Thursday Thankfulness

It's Thursday afternoon and I want to give thanks to God for some blessings today...

This is the beautiful rose that Rose and Benton gave me for Mother's Day! This is the first blossom, and isn't it glorious?

There a several more buds getting ready to open...so delightfully unique and lovely!

It's name is "Double Delight", and yes, I am doubly delighted to have this wonderful gift that keeps on giving! Thank you, Rose and Benton, for this very thoughtful rosebush gift!

Well, today is the day that Blackie Sue is going to her appointment to be "fixed".  Actually she will stay with one of the volunteers in charge of this "operation catnip" tonight,  and they will take her to the clinic tomorrow and bring her back home here on Saturday.  

When the lady came to pick her up and put her in the carrier it was a bit of a struggle to get Blackie to go, and here's my memento to remember her by while she is gone. Thankfully it's not very deep and really doesn't hurt, but it will remind me to say little prayers for her throughout the next couple of days as she goes through this bit of "trauma". (and yes, I did wash it thoroughly).  And also to pray for those who will be taking care of her, that they will treat her with kindness. I am sure they will.

Sunshine is kind of moping around on the back porch since she left.  This picture was taken a few minutes ago, looking down through my window in my "room with a view"...He is laying down right outside this window where it is cool and shady, but also about as close as he can get to me without being inside the house.  I wonder if he realizes I am right through that wall? I think he does. 

I've been outside a couple of times to reassure him, and he had a LOT to say to me! 

"Meow, meow, meow! Where did they take my friend Blackie Sue? Is she going to come back? Why did you put her in that cage and send her away with a stranger? Meow, Meow, Meow!"   I gave him some extra little treats and petted him some more and talked extra sweetly to him.  He rubbed my legs and didn't want me to go back inside the house...and he really wanted to come inside.  But then he settled down there in this spot outside my window and he's taking a nice nap. He'll be fine, and Blackie Sue will be back before we know it.

I did have the lady look at him (which surprisingly he allowed her to get near him and lift his tail), and in her opinion he has already been fixed!  He's quite furry and it was hard for me to tell, but she is quite certain. So that made me happy that we don't need to go through this again with him!

These were some fun pictures I took of Blackie Sue and the Duck yesterday...

Yes, that duck thinks he's one of the family and isn't at all afraid of the cats. As you can see, Blackie Sue just turns her back on him, and then scoots out of his way:

Oh, do you see Trumpet in the background, and Mother Crane down there keeping an eye on Mr. Duck?

No one wanted to pay him any attention up here. So finally Mr. Duck decided to take off and fly away to the pond. 

There he goes!

I managed to get a picture of the full moon early in the morning yesterday. It's been too cloudy at night to get a picture.

I am thankful for so many things...my family, our home, our church and friends, our health...things we should never take for granted.  God has been very kind and gracious to us, and we are very thankful. 

This is a verse that we would be wise to remember when things might catch us off guard or take us by surprise...

So if you are facing uncertainties in your life, health concerns, family issues, financial matters...remember that there is NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING too difficult for God!!

Amen.

Have a blessed and beautiful rest of your week, my friends.

Thank you for being here!

 

Tuesday 4~Staying Put/Moving On

 

Staying Put/Moving On


Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
Sometimes we live in the same place where we were born and remain there all of our lives.
Sometimes we move away and never come back because of jobs, marriage, circumstances of all kinds.
Sometimes we choose where we will live and we have definite reasons for staying there even though we might be far from family.


1. Are you far from family and if so why? Would you like to have them closer and have you discussed that with them?
Our two living sons are close by and that's the way I want to keep it.  We've already told Benton and Rose that if they ever move, we'll be moving too.  We don't want to be too far from our kids as we get older.  Our only grandson and his mother (family of our son Matthew, who is in heaven, which is too far away for now, but not forever!) live in Maine, which is too far away, but that's where their life is and even though we'd love to have them closer, I don't see that happening.

