Improv Alpha

Tuesday, April 14th, 2020

Hello, I was nominated for the “Real Neat Blog Award” by SnowHearT and I sincerely want to say “THANK YOU” for this recognition. This is a link to her site: https://snowheart0529.wordpress.com/

The ‘rules’ of the Real Neat Blog Award are: (feel free not to act upon them if you don’t have time; or don’t accept awards; etc.):

1. Put the award logo on your blog.

2. Answer 7 questions asked by the person who nominated you.

3. Thank the people who nominated you, linking to their blogs.

4. Nominate any number of bloggers you like, linking to their blogs; and asking them seven questions.

5. Let them know you nominated them (by commenting on their blog etc.)

My seven questions are:

1. Where do most visits to your blog come from?

• United States

2. What is your favourite sport?

• Football

3. What has been a special moment for you so far in 2020?

• Blogging during Lent

4. What is your favourite quote?

• “We are what we believe we are.” —C.S.Lewis

5. What was your favourite class when still at school?

• History and Biology

6. Anything you had wished to have learned earlier?

• The beauty of boundaries.

7. What musical instrument have you tried to play?

• Trumpet

Thanks again for the nomination! I appreciate all the support and encouragement from the WordPress community as well as my friend who follow my page.

I am nominating the following bloggers for the “Real Neat Blogger Award”:

• https://janbeek.blog/

• https://simplysoulsearching.com/

• https://benstriathlonclub.wordpress.com/

• http://becomingtheoilandwine.com/

• https://growingupsideways.blog/

• https://sarahsatticoftreasures.com/

• https://poetrybydeborahann.wordpress.com/

~Peace~ Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻❣️

Good day to all bloggers I am nominated by petrel41 of Dear Kitty. Some blog dearkitty1.wordpress.com. I wanna expressed my gratitude to petrel41 for…

Real Neat Blog Award

Tuesday, April 14th, 2020

I want to share a story with you that brought me great joy. It was an answered prayer from January 2019. One of my duties at work includes responding to customer service inquiries. On January 6th, 2019, I received a call from a lady looking for a guitar pic that her daughter had lost at our location. She explained that it was a significant and special guitar pic that someone had given her. Additionally, her daughter was serving in the US Military. After speaking with the mother and getting a description of the guitar pic I completed a search of the area in which her daughter had been but I could not find it. I wanted to reach back to her but due to our phone system I did not have a return number. I searched the internet but all I had was a name. Finally I searched FaceBook and found a name that matched. I sent a message along with a prayer that this was the correct person. I wanted to reach out to the daughter and say “thank you” for her military service and gift her a pin, not a replacement for the guitar pic but in memory of the guitar pic.

Time goes by and no response and I place this situation on a shelf, metaphorically speaking. Then on April 7th, 2020 I receive a message on FB saying I indeed had found the right person. I’m not sure who was happier, me for receiving her message or she for receiving mine. All I know for sure is God knew the timing was right. She thanked me and gave me her daughters address. I am happy to report that a letter along with a gift is in the mail today. It feels so good to help others, I wasn’t able to return her item but I was able to extend kindness to someone dealing with loss. In return, my heart is full ❤️.

Kindness grows simply by giving it away!

—1 Thessalonians 5:18

“Give thanks in all circumstances.”

~Peace~ Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻💛

Easter Monday, April 13th, 2020

It’s Monday morning and Jesus is Risen! This is a time of momentum, praise God and continue singing the songs and shouting hallelujah! It can be easy to fall back into our old routines after celebrating Easter Sunday. Friends, we have just experienced an emotionally filled weekend where we knew the facts as they unfolded before us, yet knowing the facts did not lessen the painful emotions of the experience. Every time I see images of Jesus being beaten and mocked it hurts just like it was the first time seeing it. Unlike the disciples we know the story and the ending of that first Easter weekend celebration that is called Passover. When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection He said this to them, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” -John 20:21

—John 20:19-21—

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

So, on this Easter Monday will you answer the call from Jesus to go and share the good news? Maybe you’re asking yourself, how can I share the good news(?)

