Show Your Gratitude Through Your Generosity

God has been extravagantly generous to us, lavishing His goodness and unfailing love on us. The good things God has stored up for us who fear Him are immensely abundant and He bestows His goodness on us in the sight of all who have eyes to see.

How great is the goodness You have stored up for those who fear You. You lavish it on those who come to You for protection, blessing them before the watching world. (Psalm 31:19 NLT).

I am a recipient of God’s overflowing goodness and immeasurable blessings. My expectations at the beginning of 2014 were mind-boggling. It was humanly impossible to see how the things that I was looking up to God for could come to pass. “How shall these things be?” I pondered so many times. Today, I can look back and declare like David in Psalm 145:

I will meditate on Your majestic, glorious splendour and Your wonderful miracles.

Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim Your greatness.

Everyone will share the story of Your wonderful goodness;

They will sing with joy about Your righteousness

Surely, you too can recall and recount the goodness of God in your life in 2014. There is no one who has nothing to be grateful for, because God is good to everyone. He showers His love and compassion on all His creation. Everything God does is suffused with grace. This passage calls all of us to share the story of God’s wonderful goodness in our lives.

How then can we show our gratitude for God’s awesome goodness to us?

Paraphrasing The Message translation of Psalm 145: 5-7, we can demonstrate our gratitude by making His marvelous deeds to us headline news, writing a book full of the details of His greatness and spreading the fame of His goodness across the world. Simply put, David encourages us to make our gratitude to God fluent and evident.

Gratitude is more than a feeling, it has to be demonstrated by what we do. Our gratitude to God must be Told and Shown. Our thankfulness and appreciation of God should be expressed not only by our words but also by our deeds.

Gratitude is not just an occasional expression of thanks, but a continual lifestyle of thanksgiving. It is being thankful and grateful for every single thing that God is doing in our lives day by day.

Fluent and abundantly uttered:

David was very generous in uttering his praise to God for His goodness towards him. He declared God’s greatness with fervency and fluency. We are to tell of what God has done in our lives with zeal, glowing in the warmth of His love. We can never exceed the truth when we speak of God’s extravagant goodness with fervency. We are not to be silent witnesses but fluent in our testimony.

We ought to feel His praise deeply in our hearts and openly declare it. We should publicly speak of His goodness and joyfully proclaim it in songs. This is a good point to pause and let your mouth speak generously of the praise of God.

I will praise You.

              I will extol You.

                             I will bless Your Name.

                                           Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.

Evident and passionately demonstrated:

Just as we have been admonished to generously utter the praises of God, our lives should also speak out loudly of the goodness which we have experienced in God. We cannot overdo it when we passionately demonstrate by our actions and with zeal our gratitude to God, especially through our acts of generosity. We only exhibit the nature of God in us and reflect His divine attribute to the world around us.

Gratitude is shown in acts – Henri Frederic Amiel

We are called to show our gratitude to God by being generous to our needy brothers and sisters. Paul was very explicit that reaching out to the needy in our midst is an evidence of our obedience to God.

Generosity puts our obedience to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ on display.

"Carrying out this social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of poor Christians. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God. This relief offering is a prod to live at your very best, showing your gratitude to God by being openly obedient to the plain meaning of the Message of Christ. You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters, and really toward everyone. Meanwhile, moved by the extravagance of God in your lives, they’ll respond by praying for you in passionate intercession for whatever you need. Thank God for this gift, his gift. No language can praise it enough!" 

(2 Corinthians 9:12-15 MSG).

Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets. (Hebrews 13:16 MSG)

If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. (1 John 3:17-18 NLT)

Generosity, a multiplying factor:

Generosity demonstrates our gratitude to God and impacts the lives of the people it touches. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgiving to God. In addition to these, there is a promise of a reward attached to it. Generosity reaches out to others as an overflow of our gratitude to God and it brings back more blessings to us.

"I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness. At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:17-19 NLT)

Those of us who have experienced God’s extravagant goodness in our lives are called to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. By so doing, we will build a treasury that will last and we gain life that is truly life.

