Welcome to my "Open Window"...a place of hope, encouragement, and adventure as we journey down the road from "Closed Doors" to the new opportunities God places in our pathway. I hope you will take the time to go back and follow the trail of mixed blessings and fears, failures and triumphs from the past and side-trips in the present. Perhaps it will conjure up some of your own special memories, and be an invitation for you to share with others. I look forward to spending this time with you!
What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Tuesday 4~ How?
This is a cute house...no, it's not the house I live in, but I really love it. It has a lot of character!
1. How did you end up in the place where you are living?
Long story, but after our son got married and moved to this town, we started coming here to go to church on Sunday at the sweet little church where they were married. We fell in love with the church, the people, the small town and its affordability. We were living about 30 minutes away, in the middle of the Ocala National Forest, and far from "civilization", so to speak. The now much too large house was suddenly empty and there was nothing to hold us there, so we put our house up for sale and started looking in this town where we now live. It took about 9 months to sell our house and move here, and we are very thankful for how the Lord put it all together perfectly for us. HERE is a link to a post I wrote just after moving into our current home.
Sunrise Monday morning...
Closer view of the sunrise through those trees...it was golden bright, for certain!
2. How did you end up with the job you have/had?
I'll go with the last job I held until I retired. Due to some unpleasant circumstances at a previous job, I had left there when things got beyond what I could "live with", and then unfortunately I was unemployed for about nine months before I could find another job that was right for me. After many interviews and even some second interviews for jobs that I thought would be good, nothing seemed to be working out. Then one day I intereviewed for an office position at a large church, which I thought with my background in churches and church offices I would be a "shoo-in", but unfortunately I was not chosen for that position. I was getting very discouraged, when about 3 weeks later the office manager from that church called me and asked if I was still available, and if I would be interested in a different position in that church office. I asked what position, and she said "Mine". She was leaving to go somewhere else, and her position as the Financial Administrator for the church was open and she and the Pastor of the church both thought I would be a good fit for it. It was a much bigger and better paying position than the one I had previously interviewed for. Of course I said yes that I would be interested, and so not long after I was hired and began my work there. I had no idea what a mess I was stepping into. The woman who was leaving the position had not done a very good job of bookkeeping, and there were a LOT of big messes to clean up in every aspect of that job. I honestly thought I had made a huge mistake once I saw the magnitude of what I was going to have to do. But God was with me, and He guided me through it one step at a time, and eventually everything that needed to be "fixed" was fixed and things worked out very well from then on. It was still an extremely challenging position, but I thank God for His guidance and constant support throughout my 6 years there until I was able to retire.
Long story short...We met while attending a community college near my home. We were introduced by a fellow whom I had dated briefly, but we were just good friends and had graduated high school together. He introduced me to my future hubby at lunch one day in the college dining room, and from then on we became inseperable...and we got married about 10 months later...and we've been together ever since...it will be 57 years of marriage this coming August! I believe it was definitely a "God-thing"...a "match made in heaven". Not saying everything has been perfect all these years...no, that would definitely not be true, but God had a plan for our lives, and He has been the glue that has held us together in spite of sorrows and trials and tribulations and many many moves. Without Jesus Christ at the center of our home and marriage, I don't know if we could've survived. And that's the honest truth! But I am VERY thankful for the life we have had together, and I wouldn't have wanted it to be any other way. Well, maybe less trials and tribulations...but those things helped us to grow stronger.
Ecclesiastes 4:11-13 NKJV
11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Leaving for our honeymoon right after our wedding. My dress sure was short! LOL.
I picked some of our azaleas and my little favorite "fairy flowers" this morning.
And I picked one of the roses on the new rosebush that we planted over the weekend.
It smells SO good!!!
4. How did your weekend go and how is the week ahead looking?
This past weekend was great. You can read more about that in the last post I wrote. The week ahead...well, I guess I need to look at one of my many calendars...actually we don't have too much planned, but that's always subject to change! I had Ladies' Bible Study on Monday afternoon, and I will have choir practice Tuesday night. We are practicing for our Easter Cantata, and it's sounding pretty good so far! Other than that, the rest of the week is kind of "up for grabs". Somehow the days always manage to get filled up.
Thank you for visiting here today. I would love for you to sign my guestbook and let me know you stopped by. I always enjoy reading your comments and words of encouragement! May you be blessed as you go on your way. Please come back and visit again soon.
Fun visiting and reading your responses to the questions this morning. What a full and blessed life. 😊
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