It's Good Friday Now...But Easter's Coming!

 Yes, today is Good Friday, April 3, 2026.  

As I went outside early this morning to put out our flag, I was struck by the beauty of the skies...beautiful, and yet kind of moody and foreboding...as if they knew what this day was all about.

As I placed the crown of thorns on the cross, I was once again struck by how sharp they are, and how painful they must have been as they were forced down upon Christ's head as they mocked Him and hailed Him as the King of the Jews in jest...

This past week we took a little ride and I saw these thistle plants blooming alongside the road, so I asked hubby to pull over so I could take some pictures...Once again, I was struck by how painful those thorns would be if I happened to bump into them or tried to pick the flower from the stem...

The flower certainly is beautiful by itself...but I know better than to try and pick it for a bouquet...

Oh My! Once I again I was blessed with the sudden appearance of a beautiful Swallowtail Butterfly who wanted to get some nectar from the thistle flower! He didn't seem to be afraid of the thorns at all...

I was amazed at how this magnificent creature showed up just as I approached the plant...I felt like it was a gift from God at that particular moment...a reminder that He is always very close to us...and also that His Son endured the pain of those thorns just for us...

Because He loved us so much...He was willing to go to the cross and die for our sins so that we might be saved...

What a beautiful reminder...

Thank You, Lord, for what you did for me and for all mankind on that day...and what you are still doing for us today.

So, as I decided to share those pictures today for Good Friday, I remembered that I had already shared something very similar here many years ago, and have revisited it several times through the years.  I thought I should come up with something new today, but this message really says it all and I can't think of anything more to say,  so: 

I am revisiting this post again for today, Good Friday, April 3, 2026.  The message is still the same. May we honor and revere His Holy Name today...

Original Message 3/30/2018:

Dear  Friends...Please bear with me as I share these pictures with you and tie them into Good Friday...a very sacred and Holy Day...The day our Lord was crucified for our sins...so that we might live forever with Him in heaven one day! What an amazing day this is...

Sunday morning as we went forward to take communion, I knelt before the altar to pray, and I was struck by the emblems displayed there on the communion table...the whole of Holy Week was right there before my eyes...The palms for Palm Sunday,  The Bread and the Cup for the Last Supper, and the cross with the crown of thorns that Jesus wore...

 and upon a closer look, I was shocked to see the nails that pierced His hands and feet, and the whip of cords that struck His back and body over and over again, and the money bag with the thirty pieces of silver that Judas received for betraying our Lord...

These items took my breath away...I wasn't expecting to see them there...and it brought me face to face with the agony that our Lord endured that week on my behalf...and as I ate the bread and drank the cup, I prayed that God would forgive my sins and make me worthy of His shed blood...I am only worthy because of His shed blood...His sacrifice that made me whole and declared me to be holy...what a humbling and beautiful experience...such joy in knowing Christ died for me...because He loved me! And He died for YOU, too, because He loves YOU.  I hope you know this to be true in your own life...

Earlier last week during one of our walks I noticed this thistle plant growing alongside the road...look at those thorns...can you imagine the pain of bumping into this plant?  Now imagine having a crown of thorns forced upon  your head...and nails hammered into your hands and feet...No, I can't imagine how painful that must have been...

"Who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,

and as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness;

and when we see Him,

there is no beauty that we should desire Him.

He is despised and rejected by men,

a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him.

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Isaiah 53:1-3

Surely He has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

the chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Isaiah 53:4-6

A few days later we passed by this same thistle plant, and look!!! Out of something so wicked and evil as these thorny thistles came a thing of great beauty...All of these beautiful butterflies were drawn to this prickly plant to find food and sustenance for their lives!  There were so many they had to fight each other for a place on the flowers to sip its nourishing nectar and live...

Who would have thought that out of something so full of "sorrow" as this thistle would come such life giving food?

Isaiah 53:10-12

"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;

He has put Him to grief.

When You make His soul and offering for sin,

He shall see His seed,

He shall prolong His days,

and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper  in His hand.

