Flowers

The Florist Industry touts their slogan,"Flowers say it Best".
I came across an old Chinese proverb that says it even better. "A Bit of Fragrance Clings to the Hand that gives the Flowers".

I have often said that flowers are one of God's best ideas! Always well received, no matter what the occasion may be.

Silently they say, "I'm thinking of You, Welcome little Baby, I Love You, I'm Sorry, Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday, Heartfelt Sympathy, Cheer Up, Welcome Home, I Care."

Without a word, they unpretentiously brighten up a drab community hall or hospital room. Their bright colors help to momentarily ease the pain of grief in the starkness of a funeral chapel.

Oh, the beauty of Nature! Oh, the hand that designed it!
In our province we can drive through forest, alpine meadow or desert and see splashes of color in the most unexpected places.
Ground-covers of magenta and purple cling to rocky mountain crags. In the interior desert, bright yellow blooms appear on the prickly cacti. Pink rhododendrons bloom at the foot of the pine and fir. High atop of the mountain, a sea of blue, red, white, mauve, and yellow blooms dance in the cool breeze.


The wonderful colors of spring are emerging.... mauve crocus, yellow daffodils, pink cherry blossoms, white snowdrops, purple lilac, red tulips, blue iris, purple heather,etc.
Green must be God's favorite color. It provides the lush background palette that enhances and brings all the others to life. ENJOY!

When I was Young

"When I was young, running water was ...me, running back and forth, carrying a heavy bucketful from the well into the house. When I was young, I used to walk 5 miles to school, uphill both ways. When I was young, we heated bricks to keep our feet warm in the horse-drawn buggy. When I was young, we ate everything on our plate, because we knew what it felt like to go hungry. When I was young, girls didn't wear jeans to church. When I was young, toilet paper was a page from the Eaton's catalogue. When I was young, all I got for Christmas was one box of crayons and an apple. When I was young, we didn't talk back to our parents...children were seen and not heard. When I was young, we shared our bathwater with seven other siblings. When I was young, we did our school lessons by the light of a coal-oil lamp."

Many times, I heard my parents make statements such as these. Each one surely could have been the opening line to a wonderful story. But I wasn't interested. Now I wish I would have said, "Tell me more about it" instead of rolling my eyes and thinking... "Here we go again...I've heard that a hundred times before".

Anger

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. " Proverbs 15:1
Retaliation is easy.....a sign of weakness, but real strength of character and power is most evident when anger is controlled.