Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

Tonight I am feeling such a sense of thankfulness and blessing.  Just a lot of little things, but they add up to big blessings.  Today it was a cloudy and kind of drizzly day, but it was peaceful and restful and pleasant, so what more could one ask for? 

This morning we rode into town to Walmart to do a little bit of shopping and mostly to get some exercise since we couldn't take our regular walk in the rain.  That worked out good.  When we came home I took these pictures on Still Waters Pond, around noon:

Even though it was a gray kind of day, it was still beautiful outside, and very peaceful.

A few days ago "Your Friend From Florida" Terri D'Orsaneo, shared a portion of the lyrics of this hymn in her closing thoughts. I had to go look it up to find out which hymn it was because I didn't recognize just that short portion of it, but I found it and said in my comment that I may have to use that hymn in one of my blogs. I'm sure Terri doesn't mind that I borrowed that idea from her since the hymn is very old and in the public domain, but still I wanted to give her credit for making me remember it and share it here with you.

I Sing the Mighty Power of God

1 I sing the mighty power of God

that made the mountains rise,

That spread the flowing seas abroad,

and built the lofty skies.

I sing the wisdom that ordained

the sun to rule the day;

The moon shines full at God's command,

and all the stars obey.

Tonight God blessed us with this beautiful sunset, even though it was still drizzling rain!

2 I sing the goodness of our God

that filled the earth with food;

God formed the creatures with a word,

and then pronounced them good.

Oh, how your wonders are displayed,

where'er I turn my eye:

If I survey the ground I tread,

or gaze upon the sky!

I enjoyed a walk around the yard and garden this afternoon in between rain showers:

The Butterfly Garden...Yes, I'm "needin' to be weedin'"  Anyone interested in helping?? And I still haven't gotten those plants planted in the ground. I need a hole digger to come help me. At least all this good rain is keeping them alive.

How about just some tea time in the garden instead?

Milkweed flowers blooming

These are what the Monarch Butterflies love. Haven't seen any yet, however.

Cape Honeysuckle

Pentas

I am not sure of the name of these wildflowers that grow along the shores of the pond, but they are growing and blooming all around:

And with all of the rain we've had lately, the little "fairy toadstools" are popping up again. This ruffled one was especially pretty:

3 On earth there's not a plant or flower

but makes your glories known.

The clouds arise and spread their showers

by order from your throne.

All life is but a gift from you

and ever in your care;

Wherever people gather, you,

O God, are present there.

This was the sunrise this morning...can barely see it behind the trees.  But even so, there was great beauty in the clouds as they brought us this gray cloudy rainy day that inspired me so much.

After all of that walking around the yard this afternoon I came back inside and had a cup of tea, since I couldn't have tea time in the garden, I had it inside the house:

Say Hello to Rocky and Bullwinkle again:

I used this tea set because it says that it is the teacup and saucer for September!

And I've been enjoying this "Soothing Turmeric" tea by Twinings. It is an herbal tea that says it supports healthy digestion. It also contains Orange and Star Anise. It's actually quite good, and hey! If it can help my digestion, then bring it on! LOL.

Speaking of "digestion", we actually went out to eat tonight, but not to a restaurant. We were invited to come to the Senior Community Center for a pot luck dinner and also a "dance".  Actually, we were invited because one of our very special church members is turning 91 tomorrow, and so we were going to surprise her.  Funny thing is, she sure surprised us by being one of the most active people there!

This is our "Dottie".  If you ever visit our church,  you will be greeted and hugged by Dottie. No matter who you are, you will be hugged by Dottie. She is one of the most beautiful and Spirit filled women I've ever known, and she is such a blessing and joy to us all.

And yes, it was a dance!  And here's our Dottie dancing (with permission) with one of  our dear friends. His wife didn't mind at all, as Dottie is like a dear Mother to all of us.

We had never been to this community center before, and really didn't know what to expect, but apparently they have this Senior pot luck dinner and dance once a month and there's a fellow who does the singing/karaoke for all the music (who is also a member of our church).  It was so much fun. We mostly just watched all the action, but finally my favorite dance partner asked me to dance with him, and I was in 7th heaven:

I can't tell you how long it has been since we slow danced like this, but my hip joints will probably remind me in the morning!  LOL.  We really need to do this more often, as it was good exercise and a lot of fun.

Oh, did I mention that Benton and Rose were there too? I know, they aren't "seniors", but they were invited to come along, and they had a good time too.

Dancing isn't one of their areas of expertise either, but they finally got up and enjoyed a sweet dance together.

Here's Rose with Dottie, while Dottie was opening some gifts. Rose crochets (or is it knits? I'm not sure which) those nice washcloths, and she gave Dottie a lovely set of them. 

Oh, we weren't the only ones there from our church. That's our Pastor and wife on the end, and in the front is another "nonagenarian", who also will have a birthday at the end of this month and he will be 94! He's another amazing person who doesn't show his age!

And here's a few more of our church family.  I didn't get pictures of everyone that was there, but our church probably made up half of the whole group that was there tonight.  It was a lot of good clean fun, and when we were leaving, these nonagenarians and some octogenarians along with a few other "youngsters" were all in a circle doing something called the "chicken dance".  

I was sad we were leaving. It looked like so much fun!  Maybe next time! IF I can talk hubby into going again. I think it would be a great way to get some exercise...they do a lot of line dancing, which is great for the heart! So we shall see what next month brings. I won't hold my breath, but who knows? Who says you can't teach an old dog a new trick or two? LOL.

Hubby, trying to relax and have a good time. LOL. 

The scripture verse I shared earlier today on Facebook was this:

John 8:12 

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Amen and Good Night.