Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

I know, I know, it's Friday already, so what's with the "Thursday Thankfulness" title?  Well, believe it or not I tried to get this started last night, but didn't get very far, so now here it is Friday evening at 7:15 and I'm just getting back to it! I started out without many pictures, but seem to have accumulated a few more as the day has progressed, so just bear with me while I take you along for the "ride", or walk, or conversation...

Hope your week has been wonderful...Ours has been busy, hence why I am so late in posting.  Here's where I started out last night...

Perhaps YOU should be thankful that I am not your florist! LOL. I picked this bouquet of wildflowers one day this week when we went for a walk.  

It is a mixture of Coral Vine, wild Lantana, Wild Poinsettia and some other little yellow daisy type of flower.  

They were growing wild and free and I wanted to bring some home with me to enjoy for a few days, until the flowers started dropping and the water started getting smelly...you know how that is...LOL.  Those little pink coral vine flowers basically dropped all over the place, but they were still beautiful and a pleasure to watch on my kitchen counter above the sink.  

I could have picked some more tonight when we went for a walk in the same place, 

but decided to just leave them for the bees and butterflies to enjoy...

I had to "wade" through some pretty tall, thick grasses/weeds to get this close, and didn't have my good camera with me, so these pictures aren't as great as I'd like them to be, but you get "the picture" anyway I hope.  

As I rounded the house to the back yard to do some watering because it has been so dry again the past few days, I noticed the Sand Hill Crane Family out on "Crane Island", enjoying their evening supper.

They did stop to watch me from a distance, I'm sure they were hopeful that I'd throw out some birdseed for them.

But I mostly was enjoying the way the sun was setting behind the trees and lighting up the surroundings in a beautiful golden light.

I watered the plants...

I've been enjoying this geranium that is blooming on the porch!  

And I love the way the sun was filtering through the trees to the "Secret Memorial Garden".

I was VERY excited to see a bud on the Don Juan Memorial Rose bush...the first one in well over a year! I thought it had died away for sure, but kept watering and pruning (and even fertilized it once), and praying it would bloom again.  A few weeks ago we had a friend doing some weed-whacking and trimming for us, and unbeknownst to me, he whacked this plant back down to the roots! I was really upset when I saw it, but didn't say anything.  But guess what? That must be what it needed, because it started growing new leaves and stems, and now there is a bud!  I am hopeful that it will bloom in time for my birthday next Wednesday! That would be a real blessing if it did, since this is the rosebush that was planted in memory of our son Matthew in 2014. We brought it here with us when we moved to this house in 2019, and at first it did fine, but like I said about a year and a half ago it just quit blooming.  I guess it just needed to take a break and rest for a while and regain its strength.  I think I understand that, don't you?  Perhaps there's a lesson there for us! 

 

Psalm 27:14

"Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord!"

I will keep you posted on further developments.

Speaking of waiting on the Lord and being strong again...one thing we did this week was mow the lawn. Although we don't have a huge yard, what we have is very bumpy, hilly, and sandy, and not a lot of good grass, but what is there has to be kept mowed or it will become overwhelming. This section of the yard it what I've chosen to do with the push mower.  A year ago I could not do this at all because of my shoulder, neck, and back issues.  But little by little I have regained some strength, and now I am very thankful to be able to do this again.  It is truly an answer to prayer.  (Strength is my "One Word" for 2024)

Hubby does all of the front yard with the riding mower, which is fine with me. We can't use the riding mower on the back yard because it is so sloped and uneven.  So he does all the other areas that are on flatter ground. This below is the driveway and front area of the house. We don't really have a lot of grass there because of the oak trees.  There are more acorns and leaves than grass, but what is there has to be cut. We do not have a paved driveway or sidewalks...just a lot of sand, which gets tracked into the house, but that's another story for another time! LOL.

He also mows this lot, which is where our septic/drain field is.  However, because the drain field is above ground, it is a mound with some sloping sides that he cannot do with the riding mower, so I also do those sides with the push mower. It is a self-propelled mower, but that really doesn't mean much if you ask me. I still have to push it, and it isn't easy, but I am determined to do it to help strengthen my arms and back.  However, I will admit that it takes me a couple of days to recover!

I am truly thankful to be able to do this again! It really is an answer to prayer.

What else did we do this week? Well, let's see, on Wednesday hubby had a doctor's appointment in Gainesville for some routine tests,  which is about an hour's drive away. So we made it there actually a few minutes early, and thankfully they took him right in. We were back out of there within about a half hour, and back on the road home around 10:00 a.m.  We got into our hometown around 10:50 (there wasn't as much traffic as in the early ride over), and decided to go to True Grits, a local restaurant,  for an early lunch.

