What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Saturday, September 25, 2021

Living in the Dash

 Today is my birthday! It marks the beginning date of my life here on earth, or at least the day I took my first breath of fresh air!  I began nine months prior to that, which would have been Christmas day!  

The story goes that my mother got a new Sunbeam Mixmaster for Christmas that year,


and she was SO happy, well...here I am, nine months later! LOL.  I always wondered why my parents called me their little "sunbeam". LOL.  Just thought I'd start this off with a laugh!  I never knew that story until I was an adult, of course...

Anyway, moving right along...today, __ # of years ago, I took my first breath...and you know the story about how on a tombstone you see two dates?  The birthdate, and then a DASH, and then the date of death.  The DASH represents all these years in between birth and death...in other words, our LIFE...and what we do with it.   We are all living in our "DASH" right now.  There is not enough room on a tombstone to list all the things we did during our "DASH"... but hopefully we are making an impact for good on someone, somewhere, someway, during our DASH years.  The things we do and say and think about and write about are all a part of our DASH.   That is our legacy that we leave behind us.  We can't take any of it with us...no fancy cars, houses, clothes or things...it all stays behind.  The only thing we can take with us are the things we do here that impact the lives of others for good, for Christ's sake.  

Have you ever heard the quote, "Only one life, twill soon be past; Only what's done for Christ will last." ? I had heard it many times in my early adult years, but never knew who said it.  I just looked it up. His name was Charles Studd, and he was a British Missionary, who lived from December 1860 - July 1931.  Being a missionary, I expect there's a lot of life and blessings in his DASH. Yikes, he only lived to be the very same age as me! Oops, I didn't mean to give that away.  

I just found this picture on Pinterest, but we actually used to have this exact same little plaque on our wall for many years. I don't know what happened to it. It may be in the bottom of a box somewhere. It was very old, but it always meant so much to us, I don't know why it disappeared.  It may show up someday.  But anyway...having a birthday tends to make one think about such things as how one is living her "DASH"...

I can only pray that my DASH will have many blessings attached to "what's done for Christ".

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:19-21

Speaking of moths...that cocoon is still just a cocoon...still waiting on the moth to appear...Meanwhile, deep inside the cocoon, there is life...that caterpillar that became a pupa is developing day by day into a beautiful moth, and one day he will emerge from his cocoon and breathe the fresh air and fly away to live his "DASH"...his life here on earth until he is called to his "heavenly home".   I do hope I will get to witness his debut into this world and see his beauty while it lasts...

Today we took a nice ride down to where we used to live in Salt Springs...just to relax and enjoy a country ride. We always stop at the boat ramp on Big Lake Kerr, (because they have a nice public potty), so that I can take some pictures of the lake and whatever other nature we may see.  Here's what I took today:


Yes...butterflies and moths! September seems to be a good month for these beauties to appear, and they are enjoying the nectar/pollen from these wild daisies while they last...



Oh, yes, I did look at the lake too...


looks like the maple leaves have already mostly left the trees...


It was a gorgeous day for being out on the water...


Oh, back to the butterflies...This Gulf Fritillary was hard to capture, but he finally stayed still long enough for a decent picture:


And the little skipper butterflies were busy too...



And then there was this magnificent Swallowtail flitting around...


Such beautiful blessings for my birthday celebration!

Oh about that...we will be having a "big" celebration tomorrow afternoon with family and friends, but today is just kind of a relaxing do what I want kind of day.  I took some pictures on Still Waters Pond this morning...oh wait...first there was this marvelous sunrise in the east:



And yes...the birthday rose from Matthew's memorial garden is still blooming beautifully today! It has lasted all week long, and every day has been such a fragrant blessing from heaven...


Meanwhile...these lovely Great White Egrets were enjoying an early breakfast on the pond...


Such a peaceful setting...


A little blurry, but you get the idea:


Oh, look who else was out there on the pond!  The Sand Hill Crane family!


And then there were these two Egrets again...they look like Siamese Twins! LOL.


All these blessings for my birthday just thrill my soul and make me so thankful for the ways God has blessed me over and over and over again.  

Yesterday morning hubby and I went to town to do a little shopping and we decided to go out to breakfast first.  The place we usually go to was too crowded, so we tried a new place:
Someone had told me they had the best huge cinnamon buns, and so I thought, "why not? It's my birthday afterall..."

Yes, it was HUGE, and VERY SWEET...

(the underside), and we took most of it home for our son Scott to enjoy later... and yes, we did have other real food too...delicious eggs, home fries, bacon, and home made bread toast. It was very good, and we'll probably go back again...

