Monday Monday~For the Birds!

 Good Monday Morning!  Here's the view from where I'm sitting right now as I try to write this post:

Yes, I have a little "helper", and he's quite taken with the image of the beautiful red Cardinal on my screen. I had to hold him back to keep him from getting a closer look!

This is what he's looking at...the birds have been quite active in our yard this past weekend...

The Bluebirds have also been busy...I do believe there must be babies in the nest by now, as I see Mama and Papa Bluebird come and go to find food for them. That is so exciting! Last year they never did build a nest, and this year we've missed out on watching our Sand Hill Crane family have any babies, so it will be exciting to see if we get to see the baby Bluebirds when they leave the nest. I'll be watching!

On Saturday there was a flock of birds that kept flying from tree to tree and landing in our pine tree, but the sun was so bright behind them I couldn't make out what they were. However, I took a picture of them anyway, and then I had to brighten it up until I could make out the color and markings on these birds...and finally I was able to determine that they were Cedar Waxwings!   HERE is a link to a time several years ago when they came and we were able to enjoy watching them better.  

They normally come in the fall when the hollyberries are ripe and they clean off a tree in no time at all. But now, at this time of year there are no hollyberries or other berries on other bushes yet, so I'm not sure what they were eating. I assume they are migrating back up north now since it is springtime, so if you are used to seeing them where you live further north, be on the lookout for their return! They are such interesting and unusual looking birds!

This is a picture from when they came in November of 2020...when the hollyberries were quite abundant! 

Also on Saturday we noticed way over on the other side of our still very dry "Still Waters Pond" a group of birds gathered at the only puddle of water that remains of the pond...

There are two Great Blue Herons and three white Wood Storks, gathered at this little tiny pool of water to search for whatever food they can find.  

Oh how badly we need rain! The weather report keeps teasing us saying we might get some rain, and then somehow it keeps circumventing our location and we are fortunate if we even get a drop!  Rain is predicted for today and  Oops! It WAS predicted for later today, and I just now looked at my weather app again on my phone, and it's no longer in the forecast! Less than one hour ago it was showing up there, and now they've removed it again! That happened yesterday afternoon as well!

So here is the current revised forecast for this week...There's a couple of days of possibility of rain, but I am not holding my breath! However I will keep praying...

Blackie and I have been spending a little time together on some afternoons sitting in the "Secret/Memorial Garden", watching the birds and enjoying a pleasant breeze in the trees...

He's such a sweet companion...although you have to wonder what's really on his mind when he looks at me with those squinty eyes and perturbed ears..."Oh no! Here she goes again with that camera! Always taking my picture! Good grief, woman! Get a life!" LOL.

Finally he decided to go hide in the azalea bushes and camouflage himself from me and the birds...

Meanwhile I was enjoying watching this Northern Parula enjoying the birdbath!  We don't see them here often, so this was a real treat!

As I walked around the yard I was thrilled to see that all four blossoms on the Hippeastrum plant were blooming.  This link tells the history of when we first discovered this plant blooming in our yard and what a surprise it was.  It always seems to bloom just in time for Easter! 

Much like the Easter Lily, it looks like four trumpets announcing the good news of the Resurrection of our Lord! 

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen!

Luke 24:5-6...

Oh, I am getting ahead of the story for this Holy Week...But even though we remember all the things that Jesus had to suffer during this period of time leading up to His death on the cross...we already know how the story ends...or rather how it begins with giving us all hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ! 

Because He Lives...I can face tomorrow....

Because He Lives Lyrics

God sent His Son, they called him Jesus,

He came to love, heal and forgive;

He lived and died, to buy my pardon,

An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,

And feel the pride, and joy he gives;

But sweeter still the calm assurance,

This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river,

I'll fight live's final war with pain;

And then as death gives way to victory,

I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives.

Have a blessed Holy Week my friends...

