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!

Thursday, August 17, 2023

A Day Well Spent

I am writing this on the evening of our 54th anniversary (August 16, 2023) to tell you about a day well spent. It probably won't get posted until tomorrow morning (Thursday), but I wanted to get it all written down tonight while it is fresh on my mind.
First of all, Thank you to so many who took the time to wish us a Happy Anniversary! We have been overwhelmed with so many best wishes both here in blogland and on Facebook. Such a joy to have so many dear friends out there in "cyberspace".  To me, it's as if you are all right here close by...and in my heart. Thank you.

This is how the day looked when we got up and put out the flag:

There was a golden sky out over Still Waters Pond. The day stayed kind of overcast and not quite as hot as it has been, for which we were very thankful, so we could get outside a little bit and enjoy the morning!

But before we left for the day, something sweet happened.  My hubby has not been able to wear his wedding band for several years because it had gotten too small for his finger. We talked about getting it resized for our 50th anniversary, but we were in the process of moving and everything was in storage at that time, so it just wasn't feasible since we really didn't know exactly where it was packed.  So I asked him about it this morning if he could get it and let's take it to the jewelers to have it sized.  He brought it out and I slipped it on his finger, and guess what? It fit again!  I think as we have aged our fingers have gotten skinnier because my ring is getting a little loose...and so anyway...here are our hands with our original wedding bands again after 54 years of marriage. I don't believe we ever had a picture taken of them when we were first married, so I can't compare...but this was such a blessing to me to see that ring back on his finger again after not seeing it for too long. I thank the Lord for this "gift".  I do have another ring that I wear along with this plain gold band, but this was what we were married with, and so these rings are very very special. For another sweet story about my engagement ring and wedding rings, click HERE.

After we had a light breakfast we took a little ride up the road about a half hour away to a place that we enjoy visiting, "Lake Swan Camp."  You can click on that link for more about why this place is so significant to us.

We enjoyed walking around and especially down by the cross beside the lake...such a beautiful, peaceful way to start our anniversary day.



It truly was lovely...but it was getting warm and we still had places to go and things to do, so we got back in the car and headed back toward home.


We needed to stop by the grocery store and pick up a few "essential things".  LOL. You can tell we are celebrating our 54th anniversary when we need to replenish our supply of Bran Flakes! LOL.

After dropping off the "essential groceries" at the house, we headed into Palatka to go to lunch at our favorite place for special occasions..."Corky Bells" beside the St. John's River:

We got there before they even open at 11:00, but they let us come inside and wait, so I took advantage of that time to take a few pictures in the lobby and also down by the river:






Hey, I think I know this man!

And she looks rather familiar too!

I had to hurry back inside before they caught me down on the dock without adult supervision! LOL.

It truly was a lovely morning!

Sorry about the reflection on the menu:

This was my plate:
Our food sure was GOOD!!!!!

Now, to top things off, our dear sweet kids invited us over for supper!  After having such a big delicious lunch, we knew we wouldn't be able to eat much, but Rose cooked a wonderful meal of baked chicken breast, scalloped potatoes, and a nice green salad.  It was so good, but we were careful not to overdo it.

Everything was so lovely and delicious...and of course it was wonderful just being together with our sweet family. We are so thankful for them.

So now we are home and it was supposed to start raining, but I think it has passed us by.  However, I am not complaining...the day couldn't have been better.  We are counting our blessings and giving thanks to the Lord for His great kindness and mercy and love shown toward us through all these 54 years.  


Psalm 107:1, 8-9
"1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness."


In my previous post I talked about building our marriage on the Solid Rock of Jesus Christ. That reminded me of this song, and it has been playing in my head all day, so I thought perhaps I would share it with you..
"In Times Like These"


In times like these you need a Savior
In times like these you need an anchor
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One
This Rock is Jesus, the only One
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these you need the Bible
In times like these, O be not idle
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One
This Rock is Jesus, the only One
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these I have a Savior
In times like these I have an anchor
I'm very sure, I'm very sure
My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One
This Rock is Jesus, the only One
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!


AMEN!!
And so with that, I will say good night and God bless you all!

 

18 comments:

  1. That's so nice y'all had a good time. What a lovely day that was, right?! Another happy memory. I try to always tell Jesus that after a nice day. Thank you for sharing the journey with us.
    Love xx

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    1. Oh yes, Sparky! It was a lovely day and we definitely thanked the Lord for being with us throughout the whole day and also for all of our 54 years. Where would we be without Him? I shudder to think. Thank you for coming along on the journey yesterday! Maybe someday we will meet for real!!

