Friday Foto Friends: Sunset, Full Moon, Kitty Cat, and Living Life...

 Friday is almost over, and I'm just now getting around to writing anything!  Not that I've got anything all that important or exciting to share...it's mostly been a quiet couple of days, although we did go out to lunch today with our "kids" Benton and Rose.  We went to Sonny's BBQ and had some ribs. That was a nice way to finish out the week. No pictures of that however.  

Right now as I sit here at my desk in my "Room with a View", I am looking out the window at the last remaining remnants of the sunset out across our still very dry Still Waters Pond.  Here's a few pictures that I took as the sun was going down, taken from outside in the yard, and then some through the window...

Psalm 74:12-17

"12 But God is my King from long ago;

he brings salvation on the earth.

13 It was you who split open the sea by your power;

you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.

14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan

and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.

15 It was you who opened up springs and streams;

you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.

16 The day is yours, and yours also the night;

you established the sun and moon.

17 It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;

you made both summer and winter."

Psalm 27:1-3, 7-8, 11, 13-14

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked advance against me

to devour me,

it is my enemies and my foes

who will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me,

my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

even then I will be confident.

7 Hear my voice when I call, Lord;

be merciful to me and answer me.

8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”

Your face, Lord, I will seek.

"11 Teach me your way, Lord;

lead me in a straight path

because of my oppressors."

"13 I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the Lord."

Oh, I was so surprised to see a full moon tonight!

But it kept playing hide and seek with me...

Still, even that was beautiful!

Even in the midst of unusual winter weather, drought, and a lot of uncertainty and turmoil in our world, I repeat these verses from Psalm 27:

"13 I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the Lord."

Amen.

I hope you enjoyed this beautiful way to begin this post!  I thought about saving it all for the end, but it was too beautiful and special to keep until then! Sometimes we have to write and share as we are being inspired at the moment!  

Now I can move onto other things...which really isn't anthing terribly significant, but still you might find some fun and interest here...at least I hope so.  

I know some of you have been really rooting for our outdoor cat Blackie to become a full time indoor cat...well, with this cold weather we've been having, he is spending a LOT more time inside than I ever expected would happen.  We bring him inside at night and he sleeps in the closed kennel all night on these cold nights.  Then I let him out of the kennel  and he has breakfast and then spends some time with us wandering around the house until daylight (or when it gets above freezing outside, whichever comes first). 

He has made himself quite at home...I think he can read those pillows..."Home Sweet Home", and "Stay Awhile".  He thinks they were made with him in mind...

Oh,  then he got brave enought to jump up on the top of the sofa and lay there for a while, the King of the Castle...  It's amazing how quickly these little creatures think that they "own the place". LOL!

I decided to wash that flannel cover and put something different on the sofa, and then thought I'd better put a towel on that for him so his dark hair doesn't shed on the light cover...(and also still trying to make sure there are no fleas getting into the furniture...)

What a cozy little picture.

And again, oftentimes he is up having his breakfast before my hubby comes out of the bedroom in the morning for his coffee...and so Mr. Blackie sits outside the bedroom door and waits patiently for him to come out.  I thought it was so cute that he is so enamored with hubby...but what he really wanted was to run inside the bedroom doors as soon as the opened so he could go hide under the bed!  He LOVES to play hide and seek.

He also loves to scratch on things, so I bought him this scratching thing at the store the other day...I didn't have to tell him what to do with it. He figured it out immediately:

Of course, it helps that it is infused with CATNIP scent. I didn't notice that when I bought it...but oh my goodness, he sure loves that thing!

 This is what it looks like:

And this is what happens when he decides to play with it:

Here's a short video to show him in action:

And here he is claiming his territory!  He says, "This is MINE! Don't you dare try to take it away from me!"

Lol!! Who'da thunk it would be such a hit? Wow.

You can tell I know very little about cats. But I'm learning fast!! I have to, because he is really fast!! Like I've said before, it's like trying to keep up with a two year old! Such amazing energy! (of course, when he's not doing this, he's sleeping all day, so I guess he's storing up that energy!)

I saw these dishes at the Dollar Tree the other day,  and it put me in the mood for spring, so I brought a couple home with me to get a jump start on spring decor.  I think I'm trying to tell Old Man Winter it's time to go!

I like what that says, "Live life in full bloom".  What exactly does that mean to you?  First thing that came to mind was "Bloom where you're planted."  

I was looking ahead in my little devotional Tea Time daily calendar, and came upon this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt:

I would say that man lived his life in "full bloom". 

Perhaps these verses from Psalm 37 also help us to understand how to "Live Life in Full Bloom":

Psalm 37:3-6

"3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday."

Yeah, I like those thoughts...when we trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land wherever we've been planted, feeding on God's faithfulness...delighting ourselves in Him, commiting our way to God, trusting in Him (again, that word Trust!),  then we will see God give us the desires of our heart and also He will bring those things that are truly good for us to pass...and He will help us to do what is good and just and right.   I'd say that's definitely living life in full bloom, with God at our center and source.  

(Yes, they also had tea towels to match...plus the one in the middle was a gift from a dear blogging friend years ago! I wonder if she will remember it! I still love it and keep it out in my kitchen all the time.

So, "You Grow Girl!"  Go live life in full bloom!

Okay, that's all for this Friday evening! Praying for everyone in the path of the big winter storm this weekend on the east coast. Please stay safe and warm, and I pray you will not lose any power. We are going to see some really cold temperatures here and maybe even a snowflake or two.  But I'm still thinking about spring!! It will come sooner or later! Hopefully sooner!

Good Night! God is with you, no matter what the weather!