Saturday Thoughts

 This was the sunrise yesterday morning...I love how the trees frame the sun to make it look as though it is entering the earth through a doorway...

And as the sun enters through the doorway...or a gate, perhaps...an "Eastern Gate"....it spreads its light around and dispels the darkness...

bringing us a renewed hope and peace for the new day...

I look forward to the day that The SON Himself, our Messiah, will enter through the Eastern Gate , and dispel all the darkness for us forever.  

Today is Saturday, a day to rest, play, clean house, cook, bake, get caught up on things left undone all week...prepare for Sunday, the Lord's Day...the true day of rest, worship. spending time with the Lord, with our friends at church, our family, a day to rejoice, a day to pray, a day to prepare our hearts for whatever comes next...For some, it will be another ordinary week...off to work or school, or whatever other appointments you may have...and for way too many it will be a week to continue to pray for deliverance from the mud and mire of the storms of last week...a week to try to put some semblance of normalcy back together if at all possible...for many, it won't be possible. Many have no homes to clean, no kitchen to cook in, no beds to sleep in, and still no electricity even if they do have their homes...And sadly, for too many, they have lost loved ones, they are still looking for loved ones who are lost, they are lost themselves, in sorrow, exhaustion, and the feeling that nothing will ever be the same again.  And it won't. Life will never be the same way as it was a little over a week ago.  Lives have been changed forever...and many will never be the same again.  

Ah, but then we look at the weather report, and there is another storm on the horizon! One that is headed straight for the Florida peninsula!  Thankfully, it doesn't appear to be headed back up to Georgia and the Carolinas, but it is definitely headed for the Florida Gulf coast, the mainland, and then across the state to the Atlantic coast, and most likely it will bring a LOT of rain and wind with it, so we all need to be prepared no matter what part of the state we are living in!

I don't want to sound like doom and gloom here...that's not my nature. But I am being realistic and facing facts...there's a whole lot of tragedy and sorrow going on around us. And it's not just here in this part of the country, but it is in many other places too, and especially around the world in Israel and Ukraine and other places of much unrest and sadness. 

More than anything, we need to pray for one another, for those in dire distress and need of much help...and try to do whatever we are able to do to lift up the fallen.  

Today we took a little walk and I noticed something in this location that I had not noticed before:

It is an old sidewalk, leading to a bare spot in a lot, where once an old house stood.

I just couldn't help myself. I had to walk down this path and stand in the spot where the house once stood.

I looked across the new 4-lane highway that now stands in the way of the once much grander view this house had of the little lake across the way. They had to move the house to make room for the highway.

I know you'll think I'm silly, but as I stood there in that spot, I thought about all the many years that grand old house had stood there, (over 100 years, I believe), 

This was the house that stood there, and this picture was taken when we happened to be passing by back in 2018 and saw them actually moving it to its new location.

And I thought about all the years families had lived in this very spot, living their lives, raising their children, going through all the motions of living from the time it was built in 1890...can you imagine? They must have had a horse and buggy here too!  And they probably didn't have electricity at first, and had to do everything the old-fashioned way! Right here on this very spot, people lived, loved, worked hard, probably had a nice garden, taught their children to be good citizens and hopefully to love God and their fellow man, then laughed and cried, maybe even birthed babies, lived and died. Right here in this spot.  And somehow I couldn't just walk away without saying something about that...it felt like hallowed ground.

This was the view out the other side of the house, which probably looks a lot different now than it did then. There used to be a train track right out there in the middle, and the trains would come and go every day into this little town. It was all a lot different then than it is today, and maybe even better then than it is today...but then again, maybe not. Progress can be a good thing...but that's still a matter of opinion.  

I wrote about this old house HERE, when it was literally moved from this location to a new lot when they widened the highway.  The house now belongs to the Florida Dept. of Transportation, and is still waiting to be sold or auctioned off of something. I feel sad that it is still sitting there, waiting for new owners, new people to call it "home", and make its walls ring with laughter once again.