2. How did you come to live in the state you are in? How about the city/town.
My hubby was born in Florida, and my family moved to Florida from Pennsylvania when I was almost 6 years old, so I grew up in this state. My hubby grew up about 20 miles from my home, and we met at a community college in my freshman year and got married that summer. We moved to and lived in Orlando until he finished his Bachelor's Degree. However, once hubby graduated, we made LOTS of moves to other states over the almost 56 years of our marriage, primarily because of work, going to Seminary and serving in the ministry.  We finally moved back to Florida to stay about 28 years ago, mainly because our elderly parents were here and we needed to be near them to help them in their latter years of life.  We moved to our current town about 6 years ago because our son got married and moved here and we started visiting the church where they attended, and fell in love with the church and little town and decided to move here.

Living beside "Still Waters Pond" keeps us happy...

3. What good things keep you living where you are?
What's good about your state and town?

The main reason we stay here is because this is where our kids are. Also we love our house and Still Waters Pond and also the church where we attend.  

The town itself has some good things and some not so good.  It still has some "rough edges' and tends to be a poorer area that attracts a lot of people who live on the margins of life..i.e; drug activity is very high in this area, and a lot of roads are still dirt roads and there are a lot of run down houses, etc.  On the bright side, the town is starting to see a bit more development of businesses and newer homes coming into the area and new people migrating here from the north and other places, because it is still relatively inexpensive to buy land and homes here compared to other parts of the state. There are some pretty places to live here, especially on the lakes and ponds, of which there are many, if you can find affordable land/houses on the water.  We were blessed to find this house, which was a "foreclosure", so we got it quite "cheap" all things considered, and thankfully it didn't need a lot of work, but we have done quite a bit as we have been able to do it.

What's good about our state?  (Florida) Well, the climate, especially in winter, but not so much in the summer/hurricane season. Our fall and winter and spring are mild and beautiful, and that is why so many "snowbirds" come here to roost for the winter months from up north. Also we do not have to pay a state income tax in Florida, and other taxes are relatively low compared to other parts of the country. 

Also, I still have a sister and her family living in Florida, and my hubby has his brother and family also in that same area about 2 hours away from us.  So we enjoy getting together with our extended family whenever we can.


4. What things might convince you to move to another state or just another town?

As I said before, if our kids decided to move far away due to work, etc., then we would probably consider relocating to the same area. We are at an age where we know we are going to need more family assistance as time goes by, and we don't want to be dependent on strangers to help us, plus we just love having our family together for holidays, birthdays and all things in between.  I think because we were away from our families for so many years while our kids were growing up we missed out on being home for holidays, etc. and now I don't want to be away from family anymore. 

And that's pretty much it for this Tuesday 4. You can click HERE to join in the fun! 

Proverbs 23:18 NIV

18 There is surely a future hope for you,

and your hope will not be cut off.

Monday Monday! The Day After Mother's Day

 Well, yesterday was Mother's Day, and I pray that it was a lovely day for you in every way. Our day was very special, even with a few unexpected events, but God is good and we are very thankful.

I'll start out with our church service and choir anthem.  It's a good thing this was recorded ahead of time, because we ended up not being able to stay for church afterall.  We made it to and through Sunday School (hubby is the teacher of the adult class), and then just before the worship service was ready to start hubby came to me and said he was not feeling well and needed to go home.  So long story short, we came home, and thankfully son Scott had already arrived here and helped me get him inside and to bed. He rested awhile, and when Benton and Rose arrived after church he got up and tried to eat, which he did manage to eat a bit and I think that helped revive him. He still was  rather weak and wobbly, but refused to go to the ER and get checked out.  As the afternoon progressed he felt a bit stronger and this morning as I am writing this, he is up and having his coffee and seems to be much better. We think he either had a blood sugar drop issue because he hadn't eaten much before church, or very possibly a mild TIA. I would like to take him to the doctor this morning, but we'll see how things go. As most of you probably know, men can be stubborn when it comes to their health...enough said, but I am very thankful that it wasn't something much worse and that he recovered, so we praise the Lord for helping him. **

**After I wrote this earlier this morning, I did call the doctor's office and they were able to work him in right away.  They did an EKG and checked his BP, etc., and all that seemed okay, but he was having a bit of a weak spell there.  The doctor sent in a referral for a CT scan and some other tests and we were able to get into the  radiology office this afternoon and got it all taken care of. We will go back to the doctor next week, unless things change between now and then. But I am now writing this in the evening, and he is feeling a lot better, praise God!

