Trees and Stuff

 Turns out I was wrong about the trees in this post a week or so ago.  I thought that the pine trees on the lot next door that had the green ribbon around them were the trees they were going to cut down when they cleared the lot for the new house.  

However, this morning when I went outside because I was hearing a lot of noise next door, I discovered that the pine trees are basically the only trees they are leaving on the lot!

With a few minor exceptions, (for which I am thankful), most of the beautiful old oak trees are being removed instead.

They had this excavation machine over there picking up the trees that the other "claw" like machine was pulling up by the roots and putting in a stack for the excavator to pick up and put in the trailer to be hauled away.

They had to make a LOT of trips to wherever they were hauling that trailer load throughout the day.

It was fascinating, but sad, to watch whole trees being uprooted and discarded into the trash dump.

However, at the end of the day, there were still some beautiful trees left on the lot, and the view of Still Waters Pond and Goose Island will be lovely for whoever is blessed to live in the new house that will be put on this lot.

However, one fellow was not too happy about this situation.  Mr. Red Shouldered Hawk was calling out his displeasure at this intrusion to his hunting grounds.

I think he was telling me exactly what he was thinking about this issue in some uncensored shrieks.

I told him I was sorry, but he gave me "the look" and then flew away to happier hunting grounds.

Even though I am not thrilled with the destruction of so many beautiful trees, I am still hopeful and praying that we will soon have some wonderful new neighbors. I try to look at this in as positive a light as possible.

Here's some good thoughts from Proverbs 3:27-30 about our relationships with neighbors:

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,

When it is in the power of your hand to do so.

28 Do not say to your neighbor,

“Go, and come back,

And tomorrow I will give it,”

When you have it with you.

29 Do not devise evil against your neighbor,

For he dwells by you for safety’s sake.

30 Do not strive with a man without cause,

If he has done you no harm.

And here's what Jesus taught His disciples about this...

Mark 12:30-31 NKJV

30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 

31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

There is no other commandment greater than these.”

I pray that I will be that kind of good neighbor.

I wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers on behalf of my hubby, who had a medical procedure done yesterday. Everything went very well and his results were quite good, so we are extremely thankful.  He has to have another test tomorrow, which is a follow up to the surgery he had last fall.  And then next week there will be another kind of test.  Then hopefully that will be it for a long time!  The co-pays for these procedures/tests are beginning to add up, but we are thankful that we have insurance (medicare advantage plan) to take care of the bulk of the expense.  And we are thankful that we have the medical technology available to diagnose and also help treat/cure medical problems when they do arise.  We know that God does the actual "curing"/healing, but we are thankful that He has given people knowledge and wisdom to know how to treat our human ills and diseases.  We've certainly come a long way since the days of "bleeding" someone to cure them, which usually just hurried along their death.  Yes, I am very thankful for our medical professionals.

Well, folks, it's time to close for today. It's 94 degrees outside and very bright and sunny. No rain in sight for the next week. We are praying for a break in the weather soon. Still Waters Pond may soon have to be called Still No Waters Pond! LOL.

Take care my friends! 

Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV

24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.” ’

Amen.

Memorial Day Monday

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." 

John 15:13

"Oh beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife

Who more than self, their country loved

And mercy more than life

America, America may God thy gold refine

'Til all success be nobleness

And every gain divine"

We sang this beloved hymn, "America, The Beautiful", yesterday in church. That is the verse that stood out to me as we honored the memory of those who gave their all for our country. It really makes us stop and think about all that we hold dear...how quickly it can be taken away, and if it weren't for the courage of men and women standing for what is right and true and good, and being willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country...what we have could be lost forever. Something to think about, and thank the Lord for these precious heroes.

So how are you spending today? Perhaps some are having a picnic or barbeque with friends and family?  Our church is having an annual cookout at the Parsonage today, but we are unable to participate this year. Hubby is having a "medical procedure" tomorrow that requires extensive "preparation" today, and so we are staying home.  We are sorry to miss out on the fellowship with our church family, but some things just can't be helped.  We did have a nice lunch with our kids yesterday after church here at home.  I cooked a Boston Butt Roast in the crockpot on Saturday and made it into pulled pork, so we had pulled pork BBQ sandwiches, potato salad, and Rose brought some deviled eggs. We also had coleslaw and/or  a tossed salad with some of Rose and Benton's fresh cherry tomatoes from their own garden! It was all good, and there were plenty of leftovers for me to eat to today so I don't have to cook anything and tempt my hubby with tantalizing aromas while he is unable to have anything but liquids.  