I picked a little bouquet of flowers from the old house lot, and brought them home with me as a kind of memorial to the memory of that house and the life it once "lived".

I thought about all the people who have been displaced from their homes because of the storm last week...many will never see their old homes again because they were totally washed away. The places where they stood may be caked in mud or covered with rocks and boulders from the many mud and rockslides that took place in the mountains...or here in Florida they may be washed away from the storm surge of the ocean waters and totally destroyed...and lives are changed forever.

But the memory lives on in the hearts of everyone who ever lived and loved in those homes...the memory is something that doesn't just go away overnight.  Even when a person gets a brand new home to replace the one that was lost, for whatever reason, it's never quite the same. 

I guess I'm a bit nostalgic tonight, but I write this to honor those who have been through so much heartache this past week, and for those who have lost homes, and a way of life that will never come back the way it was, and then for those who lost loved ones, and life is changed forever.

May God comfort the hearts of those who are hurting, grieving, and still in shock.

May He give you strength to keep moving forward, to have the courage to keep trying and not give up.

Amen.

Saturday Thoughts

I'll start with this...Yes, I am VERY thankful and feeling blessed to have come through this storm virtually unscathed. When I look around our area, I hear that there are still some without power and may not get it back until next week.  But I don't see much devastation or destruction from the storm here in our community...maybe a few trees down here and there, and there may be other issues I am not aware of, but all in all, our area is very very fortunate.  Then when I look on the news and hear about the horrific devastation in so many other places, both here in Florida and also up in Georgia and the Carolinas and Tennessee, especially in the mountains...well, I just have to be completely humbled that we escaped with so few issues here when others are suffering so very much. I have a "relative by marriage" who lost everything in her home due to storm surge. She lives close to the Gulf coast. Sadly, she also very recently lost her husband unexpectedly, and she truly is suffering from so much loss.  My heart truly breaks for her. Thankfully, her friends and family are rallying support for her and are helping her through this crisis...but it is a loss that she will never totally get over.  

 Last evening I was blessed to spend some time watching the sunset over Still Waters Pond. After the anxiety of the past few days it had a very calming effect on me, and I was truly grateful to God for sending His beauty to us to behold.

It was kind of like a rainbow after the storm...a sign to us that God is with us and He hasn't forgotten us. It was very comforting.

You can't see them in this picture, but I was watching little bats flying to and fro, snatching mosquitoes out of the air, and I thanked them for their kindness.

And then I heard some birds calling, a high squeaky kind of whistle-y call, and then I saw these ducks flying over the pond. I couldn't tell what kind of ducks they were, but I'm thinking perhaps they were the Black Bellied Whistling Ducks that were here a few weeks ago.  

Not sure, but still, I was thrilled to see them and hear them.  It made me think about how Noah sent out a dove to look for dry land after being on the Ark for so long after the flood...once it came back with an olive branch, and the next time it didn't come back at all, so Noah knew that the waters were receding and soon they would be able to leave the ark and get back onto dry land.  It gave me a sense of peace that soon things would get back to normal, but it may take a bit longer for some areas of the country for certain.  We truly need to pray for our brothers and sisters in those parts of the country that have been so devastated. May God comfort them and provide what they need in miraculous ways.

I find myself feeling kind of guilty for enjoying "normal" kinds of life while so many others are suffering.  Do you ever feel that way?  I suppose that is a normal response.  I wish there was something that I could do to help out, but I'm not really in a position to help out much financially or physically, however I can pray, and that is oftentimes the best thing we can do. God knows where to find those who are able to do the leg work and the financial support...and prayer is something that actually helps turn more hearts toward God.  So unless He shows me some other way I can help, that will be my part.  