Dear Friends, I desire that you to experience the blessings that issues from generosity. Let someone around you be impacted with your expression of gratitude. As our friends in US celebrate Thanksgiving today and we enter the Christmas season, we are provided with an ample opportunity to demonstrate our gratitude through our generosity.

What can you do?

1.       Be generous in showing mercy and offering forgiveness.

2.       Offer hospitality. Open your homes to the brethren graciously without complaining.

3.       Be open to needs in your family, church and community and reach out to meet those needs.

The simplest and most powerful way to show gratitude is to be truly present, being generous with your time and attention. Your family will be glad for this.

In what ways can you make a unique dent in the world around you as an act of your gratitude to God?

Prayer:

Father, thank You for the way You provide for every area of my life. I am grateful for everything I have. I am grateful that You are always doing special things in my life, Lord. I choose to be generous in my praise and gratitude to You. I ask for the grace to demonstrate my gratitude by allowing You to use my life to touch lives. Help me to recognize needs around me and be generous in meeting them. In Jesus name I pray. 

Make The Most Of Time

It was 10:45am. I was in the kitchen hurriedly preparing a late breakfast. The phone rang.

“Hello, C’est Alain, malheureusement……..”

Everything else he had to say didn’t matter. I was elated. “Thank You, Lord,” I muttered under my breath. It was my physiotherapist calling to apologise that he could not make our 11:00am appointment for my Physio walk. Quite honestly, the last thing I wanted to do was go for the 2km walk planned for the day. It was wet, dull and cold outside. And my tummy and lower back were conniving to cause me distress.

I carried my plate of toasted brown bread and cheese sandwich and my cup of pomegranate tea to the dining table, and sat down to eat. I didn't have to rush my food into an already protesting tummy. Another thanks offering went heavenwards.

“So what are you going to spend the one-hour Physiotherapy time doing?” I am sure I had the Holy Spirit whisper to my heart.

I groaned—wasn't thinking about. But I had record keeping, work on the book manuscript, do some beading, call up a sister I needed to talk to, order supplies, and more on my to-do list. The pile of books just received and those pending to be read caught my eyes from the corner of my dining table. Then, I knew what I was going to spend the hour doing—read one of my waiting-to-be-read books. I pulled “True Confessions” out of the pile, studied the sunlit cover with the title embossed in black, opened it and began to read.

I learnt of Bola ‘Salt’ Essien-Nelson, the Author, through our mutual Sista, Bidemi Mark-Mordi. A link from her Facebook page took me to her blog: The Salt Chronicles in 2013. I was intrigued with ‘Salt’ as she calls herself. That is what she aspires to be—Salt of the earth, adding flavour to lives. I found the Salt Yellow Pages very informative. That’s what Salt does; she promotes others. I wanted my autographed copy of the “True Confessions” and longed to meet her in person.

In July, 2014 at the ROTH conference, I got the chance to meet her at last. It was the briefest meeting ever considering the fact that we had both looked forward to the opportunity of finally meeting at the conference. She came to my seat and gave me a huge hug. That hug spoke volumes. She wrote later that she felt if she hugged me long enough, some anointing will be transferred by osmosis! That’s Salt for you. But for me that hug made up for the time we could not share before, during and after the conference. Things didn't just go according to our plans. God’s plans prevailed.

 I spent the next couple of hours, adding my rest time following physiotherapy, reading the Dedication, Thank You, Foreword, Introduction and seven Salt Fables. Then surfed through to the end. This book is not going to be read in a hurry. It is the kind that you take sip, turn around in your mouth, and savour the flavour before swallowing. Published by Verbatim Communications, it bore the evidence of their characteristic good quality job. The pages were vanilla in colour, reminding me of vanilla cream cakes. The black lettering readily jump off the pages—friendly to the eyes.

The Salt Fables was as easy to read as reading Bedtime stories or folklore. Written in a simple language, I felt as if I was reading out to my children. Yet it was full of flavoured nuggets that will make you pause and ponder.

My take-away so far from True Confessions:

-          I wore a Teal-coloured bracelet with Never Give Up inscribed on it every day for three and half years. So the message from Once Upon a Barracuda and a Glass Wall resonated with me.

