It's Good Friday Now...But Easter's Coming!

 Yes, today is Good Friday, April 3, 2026.  

As I went outside early this morning to put out our flag, I was struck by the beauty of the skies...beautiful, and yet kind of moody and foreboding...as if they knew what this day was all about.

As I placed the crown of thorns on the cross, I was once again struck by how sharp they are, and how painful they must have been as they were forced down upon Christ's head as they mocked Him and hailed Him as the King of the Jews in jest...

This past week we took a little ride and I saw these thistle plants blooming alongside the road, so I asked hubby to pull over so I could take some pictures...Once again, I was struck by how painful those thorns would be if I happened to bump into them or tried to pick the flower from the stem...

The flower certainly is beautiful by itself...but I know better than to try and pick it for a bouquet...

Oh My! Once I again I was blessed with the sudden appearance of a beautiful Swallowtail Butterfly who wanted to get some nectar from the thistle flower! He didn't seem to be afraid of the thorns at all...

I was amazed at how this magnificent creature showed up just as I approached the plant...I felt like it was a gift from God at that particular moment...a reminder that He is always very close to us...and also that His Son endured the pain of those thorns just for us...

Because He loved us so much...He was willing to go to the cross and die for our sins so that we might be saved...

What a beautiful reminder...

Thank You, Lord, for what you did for me and for all mankind on that day...and what you are still doing for us today.

So, as I decided to share those pictures today for Good Friday, I remembered that I had already shared something very similar here many years ago, and have revisited it several times through the years.  I thought I should come up with something new today, but this message really says it all and I can't think of anything more to say,  so: 

I am revisiting this post again for today, Good Friday, April 3, 2026.  The message is still the same. May we honor and revere His Holy Name today...

Original Message 3/30/2018:

Dear  Friends...Please bear with me as I share these pictures with you and tie them into Good Friday...a very sacred and Holy Day...The day our Lord was crucified for our sins...so that we might live forever with Him in heaven one day! What an amazing day this is...

Sunday morning as we went forward to take communion, I knelt before the altar to pray, and I was struck by the emblems displayed there on the communion table...the whole of Holy Week was right there before my eyes...The palms for Palm Sunday,  The Bread and the Cup for the Last Supper, and the cross with the crown of thorns that Jesus wore...

 and upon a closer look, I was shocked to see the nails that pierced His hands and feet, and the whip of cords that struck His back and body over and over again, and the money bag with the thirty pieces of silver that Judas received for betraying our Lord...

These items took my breath away...I wasn't expecting to see them there...and it brought me face to face with the agony that our Lord endured that week on my behalf...and as I ate the bread and drank the cup, I prayed that God would forgive my sins and make me worthy of His shed blood...I am only worthy because of His shed blood...His sacrifice that made me whole and declared me to be holy...what a humbling and beautiful experience...such joy in knowing Christ died for me...because He loved me! And He died for YOU, too, because He loves YOU.  I hope you know this to be true in your own life...

Earlier last week during one of our walks I noticed this thistle plant growing alongside the road...look at those thorns...can you imagine the pain of bumping into this plant?  Now imagine having a crown of thorns forced upon  your head...and nails hammered into your hands and feet...No, I can't imagine how painful that must have been...

"Who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,

and as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness;

and when we see Him,

there is no beauty that we should desire Him.

He is despised and rejected by men,

a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him.

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Isaiah 53:1-3

Surely He has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

the chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Isaiah 53:4-6

A few days later we passed by this same thistle plant, and look!!! Out of something so wicked and evil as these thorny thistles came a thing of great beauty...All of these beautiful butterflies were drawn to this prickly plant to find food and sustenance for their lives!  There were so many they had to fight each other for a place on the flowers to sip its nourishing nectar and live...

Who would have thought that out of something so full of "sorrow" as this thistle would come such life giving food?

Isaiah 53:10-12

"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;

He has put Him to grief.

When You make His soul and offering for sin,

He shall see His seed,

He shall prolong His days,

and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper  in His hand.

He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,

for He shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,

and He shall divide the spoil with the strong,

Because He poured out His soul unto death,

and He was numbered with the transgressors,

and He bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors."

Thank You, Lord, for Your sacrifice for my sins. Out of Your suffering and great sorrow came new life and extreme joy.  Thank You for the beautiful gift of Your grace and salvation...and food for our souls so that we might live, and that more abundantly.   Amen.

It's Good Friday, But Easter is coming!!

Have a Blessed and Glorious Easter, my friends!