Actually yesterday something strange happened, and in many ways I feel like it was a "God-thing".  There was an older, very heavy-set man sitting out in our street almost in front of our house on his John Deere tractor/mower. It had broken down, and he couldn't get it to start. Apparently he was riding his mower down the street to go to the Dollar General store that is around the corner from us in the entrance to our neighborhood.  Yes, you heard me...he was riding his mower to the store. That is something that I've noticed that is not all that unusual here in our neighborhood. They don't have to get out onto the busy highway to go to the store, so I've seen people riding golf carts, larger tractors with a canopy over top and giving their dogs a ride to the store, bikes, and four wheeler vehicles. This is a rural community and well, people get creative with their modes of transportation, as long as they aren't on the highway.

Anyway, I'll try to make a long story short...the mower was in the street and he couldn't move it off the street. So my hubby went out and asked him if he needed some help, and he said he couldn't move it as it was kind of locked up. Hubby looked at it and couldn't figure anything out either, so he offered to drive the man back to his home, but he didn't want to leave the mower in the street, which is understandable. He thought someone was coming who might be able to help him.  So hubby came back inside, and because it was hot out, I suggested we take him a bottle of water. Of course, since it was my idea, I could take it...LOL...anyway, I took him a bottle of water and he said I was an "angel", and he was very thankful. I offered to make a phone call for him on my phone, but he actually had his own phone with him.  He still didn't want to leave the mower, so he sat down in the shade on the grass. He had long white hair and was rather large and rotund, and it seems like he was wearing a red shirt. He reminded me of Santa Claus.   Anyway, a little later hubby went back out and checked on him and took him another bottle of water as actually an hour or more had gone by. People would stop and ask him if they could help, but no one seemed to be able to do anything and on they'd go.  Finally a man came with a four wheeler, and he was able to pull or drag the tractor off the road onto the grass.  He then convinced the man to let him take him back home.  Not long after that someone knocked on our door wanting to know if the mower was for sale.  Then another person came later and knocked and wondered if it was being left out there as a "give away".  Sometimes people put things beside the road they don't want and people take them, whether they work or not.  So we had to tell the people that no, it wasn't for sale or give away and that we hoped it would still be there in the morning!  The old man came back later with a friend who drove him there, and they looked at it again and still couldn't figure out how to get it started or move it, and so had to leave it overnight. 

Thankfully the mower was still there this morning when we woke up.  We went to the grocery store and came back after a while, and no sooner did we get inside the house than someone came knocking on our door. I opened the door, and there was another older rather rotund man with long white hair standing there wanting to know about the mower. At first I thought he was the same man who owned it, but then realized he was different, but he could've been his brother. He also reminded me of Santa Claus! LOL. I told him the story about the mower, etc., and then he offered me a grocery bag that he was holding, and in it was a bag of fresh apples and a 5 lb. bag of potatoes! He wanted me to have them! I looked around for his car, and seeing none, I asked him where he came from and how he got there! He also had a cane, and had come up our 5 steps onto the front deck, carrying that heavy bag! He said he was a neighbor down the street, but he had just come from the food pantry in the next little town over, where they distribute food to the needy. He said he had enough apples and potatoes and wanted me to have these! I said that he surely hadn't walked all the way to the food pantry (about 3 miles away from us), and it was starting to sprinkle rain...He said no, but he had been waiting for us to come home and he was a neighbor.  Well, I thanked him very kindly, all the while wondering about this very strange turn of events and the two men coming into our lives who both looked like Santa Claus within 24 hours, neither of whom we had ever seen before! One called me an angel for bringing him water, and the other brought me gifts I never expected.  

I'm not even sure why I am  telling you this long story...and btw, the mower is still out there, 24 hours later!  I think it is a story that has taught me a lesson.  You cannot out-give God.  Showing kindness to the one man yesterday and offering him a drink of water on a hot day, and then today a total stranger shows up with gifts for us. I truly never expected that and was totally humbled and "blown away" by this simple gift of apples and potatoes.

