Tag Archives: Love

682. Which is loveliest in a rose? Its coy beauty when it’s budding, or its splendor when it blooms? ~Edited line by George Barlow

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The rose speaks of love silently,
in a language known only to the heart.
~Author Unknown

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Slow buds the pink dawn
like a rose from out
night’s gray and cloudy sheath.
Softly and still it grows and grows.
Petal by petal, leaf by leaf.
~Susan Coolidge

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These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God today.  There is no time for them.  There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence.  But man postpones or remembers; he does not live in the present, but with reverted eye laments the past, or heedless of the riches that surround him, stands on tiptoe to foresee the future.  He cannot be happy and strong until he lives with nature in the present, above time. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ~Deuteronomy 6:4   ✝

**All 3 of these photos above were taken by me of a rose named, Cherry Brandy, which I believe may be my all time favorite.  I sure hope I can find one to plant in my yard.

670. Prayer is exhaling the spirit of man and inhaling the spirit of God. ~Edwin Keith (Update on my surgery)

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When we pray,
our hearts glow
a glorious joy
that lights our souls
and all the world around us.
~Terri Guillemets

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First and foremost, I want to thank those of you who have been praying for me during this time. I so appreciate that and your prayers definitely helped me stay strong and worry very little. My knee replacement surgery was two weeks ago today, and it went very well. I returned home three days later on the following Sunday. I was walking on a walker when I left the hospital and able to get up and down steps. The two weeks of in house rehab started immediately and has also gone well. They told me when I left the hospital I was well ahead of where most folks are after three days, and the PT’s have been repeating the same kudos as they worked with me here. So I’m very pleased with how things are going. This last Sunday, the PT’s took me off the walker and put me on a cane. Then today I went back to the doctor so he could take the staples out and the incision looks good, but I gotta tell you guys that taking those staples out smarted quite a bit! There was some oozing from one of the sights where they pulled out a staple but the fluid was not yet infected. However, just to be on the safe side, they’ve started me on an antibiotic for the next ten days. So now I’m facing 4 weeks (three times a week) of out patient rehab at a local facility. And yes, there is quite a bit of pain involved in the rehab so I still need prayers please, both for the rehab and that the antibiotic stops any chance of infection. I’ve been trying my best to keep up with your blog posts, but some days it’s harder than others to do so. For example, tonight I am very tired and hurting as well so I will not be able to make it through the list this evening. Please bear with me as I do miss reading your entries. It looks as though spring is definitely getting underway here and I sure would like to be out and about, but I shall have to be patient a little longer. Unfortunately patience has never been my strong suit. Oh, well, the Lord is always the unrelenting teacher of lessons He wants us to learn. I pray all is well with all of you and thank you again for all the support. Much love and huge hugs, Natalie

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ~1 John 4:11  ✝

**Image via Pinterest

658. God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. ~St. Augustine

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What you are is God’s gift to you,
what you become is your gift to God.
~Hans Urs von Balthasar

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O Lord, whose voice I hear in the winds and my heart,
and whose breath gives life to all the world,
I come before You, one of Your many children, to ask that
You 
let me walk in beauty and help me make my eyes
ever ready to behold all the wonders of Creation.
Teach my hands to respect all the things You have made,
and help my ears be sharp to hear Your voice.
Help me also to be wise, so that I may know the things You
have hidden in every flower, leaf, and rock.
Teach me to rely on Your strength, not to fee; superior to others,
but to be able to fight against anything that displeases You.
Help me to be ever ready to come to You with clean hands,
a contrite heart, and straight eyes so when life fades
like a fading sunset my soul can come to You without shame.
~Edited and adapted Native American Prayer

The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works. ~Psalm 145:9    ✝

Thank you, Jesus, for Your tender mercies; thank You that my surgery went well; and thank you that You walked with me every step of the way.  I come before You now to praise Your holy name and ask You to bless all those who have been praying for me.

**Image via Pinterest

655. Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken. ~Albert Camus

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There is no love of life
without despair of life.
~Albert Camus

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In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me,
an invincible love.
In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me,
an invincible smile.
In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me,
an invincible calm.
I realized, through it all, that…
In the midst of winter, I found there was,
within me, an invincible summer.
And that makes me happy.
For it says that no matter how hard
the world pushes against me, within me,
there’s something stronger –
something better, pushing right back.
~Albert Camus

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I would rather live my life
as if there is a God and die to
find out there isn’t,
than live as if there isn’t a God and
to die to find out that there is.
~Albert Camus

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. ~1 Corinthians 10:13   ✝

**Images via Pinterest

649. This is My Wish For You. ~Charles Livingston Snell

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This is my wish for you…
That the spirit of beauty may continually hover about you
and fold you close within the tenderness of her wings.

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That each beautiful and gracious thing in life
may be unto you as a symbol of good for your soul’s delight.

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That sun glories and star glories
leaf glories and bark glories
flower glories and glories
that lurk in the grasses of the field
glories of mountains and oceans
of little streams of running waters
glories of songs of poesy of all the arts
may be to you as sweet, abiding
influences that will illumine
your life and make you glad.

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That your soul may be as an alabaster cup,
filled to overflowing with the mystical wine of beauty and love.

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That happiness may put her arms around you,
and wisdom make your soul serene.

