A Day of Peace and Prayer

I wrote this from my "Secret Memorial Garden" this afternoon:
It’s 90 degrees outside and I am sitting here beside Still Waters Pond drinking a cup of hot tea 🍵. I must be crazy. But I am enjoying the peaceful surroundings. In the midst of so much chaos and sorrow in our land I just needed to get away from the world situation and pray. Don’t let my silence fool you. I am very saddened by the events of this past week, especially concerning George Floyd and his senseless death. Praying for appropriate justice to be done on his behalf. But I pray one horrendous act does not lead to further irreparable harm for more innocent people. May God help us to do the right things. Amen 🙏  

And that is all I will say about the current situation. We are all being bombarded with the horrific news from around the country...so much so that I had to turn off the TV and just get away from it for a while.  We did watch the launch of the SpaceEx rocket with two astronauts into space. That was something very positive and "uplifting"...pun intended.  Praying for their safety and successful mission to the International Space Station.

Now on to other things from the past couple of days:

Some of you may remember this beautiful Gloxinia plant that I brought with us from our old house when we moved. It is finally blooming again...and even has another bud ready to open:    This was a plant that I had basically given up on. I had just put it out in the bushes at our old house because I thought it was dead.  And then one day I looked and there it was, blooming like this! And so I paid closer attention to it, and it kept blooming all last summer. So it came with us when we moved, and it went kind of dormant for the winter, and now here it is again!  Just goes to show you that you should never give up on someone just because they don't perform exactly as you think they should all the time. Perhaps they just needed a little rest away from the noise and time to recover and bloom once again!

I noticed this little green lizard climbing on my new garden flag in the front yard today.  It looks like he wants to look at that pretty butterfly:

Or maybe he's just jealous that the butterfly and flowers get all the attention, and he wanted some too! So, yes, he got my attention!!

Something else that got my attention was the Great Blue Heron sitting so prettily on the other side of the pond. I tried to be very quiet as I took its picture....

But he didn't like it and up and up and away he flew! Which was just fine with me, because I rarely ever get a great picture of these birds in flight!  This was pretty good for high noon and in motion!!

My Facebook friends already saw these pictures, but today was "Demo Day" for Ben & Rose's Country Woodshop old shed.  For those who may not know, that is the name of our son and his wife's woodworking business where they build shelves for their Etsy Sites,   BR Coastal Rustic Decor and also Rustic Forest Studio.  They also build tables and refurbish other vintage furniture to be sold in local unique furniture shops.   Anyway, this old shed had a leaky roof among other problems, so our son and a friend tore it down today to make way for a brand new shed workshop.  Their business has been expanding over these past several months, even with the pandemic going on, and they need more room to work!

This story is to be continued when the new shed arrives...

Our sweet Grandpuppies, Sugar and Spice, were supervising the whole demo operation. 

I will close this with the words of this Psalm that we read this morning in our daily devotions. I found it particularly appropriate for our current situation in this country.  

Psalm 11

1.  "In the Lord I put my trust;

How can you say to my soul, 

'Flee as a bird to your mountain'?

2.  For look! The wicked bend their bow,

They make ready their arrow on the string,

That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart.

3.  If the foundations are destroyed,

What can the righteous do?

4.  The Lord is in His holy temple,

The Lord's throne is in heaven;

His eyes behold,

His eyelids test the sons of men.

5.  The Lord tests the righteous,

but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.

6.  Upon the wicked He will rain coals;

Fire and brimstone and a burning wind;

Shall be the portion of their cup.

7.  For the Lord is righteous,

He loves righteousness;

His countenance beholds the upright."

I don't think I need to add anything to this at all...

Have a blessed night and beautiful day of worship tomorrow...wherever you may be to worship the Lord, make it a day of peace and prayer. Our country is in desperate need for both.  Amen.

It's "Demo Day" at our "Fixer Upper"

Someday I am going to start a new blog all about our "Fixer Upper"...with all the before and after pictures along the way.  Most them are already in here somewhere, but I'd like to be able to set them apart in one big file/blog so I can access them more easily...and also maybe we'll get our own TV Show when they see what all we've done!  Ha ha!!

Lately I've been watching a lot of the HGTV series of "Fixer Upper" with Chip and Joanna Gaines...and I must say I am totally in love with them both and their sweet little family.  Every time I watch their show, however, I start getting "ideas" for more projects at our personal "fixer upper" home...and then my hubby and my sons get a little nervous...and sometimes just plain disappear!   Can't say as I blame them...because usually Mom's ideas mean lots of work for them!

So, if you ever watch the "Fixer Upper" program on HGTV, you will know that Chip's favorite day is "Demo Day", the day when they tear down all of the old stuff and make way for the new.  There is just something about ripping out old walls, cabinets, carpet, floors, or whatever is in the way or in need of replacing that totally makes you feel great!  It's a great stress reliever...just grab a hammer and start pounding on some boards or ripping down an old fence for example...Well, let's start at the beginning and you will see why this fixer upper fence needed to be fixed!

(This is the Memorial Garden for our son, which is a part of the enclosed courtyard)

One of the features of our "fixer upper" home is the enclosed courtyard/backyard, which exists not only for privacy, but for the practical purpose of keeping out the bears

and other critters in our neck of the woods.

You've seen some pictures of this area throughout the years...we've made some improvements here and there, but the fence itself has been in need of a lot of work for quite a while.

And HERE are some pictures of the gate and front side of the fence, which help you to see 

why it needs to be replaced.  We decided to start with this section below, and will repair other sections a little at a time.  

So, last night our son brought home two sections of fence to replace this front section...and the gate will be built by hand. (By my son)

 So thankful for strong men to take care of these "deliveries"....above my two sons and hubby

And so today it was MY turn to get involved, besides just taking pictures!

"DEMO DAY"

I must be related distantly to Chip Gaines! Put a hammer in my hands and let me go to work.

I also couldn't help but think about our beloved former President Ronald Reagan,

when he said to Germany:

"TEAR DOWN THAT WALL!"

And then hubby wanted to get in on the action:

And suddenly there was a new view of our back yard appearing...

And we both stood back and said, 

"Gee, It's kind of pretty without the fence...maybe we shouldn't replace it...

But then again, we do love our privacy here...and the security of no 

bears or other wild critters in our immediate back yard..."

And so....this story is to be continued

Stay tuned for further developments.

Some thoughts about being in a safe place:

"He who dwells in the secret place of the 

Most High shall abide under the

shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord,

'He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust.'

Sure He shall deliver you from the snare of  the fowler

and from the perilous pestilence.

He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday."

Psalm 91:1-6

I know a fence is not a secure item to keep out the enemies of our home and/or souls...We need the security that only God can supply...

"He IS my refuge and my fortress; 

My God, in HIM I will trust!"

Amen!!!

And Goodnight!

Sleep Tight!