Wednesday Treasures

 Well friends, it has been an interesting and wonderful day.  Yes, it has also been my birthday, and it started out beautifully with the sunrise

And I kid you not, these crows sounded like they were literally singing "Happy Birthday" to me, along with some Blue Jays and Mockingbirds and other birds in the treetops.  Seriously, as soon as I stepped out on the porch to put out the flag, the birds flew into the trees around me and started singing back and forth. I stood there in awe and thanked them for their wonderful songs and praised God for His kindness and love.  Actually the birds were praising God, The Creator, for His wonderful provision for them each day, but it still sounded like "Happy Birthday" to me.  

Psalm 104:12 NIV

12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters;

they sing among the branches.

That's a Crow sitting in that tree below.  He and the one above were just two of several who were flying all about this morning.

And literally, while I was standing there enjoying the sunrise and the birds singing, my cellphone rang, and it was my sister calling to sing Happy Birthday to me!  She was also watching the sunrise at her house a couple of hours south of me, so we watched the sunrise together while we talked and she started my birthday off on the "right note".  

I really appreciated this beautiful start to my birthday, as last evening I had a little upset that kind of spoiled things for me a bit.  If you recall a few days ago I told you HERE that I was excited to see a rosebud on the Memorial Rose Bush in the Memorial/Secret Garden.  I mentioned that this was the rosebush that was planted in memory of our son Matthew, and it had not bloomed in over a year, so I was really excited to see that it was getting ready to bloom, and I was very much in hopes that it would bloom in time for my birthday.  In my mind it was like a gift from our son, and it was such a special little joy to me to think of it.  Well, I've watched it and watered it every day and monitored its progress.  The other night it looked like it was definitely going to be ready to bloom for my birthday.  So last evening I thought I would go out and take another look at it to make sure it was okay.  Well, you can imagine my shock and dismay when I got there and the rosebud was gone!  It looked like it has been snipped off the end of the stem...and I couldn't imagine how that could have happened. I looked around on the ground and finally found the little bud laying there in the grass.  To be honest, I cried.  I just couldn't understand how that could happen, and I still don't know, unless a squirrel or bird or something knocked it off...it was very strange.

This was how it looked several days ago.

And this is how it looked last night:

Here is the tiny little bud. I brought it inside and put it in a little bit of water just to see what would happen.

I don't think anything is going to develop at this point, but at least I tried.  To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. But I woke up this morning and was determined to not let that spoil the day.  I went outside and noticed that flowers in my Butterfly Garden were all blooming beautifully, and they were a soothing balm to my soul.  

1 When morning gilds the skies,

My heart awaking cries:

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Alike at work and prayer

To Jesus I repair:

May Jesus Christ be praised!

2

To Thee, my God above,

I cry with glowing love,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

The fairest graces spring

In hearts that ever sing,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

3

Does sadness fill my mind?

A solace here I find,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Or fades my earthly bliss?

My comfort still is this,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

(a little "knock-out" rose was blooming this morning, which made me smile. It's not THE memorial rose bush, but it was a sweet blessing all the same.)

4

When evil thoughts molest,

With this I shield my breast,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

The powers of darkness fear,

When this sweet chant they hear,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

5

When sleep her balm denies,

My silent spirit sighs,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

The night becomes as day,

When from the heart we say,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

6

Be this, while life is mine,

My canticle divine,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Be this th’ eternal song

Through all the ages long,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

This may not be a big beautifully cultivated garden, but it sure brings smiles to my face when things are blooming. God knew what I needed to see today, and I thank and praise Him.

Of course, you know that Florida is currently under a major hurricane watch/warning...Helene is expected to barrel up the Gulf Coast and head towards the "Big Bend" area of the Panhandle in north Florida tomorrow.  We are already getting rain bands periodically, and tomorrow we expect some heavy rains and winds here in our area. Thankfully we live further inland and hopefully the brunt of the storm will not come this far east, but we will get plenty of rain and wind, I am sure. Yes, prayers are appreciated for all of our state and even into south Georgia and beyond.  

But today, although it was cloudy and breezy, the rains didn't start until later in the afternoon, so our plans to go for an early lunch at our favorite "Corky Bells" on the St. John's River were not to be deterred.  The "kids" came  over and went with us and we arrived there before noon and got a front row seat/table to watch the wind and waves along the river.

This was the view from our table:

This was the sun in the sky around noon:

OH, here's some familiar faces...a little windblown...

And more familiar faces, also windblown!

After eating we went down on the dock and took a few more pictures:

You can see we were about to get blown away!

Here's a few pictures from inside the restaurant as we were leaving:

We didn't see any live gators today because of the rough waters, but these will have to do: 

Then we headed back home, and unbeknownst to me, our sweet daughter in law Rose had baked a beautiful PUMPKIN cake for me, with a buttercream frosting. It was SO good!!!!!

Of course, that meant we had to go through this ceremony of singing Happy Birthday all over again...

And of course I had to blow out the candles again...

And then I opened up a bag of some sweet presents...Rose had baked this loaf of homemade bread this morning!!!  I actually loaned her my bread machine a few weeks ago, and she has been having fun experimenting with it.  I was thrilled to get some of the fruits of her labor!  It smells SO good!

This girl is a girl of many talents.  She also crochets dishcloths, and gave me this beautiful package of several! I think they are too pretty to use for dishcloths, but that's what they are for...I don't know...they are so soft and pretty...I was thinking of using them for a face cloth...but I don't know...what do you think? I just hate to mess up pretty things. But they will be used with much love and appreciation for the dear young woman who is our precious daughter in law.

With that, I think I will close this post for tonight, with a picture of this sweet little church and the "Pumpkin Patch" all lit up for the night.

Again, I thank you all for your prayers on behalf of all of us in the path of this storm, and I pray that you are safe and sound wherever you may be.

A good thought for tonight:

Amen.