Tuesday 4~ Your Weekend

 Your Weekend!

Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
It seems that everyone loves the weekend.
What about you?

Personal Note: Funny thing about the alarm picture: This past week we had to set the alarm to get to hubby's surgery appointment on time. After pushing all the buttons, I couldn't figure out how to set the alarm on the clock beside hubby's side of the bed, so I set another simpler to operate alarm clock.  Thankfully that one worked fine and we got up on time. However, the one beside the bed that I didn't think I had set...well apparently it was set for 12:00 noon and I didn't know it. When we came home from the hospital it was blaring away.  I thought I figured out how to stop it from going off again, but the next day it did the same thing at noon (when we actually had just laid down to take a nap after another early appointment and we were very tired). I still couldn't figure out how it was set.  I disconnected it, took out the back up batteries, and then put it all back together again, and FINALLY it stopped going off at noon. I still don't know how I ever set it for noon in the first place, but at least it is no longer going off!  LOL.

1. Do you feel happier as the weekend approaches? Just how do you feel about weekends?

Well, back when I was still working, I always looked forward to the weekends so I could be off from work.  However, now that I am retired, except for Sunday, all the days seem pretty much the same. 

2. What are your weekends usually like and do you do anything special? Do you attend a church/synagogue?

Yes, for us Sunday has always been a very special day.  My hubby was a minister for about 30 years, so our life revolved around the church.  It wasn't just on Sunday...we had various other activities throughout the week. Even now that we are retired from the ministry we still have a lot church related activities each week. For a little church, our congregation stays very busy!

Besides going to church on Sunday, we often do some family oriented activities on the weekends with our kids or extended family, if they are available.   But actually, since we are retired, hubby and I try to do our other extracurricular kinds of activities during the week so that we can avoid the crowds and traffic on the weekends at the stores, etc.

3. Do you sleep later on the weekend or do you stay up later at all? Are weekends for catching up on sleep?
No, we don't sleep later on the weekend or any time.  We pretty much get up early all week long. Actually on Sunday morning we have to be at church around 8:00 a.m. for the Sunday School class that hubby teaches, so we get up and get moving even earlier on Sundays.  And we go to bed at night about the same time all the time...we try to be in bed before 10:00 p.m. and up between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. I always say you miss the best part of the day if you sleep in.  You'd never get to see the sunrise! To me, that would be very sad!

4. Do you read or watch more movies/TV on the weekends or catch up on things missed during the week?

Not really. Hubby watches football in season, and hockey and baseball also in season. Sometimes he also watches basketball, but he's not as into that as he is the other sports. I pretty much do what I always do...cook, clean, wash clothes, read, write, take pictures of birds and things in the yard. We sometimes take rides to see interesting places where I can take more pictures...but we do that mostly during the week.  Again, once you are retired, there's really no need to do so much more on the weekends. We prefer to stay off the roads on the weekends as much as possible.

I was sorry that we ended up missing church yesterday. We did go to Sunday School, and hubby taught the adult class as usual, except that he was not doing very well.  He was having some difficulty putting his words and thoughts together, and just generally wasn't quite up to par. By the end of the class we realized that he really needed to go home and get some rest. We think it was an after effect of the anesthesia he had on Thursday for his cataract surgery. But then last night he had chills and a headache during the night, so we ended up staying home today (writing this on Monday) and not going to Bible Study either.  If he's not a LOT better tomorrow I am taking him to the doctor. He doesn't want to go, but I may have to strongly encourage him. We will see how things go.   (Update: It's now Tuesday morning, and I want to report that hubby slept very well last night (better than I did!) and he says he feels much better today! Praise God!!!)

It's nice that our church pre-records the message and the choir anthem and puts it on the website for those who can't attend church.  Below is the video from this past Sunday.  I was disappointed that I didn't get to sing this song in church Sunday morning, but I was happy that I was there for practice when we recorded it.  If you watch the video you will notice that I (and some others) made a kind of grimace face at the beginning of the song.  What happened was that our choir director, who is also the Pastor's wife, was setting up the camera to record us singing because the Pastor, who usually does this, couldn't be there that night.  Just before we started to sing, she stepped back toward the camera one more time to check something, and almost tripped over the tripod, and we all collectively gasped thinking she was going to trip and fall and that the camera would go flying across the room.  Thankfully she recovered quickly and no harm was done, but the camera was recording and the music was playing and so "the show must go on".  Rather than start all over she just left the recording as it was, and it is pretty funny if you look at our faces.  I think also something was wrong with the microphones, because she's the only one you can really hear in this recording. The rest of us are way in the background, but I hope you will listen to the words of the song because it was so beautiful.

Matthew 11:28-30  New International Version

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

The name of the song is Table of Grace

"Hear the good news, you've been invited

No matter what others may say

Your darkest sins will be forgiven

You will always have a place

At the table of grace, the cup's never empty

The plate's always full, and it's never too late

To come and be filled with love never ending

You're always welcome at the table of grace

So come you weak, and heavy hearted, 

Don't try to hide your earthly scars

For in His eyes, we all are equal, 

Don't be afraid, come as you are

At the table of grace, the cup's never empty

The plate's always full, and it's never too late

To come and be filled with love never ending

You're always welcome at the table of grace

So let the first become the last

Let the poor put kings to shame

Their willing hearts will be their treasure

By the power of Jesus' name, Jesus' name

At the table of grace, the cup's never empty

The plate's always full, and it's never too late

To come and be filled with love never ending

You're always welcome at the table of grace

At the table of grace, the cup's never empty

Plate's always full, and it's never too late

To come and be filled with love never ending

You're always welcome at the table of grace

Everyone's welcome at the table of grace"

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Anna Hutto / Connie Rae Harrington

Table of Grace lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group

Nothing much else to share today...a few pictures from this morning's activity on Still Waters Pond:

Here's Blackie with a front row seat to watch the Canada Geese enjoying a peaceful morning:

Now you see why Blackie likes to camp out on our porch...He LOVES to watch the birds and geese...

Also the Ring Necked ducks were popping up and down in the water...

I don't mind Blackie watching the birds, just so long as he doesn't go after them!  

I think Blackie finally just got bored because the geese weren't doing anything all that exciting, and eventually he just went back to the chairs on the porch and slept for most of the day.

Thank you for joining in for this episode of Tuesday 4.  If you'd like to participate, you can link up HERE

P.S.

Now here's some real excitement! LOL.  I seldom (if ever) sit up at the Breakfast Bar in our kitchen. I'm usually on the other side at the sink or the stove...

But today I wanted to eat a grapefruit for a snack, and I didn't feel like taking it to the dining room table, or stand at the sink and eat it to keep from getting drips all over the place when I squeeze out the juice,

So I decided to just sit at the bar and enjoy looking at the kitchen from a different perspective for a change.  So there you go! This is the kind of excitement I find to do! LOL. Sometimes it's fun to sit in a different spot and see things from another point of view! You may discover things you never noticed before!

And yes, that stone trivet says it best: "Thankful, Grateful & Blessed".  Amen!  

And the grapefruit was really good too. While grapefruit is in season and I can find some good ones, I'm going to eat them! 

Some thoughts about wisdom for today:

Proverbs 19:8 NIV

8 The one who gets wisdom loves life;

the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.

So, "get wisdom" my friend, and you will "love life...and prosper!"

Have a blessed day and week!