say it to me. Lord, I have sinned; I deserve not thy smile; I scarcely dare to ask it; but oh! say to my soul, even to my soul, “I am thy salvation.” Let me have a present, personal, infallible, indisputable sense that I am thine, and that thou art mine.