The only "picnickers" at our house today are the Sand Hill Crane Family.  They pass through every so often to say hello and check the yard to see if there's anything good to nibble on.  Can you believe how big George and Abe have gotten? They are now two months old, and the are just about as tall as their parents.  I don't think they are flying yet, at least not that I've seen. From what I've read, they probably won't start flying until they are about 3 months old, so probably sometime toward the end of next month.

George and Abe, or is it Georgianna and Abby? Or George and Abby? I don't know. They are both very close in size, so it is difficult to tell if one is decidedly bigger than the other, which would indicate that it is a male. Time will tell...maybe...

Not sure if I showed you the latest pictures of the "Century Plant (Agave)."  I showed them on Facebook, but not all of you are there.  Yes, it is blooming, and the second picture shows you just how tall it really is.

As you can see, it is as tall as the electric pole! Pretty Amazing. It looks like a giant asparagus to me! LOL. 

Kind of reminds me of "The Jolly Green Giant". LOL.

Well folks, I really don't have much to share today. Thank you all for your kind words on my recent post about the "anniversary" of our son Matthew's passing ten years ago. Your kinds words were very comforting to me.  I did not take the time to answer everyone, but each and every message is a treasure to me. Thank you.  These kinds of  "anniversaries" are never easy, as many of you also know from your own experiences with the loss of loved ones.  However, I think it is important to keep the memory alive of our dear ones in whatever way is "comfortable" for us. Sometimes it is just too painful for some to do that, and that is understandable. But we each do what is most meaningful to us.  Thank you again for your understanding.

Okay, dear friends, I need to wrap this up. It is quite warm outside, about 94 degrees, and bright and sunny. I'm thankful for a cool house and that I don't have to go out and work in this heat. My thoughts and prayers go out for those who do.  And also for those who are having bad storms and other serious weather issues. I have a feeling this is going to be a difficult summer.  May God be with each one of you and your loved ones and keep you safe and sound.

Oh, in case you'd like to hear it, our choir sang a really pretty song yesterday entitled "Peace". It was very appropriate for times were are experiencing now in our world.  

Here it is: 

(be sure to go all the way to the beginning of the video to hear/see the song)

"Lord, give us peace..."

Amen.

 

How Could I NOT Want This Day to Come? Updated on May 25, 2024, Ten Years Later

Dear Friends, I originally wrote this post ten years ago today, May 25, 2014, on the day that our precious son Matthew entered heaven's gates. Since that day we have grieved over the loss of his presence in our lives, but we have rejoiced in knowing where he is and that we will see him again some day. Since that day at lot has changed in our lives...we are all ten years older, and getting closer to heaven's gates ourselves.  One day we will experience what Matthew has already been enjoying for these past ten years. I am certain he will be at the gates with Jesus, ready to welcome us "home". Who knows? Maybe he has even had a part in helping to build our "mansion" in heaven...he always loved to draw house plans...but that house will be built with materials that last for eternity...no need of paint or plumbing or new roof shingles there...and no need for any more "good-byes".   Yes, we miss him here oh so much, but I wouldn't call him back to earth for anything. He is living where the roses never fade and the body never grows old again. I look forward to that day.  But until then,  we carry on with our lives and try to live the way Christ leads us to live. I pray that our lives will always reflect His great love.

Here is the original post written ten years ago:

Sunday, May 25th, 2014.  The Day I hoped would never come...but wait! I take that back!  Just shortly after midnight our wonderful son Matthew Everette Steiner passed from this life into eternity after a lengthy battle with a rare and aggressive cancer.  He was exactly 41 years and 3 months old today. For the past four years he has fought valiantly against this horrific foe...and today...well, today he is no longer fighting.  The battle is over. It is finished.  How could I NOT want this day to come?

Today begins an exciting new chapter in the life of Matthew Everette Steiner.  I repeat his full name...as it is a name that is ringing throughout the halls of heaven today!  As soon as Matthew took his last breath here on earth, he gulped a breath of celestial air for the first time...and began his adventure in paradise.  When he crossed over the threshold of those pearly gates, I believe there was a shout and there were victory dancers surrounding him as he was escorted through the streets of gold by the holy angels themselves.  The saints of old were lining the streets, cheering and waving, calling out his name and welcoming him HOME.  Yes, HOME...home at last.  He was greeted and hugged by his grandparents and friends and ancestors who have gone on before...and then, best of all, he was presented to the One Who Died for him...his Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ Himself.

Oh, how I would have loved to have been a little birdie on the wall watching this amazing event!  I would so love to have had just a glimpse of the joy on my precious son's face as he met Jesus face to face. To see him running and leaping through those jewel lined streets...strong and healthy and completely well!  No more sickness, no more fear, no more dying... Set free and totally healed...never to suffer ever again.