He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,

for He shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,

and He shall divide the spoil with the strong,

Because He poured out His soul unto death,

and He was numbered with the transgressors,

and He bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors."

Thank You, Lord, for Your sacrifice for my sins. Out of Your suffering and great sorrow came new life and extreme joy.  Thank You for the beautiful gift of Your grace and salvation...and food for our souls so that we might live, and that more abundantly.   Amen.

It's Good Friday, But Easter is coming!!

Have a Blessed and Glorious Easter, my friends!

"Remembering God's Gift" Revisited for Maundy Thursday Once Again

Thursday, April 2, 2026...Reposting this for today, which is "Maundy Thursday" for this year...It's well worth repeating each year.  May you be blessed as we remember our Lord's great sacrifice for us.

Thursday, March 28, 2024...Since today is "Maundy Thursday", I thought perhaps it would be a good time to revisit this post again. Whether or not your church observes this day or not, today is a good day to remember the events of Holy Week...the days leading up to Christ's death and resurrection.  Here is what I shared with you a couple of years ago, and also a couple of years before that.  It's a story and event that we have been asked to remember whenever we come together in Jesus' Name.

4/14/2022: I originally posted this when we were still under "lockdown" and unable to worship together in person.  Thankfully we are no longer under such restrictions, but not every church has a "Maundy Thursday" service.  Even so, we can still join together wherever we are, in a spiritual bond with our brothers and sisters around the world and observe this remembrance of our Lord's "Last Supper".  Here is what I shared in previous years on this date. I hope it will be a blessing to you:

Today is Maundy Thursday, the day we observe and celebrate "The Last Supper" during Holy Week. I have revised this post from a previous post regarding The Lord's Supper observance from our church, so that we can remember the Gift of Christ's sacrifice for us as He willingly gave up His life so that we might have eternal life with Him.  Whether or not your church observes this particular day or not, many will be joining together across the land to partake even if we are not able to assemble together physically. I believe God is using this time to draw many to Himself as we are focused on finding ways to participate in Holy Week/Easter services from our homes. May God be glorified and praised through these difficult days.

This is from a previous church service.  Please follow along and be blessed:

Our Scripture lesson is from Luke 22:7-20, but the following verses 14-20 were highlighted:

Luke 22:14-20

14.  "When the hour had come, 

He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.

15.  Then He said to them,

"With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you 

before I suffer;

16.  For I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."

17.  Then He took the cup, 

and gave thanks,

and said,

"Take this and divide it among yourselves;

18.  for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine 

until the kingdom of God comes."

19.  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 

"This is My body which is given for you;

do this in remembrance of Me."

20.  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying,

"This cup is the new covenant in My blood, 

which is shed for you." 

Our choir sang this beautiful song prior to the message today. It was so beautifully written and sung.

 

Refrain:

"Every time we eat this bread,

Every time we drink this cup,

We proclaim the death of the Lord

Until He comes.

Take and eat this bread,

This is My body.

Take and drink this cup,

This is My blood.

(Refrain)

"I am the bread come down from heaven.

Eat this bread and live eternally."

(Refrain)

"I am the vine,

and you, the branches.

You who live in me

will bear much fruit."

(Refrain)

"My command is love for one another.

This I pray so your joy will be complete."

(Refrain)

In the above passage in Luke 22, Jesus said He desired to eat this Passover with His disciples.  Passover was and is a very special time of remembrance of the great redemption of the children of Israel from the Egyptians.  You can read more about this in the Old Testament book of Exodus, chapter 12. Particularly verses 12-13, God is explaining to Moses what He is going to do to redeem His people...and providing the very first Passover through the blood of the unblemished lamb.

"12.  For I will pass through the land of Egypt on the that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: 

I AM the Lord.  

13.  Now the blood shall be a sign for you 

on the houses where you are. 

And when I see the blood, 

I will pass over you; 

and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt."