Please understand I am not sharing this story with you for any pats on the back, but to demonstrate the amazing ways God blesses us when we give without expecting anything in return. With all of the needy people out there right now, especially because of this storm, it is a good lesson to me that shows that even a cup of water, given freely to others, is not a small thing in God's eyes. Whatever we can do to help someone else who is hurting or in need is truly a big thing to God.

Luke 6:38  

38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Psalm 116:12 

"What shall I return to the Lord

for all his goodness to me?"

And with that, I think I will close this post for tonight.  I had other things I was going to write about, but for some reason this was what came out.  Must be a lesson there for all of us in one way or another.

Something pretty to close with...I went outside this afternoon to put the bird feeders and other lawn "ornaments" back in the yard after having taken them down for the storm.  I couldn't help but see these three lovely yellow " Cloudless sulphur butterflies" flitting around from flower to flower on the Cape Honeysuckle bush.  They were so light and pretty and happy as they danced from flower to flower without a care in the world, and then they would swirl up and around each other in the air and fly away for a second or two and come back...so delightful to watch...

They made me smile and thank the Lord again for His lovely creation that He uses to bless us.  

What lovely things have you seen around you lately that you can share?

Psalm 62:8  NKJV

8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us. Selah

Amen and Good Night!

Friday Foto Friends and Praises after the Storm!

Good Morning from "Sunny Florida", the morning after Hurricane Helene swept through during the night.  This was our sunrise this morning. We awoke to check things out all around us, and to give thanks to the Lord for His protection over our home and family during the night.

Thankfully, we never lost power except for a flicker around midnight that messed up our clocks, but that was it!  We could hear the rain and wind on the roof throughout the night, but never anything really serious.  I know that people to the west of us and to the north had it much much worse, and many are without power and some have experienced flooding.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to them, but thankfully, as far as I know, everyone is safe.  My song this morning at sunrise was the Doxology:

"Praise God from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him all creatures here below;

Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen."

I really don't have any pictures from the storm, because the majority of it was after dark last night. Yesterday was mostly just a cloudy day with a few quick showers and wind gusts, but nothing major.  This was the sunrise yesterday morning before the storm began:

So I want to thank all who have been praying, and please continue to pray for those who may still be in harm's way further north as Helene continues to push through GA., the Carolinas, Tennessee, and even into Kentucky later on. Some of our friends in GA. had already been getting flooding rains from another rainstorm that had passed through in the preceding days, and then this came on top of it.  They were also under severe tornado warnings, and one of our blogging friends, "Sparky" over at My Thoughts Exactly, lives in southeast GA., and she reported on her Facebook page that they may have had a tornado come through their yard last night as many trees were down and they got a lot of rain. I haven't checked on too many others yet, but I hope people will check in as they are able.

Yesterday morning I enjoyed some pieces of that wonderful home made bread that dil Rose baked for my birthday.  Son Benton said he wanted to see a picture of me eating it in front of the fire...so I put a "fire" in the fireplace (without the heat, of course, as it was quite warm here already), and sent him this picture of my breakfast.  I purposely did NOT include a picture of me, because, after all, it was at breakfast time and I don't know of too many people who want their picture taken at breakfast, unless you are all dressed up and go out for "brunch" somewhere. LOL.    The bread is delicious. She added extra honey to the mixture, and it made it really moist and flavorful. I am enjoying it perhaps too much, but, it's only one loaf, and it will soon be gone. Then I'll be back to plain old ordinary bread and not as much of it for a while!

I haven't shown you any updates on the house next door for a while, mainly because things have been moving rather slowly.  It takes forever to get inspections done and also for the workers to come back and finish their jobs...I think there is just too much development going on in our county and it is getting hard to keep up.  Anyway, I was SO happy to see the workers come and finally put the siding on the ends of the house before the hurricane came:

This is the view I can see from our house. Oh, also, they finally hooked up the AC/Heatpump unit and put a power "pole" connection on the end of the house, ready for power, but not connected yet.

