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.

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!!!