April Fool's! And Much More

Hey! Look at me, Mom!  I'm a giant chocolate Easter Bunny and I'm sitting on your dining room table and you can't make me move! April Fool's!!! LOL.  

Do you see that pink tongue sticking out at me??? This young man is certainly getting sassy in his new life as an indoor/outdoor kitty cat!  The nerve of him to think he can get on the dining room table with all of my cherished little Easter Bunny collections, and pretend he's one of them!  I think he was jealous! LOL.  And for those of you who will most likely want to ask, "What happened to his ear?"  When we had him neutered through the local TNR program, that is what they do so that if he's released back into the "wild" they will know he's already been "fixed." Apparently it didn't hurt and he's never complained about it. Makes it easier to identify him if necessary. Well, I know who he is and where he is, and right now he's back outside! So there, Mr. Chocolate Easter Bunny wannabe! LOL. (don't worry, he'll be back inside soon. It was just time for him to go out and chase lizards for awhile like a good kitty. LOL.)

So, today is April 1st, also known as April Fool's Day! And Mr. Blackie already had his fun with us.  I wonder what other fun things will happen today! Do you play April Fool's jokes on people, or do they play them on you? It's all in good fun!

There was a full moon last night, and here's this morning's view of it through the trees as it was descending...

And here's the sun rise a little bit later...a lot of jet contrails in the skies this morning!

And again, just a few minutes later...a LOT of jet activity in the skies. I wonder if this is because of that  rocket launch to the moon this morning at Cape Kennedy?  Oops! April Fool's on me! It's not scheduled until tonight at 6:45 or thereabouts. My mistake. So I guess it's just a busy morning for air travel.

Oh, another April Fool's joke on us! We are on a community water system here, and they did send out a notice last week that there would be a need to boil water on April 1st after they do an annual system maintenance.  What didn't register with my little brain was that in order for them to do that, they would be turning OFF the water this morning! It didn't register until I went to start washing the breakfast dishes and hubby went to do his morning bathroom activities, i.e., shaving, brushing teeth, grooming, etc., etc...and also subsequently I went to do my morning bathroom routine of the same (except for the shaving, LOL).  Thankfully I had several gallon jugs of water that we keep on hand for emergencies, plus we have a case of bottled water for drinking purposes, so we will survive. It was just a shock to realize that we had no water right when we wanted it most! So my dirty dishes are waiting in the sink. I'm glad I didn't start a load of laundry...and also glad we have no particular place to go today so we really don't need showers, etc. Hopefully this little inconvenience won't last too long...but then we will have to boil our water probably for a day or two until they give us the all clear notice. 

Still, I am thankful that we have water in our little world here at all. With the drought we are experiencing there is a real danger that water levels in the aquifer will continue to lower, which causes people's wells to go dry and also increases the danger of sinkholes in places that are prone to that.  So we continue to pray for rain every day. It's not just our Still Waters Pond that needs it!

Okay,  moving right along...since today is the first day of April, it's time for the calendar roll call!

We'll start out with this one that is closest to my desk...The John Sloane Country Seasons Calendar for April:

"Good Morning Sunshine".  Oh,  I love that for many reasons. Isn't it beautiful? Perhaps some of you can relate to that picture even better than I can. We don't have daffodils here (sadly), and I think most of the blooming trees are already bloomed out or haven't bloomed yet. Plus, we don't have those lovely rolling hills or mountains here either.  It truly is a beautiful scene that I would love to step right into, if I could.  Especially the daffodils. 

I've mentioned this before that my mother always put a little vase of daffodils in the center of an angel food cake for my sister Doris' birthday on April 5th. Since we moved to Florida from Pennsylvania way back in 1956, daffodils became very hard to find and so we often had to resort to using artificial ones. Anyway, my sister and her husband are coming HERE on Saturday to celebrate their birthdays with us. They both were born on April 5th. I will be baking an angel food cake for Doris, (it's her 80th birthday!) and a coconut cake for Art. (it's his 82nd birthday!)  I am on the look out for a pot of daffodils somewhere in a store between now and then, and if I can't find any, I will have to use the artificial ones. Tune in later (after Saturday) to find out if I was successful or not.

Back to the calendars...here's the log cabin calendar I have in my bathroom...this little rustic cabin looks like it's seen better days...but still there's a fire in the fireplace apparently, so someone must be at home. It would be fun to go knock on that door and say good morning! 

Love this little Susan Branch calendar and the pictures on it... that looks like my bluebird going into the nest.  

