Sunday Morning Sunshine: Autumn's Bright Blue Weather

 Autumn's Bright Blue Weather

--Helen Hunt Jackson

O suns and skies and clouds of June,

And flowers of June together,

Ye cannot rival for one hour

October's bright blue weather.

When loud the bumblebee makes haste,

Belated, thriftless vagrant,

And Golden Rod is dying fast,

And lanes with grapes are fragrant.

When on the ground red apples lie

In piles like jewels shining,

And redder still on old stone walls,

Are leaves of woodbine twining.

When springs run low, and on the brooks,

In idle golden freighting,

Bright leaves sink noiseless in the bush

Of woods, for winter waiting.

O suns and skies and flowers of June,

Count all your boasts together,

Love loveth best of all the year

October's bright blue weather.

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Robert Frost's (and Others) Tidbits of Wisdom

 

When you have loved as she has loved, you grow old beautifully. --W. Somerset Mangan

The best way out is always through. --Robert Frost

Love is an irresistible desire to be loved. --Robert Frost

The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them. --Robert Frost

You don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things...You can just be an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.  -- Sir Edmund Hilliary

Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss God's purpose for your life.  -- Rick Warren

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Praise to God!

 Lift up your hands in the holy place, 

and bless the LORD.

 Psalms 134:2 

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Patience, Peace and Determination

 Patience

When I want things done NOW or yesterday...

God's helped me to learn that HIS timing is always right.

Peace

God has taught me to appreciate and take advantage of a

slower pace; to use the beautiful, simple things

in my life to gain peace.

Determination

When the devil says I can't

When circumstances look impossible

When my confidence in my ability wans

then God stirs a big courage into my life. 

Have faith.

He knows what we need.

Sunday Morning Sunshine: What Can God Do?

 Can God do the impossible?

Jeremiah 32:17 declares, “Ah, Lord God, behold thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too difficult for thee."

God can NOT...

Lie

Allow sinners into heaven

Change

God CAN...

Take care of you

Give you knowledge and power to live as you should

Give you peace in difficult times

He knows all things; therefore, he can be trusted. 

With humility, he will roll burdens away

Be our best friend

Defeat our worst enemy: Satan

Take us to heaven

Love us with an everlasting love

And much more! 

Sunday Morning Sunshine: All Good Things are God's!

All God's Things are Good! 

When God made the trees, animals and birds,

He said they were very good.

The vine is for grapes.

The wheat is for bread.

The bee to give us honey.

The sheep gives us wool.

Even the cat is good to catch mice.

All God's things are Good!! !

And God saw everything that he had made, 

and behold, it was very good!

Genesis 1: 31

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Revival

 When Do We Need a Revival? 

It is very evident that we need a revival:

When it is easier to stay at home than to go to church.

When it is easier to work than to worship.

When it is easier to be critical than kind.

When it is easier to read fiction than the Bible.

Then it is easier to shirk God-given opportunity than to do it.

When it is easier to support the club than the church.

When it is easier to sleep in church than stay awake.

When it is easier to grumble than to praise.

When it is easier to condemn souls than to pray for their salvation.

when it is easier to hold grudges than to forgive. 

Amen?

Amen!

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Things That Make Me Happy

Animals, like...

Squirrels.

They're thieves, fast, and brave.

Funny and smart

Turtles

Not very friendly,

loners at times,

and are quite determined to be left alone.

But still awesome.

Geese

Quite demanding when it comes to food,

Protective of their babies,

Slow-moving (on purpose, I believe) when crossing a road,

And so much fun to watch!

Swan

Graceful, elegant,

and quite the King (or Queen) of the feathered creatures.

ALL God's Creatures!

 

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Winter is Past

 Winter is Past

For, lo, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth,

The time of the singing of birds is come,

And the voice of the turtle is heard in the land. 

How's your spring? 

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Happy Mother's Day!

 Memo for a Lady

Never say again you are old!

Have you considered how much longer

Ago than you, the pyramids were created,

And the temple of Diana at Ephesus,

And even Venus? They are old. 

And never say you're not attractive.

Remember that for us

Who look deeper than skin

And see your thought flowering

Goldenly as sunflowers, and more tall,

Hear your heart singing sometimes

And feel the warmth of its love,

And join in your laughter often,

 

You are beautiful!

 

--Elaine V. Emans

You're forever young now, Mama, dancing on heaven's golden streets!

My Mama's Faith

https://bit.ly/3sddaxF

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Happy Easter!

 He Lives

Blest morning! whose first dawning ray

Beheld the Son of God

Arise triumphant from the grave.

Wrapt in the silence of the tomb

The Great Redeemer lay,

Till the revolving skies had brought

The third, the appointed day.

Hell and the grave combined their force

To hold our Lord in vain;

Sudden the Conqueror arose,

And burst their feeble chain.

Salvation and immortal praise

To our victorious King!

Let Heaven and earth, and rocks and seas,

With glad hosannas ring.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,

To God whom we adore,

Be glory, as it was, and is,

And shall be evermore. Amen.

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Spring Brings New Life

 Spring

Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.

John Muir

Blossom by blossom the spring begins.

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Every spring is the only spring, a perpetual astonishment.

Ellis Peters

You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.

