28 April 2022 Kairos Time

April 28, 2022April 28, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, history, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. I hope this finds you well. I’m sitting here with you with Link cuddled beside me, a hot cup of coffee and the aroma of icy hot cream I put on my back. I am excited as I get to share something I learned about yesterday in my ponderings with God. You all are probably familiar with “divine timing” but did you know there is actually a Greek word for what is considered God’s time? The word is Kairos:

Kairos is an ancient Greek word meaning ‘the right, critical, or opportune moment’. In modern Greek, kairos also means ‘weather’. It is one of two words that the ancient Greeks had for ‘time’; the other being chronos.Wikipedia

The world we live in is governed by chronos – a chronological existence. We have clocks, calendars, charts, graphs, simulations, watching people be born and age marking the beginning of the journey with a birthday…a touchstone to come back to each year of being on earth. As modern science is exploring now, time is just a concept…a bookmark in the unfolding of existence. When your God time is pretty meaningless. God operates in Kairos time. There is no beginning and there is no end there just is. Learning about this further helps me understand why answers to questions I ask and prayers I say take so long sometimes to get answered or why sometimes I’m so surprised how quickly an answer comes. It all happens at the appointed time, when and how it’s supposed to happen. One of the best personal examples I have is begging God for three years to bring my dog Sam back to me and feeling like he wasn’t listening. Then there was Dutch, TJ and Link. In Kairos it took all that time and sequence of events for God to show me his love….that he heard me.

As I’ve talked about before, what is what we call a day in our existence to a God not bound by any of our understanding of time. How many moments, decisions….actions have to occur for a single prayer to be answered? I think of variables in an experiment….baking a cake! You have to have all the ingredients and like with baking bread, even the room temperature matters – everything has to go just right or the desired outcome doesn’t happen. When things get forced or rushed to happen that’s when we are not always pleased with the result.

There is lots of information about Kairos. Here are a couple things I found if your curious:

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/what-does-the-greek-word-kairos-mean-in-the-bible.html

https://www.theologyofwork.org/the-high-calling/blog/living-kairos-life-chronos-world

A passage from the Bible that is great for thinking of Kairos, what time is like for God in relation to us.

A couple videos I found yesterday that might interest you:

https://youtu.be/HGPeL0tNz8Y – Kairos Living in a Chronos World -Donna Marie Duffy TedxWilmington

https://youtu.be/OWlv7SQY12s – About Time (the difference between chronos time and Kairos time in Christianity)

The messages for today in A Woman’s Spirit really kind of connect well with Kairos. One aspect of our time on earth is the concept of change. No matter how much we want some things to stay the same….they don’t. For us time is always passing and things are always changing. We are not powerless in all of the unceasing movement of people, places and things and that is important to remember! What you think – how you think about changes is your choice:

God is the only constant. – Ruth Casey

Change is happening to us every minute. Scientists tell us that all our body’s cells are replaced every few months. We are losing old hair and growing new hair every day. The plant world participated in a cycle of death and renewal every minute. We are surrounded by change. And when it’s change that doesn’t affect our egos, we accept it without comment, or in many cases, without notice.

Change in our personal lives is not so easily accepted. Losing a job can be devastating. Ending a relationship might feel unsurvivable. Moving to a new community, away from friends, can be profoundly lonely and disorientating. We haven’t been promised unchanging lives. But we have been promised an unchanging, always -loving Higher Power. The most fruitful lessons we can learn that God is with us throughout every experience and that change is introduced in our lives only when it helps us fulfill our greater purpose.

I will trust the experiences in store for me today and have faith they are part of God’s plan. (In pencil I had written cyst—2004? In August of 2005 I had a hysterectomy as I kept getting cysts in my ovaries and uterus)

Let’s go for a walk:

The dog wasn’t out in this yard so I finally got a picture of these opened up in the sun

I think this tree is amazing. It’s the one I showed you had red buds all over which have become white blooms!

