Tuesday 4~ Friendly Chat and Other Updates

"So Dora.. how's life lately?"

 Okay, let's start out with updates about Hurricane Debby, since my post last night I wasn't able to add pictures and had to cut it short due to Wifi/Internet issues due to the storm. Thankfully that did finally get settled and everything has been fine today.  Hurricane Debby blew through here pretty quickly, and by this morning all we are having is a few intermittent light showers and a nice breezy day.  The sun is even trying to shine as I write this at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.   Sorry I didn't get back sooner, but we had some things to take care of this morning and this is the first time I've felt like sitting down at my computer and writing.

I promised you some pictures of Still Waters Pond during and after the storm.  Many of you already saw them on Facebook.  I can't seem to post the videos here, so here's the latest photos:

This was during the storm:

And here is how Still Waters Pond looks today:

I took this picture from over at the "new house" next door lot:

Speaking of which, nothing has been done since I last wrote about the house next door. The storm came along and that took care of anymore work being done until things settle down and dry out. So I promise there will be more to come when there's some new action.

I did see this beautiful butterfly while I was over there. He was flitting all around, but this was the only time he settled long enough for me to get a picture. This is a Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly. Isn't he beautiful?  I do wish I could have gotten some more pictures, but he's busy doing what butterflies do before their time is up. So I let him enjoy his freedom and happy life.

He was a beautiful gift after the storm. And yes, we are very very thankful for all the ways God watched over us during the storm. We know that many people have not been so fortunate and are dealing with flooding and no power and downed trees.  Our hearts go out to them, and we pray for their safety first of all, and then for their homes to be restored. For many it may be a long time. When it comes to storms, we take nothing for granted, and try to be prepared, but everything else is left up to God.

Therefore, we are always extremely thankful when we come out on the other side with little damage and no major issues to deal with. 

One of the things I was doing this morning was re-caulking our kitchen sink.  Yesterday I discovered some water underneath the sink. After we checked everything to do with the plumbing, we could not find any leaks. I finally decided that the water must have come from around the caulking at the back of the sink, as it was in very poor repair and needed to be replaced.  I didn't feel like tackling that job yesterday (and yes, I do these kinds of jobs. I tend to be more of the "handyman" type than my hubby, so it just works out better if I do it.)  So anyway, I got busy this morning and stripped off all the old caulking from all around the sink, and then put in the new. It looked so nice I felt like I had a new sink!  After that I went and did my bathroom sink, but I haven't taken any pictures of that. Just suffice it to say, it also needed to be done and it looks much better now as well!

So now, let's move on to today's Tuesday 4, shall we?

Friendly Chat

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. With just four questions each week we hope to change the world!

Well, okay, we can't change the world but we do hope to help you have something to blog about, think about and talk about. I hope everyone in Florida is okay with the storm Debby! Be safe friends.

So, let's take our tea or coffee and sit down together and have a friendly chat about life........

1. If you were or are married, did or do you enjoy being married? If you are not married are you content and happy in that life?

In about 10 days from now we will have been married for 55 years. Yes, I can say that I have enjoyed being married, and am extremely thankful for the man God chose for me. We actually often talk about how we know that God brought us together and that He had specific plans for our lives and went to great lengths to bring it all to pass.   Our life has not been perfectly rosy and always wonderful by any means. We have had many many trials and difficulties and sorrows during these 55 years, but through it all God has been with us, oftentimes carrying us through the hard places and giving us strength to keep going.  Without the Lord leading us in our lives, we may not have made it through these 55 years.  But our faith in God was often stronger than our faith in ourselves, and our commitment to Him was greater than even our vows to each other, and so we persevered through the hardships and we are so very thankful that God kept us moving forward  even when we wanted to quit. We give all glory to God for His mercy and grace and love.

2. What are the best parts of your life today? What were the best things about your life in the past?

The best parts of my life today?  Well, I am mostly healthy, my issues are minor compared to what so many have to endure. My hubby is mostly healthy too, and we are both very grateful to God for our health and well being. We have a strong faith, a good family and home, and we love each other very much.  I'd say that also goes for the best things in my life in the past.  I am VERY thankful for the family God chose for me from the time I was conceived until this very moment.

3. What more could you add to your life to make it better, or conversely, what could you remove to make it better for you?

I really don't know how to answer this...I am very thankful and content with my life right now. Obviously, if we could live without any pain or other hardships, that would be nice, but I believe many of these things come into our lives to make us stronger and help us to grow in our faith.  I honestly can't say that I'd change a thing.

4. If you work... are you really pleased in your job or would you like something better? If you are retired is it all you hoped it would be and how could it be better for you?

We are retired. We are thankful to be retired, and thankful that God has provided for us so we can survive financially. We never had the kind of jobs that provided for a good retirement income. We mostly served in small churches with no pension plan. We both managed to work enough years for the state to get a very small state retirement amount to supplement our Social Security. If we could have changed anything, it would have been to have managed a better financial plan for retirement, but again, GOD has taken care of us and has seen to it that we have everything we need. We have a good house over our heads and our bills are paid every month. We have our health and we have each other and we enjoy every day that God gives us.  We would have loved to be able to do more traveling, but that just hasn't been possible for us financially.  We are looking forward to a trip in October to the mountains for a few days with our kids, and then on to a wedding of my great-nephew in North Carolina, where we will get to see most of our extended family.  So that will be a lovely time and we are very thankful to be able to do that.  

Scripture verse for today from a daily devotional I read is appropriate to close this out:

Romans 8:28

New King James Version

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Amen.