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This is my wish for you.
~Poem by Charles Livingston Snell

Dear friends, since God so loved us we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. ~1 John 4:11-12   ✝

**Images via Pinterest

648. Make friends with the angels, who though invisible, are always with you. ~St. Francis de Sales

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The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us,
and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to
visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.
~George Eliot

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Kind words, considerate actions, comforting wisdom, encouraging praise–all or some borne on the breath of warmhearted, consoling voices–are no less than the sweet sound of Grace falling on the ears of those in need of reassurance or salvation or deliverance. And what a blessing are they are, these angels chosen to deliver God’s grace for their tender voices and caring kindnesses penetrate all manner of despair. And these divinely appointed “earth angels,” often come from the ranks of ordinary people, but in rising to a divine calling they are lifted up to the realm of the extraordinary. And how they honor the Christ by answering His call to serve!

The human heart is an altar upon which one can and does lay a multitude of things. But, it is not meant to be a personal shrine for self-centered collections of worldliness. Nor should it be defiled with traces of anger, jealousy, or hatred. The altar of the heart should be blanketed with empathy, compassion, kindness, gentleness, non-violence, and love. Only then will it be a place that Holy God can find the fruits befitting angels and use the bearers of such as instruments of His grace and mercy. It’s not always an easy task to prepare the heart’s altar in such a way, but what an honor it is to realize that on the altar of one’s heart there is something worthy of being used by the Lord God Almighty.

Here’s to all the “earth angels” out there in the blogosphere who share their hearts and gifts with those in need.  I recognize your grace-filled hearts and I adore you…Natalie

May God grant you always…
a sunbeam to warm you,
a moonbeam to charm you,
a sheltering angel so nothing can harm you,
laughter to cheer you,
faithful friends near and far,
and whenever you pray, His ear to hear you.
~Irish Blessing

Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. ~Psalm 103:20   ✝

**Image via Pinterest

644. Love unlocks doors and opens windows that weren’t even there before. ~Mignon McLaughlin

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I love thee — I love thee,
‘Tis all that I can say
It is my vision in the night,
My dreaming in the day.
~Thomas Hood

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Years ago, I volunteered to plant four trial roses in my garden. One of them was a luscious color of pink, and it’s name was Unforgettable. Sadly it only lived a couple of years and was not one that made it into the rose world. But I loved the thing and every time I passed by one of its fabulous blooms, I broke into a song sung decades ago by Nat King Cole. Since you, my readers, are unforgettably lovely too, I’m wishing you a Happy Valentine’s tonight with the lyrics from that song as well as a youtube link so you can hear Cole’s smooth as silk voice singing the song. Also the painted rose in the mixed-media image above is about the same shade of pink as that luscious rose was. Enjoy! Love, Natalie

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Unforgettable, that’s what you are.
Unforgettable though near or far
Like a song of love that clings to me.
How the thought of you does things to me.
Never before has someone been more
Unforgettable in every way.
And forever more, that’s how you’ll stay.
That’s why, darling, it’s incredible
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am unforgettable too.
~Excerpted lines from the song, Unforgettable, sung
by Nat King Cole and written
by Phil Ramacon, Coral Gordon, P/K/A Chyna

“A new command I(Christ) give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” ~John 13:34-35   ✝

**Images via Pinterest

643. For it was not into my ear you whispered but into my heart; it was not my lips you kissed but my soul. ~Judy Garland

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I would live in your love
as the sea-grasses live in the sea,
Borne up by each wave as it passes,
drawn down by each wave that recedes;
I would empty my soul of
the
 dreams that have gathered in me,
I would beat with your heart as it beats,
I would follow your soul as it leads.
~Sara Teasdale

*Holly over at House of Heart showed me how to insert music with my blog entries. So enjoy the love song at the bottom of this post.

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The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the ocean,
The winds of heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single,
All things by a law divine
In one another’s being mingle—
Why not I with thine?

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See the mountains kiss high heaven,
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdain’d its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea—
What is all this sweet work worth
If thou kiss not me?
~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. ~John 3:16    ✝

** Images via Pinterest

642. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach. ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

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The hours that I spend with you I look upon
as a sort of perfumed garden, a dim twilight,
and a fountain singing it to you.
You and you alone make 
me feel that I am alive.
Other men it is said have seen angels,
But I have seen thee and
 thou art enough.
~George Moore
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You ask how much I need you
Must I explain?
I need you, oh, my darling
Like roses need rain.
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You ask how long, I’ll love you
.
I’ll tell you true
Until the twelfth of never
I’ll still be loving you.
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Hold me close
;
Never let me go.
Hold me close;
Melt my heart like April snow.
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I’ll love you ’til the blue bells forget to bloom
,
I’ll love you ’til the clover has lost its perfume,
I’ll love you ’til the poets run out of rhyme,
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Until the twelfth of never
And that’s a long, long time,
Until the twelfth of never
And that’s a long, long time
.
~Excerpts from the song, The Twelfth of Never, recorded
by Johnny Mathis and written
by Jerry Livingston and Paul Francis Webster
 
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ~1 Corinthians 13:6-7    ✝
**Images via Pinterest

641. I’ll love you dear, I’ll love you till China and Africa meet and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street. ~W. H. Auden

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We’re all a little weird.
And life is a little weird.
And when we find someone
whose weirdness is compatible with ours,
we join up with them and fall
into mutually satisfying weirdness —
and call it love — true love.
~Robert Fulghum

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You’re my funny valentine,
Sweet comic valentine
You make me smile with my heart
Your looks are laughable, unphotographable
Yet, you’re my favorite work of art
Is your figure less than Greek?
Is your mouth a little weak?
When you open it to speak are you smart?

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But, don’t change a hair for me,
not if you care for me
Stay little valentine, stay,
each day is valentine’s day…
~Excerpts from the song, My Funny Valentine, written by
Bradley, Robert/Nehra, Michael/Nehra,
Andrew/Fowlkes, Jeff/Diaz, Tim

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ~1 Corinthians 13:4-5   ✝

** Images via Pinterest