The decor was cute, and I liked the old style diner tables and chairs and booth seats


After breakfast we went to Home Depot and I picked up some mums:

(looking down at them from the deck)

Well, what else is there to say today?  I know I will have a lot more to say tomorrow afternoon after we have our family/friends gathering.  Right now I have put an apple pie in the oven and it has bubbled over and I can smell burned apple pie juice on the bottom of the oven...great...something to clean up later, AFTER we eat the pie of course.  Apple pie is my favorite kind of "birthday cake", which is what my mother always baked for me.  Usually my sister bakes an apple pie for my birthday, but since we are eating at a restaurant tomorrow I don't expect she will be able to do that and besides, I wanted one today!  My gift to myself! LOL (and the rest of the family who are here nearby).

So here it is! Fresh and hot out of the oven just now. Except for the burnt apple pie juice smell in the oven, the pie smells pretty good!!

Thank you for allowing me to reflect on life in the DASH today, my birthday.
You are all a very special part of my life, even though most of us have never met in person...we share our innermost thoughts and dreams and challenges here...and what we say and do here is all a part of
our individual "dashes".

"Only one life, 'twill soon be past;
Only what's done for Christ will last..."
Charles Studd




May your "dash" be filled with joy and blessings overflowing...until we meet again...good night!











15 comments:

  1. I think I got a sugar rush just from looking at that huge bun! *lol* Looks wonderful. Great photos too. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY again. I hope your day was full of love and really nice.
    Blessings. xx

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    1. Yeah, me too. I shouldn't have even tried it. It was WAY too sweet for me. Thankfully Scott can eat anything. LOL.

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  2. What a super birthday post, Pam. I smiled all the way through. (And may have laughed out loud about 'sunbeam.') Doing exactly what you want on your birthday sounds like the perfect gift to oneself. Our family's not big on cakes, either -- I always bow to (store-bought) cheesecake and my son to his wife's peach cobbler. (Tom would probably arm wrestle you for a slice of that apple pie!) I hope tomorrow's get-together is great fun. Happy 'New Year'!

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  3. It sounds like you have had a perfect day of celebrating you. I think we need to do that once in a while. Be blessed as you are a blessing.

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  4. Hello Pamela, a very Happy Birthday to you. I had to check the date at the top of your post because for a moment, I thought you were born on September 26th. That is my younger brother's birthday and he is super funny like you are! Your post today was just great. I enjoyed it immensely. The beautiful photos, the reminiscing, the pie and the information about Mr. Studd. I have heard the famous saying but never knew who said it first. Enjoy your Sunday with family celebrations.

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  5. Beautiful photos, Pamela, and great thoughts about how we are living our "dash." I'd never thought of it in quite that way, but it is oh, so true! Glad you had such a marvelous birthday and can look forward to even more celebrations today.
    Blessings!

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  6. Well happy birthday to you, Sunbeam, that story is precious. The cinnamon bun, oh dear, mmm! Now I want to make some! The pie though, you can make a lovely pie, mine come out so rough looking. We picked apples just for pies, and it might just make it onto the agenda today! Thank you for the reminder to use our "dash" in the best way...I'll choose to be thankful for the duration of mine!

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  7. Happy belated birthday, too! I hope as I write this you are enjoying your family get-together to the max! What a lovely, lovely post! I enjoyed every bit of it. The photos and the sentiments. You captured those butterflies perfectly and I am so glad you found that cocoon to watch! I loved your story about the Sunbeam mixer. They mixed it up alright! (Your story is rated R for racy!) So glad you got that big bun for your b'day breakfast. Big buns is right, nice of them to warn everyone of the after effects of eating them! ha ha

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  8. Happy Birthday to you!! Enjoyed all of the pictures today, especially the lake. It looks so peaceful, a great place to enjoy the day. Matthews'Rose is gorgeous, I think I can smell it's fragrance all the way in Texas!! Always trying to make my dash count for the Lord.

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  9. Not only is this a happy birthday for you, but it's a good hair day, too! You look great in the "dash" of life!

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  10. What a wonderfully beautiful and refreshing honest post about the "dash", smiles. Wishing I was there to help you celebrate, s miles.

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  11. Looks like a wonderful birthday! I am glad you are in this dash with us. I am so happy to know you.

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  12. "The only thing we can take with us are the things we do here that impact the lives of others for good, for Christ's sake."
    This is so true and you dear are making an impact with your words. I was so blessed to read this.
    I also loved those Siamese twins of egrets:)
    Happy Belated Birthday.

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  13. Happy Birthday sweet lady! And I love your birthday pie and those mums! I always love to have one in my house until it's cool enough to take it outside. Looks like we have a good weather week ahead! Enjoy your week...keep celebrating! Hugs!

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  14. Happy belated Birthday to you! No I haven't seen that quote before. Your photos are all so beautiful. That breakfast sure looks like it was delicious. Your pie looks yummy too!

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