I just got up and went to the back door to look out and see if I could get a picture of any action at the Bluebird house, and this is what I saw:  If you look closely at the birdhouse, you will see mother Bluebird sitting in the door, and you will also see to the right a beautiful male Cardinal on the birdfeeder. Just after I snapped that picture the bluebird chased the cardinal away... (oh, look how beautiful the bottlebrush tree is blooming now!!!)...

The mother Bluebird flew up to the top of the post above her nest, and waited for the coast to be clear before she flew away to get some food for her babies...

Meanwhile, a female Ruby Throated Hummingbird flew up to the feeder for a drink (all this was happening in seconds of each other)

And Papa Bluebird kept a close watch over the nesting area while Mama went to find food. 

Yes, I am "in love with nature", just like that calendar above said!! God's creation is so interesting! There's never a dull moment, if you just look for it!

Okay, back to the calendars...This is the picture for the Tea Pot calendar this month...isn't it the strangest teapot you've ever seen?

This is in the description:

This Chinese Yixing Teapot has a lid  "shaped like the face of a panda..."

It's certainly different! LOL.

Let's finish up with this beautiful Thomas Kinkade calendar for April, with a picture of Notre Dame, in Paris, France.  

An appropriate picture and verse as we are in the middle of Holy Week.

And this is the verse at the bottom of the page.

Well, friends, I don't know where you are in your mid-Holy Week journey, but as we progress to the cross on Good Friday, may we be ever mindful of the great sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for our sins.

Here are some words to ponder that Jesus shared with His disciples as He was making His way to Jerusalem, knowing that He was going there to die for the sins of the world...

Luke 9:23-26

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 

24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 

25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 

26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

I wonder if we have truly counted the cost of what it means when Jesus said to all of us who would be His disciples... to "take up (his) cross daily, and follow Me."  As the days draw closer to Christ's return for His "bride", the church, I hope He will find us ready and worthy to be a part of His heavenly kingdom for eternity. I know for me, "this world is not my home, I'm just passing through", and I eagerly await  His trumpet call. Are you also ready to follow Jesus wherever He may lead? That's what this Easter journey is really all about...being ready to take up Christ's cross and follow Him wherever He may lead us.  It's truly something to think about while there is yet time.

And that's NO April Fool's Joke!!!

Have a blessed and meaningful Holy Week.

 

Tuesday 4~ What Will We Find?

 What Will We Find....

Hello! Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
Thank you to our hostess Annie for these weekly questions for us to ponder and share our answers. These questions for this week are kind of fun and interesting, so let's go find out what we will find...

1. What will we find on top of your refrigerator?

Well, you know me...a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will be answering these questions with pictures! Here's the top of my refrigerator. Hopefully you can't see the dust...well, if you look closely, you will definitely see dust. I didn't take time to dust the top of the refrigerator for this picture, so you might as well get the real picture...

2. What will we find on your nightstand?

An alarm clock that also has a phone charger built into it, which is very convenient. A lamp. A box of Kleenex, a flashlight, and that pink round thing behind the lamp is actually a hand fan. It's one of those that you can "fold up" and put in your purse, if you can figure out how to do it. I can't,  so it just stays there and I can grab it as needed.

3. What is in your purse or handbag?

My wallet, keys, sunglasses, a little tiny cosmetic bag with lipstick, fingernail file, eyedrops and other emergency things...ink pen, a purse pack of tissues, notepad. And earlier today my Bible and Bible Study guide were also in there...oh, and my cell phone goes in there when we go out.  

4. What will we find on your coffee table or side tables? How about your kitchen or dining table?

The Coffee Table: That book in the middle front is a photo album called "My Pastbook", which I created a few years ago based on photographs that I had put on Facebook over the years. It turned out pretty good. I need to do a more recent one sometime.  The little book on the right is entitled "Beside Still Waters", by Darrell Bush, which I have written about before HERE. That little book was instrumental in our naming our pond "Still Waters Pond". The bowl in the back middle was created for us by a dear friend who has since gone on to heaven. He created it from a "burl" in a maple tree from New Hampshire. It is made in the shape of an eagle. It is holding a couple of those little wire puzzles that you have to figure out how to put it together and then get it apart again.  You will recognize the game to the left of that as coming from Cracker Barrel, and to the left of that are some magazines. Of course we always have coasters on every table.

The side table between our recliners. Yes, we each have our own remote. Sometimes we play dueling remotes to see who gets to watch what they want the fastest. Or who can mute the commercials the fastest, or which one of us wins how loud the volume needs to be. It can be rather commical at times. I turn it up, he turns it down. I want to watch a certain commercial, he mutes it. I want to watch something on HGTV, he wants to watch sports. One thing we do agree on is we like to watch "What's My Line" old reruns while we eat supper in front of the TV. But I think you need to be as old as we are to appreciate them.

The puzzle and game table. The Chess board was created by my father for my husband years ago, because he knew how much he loved to play chess. Sadly, I don't think anyone has played it in years. Maybe I need to challenge him to a game...he taught me how to play right after we got married, and once I got good enough to beat him, we didn't play it as often. LOL. It's been a long time, and I'm not sure I can remember all the moves now.

The little sign "He leads me beside the still waters" was lovingly created by my sweet DIL Rose for me for Christmas one year after we moved here "Beside Still Waters Pond".  The table itself was built by our son Benton, so that makes it extra special.  It can also be used as a bench when we need extra seating for company when we need to add more tables, like at Thanksgiving.

Current View of The Dining Room Table.

This is my Easter Bunny collection, which started originally with the green one in the middle, which was given to me by my maternal grandmother when I was a child. Then the little bunny laying on his back looking at a butterfly was given to Scott, when he was a "baby", by my mother. She also gave Benton and Matthew the two smaller brown bunnies. 

 The white bunny with the Easter egg was for our grandson Noah when he came to visit for Easter as a young child, and the flowered bunny on the left with the pink ribbon in this picture above was for his mother Nicole.   The little white bunny with the pink flower was added when Rose joined our family, but then she saw the cute little brown bunny next to it, and he was a little scuffed up and one of his ears had broken off. So she took him home and fixed his ear and painted him and said she really loved that little bunny the best, because when she was a little girl she used to raise real bunnies like that. So I guess the white one with the flower is up for grabs...maybe Blackie would like that one??? LOL. 

The gray bunny on the far right is the newest member  of the family. My hubby was the only one who didn't have his own bunny, and I saw this last week at the Dollar General store, and it was perfect for him. 

This is how he looks every morning, with his glasses, a cup of coffee, and his laptop. Perfect!

So there you have the current dining room table display. I will share more pictures on Easter when the table is set and ready for Easter Dinner.  

Speaking of Blackie: Last evening while we were outside doing a little yard work, Blackie came out to follow us around as per usual.  For the first time ever that I've witnessed, since his buddy and our sweet Sunshine went over the Rainbow Bridge, Blackie noticed the little gravesite where Sunshine is buried.

He sat right down on the little stones we set there mainly to make sure no critters came and tried to dig there. He sat and watched us working and seemed to be protecting that place and claiming it as his "territory".

It was a very sweet and touching moment that just might have a brought a tear or two to my eyes.

I will close this post today with these verses about love...some powerful words to ponder as we live out this week, the events of which demonstrate the greatest love of all time.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 13 NLT

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

John 3:16-17 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 15:13 KJV

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

I hope you and yours have a blessed Holy Week and Easter.

Tuesday 4: Spring Has Sprung

 Spring has Sprung

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4/
Spring has sprung as they say and sights and sounds of winter have given way to those of springtime. With each season even the feel of the sun and wind changes and people may also have a change of attitude or a change oe heart.


1/ Many of my neighbors have chickens. Have you ever raised them for fresh eggs or is the grocer your go to for them? Also.. would the sound of a neighbor having them bother you?

I have never raised chickens and most likely would not ever do it. When I was a young child on the farm in Pennsylvania I was attacked by a mean old rooster one time, and that one time was enough for me! It left me "scarred", not physically, thank the Lord, but emotionally enough that I am not too fond of being around chickens and roosters running loose or coming toward me.  However, I don't mind hearing them in the distance...although one time we lived across the street from some people who had SEVERAL roosters, who ALL crowed at different times early in the morning and at other times, and that did get to be annoying. One rooster is enough! LOL.   So, to answer your question, I prefer to buy eggs at the grocer or from a farmer who raises chickens. We have a dear lady at our church who has chickens, and she brings eggs to the church for everyone and gives them away for free!  When I can get to them fast enough before they are all gone, I like to bring home a carton of those pretty colorful eggs. Most of the time, however, because I am in the choir and we are busy before the service getting our music together, etc., the choir members rarely ever have a chance to get to the stack of egg cartons before they are gone. Once in a while someone goes and brings some back to us in our choir room so we have a chance to have some.  They are a rare and delightful treat! 

