Some Flowers in Greece, Turkey and Italy

Thursday, June 19. 2025

While in Greece, Turkey and Italy we saw enough rock/marble/granite to last us a lifetime. 

Sometimes the unexpected 

splashes of color were a breath of fresh air. 

Farmland in northern Greece

Kitten at the base of two date palms. This was not the first cat we saw nor was it the last!

These trees in Ephesus reminded me of the evergreen-lined road to my grandfather’s house.

Bougainvillea 

Blue Jacaranda 

Prickly Pear

Cathedral Cactus 

Jade Plant

Candelabra Aloe

Spruce? Cedar? It’s an evergreen!

Bougainvillea 

Spanish Broom

Gipsy Rose

I just love this shot through the relatively young evergreens of Delphi at the archaeological site in the valley below. 

Cyprus 

Umbrella trees — Italian Stone Pines

Purpletop Vervain

Oleander

Gazania

Nerium 

LORD, Thank you for the opportunity to see the vastness of your world. And when we were so far away from Kentucky I thank you for the jade plants and the cathedral cactuses and the pine trees that reminded me so much of home. 

Father’s Day

Sunday. June 15. 2025

Happy Father's Day

From the jacket of Dondré Whitfield’s book, “Male vs Man:”

• Men are more than simply grown males. 

•Males are the self-serving individuals stuck in negative cycles that we hear and read about daily.

•Men are healthy and productive servant leaders who bring positive change to their communities. 

•Males create chaos and put themselves before others. 

•Men cultivate calm and help others step into their God-given roles. 

Our family gathered around the table tonight and had supper as is our Sunday night routine. Tonight’s conversation was a little bit different. Since it was Father’s Day, Bill asked me to share something about my father that was special to me. He followed with a story about his own dad. 

Initially, I think Bill just wanted our children and grandchildren to know more about our fathers. But what happened next was really cool. Each of our children and their spouses shared their own stories about their dads. Then the older grandchildren told their tales. 

We laughed. We reminisced. It was nice. 

I was honored to be surrounded by such wonderful men at my dining room table. My husband has been the absolute best role model for all of them. My sons and son-in-law are fine young men and great fathers. And my two older grandsons are on their way to becoming reflections of the men in their lives. 

LORD, Thank you for blessing me with some incredible men in my family—my Granddaddy, my Pappy, my daddy, my father-in-law, my husband, my sons and my son-in law. I know that if they warm my heart, as their perfect Father you must be really proud of them.

St. John Lateran

On Patrick’s birthday, June 6th, we visited some pretty awe inspiring places. 

• Catacombs (which I wrote about on that day)
• Basilica of St. John Lateran (my topic for today)
• The Holy Stairs
• The 9/11 Monument
• The Vatican—Sistine Chapel
• The Vatican—Swiss Guard
• The Vatican—St. Peter’s Cathedral 
• The Vatican—St. Peter’s Square

Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in the Lateran

This is the official title for the church. The land for it had belonged to a family whose last name was Lateran. It honors both John the Baptist and John who wrote Revelation. It is considered to be the Mother Church of the world and for that reason, it bears the title, “Archbasilica.” Most people we talked with refered to it simply as “St John Lateran.”

Look at the people in the arches of the front to get some perspective of how big this place is. 

Not being Catholic, I was a little confused about this being the Pope’s church. St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican is often used by the Pope. But the Pope is also considered to be Bishop of Rome. And this is the cathedral church of Rome’s Bishop. So, this is the Pope’s church. 

The Baroque style incorporated a lot of gold. 

I was drawn to all the huge sculptures along the perimeter inside the church. They stand 23 feet tall and are all on the second level but visible from below in the main sanctuary. 

This is St. Paul. He is usually depicted with a sword. I thought that might be because he shared the Word of God (sharper than a two-edged sword) wherever he went. But apparently it is because in the end he was beheaded with a sword. 

I can’t imagine the precision required to create this tile floor. I’d venture to say that the design just might find its way into my art.

This is the Apostle Peter. He is most often shown holding the keys to the gates of heaven and hell. 

This is Thomas. 

This is Phillip. 

Tradition has it that Bartholomew was skinned alive. Here he is depicted carrying the skinning knife and holding his skin. 

Matthew was a tax collector before he became one of the disciples. I guess that is why he has his right foot on a bag of money. 



This is Pope Leo XIII.

Pictures just can’t do it justice. 

LORD, I am amazed at the talent required to build such a beautiful place as this. I pray that I will be ever mindful of the fact that you are my high priest and I can come to you any time, any where. Thank you. 

The Constantine Arch

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Stock Photo

On June 5th we walked around the Constantine Arch in Rome. This was the Arch of Triumph for many rulers over the years as they returned from battle to Rome. 