P.S. Thank you for your kind words on my "Palm Sunday" post yesterday. I was a little under the weather, but I am fine today, praise God!! I have to be...it's going to be a busy but wonderful week.

Sermon Notes: It's Palm Sunday! 2019~ Revisited in 2026

It's Palm Sunday!

Today is Palm Sunday!!  I hope that your church recognized this eventful day in the life of Christ, which begins the Holy Week leading up to Resurrection Sunday...Easter! 

Sadly, today, March 29, 2026, I was unable to attend church due to illness, but here is the message from our pastor and the choir singing "Welcome the King", which was pre-recorded this past week. I am sorry I wasn't able to be there today to actually sing with the choir in person, but I am sure they sounded just fine without me. I hope you will enjoy this song and our Pastor David Miller's message for today, if you wish to listen. I'm sure you'll be blessed.

Welcome the King!

Here begins the original post written back on Palm Sunday back in 2019.  The sermon notes that I have quoted from (below) were given by our former Pastor, Rev. A.C. Myers, who has since that time passed on to heaven. I can well imagine that he is enjoying eternal life with the King of kings, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ...and seeing Palm Sunday and Holy Week and Easter from a whole different perspective now. I wonder what his message to us would be today if he could come back to preach again!  I expect there would be even more conviction and urgency in his delivery of God's Word to us...because I can well imagine that he recognizes even more the consequences of not obeying God's Word and what we would be missing if we don't accept God's free gift of salvation now...before it's too late...

(The Palms sung by the Crystal Cathedral choir)

  Our choir sang the song shown above (in 2019)...We may not have sounded quite the same as "the Crystal Cathedral" choir shown above, but I can assure you we sang it with our whole hearts and souls!

The palm branches that the throngs of people waved as they cried "Hosanna! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Mark 11:9) may not have looked exactly like these palmettos that we have here in Florida, but they were definitely similar to these...

Listen to how John's gospel  (John 12:12-13) described this scene:

"The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out, 

'Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' The King of Israel!"

Our scripture for today's sermon actually came from Mark's Gospel of this same scene, found in Mark 11:1-10.  and in these verses we see Christ entering Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey colt.  (See also Matthew 21;1-11,  Luke 19:29-38, and John 12:12-19 for more details).

The people of Jerusalem were hailing Christ as the King of Israel...their Savior, the Messiah.  But their expectation of what that would mean for them was not exactly what Jesus came to do.  At this particular time in history, Jerusalem was held captive by the Roman government.  The Romans occupied their country and ruled the Jewish nation with a very powerful and demanding government.  The people of Israel were in hopes that Jesus had come to save them from this evil government and to set them free from the tyranny of Rome.  Jesus did not come exactly the way they thought a conquering king should come...on the back of a young donkey? Where was His white stallion, where was His sword? He had no weapons, He had no saddle...only the clothing of the throng as they laid their clothes on the ground and on the back of the colt and waved the branches and shouted Hosanna...

But what we see instead of a conquering king, we see the heart of God.  Jesus does not come to us on our terms.  He comes on God's terms.  The people wanted a Messiah to rescue them from the evil and oppression of the  Roman government...But Jesus came to rescue their hearts from the evil of sin...He came to change their hearts inwardly...

Our expectations vs. God's answer...

God's answer is always the best for us.

The crowds wanted Jesus to conquer in a worldly way...But Jesus would conquer through laying down His life for their sins...

Jesus comes as our King to bring salvation...not from an oppressive government, but from self hatred, selfishness...to save us from greed, fear and death.

To restore our broken relationship with God...

Jesus gave us life--life of humble service and love...

A little side detail...The colt had never been ridden...and yet Jesus rode into Jerusalem on an unbroken colt...one that should have bucked Him off and been difficult to manage...

But Jesus was able to transform that wild unbroken colt into a peaceful animal.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem as a hero...