Yes, I am sad. I will miss this laughing, happy, fun loving child of mine.  I already miss hearing his voice. I am overcome with tears as waves of memories assail me frequently without warning. I am grieving for this great loss to our family and to his own sweet wife and son. There are no words that can describe what I am feeling adequately...but these word pictures do help me visualize the joy that he is experiencing...and I need to remember that.  My son is whole again...no more dying there...he is worshiping the King of Kings...and singing praises with the angels in glory. Again I ask, "How could I NOT want this day to come?"

Matthew Everette Steiner...before the cancer struck him
Healthy and whole...the way I expect he is today in heaven

Lind to a previous post, with more links to other posts about Matthew's life.

Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

 Hello Friends!  This first picture should have gone with the Tuesday 4 post about Books!  But I didn't think about it until later, after reading everyone else's posts and comments on my blog.  That is how I felt after hearing how much so many of our friends love their books!   I've seen this picture many times before on Facebook, and I've always loved it because of the joy of these two dear old ladies sitting under the table having a cup of tea together with all of their books stacked up around them and just laughing and having such a great time! Oh, and eating bonbons  and candy and it looks like they have found the secret to happiness!  Yep! I could see myself and a good friend in this picture in a few years...(or maybe not so many years away...LOL). How about you? It just makes me smile...

So how has your week been going?  Ours has been busy, even without so many appointments...it just seems like the days get filled up.  Hubby got his new glasses the other day, and so when he went to pick his up I had the optician in our eye doctor's office take another look at my new glasses, just to be sure they are lined up right. She made a couple of little adjustments and I tried them again, and I do think they are better. My eyes seem to be adjusting finally, so that's good news.

On Sunday I had a little bit of sadness when I thought I had lost one of my earrings for good.

This is the remaining mate.  I knew I must've dropped it somewhere at church, and so we went back and retraced my steps everywhere, hoping to find it in some obvious place. I even sent this picture to the lady who does the cleaning on Monday morning to let her know to be on the lookout for it.  You may ask why be so upset over losing an earring? Well, this particular set had belonged to my hubby's grandmother, "Nanny Martin".  My Mother in law had given it to me with some other of Nanny Martin's jewelry years ago.  It has to be quite old, because if Nanny Martin were still living she would be around 128 years old. And even though I somehow can't envision the sweet, humble country woman that I knew, who was already in her 70's when I first met her, ever wearing these pretty dangly earrings, at some point in her younger life she must have because they were hers, and I sure didn't want to lose one of them.

This is how I remember her...

But this is how she looked as a young woman...

So anyway, back to the story...On Monday afternoon I went to the church to drop off my hubby for the Men's Bible Study, and also to pick up our church Secretary at the office to go with me over to the Parsonage for the Ladies' Bible Study. I showed her the picture of my earring, and she said, "Oh! It's been found!"  The Pastor was also there at that moment, and he said that his wife had it with her and will give it to me at the Bible study!  It seems that as I was leaving church on Sunday, one of our sweet younger women came up to me and gave me a hug.  She has very long beautiful hair, and apparently as I embraced her with a hug, my earring caught in her hair! I did not notice it at the time and neither did she, but when she was walking to her car she realized it was caught in her hair. At that point she wasn't sure where it had come from so took it back to our Pastor's wife and gave it to her to find out who it belonged to. I had already left the church, and I didn't realize the earring was missing until I got home. So you can imagine my joy to have this lovely earring returned to me.

(Nanny Martin's earrings, sitting on a quilt that she made)

Here is the matched set, along with another little black earring that also has a story.  It also belonged to Nanny Martin.  And I loved wearing that sweet little antique set of  black earrings. However, again, because these earrings are the old fashioned screw on type of  clasp, they often came loose, and sadly I lost the mate to this one at my parents' church many years ago. I searched and searched there at the parking lot and all around, but it never showed up.  So I've been sad about that one all these years, and then when I thought I'd lost the mate to the dangly pair, I thought that I would just wear the one dangly and the one little earring at the same time and call it a set  with a story!  Now I won't have to do that, but I am wishing I could turn the little earring into a pin or a necklace or something special. Not sure how to do that...but it's a thought anyway.    I am thankful that that which was lost has been found. Is it really that valuable? Probably not in monetary value, but to me the links to dearly departed loved ones have a special value that goes beyond worldly treasures. It's a way to honor the memory of someone who meant a lot to my husband and also to me.

Reminds me of this story in the Bible...

Luke 15:8-10 NKJV

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Now, here's another story...

