The Secret Garden Chronicles - A Day In the Life

I didn't get to spend any time in the Secret Garden today...no, wait!  That isn't right!  I actually jumped out of bed this morning and ran out to the Secret Garden because there was such a beautiful sunrise happening...lots of pinks and gold and beautiful colors...so I grabbed my camera and ran outside before I did anything else...so I could get a good picture of a sunrise in the Secret Garden... but for some reason, by the time I took this picture the gorgeous colors had kind of filtered out and moved behind the clouds...and this picture was a bit of a disappointment. But it is still lovely in its own way....just doesn't do justice to how beautiful it really was.

So then I ran down the road to the pond, thinking surely there would be some good views there...

And even though these are nice, they just didn't excite me like I thought they would...and here I was, out and about, still basically in my pj's (well, not really...but almost...), and with my bedhead hairdo, unwashed face, unbrushed teeth...and thankfully there was no other crazy person out there to see me!

There wasn't even a bear or a deer or any other creature...but it was rather lovely and peaceful and quiet...and I kind of loved being out there so early in the morning...so next week when we "spring forward" in our time to daylight savings time I may just keep getting up at the same time so I really CAN see the sunrise and maybe even get some really good pictures!!

When I came back to the house I couldn't help but notice this lovely camellia blooming in the Secret Garden:

and then I discovered my #1 son already working on the front porch...putting on the water-seal/light stain after having pressure washed it (yesterday)...and so after breakfast I went out and helped him for a while.  (no picture of that)

The final results look really nice!  

Today was also the day for our "Lovely Ladies of the Lord" to meet for Prayer, Bible Study and Fellowship.  We were having such a wonderful time together, praying, sharing thoughts from God's Word, and discussing the idea to begin an outreach Bible Study for women in the community, I forgot to take any pictures.  I am excited that we are seriously talking about beginning this Bible Study...and have each committed to praying about where and how to begin.  I'd appreciate your prayers as well.  We want this to be something that will honor and glorify the Lord and be a blessing to our ladies.  

This picture was taken last month...

One of the highlights of our time together today was reading verses from Psalm 34 together...some of which I shared with you here yesterday.  One of our ladies shared with us that she had heard from a pastor that whenever you find yourself unable to sleep, or feeling a sense of fear or worry, just to speak out loud "Do Not Fear", or "Never Be Afraid!", and she said that has helped her so much...just to remind herself with those three words not to fear, and she is able to go back to sleep.  

Yes, we are told over and over again in God's Word to "Fear Not", or "Do Not Be Afraid".  

Someone had given me a copy of 33 verses about fear and anxiety, which came from a blog written by Debbie McDaniel, entitled "Fresh Day Ahead".  Here is the link to her blog about this:  http://debbiemcdaniel.com/2013/01/16/33-verses-about-fear-and-anxiety/   Perhaps you might find this helpful if you are struggling with fear or anxiety...and who doesn't from time to time?  

I was concerned about being repetitious...well,  check out those verses in the link above and you will see that God is quite repetitious about the topic of fear.  Love would be another one of those subjects that God repeats over and over again...but I will leave that topic for another post...and maybe in the meantime you can look up how many verses there are about God's love for us...You will be astounded I am certain...

So, this was today.  A day in the life...   Oh, when I came home from my ladies' fellowship and lunch, I sat down and watched the latest "Fixer Upper" show that I recorded from last night.  I have become quite a fan of Chip and Joanna Gaines and this show. I had never even watched it until last week, and now I am trying to get caught up on all the past shows.  It has made me realize that we actually did buy a "fixer upper" when we bought this house five years ago...and we are still doing the fixing up and probably will be for the remainder of our lives here...  It would have been nice to have had the money to hire Chip and Joanna to come and work their magic on our house...but then we would have missed out on all the "fun" and challenges of doing it ourselves (with the help of our sons and a local handyman who has tackled the really hard stuff).  We've learned a lot in the process...and I am always looking for a new "project" to tackle....(with the help of my family of course).  My son always gets a little scared when I say "I've been thinking about...."   

Okay, that's all folks!  Hope your day has been filled with joy and blessings and happy thoughts!!

Until next time...remember: "Do Not Be Afraid!"