admin, Author at MyBellaViews.com

Genesis 2:8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed.

Isaiah 51:3 The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden f the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

Isaiah 61:11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

John 15:1-5 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

I love gardening, and although I certainly am not an expert, I’ve learned a few things such as which plants do well in the south, near the ocean, are fairly salt tolerant, and which plants have a good chance of returning each spring. And Jesus loved gardens. He went there for solace, to pray, to get deeper to His Father, and I believe to absorb the beauty away from the dust, and busy noisiness of the towns.

My grandmother lived with us from the time I was six until her death when I was about 30. She was awesome. My mother worked as an RN and left for work each morning at 6, so it was my grandmother who got us up and off to school, and it was she who was there when we got home, as my mother did not get home until about 4:30. Besides all the house chores she did, she also enjoyed gardening and could be found in one of the 3-4 garden beds in the yard. At the time, I thought it a silly and endless task; she or my mother would weed and work and have everything lovely and neat, and a week or so would pass and the garden would be sprouting weeds again.

I was quite sure I would never be into gardening. However, I took a psych test at one point and was shocked to have gardening appear as a high interest; everything else listed was a definite interest, hobby, or career goal , and which I was well aware of having those things as a strong interest–nursing, caregiving, library, reading and writing, and sciences. But at that point gardening was NOT one of them.

But a very few years later, I was renting a house and could put in a garden and thought one would look nice at the top of the stairway leading into the yard. It was a length of about 25 feet, and I wasn’t going to make it very wide, just enough to plop some plants and color into the dirt to spruce things up.

I was hooked. I knew I liked certain plants my mother and grandmother always had, and they looked easy, colorful, and did not require a lot of weeding around them—portulaca or moss rose. So I chose some begonias in a few different colors, and got portulaca for a couple of pots.

So as much as I thought that gardening would never be one of my skills or interests, God had designed me so it would be. I still love color and mix them up; I like the different plants, with perennials taking up a lot of the garden space, and it is such a blessing to me when they finally emerge and splash color all over each Spring! Weeding can be a monotonous chore, but it is one that brings me satisfaction. I like the garden to be cleaned, weeds disposed of, and the flowers freshened. My neighbor and I share the garden space and we both like gardening and have similar likes and preferences, so although it has a mine and hers, it looks like one big patch, and neither minds pulling weeds on the other side.

Besides the gardening, it is a sharing. She and her husband do not live here full time, so it is easy for me to pull weeds on her side when I am out there and she is not going to be back for a while; and it gives her more time to relax or tend to other chores when she is able to be here.

But the garden is a blessing. It has lovely spots of color, I enjoy all the different varieties of flowers, the many colors and variations of shades, and working with the many different flowers that do well in this area. I have been pleasantly surprised to see some flowers reappear year after year; some such as amaryllis I only knew as an inside plant. I knew once it had bloomed in the winter, I could store it in a fridge for most of the year, plant in a pot in November for blooming in December. However, here, I plant the bulbs after enjoying the Christmas bloom, and it comes up each Spring!

God continually blesses me with the gardens, the flowers, the weeds and I get a little surprised each year because I forgot about something blooming and it returned. God culls out our weeds, (selfish and sinful traits), trims our dead or useless branches, and when I do that in the garden, I see some healthy sprouting the next week; it is a great feeling.

I want God to cut out my icky stuff so healthier stuff can grow for His cause. He has so richly blessed me, I want to show Him to others so they too can realize how much He loves us and wants us to be blessed with his gifts of beauty, satisfaction, and sharing our gifts with others.

Thank You, my Father for the gardens and gifts You have blessed me with. Thank You for enabling me to share through ‘mybellaviews.’

Genesis 22:1-12 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” … “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, who you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”. . .(6) So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son;(reminds me ‘they laid the cross on Jesus’ back) . . . (7) Then he said, “Look, we have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering. . . (9) . . and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. . . .(12) . . . for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, you only son, from Me.”

Exodus 15:25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them.

Exodus 16:4-5, 15-22 The the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” . . . . (15-22) So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses replied, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.'” Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less less. S when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need. And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it until morning.” Notwithstanding, they did not heed Moses. but some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank.

It amazes me that we are no surprise to God. He knows our thoughts and actions before we do. I can imagine Him smiling when we make the correct choice, but then He should not be surprised. It seems kind of boring to know what each of us will do, say, think, and so forth. And yet, from all we read, we are told He delights in us!

