Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

Here it is, Thursday evening already, October 3rd!  My, how this year has flown by! It is very hard for me to believe we are already into October, but I am glad of it. 

 

A few years ago I wrote a special post about Anne of Green Gables, as she paid a "visit" to "Pamela's Victorian Cottage".  I thought I would include this section of that post here, as "Anne" is exclaiming about the beauties of October, and finishes with one of her most well-remembered quotes about October... (Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery)

"October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry-trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths.

Anne revelled in the world of colour about her.  "Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, 

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.  It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? " 

 

(Painting by John Sloane, from one of his previous Country Season's Calendars)

You can read the rest of that special post HERE.

I feel pretty much the same as Anne did about October, even though the colors here in Florida are not quite a vibrant and glorious as they were at her beloved Prince Edward Island, still, there's just something special about October everywhere I think!

Last night I was enjoying watching the sunset here on Still Waters Pond, and it wasn't the most colorful of sunsets, but it was still amazing in its own way. Have you ever noticed that it is actually the clouds that make each sunset so interesting?  If there were no clouds in the skies, there would be nothing all that spectacular for the sun to reflect on and around.  I find it interesting in that God often uses the "clouds" in our lives to make our lives more spectacular and unique.  It's the challenges and trials and cloudy, hazy days of having to lean more on God for direction in our lives that help to shape and mold us into the strong characters He intends us to be.  Just some food for thought as you think about sunsets in a new way.    

Here's the sunset from last night, along with the verses from the 64th Psalm that kind of struck me as I was looking back at these pictures of the clouds and designs in the skies.  I wonder if you will notice some of the things that I noticed:

Psalm 64 NKJV

Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

"1 Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;

Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,

From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,

3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,

And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,

4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;

Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter;

They talk of laying snares secretly;

They say, “Who will see them?”

6 They devise iniquities:

“We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”

Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.

7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;'

Suddenly they shall be wounded.

8 So He will make them stumble over their own tongue;

All who see them shall flee away.

9 All men shall fear,

And shall declare the work of God;

For they shall wisely consider His doing."

10 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him.

And all the upright in heart shall glory."

Amen.

I hope you enjoyed those pictures along with that Psalm. Could you see the battle of the swords and arrows in the skies? Makes me think about the battles that are going on all around us in the spiritual realm, as well as the battles that are going on in real time around the world right now. It is so important that we keep our Spiritual Armor of God on at all times...(Ephesians 6:10-18)

I am thankful that we have had a relatively peaceful week here in our area. But of course we know there are still so many suffering without electricity, water, good shelter and even food. Last week's storm wreaked havoc on the lives of so many, and we need to continue to pray for them, and do whatever we can to help. If you aren't sure where to send donations, Samaritan's Purse is a strong and true organization directed by Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham. Also most church denominations have Disaster Relief programs that are hard at work in the hard hit areas. You can usually donate through your church to a disaster relief program.  

I am thankful also that my hubby had a successful medical procedure done yesterday. We made it there in plenty of time and all went well. He will get the results of the test in a couple of weeks, but it is basically a follow up to some work he had done a year ago, to make sure that everything is still "good".  We are trusting God that it is, however prayers are always welcome.  

I've been wanting to show you something very special for a few days now. Frankly, I was so overcome by this gift, that I had to give myself some time to process it.  Remember in my Monday Post that I showed you a picture of a dear friend (see her below), who has been battling Stage 4 cancer for the past year +, and she is now doing so much better?

Well, this dear lady mentioned to me on Sunday that she had a birthday gift for me, and that she wanted to drop it off at my house this week.  I never expected that, and was really surprised that she would want to give me a gift.  But indeed, it was not just any gift, it was something truly truly special, and I wish I had had my hubby take our picture together when she brought it over, but I was too overwhelmed by the magnitude of this gift that I never thought of it until she had already left.  So, I had hubby take some pictures of me with this gift this morning so you can see it, and you will understand why I was so totally humbled and flabbergasted by this very special gift:

This dear lady literally crocheted this beautiful shawl for me while she was having chemo treatments! How do I respond to that???? With tears, for one thing. And with much gratitude and humility. 

Isn't it beautiful? It is a Civil War Era pattern, and it is absolutely gorgeous. 

What I love is that it will go with so many colors...and hubby said this outfit needed a hat...LOL

I am just overwhelmed with this lovely gift, and am so amazed that this precious lady would create this especially for me...I am already thinking about all the ways I hope to be able to wear it in the near future. 

But most of all, I am thinking about how very dear and special this woman is.  She is such an example of God's strength under fire.  When she was given the diagnosis and prognosis of her disease, she was determined to fight back. She did not give in to fear or anxiety, although she did have some of that for certain...but she would not let it take over. She stayed busy, even when the side effects of the treatments threatened to overwhelm her...she would not give up. Yes, I know there were days that she could not do a thing, but as soon as she was able, she kept moving forward. The fact that she would take yarn and crochet needles with her to chemo treatments and work on this beautiful gift for me is just so amazing to me that I cannot even fathom it. I do not even understand why for me? But God knows, and He knew how much this gift would bless me, and also I believe it was a gift for her to be able to do something for others in the midst of her own struggles. God does work in mysterious ways, and He weaves into the tapestry of our lives lessons of love, grace, and comfort. And the end result is a picture that is so beautiful to behold that we cannot always fathom the depth of it at first glance. It may take days, or it may take a lifetime...but I know that I am very very thankful to God for taking the extra steps to show us these things...

And so, with these thoughts in mind, I will close for tonight.  Wondering if there was ever a time in your life that you were overwhelmed with a special gift that you felt unworthy of?  Perhaps that is a picture of God's grace again...He sent Jesus to die for our sins, not because we did anything to deserve that gift, but because He loves us...

Romans 5:8 NKJV

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 

9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Something to think about... 

Good Night dear friends.