Red Sunflowers Fake or Quirk?

Driving along the Ogden Canyon road last month produced a surprise--red sunflowers!  They really stood out because we're having the most abundant year of wild sunflowers lining our highways and across the fields than we've ever seen.  They are a cheerful sight to see.  There is nothing like a sunflower to make me smile and feel happy and thankful for their beauty.

My daughter says someone painted these flowers.  I couldn't imagine why someone would choose a few random flowers along the road to paint red.  Researching online for information about genetic mutations brought up nothing about red sunflowers of this particular kind.  Perhaps someone did have a paintbrush and dabbed a bit of paint to grab curiosity and attention from the thousands of people traversing the canyon road. In any case, it's a mystery that won't be solved unless someone comes forward and confesses this is manmade.

I'm grateful for the God-made wildflowers.  What fun to see these tenacious plants growing out of gravel, asphalt, and in the worst possible ground to be found.  Rainfall was abundant this year in Utah, which is unusual.  This provided the opportunity for more flowers to prolificate.

I have tried growing these flowers on our property by digging up plants, getting a bunch from a friend, and taking the dried seeds and spreading them.  They will not grow when transplanted.  Some things cannot be forced.

Our neighbors plowed their field last year and left it undisturbed for the first time in 26 years.  Their field was covered in sunflowers throughout the summer but they stopped at our property line.  Not one little yellow head dared lean over to grace us with its beauty.  I did enjoy those flowers but felt a bit offended that not one plant came to live on my property.

Rumi once said:  "Nothing can grow here until the earth is turned over and crumbled.  There can be no roses and no orchard without first this devastation."

Apparently, I must first plow my own field if I want wildflowers to take root. I'll extend that invitation for next year to those wily sunflowers. I can be just as tenacious as they are.

Go ahead, spread sunshine all over the place.  I'll put on a happy face.

Sunflowers on Stringtown Road, Eden, Utah

Words--What Do You Do With Them?

Word Power

On the wind, words go

to hurt or to harm

never-ending when they hit

their mark

like dominoes touching--taking everything

flat down

or like beautiful blocks building

everything up.

Choose carefully those words

sent out 

carrying the worst or the best

for humanity.

                                               -Roberta 2019

 Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words 

1. Let us oft speak kind words to each other

At home or where’er we may be;

Like the warblings of birds on the heather,

The tones will be welcome and free.

They’ll gladden the heart that’s repining,

Give courage and hope from above,

And where the dark clouds hide the shining,

Let in the bright sunlight of love.

(Chorus)

Oh, the kind words we give shall in memory live

And sunshine forever impart.

Let us oft speak kind words to each other;

Kind words are sweet tones of the heart.

2. Like the sunbeams of morn on the mountains,

The soul they awake to good cheer;

Like the murmur of cool, pleasant fountains,

They fall in sweet cadences near.

Let’s oft, then, in kindly toned voices,

Our mutual friendship renew,

Till heart meets with heart and rejoices

In friendship that ever is true.

Text: Joseph L. Townsend, 1849-1942

Music: Ebenezer Beesley, 1840-1906

Challenge for the week:

Make your own collage of good words to use that bring happiness to others.

HINT:  Type in "word collage generator" in your search engine and choose a free way to put your own words into a work of art like the example above.

Remember, you are one person with the power of words.  The bad words cannot take over when we continually send out our drops of good words into the world.

Getting Closer to Jesus Christ, the Prophets, the Apostles, and Early Christians

Come Follow Me has helped me to more personally connected to the Church that Christ originally set upon the earth, which had to later be restored because of a falling away of His original teachings, ordinances, and authority to act in God's name.
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJnN2FkgD-g

This curriculum is useful for any Christian hoping to have the Holy Ghost more fully in his or her daily life.  It has helped me stay true to a more in-depth study of the Gospel and gain a stronger testimony of the miracle of Christianity.

Think about it.  Jesus Christ teaches for three years in His official ministry, calls the Twelve Apostles to teach and bring people unto Him (doing away with the long-tradition of the Law of Moses), and those inexperienced, common men went forth doing what He asked by teaching the Gospel and converting small numbers of people to following Christ.  The apostles and many of these followers eventually we persecuted and murdered because of their teachings of the resurrected Christ.  A small group of Christians spread the Word.  Amazing, isn't it?  It brings to mind the mustard seed parable (Matthew 13:31-32-New Testament-Bible).  Something so small can grow into a tree!

This week I studied 1 Corinthians 8-13 by reading and following the suggestions to ponder the chapters throughout the week.  This personal and family scripture study guide (Come Follow Me) will bring anyone to know the men and women of ancient times who accepted Christ and tried their best to change from their old traditions to a new way of living according to what Christ taught.

Reading about the difficulties the early Apostle had trying to build Christ's Church and keep the flock going in the right direction isn't much different than it is today for many Christians. So many things are pulling us every which way.  We must work hard to maintain our faith.  The negative things happening in the world subject us to hopelessness unless we cling to the promises that we will be blessed if we continually keep the commandments and stay true to our God.

The scripture I posted to remind me to stay strong and faithful is from 

1 Corinthians 13:7, concerning Charity: 

 ...BEARETH ALL THINGS, BELIEVETH ALL THINGS, HOPETH ALL THINGS, ENDURETH ALL THINGS.

Let's DO this!