Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

 Before I get into this post, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the tragic plane and helicopter crash from last night and the loss of so many precious souls plunged into the icy waters of the Potomac River. What a horrific thing to happen, and such a tragedy for the families and loved ones of each of those dear souls. My heart goes out to them and they are definitely in my thoughts and prayers today.  I am thankful for those heroic first responders who risked their own lives to try to rescue anyone who might have survived, but who quickly discovered that it would be a recovery search instead of being able to rescue anyone. Our thanks to them for their quick action and commitment to saving lives. May God protect each and every one.  I pray for those who perished that they were ready to meet Jesus face to face, and that they are resting in His loving arms today. Amen.

First of all, I want to thank everyone for your kind comments on my last post about the nap blankets and other special photos, and also for those who mentioned from a previous post that you would be praying for hubby as he had his cataract surgery today.  His surgery went very well, as far as we know right now anyway. Time will tell if it worked. We go back tomorrow morning for a follow up appointment.  It's been a long day as we had to be there by 7:40 this morning, and the surgery center is an hour's drive away from us, so we were up before the crack of dawn to get there on time...and then to wait actually about 3.5 hours before he actually had the surgery! Then the long drive (me driving) back home to eat a bite of lunch before falling into bed and using our comfy "nap blankies" to take a much needed nap! LOL.  But thankfully everything went well, and tomorrow's appointment is at 8:25 a.m., so we don't have to leave quite as early as today!  Thank Goodness!  

I did take a few pictures on the way there this morning as the sun came up (while hubby was still able to drive before the surgery).  I've taken pictures at this location before on our way to his eye appointments, but never as early as this morning:

These photos were taken as we were crossing over the Black Creek, which is an inlet from the St. John's River. It was a little bit foggy as the sun was rising, and of course the car was moving quickly in traffic, so the pictures may be a little blurred, but they still have a kind of beauty all their own:

It was such a lovely moment...I'm glad I was able to capture it to share it with you!  Sunrise on the St. John's River and Black Creek is something to enjoy! It would be nice to take one of those sail boats out and see it up close.  Just don't go too far, as the St. John's River actually runs into the Atlantic Ocean!

This was the last photo as we passed the over the bridge. I thought this was kind of beautiful too! I hope you enjoyed the view!

Speaking of foggy mornings, this is how it looked on Still Waters Pond yesterday morning at sunrise:

It was actually a mixture of fog and smoke from the prescribed/controlled burns in the forest that they do periodically in the area...so I guess you could call it "Smog".  Thankfully it's not like this very often!! The air quality was not very pleasant for a while.

As I zoomed in on the pond, I noticed that our two Canada Geese were over there next to the island. They were very very still...probably not wanting to breathe that smoky air either!

Thankfully a little later when the sun came out the air cleared, and soon I noticed Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird had come for a visit to check out their birdhouses again, probably inspecting them to see if they are free of squatters! It won't be long before they will be setting up housekeeping again and preparing their nests for the next flock of baby birds!

First Mr. Bluebird inspected the house to make sure all was clear:

Then he called over Mrs. Bluebird so she could have a look inside and give her stamp of approval:

Then they flew back to the tree to contemplate things and discuss it further before making a final decision.  We actually have two birdhouses, and they flew back and forth between the two for a while, but I didn't get pictures of the other one on this day.  Time will tell which one they will decide upon.

Oftentimes it is a good idea to just "Be Still"...and consider Who God is, and seek His wisdom in what we should do:

Psalm 46:10 NKJV 

"10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!"

When we pray and seek God's direction in life we will know which way to go:

Isaiah 30:21

"Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,

“This is the way, walk in it,”

Whenever you turn to the right hand

Or whenever you turn to the left."

There was another visitor to Still Waters Pond yesterday morning:

I noticed something sitting on the branch of a pine tree way over on "Goose Island".

I'm sure you probably can't see it above, so I will keep zooming in for you:

Oh! It's a Great Blue Heron sitting in the tree, just minding his own business!

Perhaps he was taking a nap! He has his "nap blankie" wrapped all around him like a feathery shawl:

He really is magnificent! Another of God's majestic creatures that love to visit Still Waters Pond:

After he woke up from his morning nap he decided to go do some fishing:

Looks like a beautiful day for fishing! 

Now this is something really sweet and special and I want to acknowledge what a fun and thoughtful thing someone did for me...yes, one of our favorite blogging friends.  If you know and read our friend Annie's blog, Cottage by the Sea, you will know that she is our hostess each week for the "Tuesday 4" meme.  Well, you may not know that Annie also an amazing artist, and she paints the beautiful headers that you will find on her posts.  They change from time to time, so you have to check them out frequently so see them.  Well, her original post for this week's Tuesday 4 had a painting of a lovely little church in the woods on the shore of a lovely lake or on an island.  I commented on it how much I loved it and would love to live in such a beautiful place in a little cabin near that little church, that she said she painted while she was listening to "The Church in the Wildwood".   So, sweet Annie said she would add a little cottage or cabin for me on the painting...and so in her comment to me HERE, in yesterday's post, she said 

"I painted in a little house on the shore of Lake Pamela on the header. I named the lake for you since you want to live there. It's tiny to fit with the perspective of the picture but, its a nice home with your own path to the beach. I am not sure if it's what you had in mind but, let me know."

So of course I had to go look at it and see what she did on her post HERE, and sure enough, there was a lovely little cabin next to the church on the shore!  Now, I have copied the picture for you here, because I know that whenever she changes her header again on her post that picture will go away, and I wanted to preserve it to enjoy looking at and also to share with you, because it is so special and beautiful, so Annie, thank you so much! This is your painting, and I hope you don't mind me sharing it here:

Can you see the sweet little cabin next to the "Church in the Wildwood" on the shore of "Lake Pamela"?  Gosh, Annie! You have blessed me so much with this. Thank you, thank you, Thank you! I am saving this picture to look at and enjoy again and again!

Our blogging friends are such a group of talented and thoughtful people.  You all never cease to amaze me with your talents and special gifts.  Thank you all for your dedication to your craft of writing and sharing the things that matter to you with us. May we always treasure those gifts and show our deepest appreciation. 

To commemorate this special painting, I've been sitting here enjoying a "cup of cozy" tea, pretending I am on the shore of "Lake Pamela" in that cozy little cabin.  I told Annie that since the cabin is beside the church, of course my hubby would be the pastor of that "Church in the Wildwood", and we would live there serving God and never want to go anywhere else ever again!  Such a pleasant thought!   Hopefully there are some other cabins back there in the woods where other people live so we would have a congregation to worship with!  (or maybe they come across the lake in their boats? Either way, it's a nice dream!)

Once again, I thank you all for being such dear friends.  You do make our days so pleasant with your stories and pictures and interesting things you share.  Now it's time to go figure out what we are having for supper. We had a late lunch, but still eventually the tummy will grumble again and beg to be fed, so I'm off to the kitchen to figure it out. I didn't have time this morning to plan ahead.  Sounds like a good night for grilled cheese sandwiches and maybe some tomato soup.  

Good night my friends, and hug your loved ones a little bit closer as you say a prayer for those many families who lost their loved ones today.  Amen.

Matthew 5:4 NIV

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.