His words state that ‘You knew me before I was formed.’ And yet He tests us. He tested Abraham in Genesis, saying “Take your son, your only son and sacrifice him.” I was shocked, and at first did not understand how Abraham would go along with it; I always wondered how much trust Isaac lost toward his father after this incident. Hebrews helped clarify it a bit for me, pointing out that Abraham knew God, he knew God’s nature, and that God always provided. He knew somehow a sacrifice would be provided, Isaac would be spared, and yet, God had the pleasure of seeing Abraham’s immediate obedience. When Isaac questioned where the sacrifice would come from, his father replied, “God will provide.” Abraham knew God’s character so well, he KNEW God would somehow provide.

Wow! I would love to have the faith that Abraham did, but I do not believe I could say “OK, now God told me to kill you, so get right up here, and let me cut your throat and set you on fire.” Awww, no. So as much as I would like to have that amount of faith, I think I will always be lacking if that is the command I am ever given. And because that was the way many of the foreigners worshiped their idols and gods, I would be sure that God would not be saying that to me. He hated the fact many worshiped idols such as Molech and threw children into fiery deaths.

What do you think Isaac did after? Did he wholly trust his earthly father, or maintain a distance, not wanting to be close enough to be again bound and set up as a sacrifice? Or did he marvel at the closeness, the knowledge that his father knew God and God’s nature enough to KNOW that a sacrifice would be provided, and determine he wanted his faith to be as deep and abiding as his father’s? Did he run to Sarah all excited because of the experience and actually seeing a ram provided? Or did he ask her to keep him far from his father’s reach? Who knows? but it makes me wonder.

We don’t learn much of Isaac’s faith. He married Rebecca, and had twin fraternal sons, but we know little of his relationship with God. After a deception set in motion by his wife, his younger son flees to the in-laws to search for a wife, and the story then becomes his, and no longer his father.

For each person, the relationship one has with God is unique. We each have to explore God’s Words and thoughts and come to know who He is and who we are in Him. I want more and deeper faith in You, and thank You for this journey for me and ‘mybellaviews.’

Proverbs 13:17 An unreliable messenger stumbles into trouble, but a reliable messenger brings healing.

Proverbs 18:21 The tongue can bring death or life, those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Colossians 4:6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

I think it is sad to be in a restaurant and see all at the table playing with their devices, whatever they are—usually cell phones, but now you will see young children watching movies, playing games on their brightly colored tablets. There is no interaction; I’m not sure if the parents even run through the menu and ask the children what they would like to eat before the wait staff comes for the order.

When I was growing up, our father worked the 3-11:30 PM so obviously most of the time he was not home after school, and very rarely was he out of bed before we hurried off to school at 7. But he was available every weekend. Even on weekdays, we ate as a family, consisting of my mother, my maternal grandmother, and the three of us. My mother had a cow bell and would ring that about 5 PM and we best be in, washing hands and sitting at the table within 15 minutes.

Once seated, grace was said, and then we chatted while serving ourselves from whatever the offerings were for that evening. But the important thing listed in the last sentence is we chatted.

My brother and I ran with the same bunch of friends, so we usually knew what was going on in each other’s life; our sister is a few years younger, and although she might know of things going on in my life, there were some activities I prayed she would not reveal. I was the cool teen sneaking cigarettes, going outside the neighborhood boundaries, and she had ears which heard many things I preferred her not to know, always nervous she would be tattling.

But what is important and still brings a smile to me 50 years later, is we chatted, we knew one another. We knew plans other members of the table or family were looking forward to or were making. We connected with each other, not a piece of electronics.

On weekends when my father was home, I could hear discussions between my parents on any matter of concerns they were chatting about. My father made a point to call each evening at 5 and then again at 8:45 PM. He would initially talk with our mother, then would check in with us, at least one of those phone calls.

Family was important, communication, discussing feelings, consequences of breaking rules and what was happening in various areas of the world were all topics freely discussed. We knew how other members felt regarding different things, and we might disagree with them, you still respected their view—but you knew it. You spoke to one another, you listened to each other, and because you had a true relationship you cared about what one another was going through or expecting.

How does anyone know members of their nucleus family if they don’t talk, they don’t interact? It makes me sad to see tables in a restaurant and so many at the same table are interacting with their device. When my family come to visit, devices are not allowed to interrupt a meal.

Our pastor repeated a phrase he’d heard at a conference some time ago. “I’m not so concerned with weapons of mass destruction as I am concerned with weapons of mass distraction.” And it is so true. Folks seem to have a need to fill any down time with a game, reading social media, scrolling through texts, and so forth. There is little communication, verbal interaction so one can hear inflections, see the other’s face and eyes, and truly listen to what is being said. Our relationships are going to continue to disintegrate per Satan’s plan if we don’t maintain some kind of control and keep remembering how important actual communication and personal interaction. Emojis just don’t get the same effect. We need folks to listen to us and just as important we need to listen to others to truly understand feelings, fears, concerns, worries, goals, desires within our own families. I think that is horrifically sad.