Hmm, this song seems to be appropriate..."You are my strength when I am weak..."  Yes, that is so true for me and for hubby too...

Song: You Are My All in All

"You are my strength when I am weak,

You are the treasure that I seek,

You are my all in all...

Seeking You as a precious jewel,

Lord, to give up I'd be a fool.

Jesus, You're the Lamb of God,

Worthy is Your Name

Jesus, Lamb of God,

Worthy is Your Name.

All to Jesus I surrender,

All to Him I freely give

I will ever love and trust Him

In His presence daily live,

I surrender All

I surrender All

All to Thee my blessed Savior

I surrender all.

Taking my sin my cross my shame

Rising again I bless Your name

You are my all in all

When I fall down you pick me up

When I am dry You fill my cup

You are my all in all

Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name

Jesus Lamb of God worthy is Your name

Worthy is Your name

Worthy is Your name."

Amen.

Oh my, just now as I am writing this it is pouring down rain again! It rained all night long too! Praise God!  This is exactly what we've needed, and we are SO grateful for this rain!!  (that was this morning. Now I am back to writing in the evening, and it is cloudy, but no more rain for now. Still, it was a good soaker and Still Waters Pond is very happy).

It rained off and on all yesterday afternoon, and the kitties were content to stay on the porch. I took these pictures last evening when Sunshine surprised us by jumping up on the porch rail right outside our glass doors...I've never seen him do that before. I think he wanted to see what we were doing. 

It's funny because the TV is reflecting on the glass doors, so it looks like he has a TV hologram out there to watch! He really can't see that, but it looks like he's watching it. LOL.

After a while he just settled right down on that skinny ledge and took a catnap.  I'm surprised he didn't fall off!

Blackie Sue is more sensible and stays on the porch, but still she was right there where she could see what we were doing also. They both have become much more watchful of our every move...and are always right there at the back door when we try to open it to go out. Someday I expect they will try to just move on in...but woe to the stuff in high places in our house because Sunshine, in particular, loves to jump up onto high places.  That just wouldn't be a good idea here in this house! LOL.

And no. Blackie Sue has not had any kittens and it does not appear that she will. Her appointment is set for next Friday to get things "fixed", and then that concern will be over finally! I am very thankful.

So back to our Mother's Day dinner and time with the family.  I am so thankful the kids were here and we had a good time even though hubby wasn't feeling up to par, he still wanted to be with the family as much as possible.  We had a wonderful dinner of BBQ boneless ribs cooked in the crockpot, and they turned out really good. The corn on the cob also turned out really sweet and yummy, and Rose's scalloped poatoes were perfect, as was the salad. I didn't take any pictures of the food.  My mind was a bit preoccupied with hubby and making sure he was really okay.  

However, I did ask Scott to take a picture of me before I changed clothes after we got home from Sunday School cause it seems like we never get pictures of us in our Sunday clothes. This dress is old, but it only gets worn a few times a year.

I wore this dress because it went well with that new pendant I bought on Saturday:

Here's our sweet Rose...and guess what she and Benton gave me for Mother's Day?

A Rose Bush of course!! LOL. And it is loaded with buds! Here is a picture of what the roses will look like:

Wow! I can't wait to see them bloom. I pray I won't kill this rosebush! It's beautiful!!

And last but not least, here is our family portrait. We decided we wanted to add our son Matthew's portrait to this family picture, because he is one of the precious children that God gave us, and also because he is certainly with us in spirit.  

Oh, yes, Lily Grace wanted to be in the picture too.  Our family humors me quite a bit. Gotta love them.

This Psalm just seems like an appropriate passage to end this post today, especially verses 4-5 and 11-12.

 

Palm 30

"1 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up,

And have not let my foes rejoice over me.

2 O Lord my God, I cried out to You,

And You healed me.

3 O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave;

You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

4 Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,

And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

5 For His anger is but for a moment,

His favor is for life;

Weeping may endure for a night,

But joy comes in the morning.

6 Now in my prosperity I said,

“I shall never be moved.”

7 Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;

You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

8 I cried out to You, O Lord;

And to the Lord I made supplication:

9 “What profit is there in my blood,

When I go down to the pit?

