a blessed day.

Every day is blessed.

But some days,

the really special ones,

it’s as if you can taste the sweetness that pours forth,

like a bright cherry popsicle on a hot summer day!

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When we contemplate the blessings of faith even now, as if gazing at a reflection in a mirror, it is, as if we already possessed the wonderful things which our faith assures us we shall one day enjoy.”  (CCC163)

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The word of the Lord came to me, saying:  Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” 

Jeremiah 1:4-5

The Gift of Love

“Brothers & sisters:  Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.  But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;  it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part;  but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.  For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.  And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 12:31- 13:13

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“In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.  In your justice rescue me, and deliver me: incline your ear to me, and save me.  Be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety, for you are my rock and my fortress.” Psalm 71: 1-2, 3

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“For you are my hope, O Lord; my trust, O God, from my youth.  On you I depend from birth; from my mothre’s womb you are my strength.” Psalm 71: 5-6

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“My mouth shall declare your justice, day by day your salvation.  O God, you have taught me from my youth, and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeeds.” Psalm 71: 15, 17

What were the blessings you received today?

3hugs n’ blessings to all the popsicle eaters, no matter which flavor you enjoyed!

read-o-rama(s)!

(This link was previous broken…sorry for the inconvenience to those who visited earlier.  Extra hugs n’ blessings to you for returning!)

it’s a 3hugs&blessings thursday kind of day-lee-o!

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“You inspire me!!”

…and since I’ve been so grateful for all of those who take the time to stop in, stroll around my site, and hopefully leave with a smile (or two or more…) I want to give some well-deserved attention to 3 bloggers who do the same for me! (thank you, thank you, thank you!!)

I always leave their site with a refreshed spirit and a mile-wide smile on my face and in my heart!

I hope you feel just as blessed as I after scroll-strolling through their site and want to follow them along, (as I do!)

I love everything Vincent Egoro at Live Your Greatest Life has written!  A very few of my recent favorites are:  Don’t Forget to Forget! And God Has Chosen You! And Enough of Just Hoping!  But truthfully-truly there is not a thing he has written which has not left me inspired by it’s completion.  I almost wish there was never a period to be found in his writings.  He offers me a run-on-sentence for living…(in accordance to the holy word of God.)  I teased him once with a comment I left for him following another well-written post….that it was written from God’s lips to Vincent’s pen…as it was exactly what the Holy Spirit desired for me to hear.

Doodlemum is no ho-hum of a blog to follow!   A rendering of sketches she uses to display her life in lovely scribbly-doo’s which are not so shy of gallery quality!  So often I am fondly reminded of similar displays in our own home of “life-lived-out abundantly” activities!!  A few of my favs:  Looking Back!  To Bedtime and Beyond!  Wear something casual..

And lastly…but not in the least place (ever,)  my dear blogging friend Faye who has TWO sites she wonderfully manages  Sacred Musings and Passionate Creative Christian.  Faye and her sage wisdom always inspires me and often helps bring a calming salve to my sometimes weary-soul, exactly when it seems to be in need of some brightening up!  I know you will be just as inspired with all that she does ‘down under’ to spread His love!

Please and thank-you for scroll-strolling to at least one of these sites!

And I hope you will continue to stop back as I am certain to recommend more!

3hugs n’ blessings to all the inspiration we receive, which encourages our love to grow!

Gardenias & a magic-wand!

My favorite flower in the whole wide world is…

the Gardenia!

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My very own home-grown Gardenia!

There is something romantically nostalgic

about this flower for me.

I have always called upon the gardenia

for the (most) special moments of my life.

And it has never disappointed me!

Like the fairy-godmother in Cinderella

who waves her magic-wand which turns

pumpkins into carriages,

I truly feel like the transformed pumpkin each time I am near one.

No wonder it was the flower at my wedding

and every birth of my children

and all the Mother’s Days there-after!

Not to mention, I am quite certain my family will know

which flower should be at my wake!

(giggles.)

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One of the fondest memories I have of the Gardenia was on our Wedding Day some 30 years ago, walking down the aisle of St. Joseph’s Church with my cascading bouquete of Gardenias clutched tightly in my hands! The elderly women in attendance commented how, “We could smell the gardenias as you walked down the aisle toward your groom!”

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And I do so very hope it will be the same with Jesus one day!

As an eternal bride, with her favorite flower, headed toward her beloved Bridegroom…in Heaven.  And I do verily hope He will be just as pleased by the fragrance, as I process toward Him.

But first, by the grace of God,

I have a few more Gardenias here in this earthly world to enjoy!

This potted miniature-gardenia plant was gifted to me by two very dear friends for my 50th birthday celebration!

Last count it had 48 gardenia-buds waiting to burst into bloom!

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These two Gardenias, outside our sun-porch, were purchased during a “surprise-BOGO” at a local nursery! Lucky me!

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The Gardenia’s are beautiful this year because of the unusually high-humidity we have had during the summer months.  I wish I could explain the giddy-feeling I have each time I walk outside from the sunroom and am struck by the heavy-aroma from the fresh blooms!  My joy is especially heightened, as this is the first time I have ever been able to wear a Gardenia, tucked in my hair or behind an ear, without needing to purchase it from my favorite people at Allburn’s Florists.

I have done a lot of research on preserving my potted bushes during the cold Northeastern US winters; however, saddly it doesn’t sound promising.  My research also suggests “even if” you are successful in nursing the bushes through the winter months indoors, it is difficult to get the bushes to rebloom the following year.

Can you hear my sad-sighs?

However,  as I am learning this new knowledge of the Gardenia it has helped me to appreciate the gift I’ve been given with these 3 ‘make-me-smile’ bushes even more!  What a blessing to remember how important it is to fully embrace the joy which is given to us in the moment...for we never really know if we will always have it in our midst.

Yes, God is constantly teaching me!

Whether it is through the wave of a magic-wand,

the surprise of an unexpected sale,

the heat of an unusually humid summer,

or a favorite flower readily available to be tucked in my hair…

life should be appreciated fully (in the) NOW.

And praise be, He allows the fragrance from the joy to linger with us,

even when it’s gone.

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A dried Gardenia from Mother’s Day 2016

3hugs n’ blessings for all the pumpkins turning into carriages in our everyday lives!