Happy Palm Sunday!

Our cross this morning, adorned with palm branches.

Matthew 21:8-9 NKJV

8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 

9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Hosanna in the highest!”

Beautiful Easter Lily plant, a gift from Rose and Benton. I know it was meant for Easter, but it's already blooming, so we will enjoy it all week long.

I had also bought one at the store yesterday, and it is just starting to bloom as well. We will plant them in the Memorial Garden once they are done blooming, and they should come up again next year.

I also bought this little pot of miniature daffodils, since they finally got some in our grocery store this week:

I wish they had been available the week of my sister Doris' birthday so I could've taken them to her, but it is what it is. I sent her a picture of these so she can enjoy them from afar.

If you'd like to listen, here is our choir singing "All Hail King Jesus! All Hail Emmanuel!, King of kings, Lord of lords, Bright Morning Star."  This was our choir anthem this morning for Palm Sunday. This was pre-recorded this past week at choir practice.

Following our song the Pastor will preach the Palm Sunday message, "The Triumphal Entry" from 

Luke 19:28-47

Did any of you see the Pink Full Moon last night and this morning?  Although my camera doesn't do the moon justice, and it really doesn't look very pink, I still thought these photos were pretty amazing.  I got up at 5:30 this morning, and I looked outside at Still Waters Pond, and this is what I saw:

Do you see what I see standing in the water along the shore?  Yep, those are the Canadian Geese!

There are two of them, but the one on the left is kind of hard to see. They were standing there, basking in the moonlight. I thought that was pretty amazing!  I've never known them to be up and awake at that hour before...but then again, I usually wouldn't be able to see them if they were. It's only because of the moon reflecting on the pond that I can see them this time!

I guess it's kind of pink...

These next pictures were all taken last nigiht from our front porch around 9:00 p.m.  It was rather cloudy, and at first the clouds were obscuring the moon, but when the clouds broke, it made for some dramatic photos:

I know, they all look pretty much the same, but I just loved the cloud formations all around the moon. It was really beautiful!

I'm sure many of you are wondering about our kitty-cat situation...Well...Here's a picture of Blackie Sue right now:

That blue chair was a "gift" to us last week. Apparently someone must have lost it from the back of a pick up truck or something, because it appeared on our front lawn out of nowhere. We left it there for a day thinking someone would come back to claim it, and when no one did, it became our chair and was moved to the back porch. I rather liked it and thought it was comfy.  Well, apparentlyMiss Blackie Sue also thinks it's comfy, and has adopted it for HER chair! This is where she's been taking most of her afternoon naps lately.  But like I said before, Let a pregnant girl sleep wherever she's comfortable, right?  And yes, she's still pregnant and getting larger every day.  I thought maybe the Pink Full Moon would make her go into labor, but so far nothing is happening in that department. It's a waiting game.

Meanwhile, Sunshine has moved his naps to the front porch, on top of the little wicker table:

"Hey! Are you looking at me? You woke me up from my nap!"  (How did he know I was looking at him? I guess when I moved the blinds back to see him he detected the motion and had to see what was happening.

A little later the two of them were reunited for supper on the front porch, which is where I am still having to feed them because those pesky Muscovy ducks are still out there on the pond and if I dare try to feed the cats on the back porch the ducks will fly in out of nowhere and want to be fed!

I've been extremely careful to not let the ducks know when I am feeding the kitties on the front porch, because I certainly don't want them to come around there and try to eat their food!  But wouldn't you know, I came out on the front porch the other evening, and there were those ducks in the front driveway!!!!!

I shooed them  back around the house...

And off they flew bac toward the pond:  (See the white wings?)

They are pretty when they fly, but that's the only good thing I will say about them.  By the way, our son Scott did come last week and clean out all the eggs and disposed of them in the woods.  They haven't come back to the nest to lay any more eggs since then.

