Friday Foto Friends - Beauty for Ashes

Good Morning!
It's is Friday again...and also the first day of Autumn! My favorite season of the year! I know many of you have been saying the same thing...and for us here in Florida, autumn isn't quite as thrilling as it is in the north, but it is the beginning of some cooler weather (hopefully soon)...

Many are still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Irma here...clean up is tiring and time consuming...and I am tired of looking at all of the fallen, broken trees along the road and in the woods surrounding our home.  I refused to take any more pictures of the desolation and instead have tried to focus on the beauty that is still present after the storm.  Before I go any further, I also want to stop and say that we continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Texas who are still trying to put their homes and lives back together after Hurricane Harvey, and now for those in Puerto Rico and the other islands who have lost so much in Hurricane Maria...we pray for you and seek God's comfort and strength for you. Also praying for the people in Mexico who have been hit with this terrible earthquake...so much suffering...Lord, I know You see them and You are sending your angels of mercy to help them...

Here are some pictures from around the neighborhood taken this past week. I am so thankful for God's beauty in spite of the devastation.

This was a marvelous sunrise early one morning this past week.  I snuck out of the house and ran down the road to try and catch it from different angles... these first two were from The Secret Garden in our back yard.

This is the reflection of the sunrise on the neighborhood pond down the road from our house...

 Sunrise over the pond...

 And again sunrise reflected on the pond...

I love these wild morning glories blooming all along the roadside:

And this Pileated Woodpecker now has a lot of new broken and damaged trees to explore for his breakfast...

He shouldn't go hungry around here...

Last night we took a little ride to Big Lake Kerr to see how high the water was...and it was pretty high. The breeze was blowing and it was so pleasant...hubby and I wished we could just camp out there and listen to the water lapping on the shore all night...

The sun was dropping in the west as we left the lake...and hubby suggested we head to the local Dollar General and get some ice-cream.  The last time we checked they were still out of it after the hurricane, so we thought for sure they would have some by now...

And they did! On our way back home from the store we saw this bear standing beside the road. This picture is a little blurry as we were driving slowly by her.  She ran into the woods and I could see her standing up by a tree and looking right at me, but we were moving too fast for me to take another picture. I was really disappointed that I missed that picture. It would have been a good one!

 The bears have been pretty active this week. A couple of days ago we could see a mama bear and her tiny cub following her across the road, but we were too far away and she was moving too fast for us to get a picture.  The cub looked really small, but it was running right along behind mama and they made it safely into the woods.

The sun was setting over "Little Lake Kerr" as we drove homeward.  Such a lovely way to end the evening, don't you agree?

Psalm 61:1-4

1.  "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

to preach good tidings to the poor...

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

2.  To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord;

and the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

3.  To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

the oil of joy for mourning,

the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord,

That He may be glorified.

4.  And they shall rebuild the old ruins,

They shall raise up the former desolations,

and they shall repair the ruined cities,

the desolations of many generations."

Praying now for the Lord to give "beauty for ashes" and "the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for heaviness" for all those who are weary and sad and in need of His comfort. Amen.

Now, on a happier note, skip over to visit Deb and friends at Breathing in Grace and see what others are posting on this "Friday Foto Friends" Day!  Have a blessed day my friends.