Friday Foto Friends and Things that Make Me Smile

 I know it is still Thursday as I am writing this, but I couldn't think of anything in particular to write today without showing all my pictures so here you go...

Last Friday hubby and I decided to take a little ride to a small town northwest of here called Melrose. We went to lunch at one of their local eateries, The Blue Water Bay Restaurant. (internet photo).  The food was good but a little pricey for lunch, so we probably won't do that again.

After lunch we took a little ride around town, and happened upon the Melrose United Methodist Church, which turned out to be more interesting than lunch.  Here is a link to some history about this church.

I love finding these historic old churches in our area. This one is over 150 years old. There are many in this part of the state,  and most that I've seen are well taken care of and most are still being used.  

I was fascinated with the lovely stained glass windows, and didn't even notice the Red Shouldered Hawk that landed on top of the cross while I was taking these pictures.

But I looked up in time to get a couple more pictures of him before he flew away. It was nice of him to photo bomb my picture! It made it a lot more interesting!! Perhaps he was just letting me know that I was trespassing on his territory!

But now, you can see the stained glass windows a little better. I was standing there taking these pictures and wishing there was some way to get inside and see them.  And then, I heard voices in the distance, and as I walked around to the side of the church, I discovered some people outside  in the parking lot!

They saw me about the same time I saw them, and they very nicely asked me if I would like to go inside!  Of course I said "yes!"

My only frustration was that my camera battery was dying as I was trying to take these pictures, and I didn't want to leave and go back outside to get my phone camera because I didn't want to intrude on their graciousness for too long, so I managed to get a couple more pictures before it just quit altogether.

Aren't these windows just glorious?  The man told me they aren't really very old. They have been given in memory of different members several years ago.

This one is my favorite, Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.

But I also love this one of the Resurrected Christ, showing His nailed pierced hands.

I love these old chairs, and that picture on the left of the young Jesus, I remember seeing that one as a child. This church was so special and so very well taken care of.  

The gentleman that we talked to said they would just be starting their in-person services back this past Sunday for the first time.  I am sure this building was happy to have them back to worship and praise God again, even if they do have to social distance and wear masks.  These churches were meant to be filled with the prayers and praises of His people!

Speaking of church, I wanted to add that I started attending our Ladies' Bible Study, and we are studying the book of Joshua, "Winning the Worry Battle" by Barb Roose.  So I am learning how not to worry. That kind of worries me...LOL.  It should be a great study and I love being with the ladies from our church. 

Today, being Thankful Thursday, I will say that I am thankful for God's blessing on us this past week. I am thankful for finding a new doctor here locally. Hubby and I were not totally thrilled with the doctor's office where we had been going...always a very long wait in the waiting room, very difficult to make connections on the phone without being put on hold for long periods of time...just a lot of annoying frustrations that made us decide we needed to try some other place. We were blessed to find another clinic even closer to home, where they very professionally handled our requests, got us right in to have a first time visit  (we each went at different times), did not have to wait in the waiting room more than 10 minutes and was in and out even after having an EKG and other tests within an hour. Today I got lab work done and will go back next week for the "real visit".  But am so thankful that we found this clinic and especially that they accept our insurance plan!!

I am also thankful that we got to talk to our grandson Noah on his 21st birthday this week. He lives in Maine, and we had originally planned to make a trip up there for his birthday this year, but with the Covid virus quarantine on people coming from Florida we could not go, and he could not travel here either or he would have to quarantine when he got back home...so that kind of squelched those plans. Hopefully next year we will be able to go. Here is his most recent photo I copied from his facebook page. He's a good looking 6'4" tall young man. Would appreciate your prayers for him as he tries to find his place in the world. He's in need of some good direction right now, and all we can do is pray and trust that God will lead him.

Here are some random photos from this past week that made me smile...this neighborhood cat was making herself quite at home on my garden bench in the "Secret Memorial Garden" this morning. She usually makes her rounds around the neighborhood every day, and often stops to watch the birds and or the fish in the pond. Not sure who she belongs to, if anyone, but she does no harm. She is one of several that we see throughout the day making their rounds.

Look closely to see the deer leaping through the woods to the left in this picture below. This was while we were on our walk the other evening. There were actually 3 of them, but this was the only one I could get a picture of as they were too quick. Just about missed him!

Reminds me of Isaiah 35:6

"Then the lame shall leap like a deer,

And the tongue of the dumb sing.

For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,

And streams in the desert."

One of our nice fall-like days I sat out on my garden bench (without the neighborhood cat!) and had  a cup of tea while I watched the birds and enjoyed a nice breeze beside Still Waters Pond.