Fast forward to the New Testament and to Luke 22, where Jesus is explaining  to His disciples in essence that He is about to become their "Passover Lamb"...and so when we celebrate Holy Communion, we are to remember Christ's great sacrifice for our redemption.   This is much more than just a history lesson. It is a celebration on the hearts and lives of believers until Christ returns...It is only through the cross of Christ  and the shedding of His blood that we have redemption from our sins.

In Luke 22:16-20 Jesus is foretelling for all of us the glorious promise of when we will one day sit at the banquet table with Jesus at the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb" (see Revelation 19:7-10)

In partaking in Communion we are remembering the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins.  For a prophetic description of the sorrow and anguish and pain that He suffered for us, please read Isaiah 53.  This is a vivid description of the vicarious sacrifice of Christ. Jesus took on Himself all of our sins...and because of this our sins are forgiven when we choose to believe in Him.

Hebrews 9:22 tells us:

"According to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission."

In John's Gospel, chapter 6, Jesus tells His disciples in verse 56:

"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, 

and I in Him."

And so we come back to the communion service, where we follow Christ's example given to the disciples at that Last Supper before His death.   

I Corinthians 10:16-17 

"The cup of blessing which we bless, 

Is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?  

The bread which we break, 

is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 

For we, though many, are one bread and one body; 

for we all partake of that one bread."

Please read I Corinthians 11:23-34 for the order of Communion, and where we see again how the Lord gave thanks, and then said to His disciples, 

"Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you;

do this in remembrance of Me."

In the same manner He took the cup after supper, saying,

"This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

• We need to rejoice together in Communion. I want to live my life in such a way that I can one day stand before Him.

Remember the great gifts He has given us:

• Promise of eternity
• Promise of sins forgiven
• Partaking in the remembrance of Christ Jesus through this ordinance of the Lord's Supper.

(we sang the following song during the Communion service:)

In Remembrance 
(Ragan Courtney and Buryl Red)

"In remembrance of Me eat this bread
In remembrance of Me drink this wine
In remembrance of Me pray for the time
When God's own will is done 

In remembrance of me heal the sick
In remembrance of me feed the poor
In remembrance of me open the door
And let your brother in, let him in

Take eat and be comforted
Drink and remember too
That this is my body and precious blood
Shed for you, shed for you

In remembrance of me search for truth
In remembrance of me always love
In remembrance of me don't look above
But in your heart, in your heart
Look in your heart for God

Do this in remembrance of Me
Do this in remembrance of Me
In remembrance of Me"

Have YOU decided to follow Christ? Take time to remember His great sacrifice for your sins as you celebrate communion with Him and His body, the church.

After partaking of communion  today we closed the service with the following song, (one of my favorite hymns):  "And Can It Be?"  I hope you will sing along with me here:

VERSE 1
And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood
Died He for me, who caused His pain
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

VERSE 2
He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace
Emptied Himself of all but love
And bled for Adam’s helpless race
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free
For O my God, it found out me!
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shoudlst die for me?

VERSE 3
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light
My chains fell off, my heart was free
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God shouldst die for me?

VERSE 4
No condemnation now I dread
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine
Alive in Him, my living Head
And clothed in righteousness divine
Bold I approach the eternal throne
And claim the crown, through Christ my own
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou my God, shouldst die for me?

2/3/2019: Personal notes from me (Pam) here:  I don't know if your church observes Holy Communion once a month, once a quarter, or every Sunday, but I know for me when we started coming to this particular church at first I was a little uncertain about the necessity for taking communion every Sunday.  But then I remembered that the early church "continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2:42), and that the believers were encouraged to "proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." (I Corinthians 11:26)  I find the time of communion at the close of our service to be a personal time of worship, prayer, and introspection as I examine my own heart and seek God's will and direction for my life.  It is a cleansing time, where I can once again remember how Christ sacrificed His very blood for me so that I would be washed clean from all my sins, and therefore  I want to surrender my life to Him for service  in whatever way He leads.  Sometimes we get complacent and lazy in our faith walk, and we tend to forget why we are here and what we are supposed to be doing in God's kingdom.  The communion service is a stark reminder to me that my life is not my own. I belong to Christ, and therefore I want to serve Him fresh and new  every day. I am very thankful for this time of remembrance each week. It has been life-renewing to me.  I hope this has been meaningful for you as well.  