This open spot on the walk always gets me to stop and think of what this space could be. A park? A open air interfaith place to pray together? I’m sure the owner of this space has ideas. I hope it won’t just be another house.

When I saw this tree I just felt happy! A tree with a cheerful energy about it.

“I’m tired! Think I’ll sit with my belly in the cool grass a moment!” Doggy grounding technique!

I had to stop and take a picture of these. Part of the amazing life cycle of dandelions. Their lives are never really over. It’s like Kairos time for them if you think about it.

Last blooms of the journey yesterday – the trees around here have such a beautiful process of waking up

Scientific DefinitionPhysicists define time as the progression of events from the past to the present into the future. Basically, if a system is unchanging, it is timeless. Time can be considered to be the fourth dimension of reality, used to describe events in three-dimensional space.Nov 26, 2019

https://www.thoughtco.com › what-i…

What Is Time? A Simple Explanation – ThoughtCo

27 April 2022 Can We Peek Into Our Own Multiverse Through Dreams?

April 27, 2022April 27, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, dreams, Health, Home, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you today? My back and legs are still in pain but better! With the help of a back brace Link and I got a short walk yesterday as you will see in the pictures today. Yesterday I read that Pope Francis has been suffering with pain in his right leg. Seems it doesn’t matter who we are in this life – pain plays a part in the play! I hope he gets relief. Leg pain makes life really challenging! Speaking of that thank you for praying for my Mom and her surgery yesterday – all wet well! Hoping the same for my Aunt and her knee surgery today.

Last night I had a very vivid dream that seemed like I was peaking into the life of an alternate version of me. The dream began by me having sleep paralysis and I was looking at a small apricot colored poodle and trying to speak but I couldn’t so I was thinking to them, with my eyes “please help mommy.” Then I was out of the bed in a room that looks like my actual bedroom but it wasn’t – the light was different. I was adjusting the bottom sheet of the bed and the sheets were the same as I actually have on the bed right now. As I was adjusting the sheet I was startled because at the foot of the bed was what seemed to be a shadow at first. Then the shadow took the form of a man I guess I knew in the world I was in. He waved his hands at me and I woke up.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had a dream like this where I will find myself in a dream and the place I’m in is “like” my real world but not exactly the same. One dream I had was dreaming of being in a house that was slightly different than my actual house and following a man with horn rimmed glasses into a glowing blue television set. Anyhew…..dreams like this make me wonder if I’m not traveling in my own multiverse to other versions of me. Logically being in a dream state would definitely make that kind of journey possible. Consciousness moving without a physical body. Have you had this kind of experience?

The messages from A Woman’s Spirit today may resonate with you:

At times fear grips me and I can concentrate only on the anxiety. Then I realize I am in God’s care and I need only trust and the fear subsides. -Michele Fedderly

Remembering God in the midst of a fearful situation is often extremely difficult and at times impossible. But when we can bring God to the forefront of our minds, we sense immediate relief. Practicing reliance on our Higher Power will strengthen our use of this profoundly powerful tool. Our fears will be much more manageable when the use of this tool becomes second nature to us.

As we grow in our understanding of this program, we can look at fearful moments as opportunities to get closer to our Higher Power. Many of us came into recovery with little understanding of a loving God. More than a few of us felt betrayed by God. We may still be like babies learning to walk. But our walk will grow confident. With time and practice we will join the women who turn to God for guidance throughout their day. And as a result, we will know peace.

I will let God help me in every situation today. If I ask for help, I will get it. This is God’s promise.

———————-

If your experiencing debilitating things right now I want you to know your not alone and lots of people you may never know in this life are praying for you and hoping you will get through whatever your facing today. It may not seem like it when we are facing all the various trials this life throws at us, but God is with us! Much of the time God speaks in a whisper we are just too loud to hear:

Clouds in interesting formations milling about

View from my lawn chair – sitting there felt good for my back

That’s what the clouds were up to! Rain!