The couple who is trying to capture the ducks and take them to their pond did come by one evening this past week and tried unsuccessfully to catch them. Apparently there are only two ducks now as that is all that is showing up on shore now.  They said they would come back the next day, but then they texted me that their daughter was sick and they had her at the ER.  Later I found out that little "Gracie", who is 5 years old, has strep throat, and their 4 month old baby boy is also sick. So they will not be back to try again to catch the ducks until the children are well. Thankfully she said the antibiotics they gave her at the ER are helping, so hopefully both children will feel much better soon.  

 Then hopefully the duck saga will be over.

I did something silly the other day.  A sweet friend who loves to give me little things for my "doll family" had sent me this cute little toy cat carrier with these two cats in it.  However, originally the cats were one brown and one yellow.  Well, since receiving that little gift some time ago and putting it in "Pamela's Victorian Cottage", I inherited our two real kitties, and one is yellow, but the other one is black, so I decided that to keep things more authentic here at Pamela's Victorian Cottage, those kitties should match our real kitties...so here you go...

The little mother at Pamela's Victorian Cottage continues to wonder what she is going to do with so many mouths to feed. LOL.  Little does she know that Blackie Sue is expecting kittens.  (but please, no one needs to send me any little plastic black kittens...it's okay...we can just pretend, okay? LOL.)  My paint job on Blackie Sue's eyes didn't come out too well. LOL. She looks a bit like an alien kitty, but she's still cute.    I know, I must have too much time on my hands. LOL.

Have you decorated your house for Easter yet?  I have not  actually done anything inside yet...I managed to bring in the big tote full of bunnies and things from the shed, but it's still sitting there waiting for me to get busy.  However, I was "gifted" this very Eastery wreath last week...the lady I met at the farm market made this and she gave it to Benton to give to Rose, but they decided that I would probably enjoy it even more, so they gave it to me...

Here's the closeup of the middle part...see the sweet little bluebird?  Speaking of which, the bluebirds never have built their nest in the birdhouse this year. They must've decided to skip nesting this year...I do still see them fly in and look things over now and then, but they just never have gotten around to nesting. Maybe Mom Bluebird needed a rest.

Anyway, I did try to put this on the front door, but it was really too big and bulky for our storm door to close over it, so I moved it to the inside of the door and put this cross on the door instead, which was actually created by the same person at that Farm Market. Her name is Pamela also...she's the one who said she'd like to have a kitten...so I am wanting to stay in touch with her!

I like the cross better for the door because that is the message that I prefer to give to the neighborhood for Easter...the Cross is what made all the difference in our lives and brought us salvation! But the resurrection of Christ from the grave is what gives us eternal life!

One more thing...we were given this beautiful flag actually as a Christmas gift from a dear blogging friend.  We thought Easter time would be a wonderful time to display it.

This is on the front of our storage shed, which faces the street we live on.

I love it and the message it conveys.  

Psalm 33:12-22  NKJV

"12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

The people He has chosen as His own inheritance."

Well, I think it is time to bring this Palm Sunday post to a close. I hope you are having a blessed Palm Sunday, and that this Holy Week will be a time of reflection and prayer as we prepare for Good Friday and then the most important Holy Day of the year, Resurrection Sunday, also known as Easter!

I serve a risen Savior

He’s in the world today.

I know that He is living,

Whatever men may say.

I see His hand of mercy;

I hear His voice of cheer;

And just the time I need Him

He’s always near.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives?

He lives within my heart.

2

In all the world around me

I see His loving care,

And though my heart grows weary,

I never will despair;

I know that He is leading,

Through all the stormy blast;

The day of His appearing

Will come at last.

3

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian,

Lift up your voice and sing

Eternal hallelujahs

To Jesus Christ the King!

The Hope of all who seek Him,

The Help of all who find,

None other is so loving,

So good and kind.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives?

He lives within my heart.

