Thursday Thankfulness~Taking Time to Smell The Roses

I Peter 1:6-8

"6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 

7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 

8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory..."

I hope you don't mind seeing these beautiful roses from the "Double Delight" rosebush that was given to me for Mother's Day from my sweet daughter in love, Rose.  I am going to enjoy the blossoms as long as they keep blooming!  And to me, they are just too pretty to keep to myself, so that's why I'm sharing them with you.

I just wish I could share the delightful fragrance of these flowers with you!

I keep cutting these roses and bringing them inside so I can enjoy them, and also inhale their awesome fragrance!  Sometimes we just need to slow down and take the time to smell the roses along the way...

Here's one I left on the bush for now...

This was one bud that the "lubber grasshopper" was nibbling on before I discovered him. But the flower is still persevering and blooming in spite of its afflictions...there's a lesson to be learned there for us...

This bowl was something I found at a flea market a couple of years ago, and even though the flower on it is a peony, it looks so much like these roses.  It's been holding the peaches for the past few days, but I thought it was worth sharing with you too before I put it back away in the cupboard after the peaches are all gone!

Below, the flower on the right was the one the lubber grasshopper was literally devouring when I "eliminated" him from the bush, and hopefully from existence.  And again, this flower is still blooming and giving off that sweet fragrance even with its battle scars...

I liked what this little devotional calendar said, and it seems to fit today.

2 Corinthians 2:15 NKJV

15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 

Here is another one still blooming on the bush outside, and it's just so perfect that I thought I'd leave it there for a little while longer before bringing it inside.  They keep changing every day with the sunshine. 

I was doing a little walkabout the yard and saw a few other things of interest...this pink geranium is making a comeback finally after repotting it in some new fresh fertilized soil...

And these yellow mums have been hibernating in their pot since last fall.  I've been trying to keep things watered, and all of a sudden they sprang back to life!  

John 4:10-14 NKJV

10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 

12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

The first zinnia blossom in the little butterfly garden...

Remember the Gnome House that used to exist on this tree stump?

And then how it looked later after the Pileated Woodpeckers got a hold of it?

Well, I thought you'd like to see how that tree stump looks now:

Isaiah 61:2b-3

"To comfort all who mourn,

3 To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

It is still uninhabitable for the Gnome Home, but there is certainly new "life" growing all over it!

And the Gnomes are still living happily ever after over on the Holly Tree in the Memorial Secret Garden:

And speaking of the holly tree, I was sitting on my garden bench nearby for a few minutes, and this female cardinal kept flying back and forth into the tree and acting really nervous because I was so close. Now I'm wondering if she has a nest in there or nearby, based on the way she was acting. That will be something to watch and see...

Today has been rather cloudy, which is nice for a change, but I do wish it would bring some much needed rain...anyway, it was nice to walk around outside since the clouds were keeping the temperatures a tiny bit lower. (it's only 89 instead of 95 today! Wow! A cold front! LOL)

This is the big magnolia tree across the street from us, in full bloom:

So I walked over to get some close ups...no one lives in that little house, which is for sale, btw, so I wasn't bothering anyone by looking at the beautiful magnolia blossoms...

Actually, some people walked by on the street and saw me taking pictures of the tree and said "It sure is a beautiful tree!"  And I replied, "Yes, and we need to enjoy it while it's still blooming!"    

So I hope you are enjoying these flowers, which are putting on their magnificent display for the season.  This is what they are designed to do, and then they turn into a kind of a seed cone, which eventually drops to the ground and the squirrels and some birds come and eat the bright red seeds, and many more little magnolia trees sprout up in various places.

Oh,  and btw, these magnolia blossoms also smell divinely!!

This one is getting ready to bloom any day now...

I hope you enjoyed their magnificent show!

Meanwhile, on the back porch, Blackie is licking Sunshine and giving him a head bath I guess.  Oh, btw, you can really see where they clipped Blackie's left ear when he was being "fixed". That is a sign to anyone in the future that he has had this procedure done. They do that on outdoor/feral cats. I never realized it would be such a big piece cut off! It doesn't appear to hurt or look sore in any way, thank goodness.

They are so sweet together.

They are truly sweet kitties, and I am thankful that God sent them to us to enjoy.

I'm sure if you read my last post HERE, you may be wondering how my menfolk are doing. 

Well, Praise the Lord, our son Benton was sent home the following day after several tests to see if his heart was affected in any way, and after much consideration, it was determined that he was suffering from heat exhaustion. So we are very thankful for that, and he learned a hard lesson about staying hydrated during this very hot weather we've been having.

And regarding my hubby's MRI, well, he just wasn't physically able to do it at that time and it has been rescheduled until next week.  Hopefully things will go better for him next week and then we will be able to get some answers. 

You might enjoy this choral arrangement that our choir sang this past Sunday. (see video below)  You won't see me singing because I wasn't there for choir practice when this was recorded, and also we are taking a little bit of a sabbatical right now while we wait on those test results for hubby.  He needed to take a bit of a break from his teaching responsibilities and other activities that we have been involved in for now.  Hopefully we will be able to get back soon, but sometimes you have to listen to what God is telling you about your own and loved ones' health and welfare as well and take some time off  "to smell the roses."

Anyway, I was so glad this was recorded, because it has a great message and was somewhat challenging to sing!

Our God is an Awesome God and The God of Abraham Praise medley

And when the sky was starless in the void of the night

(Our God is an awesome God)

He spoke into the darkness and created the light

(Our God is an awesome God)

Judgement and wrath He poured out on Sodom

Mercy and grace He gave us at the cross

I hope that we have not too quickly forgotten

That our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God

He reigns from heaven above

With wisdom, power and love

Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God

He reigns from heaven above

With wisdom, power and love

Our God is an awesome God

The God of Abraham praise,

Who reigns enthroned above;

Ancient of everlasting days,

And God of love:

Jehovah! great I AM!

By earth and heav'n confessed;

I bow and bless the sacred name,

For ever blest.

Our God is an awesome God

He reigns from heaven above

With wisdom, power and love

Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God

He reigns from heaven above

With wisdom, power and love

Our God is an awesome God!

I can't think of any better way to close this post than with that song and message above. Our God IS an awesome God!

Psalm 47:1-2

1 Clap your hands, all you nations;

shout to God with cries of joy.

2 For the Lord Most High is awesome,

the great King over all the earth.

Amen.

Now I hope you will also take some time to go and "smell the roses" while you are able to do so. Life is so short, and we often think we are just too busy to take any time out for the pleasantries of life.  Don't do that. None of us knows how much time we have in this life, and we may be missing some of the sweetest moments by constantly staying so busy or putting things off like retirement, or a little vacation, or just some time off to do something special with the ones we love.  No one is promised tomorrow. Go ahead...go smell those roses...tell someone you love them...go out of your way to do something extra special for yourself and /or someone you love while you can. Be blessed...and be a blessing.  

Good Night my friends.