Will the dust praise You?

Will it declare Your truth?

10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me;

Lord, be my helper!”

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever."

Amen.

I hope you've all had a good weekend and day. I haven't had time to get around to reading any posts yet as I spent most of the day going to and from appointments and trying to do some laundry in between and fixing our lunch and supper (which was leftovers, thankfully, from yesterday!) So now, barring unforeseen circumstances, I will try to get around to your posts and saying hello!! Thank you all for being here!  Good Night!

Mother's Day Evening

It's Saturday night...Mother's Day Eve...and it's finally raining!!  It's not a big thunder-boomer torrential rain, but a nice gentle rain that is exactly what we need to help refill Still Waters Pond and water the grass, trees, flowers and beyond... Praise God for the rain!!! We rejoice to finally see it coming down, and I hope it rains all night long!

I do a lot of this...yes, drink a cup of tea, but what I am focusing on is the verse on the cup:

"Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God." Job 37:14

I thought this tea bag had a rather profound statement also:

Yes, "In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous".  Aristotle recognized that there was something marvelous in nature, but I don't know if he fully recognized WHERE that marvelousness of nature came from...from our Creator God Almighty Himself! Yes, He created all of nature for us to enjoy and marvel at.  I do a LOT of that. For instance, this is kind of funny, but it's God's creatures doing what they do best...

Yesterday afternoon those pesky Muscovy Ducks were up on our back porch again, looking for the cats' food.  I've learned to try and make sure the ducks aren't around when I feed the cats, and I also have started staying out there with the cats for a few minutes while they eat so I can be sure they get to eat their food before the ducks show up.  So far it's working, and by the time the ducks show up the cats have finished their food so the ducks are beginning to realize there's nothing there for them.  

However, the Sand Hill Cranes also spend a lot of time in our yard looking for things to eat in the ground, and sometimes they find some extra bird seed or other tasty bits out there.  Yesterday while the cranes were out there foraging around, the duck found himself somewhat "trapped" on the back porch and unable to leave because the cranes were keeping a close watch on him.  If the duck jumped down on the ground, the cranes would chase him off immediately because they are protecting their "baby", young "Trumpet", who is just about ready to start flying any time now.  But still, the parents are very protective, and if you look at these pictures, you will see the duck walking across the porch looking for a way to get off the porch, and the crane is staying right up with him, blocking his exit from the porch to the yard.

Notice the head of the Crane following alongside the duck as he moves across the porch:

Do you see him? It was quite comical. The duck would move forward, and so would the crane.

He is keeping a very watchful eye on that duck!

Finally the duck has enough of it and just takes off and flies out over the cranes and out to the pond.

See him flying below? And also do you see young Trumpet there below?

So, once that duck is gone out to the pond, the Daddy Crane turns his attention to the other duck, who had managed to sneak off the porch down at the other end and was high-tailing it back out to the pond before the crane came after him!  Meanwhile, I was standing inside taking these pictures and cheering on the Cranes!  I love it when they manage to chase away the ducks, because really, they are the only ones the ducks seem to be afraid of. They pretty much ignore me and just wag their tail feathers at me. LOL.

Yes, God's creation is fun to watch.  We are thankful we have this opportunity.

Now, look who's here!  Yes, that's Lily Grace, and she's wearing her "I'm Mom's Favorite" t-shirt, which was a gift from a friend a few years ago when our sons each showed up with t-shirts saying the same thing. 

And you will notice that she is standing beside a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  Not just any flowers, but these are special flowers to me...do you know what they are?

If you guessed "peonies", you are correct! Why are they so special you ask? Well, because peonies don't grow here in Florida, and I haven't seen them since we lived in Ohio many years ago.

Well, today we went to the "Deep Creek Farm" where they were having a farm market today, and there was a young couple there selling cut flowers and bouquets for Mother's Day, and they had these beautiful peonies! I couldn't believe my eyes!  Apparently they had ordered them from someplace up north to have them here, and well, I couldn't resist. 

I don't usually buy cut flowers, but this was something extra special to me and so I bought this Mother's Day bouquet gift for myself. 

