Ark Valley News - The View from Sunflower Gardens

The View from Sunflower Gardens
By Marilyn Bentley
Last Updated: March 05, 2015

The Year of the Sheep and Goats

"Where in the world are the gold sunflowers? Where are the Western Meadowlarks? Where in the world but Kansas?" Mack David.

This is the Chinese New Year of the Sheep and Goats, so it's a farmer's good year. It must be a good year for wool. There are sheep in our area of Kansas

Verse of the week (Psalms 55:22): "Cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

Soon these March days will bring us springlike weather.

Here at our Sunflower residence, we like our coffee chats, game nights, Bible study, exercise days and potluck dinners. We like our library, walks down the hall and jigsaw puzzles, also music concerts and sing-alongs.

A song for Lent, by Celine Dion: "Let this be our prayer — guide us with your love and may we find our way. Where shadows fill our day. Give us grace so we'll be safe. We ask that life be kind. We hope each soul will find another soul to love." Good thoughts through music these March days.

At Sunflower, we say farewell to two nice folks who are no longer with us. There were at our Monday coffee chats each week.

Welcome to all new folks.

It's a good time for curing our ills. It's a good time for paying our bills.

Did you know? Some folks have seen gold finches and cardinals at their bird feeders.

The calendar for March this year tells us the first day of spring is Friday, March 20. It will be a welcome change of weather.

We turn our clocks ahead for March 8 daylight saving time again.

Good thoughts for spring: Pray for our troops and families. Let's pray for folks to get well and school kids get all needed vaccinations.

Good thoughts: "In the garden of the Lord' by Ruth Manning. "I want to be a worker in the garden of the Lord. I could never be a shirker in the garden of the Lord.

"I would carefully seed and sow. I'd be glad to weed and mow and hoe. Everybody knows it is filled with iris, lilies and the rose.

"There will be more beauty than we ever knew before. There is room for all. Each will have a place, either large or small. When I can be a worker in the garden of the Lord."

"Some live ‘round the corner, some live miles apart. But all friends are God's gifts to strengthen our hearts." Anonymous.

Did you know that one of the stops on the Underground Railroad was fire station No. 4 in Lawrence? It was built in 1858 of native stone. It was used as a barn for decades until its use as a fire station in the Civil War.

"Be kind, anyway." Mother Teresa.