Tuesday 4: Interests and Hobbies

Interests and Hobbies


Welcome to Tuesday 4 kept up in honor of Toni Taddeo. Let's talk today about your interests and hobbies.


Here is a Previous post about HOBBIES that I did last year. I don't know that anything much has changed, but I will try to update what I wrote before.

1. What are your interests and hobbies? .. reading? writing? collecting?

My most active hobbies would be writing this blog and trying to keep up with all my blogging friends! That can be a full time hobby in itself, but it is wonderful getting to know others here and making new friends, albeit we are mostly long-distance friends, but with the "miracle" of the internet, the distances don't seem so far. 

This past year I have taken on an additional blog, The Adventures of Lily Grace, which happened when one of our dear blogging friends gifted me with the lovely surprise of "Lily Grace" in the mail! And now it seems like Lily Grace has taken over our home by a whirlwind of fun and activity. However, lately I've been remiss in sharing any of her adventures, mostly because we just haven't had too many lately. But she is still "alive and well", so to speak, and hopefully we will get back to having some adventures soon. She had hoped to participate in the recent graduation celebration of our nephew, but when we arrived at his home for the party we discovered that he had many of his high school friends visiting, and we thought perhaps it might be embarrassing for him to introduce Lily to his friends...so she sadly spent the afternoon waiting for us in the car. Thankfully we were able to find a shady spot to park. 

So moving right along to other hobbies and interests, if you've known me long you know I love photographing nature, and well, most anything that will stand still long enough for me to take its picture. That includes family and friends as well.  This beautiful male cardinal stopped by for a brief moment yesterday.

And we've been joyfully watching Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird team-feeding their babies in this birdhouse finally! We haven't actually seen the babies, but judging by their constant activity going to and from with bugs in their mouths, we can assume there must be some hungry babies waiting inside:

This is Mrs. Bluebird coming back out of the nest, checking to see if the coast is clear before she goes.

Hello there Mrs. Bluebird!

And dutiful Mr. Bluebird soon arrives with a beak full of something yummy for the youngsters:

Hello Mr. Bluebird! Those little grasshoppers don't stand a chance with you around!

I also love to sit in The Secret Memorial Garden and enjoy my new swing while I listen to the birds and enjoy the gentle breeze :

And check on the progress of flowers growing, like the Rose of Sharon bush that we transplanted here from our previous home:

It's blooming quite profusely now that it has found it's "forever home".

Well,  I am sure most of you already know of my passion for collecting most anything that seems to remind me of loved ones or vintage dishes, linens, teapots and teacups, old books, you name it, I've probably got it.

Most recent  "flea market finds" you've already seen 

This stunning dessert plate with the 22k gold trim...

The Apple tree Franciscan ware teapot that I THINK was my grandmother's dish pattern...

The infamous colander helmet!

And the re-discovery of these bluebird pillowcases that had been lost for almost two years and found in a bag hidden in the back of my son's closet, buried under who knows what!!

Now they are back where they belong on the guest bed, and Lily Grace is entertaining her new friends and teaching them songs with her guitar...

2 How much time a week/day/month do you devote to your interests?

Well,  judging by these pictures and stories above, probably most of my days are spent enjoying one or the other of these pass times.  When I'm not out taking walks with my hubby,  or cooking or baking with Lily, and going to church....

3. Do you share your interests with anyone?

I guess I've shared them here with you all every time I write a post!

4.Tell us why you enjoy your hobby, pastimes or interests.

I enjoy capturing pictures of God's beautiful world and sharing it with anyone who wants to enjoy it with me.  I enjoy writing about family, memories from the past, oh! I almost forgot...geneaology has become a passion this past year...but I've told you about that already in previous posts...it was wonderful discovering more about my ancestors, especially those no one ever had the chance to know because my paternal grandmother was adopted as an infant....You can read more about "Elva's Story" HERE.  I've done a few updates on that since its original posting.

I just enjoy life and sharing God's wonders with you all. That is my passion...sharing God's love and beauty!!

That pretty well sums it up. This came from a little devotional book my friend "Auntie Opal" gave to "Lily Grace" because it is entitled "Choose Grace".  

I hope you enjoyed this little visit today. I look forward to learning more about your hobbies and interests too.   Thank you, Annie, for continuing this Tuesday 4 in memory of our friend Toni Taddeo.

I Have a Blank Page Before Me

I have a blank page before me.  This page right here. Of course, by the time you are looking at it, it is no longer blank. It is a finished and published post. I won't let you see it until it is complete, edited, proof-read again, and finally pronounced good enough to publish...in MY mind.

There are times when I have hit the "publish" button too quickly, and then and only then do I spot the very obvious mistakes...the typos, the misspellings, the grammar errors.  However, at that time it is technically too late...I already hit the "publish" button, and the whole world is watching.  Now, fortunately, there is also an "edit" button, and if I am quick enough I can hit the "edit" button and go back and fix the mistakes.  Then I am much more careful before I am tempted to hit that "publish" button again.  I do not like to expose my errors to the world. I prefer to keep them to myself...and erase them before they can do me too much harm and embarrassment.

My life is much like this blank page.  Or, at least is was when I was born.  I started out with a clean page. No big mistakes to fix, no errors to hide, no major issues to correct. And the whole world was watching. Sadly, my page did not stay clean for long. Being human as I am, and not a page in a computer or a notebook, it did not take long to make huge mistakes that could not easily be erased or edited out of my life. Once the unfortunate act was committed, whether by choice or by accident, it was much like hitting that "publish" button too quickly.  It was already "out there" for all the world to see.

Even if no other human saw my folly, God saw.  Even when I tried to hide my mistakes, He already knew. There was no getting around Him. No "edit" button could undo my errors.  There was only one way to fix the problem.

Ask for forgiveness. Tell Him the truth. Tell Him I was sorry.  And what did He do? Did He hide my errors under a rug?  Did He tear up the page of my life and start over? Well not exactly, but then again, yes exactly.

I John 1:8-9 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

I John 1:7 tell us that "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

When we confess our sins, (errors, mistakes, faults...same thing), God forgives us...and cleanses us from all sin!  He gives us a new page...a blank page on which we can start over!

II Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (blank page?); old things have passed away (been edited, deleted, removed!?); behold, all things have become NEW!"

That is great news!  Yes, I can have a new, blank page before me! Christ has covered my sins with His blood, and has cleansed me from ALL my sins.  Not just the itty bitty mistakes, not just some of them, but ALL of them.  I am a new creation.  Brand spanking new!

And the BEST news is, He can do that for YOU too!  All you have to do is ask!

Now, let me spell check and grammar check this before I hit that "publish" button!  I want to make sure I am telling this great news to you correctly, without error, spot or blemish!  This news is too wonderful to hide!


Okay, let's start writing on that new page...