I believe a lot of the reason there is more electronic distraction is because it is another very successful way Satan has of pulling us away from God, love, family, and the core of what He created.

His Word repetitively tells us to read and imprint His words on our hearts and minds—can’t be done if you are not reading them, studying them and meditating on them. He put the desire in us to reach and search for something beyond us. Not everyone knows what this restlessness is, and try to eliminate it by working harder and longer, reading material other than His words, maybe writing their own stories, being creative in many different ways.

Now, I believe that restlessness is the chief cause for many of these devices. ‘It’s a challenge for my brain to do this game.’ ‘I just need to see what so and so said about such and such.’ ‘Just let me read this one thing, and then I’m all yours.’ There are a gazillion more excuses folks say when they realize they are not communicating with the others they are with, only playing with their devices.

Each moment we spend with others is a gift. We should enjoy them; we supposedly made plans to spend time with these people. So why are you then disrespecting them and playing on a device? A device is not going to show you affection, is not giving a display of life, praise, and is certainly not honoring you, not respecting you. Life can end in a moment; and if you are the one left behind, how do you handle the regrets of not spending quality time with your loved one? Do you think that device, game, social media tidbit is going to assuage your guilt, your grief, your regrets?

These are handy instruments for communicating, learning, and are amazing when you examine the capabilities packed into a couple square inches, but God created man to have a relationship with Himself and to have relationships with one another. We need to rediscover the connection of really coming to know others in our circle of family and friends. Who are these people? Put your devices down and open a conversation. It might surprise you to find out who they are and how much they have to offer. Have a chat with those you have chosen to spend this moment, this present with. The present is a gift, no one is guaranteed another day or moment, so treat is as the special gift it is and enjoy one another face to face.

Thank You, God, that I love to chat and find out who people are and what they have been through. I love finding who You are and who I am in You. And although I appreciate my device in many ways, I am so thankful that I chat with You and get to know others as people. It’s fulfilling for me and ‘mybellaviews.’

Hosea 6:2 After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up that we may live in His sight.

Isaiah 53: 4-10 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked—but with the rich at His death because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put HIM to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see HIS seed, He shall prolong HIS days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. ( I took the liberty of underlining or showcasing many of the words in this text. It is so awesome, but Isaiah prophesized all that would happen to the Messiah for us, and our stubborn, sinful ways.)

John 6:40 “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

Romans 6:4-8 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the lines of His resurrection, knowing this , that our old man was crucified with HIM, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.

With ALL these scriptures, who can NOT believe?

I was raised in a Christian church, although it never felt as though we learned biblical truths; there felt more like pomp and circumstance and ceremony, and sternness. It was a pretty church, large and a little imposing, red brick on the outside, and on the inside, the ceiling was high and you looked upwards and would see Jesus smiling and reaching out a hand amidst the clouds, and an angel or two were nearby. I loved looking at the serene invitation of Jesus. But that was the only peace I felt there.

Every year, Lent came and we had to give up something; might be playing with a favorite doll, candy, cake, but something. And for the next several weeks, you would hear how Jesus rode into town on a donkey and all the people loved him and praised him. Yet four days later, He ate the last meal, served his disciples by washing their feet, reminding them of his love, and then they went out to pray in his favorite garden. Roman guards came and seized him when Judas betrayed him, and his “court” performed.

The Jewish hierarchy could manipulate the Roman governors, but they could not order a death, a murder. So Jesus was beaten, brought to Pontius Pilate, sent off to Herod, returned to Pontius Pilate, who felt there was no need to kill Jesus, and urged the crowd (many who had cheered and praised him four days earlier) who now demanded his execution.

How did that happen? I never understood it as a kid, and now I don’t understand it much better except this was God’s will to free us sinners with the final sacrificial Passover Lamb. In a matter of days, those who adored him were part of the crowd who condemned him. What could possibly turn people so fast? I can’t remember a time I like and cared for someone and they made me angry, but that I wanted harm, true harm to happen to them. The fact these folks turned their praise into chants of murder was not understandable to me. It made me shiver in revulsion–still does, but now I am also thankful. This wonderful, loving gift set us free from death and sin.

We were told (in the church I was raised in) that He was on the cross for three hours, which makes more sense to my nursing and analytical mind. Jesus had been beaten, whipped/scourged, (no record that He ate—He handed bread to Judas). I cannot imagine I would be able to swallow a thing knowing what I was facing in the next 22-24 hours, so my nursing mind believes He was very weakened, and believe with the back and forth all over Jerusalem, that He went on the cross about noon and died about 3, and then they would have to hustle to get him into the tomb as Passover was about to start.