April Fool's! And Much More

Hey! Look at me, Mom!  I'm a giant chocolate Easter Bunny and I'm sitting on your dining room table and you can't make me move! April Fool's!!! LOL.  

Do you see that pink tongue sticking out at me??? This young man is certainly getting sassy in his new life as an indoor/outdoor kitty cat!  The nerve of him to think he can get on the dining room table with all of my cherished little Easter Bunny collections, and pretend he's one of them!  I think he was jealous! LOL.  And for those of you who will most likely want to ask, "What happened to his ear?"  When we had him neutered through the local TNR program, that is what they do so that if he's released back into the "wild" they will know he's already been "fixed." Apparently it didn't hurt and he's never complained about it. Makes it easier to identify him if necessary. Well, I know who he is and where he is, and right now he's back outside! So there, Mr. Chocolate Easter Bunny wannabe! LOL. (don't worry, he'll be back inside soon. It was just time for him to go out and chase lizards for awhile like a good kitty. LOL.)

So, today is April 1st, also known as April Fool's Day! And Mr. Blackie already had his fun with us.  I wonder what other fun things will happen today! Do you play April Fool's jokes on people, or do they play them on you? It's all in good fun!

There was a full moon last night, and here's this morning's view of it through the trees as it was descending...

And here's the sun rise a little bit later...a lot of jet contrails in the skies this morning!

And again, just a few minutes later...a LOT of jet activity in the skies. I wonder if this is because of that  rocket launch to the moon this morning at Cape Kennedy?  Oops! April Fool's on me! It's not scheduled until tonight at 6:45 or thereabouts. My mistake. So I guess it's just a busy morning for air travel.

Oh, another April Fool's joke on us! We are on a community water system here, and they did send out a notice last week that there would be a need to boil water on April 1st after they do an annual system maintenance.  What didn't register with my little brain was that in order for them to do that, they would be turning OFF the water this morning! It didn't register until I went to start washing the breakfast dishes and hubby went to do his morning bathroom activities, i.e., shaving, brushing teeth, grooming, etc., etc...and also subsequently I went to do my morning bathroom routine of the same (except for the shaving, LOL).  Thankfully I had several gallon jugs of water that we keep on hand for emergencies, plus we have a case of bottled water for drinking purposes, so we will survive. It was just a shock to realize that we had no water right when we wanted it most! So my dirty dishes are waiting in the sink. I'm glad I didn't start a load of laundry...and also glad we have no particular place to go today so we really don't need showers, etc. Hopefully this little inconvenience won't last too long...but then we will have to boil our water probably for a day or two until they give us the all clear notice. 

Still, I am thankful that we have water in our little world here at all. With the drought we are experiencing there is a real danger that water levels in the aquifer will continue to lower, which causes people's wells to go dry and also increases the danger of sinkholes in places that are prone to that.  So we continue to pray for rain every day. It's not just our Still Waters Pond that needs it!

Okay,  moving right along...since today is the first day of April, it's time for the calendar roll call!

We'll start out with this one that is closest to my desk...The John Sloane Country Seasons Calendar for April:

"Good Morning Sunshine".  Oh,  I love that for many reasons. Isn't it beautiful? Perhaps some of you can relate to that picture even better than I can. We don't have daffodils here (sadly), and I think most of the blooming trees are already bloomed out or haven't bloomed yet. Plus, we don't have those lovely rolling hills or mountains here either.  It truly is a beautiful scene that I would love to step right into, if I could.  Especially the daffodils. 

I've mentioned this before that my mother always put a little vase of daffodils in the center of an angel food cake for my sister Doris' birthday on April 5th. Since we moved to Florida from Pennsylvania way back in 1956, daffodils became very hard to find and so we often had to resort to using artificial ones. Anyway, my sister and her husband are coming HERE on Saturday to celebrate their birthdays with us. They both were born on April 5th. I will be baking an angel food cake for Doris, (it's her 80th birthday!) and a coconut cake for Art. (it's his 82nd birthday!)  I am on the look out for a pot of daffodils somewhere in a store between now and then, and if I can't find any, I will have to use the artificial ones. Tune in later (after Saturday) to find out if I was successful or not.

