A Day That Began At Sunset

Grace Gifts
Evenings And Mornings
Light After Darkness

Genesis 1:3-5  “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”

 The beginning of time was marked by darkness. Genesis 1:2 , “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.”

 Light came after darkness, indicating the markers of a full day. In the Jewish tradition, days follow this pattern of night first, then day. Still today, practicing Jews observe the Sabbath beginning on sunset of Friday until sunset on Saturday.

Genesis 1 reveals that the days of the week were originally measured “evening” then “morning.” Each description of the seven days of creation uses this format, clearly indicating a day that began at sunset.

 Genesis 1 marks days from evening to morning as a natural extension of God turning darkness into light.

Garden Filled With Flowers

Grace Gift
Gardens Full Of Flowers

Luke 12:27 
Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Lily

I was working my Word Search puzzle book this evening when I realized what lovely flowers were in that search. Some of them I've never heard of before. It got me to thinking how I've neglected this blog that I use to love posting about His glorious blessings- everyday, simple blessings that we often take for granted.
Maybe I can continue to spend time adding to my  list of 10,000 gifts that I am thankful for.

Enjoy looking at His creative designs in flowers.

The Purple Amaryllis by CanadianGothStalker

    

Azaleas

       

Camellia Flower Soft Close Up Bud

Look at the delicate layers of tiny pink hearts.

White Carnation

What a  delicate yet fragrant flower. My Pa use to get my sister and me white carnations on special occasions. When I grew older and started dating, if a fella bought me a carnation, I was hooked.

White and purple African Daisy

Eglantine

Eglantine? Did you know there was a flower with that name?
Again, look at the delicate heart shaped petals.

Fuchsia

Look at these! They look like hummingbirds, drinking from the flowers.

Gardenia

Again, notice the heart shaped petals... with a twist.

Mauve Geranium Flowers

Uhmmmmmm .... do you see what I see?

Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'

Hydrangea

Impatiens

Yep, I see them, too. :-)

Iris

This one looks like fireworks exploded.

Jonquil

Even this jonquil wants to bend its' petals into a heart shape.

magnolia

Okay, this heart shaped petal thing is getting weird. :-)

marigold

periwinkle-blue-flower

phlox

rose

Smilax

Birds-foot trefoil blossom

 Tulips 

Violet Flower

Wisteria Flower 

Zinnia Flower

I don't know about you but I sure did see a LOT of heart shaped petals in these flowers.

Bleeding Heart Flowers

 Thank You, Lord for putting Your signature of Love on even the smallest things like flowers.

Do You Want To Enjoy Life?

Grace Gift
Peace


Do you want to enjoy life?
    Do you want to have many happy days?
 Then avoid saying anything hurtful,
    and never let a lie come out of your mouth.
 Stop doing anything evil, and do good.
    Look for peace, and do all you can to help people live peacefully.
The Lord watches over those who do what is right,
    and he hears their prayers.
--Psalm 34:12-15

Planted Along The Road

Grace Gift
Seeds

 When a large crowd had gathered and people had come to Jesus from every city, he used this story as an illustration:  “A farmer went to plant his seeds. Some seeds were planted along the road, were trampled, and were devoured by birds.  Others were planted on rocky soil. When the plants came up, they withered because they had no moisture.  Others were planted among thorn bushes. The thorn bushes grew up with them and choked them.  Others were planted on good ground. When they came up, they produced a hundred times as much as was planted.”
After he had said this, he called out, “Let the person who has ears listen!”
--Luke 8:4-8

 
Where do I fit in with the story of the sower and the seed?
Where do you fit in?

Spoken Words and Unspoken Thoughts

May my spoken words and unspoken thoughts be pleasing even to you, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.
---Psalm 19:14

 The words that I speak come from the thoughts that I think.

 If I fill my mind with good things---things that are pleasing to God---what is likely to become my words?

 

Let's See, What Shall I Wear Today?

Grace Gift
A Righteous Wardrobe

 As we get ourselves dressed for the day ( or night, if you're a night-owl) we often have choices on what to wear.
 
While looking through the closet and dressers we may find all sorts of things to wear.
For the most part, we all want to look our best, don't we?
But where to shop- that's a good question. 
Our Father above has set a standard on our wardrobe; something we won't find at the malls or even specialty shops.
We'd do good to follow His fashion statements.

 Proverbs 31:25
She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future.

 I pray to wear the clothing He desires.

Colossians 3:12
¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

 

  

¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

 Thank You, Lord for always having just the right things for us to wear each day.