We used to go there all the time after church, but they started getting too busy and couldn't handle our larger groups of people from church, so we quit going there.  However, on a week day, before noon, it wasn't very busy, and we enjoyed a good "senior discount" lunch of Country Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes with white gravy, and fried okra, and a biscuit. It was only $6.99 (plus beverage)  What else would you expect at a place called "True Grits"?  Well, yes, they do serve grits with breakfast, but we didn't want breakfast.  And they call it "True Grits" actually after the John Wayne movie of the same name, and there are many pictures of John Wayne in the restaurant.  It's a nice place...I just wish they weren't so crowded on Sundays! LOL.

And speaking of restaurants and going out to eat after church, we are planning to go out this Sunday to my favorite place here in our little town, "Hog Wild Country Cafe'".  We plan to go with our kids, including Scott, to celebrate my birthday a few days early since Scott can't be here during the week.

Here's a picture of hubby and me there a couple of years ago,  obviously when it was a bit cooler outside, hence the fire inside! I don't expect there to be a fire this weekend! Even though our mornings have been in the low 70's this week (even down to 69 one morning!), it still warms up to the high 80's in the afternoon, so I'm sure there won't be any fire in the wood stove yet! But there will be warmth in our hearts to be together with our family (and maybe some friends from church, we will see if any want to go there on Sunday) We always have a good time there.

Oh, back to the back yard this evening...The Sand Hill Crane family DID finally come across the pond to visit, hoping for some treats, and they did happen to find some bird seed on the ground...

This is "Abe" below, the very grown up "colt".  He is finally getting his red topknot on his head, and it's getting harder and harder to tell him apart from his parents.  He will probably still be hanging around with them for a couple more months, but I expect he will have to go out on his own most likely around Christmas, if not sooner.  Then it will be interesting to see if Mom and Dad Crane decide to build another nest this winter out on "Crane Island".  Time will tell, and we'll be watching for sure.

Well, with that I think I will close for the night. It is now 8:19 p.m. So that only took an hour to write! LOL.

Here's some good thoughts from my devotional reading tonight:

Psalm 121:7-8

New International Version

"7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—

He will watch over your life;

8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore."

And with those comforting thoughts, I will say good night and may God be with you always.

Amen.

 

Light of the World~Thursday Morning Worship and Praise!

We have another beautiful "moonrise" this morning here on Still Waters Pond.  As I stepped out into the darkness to see this sight before it fades away into daylight, my heart was filled with joy and wonder.  I know, it's just the moon you might say...but when I think about how God placed the moon and stars in the heavens for us to enjoy, well, I have to say I was overcome with thankfulness and a sense of God's presence right here with us.   

I couldn't help but start singing the song our choir sang for the anthem this past Sunday, "Here I Am to Worship".  I don't have a recording of us singing it, but here it is with the "Maranatha Singers" for you to listen to while you enjoy these pictures taken this morning at 6:30 a.m. on Still Waters Pond.

"Light of the world

You stepped down into darkness

Opened my eyes, let me see

Beauty that made this heart adore You

Hope of a life spent with You

Here I am to worship

Here I am to bow down

Here I am to say that You're my God

You're altogether lovely

Altogether worthy

Altogether wonderful to me

King of all days

Oh, so highly exalted

Glorious in heaven above

Humbly You came to the earth You created

All for love's sake became poor

Here I am to worship

Here I am to bow down

Here I am to say that You're my God

You're altogether lovely

Altogether worthy

Altogether wonderful to me

Well, I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross

Well, I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross

Well, I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross

Well, I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross

Here I am to worship

Here I am to bow down

Here I am to say that You're my God

You're altogether lovely

Altogether worthy

Altogether wonderful to me

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Tim Hughes

Here I Am to Worship/Call lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing

Psalm 8:1-9

1 "O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth,

Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

You have ordained strength,

Because of Your enemies,

That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

4 What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You visit him?

5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

Common Buckeye Butterfly, from our walk yesterday afternoon

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen—

Even the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the air,

And the fish of the sea

That pass through the paths of the seas.

(The Sand Hill Crane Family Came by for a visit recently)

9 O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

Sunset, Wednesday afternoon 

Sunrise, Thursday morning

Thank you for singing along with me on this glorious Thursday morning.  I know this is two days in a row of moon pictures, but these beauties are only here for a short time and then they go away for another month...so I hope you don't mind enjoying God's glorious creation in the heavenlies with me for another day.  I'll get back to the mundane things of life soon enough, but for now, let's just be thankful for the gifts God gives us to enjoy while they last.  