The last few days that we've gone walking I could hear the Eastern Towhee singing in the treetops, but I could not see him.   So I got the bright idea to play his "song" on my cell phone to see what would happen.  You can listen to it here:

Well, let's just say that I almost found myself being sought out by this Towhee almost immediately:

He flew to the nearest tree and kept looking around, and then he flew across the road right over top of me and went to another tree:

And you could tell he was rather excited and maybe even distressed because he could hear that other bird singing, but he couldn't find it.  This was in the morning...and he flew back and forth several times over and around me until I turned off the recording and we decided to move on before I was possibly attacked by this excited bird.

However, the next evening we came back, and I thought I might try it again to see what would happen, and sure enough, as soon as the recording started playing, the bird flew to a nearby tree and started watching and singing back...

Then he flew to another tree and kept returning the calls from the bird on the recording:

He was really quite excited about hearing this other bird.  After a little while I decided that maybe we should go because I could hear other birds calling as well, and it seemed like they were getting excited.

So I learned one thing, if you want to attract a bird to come closer, just play a recording of his call on your cell phone and you may find yourself the center of some bird attention. I don't know if it is a good thing to do or not, but I did enjoy seeing the bird up close and have these pictures to share with you.

But maybe that was just cheating a little bit...not sure...but maybe I won't do that again because as they say, "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature". LOL. (Remember that commercial for Chiffon Margarine? Now I'm dating myself...I see that was back in the 1970's! Some of you may be too young to remember!)

Well, that's all for tonight.  I hope you are having a wonderful week! 

Psalm 96:1-6

1 Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!

Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

3 Declare His glory among the nations,

His wonders among all peoples.

4 For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;

He is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

But the Lord made the heavens.

6 Honor and majesty are before Him;

Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

Tuesday 4~ Books

To be honest, I was going to skip this one as it seemed like I had written about books not too long ago, but then I saw that so many of our friends were participating and I wanted to jump on the "bookmobile" and join in. So here we go.

 
Books

Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

Books are such a big part of many people's lives. Maybe we should talk about that.

1. Do you have some books in your home? If so what subjects are they? Which is your favorite?

Oh yes, I have books in my home. Subjects? The majority have something to do with Christianity and faith, Bibles, Bible study guides, Pastoral counseling and theological books/commentaries, and also books on history, WWII, The Civil War, and many collections of Christian fiction and/or very old fashioned fiction from the late 1800's/early 1900's. Also I have many gift type books that are about tea/tea parties, women's ministries. Which is my favorite? The Bible.
Here are a few pictures of the collections of books in our home:

This bookshelf sits next to my desk. Many of these books are "gift books", cookbooks, Women's Bible Studies and other women's ministry type books
This little bookshelf is in the guest room, and it houses my collection of mostly very old, vintage, fiction novels. I've written about them before...Here's a link to a previous post with more details about these books , also HERE


This bookshelf sits in our living room, and there's a variety of books like textbooks, hymnbooks, ministry related books from my husband's years in the ministry and also some that I have collected about women's ministries as well. A lot of these books are getting outdated and probably we could purge quite a few from these shelves...




This is my husband's grandparents' antique secretary cabinet, and there are a lot of his books about history and WWII and the Civil War kept on these shelves. Behind all those pictures on the shelf are some old classics as well.



The pictures below are of my hubby's grandparents, "Nanny and Granddaddy Martin".
And here are those old classic books by Charles Dickens, J. Fenimore Cooper, Sir Walter Scott, and Washington Irving, Oliver Goldsmith, and Sir Joshua Reynolds. No, I haven't read all of these, mainly because they are so old and such small print...






2. Do you enjoy browsing around in bookstores ? Do you have a favorite you like to go to? 

The closest thing to a bookstore that we have near us is Ollies. They carry a pretty good selection of books at a discounted price. I enjoy looking at them but I try to refrain from buying. I now prefer to browse around our public library and check out books for free!

3. Do you think real books are clutter or do you just love having them around you?
Well, yes, real books can become "clutter" if there are just too many and not enough places to put them. But I do LOVE real books and I love having the ones that I have around. However, I try not to buy any new books unless they are written by someone I know personally (some of our blogging friends have written some excellent books that I love having in my library).

4. What is the oldest book you've read and what is the newest book you've read or are reading. The Bible is the oldest book I've read, and also the best. The newest book? Hmmm, I'm not sure. Maybe this one...it was really good.

Here is my current stash of library books, just picked up today:

I like to work my way through one author at a time until I exhaust all of the books available, and then I move on to another author. I primarily read Christian authors, as I told a lady at the library today, "They are wonderful books full of adventure and romance and great stories, and you never have to worry about being embarrassed by what you read!"