Feeling the gift that water is in my own hand

A healing place of rest – the heating blanket my Aunt brought over has been so wonderful on my back. My cousin gave me that pillow when I first got to Idaho! Love the simple message – when your in pain don’t forget to take deep breathes!

The rain moves on, the clouds part and there is glorious light. That’s a lot like it is when we are going through things in this life.

I put on the back brace my Aunt loaned to me and Link and I hobbled out for a short walk. I was delighted to see these purple beauties that seemed to just appear from one day to the next!

All the sudden this white flower has started to appear! I am amazed at the wild flowers this spring!

A huge cloud forming off in the distance – things are doing things all the time!

Another lovely passage from the book of Job. If you think you are in the worst of the worst read about Job! No matter what God is with us and knows us by name. I like this part because it talks about God the way I understand him best – through nature.

26 April 2022 Earth Angels and Finding Lasting Happiness

April 26, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, books, drawing, Health, history, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Money, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you today? Well Link and my day began with a knock on the door!

My Aunt and Uncle being at my door this morning made me think of Hebrew’s 13:2 – about angels

You can’t see his wings but they are there. I love and am so grateful for this man.

My beautiful Auntie making sure I got something to eat. She was worried about me this morning and she’s having surgery on her knee tomorrow!! She is such a blessing in my life! I have always felt like she is one of God’s earth angels! I love her so much!

I have been asking God to heal me and there has been relief from the pain but I think there hasn’t been complete healing because he’s trying to get me to slow down – to accept help!

This small message resonated with me yesterday. With healing there is more than just our physical bodies to be mended!

The message from A Woman’s Spirit seems to speak to what I’ve been reading about with young people of today and the concept of joining the work force. A lot of places that employ entry level people or places that pay low wages are really having trouble getting young people to work for them. I think there is a growing awareness that being happy and fulfilled in life is important! Working in some dead end job with toxic people and employment practices just isn’t worth it:

Many of us think that attaining status and financial success will make us happy. – Helene Lerner-Robbins

May be we have to attain status and material wealth before we realize that it doesn’t fulfill us. If we grew up in unhappy homes, we may have thought that material objects would change our lives. To discover otherwise takes wisdom, and we are only now seeking that.

The attainment of wisdom gives us the happiness we have sought everywhere else in our past. All that we longed for comes to us when we stop the rush to attain things and focus instead on the miracle of our spiritual being. Life is full of wonderful paradoxes; utilizing the tools of this program helps us discover them.

Let’s not mislead ourselves. Having status and financial success doesn’t preclude happiness; it just won’t guarantee it. Finding God and settling for wisdom does.

I don’t need anything special to be happy. My reliance on my Higher Power will give me lasting happiness.

——————-

I wasn’t able to get on a walk yesterday so I focused on other things that make me feel close to God:

I knew I couldn’t go for a walk but I COULD go and sit on the porch and admire the setting sun

The phrase is referenced with a reversal of the usual meaning in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s poem, “The Riddle of Strider”, originally written for The Fellowship of the Ring:

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Riddle of Strider, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

It’s hard to believe it’s been about 3 years since I broke my wrist. My wrist is crooked but it is healed and a physical reminder of what happens when our spirit moves faster than our feet!

Have you ever really stopped and looked at your hands? Thought about all we use them for? What an amazing tool!

I was trying to get a picture of his paws and instead he did this – showing me how valuable paws are! My little healer….

25 April 2022 Pain is a Teacher

April 25, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Health, history, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you? Today is another day of learning for me. The past few days I’ve been more active than usual. Yesterday I decided the yard work couldn’t wait and I really hurt my back doing it. I used to be able to take care of a front, back and side yard with weed whacking no problem just a couple of years ago! All I have now is weed whacking a little yard in the front and wore myself out! I’m so frustrated with my body….this getting older and limitations.

