The 6th Day of Christmas...

"On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
Six geese a-laying, 

Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree."

Ha Ha! I should've used that verse with my last post HERE, where I showed you all the birds on Still Waters Pond!

Today I don't have any new birds to show you beyond what I already shared.  So we will have to move on to something else just as interesting!

How about this for a "Partridge in a pear tree"?   LOL.  Well, maybe the Golden Arches in an Oak tree? I thought that made an interesting picture from our walk one day last week:

And this grand old oak tree has some interesting creatures "growing" upon its trunk.  You can't see them from here, because the Spanish Moss is covering them up quite well, but let's take a closer look and see what we can see:

Do you ever see "monsters" or faces in the trees around you?  Well, this tree had several interesting "faces" to share. Maybe there's a good reason they hide behind the Spanish moss!

Hello there!

I will leave it up to you to see what you can see in these "faces" in the burls of wood on this old tree trunk.  This one is certainly grinning at something...do you see the teeth?

"A burl (American English) or burr (British English) is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds. Burl formation is typically a result of some form of stress such as an injury or a viral or fungal infection.

Burls yield a very peculiar and highly figured wood sought after in woodworking, and some items may reach high prices on the wood market. Poaching of burl specimens and damaging the trees in the process poses a problem in some areas."  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burl

 A little different angle of the same burl as above:

That poor tree must have had some difficulties in its life, and these burled faces are trying to tell us about it! Although I think I see that one laughing!

Nearby was the ruins of another old oak tree that had finally given up its poor diseased branches in our most recent hurricane.  They are still laying on the ground in this walking area of town, waiting for someone to come and take them away.  I think they are fascinating, and I'm glad I was able to take pictures of them before they were removed or totally disintegrate!

Looks like there was quite a battle here on this battlefield, and these are the remains of many fallen soldiers and perhaps some petrified animals...

I wonder what you see in these "faces" and figures?  I found them quite unique and interesting, however a bit grotesque.  Nature has many faces, some beautiful and lovely, and some showing the marks of disease and devastation. It's all a part of life, even among our own humanity.  

Some of us may show the marks of disease and devastation, while others bear the marks of a peaceful beauty because we know we fought hard and did our best and we are at peace in knowing that God is with us...our poor old bodies may eventually lay in ruins and decay, but our souls remain alive and well and happy with Jesus! That is the hope we have in Christ.  

Here are some words from the Bible that give us this hope and promise...

Job 19:25-27  NKJV

"25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,

And He shall stand at last on the earth;

26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,

That in my flesh I shall see God,

27 Whom I shall see for myself,

And my eyes shall behold, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me!"

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 NKJV says this:

"50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; 

nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 

51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 

52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 

54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

55 “O Death, where is your sting?

O Hades, where is your victory?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 

57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

I find these words comforting as we approach a New Year, filled with hope and yet some concerns about the future.  But our trust and faith are in the Lord, who "gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ..."   Amen.

Moving on now to another very pleasant story...Today is our sweet dil Rose's 50th birthday!  And yes, praise God, she is feeling much better and we were able to celebrate her birthday here yesterday afternoon after church.  

Here are the pictures to show you what a great time we all had. Our son Scott did as he promised and brought some delicious ribeye steaks and grilled them for us.  I prepared the baked potatoes, broccoli, tossed salad, and jello with fruit...and Hawaiian Rolls.  Oh, and the birthday cake! Vanilla cake with a vanilla buttercream cheese frosting ( frosting homemade by me! Rose's recipe that she taught me.  Betty Crocker cake baked by me.)

Here's the dinner table before we gathered...the tablecloth has roses on it, as do the napkins, and the centerpiece has little white roses (silk of course).  This was a refreshing change from the Christmas decor of the past several weeks, and Rose appreciated it as well.  Oh, and we used my good wedding china!  My mother always used her good china and crystal for our birthday dinners. She wanted us to feel extra special for our special day. And so I wanted Rose to feel that same way, because she is very special to us in every way.

It doesn't look quite as elegant with all the food,  but everyone was happy and thankful...

Happy Family...

Happy Me! (with hubby, of course!)

After the dishes were washed (by Scott and me...Rose was not allowed in the kitchen to do dishes!), then we prepared things for her birthday party.

She was a good sport with all those extra candles!   You're only 50 once!

She did get them all!  Might have taken more than one breath, however! LOL.

And even though I could've used fancy dishes for serving the cake and ice cream, Rose wanted me to use these Christmas paper plates and napkins, because she loves that little red truck design and the deer and the red barn, so that is what we used!

Next came the opening of gifts...

Sometimes little things come in big bags, and little things come in little bags too,

And sometimes BIG things come in small envelopes, which was the case today...but we won't say exactly what, but it was enough to make Rose smile!  I know most of us ladies like to do our own shopping for clothes, and Rose is no exception, so some cold hard cash for whatever she needs most was the best gift we could give her. She will have fun shopping for some things she wants/needs.

And these pretty coasters were something that I knew she'd love...they have roses and butterflies on them, along with some wonderful verses.  She was very pleased. 

After the party was over and the kids all left for their homes, I noticed there was a lovely sunset developing out over Still Waters Pond, so out I went with my trusty cell phone/camera to capture the beauty at the end of a perfect day.  Oh, I forgot to mention, that yes, Hubby and I did go to church at that little country church in Florahome in the morning, where hubby was the guest speaker while their pastor took a little time off for the holidays.  Our son Benton also showed up, but Rose stayed home and rested after having to work the night before until after 10:00 p.m., her first time back at work after being so sick. Thankfully she felt so much better for her birthday dinner/party.  Sadly, Benton later called us in the evening to tell us that now he was having some similar gastro issues. Uh Oh, we are praying that it stops there and doesn't travel over here...we've been on alert today.  He's feeling some better tonight, but said he had a very rough night and morning.  Also, Rose found out that at least 10 other people at her place of work were sick with the same thing that she had! So that explains the origin of that!

Anyway, back to the sunset last night...It started out light and golden...

And then as I watched, it changed into a beautiful deep orange sky...

And  these were the final moments before it was swallowed up by the grey clouds above...

As I stood there in awe, I remembered the first song we sang at church in the morning,

"How Great Thou Art".

We can sing along with Carrie Underwood.

Oh Lord, my God

When I, in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder

Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in

That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing

He bled and died to take away my sin

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart

Then I shall bow, in humble adoration

And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Stuart Keene Hine

And with that, I will close for this night.  Praise God for His beauties in His creation, even the things that aren't so beautiful and yet are unique and amazing.  Praise Him for all His goodness and kindness and love and mercy shown to us!  We have a lot to be thankful for as we approach this New Year!  I want to start the New Year off right by giving praise to God in all things.  Amen.

P.S.  I still don't know my new "One Word" for 2025, but I know God will reveal it to me on time...so stay tuned for further developments.

Good Night!!