Happy 250th Birthday, America!

I started writing this post yesterday, on the 3rd of July.  I didn't get very far before our internet went down. We've been having issues with it all week, and yesterday it was up and down like a yo-yo. So I never did get back to finishing this post, and now it's Saturday, July 4th.  But I will go ahead and try to pick up where I left off yesterday, so bear with me, and Happy 4th of July!

Written on July 3, 2026:

Today is the day before the 4th of July, and I'm still getting myself in a more festive spirit. This tray/sign below was created by my son a few years ago, and it puts things in proper perspective: 

Always put GOD first, and then your family and loved ones, and then your country, and life will run more smoothly.

This is one of my favorite verses on this subject:

Joshua 24:15 NIV

15 "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. 

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Our blogging friend Chrissy T at One Season to the Next  has given a Photo Challenge for the month of July.  I'm just getting around to participating. I think I already did some outdoors photos and flower photos previously this week HERE,

 So we will pick up with the photo challenge of food for July 3:..see below...

We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast yesterday morning, made with our very own home grown blueberries!! It just doesn't get any better than that!

And for today, July 4th, something that "sparkles", well, this wreath did sparkle in the sunshine:

And so did this, but you can't tell it in the picture...so just take my word for it, okay? It sparkles! And maybe later tonight (4th), I will get some pictures of the fireworks when they "sparkle".

Sadly, our family isn't going to be getting together today to celebrate like we have in the past, but Lily Grace and her dog Bailey are ready for a  4th of July picnic:

And so are her friends...

And Lily Grace says HERE is a link to some special memories from the 4th of July in 2021, shared from her blog, The Adventures of Lily Grace.

And inside that blog is another link HERE, with pictures from some very special family times in the past on the 4th of July.  I love to look back at those special times and remember them, especially when we can't all be together again as in the past. Several of those family members are now celebrating every day in heaven...thanks to Jesus giving us the biggest gift of freedom ever...we are set free from our sins through faith in Him...

John 8:31-36
31 "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

Oh, I wanted to share some pictures of what was going on in our yard yesterday morning...it was definitely a morning for "the birds"...

So, here's the story...You really can't see him too well in this picture, but there is a big Hawk sitting on the branch of that pine tree. There is also a hummingbird on the feeder...

Good Morning Mr. Hawk! How are you today???

He says, "I'm fine and dandy. Just don't bother me right now. I am watching for something to eat for breakfast out there.."

And then he flew away out over the pond, but then I realized there was ANOTHER Hawk sitting on a different branch of the same tree!

And Mr. Bluebird also sees him...and he is keeping a close watch on him because there are new baby bluebirds in the birdhouse, and we definitely don't want anything to happen to them like last time, when a big old crow came and snatched one out of the nest...

So you can bet that Mr. Bluebird is being very protective and watchful, but it seems that the two hawks had other prey on their minds out on the other side of the pond, because he soon flew away to join his mate or brother or whatever...

Mr. Blue bird is telling Mrs. Blue bird to watch out for them...

All the while, Blackie was sitting on the porch and watching all of the activities out there. Thankfully, he knew to stay quiet and still and didn't interfere in the activity of the Bluebirds or the Hawks.

Isn't Mr. Bluebird beautiful? They have been quite active lately, as I think the babies are getting bigger every day and they are busily finding juicy grasshoppers and other insects to feed them all day long...

Here's Mama Bluebird, watching for Daddy Bluebird to come back with more food:

They are both quite busy bringing food to the nest. Notice the blue of blur at the top of the pole...that's the Daddy taking off to find more food while Mama feed the babies with whatever she has found:

Now Daddy watches for the Mama to come back:

There she is...

And there's Daddy, with food in his mouth, waiting his turn to go into the house to feed the babies.

Mama keeps a watchful eye on things...

Daddy says "We are thankful that the Hawks went away and didn't disturb our nest, and now we can continue to feed our babies and hopefully watch them fly to freedom one of these days soon!"

All in all it was a lovely morning for bird watching. And I am VERY thankful to the Lord for all of these blessings...and especially for our freedom to enjoy them.

John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

So today, in the midst of all the hoopla and celebration, fireworks and barbeques and ice cream and watermelon...Let us pause and remember to thank GOD for our freedom...our freedom to enjoy this day without fear of our enemies coming to stop us...and freedom to enjoy this day, knowing that we are ultimately free from our sins when we have faith in Christ...and one day we will be set free from this earthly body to enjoy our eternal life, free from sickness and sorrow and the fear of death.  Praise God!

Have a blessed and beautiful and happy 4th of July!

UPDATE: Our "kids" came over around 4:00 p.m, after Rose got off work, and we made homemade pizza. It was good, and a nice way to celebrate the day!

 

 

It's July!! God Bless America!!

Happy July! Yes, it is the first day of July, and you know what that means! It's time for the calendar roll-call! So let's begin with the one that expresses what we think of most when we think of the month of July:

Yes!!This year in particular, "The 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence!"

"America! America! God shed His grace on thee! And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!" (America the Beautiful).   And I pray that God will continue to "shed His grace on thee!"  We are a nation that seems to be struggling with our identity as a "Christian nation"...but thankfully our nation's currency still states, "In God We Trust", and I pray that we never change that, or I fear that the freedoms and blessings we are enjoying now will cease to be.