• I’m not a Bible scholar or teacher

• I can’t start a conversation about Jesus and my beliefs

• I don’t feel confident talking about Biblical doctrine

My sincerest recommendation is don’t over-think it. What qualities do you recognize, practice and foster as a believer in Jesus Christ…Go and do the same.

Go forward, use those qualities and share the love of God with everyone. Here’s a response Jesus gave to a Pharisee’s question in Matthew 22:34-40:

“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Two commandments —All the Laws and Prophets hang of them.

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

ειρήνη – “Peace” in Greek, reference listed below. 

~Peace~ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻❣️

References:

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_20:19

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_20:20

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_20:21

Easter Monday

Easter Sunday, April 12th, 2020

—John 20:15-16

Today is indeed a day of Celebration! The Good News of Jesus Christ is here and now! This is resurrection Sunday and we may not be attending services in churches due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, we can and should still celebrate and sing praises to God!! Being in a church, chapel, cathedral, synagogue, mosque or any other places of worship doesn’t bring us closer to God. It does make us feel good to be in those places and worship together AND God is everywhere we are. So choose to worship God today in your very best clothes or in your PJ’s, God sees your heart and soul. Sing a familiar hymn you’ve heard hundreds of times or just once, make a joyful noise to the Lord. One of my all time favorites is, “He Arose” followed by “He Lives.”

Did you notice that Jesus, calls Mary by name is the scripture verses for today? He knows your name as well. You are not an unknown to God, He knows all His children, and we are all His children. The Good News of Jesus is for everyone and we are to share the gift of salvation to everyone we meet. Every day is a gift from God and an opportunity to extend the love of Jesus with others. We are the hands and feet of Jesus helping connect the world in good and positive ways to further His kingdom.

Friends—It has been sheer joy to share stories and scripture with you during this season of Lent. I am overjoyed by the support of fellow bloggers and my personal friends and new friends I’ve met through WordPress. I thank you the privilege of sharing my faith journey with all of you. My heart is overflowing, 💛🙏🏻😊✝️

—1 John 3:19-20

“By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.”

—Psalm 139:7-12

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”

—Psalm 139:16

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

—Matthew 10:30

“And even the hairs of your head are all counted.”

—Luke 12:6-7

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

—Matthew 28:6

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”

Practice:

Share the good news!

Christ is Risen!

Christ is Risen, indeed!!

ειρήνη – “Peace” in Greek, reference listed below. 

~Peace~ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻❣️

References:

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://www.abingdonpress.com/

Easter Sunday, April 12th, 2020

Lent Photo-a-Day Challenge

Today’s word is: WORSHIP

Happy Easter Everyone!

Thank you for joining me on the #acclife Lenten journey of 2020. I have enjoyed sharing words and photos with each of you and hopefully you have discovered some of your own. ~ Peace ✝️🙏🏻💜

ειρήνη – “Peace” in Greek, reference listed the below. 

~Peace~ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻❣️☀️

References:

https://disciples.org/

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

(My Reader Friends, As this Lenten season comes to an end with the joyful resurrection of Jesus, I am wishing you all the blessings of this Easter …

Easter! Do you love me?

Saturday, April 11th, 2020

John 19:38-40

Today is Saturday, the day after Jesus’ crucifixion and there is grief and loss. The grieving process is different for each person though the stages of it remain relatively the same. From my personal experience grief has had an ebb and flow rhythm to it. Time has helped and the missing is always there, I’m ok with that because I’m no longer afraid of the missing. I have beautiful memories and my heart is full. Rev. Sam talks about the Jewish practice of Shiva when someone dies. And in her devotional today she shares her personal story of loss on page 47. When people are grieving is not the words or the things people say and do, it’s their presence that makes all the difference.