Have a glorious day, my friends!

Wednesday Treasures

Philippians 4:8-9  NKJV

Meditate on These Things

"8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 

9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."

This morning's "Moonrise" on Still Waters Pond, around 6:30 a.m.  

And then there's this one:

Apparently I moved the camera as I was taking the picture.  At first I wasn't going to include it here, but then thought, why not? It's pretty interesting in it's own way.

However, it made me think about this passage of Scripture, where Jesus is talking to His disciples as He sends them out:

Luke 10:2-3, 17-20  KJV

"2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven."
 

Some very thought provoking words to start this day.  And it reminded me of a story I read last night on Facebook that I thought was interesting and share-worthy:

"I did not write this. Across the world, wake up! This is a MUST read!!!

When I was a HS sophomore – decades ago! – my World History teacher was Mrs. Holloway, but we all called her Granny Holloway. She was a slight woman, scarcely 5 feet tall, seemingly fragile, but full of vim and vinegar….you know the type. She could speak for hours about the Fall of the Roman Empire, the Inquisition, the Industrial Revolution, and the World Wars. She never sat while she lectured, never stood at a lectern, but moved around the room making eye contact with all of her students. She was demanding too, and I can’t remember how many papers were sent back to me because she would note “you can do better than this, Miss Schaal.”

One day during class, an office aid interrupted her lecture to hand her a note. She read it silently, apologized, and said she needed to leave the room. We knew it had to be important because Granny Holloway stopped lectures for no one.

We sat in the room talking to one another when the door opened, and in walked Mrs. Abels, another teacher in our HS. She explained to us that Granny had been faced with an emergency, a serious one, and it was questionable if she would even be returning to finish out the semester. We were stunned. Would we get a chance to tell her goodbye? Would we get updates, so we would know she was ok? Mrs. Abels assured us that we need not worry, that Granny was safe but needed time away, and that the best thing we could do for her, and the best way we could show our devotion to her, was to be cooperative with her replacement. Mrs. Abels confirmed that she had been asked and had agreed to step in as Granny’s replacement.

Cheer up, she told us, this could be a good thing. Other teachers still believed in endless homework and projects with deadlines and hard work. She would not bring that into our class. She believed in clean slates. If there were grades that we did not like, she could give us a chance to bring them up. She asked us what suggestions we had to make the semester a better learning experience. Someone mentioned that lectures were boring and we wanted more films. Done, she said. Someone else mentioned that a free day now and then would help us if we needed to catch up on work in other classes. She didn’t see a problem with that. She asked us how we felt about an end-of-semester party. Um, yeah, sounded very good to us. And on and on. Mrs. Abels listened intently and agreed to all of our suggestions, continually emphasizing that her concern was that we have a good learning experience and enjoy the semester. She also reminded us that we were lucky to not be sent out to other classes where we would be working to catch up, and that of course this was all for Granny.

Near the end of the period, shortly before the bell rang, the door opened and Granny sauntered in with her usual Granny Holloway attitude. “How did they do?,” she asked. “Marvelous,” said Mrs. Abels. “They were completely in my hands.”

Granny then faced us and said “And that, my students, is how a dictator takes over a nation. Not with guns or tanks or laws or mandates. They do it using false promises and gifts”

I can’t remember a lesson all through 12 years of public school that made such an impression on me, and has stayed with me.

We are among wolves in sheep clothing, many are being deceived.
Stay awake! And buckle up.
Put on the FULL armor of God, we are going to need it in the days to come."

The Armor of God  Ephesians 6:10-17

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 

15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 

17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And with that, I will close for this morning.  Just some things to think about during these turbulent days.  Let us not be deceived...and may we always keep our "armor" on...don't go out without it!  

1 Peter 5:7-9  New King James Version

"7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."

May God be with each and every one of us today and always.

Amen.

Sunday Evening Musings

This was today's sunrise!  Sunday morning glory in the heavens!

My post on Facebook said, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!". (Psalm 150:6)

It was breathtaking, but I still praised the Lord with every breath that I breathed.  Such a beautiful way to start the day!

If you want to sing a happy song along with our choir, join in here below:

Sing unto the Lord a new song, sing unto the Lord all the earth.

Sing unto the Lord a new song, sing unto the Lord all the earth.

Sing unto the Lord a new song, sing unto the Lord all the earth.