This morning I was reminded of a conversation I had with my ex once about being grateful I could do laundry. Some people with various physical and cognitive limitations can’t do it! They would give anything to be able to do it! This morning it was all I could do to get myself dressed! The other thing which is hard for me is asking for and accepting help! Thank God for my Aunt and Uncle this morning. They made sure I had something to eat and help for the pain. My Aunt used a massager on my back and left a cane and heating blanket for me! They helped me when they have their own things going on. My Aunt goes for her knee surgery Wednesday!

Pain is being my teacher. New, old and refresher lessons. I am reminding myself today to focus on what I can do and that my body is not meant to be a prison. What I’m going through will pass and new days will come. Hopefully mostly pain free days!

Please keep my Aunt in your prayers and my Mom. My Mom is having hip replacement surgery Tuesday!

Last night on The Chosen livestream psalm 77 was mentioned. I waited to read it this morning and it’s really perfect for what I’m experiencing with chronic pain. Especially the crying out to God for help part!

Psalm 77New International Version

Psalm 77^[a]

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.

¹I cried out to God^(A) for help;
    I cried out to God to hear me.
²When I was in distress,^(B) I sought the Lord;
    at night^(C) I stretched out untiring hands,^(D)
    and I would not be comforted.^(E)

³I remembered^(F) you, God, and I groaned;^(G)
    I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.^[b]^(H)
⁴You kept my eyes from closing;
    I was too troubled to speak.^(I)
⁵I thought about the former days,^(J)
    the years of long ago;
⁶I remembered my songs in the night.
    My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

⁷“Will the Lord reject forever?^(K)
    Will he never show his favor^(L) again?
⁸Has his unfailing love^(M) vanished forever?
    Has his promise^(N) failed for all time?
⁹Has God forgotten to be merciful?^(O)
    Has he in anger withheld his compassion?^(P)”

¹⁰Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
    the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.^(Q)
¹¹I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your miracles^(R)of long ago.
¹²I will consider^(S) all your works
    and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”^(T)

¹³Your ways, God, are holy.
    What god is as great as our God?^(U)
¹⁴You are the God who performs miracles;^(V)
    you display your power among the peoples.
¹⁵With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,^(W)
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

¹⁶The waters^(X) saw you, God,
    the waters saw you and writhed;^(Y)
    the very depths were convulsed.
¹⁷The clouds poured down water,^(Z)
    the heavens resounded with thunder;^(AA)
    your arrows^(AB) flashed back and forth.
¹⁸Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,^(AC)
    your lightning^(AD) lit up the world;
    the earth trembled and quaked.^(AE)
¹⁹Your path^(AF) led through the sea,^(AG)
    your way through the mighty waters,
    though your footprints were not seen.

²⁰You led your people^(AH) like a flock^(AI)
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.^(AJ)

————————

Some pictures – no second walk yesterday!

Normally these are in the shade. Not sure what this plant is.

Sometimes when I pass this house a man is sitting in the chair. A peaceful little spot to meditate on things.

Poor Smokey! He got tuckered out! The way he looks in this picture is how I feel lately!

Linky looking at me with a look that seems to say “I’m sorry your hurting….you overdid it again! “

No clouds and hazy view of the setting sun

A lot of furry and feathered beings visit this tree out back

“It’s not about what you can’t do but what you can do.” Sometimes just playing with the sun has to be enough

A couple timely messages from A Woman’s Spirit today:

Healing is learning to trust my own wisdom, my own intuition. -Mary Zink

I am wise. I’ll know what to do today in every situation if I open my heart to my Higher Power.

In case your interested (season 3 is in the works right now): https://watch.angelstudios.com/thechosen

23 April 2022 Connecting Now With Then

April 23, 2022April 23, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Health, history, Home, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hi there! It’s the weekend so make sure you don’t work too hard! Did you look outside yet today?

Hello to you. How are you doing today? It’s Saturday as I write to you and looking like it’s going to be a really nice day here. Sometimes I almost feel guilty to be so blessed with the life I have! Even with some of the things I’ve got going on, I’m so grateful for my life.