Is your life like that unbroken colt? Is life trying to throw you off...we may think that life seems to want to get rid of us...but God has a better plan for us.  Jesus is the only One who can ride into my heart and give me what I need to live...

Back to the crowd at Jerusalem...they were cheering and shouting Hosanna that day...they believed He was the Messiah and coming King, but then they still called for His death several days later...

We've all seen the bumper sticker that says, "Honk if you love Jesus".  Perhaps a better one would be: "Tithe if you love Jesus...any fool can honk!"  Or, how about, "Serve if you love Jesus", or "Humble Yourself if you Love Jesus", or "Love your neighbor if you love Jesus"...

On Palm Sunday Jesus came with a choice...We could join the crowd...cheering and waving palm branches, welcoming Him to our "city",  but that is as far as it goes as far as a relationship goes...On Sunday we cheer and wave our palm branches and proclaim Him King,  but what about the rest of our week...our lives...it's harder to actually serve the King of kings...

What does it truly mean to welcome Jesus into our hearts?

When we make a decision to follow Jesus, we choose to leave the old world behind...we choose to march to the tune of a most fulfilling and different kind of drum.

Jesus is the only way to peace, joy and real life...Jesus came to die for us...

John 15:13

"Greater love has no one than this, 

than to lay down one's life for his friends."

As followers of Christ we are to love each other as Jesus loved us when He went to the cross.

Palm Sunday is a great time to become a true follower of Christ.

There is no such thing as "Spectator Christianity".

Jesus conquered evil when He died on the cross.

People then did not understand He was offering them more than just to stand and cheer as He passed by...He was offering them an opportunity to make something beautiful out of their lives...

Think about the potter and the wheel...we are that blob of clay...a horrible mess...

But God can take our mess and shape us into what He wants us to be.

It is our choice...the invitation is here now...

Will you just be a spectator along the road, cheering Him on as He passes by...or

Will you follow Jesus all the way to the cross?

Our final hymn of the day...

(this is not our church choir singing, but please sing along and enjoy the music)

This is a song of triumph!

Christ is triumphant over death and hell,

and we are victors with Christ.

"Hosanna!!!

Blessed  is He who comes in the name of the Lord!!!

Blessed is the kingdom of our father David

That comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!"

Mark 11:9-10

Sermon Notes: FUMC, Interlachen, FL, Pastor A.C. Myers, 4/14/2019

Please Note : I want to repeat this disclaimer here...the notes, outline, and content included here are based upon my own personal understanding of the message that was being given. I am not attempting to completely quote or reproduce this message or any other message I've shared previously. Just as each person reading these notes may glean insights and thoughts that seem to directly apply to one's own situation and interpretation, my own delivery of these messages is skewed by my hearing and translation of what is being said. Some may read my notes here and wonder if they were hearing the same message as I...and I say, God speaks to each of us as He wills...there are things He is trying to get across to each individual that may be entirely different than what the person sitting next to you in the pew is needing to hear... That is how the Holy Spirit works! He knows what we need to hear and how to apply it to our hearts. So it is with that understanding that I present these sermon notes to you.

This cross is from our front yard. This photo was taken a few years ago. I wanted to do this again today, but it is extremely windy here today and the palms would just blow away, so I'm glad I have this picture.

I hope you will be blessed on this Palm Sunday, and draw even closer to our Lord throughout the week as we approach Good Friday and then the glorious Resurrection Day on Easter Sunday.

Welcome the King!!!

Wednesday Treasures...A little "Rest for your Souls"

Happy Wednesday Morning! Welcome to my "Wednesday Treasures" for this week! This is the day I like to share special treasures that I find, either inside or outside of my home. Today will be a mixture of both.

Let's start with a verse for the day, which I believe goes along well with the things I see, and also for where we may be in our Lenten Journey leading up to Easter.  

Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV

"28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

The rosebush that I recently planted is blooming again. I was afraid that some of the buds would be hurt by a late frost we had last week, and although some of the  edges of the petals are a little bit frost bit, that didn't stop the roses from blooming beautifully to give us such delight! This is how looks this morning

And this is how it looked yesterday morning...

Yes, there are two of them, and even though the frost did a little damage, they are blooming for the glory of God...and their fragrance is exquisite!

I thank the Lord for these little blessings...every blossom is a gift...

And here's another "gift", or "treasure"...Yes, that's Blackie, who came to visit me here in my little "Room With A View" while I was working h ere this morning...He just loves to be near us, wherever we are. Right now he's sleeping in Daddy's lap, but you've seen pictures of that before...

You may be getting tired of the pictures of the wisteria...but everytime I see them they are such a joy to me, I have to take their picture. We saw these in another location on our morning walk yesterday, growing there on an old homesite in our historic section of our little town, where they had to tear down or move the old houses to widen the highway you see there in the background...

I just love that these flowers continue to bloom every year in spite of the fact that the house where they were planted is long gone and the persons who tended  and cared for these plants are no longer there or even living to see the fruit of their labors from so many years ago. The flowers continue to grow and flourish and bless us today.  I wish those dear ones who planted these wisteria could see that what they did so long ago still matters and gives joy and delight today!  Oh! That my life could be that kind of treasure even long after I am gone...what we do here today does truly matter!!!

I wonder if all those trucks and people passing by on the highway even take notice of this beautiful treasure that is gracing the byway?  I did...I first saw it from the highway, and I knew I had to come see it up close and personal!  Yes, friends, the things we leave behind us do have a lasting impact on others who may pass by in the future!  Something to really think about, isn't it?

And speaking of our historical downtown, do you remember when I shared with you about this old building that used to be a general store for many many years, and was literally almost falling down in disrepair, and I kept hoping and praying that someone would come along and restore it???

Here's a link to a previous story about "The Brush General Store"

And here's another one! I've been obsessed with this store for a while! That link tells more of the history of the store, with some old pictures from way back in it's heyday!

Well, I was excited to see painters out working on it last week, and when I drove by last night on my way to choir practice, it appeared they were done painting, and look how lovely it is:

Now I am just waiting to see what the new owners are planning to do with it! I hope it will be something fun and exciting!

Back home to our house and the still very dry Still Waters Pond...some of you have asked about our Sand Hill Cranes. Normally this time of year they would have already been nesting and have had one or two baby "colts" by now.  However, this year, due to the very dry pond, they were unable to build their nest as usual. I think they may have tried to, but because there's no water surrounding their nesting area, they were accessible to predators who could literally walk across the pond to get to their nest, and I think that is exactly what happened, so our Sand Hill Crane couple is childless this spring. I don't know if they will try again if/when the pond ever gets any water...I assume they will just wait until next spring and try again then...hopefully! I miss watch the new baby "colts" growing up in our yard as they have for most every year we have lived here.

But anyway, here are some pictures of our couple standing out in the dry pond yesterday morning...

I hope they have another chance next year! Please pray for rain! We are supposed to get some later today, but it doesn't look like it will be much, if any.

This was the sunrise yesterday morning. Today it is too dark and cloudy, and I don't expect to see the sun all day...but there's still sunshine in my heart...

I hope you enjoyed these "treasures" today, and that this little time spent enjoying God's creation together was a time of "rest for your soul".

Have a blessed rest of your day and week.

 

Monday Monday! It's Spring!

 

Azaleas and bumblebee in my garden Sunday Afternoon!

Good Morning and Happy 1st Monday of Spring!  Yes, it is definitely springtime here where we are in Florida, although some may think we jumped right over spring and landed in summer already, as it has been quite warm in the higher 80's in the afternoons, but it cools down nicely in the evenings and early mornings, so if you have things you want to do outside, just do them early in the morning or later in the evening and you'll be just fine!  The only bad thing is we still aren't getting any significant rains and everything is extremely dry, so much so that we were under a "Red Flag Warning" yesterday due to the dry winds, lower humidity, and bright warm sunshine.  Not a good time for fire pits or burning leaves/trash.    