Well, I think I've certainly "exhausted" this subject for today's meme! I hope you enjoyed browsing through my library with me. Would love to have you come and 'check out' a book and stay a while for a cup of tea! Here's a couple of my favorite reading areas:



Okay, that's all for today folks! I need to get around and read your posts as soon as I can! Have a lovely day! And thank you, Annie, for hosting us once again!

Monday Monday...Pictures of Trust and Praise

Good Monday Morning! I hope this day finds you doing well and that you've had a restful, peaceful weekend.  Ours was mostly restful, except for the time spent trying to mow the yard and the mower wasn't cooperating and it was really hot and muggy outside and we spent the rest of the day in the house cooling down and recuperating...one of the prices we pay for getting older...nothing seems to be done easily anymore, but we are thankful we can still at least try! LOL.  

Here are some interesting photos from the past few days that got my attention:

Sunday morning was beautiful...these were the skies as the sun was rising on Pentecost Sunday...the day set apart to remember the day The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in Acts chapter 2.

Praise, O servants of the Lord,

Praise the name of the Lord!

2 Blessed be the name of the Lord

From this time forth and forevermore!

3 From the rising of the sun to its going down

The Lord’s name is to be praised.

4 The Lord is high above all nations,

His glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like the Lord our God,

Who dwells on high,

6 Who humbles Himself to behold

The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?

On Saturday I was looking for something to take a picture of so I could post it on Facebook with a verse for the day. I was wandering around outside and this little Cuban (or Brown) Anole (lizard)Cuban (or Brown) Anole (lizard) popped his head out of one of the birdhouses to see what was going on outside:

He thinks he's safe inside that birdhouse...and he is, until the bluebirds come back and want to start building another nest. I've noticed that they don't mess with him...he knows when it's time to go and so he just moves out until they are finished with the house and then he moves back in.  He's safe from larger predators and he can stay safe and cozy in there.  (Yes, I know this particular species is invasive but they are here and they have found a safe haven, and we actually enjoy watching their antics around our house and porch. And they eat bugs, so that's fine with me!)

Sometimes we need to find a shelter in the time of the storms of our lives...a place where we feel safe and well hidden from the enemies surrounding us.  King David wrote about that same thought, and realized that God is our only true "hiding place" where we will be preserved from trouble and harm.

Psalm 32:7  NKJV

7 You are my hiding place;

You shall preserve me from trouble;

You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

You may know this song and want to sing along:

"You are my hiding place

You always fill my heart

With songs of deliverance

Whenever I am afraid

I will trust in You

I will trust in You

Let the weak say I am strong

In the strength of the Lord"

Moving along to other interesting things we've been seeing...I've noticed this tall plant growing along side the road on the way to where we go take our daily walks:

Agave or Century Plant

"The common name "century plant" stems from its semelparous nature of flowering only once at the end of its long life. After flowering, the plant dies but produces adventitious shoots from the base, allowing its growth to continue.^[8] Although it is called the century plant, it typically lives only 10 to 30 years. It has a spread around 1.8–3.0 m (6–10 ft) with gray-green leaves measuring 0.9–1.5 m (3–5 ft) in length, each with a prickly margin and a heavy spike at the tip that can pierce deeply. Towards the end of its life, the plant produces a tall, branched stalk adorned with yellow blossoms, which can reach a height of 8–9 m (25–30 ft)"

Did you notice in the description above from Wikipedia that this plant only flowers once...at the end of its long life?  It typically lives only 10-30 years, but towards the end of its life "it produces  a tall, branched stalk adorned with yellow blossoms".  

I had to go back today and take more pictures to see if there were indeed any blossoms on the top of the stalk, since they aren't easy to see in that picture above.

Here's what I found:

Yes! There are blossoms opening up on the top!

You can see it is just starting to bloom.  

Now, here's what's interesting about this plant.  It actually has been discarded from someone's yard, thrown along the road along with the trash as you can see in the picture below.  

It was thrown there and left to die...but the amazing thing is, in its dying form it is showing its true beauty.

Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV

"1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord

for the display of his splendor."

"to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair."

What a beautiful picture of hope and praise in the midst of despair...a display of beauty instead of ashes, and joy instead of mourning!

Maybe there is a lesson for us there...even when we are in the declining years of our lives, may we continue to bloom and display the beauty of Christ living in us. Perhaps we should not allow our difficult circumstances in life to define us, but to refine us and help us give off a "sweet savor" of God's grace and peace.

The New King James Version of 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 says:

"14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing"

I will be checking on it regularly to see its progress as the blossoms open up more.