I really can't begin to tell you how much I am enjoying this bouquet. It brought back such sweet memories from our time in Ohio so many years ago, and the special bouquet I made for my mother for Mother's Day. (click on that link for that story).   It didn't have any peonies in it because I think they were already done, but it was made up of lilacs and apple blossoms and tulips, and I mailed them to her in Florida from Ohio.  Of course they were mostly wilted by the time she got them, but she could still smell the lilacs and said they were so beautiful she cried.  Lilacs were her favorite flower, and they don't grow in Florida either.

And I actually bought myself another "Mother's Day" gift while there at the market.  It's okay, because hubby and I went shopping the other day to see if we could find something special for him to give me for Mother's Day, and we couldn't find anything at all.  (Instead HE ended up with two new shirts, which I told him we should put away and save until Father's Day! LOL)

But I saw this today and again, it just spoke to me and it was something that I really loved. It wasn't expensive at all. A lady makes this jewelry from some kind of poured acryllic material, and no two are ever the same.  

What do you see when you look at this?  I see a Mother and child, or perhaps the Madonna and Child...Mary and the baby Jesus. Either way, it just spoke to me and I loved it, so there you have it! 

Here is her card, in case you are interested in seeing what she makes. I guess she doesn't have a website, however, just an email and phone number. But she had so many beautiful necklaces and earrings and other things. And very inexpensive! I don't know how she does it!

So now tomorrow will be a sweet day with our kids here after church for lunch.  Normally Scott would probably grill some chicken or something so I don't have to cook, and Rose and Benton would bring extras...and they are bringing some of the dinner, but I am going to put some boneless pork ribs in the crock pot early in the morning so we don't have to grill because it may be raining tomorrow. We also picked up some fresh sweet corn today at the store, and so we will cook that and make a salad. It will be easy and fun and wonderful just having them here. That's the best gift to me of all.  

Mother's Day isn't always an easy day for many of us, I know that. There's no need to list the reasons why...we all know what they are...some may be very personal and even painful memories. To me, it is a day to honor all women, especially those who have had some hand in either raising us or encouraging us or have been a special part of our lives in one way or another.  

The Proverbs 31:10-31 "woman" is the ideal that we look up to, but many of us may feel like we come way short.  Of course the whole passage is great, but like I said, we may not all be able to reach those heights. These are a few select verses in that passage that speak to me as being goal-worthy.  Here they are:

10 "10 Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.

17 17 She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms.

25 Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.

30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."

Whatever your current situation in life, whether you are a mother or wife, Aunt, or Grandmother, a daughter, sister or a dear friend...you are a blessing. Your life is so valuable to God and to everyone who knows you. Of all the things listed above, be that woman who fears the Lord. That is the most valuable goal we can have in this life, and if we do that, every other relationship will be as it should be.

Have a blessed and beautiful day my friend.

 

Thursday Thankfulness ~ "The King is Coming!"

 
Hello Friends...It's Thursday, and today I'd like to share some things I am thankful for with you.  So come on in to my "Home Sweet Home" and "Stay Awhile" and we can visit and talk about some special things and memories...

Today I went to the eye doctor for my annual check up, and I am so thankful that my eyes really haven't changed much since last year, and the doctor said he really didn't think I needed to change my glasses yet. But  he did say that probably next year I will have to have cataract surgery.  He thinks I'll be okay to wait until then. So I am very thankful for that good report!

Isn't this Coral Vine beautiful?  This is on an old dead palm tree where we go walking...

Everytime we walk past this big old palm tree there is something new blooming on it!  (Not to mention now there is a CROSS on it, made from some of the palm branches that fell down from the top and landed like that!)

Not long ago the purple wisteria was blooming:

And shortly after that it was this Cat's Claw Creeper vine mixed with some Trailing Lantana

It's really amazing how so many beautiful different flowers can climb up and grow and bloom on that old dead tree!

Looking at it here you'd never imagine that it could hold such beauty!

Maybe there's a story there for us!  Something like "don't judge a book by its cover!" There may be more to this "person" than meets the eyes. And the when the time is right, your true beauty will shine from within.

Here's some "food" for thought about this from the Bible...

1 Peter 3:3-4 NKJV

3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold,

 or putting on fine apparel— 

4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

Proverbs 31:30-31

30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,

But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,

And let her own works praise her in the gates.