Sing unto the Lord a new song, sing unto the Lord all the earth.

For God is great and greatly to be praised. God is great and greatly to be praised.

O Sing unto the Lord a new song, sing unto the Lord all the earth.

Sing unto the Lord a new song, sing unto the Lord all the earth.

Another great way to start the day!!  (and now that it is evening when I am writing this,  a good way to end the day!)

Today was a lovely day...no rain for a change!  I had kind of hoped to go out to eat after church with a group of our church friends, but they had decided to go to a different place than where we normally go, and it is sometimes crowded and you have to wait in line a while, and we just didn't feel like doing that today, so we came on home. Normally our son Scott comes down on Sunday afternoon for lunch (and does his laundry), but he wasn't coming today, and Rose and Benton weren't coming either because she had to work today, so were kind of at loose ends. However, actually in some ways that was best.  We've had a busy week and frankly I was tired.  

Yesterday we had our church monthly pot-luck "Agape'" luncheon, and I had made my "Taco Lasagna" casserole.  It was good, and I still had a little left over, but I didn't feel like eating that either.  It's not really something that my tummy can handle two days in a row! LOL.  So I made a salad with some ham and cheese on top of the lettuce, etc., and that was plenty good enough. Then we took a nice long nap.

After we woke up hubby said that he wished I'd either bake a cake or make some cookies or something.  Well, at first I kind of balked because I normally don't do stuff like that on Sunday...it's just too busy of a day and I am usually tired. But since we didn't go out to eat and we had such a nice nap, I decided to go ahead and bake some Snickerdoodles!  (Do you know what they are?) I was hungry for something with cinnamon in it, and since hubby wanted cookies that he could snack on throughout the week, that was a good idea.  But I needed some help. Guess who helped me?

Yes, Lily Grace (click that link for a previous time of baking with  Lily Grace)  said she would love to help make Snickerdoodles!  She's trying to earn her cooking badge for the Brownie Scouts, so she needed some experience baking cookies. LOL.  

She especially loved rolling the balls of dough in the cinnamon and sugar!

It's great to have a little helper!

She even helped get them off the cookie sheets when they were done baking!  They sure smelled good!

Snickerdoodles...My Mother's Recipe

Well, of course baking cookies always means they have to be tasted while they are fresh and warm out of the oven.  So it also became an occasion for Lily Grace and Bailey her dog to have a little party:

So I got down the Buster Brown Tea set for them to use:

It's perfect for a tea party with your favorite doggy!    This set belonged to my mother, and she got it from her older sister, my Aunt Margie.  It is dated on the bottom 1910, which is when Aunt Margie might have gotten it when she was a little girl.  My mother remembers playing with it when she was a little girl. My mother is 11 years younger than her sister.  

Anyway,  it is a special family heirloom, so Lily Grace and Bailey had to be very careful.

Then Lily Grace got the idea that she wanted to invite her friend Anne of Green Gables over to have a tea party and share some snickerdoodles with her.  Anne was delighted of course and came right over. We know how much Anne of Green Gables loves tea parties!  Thankfully there was no "Raspberry Cordial" involved in this tea party. If you've read Anne's story, you know about that event! HERE is a link to a previous post about Anne's tea party.

Thankfully they left us some snickerdoodles to enjoy later!

And so that is how I ended up spending my Sunday afternoon.  

Nice little thought for today.  A good reminder, no matter how big or small our "place", we should tend and guard it with care, because it isn't our own place, but "his Who set you there."  And that would be God.  He placed us in our homes and gave us a special place to guard and care for. When you think about your home that way, it takes on a whole new perspective. 

Here's another thought about the home:

"Unless the Lord builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the Lord guards the city,

The watchman stays awake in vain."

Psalm 127:1

And so I think it is time to end this post for tonight. I hope you enjoyed this little tea party time with Lily Grace (and Bailey too!) and also Anne of Green Gables. I know this is a departure from my usual Sunday activities, but sometimes you just need to "play" after a busy week. We had a good time, except I might have eaten too many warm cookies fresh out of the oven, and so I didn't want much for supper! LOL.  I finally ended up eating two stalks of celery with peanut butter on it, and later some yogurt and granola.  That should make up for my lapse in good judgment. LOL.  

Have a restful night my friends, and I'll be stopping by to visit with you in the next few days.  Tomorrow (Monday) is another busy day as we have our Ladies' Bible Study in the afternoon, and hubby has his men's Bible Study.  But I will try to catch up with as soon as I can.  Love to all of you! "Good Night, sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite!"  LOL.