Back to the calendars...here's the log cabin calendar I have in my bathroom...this little rustic cabin looks like it's seen better days...but still there's a fire in the fireplace apparently, so someone must be at home. It would be fun to go knock on that door and say good morning! 

Love this little Susan Branch calendar and the pictures on it... that looks like my bluebird going into the nest.  

I just got up and went to the back door to look out and see if I could get a picture of any action at the Bluebird house, and this is what I saw:  If you look closely at the birdhouse, you will see mother Bluebird sitting in the door, and you will also see to the right a beautiful male Cardinal on the birdfeeder. Just after I snapped that picture the bluebird chased the cardinal away... (oh, look how beautiful the bottlebrush tree is blooming now!!!)...

The mother Bluebird flew up to the top of the post above her nest, and waited for the coast to be clear before she flew away to get some food for her babies...

Meanwhile, a female Ruby Throated Hummingbird flew up to the feeder for a drink (all this was happening in seconds of each other)

And Papa Bluebird kept a close watch over the nesting area while Mama went to find food. 

Yes, I am "in love with nature", just like that calendar above said!! God's creation is so interesting! There's never a dull moment, if you just look for it!

Okay, back to the calendars...This is the picture for the Tea Pot calendar this month...isn't it the strangest teapot you've ever seen?

This is in the description:

This Chinese Yixing Teapot has a lid  "shaped like the face of a panda..."

It's certainly different! LOL.

Let's finish up with this beautiful Thomas Kinkade calendar for April, with a picture of Notre Dame, in Paris, France.  

An appropriate picture and verse as we are in the middle of Holy Week.

And this is the verse at the bottom of the page.

Well, friends, I don't know where you are in your mid-Holy Week journey, but as we progress to the cross on Good Friday, may we be ever mindful of the great sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for our sins.

Here are some words to ponder that Jesus shared with His disciples as He was making His way to Jerusalem, knowing that He was going there to die for the sins of the world...

Luke 9:23-26

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 

24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 

25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 

26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

I wonder if we have truly counted the cost of what it means when Jesus said to all of us who would be His disciples... to "take up (his) cross daily, and follow Me."  As the days draw closer to Christ's return for His "bride", the church, I hope He will find us ready and worthy to be a part of His heavenly kingdom for eternity. I know for me, "this world is not my home, I'm just passing through", and I eagerly await  His trumpet call. Are you also ready to follow Jesus wherever He may lead? That's what this Easter journey is really all about...being ready to take up Christ's cross and follow Him wherever He may lead us.  It's truly something to think about while there is yet time.

And that's NO April Fool's Joke!!!

Have a blessed and meaningful Holy Week.

 

Tuesday 4~ What Will We Find?

 What Will We Find....

Hello! Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
Thank you to our hostess Annie for these weekly questions for us to ponder and share our answers. These questions for this week are kind of fun and interesting, so let's go find out what we will find...

1. What will we find on top of your refrigerator?

Well, you know me...a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will be answering these questions with pictures! Here's the top of my refrigerator. Hopefully you can't see the dust...well, if you look closely, you will definitely see dust. I didn't take time to dust the top of the refrigerator for this picture, so you might as well get the real picture...

2. What will we find on your nightstand?

An alarm clock that also has a phone charger built into it, which is very convenient. A lamp. A box of Kleenex, a flashlight, and that pink round thing behind the lamp is actually a hand fan. It's one of those that you can "fold up" and put in your purse, if you can figure out how to do it. I can't,  so it just stays there and I can grab it as needed.

3. What is in your purse or handbag?

My wallet, keys, sunglasses, a little tiny cosmetic bag with lipstick, fingernail file, eyedrops and other emergency things...ink pen, a purse pack of tissues, notepad. And earlier today my Bible and Bible Study guide were also in there...oh, and my cell phone goes in there when we go out.  