Yesterday I was curious what scripture there would be about clouds. Lately I’ve been asking questions like that so I will explore the Bible more. So that I can connect my current life and experiences to what is the past. It’s really kind of amazing how such ancient messages can still be relatable to life today. So yes, there are messages about clouds! Clouds have been around a loooong time! One place that I thought was really interesting to read about them was in Job 37:11-13 in particular:

¹¹He loads the clouds with moisture;^(U)
he scatters his lightning^(V) through them.^(W)
¹²At his direction they swirl around
over the face of the whole earth
to do whatever he commands them.^(X)
¹³He brings the clouds to punish people,^(Y)
or to water his earth and show his love.^(Z)

Being able to access the Bible online has made finding answers to my inquiries really easy but it’s still nice to hold the words in my own hands.

Connecting my now to the understanding Biblical people of the past had about how God works in nature

Todays messages from A Woman’s Spirit are so good I want to share the whole thing with you:

To show great love for God and our neighbor, we need not do great things. – Mother Teresa

We don’t have to invent a cure for cancer or lift the burdens of a friend to prove our worth to other people. Being considerate of someone’s feelings is quite enough, and it is something any of us can do. It takes only a moment’s thought and the willingness to treat others as we’d like them to treat us. The real blessing is that we feel much better each time our heart guides our actions.

Loving others is perhaps the simplest of all actions we can take in this life. It requires no planning, no money, no muscle power, no problem solving. It’s a simple decision we can make daily or hourly. Every person we encounter, every situation we face, is an opportunity for us to hone the skill. And every loving act or thought makes the world a better place.

It’s human nature to treat others as we are treated. If each of us becomes willing to offer the hand of love to someone else today, we will indeed have done a great thing!

I can make a worthwhile contribution today. I can be kind to a stranger.

—————-

Now let’s go for a walk together……

This is that tree I was talking about that has leaves but as made these tiny red buds all over! It must take so much energy to do this!

Doesn’t the sun look amazing? I guess I got the angle just right so we can see the rays of light spoking out around it.

A street with my Grandma Becker’s name! I think of her whenever I see it!

A beautiful view of Carol street. Grandma would love this tree!

As you can see the street names are all ladies lol

Something interesting here. I was lucky to get this little one out and about and then later something weird – in my news feed were all kinds of articles about lady bugs! Coincidence or an algorithm picking up on the image on my phone?!

I loved seeing those two big trees by the waters edge….my eyes go aaaah when I see scenes like this one!

There have been lots of poofy healthy clouds lately. It’s interesting to see the layers of clouds. Sometimes I imagine angels traveling in a cloud ship sight seeing when I see hallelujah clouds like these.

https://nypost.com/2022/04/18/i-lost-92k-in-an-internet-dating-scam/amp/ – another cautionary tale about the hazards of online dating! I’ve pretty much given up on it. So many scammers online! I’m trying to let God be my dating coordinator!!

22 April 2022 Earth Day

April 22, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Home, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello! How are you today? It’s Friday here and Earth Day. I kind of think about holidays of this sort like this: “Why just a day?” For me every day belongs to the earth….without the earth there are no days. This morning I am thinking about the first garden and the first trees:

In Genesis 2:9 we learn about the tree of life and it’s purpose

Genesis 2:9New International Version

⁹The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees^(A) that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life^(B) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.^(C)

When I’m out walking around, as I’ve mentioned, I feel like I’m in a garden. Each tree is doing unique things to make it’s leaves. There is a tree that captured my attention and I shared with you that is now making tiny little red buds all over it even after making leaves. Some trees are still in the process of waking up of have no leaf buds at all yet. The purple flowers I’ve shared with you have spread to several yards….the two little wild pansies have become a whole cluster of them! In ever nook of earth “things are doing things!”