This is the other end of the house.  Next will come the skirting around the bottom, and it will look much better.  Someone mentioned before when I shared pictures of the house that they would want a porch and/or a deck on it. Yes, that would be really nice, but that would be up to the new owner to add once the house is purchased.  It definitely needs a back porch overlooking Still Waters Pond!

I  went over this morning and checked on the house/lot to make sure no trees were down on the house. I do keep in touch with the current "owner/developer", as she lives in Jacksonville and can't get down here to check on things very often. We met when she bought the lot and started the process for clearing/developing.  Yes, it is a woman who is in charge of this project, and this is not her only project here in our town.  She will list this for sale when it is completed and ready for occupancy.  Actually, there is a listing for it already on Zillow...Here is a link to it on Zillow in case you are interested. The pictures are of a model with the same floor plan. The color scheme may be a bit different, but you will get the idea.

This morning the only issue I could find after the storm was this big mud puddle in front of the house, but they are not finished with the landscaping, etc., yet, so I am sure this area will be corrected when they do all of the finishing touches.  You can see our house over there on the far left. That's how close of a neighbor I would be if you lived here!    

After I did my walkabout this house and our house, hubby and I went outside to our front yard and raked up a LOT of branches on the ground and on our driveway from the big Oak trees in front of the house.  That was really the only issue we had to take care of, and we are VERY thankful indeed.

I didn't take any pictures of us working out there, but here's how it looks now:

You can see how big those oak trees are, and they are very messy trees.  If it's not branches falling every time the wind blows, its acorns and leaves!  Plus it is very hard to get any grass to grow under them, but I do appreciate the shade, so I'm not complaining (much). LOL.

And here is how Still Waters Pond looks this morning...nice and full of water!  So the Herons and Sand Hill Cranes and fish  and turtles should all be happy.

Well, that's about it for today. I mainly wanted to thank you for your prayers, and to let you know that prayers have definitely been answered. We continue to pray for those who have had a harder time than we did. May God speed help to them and restore their power and get them safely back into their homes soon.  

Isaiah 40:31  NKJV

31 But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

 

Wednesday Treasures

 Well friends, it has been an interesting and wonderful day.  Yes, it has also been my birthday, and it started out beautifully with the sunrise

And I kid you not, these crows sounded like they were literally singing "Happy Birthday" to me, along with some Blue Jays and Mockingbirds and other birds in the treetops.  Seriously, as soon as I stepped out on the porch to put out the flag, the birds flew into the trees around me and started singing back and forth. I stood there in awe and thanked them for their wonderful songs and praised God for His kindness and love.  Actually the birds were praising God, The Creator, for His wonderful provision for them each day, but it still sounded like "Happy Birthday" to me.  

Psalm 104:12 NIV

12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters;

they sing among the branches.

That's a Crow sitting in that tree below.  He and the one above were just two of several who were flying all about this morning.

And literally, while I was standing there enjoying the sunrise and the birds singing, my cellphone rang, and it was my sister calling to sing Happy Birthday to me!  She was also watching the sunrise at her house a couple of hours south of me, so we watched the sunrise together while we talked and she started my birthday off on the "right note".  

I really appreciated this beautiful start to my birthday, as last evening I had a little upset that kind of spoiled things for me a bit.  If you recall a few days ago I told you HERE that I was excited to see a rosebud on the Memorial Rose Bush in the Memorial/Secret Garden.  I mentioned that this was the rosebush that was planted in memory of our son Matthew, and it had not bloomed in over a year, so I was really excited to see that it was getting ready to bloom, and I was very much in hopes that it would bloom in time for my birthday.  In my mind it was like a gift from our son, and it was such a special little joy to me to think of it.  Well, I've watched it and watered it every day and monitored its progress.  The other night it looked like it was definitely going to be ready to bloom for my birthday.  So last evening I thought I would go out and take another look at it to make sure it was okay.  Well, you can imagine my shock and dismay when I got there and the rosebud was gone!  It looked like it has been snipped off the end of the stem...and I couldn't imagine how that could have happened. I looked around on the ground and finally found the little bud laying there in the grass.  To be honest, I cried.  I just couldn't understand how that could happen, and I still don't know, unless a squirrel or bird or something knocked it off...it was very strange.