4. What will we find on your coffee table or side tables? How about your kitchen or dining table?

The Coffee Table: That book in the middle front is a photo album called "My Pastbook", which I created a few years ago based on photographs that I had put on Facebook over the years. It turned out pretty good. I need to do a more recent one sometime.  The little book on the right is entitled "Beside Still Waters", by Darrell Bush, which I have written about before HERE. That little book was instrumental in our naming our pond "Still Waters Pond". The bowl in the back middle was created for us by a dear friend who has since gone on to heaven. He created it from a "burl" in a maple tree from New Hampshire. It is made in the shape of an eagle. It is holding a couple of those little wire puzzles that you have to figure out how to put it together and then get it apart again.  You will recognize the game to the left of that as coming from Cracker Barrel, and to the left of that are some magazines. Of course we always have coasters on every table.

The side table between our recliners. Yes, we each have our own remote. Sometimes we play dueling remotes to see who gets to watch what they want the fastest. Or who can mute the commercials the fastest, or which one of us wins how loud the volume needs to be. It can be rather commical at times. I turn it up, he turns it down. I want to watch a certain commercial, he mutes it. I want to watch something on HGTV, he wants to watch sports. One thing we do agree on is we like to watch "What's My Line" old reruns while we eat supper in front of the TV. But I think you need to be as old as we are to appreciate them.

The puzzle and game table. The Chess board was created by my father for my husband years ago, because he knew how much he loved to play chess. Sadly, I don't think anyone has played it in years. Maybe I need to challenge him to a game...he taught me how to play right after we got married, and once I got good enough to beat him, we didn't play it as often. LOL. It's been a long time, and I'm not sure I can remember all the moves now.

The little sign "He leads me beside the still waters" was lovingly created by my sweet DIL Rose for me for Christmas one year after we moved here "Beside Still Waters Pond".  The table itself was built by our son Benton, so that makes it extra special.  It can also be used as a bench when we need extra seating for company when we need to add more tables, like at Thanksgiving.

Current View of The Dining Room Table.

This is my Easter Bunny collection, which started originally with the green one in the middle, which was given to me by my maternal grandmother when I was a child. Then the little bunny laying on his back looking at a butterfly was given to Scott, when he was a "baby", by my mother. She also gave Benton and Matthew the two smaller brown bunnies. 

 The white bunny with the Easter egg was for our grandson Noah when he came to visit for Easter as a young child, and the flowered bunny on the left with the pink ribbon in this picture above was for his mother Nicole.   The little white bunny with the pink flower was added when Rose joined our family, but then she saw the cute little brown bunny next to it, and he was a little scuffed up and one of his ears had broken off. So she took him home and fixed his ear and painted him and said she really loved that little bunny the best, because when she was a little girl she used to raise real bunnies like that. So I guess the white one with the flower is up for grabs...maybe Blackie would like that one??? LOL. 

The gray bunny on the far right is the newest member  of the family. My hubby was the only one who didn't have his own bunny, and I saw this last week at the Dollar General store, and it was perfect for him. 

This is how he looks every morning, with his glasses, a cup of coffee, and his laptop. Perfect!

So there you have the current dining room table display. I will share more pictures on Easter when the table is set and ready for Easter Dinner.  

Speaking of Blackie: Last evening while we were outside doing a little yard work, Blackie came out to follow us around as per usual.  For the first time ever that I've witnessed, since his buddy and our sweet Sunshine went over the Rainbow Bridge, Blackie noticed the little gravesite where Sunshine is buried.

He sat right down on the little stones we set there mainly to make sure no critters came and tried to dig there. He sat and watched us working and seemed to be protecting that place and claiming it as his "territory".

It was a very sweet and touching moment that just might have a brought a tear or two to my eyes.

I will close this post today with these verses about love...some powerful words to ponder as we live out this week, the events of which demonstrate the greatest love of all time.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 13 NLT

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

John 3:16-17 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 15:13 KJV

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

I hope you and yours have a blessed Holy Week and Easter.

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.