-          The Ping-Pong match in the name of loving that husbands and wives often play with each other was the message of Once Upon A Circle of Love. “When you fall in love, you cease to wait to be loved. You love instead….Genuine love given freely comes back.”

-          Ewa, Iyanu and Oge, though renowned and accomplished turned out to be empty in the things that matter. I chose to be Imole, the Light that radiate solutions. Because simply put; Beauty, Genus and Knowledge are not enough in themselves if the Light of the glory of God is not radiating through me. That’s the nugget I gleaned from Once Upon A Woman.

-          Effective communication results in vibrant and health relationship between husbands and wives. I ended Once Upon A Discussion praying, “Dear Lord, please reveal anything that would hinder my husband and I from communicating effectively. Do give us the grace to remove such barriers in Jesus name. Amen”

-          Is God your grocery shop or the friend you like to spend time with every morning and all day long? Find out in Once Upon A Friend.

-          Your now and your future is bigger than your past when Jesus comes into your life and give you a turn around. If you don’t believe me, check out the Award-Winning harlot sharing her testimony with the former notorious corrupt Zaki who dined with Jesus, and the hard-hearted murderer who became one of the greatest Apostles, whose letters are still touching lives for good till today.

-          I felt like tearing out Once Upon a Twenty-Seven Year Old Virgin, photocopying and sharing it with all my aburos in the Lord. I will do no such disservice to Salt. Rather I will make sure each of them get a copy this book, and encourage them to read it.

Insightful and enriching, it was great fun and relaxing reading True Confessions with the deep truths it conveyed. I strongly recommend the book. Both kindle and paperback editions are available on Amazon.

It was two hours well spent. Well spent because it contributed towards a specific goal. Though, I did have my physical therapy to strengthen my muscles and build my endurance that day, and obviously did not reach my daily goal for number of steps walked but I had a soul therapy, as I was encouraged to do some soul searching.  Subsequently, I exercised my spiritual muscles in prayers.

“Making the most of your time, because the days are evil” 

– Ephesians 5:16 (NASB)

The English Standard Version of this verse encourages us to make the best use of time. I have been pondering a lot recently on the use of my time. I pondered on how the things I spend my time doing contribute towards fulfilling God’s purpose for my life and to taking me in the direction of fulfilling my dreams and desires. It became even more important as I learn day after day that we must live each day ready for the coming of the Lord and to be prepared to fly away empty.

The import of this for me is that I have to be wise in the use of time. You can only make hay when the sun is shining. We have been called to make the most or the best use of every opportunity God has given us to impact lives for good, to make a difference in our spheres of influence and to fulfil our God-ordained purpose.

Believe me when I say, an apple does not fall far from the tree. It was a 20-year old young man who inspired me to start measuring my time in goals and to make time work for me. In his blog post, Time Mastery, Akan Nelson opined that by doing this we think of the long-term in the use of time, and we are enabled to weed out activities that don’t contribute to our long-term goals.

Living each day ready translates to making the most of our time and every opportunity God gives us to make a difference. Today’s blog post has a two-fold mission:

1.       To call our attention to be intentional and purposeful in the use of our time

2.       To spotlight my Sista’s inspiring work, which I promise will truly bless, enrich and inspire you.

Dear Friends, I encourage you to make your time work for you and take you towards living a purposeful life. This way, you will fly away empty having used all the gifts, potentials and skills God endowed you with, and you would have used them for His glory and honour.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you and yours.

Fly Away Empty

This world is not my home I'm just a-passin' through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

(Jim Reeves)

Truly, this world is not my home. Home is in Heaven. A place of indescribable beauty and of luminous light—brilliantly illuminated by the glory of God. A place radiant as pure gold, translucent as glass and clear as crystal where we will walk on streets of gold. All manner of precious gemstones forms its foundation. I can’t imagine what that looks like—all the agate, jasper, carnelian, topaz and amethyst in my beading inventory put together don’t give me a glimpse. Now add sapphire, emerald, onyx, chrysolite, beryl, chrysoprase and jacinth to the mix. What a delightful glow that must give.

