Moonlit Summer nights in Alabama …

Heavy air hugs warmly, like an old friend;

Moonlight filters through trees playing with the shadows;

Lightning bugs flicker in delight:

Katydids and tree frogs join in mass choral hymns of praise …

“Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deed among all the peoples.
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;

May the heavens be joyful, and may the earth rejoice;
May the sea roar, and all it contains;
May the field be jubilant, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
Before the Lord, for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the world in righteousness,
And the peoples in His faithfulness.”

Psalm 96: 1-4a, 11-13 NASB

Some may describe creation praising the Lord as whimsy and stuff for children. I don’t think so. Throughout the Scriptures, God is praised for His creation and His creation praises Him. In Psalm 148, all of creation is told to “Praise the Lord from the earth,” including “Fruit trees and all cedars; animals and all cattle; crawling things and winged fowl.” Along with people, “They are to praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted” v 13.

Come to think of it, even our cedar tree in the backyard was happy that full moon night. 😊

Blessings,

Kim 😊💕

“He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me”

Psalm 50: 23a

“How is thanksgiving a sacrifice?” I asked myself after reading this verse. I thought thanksgiving was typically a joyful experience. A few days later, I learned a valuable lesson.

It was a day when it one thing got straightened out then another reared it’s ugly head! And truthfully, I was getting a little weary with the whole process. Do you ever feel like that?

Then, I remembered the “sacrifice of thanksgiving”. I stopped and realized that this was a time for sacrificial thanksgiving. And then I thought, “I really don’t want to offer thanks right now.” But I determined to make myself stop and thank God. I remember thinking about how, in that moment, it seemed very hard to give thanks. It felt like a sacrifice because it took a major effort at a low point in life. But I did it and my heart was more at peace. It was not easy to give thanks in that moment, but I did it. I made myself give Him thanks. My troubles did not vanish, but God never promises that they will. But God did give me His peace and helped me deal with the issues at hand.

Skipping forward in time … I wrote the above a few months ago and for some reason, never finished or posted it. I found it and thought of what a good reminder it was for me today. It made me stop and think 🤔… I honor God when I give Him the sacrifice of thanksgiving… when I thank Him, He is honored. I needed that reminder today and maybe it will be a word of encouragement for someone else too.🙂

God bless you,

Kim💕🙂

The tragic shooting in the Uvalde, Texas elementary school is heavy on my heart today. Please remember these in prayer as only God can comfort their hearts.

Thank you,
Kim💕🙏

I know … Yet again, a cute kitty pic. Cats with their antics and unique personalities can make me laugh. You never know where you might find this one napping … even in the middle of a dusty trunk of tucked away treasures. I think that God must have had a lot of fun creating the animals and their personalities. 😃. I am truly grateful for the blessing of Bama Kitty and that he can make me laugh! 😻. Maybe he will bring a smile to your day as well! 😻

Have a blessed day!

Kim 💕😻😻😻

Spring is in full, lovely bloom here in Alabama. I’m a plant person so this time of year is a special treat from the Good Lord! This weekend I thoroughly enjoyed plant and flower photos posted to social media. I even got to post a few of my own. Folks chatted about the type of plant, how much sunlight it requires, is it hard to grow, etc. And I enjoyed all of it! I found joy in the experience and it refreshed my soul. To borrow my cousin’s lovely phrase, it “made my heart smile”. 🥰

Then it happened … this little nudge from the Lord reminding me that Joy is a Fruit of the Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Galatians 5: 22-23 NIV

God gives us the fruit of His Spirit when we come to know Him. I started to wonder about the parallels of cultivating Spiritual fruit like we cultivate our earthly plants. The word “cultivate” kept sticking with me. I cultivate my plants by observing their state and giving them the needed food, water, and amount of light so that they are healthy and productive. I cultivate my Fruit of the Spirit by keeping my heart right with God, by walking with Him daily, talking to Him, feeding and watering my soul with His Word and His presence, and growing in the light of His love. That allows me to grow spiritually, be a healthy, productive Christian to bless others, and ultimately bring honor and glory to God.

Early in life The Good Lord blessed me with a quirky sense of humor and an ability to laugh easily. Those blessings have helped me over the years but they do not sustain my soul like the Joy of the Lord does.

“The Joy of the Lord is your strength”
Nehemiah 8: 10 NIV

And The Lord nudged me a little more … I realized that over the past year or two, some of my joy, has withered on the vine a bit. I’ve not lost it but I have not cultivated it. My Joy certainly has not flourished as it should. Life dishes out a lot of hard stuff for us all and the enemy uses these hard things to hinder, even try to steal, our Joy. But here’s the great thing: The Good Lord gifts us with Joy and He is greater than the enemy and all life’s troubles! Just claiming this fills my heart with His Joy and makes my heart shine! 🥰

I’m going to ponder and pray about all of this and see what else the Lord teaches me. I already know He is telling me to Pay Attention! Cultivate the fruit of Joy (along with all the other fruits)! Choose Joy! Seek Joy! See Joy in even the little things of life! This way my life is enriched in order to bless others and bring honor and glory to Him!

I’ll keep you “posted” 😉 (pun intended … because this is a Blog “Post” … and yes, it’s a quirky sense of humor 😉😄),

Kim 💕🌼🌸🌹🌷