Category: Home

30 May 2025 Yellow Rose

by saymber, posted in Animal Rights, animals, history, Home, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you! Hope this finds you well. I’m just back from my daily walk. I didn’t even try to take Link as he hasn’t been wanting to go. We went to the vet today for a follow up on his ears and it was good news! No more inflammation and discharge. I was kind of irritated to be told now the next step is getting his teeth cleaned which cost me a small fortune last time! I try to get Link to the vet once a year but as he’s getting older they keep finding ways to nickel and dime me! It’s not cheap to have a pet these days. He’s worth it so I continue to do my best.

One of my neighbors lovely yellow roses

St Francis Prayer For Pets

Blessed are you, Lord God, 
maker of all living creatures. 
You called forth fish in the sea, 
birds in the air and animals on the land.

You inspired Saint Francis to call all of them
his brothers and sisters. 
We ask you to bless this pet. 
By the power of your love, 
enable it to live according to your plan. 
May we always praise you for all your beauty in creation.

Blessed are you, Lord our God,
in all your creatures!

Amen.

29 May 2025 Taking Advice

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Home, photography, Politics and Government, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you? I’m back from my walk alone – got Link around once. He didn’t want to go but we made it! I followed my Aunt Ruth’s advice to take my phone with me. Because I did I got a couple pictures!

Lots of roses in my neighborhood
“Stop and smell the roses”
Peonies are blooming now too and smell so good!

You wouldn’t know by just driving through my neighborhood that there is so much beauty. Many of my neighbors take great pride in their yards. I encourage you to take a walk if you can and take your phone not just for safety but to see with new eyes! Oh and use that nose of yours to smell the beauty!

Song of Solomon 2:1King James Version

2 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

We had our Thursday prayer meeting at Grace House – there were four of us. It’s always good to pray together! We have personal intentions we pray about and a prayer sheet Lois and Pastor Jason put together with the prayer needs for the church. I included the wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Russia today. It has been tearing me up to see the effect war is having on the children in Gaza – so malnourished and afraid! No child should have to go through what they are.

23 May 2025 Outing and Flowers

by saymber, posted in Home, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. Hope this finds you well today. Today was a good day. I joined several ladies from church at Idaho Pizza in Caldwell. We met at Grace House and carpooled over there. Most of us got the buffet that included various pizzas and salad. I had cheese pizza I think – that’s my favorite. It kind of tasted like a pretzel! There was enough seating for all of us. My friend Charlotte treated me to the meal – she is so kind. She gives such great hugs! I rode with Missy and Linda and I’m glad I did – that place was really busy for the lunch hour! It was good for me to get out with such a nice group of ladies. It helps me not feel so isolated and alone.

I decided to bring my phone on the walk tonight so I could get a couple pictures of the blooms on the walk. Link actually made it all around the block! He’s not been wanting to this past week.

These roses on the walk smell so good!
An unusual Iris in neighbor Diana’s yard
A rose bush in full bloom across the street

2 Corinthians 4:15New International Version

15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

22 April 2025 Earth Day

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Home, Nature, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging
How rare and precious the blue marble is

Good evening to you fellow earthlings! Something else we have in common in addition to the red blood that flows in our veins- we share a common home called earth. This precious and rare blue marble is truly one of Gods greatest gifts to us! I am constantly reminded and amazed by her resilience. Just look at a sidewalk that seems so inhospitable to life and yet flowers still grow there with barely any soil. Think of how land can be cleared but if left unattended will be reclaimed quickly by growth. Nearly every harm done to the earth finds a way to make it healing, make it good again.