Pablo Neruda

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.

English Proverb

“The deep roots never doubt spring will come.” 

Marty Rubin

Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush. 

 Doug Larson

April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.

William Shakespeare

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.

Margaret Atwood

Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil.

Bishop Reginald Heber

Happy Spring! 

 

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Dust if You Must

Dust if You Must

By Rose Milligan

Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better                                 to paint a picture or write a letter,                                              Bake a cake, or plant a seed,                                                    Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,                   With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb,                             Music to hear, and books to read,                                                Friends to cherish, and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out there,                                                                                                     With the sun in your eyes, and the wind in your hair,                                                                                        A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,                                                                                                                    This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,                                                       Old age will come and it's not kind,                                                       And when you go (and go you must)                                                     You, yourself, will make more dust.  

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Spring Madness

 As Emily Dickinson said:  

A little madness in the Spring is wholesome, even for a Queen. 

What is your favorite season? 

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Happy New Year!

 

May 2022 be productive, peaceful and blest.

May it be your best one yet!

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Be as Wise Men

Be as Wise Men.

Lo, when the Wise men saw the star in the east, which went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy....

Jesus is our star. He's our Savior, our leader, our comforter, our all. He is the ultimate guide who will never lead us wrong but safely, loving, carefully guide us in all things of our lives.

Be wise.

Be happy.

Be at peace.

Follow the star! 

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Christmas Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt

Merry Christmas! 

Welcome to the Christmas 

Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt!

Here’s how it works: At each author’s blog post, you will find a question that can be answered by checking out the free Amazon preview of their book. Provide the answer at this form. 

Note: You must answer the questions for EVERY author in the round-robin to be considered to win the $250 first place, $150 second place or $100 third place Amazon gift cards. These prizes are USD values. If you are not a U.S. resident, you will get a gift card from the Amazon store for your country; however, it will be valued at these USD amounts.)

At the end of my post is a link to the next blog, which will provide a link to the next blog, etc., to the very end, creating a circle (a round-robin) visit through all of the authors’ blogs.

I’m thrilled to get the chance to tell you about my book SABOTAGED CHRISTMAS.  

(I will be giving away a KINDLE COPY of the book to one very fortunate commenter on this blog as an extra bonus!!)

Remember, you must comment on this blog to have a chance of winning a Kindle copy of Sabotaged Christmas

It is the 1st book in the Appleton, WV Romantic Cozy Mystery series. it is the story of a woman who inherited her father's business, the mystery of her past, a troubled man who distrusts all women because of his deceased wife's actions, and a young boy who is wiser than his years. 

Toni DeLuca, the Italian owner of DeLuca Construction, finds herself confronted with doubts about her father and his possible deceptions—all because of the mysterious pink notes she’s been receiving.

Relations with Perrin Douglas who has a troubled history—but the first man in years who’s interested her—is building to a peak. Yet Perrin‘s own personal problems and his doubts about women and God, keep getting in the way.

Gossip, a Spanish proposal, an inheritance, and a sabotaged construction business may ruin Christmas for Toni’s employees as well as her own happiness.

Will a mysterious person succeed in pulling off the biggest scam Appleton, West Virginia has ever seen? And will this culprit destroy Toni's last chance at happiness with the man of her dreams?

Let’s begin this scavenger hunt! Go to the book Sabotaged Christmas on Amazon here: Amazon. 

In the Look Inside (above the book cover) you will find the answer to this question:

Who did Toni DeLuca doubt? 

When you have the answer, FILL OUT THIS FORM and head on to the next blog!

Thank you so much for visiting! 

The next author on the tour is VIRGINIA SMITH, who is telling us all about her Christmas book A Goose Creek Christmas. You can find it at this site:  https://virginiasmith.org/2021-christmas-scavenger-round-robin/ 

Remember that the round-robin will end on December 12th at 11:59 PM EST!

Sunday Morning Sunshine: A Huge Blessing

 

This Dog...

Spoiled rotten

rambunctious

obedient

loving

companion

smart

loved more than he'll ever know

loves to pretend I want his bones

loves to play ball with me

and so much more...

Became VERY ill before Thanksgiving

I cried constantly

sooooo afraid he'd die

but after a week 

we have a glimmer of hope...

He looks like he's on the mend.

That's said with cautiousness

but a faint bit of hope glimmers through 

that awful tunnel of sadness and despair.

I cried out to God

and if it be His will,

God will heal Axel completely

and allow us to have this precious, 

sweet dog a little while longer.

That's my thanksgiving blessing today! 

Sunday Morning Sunshine: The Beauty of Autumn

 Remember how fun it was to find acorns?

Squirrels really enjoy them.

A long winter's day food supply!

Who doesn't enjoy apples, 

one of the top best fruits!

That includes applesauce, apple butter, apple cider.

Yum! 

Who hasn't plunged into a carefully raked-up pile of colorful leaves?

The fun!

The excitement! 

Grownups who are, for a few moments,

reliving their childhood activities!

The bonfires where we enjoyed

the not-so-good-for-you hotdogs.

Where family and friends gathered to laugh,

share stories and sit quietly pondering life.

It will be over this year soon in just a few more short days.

Enjoy revisiting these memories or...

create your own. 

2021 Autumn will be gone before we know it!