Last night before bed I was talking with God and as I spoke I realized I sound a lot like my Grandma Schmidt! I began to remember and think of her with so much love. She and my Grandpa taught me early on about nature and the connection of nature to knowing and loving God. She loved her garden and grew such amazing flowers! Big white Kennedy roses. I loved going camping with them. My Grandma Becker and I shared a love of trees. When we walked together she would show me her favorite trees who she thought of as friends. Each one expressing itself in a unique special way. I’m so grateful that the early people in my life taught me what a precious gift this earth is.

Everywhere I look I see intelligence….the wisdom of the master gardener of all creation. For me, each day I get to draw breath is earths day:

Every time I see these I think of the blue bonnets in Texas….I think of Sam. He was my little bumblebee. One time after he walked through a yard of blue bonnets, I later found one in our backyard!

I counted the rings, this one was about 8 years old before it was cut down….a baby in tree years

I mentioned to God that we hadn’t seen any blue flowers yet and the next day….blue!

This is howGod works with me lol – I thought there were just two wild pansies and God will say how about a whole bunch of them?!

Lots of tulips right now in various yards growing in many different spots

We got a little bit of rain again – I love seeing the sun peeking through the clouds

Smokey getting some time out on a walk – he goes a lot faster than Link does so not much time for pictures lol!

A Eden in our times – all the elements to life here

This part of our walk makes me think of where I used to go play as a child

Link is so patient with me and I with him. He likes to stroll which is great for when I want to get pictures

A couple messages from todays A Woman’s Spirit book:

In celebrating the good in me that was always there, I will continue to flourish. – Jill Clark

Improving a small part of me at a time isn’t too much work. Cultivating my assets in this way promises that today will be good.

Did you know:

The oldest LIVING tree is called “Methuselah” and is 4,765 years old. This tree is nearly 1,000 years older than any other bristlecone alive today. It lives in a secret location in the White Mountain range of eastern California. The oldest known tree named “Prometheus” was cut down in 1964 by a doctoral student.Feb 24, 2015

https://www.nps.gov › learn › nature

Great Basin Bristlecone Pine – Bryce Canyon – National Park Service

21 April 2022 When Is The Last Time You Fed Your Soul?

April 21, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Food, Health, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you? Another late start for me. Last night I actually fell asleep but then Link and Smokey needed to go out…at 2 in the morning! Ugh!! I was able to get back to sleep off and on and actually have interesting dreams. I was with a lot of different people!

Yesterday morning I had the blessing of meeting a new friend for breakfast at the Sunrise. We got the chance to hear more of each other’s stories and talk about the goodness of God in our lives. She and I are both relatively new to Grace Bible Church in Middleton. We talked about a lot. She reminded me that if I truly believe who God is, I am not the labels this world has given me….my sin…my mistakes. I am his child and I am forgiven. With a loving God we don’t have to be defined by the world. She mentioned a very convicting question she was asked recently, “When is the last time you fed your soul? Or have you just been feeding the flesh?” Life in our modern world can seem overwhelming and chaotic. Especially with my friend trying to be a wife, mother to three rambunctious boys and so much more….. and still in all that “noise” of life take care of yourself…. feed your soul. I walked there and walked home and I was so sore lol but I made sure to write down that question so I could share it with you today. The other thing I wrote down feeling the pain of my body was, “my body is not a prison. My body is a temple.” The pain will pass…it always does.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20New International Version

¹⁹Do you not know that your bodies are temples^(A) of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;^(B) ²⁰you were bought at a price.^(C)Therefore honor God with your bodies.^(D)

Yesterdays time really meant a lot to me. Meeting in person! Seeing her eyes change depending on what she was talking about – watching a little bit of the tired she carry’s in those eyes lift. Seeing her smile as she talked about what was on her heart. There is something about actual tangible moments like we had that no digital medium can ever replace. We fed our souls and our belly’s were contented by yet another wonderful Sunrise breakfast.