Stock photo 

Who was Constantine?

Constantine the Great was born in 272 AD to Helena and Flavius Constantius and lived until 337 AD. His father was one of four rulers of the Roman Empire. But by 306, Constantine (the Great) was the sole Emporer. 

By 303, persecution of Christians had reached its greatest intensity in Rome. In 313 Constantine declared such persecution illegal. Over the years of his reign, he did many things to help bolster Christian churches and embraced Christianity himself on his deathbed. 

Constantine was instrumental in having the day of rest for Christians changed from Saturday to Sunday. This partly had to do with Christ’s resurrection having been on Sunday.

At one point during his reign, Constantine developed the christogram formed by the first and second Greek letters, chi and rho, that spell Christ (ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ). 

stock photo

He used this labarum as the army standard going into battle and is said to have defeated many adversaries who had outnumbered his men. 

Constantine’s family was not without its issues, though. He had one of his sons killed for supposedly seducing his wife. Then upon learning that his wife had lied about it, he had her killed, too. 

In the end, he converted to Christianity and was baptized just prior to succumbing to a fatal illness. 

Intricacies of the Constantine Arch

The Arch of Constantine is one of only a few triumphal arches to have three entryways. Interestingly only the ground level has carvings dealing with Constantine the Great. The second level has pieces taken from Hadrian sculptures while the third level has Trajan and Marcus Aurelius sculptures. It is said that the arch was built so quickly that they had to swipe art from other sculptures in order to complete it on time. 

LORD, Regardless of when Constantine was actually converted, how thankful I am that he made it possible for the persecution of Christians in Rome to stop. That was crucial. Thank you for letting us see this incredible arch. Amen. 

"Jesus Is" -- My Introduction to the Advent Devotional Guide for 2023

 

Jesus Is

Advent Devotional Guide
December 3-24, 2023
by Patience Fort

Introduction

Saturday, December 2, 2023

According to the dictionary, “advent” is the arrival of a notable person or event. We might say, “our lives have changed since the advent of electricity,” for instance. In the Christian church, the beginning or “advent” of the liturgical calendar is four Sundays before Christmas, or Advent.

In this devotional guide, I will touch on the Advent of Jesus – His beginning, His coming to earth in the form of a baby, His coming to us individually, and His second coming. Mine is not an in-depth, critical study but rather an effort to show Jesus’ deity and his humanity from my own perspective as a believer.

I ask that you, my reader, commit to doing several things throughout this study. 

(1)Begin each reading with prayer, seeking God’s direction in your life.

(2) Read each day’s entry with an open heart. Please don’t focus on how I present the material as much as on how God can use it in your life. 

(3) If you feel lead to do so, share the post on Social Media in an effort to get the Good News about Jesus to more people.

Here is what you can expect.

(1) Every day’s devotional will automatically appear on my blog, “Magnolia Blossoms,” in the wee hours of the morning. If you are an early riser, you won’t have to wait for me to post it on FaceBook. Just go directly to that site: https://magnolia-blossoms.blogspot.com 

(2) As soon as I can each morning, I will post the Magnolia Blossoms link on my FaceBook page and will tag my husband, Bill, in the process. Hopefully you will be able to find it in your FaceBook feed if you are “friends” with either one of us.

As we study the Scripture together during this Advent season, my prayer is that we will come to a renewed understanding of who Jesus Is. Will we ever truly comprehend the complexity of the Trinity or of Jesus as both God and Man? Probably not on this side of heaven. But hopefully this guide will bring to light the beauty and majesty of our Lord as creator, savior, and comforter as we study His “advent” – His beginning and His coming. 

I want to close this introduction with some Scripture about Jesus.  

(1)John reveals that Jesus “was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:2-3 And in John 10:30 Jesus declares that “I and the Father are One.”

Jesus is Creator.

(2) According to Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

Jesus is Savior.

(3) Judges 6:24 uses the Hebrew word which translated is, Jehovah Shalom or Adonai Shalom – The Lord Is Peace.

Jesus is Comforter.

(4)Throughout the New Testament, Jesus starts several narratives by using the words, “I am.” For instance, “I am the Gate for the sheep.” John 10:1-10  Or “I am the Way.” John 14:1 Or “I am the Bread.” John 6:35

(5) In Exodus 3:7-8 God presents Himself to Moses as “I Am” meaning that he has no beginning and no end. 

God (Creator, Savior and Comforter) is.

Tomorrow we dive head-first into Advent. And we will see that “Jesus Is.”

Lord, Thank you for the opportunity to look closely at the Advent of Jesus. Teach us. Direct us. May your Name be glorified. Amen.