Thankfully, our birthday celebration for our son Scott yesterday was all cooked indoors, even though we had BBQ pulled pork.  I forgot to take pictures of the food...but it was all good.  I put the Boston Butt roast in the crock pot on Saturday night when I was ready for bed. It cooked on low all night long, and by morning it was all cooked and falling off the bone and ready to be "pulled"/shredded.  It turned out really good!  

In case you are interested in how I cooked it, this is what I did: 

The Boston Butt was about 6 lbs., bone in.  I added 1 regular can of low sodium chicken broth, 1/2 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar, and about a cup of Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ Sauce, in addition to rubbing the meat with some garlic powder, salt and pepper and a little chili powder.  I placed all ingredients in the crock pot and set it on low for 10 hours. Perfecto!!!

Yes, we also had some Bush's Country Style Baked Beans, a Tossed salad, and Rose brought her delicious deviled eggs. Oh, and we used some "sweet Hawaiian style" hamburger rolls for the pulled pork sandwiches, per Scott's request. I also baked the cake Scott requested...it was a vanilla cake with fudge icing.

Here's the pictures we DID take, during the birthday party time after lunch:

The most important picture! Blowing out the candles! It's a family tradition!

Then came the gift time, and these are just a few of the things he received...

And then the family pictures around the table...

Of course Benton and Rose were there...

And Rose's sister Sherrie was also with us...she's still visiting from Minnesota,  but will be heading back to the freezing north on Tuesday. 

Here's "Daddy"....a.k.a. my hubby, a.k.a. John:

And your's truly with hubby...

And here's the whole gang, thanks to Scott's expertise with setting the timer on the cellphone camera and then jumping back into the picture before it starts snapping the photo:

After we finished the cake, etc., some of us went outside to walk around the yard...

Yes, our grandpuppies Sugar and Spice were there for the big occasion...

And here's the sisters Sherrie and Rose...two lovely flowers in my garden:

And we were surprised to find these two lovely flowers blooming again:

"Hippeastrum, click on this link for more information and a previous post I wrote about discovering these for the first time"

The come up every year and surprise me!  I didn't plant them. I think they "traveled" over to our yard from some plants in my neighbor's yard! What a lovely "gift"!

Oh, remember back when our son built a couple of "cat beds"  for our porch kitties? Well they never used them as such, so I decided to "repurpose" them into planters to add to my Butterfly Garden...

I planted some butterfly type flowers in them, and hopefullly they will start growing and blossoming soon...

There's Coreopsis flowers

And a "Scorpions Tail Plant" and some Native Florida Milkweed.

Hopefully they will attract lots of butterflies to our garden!

Well, that's about it for yesterday's excitement. Not sure what's on tap for today...well, yes, there will be the Ladies' Bible Study this afternoon, and the usual stuff this morning. I need to get a move on. The sun is almost rising and Hubby just put Blackie back outside after his breakfast. Oh, yes, he was around yesterday too, but we had to keep him in a separate place away from the doggies...they almost "got into it" when the doggies first arrived and Blackie came to greet them...but not very nicely and it was utter chaos for a second or two...thankfully the doggies were on their leashes and Benton had them well in hand or they would've been high on the chase to get Blackie...but Blackie was back up in his favorite tree pretty quickly.  Whew! That was a close one!!!  I don't think they are ready to be best friends just yet! LOL.

Oh, yes, the Bluebirds have been quite busy in their "nest" lately. I do hope we will see some Baby Bluebirds before too long....

"For the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers are springing up and the time of the singing of birds has come. Yes, spring is here." Song of Solomon 2:11-12 TLB

"Father, please give me ears to hear the music of the wakening world around me. Amen."

Amen!!!