Here are some pictures. May be they will give you a moment of rest today. May be they will help you feed your soul. I encourage you to take that camera phone of yours on a walk…what miracle of creation will God show you?

One of a whole group of these. I think it’s a succulent.

I found these two little beauties hiding under a bush

When I got up from photographing the blooms I almost stepped on this little being. Jumping spiders are amazing to me. I’ve had some actually interact with me.

Where the lost puzzle pieces go….I had to smile when I found this. Thinking of people I love who enjoy puzzles. Putting together puzzles with my Mom on snow days when I was a kid.

Couldn’t zoom in closer but wanted you to see the ducks enjoying the canals.

I was looking for scripture about light and darkness and found this in John

“Ok much better! I’m tired from our walk but so happy! If you have to choose between being happy and sad I hope you will choose happy! Teeth aren’t just for chewing! Even we dogs know teeth are for smiling! “

20 April 2022 The Garden We Get To Live In

April 20, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Health, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Music, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you today? I’m doing ok. Feeling grateful for the little rains we’ve been getting. What is amazing is when I go for walks with Link. Everywhere my eyes rest on beauty. This is what you get to experience getting out walking where you live.

Yesterday I found myself thinking that I’m living in a garden – God’s garden. So many different plants, flowers, trees, birds, animals and insects…..everywhere you look life is happening! Now there are the canals with water that sparkle in the sun. Yesterday Link and I just stood and listened to the rushing waters. The more I focus on the wonders of God’s creation, the more I see! Beyond the buildings, moving vehicles and pavement- the flurry of our daily lives – there is evidence of an amazing God all around us. Look and see!

Psalm 8:3-6New International Version

³When I consider your heavens,^(A)
    the work of your fingers,^(B)
the moon and the stars,^(C)
    which you have set in place,
⁴what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?^[a]^(D)

⁵You have made them^[b] a little lower than the angels^[c]^(E)
and crowned them^[d] with glory and honor.^(F)
⁶You made them rulers^(G) over the works of your hands;^(H)
you put everything under their^[e] feet:^(I)

Pictures from yesterday:

I’m like a bee when I go by this tree lol

“You can learn a lot from us dogs. Slow down, take a nap if your tired and stay in the “now” – quit worrying so much. You are eruff!”

Happiness is mine today. It’s as close as the expression of my gratitude. – A Woman’s Spirit

Whenever I hear this song I think of standing in my driveway in base housing in Florida. The moon was full and I was waiting to be with who would become my husband. He introduced me to the voice of Chris:

https://youtu.be/tLrz0vMOhU4. – Audioslave The Last Remaining Light

Roll me on your frozen fields
Break my bones to watch them heal
Drown me in your thirsty veins
Where I’ll watch and I’ll wait
And pray for the rain

Curl like smoke and breath again
Down your throat inside your ribs
Through your spine in every nerve
Where I watch and I wait and yield to the hurt

And if you don’t believe
The sun will rise
Stand alone and greet the coming night
In the last remaining light

Seven moons and seven suns
Heaven waits for those who run
Down your winter and
Underneath your waves
Where you watch and you wait
And pray for the day

And if you don’t believe the sun will rise
Stand alone and greet the coming night
In the last remaining light

And if you don’t believe the sun will rise
Stand alone and greet the coming night
In the last remaining light
Light
Light
Light

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Brad Wilk / Chris Cornell / Timothy Commerford / Tom Morello

19 April 2022 Surprises on Walks

April 19, 2022April 19, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Food, Health, Home, Leading Life by Example, Music, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you doing? I didn’t do a video for Twitch again today. It’s been about a week. I just haven’t felt up to it. It’s been hard to convince myself to get out of bed lately! I just hurt!

I was doing some surfing yesterday about joint pain and arthritis connected to having Covid. Turns out it’s indeed a thing! I’m really starting to believe what I’ve been going through is post Covid related stuff. Here is a link to one of the videos I found where a man and his wife have been experiencing joint pain after Covid: https://youtu.be/fyR9uJHCdKA – if you are experiencing inflammation and pain in your joints, like for me it’s my upper thighs and knees, this video might resonate with you. I am hoping it will eventually stop!