Back when I was in Texas I spent a lot of time outside. As I spent that time I got really immersed into the nature of plants and the insects that I shared my yard with. I used to sit for hours and just watch and listen. The cottonwood trees became teachers as did the so called weeds. Wasps, spiders and flies showed me things I had never seen before. When I was really still I would ask God what he wanted to do with a single blade of grass I would point at and the wind would either blow it or something would land on it. It seemed in those moments God had a plan for every single thing around me! I felt so close to God in those moments we shared. There seemed to be a collective intelligence in everything be it a blade of grass, trees, flowers, birds and insects. There was a bush in the backyard that I noticed was a whole community. Flies seemed to live and die on it – spiders occupied the same bush like traffic cops. I would watch this bush and its life and death for hours. My little backyard taught me so much – even how to make peace with fire ants! They loved it when I fed them sweet treats! The smartest insects were the wasps and spiders. One day when I was out back a wasp dragged the body of a spider twice its size in front of me like it was showing me what it could do. I watched a wasp in seconds dispatch a spider limb from limb. One time a mud dauber wasp (black) got in the house. I caught it with the pink plastic cup we always used to catch insects. When I took it outside I was surprised to see other daubers seemingly waiting for the one we were releasing! One other surprise with a yellow jacket was watching one seemingly disarming itself of its stinger as I looked at it! I miss my yard and all the inhabitants I spent so much time getting to know. Where I live now isn’t the same – it’s all gravel so I don’t spend much time outside in my yard. I get to see most of nature on my daily walks. I have been enjoying seeing the return of birds and blooming trees and flowers.

Psalm 24:1 (NIV) – Just as we are called to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we are also called to love the earth simply because it is God’s creation.

20 April 2025 He is Risen

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Food, Home, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging
We had a full house today at Middleton High School – He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

It’s a beautiful Easter Sunday. Today’s message was out of John 11 again. Do you believe? Do you believe that Jesus is the son of God? Like Pastor Jayson said there are so many things each day we believe are going to happen from the alarm clock going off to coffee brewing – the car starting when we turn the key. Our belief as Christians each day should be that Jesus is our salvation and unlike so many things we should never take that for granted!

John 11:25-26New International Version

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

After church Link and I went over to my Aunt and Uncles house for a feast with family and friends. Uncle John made his special ham. Everything was so good! I didn’t stay long as I was feeling very tired. Link has been waking me up in the wee hours the past few nights. We have his annual exam tomorrow so I’ll mention that. My back has been hurting again – thank goodness for Biofreeze! It was good to see everyone on such a lovely spring day. So many of the trees are blooming and smell so nice!

My Aunt Ruth is having a medical procedure in a couple days – please keep her in your prayers.

31 Mar 2025 Unique

by saymber, posted in animals, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

Which aspects do you think makes a person unique?

My one in a million little unique somebody Link today after his grooming

Hello to you. Today’s prompt makes me think about a struggle I’ve had much of my life. The struggle to stand out in the crowd and the backlash for doing so. When one strives to be unique you spend a lot of energy and time swimming against the stream most of the rest of humanity swims. The Chosen’s teal fish swimming against the current of gray little fish comes to mind. Having chosen to surrender my will to follow Jesus hasn’t been easy but I’m doing it! Sometimes I feel myself slipping back to my pagan ways but being surrounded by believers helps with that. As I look at this world and the way it’s going, I feel I have made a wise choice. The Jesus of my understanding is not the same Jesus being used by our country and its leadership. I think Jesus would feel quite out place if he were invited to the Oval Office. His attire would probably be mocked and his rhetoric would not win him popularity contests. He would likely kicked out. He would be himself which would fly in the face of what we are witnessing on the world stage today. There are a lot of money changers in the temple these days. There are a lot of desperately poor, hungry and sick- sinners who need what the true Christ would offer. Though much time has passed since he walked this earth his legacy is still relevant. He was and is unique – a pioneer. I often wonder how much longer, how much more suffering he will allow before his return. Would he be welcomed as a savior in our time or a delusional heretic drugged and locked up unable to complete his mission.

9 Mar 2025 Corn

by saymber, posted in Home, Leading Life by Example, Spirituality and Religion

Hello to you. How are you doing? I’m back from church – Pastor Jayson had a good message as always. His message was really relatable. He used gorging yourself at a buffet so you would get carried through the week is kind of what a lot of Christians do with their faith. His most powerful example was a seed of corn. To grow the seed you need soil, water and sunlight. He showed what you should do – put the seed in the soil and water it. He then pulled the seed out of the soil and laid it on the table, rinsed it off and put it back in the soil and repeated this process a couple of times. This was another example of how many Christians treat their faith. If you keep pulling the seed of corn out of the soil it’s never going to grow! The same things can apply to us with our faith. An hour on Sunday isn’t enough to get our faith to take root and grow.

