Special "Celebrations" and Blessings

 Good Sunday Morning...the First Sunday in Lent for 2026!  This first part of the post will be a "repost" from years past as a devotional reading for today.  Then I will follow up with some current events...

(This photo was taken in our previous neighborhood several years ago)

Good Morning!  As we continue along in our journey through the Lenten season in preparation for the remembrance of Christ's ultimate sacrifice on the cross on our behalf, I would like to revisit this post from many years ago.  Praying that it will be a blessing to you today as well...


Original Post 3/11/2011:

I love to sing the old hymns of the faith...and I want to keep them alive for future generations.  This morning in my devotional time with my husband, we focused on this old hymn as a prayer:

"Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night,

Jesus, I come, Jesus I come;

Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,

Jesus, I come to Thee;

Out of my sickness into Thy health,

Out of my want and into Thy wealth,

Out of my sin and into Thyself,

Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of my shameful failure and loss,

Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;

Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,

Jesus, I come to Thee;

Out of earth's sorrows into Thy balm,

Out of life's storms and into Thy calm,

Out of distress to jubilant psalm,

Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of unrest and arrogant pride,

Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;

Into Thy blessed will to abide,

Jesus, I come to Thee;

Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,

Out of despair into raptures above,

Upward for aye on wings like a dove,

Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,

Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;

Into the joy and light of my home,

Jesus, I come to Thee;

Out of the depths of ruin untold,

Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,

Ever Thy glorious face to behold,

Jesus, I come to Thee."

Written by William T. Sleeper, 1819-1904

Wow! Doesn't that hymn speak to you?  This is one of those songs that we often would sing as a prayer of commitment and surrender at the close of a church service.  Even though these words were penned by the composer over one hundred years ago, they are still applicable and powerful to me today.

During this Lenten Season, rather than focus on what you are giving up, why not consider what new insights you can glean from God's Word, the faithful messages found in the hymns of our faith, and other devotional writings as God leads you.  Then, share those thoughts with others throughout your day...whether by email, Facebook, notes written in cards, or by word of mouth in your conversations with friends and loved ones. If we could manage to share a word of encouragement and hope with another person each day, what a difference there would be in our world!

Have a glorious day...and give someone a real hug today.  God bless you real good! (((((HUGS)))))

Back to the present, Feburary 22, 2026...I love that picture of Jesus hugging that woman above, don't you? It makes me think of several things...one, how He holds us and cares for us now, during our times of sorrow and grief and pain, and secondly, how He will welcome us into heaven one day, when all of our sorrow and grief and pain will be over.  What a glorious day that will be!  This afternoon we will be celebrating the life of one of our dear friends from our church...(She's the one who made that beautiful shawl for me HERE).  She went to be with Jesus after her 2&1/2 year battle with cancer, and I can well imagine Kim being held in the arms of Jesus just like that as she entered heaven's gates. I am so happy for her, but very sad for her dear husband and parents and family. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

On another happier note, yesterday we had a different kind of celebration...the celebration of my sister Doris' and her hubby Art's 60th wedding anniversary!  We gathered with friends and family at a wonderful restaurant about an hour and half's drive from us, but well worth the trip to be with family and celebrate this happy occasion!  Here's the pictures:

Art and Doris, 60 happy years of wedded "bliss"...

My sister Doris is wearing the antique lavalier necklace that belonged to our maternal grandmother. She also wore this at their wedding as "something old", and so did I and every other bride in our family since my mother inherited it from her mother. It's a "family tradition" that I love. Doris is the "keeper of the lavalier" nowadays, and someday she will pass it down to her daughter to be used in all future generations of brides marrying into our family.

Sisters!!

Family...too busy eating to show their faces! LOL.  I was very neglectful in getting everyone to look  up, and sadly we forgot to get a group photo of the whole family together...we were all too busy enjoying our dinner and time together!

Here's my part of the family...my hubby is appalled at this picture...sorry, honey, I caught you with your mouth full!  Oh, and Scott was unable to attend. He lives a bit too far away to drive this distance from his place and back.

And this is my hubby's brother Billy and his wife Peggy. 

This restaurant, "Cook's Buffet", in Deland, Florida, is well known for it's wonderful salad and vegetable bar and meat buffet, with choices of leg of lamb, roast beef, chicken, ham, etc., that they carve off the bone and serve you.

This is my plate... I had been looking forward to the leg of lamb ever since I knew we were going there. This restaurant used to be called "Holiday House", and there used to be a chain of them in central Florida when I was growing up.  Now there is just this one, but it is owned by the same people who founded it, and the food is all just like it was when I was a child and we used to go there with my grandparents years and years ago!  Here is the website, in case you want to know their history.

(website photo)

It was a very wonderful celebration of two dear people, and we give thanks to the Lord for their life and testimony of God's grace and love.

On our way back home we did a little journey down memory lane and took a little side trip to two places where we had previously lived while serving churches in that area.  I took pictures of the houses, but not the churches...here's the first one:

This is the Parsonage at First Baptist Church of Pierson, Florida, where we lived while serving at that church. That front porch is new since we lived there.

And this was a manufactured home we had "built" and placed on this lot in Whispering Pines, Georgetown, FL., while we served at another church nearby, Beulah Baptist in Fruitland, FL.

These were both homes during special seasons of our life, and we give thanks to God for the blessings He bestowed upon us and for the privilege of serving Him during that time.

Well, it's time to get a move on and get ready for church today. Retired now from the pastoral ministry, but still serving the Lord any way He leads us.

Here's some thoughts from Psalm 139 to consider for today's prayer...

"1  O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;

You understand my thought afar off.

3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,

And are acquainted with all my ways.

4 For there is not a word on my tongue,

But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.

5 You have hedged me behind and before,

And laid Your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is high, I cannot attain it.

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me, and know my anxieties;

24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting."

Amen