I cannot imagine any of His followers celebrated the Passover meal. I’m sure there were tears, grief, disbelief, horror, and lots of fear. The hopelessness, helplessness, and for Peter the overwhelming guilt, must have been agony. What would they do without Him? How could they go on? They’d thought He was the Messiah.

But He rose early Sunday morning and presented Himself to the women who followed Him and told them He was going to His Father and to tell the apostles He would meet them in Galilee. “YES, my LORD, I AM ON THE WAY TO TELL THEM, TO SHARE THIS WONDERFUL NEWS!”

The fact Jesus rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and LIVES so we can be freed from sin and also LIVE is the basis for our religion, our beliefs, and faith that we will see Him one day face to face.

There are too many truths in the bible that prophesy his birth, death, how he would be tried and ‘led like a lamb’ and how his ‘stripes would heal’ and He said He would rise. He appeared to many, many people within a short time after His crucifixion and death. How can one not believe when you read the accounts of the numbers who saw Him, the frequency, the ability to touch His scarred hands. And then they watched Him ascend. So, yes, absolutely, no doubt or question for me, I believe Jesus is God’s Son, part of the trinity with His Father and the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, suffered for us, crucified, died, buried and rose again. I believe He is alive and sits at His Father’s right hand. And I believe He will come again to form a new Kingdom.

Jesus, I can never give You enough of the praise and reverence which You deserve from me and ‘mybellaviews.’

Psalm 86:12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

Psalm 95:2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

Psalm 106:1 Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I awake every morning and thank God for something…sometimes it’s that I’ve rested well, sometimes, the sky is beginning to get pink with the rising sun, sometimes it’s a thought or memory from the day before, but always there is a reason to be thankful in my heart. Then I may turn over….ouch, creak!, ouch, ouch, oh my back, my hip! OH, my foot, yikes, ow, ow! And thankfully after a few yards of hobbling, I can straighten and stop wincing. And be very thankful for that!

There is a skylight in my bathroom which looks out over the sound, and I can see enough to sometimes still watch the moon slide away, especially if it’s a full one that just wants to linger and shine, and I can tell if the waters are rough or quiet. And during this time of year, the birds are full of song and chirping and praising our Creator. How blessed are we to be able to enjoy and appreciate all He gives us as gifts!

I have tried to list all the things I have to be thankful for over my life time. Can’t do it; I know I’m missing bunches of things that happened. It’s fairly easy for me to appreciate the big things—family, having a grandmother who lived with us, we had a lovely home and a neighborhood full of kids around our ages, (and it became known as the ‘cool’ neighborhood. Everyone wanted to be part of the Robin Rd Gang!). Mothers would report to other mothers if we were disobedient, sneaking cigarettes, or whatever good or bad deed we had done. It was a community of raising us and keeping an eye out. It was set in a rural neighborhood, in fact a farmer and sold many acres and a developer built homes. It was perfect for young families. Our house sat in a cul-de-sac, and we had a large flat yard, and there were plenty of places for hide and seek, Playing chicken in the cul de sac and anything we else we chose to do. Yet, it’s another one of my big reasons to be thankful.

My grandmother and mother both enjoyed gardening, so the flower beds we had looked awesome most of the time. We had pets, and part of our responsibilities was to feed them, let them out and so forth. We spent time together as a family, knowing how each was doing. Although my father worked weekday evening shifts, he touched base a couple of times when he would have breaks. My family praised when it was earned, and encouraged when you had not done as well as you wanted. A lot to be grateful for.

I am so thankful in live in the south rather than the northeast. Years before I left, I knew I no longer liked dealing with the snow, ice, cold, and bitter cold, and did I say COLD? Yuck! The snow can be pretty, appreciate it and be in awe of the beauty, but shoveling and walking while praying you do not slip, fall, and break anything gets old. I was not very tolerant once in the mid-thirties to deal with pulling toboggans for fifteen minutes uphill for a 10 second ride down. Certainly, I muttered while cleaning off my car to get to work, and then really grumbled to clean it off after a 12 hr shift to get home. Yes, there is an abundance of thankfulness for me to live here versus there.

I cannot list all the wonderful things to be grateful and thankful for, but sometimes my heart feels as though it wants to burst with it. Today, there are a couple of singing, thankful birds, and I cannot help but smile as they sing and share their song.

I’ve included a couple pictures, most taken on the island (not by me, but others who have shared). Hope you can see reason to be thankful in them too.

Thank you, Brandi Newkirk for dolphin pics