This was how it looked several days ago.

And this is how it looked last night:

Here is the tiny little bud. I brought it inside and put it in a little bit of water just to see what would happen.

I don't think anything is going to develop at this point, but at least I tried.  To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. But I woke up this morning and was determined to not let that spoil the day.  I went outside and noticed that flowers in my Butterfly Garden were all blooming beautifully, and they were a soothing balm to my soul.  

1 When morning gilds the skies,

My heart awaking cries:

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Alike at work and prayer

To Jesus I repair:

May Jesus Christ be praised!

2

To Thee, my God above,

I cry with glowing love,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

The fairest graces spring

In hearts that ever sing,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

3

Does sadness fill my mind?

A solace here I find,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Or fades my earthly bliss?

My comfort still is this,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

(a little "knock-out" rose was blooming this morning, which made me smile. It's not THE memorial rose bush, but it was a sweet blessing all the same.)

4

When evil thoughts molest,

With this I shield my breast,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

The powers of darkness fear,

When this sweet chant they hear,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

5

When sleep her balm denies,

My silent spirit sighs,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

The night becomes as day,

When from the heart we say,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

6

Be this, while life is mine,

My canticle divine,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Be this th’ eternal song

Through all the ages long,

May Jesus Christ be praised!

This may not be a big beautifully cultivated garden, but it sure brings smiles to my face when things are blooming. God knew what I needed to see today, and I thank and praise Him.

Of course, you know that Florida is currently under a major hurricane watch/warning...Helene is expected to barrel up the Gulf Coast and head towards the "Big Bend" area of the Panhandle in north Florida tomorrow.  We are already getting rain bands periodically, and tomorrow we expect some heavy rains and winds here in our area. Thankfully we live further inland and hopefully the brunt of the storm will not come this far east, but we will get plenty of rain and wind, I am sure. Yes, prayers are appreciated for all of our state and even into south Georgia and beyond.  

But today, although it was cloudy and breezy, the rains didn't start until later in the afternoon, so our plans to go for an early lunch at our favorite "Corky Bells" on the St. John's River were not to be deterred.  The "kids" came  over and went with us and we arrived there before noon and got a front row seat/table to watch the wind and waves along the river.

This was the view from our table:

This was the sun in the sky around noon:

OH, here's some familiar faces...a little windblown...

And more familiar faces, also windblown!

After eating we went down on the dock and took a few more pictures:

You can see we were about to get blown away!

Here's a few pictures from inside the restaurant as we were leaving:

We didn't see any live gators today because of the rough waters, but these will have to do: 

Then we headed back home, and unbeknownst to me, our sweet daughter in law Rose had baked a beautiful PUMPKIN cake for me, with a buttercream frosting. It was SO good!!!!!

Of course, that meant we had to go through this ceremony of singing Happy Birthday all over again...

And of course I had to blow out the candles again...

And then I opened up a bag of some sweet presents...Rose had baked this loaf of homemade bread this morning!!!  I actually loaned her my bread machine a few weeks ago, and she has been having fun experimenting with it.  I was thrilled to get some of the fruits of her labor!  It smells SO good!

This girl is a girl of many talents.  She also crochets dishcloths, and gave me this beautiful package of several! I think they are too pretty to use for dishcloths, but that's what they are for...I don't know...they are so soft and pretty...I was thinking of using them for a face cloth...but I don't know...what do you think? I just hate to mess up pretty things. But they will be used with much love and appreciation for the dear young woman who is our precious daughter in law.

With that, I think I will close this post for tonight, with a picture of this sweet little church and the "Pumpkin Patch" all lit up for the night.

Again, I thank you all for your prayers on behalf of all of us in the path of this storm, and I pray that you are safe and sound wherever you may be.

A good thought for tonight:

Amen.