I was obeying the verse on the cup:

"Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God." Job 37:14

Actually I was sitting still, but that could also work...and certainly goes along with another of our favorite verses:

  "Be still and know that I am God."  Psalm 46:10

I heard someone say they were having trouble finding cans of pumpkin for pies in the store. So I bought a couple of cans the other day when I saw them. But our store also had Mrs. Smith's pies on sale, and I bought one of their pumpkin pies because hubby and I were hungry for one and I really didn't want to go into all the trouble of making one from scratch right now. So I baked this pie, and it smelled so good, but I am "grateful" that I have the cans of pumpkin to make my pies for Thanksgiving or whenever I get the urge, because Mrs. Smith's pumpkin pie just doesn't quite measure up...but it sure smelled good while it baked! LOL.

The fall wildflowers are starting to really bloom everywhere.  Here's another of those strange bugs on this one.  It's a "Notch-tipped flower longhorn" beetle.

Seeing these pretty bright flowers always makes me smile.

And of course our sunsets always make me smile as well.

This night in particular, it appeared that there were some powerful angels flying over us, and with all that has been going on in the world and country, this gave me a sense of peace and comfort.

All night, all day,

Angels watching over me, my Lord.

All night, all day,

Angels watching over me

Now I lay me down to sleep.

Angels watching over me my Lord.

Pray the Lord my soul to keep,

Angels watching over me.

All night, all day,

Angels watching over me, my Lord.

All night, all day,

Angels watching over me

If I die before I wake.

Angels watching over me my Lord.

Pray the Lord my soul to keep,

Angels watching over me.

All night, all day,

Angels watching over me, my Lord.

All night, all day,

Angels watching over me

How about you? What are some things that have made you smile this week? What are some things that have caused you to pause and "Be Still and know that I Am God." ?  Think about it! He's always with us, and He's always trying to get our attention through people and beautiful things around us.  I am so thankful for His daily presence.  

Angels Watching Over Me

I stepped outside this evening ostensibly to watch the sunset, 

and it was magnificent and did not disappoint.

But what really caught my attention were the clouds...and it was as if God was putting on a beautiful display of His cloud creations just to give me great comfort and encouragement tonight on the eve of my surgery.

The song that came to me right away was:

"All night, all day, angels watching over me, my Lord,

All night, all day, angels watching over me."

(There's a video of the Oak Ridge Boys singing this song following these pictures if you want to sing along)

Now, don't get me wrong, no, I don't believe that the clouds are angels. But 

so often when I have needed a little reassurance from the Lord He has shown me "His angels" in the clouds, and they have always given me peace.

 Several verses from  Psalm 91 also came to mind:

1.  "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

 2.  I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, 

My God, in Him I will trust."

 3.  Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the perilous pestilence.

 4.  He shall cover you with His feathers,

and under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

 5.  You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

nor of the arrow that flies by day,

6.  Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

 9.  Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,

even the Most High, your dwelling place,

10.  No evil shall befall you,

nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

11.  For He shall give His angels charge over you,

to keep you in all your ways.

12.  In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

14. Because he has set his love upon Me, 

therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he has known My Name.

15.  He shall call upon Me, 

and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble' I will deliver him and honor him.

16.  With long life I will satisfy him,

and show him my salvation."

I want to thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement over the past few weeks/days as I have shared with you the fact that I am having some major surgery tomorrow. Yes, it is "repair work", but because of the intricacies of this particular repair, it will be somewhat invasive and I will need several weeks to fully recuperate. Hopefully I will soon be back up and writing again, but if you don't hear from me for a while, please just say a little prayer. I will be anxious to get back to visiting with you all again as soon as possible. 

Oh, one more thing:  This morning I shared on Facebook that I was drinking that stuff that cleans you out, and I was drinking from my favorite cup:

I wanted to say that during the early moments of drinking this lovely drink (!), I did actually 

"Stand Still and consider the wondrous works of God" 

(Job 37:14) 

as I watched the geese on Still Waters Pond:

And I rejoiced in the way that God sent these beautiful creatures to visit and entertain me this morning...at least for a little while as I was able to "stand still and watch" them. 

So the day started out with God's blessing, and has certainly ended with His blessing.

And now, dear friends, I must get ready for bed. We finally heard from the hospital that I am to arrive at 5:00 a.m., and it is almost an hour's drive away from us...so...we will be rising very early in the morning. Makes me wish they'd go back to the olden days when they'd let you come and spend the night at the hospital the night before surgery. Oh well...hopefully I will be first on the docket and we can get this party over and done with!!

Final thoughts for tonight:

"I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;

For You alone,  O Lord, make me dwell in safety."

Psalm 4:8