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  2. A lovely day for your anniversary! Now I am craving fried fish and fries! How nice of Rose to cook you a lovely dinner like that. The photo of your hands together is so nice. Wouldn't it be great to have one taken at the wedding, then every anniversary there after? Seems to me it would be a nice tradition. We just had some much needed rain and I went out to feed my fish and noticed my wisteria grew 2 feet over night! Can you imagine that? Really need to seriously cut it back .

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    1. Yes, I find myself wishing we had taken pictures of our hands at our wedding for certain. A lot of people do that with professional photographers. But our photographer was a dear lady in our church who took black and white photos and gave them to us as a gift. That was her thing...she pretty much chronicled my childhood up to my wedding in photos as she took pictures of every school event and church event, etc. That's how I have so many nice old photos from my school days, etc, because one of her sons was in my class. LOL. So I am thankful to have what I have. Oh, I love wisteria, but it does grow fast and can take over if left alone! I used to have it at our last house, but not here. Enjoy it for me! Is it still blooming? I know it is done blooming here for the season. Take care and enjoy your rain and the remainder of summer weather while it lasts! Thank you for visiting.

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  3. Pam: You had a perfect day. I love the picture of your lunch. And Rose sound like she is a very good cook. I am glad you had a beautiful day for your celebration. Peace and blessings to you and yours.

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  4. Good Morning Pam! How lovely to read about your specal anniversary day. You are indeed blessed with a wonderful family and it's so nice that you have Benton and Rose so close by. I enjoyed being with you today through your blog. Your contentment and happiness with your choice of husband through all of these years is so beautiful to read. Especially with all of the discontent we hear about every day throughout the world. I'm praying for many more happy years together for you two unless Jesus comes to take us home.
    Blessings and hugs,
    Betsy

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  5. what a sweet photo of your hands. I'm happy that you had a special day to honor your vows to each other. You're such an inspiration.

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  6. Beautiful morning to your day. That is so cool about the ring fitting. Mine is too tight and I don't wear it and Mark's had to be cut off when he got a fishing hook caught in his finger. Looks like a nice day at Lake Swan Camp. Looks like a very interesting restaurant and yummy food. Then you had a fabulous dinner too! Sounds perfect.

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  7. What a wonderful celebration for you two. Your food looks delicious at the restaurant and at your family's home. That is a wonderful song.

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  8. Beautiful picture of your hands with the wedding bands …replenishing your supply of bran flakes on your anniversary!!! …. have enjoyed your words and pictures about Corky Bells over the years … your lunch plates look very appetizing …so glad you could celebrate at the kind hand of your kids …truly the Lord does satisfy the longing soul and fill the hungry soul with goodness.

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  9. Lovely day. Lovely. My husband and I were married at Christmas time. However, we always made time for our anniversary...nothing huge...after all, we had kids quickly...and it was Christmas. i enjoy your blog. I enjoy your stories. I do not like the panned blogs where people answer questions...but that is just ME...you make others want to flock to your blog, and you have a great way of writing. Might not have mentioned writing is only one of my degrees...lol...you get an A plus always...take care...enjoy your family...keep writing...(Brenda) P.S. Here on the Gulf, we have had a summer of such heat that it is unbelievable, but after all, this is Florida.

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  10. Your thankfulness makes every day golden. God bless you, Pamela. Thanks for sharing this with us. 🌸

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  11. I wrote earlier to say, it looks like your Anniversary was wonderful from start to finish -- but I fear the Blogger gremlin 'ate' my comment. Love the photographs!

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  12. A lovely song to close out your post today!! And what a great day you two love birds had!! Fifty-four years is amazing and I wish you many more years full of blessings! That restaurant on the river looks like a place I would love! YUM!

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  13. Thank you for sharing your special day with us. All the pictures were great, you know I love pictures!! Makes me feel like I'm right there with you. It's always good to see Rose and Benton too, you are one blessed lady♥

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  14. Good day you had for your 54th anniversary ❤️. May God continue to bless you both in the days and years ahead 🙏. Nice food. I enjoyed listening 🎶 to the music you shared. We went to my friend Beth's memorial service this morning at St. Luke's episcopal church in Washington. Good service with songs and scripture, etc. We had lunch at church and I was able to eat with a few friends from high school. Hurricane will be south in California and Nevada and eastern and eastern Oregon. We might get rain on Monday which we do need. Weather is cooler than earlier this week. Have a good weekend!!

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  15. I love to read of long loving marriages. Happy anniversary and thanks for the inspiration and encouraging verses. God has really blessed you

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  16. So beautiful. Regine

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