Continuing on with our calendar, the Susan Branch calendar (see above and below) encourages us to read the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. I have not done that, and perhaps I should! Have you read it? Please tell us about it!

I also love this Thomas Kinkade picture for July...yes! 

We wave our flag proudly on the frong porch of our house every day!

(Those umbrellas are there to help shade the front window, as the sun is scorching hot all morning on the eastern side of the house. Someday I hope we can build a porch roof to help shade the windows and the door, but until then, this is the best we can do).

This is the freedom that is the BEST freedom of all...To be free from our sins because of the great sacrifice Christ made for us on the cross:

The Country Seasons Calendar by John Sloane shows this little boy on the farm doing his chores and day dreaming about life somewhere else someday...I wonder if he ever left the farm, or perhaps he realized how blessed he was to be living right there!

Love this picture and the quote by Billy Graham:

And this scripture verse on that calendar...yes, it is from God's abundance and grace that we can enjoy these blessings and freedoms that we hold so dear...

It would be nice to have a log (or stone?) cabin to escape to for the holidays, wouldn't it?

And the teapot calendar is a combination of things...there's a teapot, but you see ice cubes and lemons and iced tea, and a fan...That's the kind of tea we need to be drinking in July for sure! Sorry, I covered up the picture that was hanging on the wall in this one because it was a modern art depiction that was totally inappropriate in my opinion. So I placed the Bible verse over it, "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey His commandments will grow in wisdom."  Psalm 111:10.  Much better!

Yes, the teapot probably has been the center of many confidant type conversations...as well as the focus of some lovely tea parties and happiness of people coming together...however in the summertime, it mostly likely would be the pitcher of iced tea or lemonade. LOL.

Now just some random photos from the past couple of days...I picked a bunch of my zinnias, ("Old Maids") because they were getting heat-stressed and also a lot of them were bent over and stems broken because of a certain cat laying on top of them, so I brought them inside and gave them a chance to enjoy a few days inside to brighten our kitchen:

The flowers are very small, probably because I had too many crowded into once place and it's been SO hot and dry, but they are still pretty... 

We took a ride to the Kenwood Boat ramp yesterday, and here's a few pictures I took...love this lonely mushroom under the cool shade of the palmettos...

It was a clear and sunny day, even if very hot...

And God's special gift to me was this Great Blue Heron standing on the shore and fishing for his breakfast...

This morning we were blessed with a full moon!

And with this I will close...

John 16:33 King James Version

33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Amen and Praise the Lord!

Have a wonderfully blessed 4th of July!

Tuesday 4~The 4th on Tuesday 4

 The 4th on Tuesday 4

It's time again for Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 and this week our friend Susan suggested the topic of decorating our homes for the holidays, espcially for the 4th of July as it is the USA's 250th birthday. So, lets do that.

On July 4, 1776 we declared our independence from the British Empire and King George III when the First Continental Congress sst forth the Declaration of Independence. We became a free and sovereign, independent nation on September 3, 1783

1. Will or have you decorated for the holiday? If you don't reside in the USA, do you have a special holiday you decorate for on the outside of your home?

This is what is currently on our front door:

I did have THIS on the front door, but because the door is in the direct very hot sun for most of the day, it faded really fast and the bow curled up, and it didn't look very pretty.  So that's why the flag above is now on the door. It doesn't seem to mind the hot sun.

This garland is hanging above our dining room window. I always try to hang something there for every holiday and birthdays to make those very plain looking vertical blinds have some color. We don't often open the blinds because of the bright sun in the mornings which really heats up the house, and also because there is a lot of traffic (both cars and walking) outside the window on our street throughout the day, and quite frankly, I don't like people looking in our windows, so sadly the blinds stay closed most of the time.

I don't have these wooden flags anywhere in our house YET, but I may soon if our son doesn't sell them before the 4th.  He built/painted these and has them for sale at the Trading Post at Deep Creek, where he works part time.  I am surprised they haven't sold yet.

2. What special little touches do you add to the outside of your home? Do you enjoy puttering around in your yard?

Well, right now it is TOO HOT to do ANYTHING in our yard. Thankfully there was another quick thunderstorm last night to water the plants! I do enjoy doing more in the yard when it cools down in the fall, winter and spring, but summer is just TOO hot for man or beast!

3. Are plants and shrubs an important part of your house decor?

I do try to plant things and keep them going...but honestly, this time of year they are lucky if we get some rain to take care of them because I can't do it!  

I bought this little rose bush not to plant here, but to give to my friend Opal's husband, in memory of Opal, so that he can start a little "Memorial Garden" for her.  That's kind of my signature gift to others since that is something that meant so much to me when our son died. We couldn't get a real American Beauty kind of rose right now. It must not be the season to plant them. But I hope this little bush will be a blessing to him in memory of Opal.

4. On which holidays do you spend time decorating either inside , outside or both?

Probably the fall,Thanksgiving, and Christmas are my biggest decorating times,  and then again at Easter, but not as much as in the fall and Christmas.   We don't do a LOT of decorating outside, just a few things on the front porch and front yard. Most of our decorating is inside, and I've shown you plenty of pictures during those seasons.  I keep saying I am not going to do as much each year, but then once I get started it's hard to stop. LOL.