Poppies, Garden Vista, Heart Monitor and Bounce

 

The view when I was sitting outside on a chair on the cafe patio enjoying a decaf latte at my favorite coffee shop. Surrounded by gardens, now that is mighty fine. See that bench, doesn't that look tempting?

The above are three views taken from the same spot, with the top one the most magnified.

I wore a heart monitor for two weeks, put it in the mail as instructed and today read the results, all tests are normal. My doctor's words. Hurray. Another blessing in answered prayer.

Bounce finds delightful scents in this poppy growing in/near the sidewalk, he is checking his mail or as I call it, his pee-mail.

Above, more golden orange poppies seen on our walk today. Below shows poppy flowers when they are furled up and closed, before the sun warms them each day.

 

 Some say plants don't move, but they do. The poppies close up each evening. Remember the powerful scenes in The Lord of the Rings where the trees are needed to move and to go into battle on the side of good? I love those scenes.

My magnificent coffee creation, red flowers on trees and sunset over the ocean

Yes, I am not humble when I call the above coffee creation my masterpiece. It is pretty and tastes fabulous and I added frothed milk to it and some chocolate mini sprinkles. Below is my new electric milk frother. Why did it take me this long to discover such an appliance?

I pour in one cup of whole milk, press one button and three minutes later have frothed milk that stands up in pretty peaks. The directions say only whole milk works, not lower fat, and I bought whole milk and am using it. Apparently you can froth almond and oat milk, but best to research and find frothers recommended for that. Hey, I am from the dairy state, Wisconsin, so milk it is for me. A nice source of calcium too.

The brand I bought is Secura and I do recommend if you buy one you get one like mine that is in two pieces, the motor in one piece and the pitcher that lifts off for easy cleaning. Many frothers I looked at are one piece and more tricky to clean.

Above is another of my coffee creations. I tried this also with black tea and that worked fine too. There are four settings on the machine, one is cold froth for iced coffee and one is for hot cocoa.

My neighbor has four of these gorgeous tall trees, perhaps 70 feet tall, I am just guessing their height, and they are loaded with red flowers. I think they may be a type of eucalyptus.

Below is the early phase of a sunset over the Pacific Ocean, photo taken at 7:15 p.m. at the end of my street. "For He hath made all things beautiful in its time." Ecclesiastes 3:11 When I see the beauty of the ocean I always pray thankful prayers and sometimes ask God to take my worries. He always does.

"The Heavens declare the glory of God." Psalm 19:1

Prayers and a Heavenly Photo

mario's heaven
Originally uploaded by mRio
For a sometimes dark month, here are some of my favorite short prayers and a photo to inspire us.
Prayers

“The firmament of the Bible is ablaze with answers to prayer.” T.L. Cuyler

“Prayer is the key of heaven; faith is the hand that turns it.” Thomas Watson

“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” Corrie Ten Boom

“Restraining prayer we cease to fight;
Prayer makes the Christian’s armour bright;
And Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees.” William Cowper

The Path

These photos of paths were taken by my talented husband. The first photo shows a mountain bike and hiking trail near Tahoe and the second is a path near the Merced River.
Did you notice that the first path is hard to discern, and is over rocky ground, while the second photo shows a nicely marked path over a gentle slope? 
You can not see the beginning of the path, or where it ends.
This reminds me of our journey in life, and how each step moves us along and is important. Sometimes we are lost and on dangerous rocky ground with no idea of the way ahead, and other times we walk safely along a clear smooth path.
Looking at these paths reminds me of a book that I often return to, "Pathway to the Heart of God", edited by Terry W. Glaspey. He includes prayers by great Christian writers that always touch my heart.
Here is one he includes:
"Pray the largest prayers. You cannot think a prayer so large that God, in answering it, will not wish you had made it larger. Pray not for crutches but for wings." By Philips Brooks.
"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray." James 5:13
Do you pray? I imagine some of you, my blog friends, don't pray but for me it is part of daily life.
One prayer practice I have done every day for a year is to say a prayer of thanks before I get up in the morning. If I don't pray while still in bed, I could easily get so busy the prayer would be pushed aside.
I thank God in my early morning prayer for something specific and boy, does this set a good tone to my day.
Do you have a prayer practice you want to share here?

We can pray everywhere, and often

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
Originally uploaded by El Frito

Are you like me, and you pray often? I love what G. K. Chesterton wrote about his prayer life.
You say grace before meals
All right.
But I say grace before the play and the opera,
And grace before the concert and pantomime,
And grace before I open a book,
And grace before sketching, painting,
Swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing;
And grace before I dip the pen in the ink.

I love this philosophy and subscribe to it. Soon I will post some wise words here, from an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, on this same topic.
Have a grand week, my bloggy friends.

Two Profound Prayer Ideas

Chicago Temple Stained Glass
Originally uploaded by Atelier Teee
I was listening to Catholic radio on Sirius on Saturday, which I have in my car so can't take notes on details.

I heard two wonderful insights on prayer.

One was from a Jesuit priest, which he learned from an elderly man who had a rich prayer life. The man often prayed for two hours and the priest asked him what he prayed about, and what words he used, during such a lengthy time in prayer. The man replied "I look at God and he looks at me."

That sounds very beautiful to me.

The second thing I heard on Sirius radio was a quote by Sister Angelica, who said she often prays "Lord, what do you want me to do at this moment?"

Isn't that profound? Her prayer often ends with immediate action by her.

Now, those are two wise people, and I note that each of them is a senior citizen. Sometimes it takes time to learn how to pray and to spend time with our Father.

copy of kids book to give away This Little Prayer of Mine

This is a lovely book ideal to read to young children at bedtime or nap time, ages 2 to 8.
 The short prayers and pretty paintings will teach children how to pray, and tell them how much God loves them and wants for them. The book is in rhyme so it is very much fun to read aloud. One page reads "Whenever I feel really scared and want to hide my head, please help me to be brave and strong and face my fears instead." Even the adults reading this book will find themselves smiling and spirits lifted.

 Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided a copy for me to give to one commenter on my blog. I think you and your children or grandkids will enjoy this pretty book with its enthusiastic message about prayer.
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307458049&ref=externallink_wbp_thislittleprayerofmine_sec_0223_01
Leave a comment for a chance to win this copy.