Getting the New Year Started off Right!

 This is how I felt when I was beholding the beauty of the skies this evening...What a beautiful way to start off the New Year!!!

Psalm 19 NKJV

 1 The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament shows His handiwork.

2 Day unto day utters speech,

And night unto night reveals knowledge.

3 There is no speech nor language

Where their voice is not heard.

4 Their line has gone out through all the earth,

And their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,

5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,

And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.

6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,

And its circuit to the other end;

And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Psalm 8:3-5 NIV

3 When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you care for them?

5  You have made them a little lower than the angels

and crowned them with glory and honor.

Psalm 104:1-4

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, You are very great:

You are clothed with honor and majesty,

2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,

Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,

Who makes the clouds His chariot,

Who walks on the wings of the wind,

4 Who makes His angels spirits,

His ministers a flame of fire."

‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth 

by Your great power and outstretched arm. 

There is nothing too hard for You.  

Jeremiah 32:17

I hope you enjoyed those beautiful views of the sunset and the moon rising into the clouds as much as I did. I apologize for so many pictures, but it just kept changing, and it was all so amazing! We are thankful for the clouds, because there is a prediction of some rain tomorrow!  We are truly hoping that is the case!! Our "Still NO Waters Pond" is in great distress!  So we are praying that 2026 will turn that situation around and provide the much needed rain. I will keep you posted.

So, how did YOU start out the New Year?  We actually had our traditional New Year's Day dinner last evening...the southern tradition, that is, of Black Eye Peas cooked with some ham, Collard Greens, Cornbread, Rice, and also a Meat loaf (which isn't the tradition but it's what we wanted).  And do I believe this will bring us "good luck" in the New Year? No, I don't believe in luck, bad or good. We just eat it because it's the southern traditional meal for New Years and it's a fun way to start off the New Year. When we lived up north we often had pork roast and sauerkraut on New Year's.  Whatever the local tradition is, we enjoy trying it.

Anyway, I cooked the food and we took it over to Benton and Rose's house since they were busy working on a project and didn't have time to stop and cook.  

Here's my plate: (Sorry, I had already started eating it before I remembered to take a picture)

Here we are, and yes, thankfully we are both feeling much better than we were and it was fun to get out of the hoouse and be with the kids at their house for a change...

Rose's sister Tina and her son Charles were there helping them with their special project...

Charles and Benton (and John too)

After supper Tina and Charles had to head back to their home about an hour north of us, but we settled down with the kids in their living room and they put a fire in the fireplace and we enjoyed visiting in their cozy Christmassy home. You can see Sugar and Spice there also...

So what's the big project they were working on? Well, they have a shed that mostly has been used for storage, but they've been wanting to fix it up to use it for a possible guest cottage in the future, so they needed to insulate it and put a few more windows in...

Here's Rose with new window #1,

And Tina getting ready to install window #2:

And Benton showing me both of those new windows and also the wall insulation:

Charles and Tina both working on the other side, doing a little bit of wiring and more insulation....

and here's window #3 on the other side and that wall insulated...

Eventually they will finish insulating the ceiling and then will figure out the rest of the interior layout. They won't be able to install a real toilet due to the distance from their septic tank, but they will put in a sink and shower and whoever stays out there will have to use a "honey bucket" or a camper toilet. There will be a small kitchenette as well.  Except for the "honey bucket" thing, I wouldn't mind staying there myself,  but I'm not so sure about that honey bucket idea. A toilet is one of those "necessities of life" for many of us older folks...

But all that notwithstanding, it is a great idea and a lot of fun. They have wanted to do this for a long time, and now I hear that two of Rose's other sisters from Minnesota may be coming down for a visit in February, and so the goal is to have it ready by then!  They are the younger more outdoorsy type who won't mind the inconvenience so much...and it should be a lot of fun!

So, that's how our New Year has started out so far!  I'm excited for them, and happy to see things starting out in a positive and productive way!

Next on my agenda is to get the Christmas decorations/tree put away, but I am not in a big hurry and will take my time. We enjoy the lights of the tree and other things, so I kind of hate to put it all away while it is still so dark so early! Then again, some days I just want all the clutter out of the way, so we'll see which side of me wins out. LOL.

I hope you are starting out the New Year in a positive and productive way too!  

Here's a positive thought from the book of Revelation:

Revelation 21:5 a  NKJV

5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”

I am looking forward to that day.  Amen.  Be blessed my friends.