Wednesday Treasures

Might as well start this post with something "interesting"... what is that, you say?  Looks like an upside down umbrella! Yes, that is exactly what that is!  And why is it upside down on the ground?  Well, because a couple of days ago a very big wind blew through here and literally picked it up out of the table on the FRONT PORCH, and carried it UP AND OVER THE TOP OF THE HOUSE and dropped it in the back yard beside the BACK PORCH!! I kid you not!  The wind came up so suddenly that we didn't have time to go close the umbrellas on the front porch.  I heard a loud bumping noise and knew it had probably gotten blown out again, because that happened a few weeks ago in a storm.  So I went out front to look for it and couldn't find it anywhere! I thought to myself, "Wow, that was some kind of wind! It must've blown it down the street somewhere!"  Then my hubby said "Look out in the back yard...there it is beside the back porch!"   The only way it could've gotten there was to be lifted up and over the roof of the house!  That's pretty amazing!!   Yes, we had quite the thunderstorm with a lot of wind, but thankfully no other damage was done here.

A little while after the storm was over we decided to take a little ride into town. I told hubby that I'd like to drive by our church and see if they ever put the new sign up, because it was supposed to have been done over the weekend and for some reason it never happened.  So as we turned onto the street where our church is, we could see that there were people there actually installing the sign right then! That was a surprise, and I was so happy because I was suppposed to try and get pictures of it being installed for our church Facebook page, but I had been sick over the weekend and didn't get out of the house, and they didn't do it then anyway.  So God's timing was perfect! He gave me that little nudge to go see if it was done yet and there it was being completed right before my eyes! I love it when God brings a plan together like that, don't you?

We are excited to have this new sign because since the highway out in front of the church was four-laned, it is difficult for people to see where our church is and where to turn.

This sign has an electronic billboard so we can put messages about services and special programs, or even a Scripture verse on the sign.  I can't wait to see it all connected and working...but the weather has been bad the past couple of days and they haven't been able to finish setting it up yet.

I didn't get a picture of this, but something else happened at this same time. When we turned on the street beside the church, we noticed power trucks down on one side of the street, and a police car next to a little house on the corner that belongs to one of our church members. Then I noticed that a large tree had fallen on top of her house, and had pulled down the power lines, so that is why the power was off on the street.  Thankfully, the 99 year old woman who owns that house is now in a nursing home and she wasn't at home when this happened.  However, her daughter lives here in town, and so I called her to see if she'd been notified about the tree on her mother's house, and no, she had not! It had just happened during the storm, and most likely the police wouldn't have known to call her since she's not the owner of the house. Of course she was very upset about it happening, but so thankful I had called so they could get someone over there to check it right away. Again, this was God's perfect timing! If I had not been "nudged" to go check on the church sign, I wouldn't have seen the tree on the lady's house, and with the rainstorms that we have had the past couple of days, there would've been a lot more damage done to the inside of her house. Thankfully her family was able to get over there and put tarps on the roof and boarded up a broken window. They said that it was a blessing that their mother wasn't still living there because where the tree hit the window and broke it was right beside the chair where she would normally be sitting! 

Wow!  I tell you all of this because it is an example to me of the ways that God works.  We may never know all the ways that God uses His little "nudges" to get us out of harms way in time, or put us in a place to help someone else.  

Here are some words of wisdom and treasures from God's Word for today that goes along with what I am trying to say!

Proverbs 2:1-9

"1 My son, if you receive my words,

And treasure my commands within you,

2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom,

And apply your heart to understanding;

3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment,

And lift up your voice for understanding,

4 If you seek her as silver,

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,

And find the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

8 He guards the paths of justice,

And preserves the way of His saints.

9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice,

Equity and every good path."

Yes, yesterday was a total washout day weatherwise.  It rained and stormed pretty much the whole day. And I woke up with a bad case of vertigo, and so I ended up pretty miserable and "out of it" for the day. I was actually thankful for the rain and clouds so the house stayed dark and quiet and I could rest.

But I woke up this morning feeling much better, and when I went outside at 7:00 a.m. to feed the kitties, I did a little walkabout the yard to look at Still Waters Pond and to see how nice it looked after so much rain had fallen to help fill it up.

Eventually all of that green grassy area you see along the shore will be under water. That's the true shoreline for the pond, so we still have a ways to go, but every raindrop counts!

Oh, and look at this great big "bird" that was drinking in the bird bath! I believe that is what they call a "cat bird". LOL.  

Sunshine was reminding me that I had neglected to refill their swimming pool after the guy came and mowed the grass the other day.  He prefers to drink from the pool rather than the bowl of water that I keep refilled for the cats on the porch.  He would rather drink the dirty pond water or kitty pool water than the clean water I give him.  Probably because our water has chlorine in it. I don't blame him. I don't like it either! I always drink filtered water, so maybe that's what I need to give the cats too. They're pretty smart.

His little pink tongue was just a lapping up that bird bath water. Thankfully it was clean from all the fresh rainwater.

Yes, I see you, Sunshine! You are definitely a character!

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine 

 You make me happy when skies are gray

You’ll never know dear how much I love you

Please don’t take my sunshine away!"

Well, I guess that's it for today.  The storms have pretty much gone further away,  although as I look out my window right now I see some storm clouds gathering in the west, so maybe it's not quite over after all. That's fine. Still Waters Pond says "Thank You, Lord!".

And I say "Thank You, Lord," as well.  Thank You for the rain, thank you for the sunshine, and thank you for giving me strength and healing today.  And thank You for giving me little nudges to do things in Your perfect timing. These are truly my special treasures today. Amen.