John 15:5-7

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Maybe you can think of some other verses that would be appropriate there.  How about this one:

John 11:25-26

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Remember this?

Yes, that's the empty tomb and cross that our son Benton created for Easter.  Well, I was so surprised when a special person we haven't seen in probably 46 years contacted me and said that she wanted one of these to put in their church for Easter next year.  What was significant about this is this woman is from the very first church that my husband pastored, way back in the late 1970's.  We have recently reconnected via Facebook, and it has been really special to us to hear from this person and her husband, because they are the first couple that my hubby ever "married" as a Pastor.  Here he is on the left, and I'm not sure who the man is in the middle, but the man on the far right was the retired pastor from that church who had been there probably for all of this young couple's early lives.   

Now this couple has been married for about 47 years! That in itself is a blessing!

I've already shared a little about this church before HERE, which is where my hubby was ordained as a minister.  It was really exciting to us that she wanted to have our son's special Easter Empty Tomb decoration to put in this church.  When we were there so many years ago, Benton was in 2nd grade, Matthew was in kindergarten, and Scott was just a baby!   However, I think this couple is probably the only people left in that church who would still remember us. Most everyone else who was there when we were there has either already died or moved away.  Most everyone was retired, and I remember that we were the youngest couple and had the youngest children when we first went there. 

Our friend also sent this picture to us...yes, that's me, and I don't remember the fellow playing the guitar, but I was the soloist for the wedding.  I had to ask her what I sang, because I didn't remember! (It's been a LONG time, people!!)   Anyway, she said I sang "The Wedding Song", hence that is why it was best accompanied with a guitar.    

I bet many of you remember this song by Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary:

The Wedding Song

Sung here by Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary

"He is now to be among you

at the calling of your hearts.

Rest assured this troubadour is acting on His part.

The union of your spirits here has caused Him to remain

for whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name

There is love

There is love

Well a man shall leave his mother

and a woman leave her home

They shall travel on to where the two shall be as one.

As it was in the beginning, is now until the end.

Woman draws her life from man and gives it back again.

(And) There is love

There is love

Well then what's to be the reason for becoming man and wife

Is it love that brings you here, or love that brings you life.

For if loving is the answer then who's the giving for.

Do you believe in something that you've never seen before

There is love

(Oh) There's love

(Hum)

(Oh) The marriage of your spirits here has caused him to remain

For whenever two or more of you are gathered in his name

There is love

(Ah) There's love

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Paul Stookey

Wedding Song (There Is Love) lyrics © Music & Media Magic, Inc.

I wonder how many of you had that song sung at your wedding?  Did that bring back memories?  

Just for laughs, she also sent me this picture...LOL. Yes, that's hubby and yours truly...we were having a "Hobo Party" (instead of Halloween)  and here we either had just bobbed for this apple,  or it was on that string and we were supposed to do some game with it...either way, you can see we were having fun! Yes, Pastors and wives can have fun too.  LOL. And no, I wasn't pregnant...my shirt was stuffed with a pillow as I had been dressed up like an old hobo before dunking my head in a bucket of water to bob for that apple.

HERE's a link to a previous old post written about this time in our lives.

It was wonderful to walk down memory lane for a few minutes there. Such special memories.  When I was looking through some of my own pictures for back in the day, I came across this one, which really doesn't have anything to do with that church, but it was probably about the same time, and this picture was taken at my parents' home. That is my Dad, me, my sister Doris, and my hubby, and we were practicing to sing at my Mom and Dad's church on Sunday.  We used to do that every so often when we could all be together at the same time.  It was so wonderful.  My mother didn't sing with us, but she was always a good alto and she could have if she'd wanted to. But I think she was actually the choir director for their church at this time, so she had plenty to do.  

We were known as "The Mursch Family Singers" singing

Victory in Jesus!  Wish we had recorded it!

  

But in case you don't know the song, here's the Gaither Homecoming Family singing it:

Victory in Jesus

Verse 1

I heard an old, old story how a Savior came from glory,

How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me;

I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood’s atoning,

Then I repented of my sins and won the victory

Chorus

O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever!

He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood;

He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him.