There is absolutely nothing on earth that is worth missing heaven for.

Heaven—a place of joy and untold pleasures as we dwell in the presence of God and all tears are wiped away. A place of endless praise and worship with a vast crowd angels, archangels, cherubim and seraphim singing “Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.” And the twenty-four elders cast down their crowns in worship and adoration of God Who sits upon the throne. A glorious place where we will never get tired of gazing at His face.

Holy, holy, holy!  All the saints adore thee,

Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;

Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,

Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

(Methodist Hymn Book.  Written by Reginald Heber (1783-1826).

I am here on assignment. I am here to fulfil a purpose in God’s Kingdom agenda. On a bright morning, perhaps the sun will be shining bright in the sky or maybe it will be in the dead of the night with the moon’s silvery beams lighting the sky, whatever time of day or night, one thing is sure, I will hear the voice of my Maker and Master as He calls me back home. Then I will say, “Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on to the light, lead me home.”

I’ll fly away O Glory I’ll fly

When I die Hallelujah by and by

I’ll fly away O Glory

To the land where joy will never end

I’ll fly away

(Alison Krauss)

On that glorious day, I will cross the river. I will fight life’s final war with pain. And then as death gives way to victory, I will see the lights of glory and I will know my Saviour lives (“Because He Lives – Bill Gaither).

Therefore, one thing I must make sure of is that I don’t answer that call and appear before the throne of grace with my hands still full of gifts and talents that I should have given out to impact lives. I must not appear before God without fulfilling His purpose for me. Oh no, that would be the greatest tragedy.

The home-call of Dr. Myles Munroe and his wife Ruth, on Sunday, November 9^th, was a wake-up call and a reminder that we know not the day or the time when we will answer that call. It is also sounded a resounding note of warning to everyone who has ears to listen that we must live each day ready.

Knowing the impact that Dr Myles Munroe had on many lives and understanding that we cannot sorrow like them without hope, I praised God for his life and for what God used him to accomplish. I read and listened to some of his messages. Here are some nuggets that ministered to me.

The Christian Character:

The first thing that I recalled was his last trip to Lagos, Nigeria where he spoke on the Christian’s Character. My Sista, Salt Nelson-Essien, shared a summary of his message on her blog, The Salt Chronicles—The Ugly Truth; Many Christians Have No Character and The Ugly Truth Part Two: We Christians Need To Get Some Character. Here's my take-away from the message:

·       Character is the essence of God. He is constant and unchanging. And we are created to reflect the image of God.

·       Character is our commitment to a set of values. It is integrating our word with our actions. Character is integrity

·       We should be like dry cement. Set in our ways. And our ways should be God's ways. 

·       We must stand resolute like a statue on the side of what is right in God's eyes.

·       Can you be counted on to remain “you” wherever you are, no matter who is watching?

·       Lack of character cancels our power to influence. It makes you to compromise. Compromise steals destiny, and robs the nation of leaders who can rule in the fear of God and make a difference.

Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all life is a test.

 – Rick Warren.

The greatest tragedy is not death but it is life without purpose:

The message below was the second thing that struck me.

This one is going to stay with me for a long time to come. How can anyone created in the image of God live a purposeless life? Yet many live without an understanding of the purpose for which God released them to the earth and without pursuing that purpose.

“The original purpose for a product determines its design, composition, capacity, and potential. Purpose may be defined as “original intent” or “reason for creation.”- Myles Munroe

The only way we can fully understand God’s original intent for each of us is by knowing God. The more of God we know through studying His word and dwelling in His presence, the more we become familiar with His purpose for our lives. Every detail of my life and every experience God takes me through aligns me with His purpose for my life.

“Circumstances and crises are God’s tools to move you into your purpose

and the maximizing of your potential.” – Myles Munroe.

Life Will Go On The Day After:

“The embassy doesn’t shut down because the Ambassador is recalled,” there were the words of my Sista, Bidemi Mark-Mordi, as she reflected on the passing of Dr Myles Munroe. She concluded with a note to  remind her that she is not indispensable.

