Tulips in January

Earlier today, I was admiring
this photo posted on Instagram by Kim Klassen –
a pitcher of tulips sitting on her windowsill,
backed by a snowy scene outdoors.
The warm subtle color of the roses
contrasted beautifully with the monochromatic color scheme
on the chilly side of the window.

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Fast-forward a few hours,
and look what appeared at OUR house,
thanks to some very generous and thoughtful friends.

WOW!
I don’t think we’ve ever had tulips in January!
My photo doesn’t really do them justice,
but I want to share them with you anyway.

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Isn’t it amazing how fresh flowers brighten up a room
and make it come to life?
Warm and caring smiles from friends
can also cheer us up and make us feel more alive!
After all, friends are flowers in the garden of life!
♥
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p.s.
As I was about to publish this post tonight,
I walked by the tulips and noticed that
they had taken enough liquid up into their stems
to be revived and perk up!
I snapped this quick picture with my phone so you could see them standing tall!

Good night, y’all!

Love Listens

Listening is powerful.

We need people in our lives who care enough to listen to our hearts and to our words.
We need people who want to understand.
The Swiss psychologist Paul Tournier wrote:

It is impossible to overemphasize the immense need humans have to be really listened to,
to be taken seriously, to be understood.
No one can develop freely in this world and find the full life
without feeling understood by at least one person.

Listen to all the conversations of our world, between nations as well as those between couples.
They are for the most part dialogues of the deaf.

Lovers are listeners.
Lovers listen.
Lovers listen with their ears and with their eyes and with their hearts.
Lovers listen because they care.
Lovers want to understand all that’s in the other person’s heart.

When we listen in this way,
we express love so powerfully that it brings healing to a wounded heart.
People who are listened to feel loved.
Hardly anything has quite the power to express love as the listening heart.
Henry David Thoreau once remarked,
“The greatest compliment that was ever paid me
was when one asked me what I thought and attended my answer.”

I think of God.
He is the Great Listener.
He is ever-ready to hear our cries.
Consider these words from David in Psalm 34:

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.
(v. 15)

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them.
(vs. 17)

When we listen, we are like God.
No wonder God tells us to “be quick to listen, slow to speak” (James 1:19).

It has been well said:
“The first duty of love is to listen.”

- – - – -
Printed text © 2012 WoodsEdge Community Church. All rights reserved.
This article may be reproduced for any non-commercial use.

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Thanks to my friend Cathie for sharing this email message with me.
Thanks to my friend Lucy for growing the beautiful roses I photographed on her front porch.
They are two wonderful friends with listening hearts!
♥ ♥
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Mug Shots

Lately, I’ve been taking pictures of some of our favorite mugs for a series I’m calling “Mug Shots.”

Last Sunday night, our daughter and I both seemed to have “mugs” on the mind!
I started this post, but never finished it.
Today, I picked up a favorite magazine and saw an article called by the same name: “Mug Shots” –
so I decided it was time to get this ready to publish!
I’ll be sharing more mugs later.

While sitting at the supper table (as we Southerners call it) last Sunday evening,
I snapped an iPhone picture of the back of a favorite mug.

The picture wasn’t very clear in the low light, so I started playing around with “Filter Mania,”
one of the apps on my phone.
I tweaked the picture a little and then applied the “Brick Wall” filter.
For some reason, I really liked the way it turned out –
nothing spectacular — just pleasing to the eye –
like a friendly mural spray-painted on the side of an old building!

While I prefer to spend time editing photos on the computer,
I still think it’s fun every once in a while to play with these apps.
I’ve even noticed that some of the professional photographers I follow online
are also applying these little apps to their photos, just for fun!

To see another “Mug Shot,” I invite you to click over to my daughter’s blog
and check out something fun she discovered last Sunday night in her kitchen sink!

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Now — I’m wondering if y’all have favorite mugs you’d like to show us on your blogs!
I’d really enjoy seeing them, and I’m sure other readers would, too.
♦
Meanwhile, thanks for stopping by Little Things.
I hope you take time in your everyday life to notice happy little things…
like hearts on coffee mugs…and smiley faces in unexpected places!
♦
Cold weather is settling into the Southland tonight;
won’t you join me in a mug of somethin’ warm to drink?!
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Keeping Christmas

This is a repeat of something I published about a year ago.
I think I just may make it a traditional January post,
because I need to be reminded of it every year!
Maybe some of you will find it helpful, as well.

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In the retail world, Christmas is “over with” for now.  It didn’t take long for leftover merchandise to be banished to sale bins, as the seasonal aisles were hurriedly transformed into Valentine Land…and King Cakes replaced Christmas cookies in the bakery aisle.

Most of us (even the procrastinators) have stored away our decorations for another year.

Many people were ready to pack them away on December 26^th.  Others would like to have enjoyed their company much longer.

For some of my friends, it was difficult just to get through the holidays.  They were relieved when the merriment and festivities were finally over and they didn’t have to endure a continuous playing of jingly Christmas music everywhere they went…or force themselves to act cheerful when they didn’t really feel that way inside.

Regardless of which category each of us finds ourselves in, I think all of us would like to see the “Christmas spirit” of love, kindness, thoughtfulness, and sharing kept alive throughout the new year.

When God sent His Son to earth, it was an event meant to change our lives FOREVER…not just to be celebrated for a few days each year.

Even though we’ve taken down our Christmas trees and packed away our ornaments, I hope all of us can “KEEP CHRISTMAS” fresh in our hearts by loving God — and then sharing His love with those around us.

Just remember…

…WE CAN NEVER KEEP IT ALONE!!!

Today’s Color: Red!

Nandina shrubs throughout the back yard show off their bright red berries in the January sunshine.

While sitting on the back porch enjoying the colorful view and soft breeze,
we hear a hummer at the empty feeder!!
We fill our two red feeders with fresh nectar and wait to see if he returns tomorrow.
Maybe it’s a rufus that will stay with us all winter!
We had one for several years, but he died during our harsh cold last year;
we’d be really happy to have another one take up residence nearby!

Savoring the Season

 

savor
v.tr.
To appreciate fully; enjoy or relish

♦

Are you savoring Christmas?
We have taken down our decorations,
and I’m filling in dates on our 2012 calendar…

…but I’m not ready to pack the real Christmas up in a box
and stick it in the attic or the garage until next December.
I’m still savoring Christmas!
It takes longer than the week between 12/25 and 01/01 to appreciate it fully!

When a baby is born, there is much rejoicing…
not just for a few days…
but continuing on and on and on!
This new life is a permanent part of the family.
Everyone is eager to get to know the little one
and establish a relationship with the baby to build on
as the newborn grows into childhood and beyond.

So it is with the birth of the Christ Child.

Celebrating Christmas in the truest sense
means rejoicing in the birth of the Savior
and then growing in our relationship with Him
every day for the rest of our lives.

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Thanks for stopping by to visit Little Things!
I hope your new year has gotten off to a good start…
but that you’re also still savoring Christmas in your ♥!
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New Beginning

I’d like to call your attention to a prayer that I read today on the website Authentic Christian Living.

Lord, prepare my heart this week
for the goals You would have me set for this next year.
Soften and change my heart to be open to Your Will in my life,
create within me an unquenchable thirst for the Word
and the ability to step aside to let Your strength flow through me.
Amen.

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Thank y’all for stopping by to visit Little Things.
May your life be filled with little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received)!
♥
I hope all of you have a new year filled with many blessings!
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