He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood

Verse 2

I heard about His healing, of His cleansing pow’r revealing

How He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see;

And then I cried, “Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit,”

And some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory.

Chorus

O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever!

He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood;

He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him.

He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood

Verse 3

I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory,

And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea;

About the angels singing and the old redemption story,

And some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory.

Chorus

O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever!

He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood;

He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him.

He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood

So keeping in "tune" with this muscial theme...Here's a song that I'm sure most of you will remember, also from the Gaithers.  You may want to listen to it first and then I will tell you why this is "ringing a bell" with me today as I think about the music we've done in the past.

The King is Coming, with the Gaither Homecoming Family:

Fast forward quite a few years from those early ministry days, and many years later in actually the very last place where we served in the ministry, our church was blessed to host the Gaither's pianist, Anthony Burger, in a special concert.  Our church was a small country church, and I'm really not sure how we managed to have him come and do this concert, but I know we had to rent a Grand Piano and build a special platform to hold it so that he could play.  The concert was free, so many people came from miles around and filled our little church to overflowing.  Well, at that time I was actually the choir director for our church. (that was actually my first and last experience of being the choir director! LOL, but I enjoyed every minute and song!)  Anyway,  Anthony Burger was an extremely accomplished pianist, as you can imagine, since he played for the Gaithers. (And yes, that is him playing in the video of them singing above).   Anyway, his grand finale song was "The King is Coming".  He was to play through the song without anyone singing until the very end, where the choir was to stand up and sing the final chorus.  My job was to cue them in and direct them to sing it with him as he played.  Well, I was sitting on the front row watching him play, and I was so enthralled by watching him play this song that I nearly forgot about directing the choir to sing.  All of a sudden I realized Anthony Burger was looking at me as he was playing and nodding his head to remind me it was time to have the choir join in!  I literally had to JUMP up from my seat and direct the choir to stand and start singing "The King is Coming, the King is coming, I just heard the trumpet sounding, and now His face I see!  Oh, the King is coming, the King is coming, Praise God! Praise God! He's Coming for Me!!!"   

Wow! I know my face was a bit red that I'd almost missed this great ending! If I had've missed it, I would've pretty much said "Jesus, just come on and take me now!"  LOL. But Praise God! We made it, and it was truly a wonderful ending to an amazing experience!

The King is Coming piano solo by Anthony Burger:

If you don't know the story of Anthony Burger, you might appreciate hearing his testimony. This is also what he shared with us that night at the concert.  It's an amazing story, well worth listening to:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBhY1k_DWU4  You may have to click on that link because the video may not show up here.

This video is so magnificent: "The Best Compilation of Anthony Burger"

I think you will really enjoy this one. I'm still listening to it while I write. Amazing gift from God. 

Here's a link to his whole life story on Wikipedia.  This is the sad part:  

"On February 22, 2006, at the age of 44, Burger died of a massive heart attack after performing aboard the MS Zuiderdam, a cruise ship chartered for a Gaither Gospel Cruise. According to eyewitnesses, Burger was accompanying Bill and Gloria Gaither and Guy Penrod when fans in the audience noticed Burger had ceased moving, his hands clenched into fists over the keyboard. Several fellow artists carried him backstage, where the cruise ship's emergency response team performed CPR for about 45 minutes, to no avail."

Yes, he passed away all too soon, and actually he died just 2 or 3 years after we had met him.  We were greatly saddened that the world lost such an amazingly gifted man, but God had a need for him to join heaven's concert hall.  I expect he's playing some truly heavenly music today.  Maybe when I get to heaven someday I'll have another chance to direct the heavenly choir singing "The King is Coming" while Anthony Burger plays on the Grand Piano of Heaven.  Wouldn't that be something?  Well, I can dream. LOL.  

I am so thankful to God for these life experiences. And most of all I am thankful that we have that hope..."The KING IS COMING!"  Are you ready?   I know I am, and I can hardly wait, but I guess we will all have to wait until everything is ready in the halls of heaven for us to enter.  Until that day, let's keep singing and praising God for His goodness to us. Amen?  Amen. 

 

Good Night my friends. I hope you enjoyed this little different  post.  You never know where we will end up when you come visiting here in my "Home Sweet Home".   Thank you for "staying awhile!".