When I visited the Myles Munroe International Facebook page, this was the message posted there.

We would like to inform you that the Global Leadership Forum will continue. The Forum will be for two and a half days. This is what Dr. Munroe would have wanted.,,,

Twice I organized very important events but on the day of each of these events I was not there. On the morning of the first one in May 2003, I was in an ambulance on medical evacuation from Tamale to Accra in Ghana. On the second occasion in April 2013, I was in a coma in the hospital. The two events went very well and were successful, without me.

Irene to self: if you do your job very well, things will go on well without you.

What Really Matters?

Today is God’s gift to you and me. James 4: 13-17 gives us a stern warning when we boast about tomorrow. “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it is here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “if the Lord wants us to, we will life and do this or that”’ (The Message). 

If you know today is your last day, how would you choose to live it?

“Embrace the importance of now, and refuse to allow the lull of comfort, fear, familiarity, and ego to prevent you from taking action on your ambitions (your dreams)… The cost of inaction is vast. Don’t go to your grave with your best work inside of you. Choose to die empty.” 

– Todd Henry (Author, Die Empty)

Bottom-line: Today is the best day to do that task and assignment that you know God has committed to your hands in all the sphere of influence He has given you.

Irene and friends, I challenge you today to live ready. Live aligned to your God-given purpose. Use the gifts God has given you to the fullest. Be prepared to fly away empty. What matters the most is that we hear;

"Well done, thou faithful servant!"

If the Lord permits, I want to look back on the day my body is committed back to earth and see those whose lives my life impacted while on earth giving praise and adoration to God, and celebrating a purposeful life. Oh, I would love to see them all brightly dressed with a touch of gold, carnelian (orange) and amethyst with hands lifted up in worship.

What impact are you making that the echo of which will continue to resonate long after you have gone home? Who are you mentoring? Your greatest and lasting legacy is the people you invested in.

The Unchanging Constant In Constant Change

A cold breeze drifted across my face and neck. My hands swung up instinctively to protect my chest. My neck was bare in my purple jersey blouse.  I looked back and longed for the warmth of the Pharmacy I just came out off. The scarves on the display rack by the door beckon to me. The image of scarves in my wardrobe flashed across my mind. “Not a chance,” I muttered under my breath. I looked up the road to see if the bus was round the corner, it was not. I still have five more minutes to wait. So I fastened the top buttons of my jacket, dipped my hands into the pocket and began to pace the front of the Pharmacy.

The Bus came and I climbed into its warm interior. It was the second time that I came out by myself and was riding the bus back home. A feat I could not have dared in the previous eight years. I remembered that warm sunny September afternoon when I rode the bus for the first time after eight year. The joy exuding from my heart was beyond description. A change had taken place in my life and it was a change for good.

Change is taking place around me. By the time I got out of the bus at my stop, the cloud had passed and the sun was out in the white sky. Dry leaves rustle under my “Feet of Grace” as I walked home until I got to the forest. The sun was shut out under the dense canopy of evergreen trees. It was dark and chilly again. The leaves laid dead and rotting along the path still wet from the rain of the previous day. Home was in sight when I emerged into the brightness of the sunlight on the other side. I marvelled at the changes along the path home.

Take the chilly winds. Give me cool blue sky. Take the heat. Give the gentle breeze softly caressing my cheeks. Take the layers-of-onion dressing. Give me the light cotton blown in the wind. The season is changing. Like it or not, I must embrace the change.

Cold chill lured me to snuggle deeper in bed under the warm duvet. I dared not. My list of things-to-do was as long as my arm. I smiled.

You are faithful in every way, O Lord, You are faithful in every way.

I was awed as I recalled that time my agenda was snow-white and I had no-where I needed to be. When I spent the day sitting on my hands and staring out of the window. A change has occurred. My heart gave praise to the unchanging God.

Change is a constant in our lives. God always speak and come through for us in the time of change. We go through different kinds of change at different times in our lives. Change occurs in us, within us and outside of us. Seasons change. Conditions change. Circumstances change. There are changes we welcome and rejoice in. There are changes that causes our hearts to grieve. Change is the constant that we cannot run away from. In the midst of change, there is a constant that we can run to and hold on to. He declared; "I am the Lord, I do not change" (Mal. 3:6).

“God is in the change but He does not change. It is important to know what is not changing when life changes” – Pastor Walter Thomas.

I see God in the splendour of autumn. Beyond my bedroom window, confetti of dry leaves painted yellow, brown and russet floating down to the ground at the command of the wind speaks to me as I gaze on their mesmerizing hues. They announce the change coming upon the trees set aglow by the golden beams when the sun set.

I opened my wardrobe doors, the yellow post-it squares pasted on the inner side of the doors caught my attention. I pasted them at my eye level on the wardrobe doors, my bathroom mirror and on my bed post several years ago. They were to remind me to keep my gaze focussed on the unchanging faithfulness of God in keeping His word in all the seasons of my life. Aged and faded, some hanging bowed like yellow autumn leaves outside my bedroom window, the message they bear remained unchanging and constant—the truth of God’s infallible promises.

The time I spent standing by the wardrobe, reading and meditating on the promises of God with tears in my eyes flashed before my eyes and a song of praise sprung up in my heart.

Mighty God Faithful God oh oh oh
From age to age You're still the same
You never change, You never fail, You never let me down
Take all the glory, take all the honour
I bring to You

I lift my voice to You, Awesome God

I lift my voice to You, Awesome God,

Awesome God, Awesome God.

 (Frank Edwards)

I continued my contemplation of God’s constancy as I lingered in the shower. The rivulets of warm freshness streamed down my body, cascading into a fall beyond my stumps. Then I remembered the many days of bed-bath in the hospital, when I longed so much for a shower until tears trickled down the sides of my face into my ears. I recalled the day my nurse asked me, “Madame Irene, voulez-vous prendre une douche a la salle-de-bain, aujourd’hui?”

“Do I want a shower?” I squealed. My heart leaped for joy.

“Yes! Yes!! Of course, with all pleasure. Merci, merci beaucoup.”

My nurse wheeled me into the high-walled plastic tub, latched its door behind me and released the shower. Warm water gushed out, I was filled with joy like a child dancing in the rain. I cupped the water in my hands and poured it on my face. Never had a shower felt as good as it was that day.

My heart ignited with praise as I pondered on the goodness of God and the amazing changes which have taken place in my life since then. God exalted my horn and lifted me from the dark valley of the shadow of death. He broke off the confinement of afflictions.

I drew back the shower curtains, my bathroom was engulfed with steam and the mirror covered with mist. Through all the seasons of my life, God has remained the same—steadfast, sure and faithful. When the gusty winds of storms whirled around me, He remained constant—a solid rock upon which my hope was anchored. As soon as I finished drying myself, I grabbed my camouflage-green notebook and began to scribble this offering of praise, until the mist cleared and the mirror reflected the image of my face glowing with gladness.

O God, my help in ages past. My hope for years to come.

My shelter in the stormy blast. And my eternal home.

(Paraphrased from the Methodist Hymn Book.)

This, indeed, will be my song of testimony as 2014 fades away in eight weeks’ time and we usher 2015 in. As I reviewed the year passing, I was assured again of the constancy of God’s faithfulness in all our changing circumstances and seasons.

Dear Friends, as you to look back into 2014 and recall God’s abundant goodness in your life, I encourage you to bring an offering of praise to Him. As you look back, perhaps all you see are the undesired changes that have occurred in your life and the dreams yet to be fulfilled, yet I know you can attest to one thing that has remained constant and unchanging—God’s unfading and enduring love for you. For this and more, God deserves your sacrifice of praise.

God loves you in every season

Yet His love is not seasonal

He loves you in every circumstance

Yet His love is not circumstantial

He loves you in every condition

Yet His love is not conditional

(Roy Lessin, meetmeinthemeadows.com)

Acknowledgement:
Celestine Nudanu’s Haiku Poems: Carpet of Blessings and Autumn posted on Reading Pleasure inspired some of the imagery in this post.