Despite the pain, I’ve been trying to get out for walks with Link. It’s so rewarding when I do! So much to see! There have been surprises lately too! This morning I looked down for just one minute and was amazed to see not one but two wild pansies in the edge of a yard we were passing! I struggled to get down to take the picture…..getting up made me curse gravity a bit lol….but it was worth it!

A lovely surprise for us today on the morning walk- a wild pansy!

Other pictures from yesterday and today:

The tulips are out here in Idaho – when I see them I think of my Mom. She used to grow flowers like tulips

I noticed this yesterday in the shopping center on our walk

This beauty caught my eye even with being surrounded by so many power lines

Part of what makes each tree an individual is their bark – I love seeing trees in afternoon light

This little one made me think of a cat we used to see all the time in Alvarado TX! Love the mustache!

A blue version of the car I used to drive in Sr. High School! Mine was red. I’ll never forget Dad and I practicing stick shift in a parking lot lol!

Ridleys is the grocery store I always go to. I told the cashier I was so grateful she was there (they seem a little short handed), that I was grateful to wake up to peace and quiet and that there was food in the store…..little things people in warring parts of the world aren’t experiencing today. We are so fortunate!

My day will be dark only if I shut out the light f my Higher Power. Through my faith and my friends I can know peace – A Woman’s Spirit

https://youtu.be/bFeNjMjk0dA – Toni Cornell singing Nothing Compares 2 U in honor of her Dad Chris. Her eyes are so sad to me. This was the first song Kyle and I listened to (the Sinead O’Conner version) after we said goodbye to our sweet dog Sam. It’s hard for me to listen to for that reason but I toughed it out to hear both Chris and now Toni’s interpretation of it. She did her Dad proud I think!

18 April 2022 It Will Be Enough

April 18, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, Health, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you doing in your where and when? I’m getting a really late start. It took a lot of coaxing to get up today. Last night was another battle of trying to sleep. The lower part of my body has been experiencing a lot of pain and trying to sleep through that pain can be difficult.

What came to me is thinking about old dogs like my Sam and older people in my life both living and passed on. They didn’t complain about their aches and pains. The message of “it’s not what you can’t do but what you can do” came to my mind. I realized I could do some cleaning up this morning – it hurt but I did it!

When Sam and I used to go for walks without Kyle in Delaware he did something with me that he didn’t do when the three of us would walk. He occasionally would just stop, sit down and look at me with those eyes…”can we stop for a minute? I need a rest…” he seemed to say. Getting older in all our forms kind of forces us to slow down even though inside we want to go like we are still 20 year olds! Today I will remind myself that it’s ok when I am hurting. I will focus on the things I am capable of still doing even though I’m feeling this way – not focus on all the things I can’t do.

Matthew 26:41New International Version

⁴¹“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.^(A) The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Todays message from A Woman’s Spirit is about approaching life with gentleness:

Our own gentleness is a powerful force in our lives. It is like the gentle flower that grows through granite. – Patricia Hoolihan

We are attracted to women and men who have cultivated a gentle spirit. Their softness nurtured all of us who come into their space. We are soothed and made whole by their caring spirit. Let’s allow our caring spirit to develop too.

The aggression we may have grown accustomed to in our families and neighborhoods need not claim us for all time. We have the power within us to chart a new course. We have examples of gentleness all around us; they are our guides and are here by divine appointment.

Whatever task we are destined to perform in this clean and sober life can best be accomplished if directed by a heart that cares. Being gentle promises each of us the same comfort it offers others. Each gentle act heals our heart and lovingly nurtured the future.

Being gentle today is much easier than being mean-spirited. My gentle side will nurture my inner child and remove my fears.

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Pictures from yesterdays adventures: