Thursday Thankfulness~The Blessing of Friends

 Good Thursday Morning!  The days of June of are spinning faster than a merry-go-round on a school playground!

Internet Photo-Remember When we used to do this as a child? 

I much preferred THIS kind of Merry Go Round ride (below)...yes, that's me when I was about 2 years old, with my Mother standing close by to make sure I didn't fall off that big horse!  Oh such a sweet memory, although I don't think I can actually remember this, but it's somewhere back there in the recesses of my mind...

I must have been having a good time...can you see my tongue hanging out?  That either meant I was happy, or I had been running really fast! LOL.

I am thankful to have such pleasant memories from my childhood. Even if I can't remember the actual event, I'm thankful for the pictures that show that it happened, and it was a happy time. I was blessed as a child, and I am still blessed as a much older adult. God has been very good to me.

This week has been a difficult one for me. But it has also been a blessed week, with sweet memories and kindness extended toward me that I feel unworthy of, but am so grateful for...

I received the above devotional book in the mail this week...a gift from a new friend. I met this dear lady at our Ladies' May Fellowship Day at our church, where we had invited women from many area churches to come and fellowship with us. This particular lady stood out to me, because I was very surprised to see her there! It's a long story, but I think a remarkable one. You see, I had actually noticed this woman's picture on Facebook for a little while as "someone you might know". The fact is, she is married to one of my best friends from childhood's cousin, and the interesting part is I had actually dated her husband when I was a teenager. It had been a kind of "long distance" "friendship" with him, because he lived over an hour away and I only saw him when he came to visit his cousin...and as young teenagers we "hit it off" and became friends, and we probably saw each other maybe once a year from then on, and he actually escorted me to "The Holly Ball" when I was a senior. But after that we never saw each other again until one chance meeting some 40 years later. Click HERE to see more about THAT story.  

So you can imagine my surprise when I saw this lady at our "Ladies' May Fellowship".  She came with our guest speaker, and they are from another church in a nearby city. Thanks to wearing name tags, I knew it was her as soon as I saw her, so I introduced myself to her, somewhat timidly, because how do you introduce yourself to someone whose husband you once "liked as a teenager"?   I think she was just as surprised to meet me as I was her, but she was so very kind and friendly, and we hit it off right away. I was very pleased to know that my former "friend" was married to such a lovely Christian woman.  And so she and I became friends on Facebook and have determined that we might get together sometime for lunch...but she is busy with her family and I am busy with mine, and we live maybe 45 minutes apart, so who knows when it will happen ...but in the meantime, she sent me this beautiful devotional book in the mail this week!  It was written by a friend of hers, and she thought I would enjoy it. Would I!?!! Oh yes! What a blessing indeed!  This first chapter in the book starts like this:

"Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 18:3

"I guess even in Bible times adults needed to be reminded to simplify and look at life through the eyes of a child. It's morning, and the mountain may already be staring you in the face. The list is longer than your arm, and it feels like the impossibles are stacking higher than the laundry..." 

(Jennifer Cremer, This Moment Matters)

OH yes, that resonated with me this week! I've already shared with you the deep sorrow and shock of losing a dear friend earlier this week HERE in this post.... That sudden loss has thrown me for a bit of a loop, and I am still having to work through the grief process.  Her granddaughter contacted me and asked if I could send her any pictures that I have of her and also with her husband.  I had many pictures as we spent so much time together in the 7 years that we lived in Salt Springs.

Maura, celebrating her birthday with us several years ago at our house in Salt Springs.

Actually, this is the complete picture. We celebrated her birthday with our son Benton's birthday, because they were both born in August.  Our mutual friend Marian on the left, and my DIL Rose on the right, both adding some fun to the picture.

I think we flipped the candles around as well. I'm quite sure Benton wasn't 80, and neither was Maura 47. LOL.  This is just a sample of the fun we used to have together.

Here's another picture of Maura with her hubby Woody, at a 4th of July celebration at our house. I just realized that the person Maura is smiling at across the table was our dear dear friend Sharon, who was undergoing chemo at that time for cancer, and sadly, she passed away about a year later, in 2019. Sometimes it seems like I have more friends now residing in heaven than I do here on earth...I know my Daddy used to say (when he was almost 90), that it seemed the only time he ever got to see his friends was when he went to their funerals.  Sad, but true, the older we get.

This picture actually was one that the granddaughter has shared, as she took it of her grandparents on their 70th anniversary, a few months prior to her grandfather's death in March, and Maura's passing now in June.  There will be a Celebration of Life for both of them this Saturday, as they never did have any kind of service yet for Woody because Maura was struggling with her own health issues and just wasn't ready to do any thing. So now there will be a joint "celebration" for them, which is fitting. They lived 70+ years together on this earth, so it is only fitting that they should be celebrated together.  I do plan to be there on Saturday.

Anyway, as my heart and mind and body have been dealing with that emotional shock, I knew I had to get busy and take care of some other things already scheduled this week.  Yesterday was our monthly Women in Faith meeting, and I was scheduled to be the co-host with another lady. We meet at our church Parsonage, which is the house that we ladies have taken over for our Bible Studies and Women in Faith meetings, because our Pastor and wife do not live in the Parsonage since they have their own home.  It's a lovely big house and is perfect for our women's meetings. Each month different ladies sign up to be the hostesses for the little light luncheon we have following our meeting. There are usually anywhere from 15-20 ladies present. Yesterday there were 15.  

Anyway, my co-host and I had already planned to do a variety of little sandwiches in mini croissants, some chicken salad, chips, and fresh fruit salad and dessert.  My co-host ordered the trays of sandwiches and chicken salad from Publix, and she baked a delicious cake. I was going to get the fresh fruit already cut up at Publix and make a big bowl of it, but the already cut fruit was SO expensive that I decided to buy the fruits whole and cut them up myself.  I cut up  a small seedless watermelon, cantelope, pineapple, and added some blueberries to a large beautiful cut glass punch bowl that we have at the Parsonage. It made a beautiful display, but I forgot to take any pictures of it. I also had fresh grapes, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries on a separate platter so they could eat them separately or add them to their own fruit bowls.  

This wasn't my bowl of fruit, but you get the idea.  

(Pinterest)

It may not have seemed like much, but when your mind is already dealing with other things like grief and shock, having to do something like this project seemed monumental to me and I didn't sleep well the night before.  But I prayed my way through it, and once I got started on cutting up the fruit and putting it all together, it was actually good therapy for my mind. And the ladies all loved it and raved about having the fresh fruit, so it was a win-win.

This morning as I was thinking about writing this post, I was also thinking about some of the sweet memories I have with my friend Maura, and that led me to think about some of the little gifts she gave me over the years.

She knew that I loved to collect china creamers...and she gave this one to me. It is so delicate and sweet. I love it, and I will always think of Maura when I use it.

Also, Maura had taken a trip to London with her Step-Mother, (who wasn't too many years older than Maura and they had not always had a good relationship, but she considered the fact that her Step-Mother wanted to take her to London with her to be a real blessing and answer to prayer.) Anyway, while there, Maura thought of me as she knew how much I loved tea, so she brought me this cute little British teapot and tin of English Breakfast tea, which is in a tiny tin that looks like an English Telephone booth:

Isn't it cute?  It was so sweet of her to remember me while she was traveling abroad....

And then one year she gave me this beautiful tea pot for Christmas...and I love to use it and display it at Christmas time. Now all of these items will take on even more meaning to me ...

This is a picture of the two of us...

This was our sunrise here the morning after Maura passed away, and I wondered to myself what the sunrise must be like in heaven. Can you imagine how beautiful every morning must be in heaven, with Jesus as the LIGHT that shines forever and ever?  

Revelation 21, verses 2-5, and 23 give us a glimpse of what "the New Jerusalem" in heaven shall be like:  (Read the whole chapter for a complete and beautiful description of this)

"2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.

23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."

I Can Only Imagine

Song by MercyMe

Lyrics

I can only imagine

What it will be like

When I walk by Your side

I can only imagine

What my eyes will see

When Your face is before me

I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for You, Jesus

Or in awe of You, be still?

Will I stand in Your presence

Or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing, "Hallelujah!"?

Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

When that day comes

And I find myself standing in the Son

I can only imagine

When all I will do

Is forever, forever worship You

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you, Jesus

Or in awe of You, be still?

Will I stand in Your presence

Or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing "Hallelujah!"?

Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine

I can only imagine!

Oh-oh, surrounded by Your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you, Jesus

Or in awe of You, be still?

Will I stand in Your presence

Or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing "Hallelujah!"?

Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

I can only imagine, oh, yeah

I can only imagine

I can only imagine, yeah

I can only imagine

And I can only imagine

When all I will do

Is forever, forever worship You

I can only imagine

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Christopher Maurice Brown / Dwayne Carter / David Guetta / Jacob Elisha Luttrell / Frederic Jean Riesterer / Giorgio H. Tuinfort / Nasri Tony Atweh

I can only imagine Maura with this kind of joy and delight on her face when she saw Jesus face to face! And then to see her beloved Woody again...I'm sure he was surprised to see her arrive so soon after he got there! But maybe not. Woody was probably helping Jesus get Maura's "Mansion" ready from the day he arrived.  

Yes, they will both be greatly missed.  Rest in Peace Maura and Woody

Happy Blogging Sisters Day!

 If you read my last post HERE, you will know that today was a special day in "blogland" for some of us very blessed bloggers!  Today I went to meet up with three other dear blogging friends for lunch, and discovered that we had a bonus blessing of one more precious blogger added to our group!  Many of you may not know Cheryl, from Sunlit Pathway, because she hasn't been doing quite as much blogging lately due to having had some major health concerns in the past year or so, but what a surprise to find her there at Bob Evans with Terri and the rest of the ladies when I arrived!  Cheryl had just recently arrived in Florida to visit family, who just happen to live not too far from Terri, and so Terri made arrangements for Cheryl to join us today! What a blessing indeed!  And so here we are:

Our waitress was very kind to take our picture!  We are l to r front row: Cheryl, Terri, (Your Friend From Florida), back row: Yours truly, Linda, (Just Simply Linda), and Barbara, (My Journal Memories).  While we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Bob Evans, we shared with each other why we ever decided to write a blog anyway.  We each had different reasons and beginnings. Some have been  blogging for over 20 years! I think I had the most recent beginning, in 2010!  I'd never even heard of a blog before then! 

I don't think any of us had any clue how far reaching our blogs would ever be, but God knew, and He had a plan for each of us in doing this...maybe not the same plan for each of us, but a plan that would bless us and teach us and make us a blessing to others in the process. I believe He has accomplished that for each one of us...

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV tells us:

11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

HERE is a link to my very first blog post, written in February of 2010.  My blog has gone through a lot of metamorphosis over these past 15 years...moving with the ebb and flow of my life experiences...the joys and sorrows, highs and lows, and even through three different home locations! Thankfully the blog is portable and goes with you wherever you go, as long as you have access to the internet and don't make any false moves that accidentally delete the blog. I know some have done that, and had to start all over. I pray that never happens to me...there are too many precious memories tucked inside these pages. I've tried to save them over the years, but that has become too cumbersome for me to keep up with, so I just pray nothing happens. Maybe someday I will get busy and try to back up more of them and print them off, but it takes a lot of work to do it. 

The best part about blogging to me is all the wonderful friends I've made along the way, like these lovely ladies. I wish I could meet each and everyone of my blogging friends in person. There are so many that we have shared so much of our lives with each other...and some I would just love to give a big hug to in person someday.  If you are ever passing through Florida please let me know and if there is any way possible to arrange it, it would be so wonderful to meet you. Not too many people pass through the little town where I live...we are kind of off the beaten path of where most people like to go in Florida...and I am limited in how far I can travel away from home, but if there's a way, we will try to make it happen.  Anyway, meeting up with these wonderful women today was truly a blessing for each of us! I thank each one for going the "extra mile" to be there! It was a lot of fun and good fellowship too!

When I got back home I noticed that the bird feeder favored by most of our birds was empty, so I refilled it, and soon the Cardinals and Titmice and Chickadees were having a feast and waving their wings to say thank you. I only managed to get pictures of the Cardinals, but here's what I saw:

Mrs. Cardinal was waiting her turn in the Holly Tree:

They are storing up food for another night with a freeze warning!

And thankfully, I also noticed when I got home that all of the Christmas boxes were finally put away, and the house is back to its normal self...

(hmmm, I should probably turn that blanket around so the bear and moose and elk aren't standing upside down! LOL. It is correct on the other side that we look at on the front of the couch, but not on the back where you walk in the door and see it! Oh well...this isn't a magazine photo shoot! Just my blog, tellin' it like it is! We aren't striving for perfection here...just comfy and cozy!

And the Christmas totes are all safely stacked away in the shed until next year! Yay! Thank you to our son Benton and Hubby for taking care of this today before they went out to lunch and had a good hamburger at our local "True Grits" restaurant.

And so I close this today with a thankful heart, full of joy and blessing...letting the memories of the day and the smiles on the faces flood my heart. It was a wonderful time, and I am so thankful that God made it possible for me to participate.

Time to close for today friends. 

Some words of wisdom from God's Word...

2 Samuel 22:29-31

“29 For You are my lamp, O Lord;

The Lord shall enlighten my darkness.

30 For by You I can run against a troop;

By my God I can leap over a wall.

31 As for God, His way is perfect;

The word of the Lord is proven;

He is a shield to all who trust in Him."

Amen.

Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

Here it is, Thursday evening already, October 3rd!  My, how this year has flown by! It is very hard for me to believe we are already into October, but I am glad of it. 

 

A few years ago I wrote a special post about Anne of Green Gables, as she paid a "visit" to "Pamela's Victorian Cottage".  I thought I would include this section of that post here, as "Anne" is exclaiming about the beauties of October, and finishes with one of her most well-remembered quotes about October... (Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery)

"October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry-trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths.

Anne revelled in the world of colour about her.  "Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, 

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.  It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? " 

 

(Painting by John Sloane, from one of his previous Country Season's Calendars)

You can read the rest of that special post HERE.

I feel pretty much the same as Anne did about October, even though the colors here in Florida are not quite a vibrant and glorious as they were at her beloved Prince Edward Island, still, there's just something special about October everywhere I think!

Last night I was enjoying watching the sunset here on Still Waters Pond, and it wasn't the most colorful of sunsets, but it was still amazing in its own way. Have you ever noticed that it is actually the clouds that make each sunset so interesting?  If there were no clouds in the skies, there would be nothing all that spectacular for the sun to reflect on and around.  I find it interesting in that God often uses the "clouds" in our lives to make our lives more spectacular and unique.  It's the challenges and trials and cloudy, hazy days of having to lean more on God for direction in our lives that help to shape and mold us into the strong characters He intends us to be.  Just some food for thought as you think about sunsets in a new way.    

Here's the sunset from last night, along with the verses from the 64th Psalm that kind of struck me as I was looking back at these pictures of the clouds and designs in the skies.  I wonder if you will notice some of the things that I noticed:

Psalm 64 NKJV

Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

"1 Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;

Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,

From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,

3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,

And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,

4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;

Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter;

They talk of laying snares secretly;

They say, “Who will see them?”

6 They devise iniquities:

“We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”

Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.

7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;'

Suddenly they shall be wounded.

8 So He will make them stumble over their own tongue;

All who see them shall flee away.

9 All men shall fear,

And shall declare the work of God;

For they shall wisely consider His doing."

10 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him.

And all the upright in heart shall glory."

Amen.

I hope you enjoyed those pictures along with that Psalm. Could you see the battle of the swords and arrows in the skies? Makes me think about the battles that are going on all around us in the spiritual realm, as well as the battles that are going on in real time around the world right now. It is so important that we keep our Spiritual Armor of God on at all times...(Ephesians 6:10-18)

I am thankful that we have had a relatively peaceful week here in our area. But of course we know there are still so many suffering without electricity, water, good shelter and even food. Last week's storm wreaked havoc on the lives of so many, and we need to continue to pray for them, and do whatever we can to help. If you aren't sure where to send donations, Samaritan's Purse is a strong and true organization directed by Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham. Also most church denominations have Disaster Relief programs that are hard at work in the hard hit areas. You can usually donate through your church to a disaster relief program.  

I am thankful also that my hubby had a successful medical procedure done yesterday. We made it there in plenty of time and all went well. He will get the results of the test in a couple of weeks, but it is basically a follow up to some work he had done a year ago, to make sure that everything is still "good".  We are trusting God that it is, however prayers are always welcome.  

I've been wanting to show you something very special for a few days now. Frankly, I was so overcome by this gift, that I had to give myself some time to process it.  Remember in my Monday Post that I showed you a picture of a dear friend (see her below), who has been battling Stage 4 cancer for the past year +, and she is now doing so much better?

Well, this dear lady mentioned to me on Sunday that she had a birthday gift for me, and that she wanted to drop it off at my house this week.  I never expected that, and was really surprised that she would want to give me a gift.  But indeed, it was not just any gift, it was something truly truly special, and I wish I had had my hubby take our picture together when she brought it over, but I was too overwhelmed by the magnitude of this gift that I never thought of it until she had already left.  So, I had hubby take some pictures of me with this gift this morning so you can see it, and you will understand why I was so totally humbled and flabbergasted by this very special gift:

This dear lady literally crocheted this beautiful shawl for me while she was having chemo treatments! How do I respond to that???? With tears, for one thing. And with much gratitude and humility. 

Isn't it beautiful? It is a Civil War Era pattern, and it is absolutely gorgeous. 

What I love is that it will go with so many colors...and hubby said this outfit needed a hat...LOL

I am just overwhelmed with this lovely gift, and am so amazed that this precious lady would create this especially for me...I am already thinking about all the ways I hope to be able to wear it in the near future. 

But most of all, I am thinking about how very dear and special this woman is.  She is such an example of God's strength under fire.  When she was given the diagnosis and prognosis of her disease, she was determined to fight back. She did not give in to fear or anxiety, although she did have some of that for certain...but she would not let it take over. She stayed busy, even when the side effects of the treatments threatened to overwhelm her...she would not give up. Yes, I know there were days that she could not do a thing, but as soon as she was able, she kept moving forward. The fact that she would take yarn and crochet needles with her to chemo treatments and work on this beautiful gift for me is just so amazing to me that I cannot even fathom it. I do not even understand why for me? But God knows, and He knew how much this gift would bless me, and also I believe it was a gift for her to be able to do something for others in the midst of her own struggles. God does work in mysterious ways, and He weaves into the tapestry of our lives lessons of love, grace, and comfort. And the end result is a picture that is so beautiful to behold that we cannot always fathom the depth of it at first glance. It may take days, or it may take a lifetime...but I know that I am very very thankful to God for taking the extra steps to show us these things...

And so, with these thoughts in mind, I will close for tonight.  Wondering if there was ever a time in your life that you were overwhelmed with a special gift that you felt unworthy of?  Perhaps that is a picture of God's grace again...He sent Jesus to die for our sins, not because we did anything to deserve that gift, but because He loves us...

Romans 5:8 NKJV

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 

9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Something to think about... 

Good Night dear friends.

Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

Hello! Happy Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends! 

I don't think Sgt. Joyce Kilmer had this tree in mind when he wrote the poem "Trees"

Trees

BY JOYCE KILMER

"I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree."

Joyce Kilmer, “Trees” from Poetry 2, no. 5 (August 1915): 153.

Thought I'd put something a little different than the usual to get your attention! LOL.  Even decaying trees can be beautiful in their own way...well, it might take a bit of imagination to see the beauty, but if you look hard enough, you will see it.

This is what happens when you stand up out in the woods too long.  The woodpeckers come and peck away at you and the insects eat up your insides and the squirrels and raccoons and birds make their nests in your hollow center. You begin to look like "The Walking Dead".  LOL. But even decaying trees serve a purpose!

Okay, here, this is a little bit better! This beautiful little Spiderwort wildflower was growing not too far away from that very sad looking decaying tree. Did you know that this little wildflower is not only "attractive, it is also edible. Try the flowers fresh on a salad or candied for a sweet treat. Stems and leaves can be eaten raw and leaves can also be cooked. The leaves are mucilaginous; the “juice” can be used to soothe insect bites in the same way one would use aloe."  So the next time you see one of these lovely little purple flowers in the woods or in your yard, don't destroy it! Just enjoy it!

It's been a busy week. Today (Thursday), is the first day I've been able to stay home and relax and try to get caught up on stuff here. I'm not complaining...it's all good...just been busy going here and there and everywhere it seems. I might as well start at the beginning and work my way through so you will understand...

Why don't I start with the Kentucky Derby on Saturday?  No, I didn't go. As a matter of fact, I didn't even get to watch it on TV as we couldn't find it in time to see the race.  I had not been paying attention to the fact that it was time for it until I saw someone post something on Facebook that they were having a Derby party at their community clubhouse. Well, if you've known me for very long, you will know that I love to use that occasion as an excuse to put on a pretty hat and pretend I am among the many hat wearers at the Kentucky Derby.  While hubby tried in vain to find the race on TV before it was over, I was busily donning my lovely tea party hat and sprucing myself up for the "party".

By the time he found it, the race was over, and we had to watch it on YouTube. No matter, I was having fun anyway. I have no clue who won the race or even who was running. To me, it was all about the hat. LOL.  I only get to wear a fancy hat on Derby Day or for some other fun or make believe occasion. This particular hat I had worn a year or so ago for a "High Tea with Mrs. Henry Flagler" tea party, put on by our local Historical Society. HERE is a link to that event.

Just wondering, do you ever wear fancy hats? If so, where and when?  We do have some ladies who wear hats to church, but since I sing in the choir it would not be appropriate for me to wear a hat. Besides, I am rather self-conscious about doing anything that might attract too much attention to myself in church.  Obviously, I don't seem to care about that at other times. LOL.  Just kidding. Well, those who really know me from childhood know the truth of that matter.  So let's move on to other things, shall we, rather than focusing too much attention on myself. LOL.

Speaking of Kentucky, I mentioned in a post about a month or so ago about a friend at our church who had undergone a 12 hour surgery (cancer) and had come through it very well, thank the Lord.  Well, this dear friend moved here with her hubby to our town a few years ago from Kentucky.  They fell in love with this sweet little Victorian Cottage in the historical section of our little town, and so they bought it and have been enjoying fixing it up.  On Monday I had the privilege to take my friend over to Gainesville for a medical procedure. She is doing very well following her surgery, but still has some hoops to jump through before she will be completely well. However, Praise God, they have declared that there is no more cancer, which is a huge miracle as she was originally diagnosed at stage 4. She is a walking miracle for certain!

I asked her if she would mind if I took some pictures of her beautiful home and share them here with you. She said she would be delighted.  

This is the front gate, which is covered with beautiful Confederate (or Star) Jasmine. 

The gate leads to the front porch...

which wraps around the house like this...

They have lovely gardens and yard all around their sweet cottage home...

And even a beautiful spoon wind spinner and a Pink Flamingo to add to the southern charm of this home!

Their home is within walking distance of our little church, and so it was only natural that God would lead them to come and join us for worship. They are a blessing to our church and community. Please continue to keep "Kim" in your thoughts and prayers as she continues in her recovery process. I know she would appreciate it.

On Tuesday hubby and I had our own doctor appointments to attend in St. Augustine, about an hour away from home. This was for a consultation to determine if and when we have our next colonoscopies.  Hubby will have one in a couple of weeks, but they said it was too soon for me to have another one, but they ordered a CT Scan instead because of some issues I've been having for a while. Well, that led to Wednesday, when I had to drink that yucky barium "berry smoothie milkshake" (LOL). I did manage to choke down two bottles of that stuff, but it was not without some difficulty. I quoted my verse  (and One Word) of the year all the while:  

Philippians 4:13

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

The CT scan was not too scary, but I found myself still holding on to that verse as I held myself perfectly still and held my breath when asked.  Not sure when I will get the results, but I am trusting God for good results.

Of course, our trip to St. Augustine on Tuesday was a good excuse for us to stop off at one of our favorite eating establishments on the way back home for lunch.  "Corky Bells", beside the St. John's River. in Palatka. Thankfully it was early enough that it wasn't too crowded or too hot yet, so we were able to get a table beside the river.  Here's our view:

This was my favorite view...

And his "favorite view". LOL.

It was breezy, sunny, and lovely all around us...

Oh, look out for alligators, but we didn't see any this time...

Easter lilies blooming in May!  I think mine here in my garden will be blooming in a few days as well...

Beautiful day to sit beside the river in the shade of this huge Cypress Tree.

There were many boaters out on the river enjoying a lovely day...

Back home again on our own Still Waters Pond, I shared this picture and verse on Facebook yesterday:

John 14:27

27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

I think this is a good place to stop for today.  We know that God is in control in all things, the world situation, things that happen in our own homes and communities, and even in our own personal lives. We can trust in Him no matter what...and He has promised us His peace. Therefore, we should not let our hearts be troubled or be afraid. Just hold on to His peace. Amen.