11 June 2025 Sharing Experience, Strength and Hope

June 12, 2025 by saymber, posted in history, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you! I hope this finds you well. I had a nice visit with my Aunt Ruth and her niece Niki that lives with her today. We had lunch and read from devotionals and I sang the song The Goodness of God . I love that song! Each of us have been through life altering ordeals and find it very therapeutic to share our testimonies of how we came to believe in Jesus. Sharing our experiences, strength and hope reinforces our belief ! Through our individual stories we see that Jesus had a plan for each of us and through the Holy Spirit the doors were flung open for each of us. We just had to see and recognize which doors to enter and which ones to let shut.

Spending time with fellow believers fills a void in me that can only be filled by such gatherings. Today’s gathering was like food for me and we are talking about making it a weekly occurrence.

Goodness of God

Song by CeCe Winans ‧ 2021

Overview

Lyrics

Other recordings

I love You, Lord
For Your mercy never fails me
All my days, I’ve been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

‘Cause all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
In darkest night You are close like no other
I’ve known You as a Father
I’ve known You as a Friend
And I have lived in the goodness of God, yeah

‘Cause all my life You have been faithful, oh yes You have
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
With my life laid down, I surrendered now
I give You everything, oh Lord
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me (oh yeah, oh yeah)
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
With my life laid down, I surrendered now
I give You everything
Your goodness is running after, it keeps running after me

And all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God
I’m gonna sing

All my life You have been faithful
(All of my life You’ve been faithful)
All my life You have been so, so good
(So good with every breath)
every breath that I am able
(Every breath I’m able)
I will sing (I’m gonna sing)
Of the goodness (of the goodness of God, yes I am)
I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God
Oh, I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Ben Fielding / Brian Johnson / Edward Martin Cash / Jason Ingram / Jenn Johnson

Goodness of God lyrics © Bethel Music Publishing, Capitol CMG Publishing

9 June 2025 Pushing Through

June 10, 2025 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

Beautiful little roses surrounded by gravel

This scripture is a good reminder for me with the current things I’m dealing with physically:

The scripture passage 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 encourages pushing through weakness, stating that God’s grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in weakness. It also emphasizes rejoicing in weakness because that’s when the power of Christ can be experienced more fully.

Here’s a more detailed look at this scripture and its implications:

2 Corinthians 12:9:“And he has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
2 Corinthians 12:10:“Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

30 May 2025 Yellow Rose

May 31, 2025 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.

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

May 30, 2025 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!

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

May 24, 2025 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.

2 Corinthians 4:15New International Version

¹⁵All 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.

18 May 2025 Sacrifices

May 19, 2025 by saymber, posted in animals, history, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

What sacrifices have you made in life?

Hello to you. It’s been a couple days since I’ve written to you – I hope this finds you well. Today’s message at church was a serious one. Are we in the end times? For many of us the signs point to yes. This is the scripture we read:

2 Timothy 3:1-9New International Version

3 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ²People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴treacherous, rash, conceited,lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

⁶They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, ⁷always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. ⁹But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men,their folly will be clear to everyone.

Some other messages were to spend time in the company of fellow believers and to recognize foolishness when we see it. For me it’s always keeping the lamps lit for whenever Jesus returns! It could be any time!

The prompt today is hard for me to answer. In the course of my life I have wanted for little and that which I was lacking was made up for in some way. I never had children so the ways that parents typically have to sacrifice things I haven’t had to. The trade off I made was being being a pet parent for many years and I have sacrificed being away from my fur babies for great lengths of time. This has meant not going on trips away from home!

Just got the good news that my Aunts granddaughter is in the hospital tonight and going to be giving birth to a baby boy! Praise God! We are hoping for a smooth delivery!

8 May 2025 Delivery

May 8, 2025May 8, 2025 by saymber, posted in Leading Life by Example, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

Hello to you on this sunny Thursday. Today I joined Sandy, Jera and Charlotte in delivering flower arrangements and cookies to our local assisted living home called The Cottages for Mothers Day. They really seemed to appreciate the gesture. The staff at the facility appreciated us coming as well. We got a chance to see some of the rooms and they were really homey! One gal we visited with had a beautiful picture of Jesus by her bed. It was nice to bring something a little special to their day and visit for a little while. When you live in such places you don’t always have visitors.

Sandy, the head of our women’s ministries, wants to go back for Fathers Day next month.

Matthew 25:40New International Version

⁴⁰“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

6 May 2025 Praise

May 7, 2025 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Health, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

Good evening to you. I hope you are well and if you are not I hope you have the support you need. We are living in trying times! I hope you know if you are reading this and are struggling in any way that I and many others are praying for you. You may feel alone but I assure you you’re not. Reach out to Jesus and see him go to work in your life!

I wanted to post a praise. It’s good to have recognition when God answers our pleas for help. In these times it’s good to read good news! My Aunt Ruth just came through a health crisis and there was the possibility she was going to need surgery. She was diagnosed with diverticulitis but there was the possibility she would need surgery to remove infected parts of her intestine. We had been praying for a miracle for her not to need surgery and sure enough she found out today – NO SURGERY! Praise God! Through our faith Jesus is still very much alive and at work!

Here are some examples of Jesus healing in the NIV:

Matthew 8:2-4:Jesus cleanses a man with leprosy by saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” and the man is instantly healed.
Matthew 9:20-22:A woman with a hemorrhage, having touched Jesus’s cloak, is immediately healed and told that her faith has healed her.
Luke 5:17-26:Jesus forgives and heals a paralyzed man who is lowered down from the roof.
John 9:Jesus heals a man who was born blind, restoring his sight.

These are just a few examples, and many other instances of Jesus healing can be found throughout the Gospels in the New Testament.

5 May 2025 Being a Spring

May 5, 2025 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Leading Life by Example, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

Hello to you on this windy Monday afternoon. There has been some things happening the past couple of days that have been good for me and good for my church. On Sunday I went to church and got to hear from the inspirational representatives from a mission our church supports – Missions of Hope International or MOHI.

https://youtu.be/4jeA6wW9H5Y?si=AhGhYXA7QFyMeBoG – Be a Spring – Pastor Jason Boyd Grace Bible Church Middleton ID – includes interview with representatives from Missions of Hope International (MOHI)

https://give.mohiafrica.org/give

Linda with one of the arrangements we made

This morning I was asked to join some ladies at Grace House for coffee and to help assemble some Mothers Day gifts for residents at our local assisted living home called The Cottages. We will be taking them over on Thursday. They really appreciated the Easter baskets we made and asked if we would come back! I didn’t get to deliver the baskets but this time I will be involved in this delivery. Our women’s ministry leader Sandy has a lot of ideas for our little group to include may be making care kits for women at a homeless shelter. She was inspired by the message from MOHI – how can we reach out to those in need in our own communities? We have been known in the past as the “hot dog church” but with how much we are growing it’s possible we can be much more!

1 May 2025 Praying Together

May 1, 2025 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Leading Life by Example, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

Hello to you! Can you believe it’s May already?!!

I just got off the phone with my friend Jeannie. Normally we would be together today but it didn’t work out. So we decided to pray from home and she asked if we could pray via a telephone call. I’m so happy we did! She has such a talent for prayer. The words seem to come to her so easily! We prayed for the people who normally join our little group, our family members, the town and schools of Middleton and this country and world. I felt it was important to share this today. Anyone reading this who feels alone – doesn’t have a support system like a church – a dear friend – know that there are people like Jeannie and I praying for you. You matter! There is so much power in prayer and it doesn’t matter how it occurs be it in person or on the phone. God hears our petitions!

James 5:16New International Version

¹⁶Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.