2. How does the change in seasons effect you personally? Are you happier in some seasons , do allergies get to you, do you perk up or down due to weather?
Living here in Florida I enjoy spring and fall and most of the winter. But summertime we just tolerate and look forward to fall.  It's just really too hot and humid here most of the time in the summer to get outside and enjoy it much. When I was a child that did not bother me so much and I was outside all of the time, barefoot and wearing as little as I could to be decent so I could keep cool. We didn't have air conditioning back then, so it was just as "cool" outside as it was inside. LOL.   Now, when we lived up north in New England, I loved spring, summer and fall, and early winter, but after the holidays winter tended to drag on forever and ever, and it would get dark so early...and those long winter nights really got to me.  I definitely had some issues with the long, dark, cold winters in New England, and was happy to move back to Florida. 

3. This week our youngest family member is in France. She will see Paris, Provence, the Riviera, all very exciting for a young teen. Most of us don't ever do anything that big...but even the smallest things can have a big effect on us. What experience do you think stands out most for you in your memory?

I'm drawing a blank...there's so many things that have had a big effect on me in my life...#1 is accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord and choosing to live my life in service to Him. #2 is meeting my husband, getting married and then later becoming a mother.  #3 Both of us experiencing God's call on our lives to serve the Lord in the ministry together and all of the places God took us from there on.

Here's a link to tell more about that story

When my husband was ordained for the ministry, and we were both being prayed over and anointed for service.

4. What do you look forward to in each of the year's seasons? 

Springtime: the joy of seeing things come back to life after the winter. Flowers, trees, and seeing the new life forming with the birds and wildlife all around us.  EASTER! The celebration of Christ's Resurrection from the dead! The renewal of life and the hope of eternal life!

Summer: For those who are farmers, I look forward to them having good crops that will feed and bless us all. I used to look forward to going swimming and taking summer vacations when I was a kid, but now I look forward to summer ending and hurricane season being over.

Fall: I "come back to life" in the fall and that is when I prefer to take a trip to the mountains or anywhere beautiful. Cool, crisp air, apples, pumpkins, autumn leaves, roasting hot dogs and/or marshmallows over a campfire and making s'mores, enjoying the outdoors so much more.

Winter: the Holiday season, Thanksgiving and Christmas and all that goes along with that.

Thank you to all who commented on my last post HERE about Easter Sunday in Revue, and who had questions about the wonderful open tomb display our son Benton made for Easter:

I asked him if he would be putting this on his Etsy site for next Easter, and he said probably not because for an item this small and/or inexpensive Etsy has too many fees plus he has to offer "free shipping" through Etsy, which makes him have to raise the price too much to cover his costs and so it would make it too expensive.  However, if anyone is truly interested in purchasing one, I could put you in contact with him directly and he said his price is $20.00 plus shipping, which of course would be determined by where you live. I know it may be too late for this year, but he can make these at any time, and if anyone is interested send me a private message via email steinerjp7123@gmail.com and I will put you in contact with him.  However, if you are interested in  seeing what kinds of things they do have on their Etsy site, here is the link:

LINK to BRCoastalRusticDecor on Etsy

In closing, here is a prayer from Psalm 71, which is good for us during any season of life:

Psalm 71:1-18  New King James Version

1 In You, O Lord, I put my trust;

Let me never be put to shame.

2 Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;

Incline Your ear to me, and save me.

3 Be my strong refuge,

To which I may resort continually;

You have given the commandment to save me,

For You are my rock and my fortress.

4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,

Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

5 For You are my hope, O Lord God;

You are my trust from my youth.

6 By You I have been upheld from birth;

You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.

My praise shall be continually of You.

7 I have become as a wonder to many,

But You are my strong refuge.

8 Let my mouth be filled with Your praise

And with Your glory all the day.

9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

10 For my enemies speak against me;

And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,

11 Saying, “God has forsaken him;

Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”

12 O God, do not be far from me;

O my God, make haste to help me!

13 Let them be confounded and consumed

Who are adversaries of my life;

Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor

Who seek my hurt.

14 But I will hope continually,

And will praise You yet more and more.

15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness

And Your salvation all the day,

For I do not know their limits.

16 I will go in the strength of the Lord God;

I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

17 O God, You have taught me from my youth;

And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.

18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded,

O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to everyone who is to come.

Amen.

Now, let's go see what others are posting about the seasons of their lives today at Tuesday 4~Spring Has Sprung