John 15:5New International Version

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

1 Mar 2025 A Plan

by saymber, posted in history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Money, Politics and Government, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you doing? I’m doing ok – kind of down. Too much news…bad news. I feel like my country is becoming a villain and I’m powerless to really do anything about it. There have been demonstrations all over the world but yet the eight ball is still in play. The only thing people have been doing that has really caused a stir is boycotts. Money is our superpower. I felt mortified watching how the Ukraines President Zelenskyy was treated in the Oval Office. I couldn’t believe what they did – ridiculing the man because of the clothes he was wearing?!! I felt like I was watching a bunch of bullies in a schoolyard. I want an end to the war too but how are we going to do it?!! What is Gods plan for all this that is going on? They put a statue of Jesus Christ in the White House lawn (how much did that cost us tax payers btw?!!) but everything going on seems so against what Jesus did and taught us while he was here. Jesus would certainly not publicly ridicule what a man was wearing!

Every day another fire alarm is being pulled by this administration – it’s only been a couple months but it feels so much longer. I want a do over on this election!

On a different note I wish to note today is my dear friend and earth angel Tawna’s birthday. We are the same age.

Our beautiful birthday girl

Proverbs 15:1New International Version

15 A gentle answer turns away wrath,
    but a harsh word stirs up anger.

16 Feb 2025 Turning 57

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Home, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging
We celebrated my cousin and my birthday at Olive Garden in Nampa today

Hello to you! Hope this finds you well. Today was a good day. I celebrated my 57th birthday with my cousin who shares the same day – he’s 61. Our birthday was on the 13th and we had planned to get together then but the weather wasn’t good. We had a fantastic meal with family at Olive Garden today. Boy did I get full! I had cheese raviolis with meat sauce. The free dessert I chose was Tiramisu and boy was that good! It is strange to be 57. Where has the time gone?!! It was so nice to share the occasion with family and I am grateful for that. One of the special things about living here in Idaho is having family to share special occasions like this with. As I get older I appreciate things like having family more and more. Many are not so blessed at my age!

  • 1 Corinthians 10:30-31“If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” 

24 Jan 2025 Where To Turn

by saymber, posted in Health, Home, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. I hope you are well and if you’re not, and many people are not, I hope you have a good support system. Have you considered surrendering your life to Jesus? Lately I have been seeing so many people at a loss of where to turn when their lives are falling apart. I saw this a lot prior to the Tik Tok ban – people just didn’t know what to do! They made posts and just cried. When I saw these videos I just found myself asking, “do you believe in God? Have you talked to God about your problems?”

I am a relatively new Christian and prior to surrendering to Jesus I thought I had to carry the weight of the world on my own two shoulders. Thankfully when I reached my bottom with my mental health and my marriage God put people in my life to give me a soft place to land. I spent so many hours on the phone with my cousins wife Tawna! She thankfully had the time in her life that she could be there for the countless walk and talks on the phone. I spent time on the phone with much of my Idaho family – I walked miles talking to them. Things were so bad I couldn’t leave the house without having someone on the phone. I couldn’t eat a meal without someone on the phone. What was missing in all that drama was my being willing to turn to Jesus. They already believed in him and prayed for me and that gave them the spiritual strength to help me navigate the personal haunted hell I was living in. I just couldn’t see my own way out!

I surrendered to the Holy Spirit when I wanted to be free of alcoholism and it worked in a powerful way. Door after door opened and shut with that surrender. For some reason I didn’t do that in Texas. I guess I had been a pagan so long (12 years) that I didn’t think I could do it. I didn’t think I could turn myself completely to Jesus.

Right now I’m in the process of working with Jesus about my health and the answer is he is healing me in his time and way not mine. Some of what is going on with me will probably never change because there is no cure – just treatment and management. Jesus is showing me that. I just have to know where to turn when times get tough. Sometimes through prayer and reaching out Jesus uses the people in my life as his body to assist. That’s what we are all here for!

https://youtu.be/JMj1ggINLe4?si=W9Kt3RCeA8A0z1cm – The Chosen Jesus Heals at the Pool

John 5New English Translation

Healing a Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda

5 After this[a] there was a Jewish feast,[b] and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is[c] in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate[d] a pool called Bethzatha[e] in Aramaic,[f] which has five covered walkways.[g] 3 A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways.[h] 5 Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years.[i] 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized[j] that the man[k] had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to become well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir,[l] I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water,[m] someone else[n] goes down there[o] before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat[p] and walk.” 9 Immediately the man was healed,[q] and he picked up his mat[r] and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.)[s]