 

The Presence of God...and the Ninety and Nine

This past January I selected a new "One Word" for 2013: PRESENCE.  (Click on the word Presence  to see that particular post).  Today in my morning devotions I was reminded again of that word, "Presence", particularly as we think of the Presence of God in our daily lives.  As I ponder God's presence in the ordinary places I find myself throughout the day, week, or even at any given moment, I realize that He is always so close that if I actually take the time to pay attention I could practically, literally reach out and touch Him.  I actually wrote about this as well back in January, HERE, in "Watching in the Ordinary Things".

Today's scripture reading leads me to give thanks to the Lord for all His mighty deeds and wondrous works...

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord!

Call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples!

Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;

Talk of all His wondrous works!

Glory in His holy name;

Let the hearts of those rejoice

who seek the Lord!

Seek the Lord and His strength;

Seek His face evermore!

Remember His marvelous works

which He has done,

His wonders, and the judgments 

of His mouth,

O seed of Abraham His servant,

You children of Jacob,

His chosen ones."

Psalm 105:1-6

I give thanks to the Lord for His Presence in my life each and every day. Even during the night seasons He is with me. I experienced this in particular during the night just before dawn today.  I was having a dream about a childhood/school friend, who passed away over thirty years ago.  In the years since this friend died I have struggled with his untimely death, primarily because I was not certain in my heart whether or not he was actually in heaven.  (I wrote about this on one of our "Random Journal Days" here...).  I'm not sure why he came to my mind again in my dreams at this time.  Perhaps because I was reminded of him last weekend when I visited the church youth camp where we both attended as teens, and then today I was going to go to a funeral at the church we attended for the wife of our former pastor that we both loved.  In my dream he seemed to be sad that no one had ever really loved him here on earth. I found myself cradling him like a little child, and rocking him back and forth and telling him that he is loved, and that he is loved with an everlasting love.  

This dream was very troubling to me, and I shared it with my husband when I woke up because I just couldn't shake it.  I told him that this dream seemed so very real, like I was actually talking to my friend, and then when I woke up I realized that I couldn't be talking to him because he is dead.  My husband, wise pastor/counselor that he is, said something that brought great comfort to me and settled this quandary for me once and for all.  He said, "Remember what Jesus said to the Sadducees concerning the Resurrection,

"But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord  'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Luke 20:37-38  "

This may not make any sense to you...but it made perfect sense to me...because I realized then that my friend really isn't "dead".  It was a comfort to me to finally put it to rest...it was as though God's presence was reaching through my dream...and then my husband, to assure me that my friend is alive and well...in heaven. My doubts about his salvation were because his life took a wrong turn as an adult, at least in my mind, but as I looked back over our childhood experiences together in church, youth camp, I realized that first of all, I am not the judge of whether or not a person is "fit" for heaven...that is God's business, and that sometimes things happen in people's lives that hurt them so deeply that they wander away from the fold of God, thinking that no one could possibly love them.  That doesn't necessarily mean that God no longer loves them, or that He stops reaching out to them.  Actually... God goes out and searches for that one lost sheep...and brings him back safely to the fold.   Listen to this wonderful old song.The Ninety and Nine...which tells the story of how much God loves His wandering children.  (You can read more about this story in  Luke 15:3-7)

I keep this picture in my Bible to remind
me that Jesus always watches over His sheep, and
He will seek and recover the one lamb who goes astray.

This whole story may be more than you really care to read about...and you may think I've gone off my rocker talking to people in my dreams, etc.  Sorry if you feel that way. I'm here to say that God works in mysterious ways to bring comfort and closure to His children. For me it was a dream. For you it may be something totally different.  You see, as I quoted earlier, "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living..."  Why? Because He lives!

"I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today;

I know that He is living,whatever men may say;

I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,

And just the time I need Him,

He's always near.

He lives, He lives,

Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me

along life's narrow way.

He lives, He lives,

Salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives:

He lives within my heart!"

("He Lives", Alfred H. Ackley, 1887-1960)

I hope that you know this wonderful Savior, and that He is living in your heart today.  "Just the time I (you) need Him, He's always near!"   Experience His loving Presence in your life right now. That's where the peace comes from.