Below is an excerpt from an article I found online at: https://reformjudaism.org/practice/lifecycle-and-rituals/death-mourning/everything-you-need-know-about-jewish-custom-shiva

“The psychological brilliance of Judaism is apparent in its carefully ritualized structure for dealing with grief. The open expression of sorrow is part of the process, even encouraged. Yet, beginning with the family’s arrival at home after burial, a process begins that leads the bereaved gently but firmly back to life and the world of the living.”

“The first stage in this gradual process of healing is called shiva. The period of shiva is intended to see mourners through the first days of intense grief and disorientation; Jewish tradition recognizes that grief continues long after shiva and offers additional rituals to support mourners beyond this initial period of grief.”

Today, let us be mindful of life and death. Our world is currently in the midst of a horrible pandemic and thousands have died due to the illness. Let us lift up in prayer to God all those grieving the loss of a loved one, a beloved member of someone’s family. I recently found out that a family member of mine had lost her husband of 21 years. I cannot attend the service and many people who want to cannot due to the current limitations surrounding COVID-19 and social distancing. As soon as I heard the news I reached out to family members to give me condolences. In times like this we often feel helpless but that is so not true. We always have our prayers, God will hear our prayers. He is our Rock and our Redeemer. I know my cousins will be ok, they believe in God and in His Love. We all know that Dave is with the Lord and we will see him again. The grieving is…our hearts will miss him.

“I thought I could describe a state; make a map of sorrow. Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state but a process.”

—C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

Practice:

Be in contact with someone grieving. If you need words, try: “God is with you. So am I. What do you need?”

ειρήνη – “Peace” in Greek, reference listed below. 

~Peace~ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻❣️

References:

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://www.abingdonpress.com/

Saturday, April 11th, 2020

Photo-a-Day Challenge Word for today is: WAIT

Hello friends—

When I read the word for today, my mind filled with lots of things related to waiting. The video I posted is from a minor accident I was in this past winter. If you look closely, the clock shows 6:13. It was early one morning and I was driving to pick up my aunt for a doctors appointment. I was only about 5 miles from her house when I slid into a small ditch. I was so upset with myself for not being more careful. Luckily I have a cousin with a garage and towing service! Thank God, no injuries and no damages to the car or the ditch! So after all this I was still able to pick my aunt up and make it to the appointment only to find out it was cancelled due to the weather. Have you ever heard if the term,”Hurry up and wait.” That’s exactly how I felt that day. Did you know the phrase can be found in the dictionary? I googled it and this is what I found:

That was a fun story to tell about waiting.

To a more poignant story of waiting is the very first Easter weekend, so long ago. Today I exchanged text messages with a friend and we talked about how this year will be so different compared to past Easter celebrations. No family gathering with a meal and time spent with loved ones because the majority of people around the world are dealing with COVID-19 and social isolation. I began to think about how the disciples must have dealt with their first Easter weekend. They too were experiencing a different kind of Passover celebration from previous years gone by. Their teacher, their friend and their Lord had just been crucified, killed and sealed in a tomb. I am picturing John, Mary, the mother of Jesus and her sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene standing at the foot of the cross watching the horrible crucifixion of their beloved. Not only did they watch but had to wait to receive Jesus’ body for a proper burial. Such loss is unimaginable. I am sure they experienced many emotions over that weekend. Yes, this year is going to be different and even difficult, I strongly suggest to dwell in the memories of the past and plan for meaningful times in the future. Know that you are not alone, you are never alone because of the cross and Jesus’ victory over death. I invite you to image what that Friday night and Saturday were like so long ago…can you fathom just how much Jesus loves you? We know the rest of the story, don’t rush to Sunday, live into Saturday, seek God and the Holy Spirit to sustain you and when Sunday comes let loose, Christ is RISEN!

Friends, it has been a joy to share this Lenten season with you. May God cover you with His everlasting Love now and forevermore. ~Peace

ειρήνη – “Peace” in Greek, reference listed the below. 

~Peace~ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻❣️☀️

References:

https://disciples.org/

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm