Thursday Thankfulness and More

 Where has this week gone? I can't believe it is Thursday already! And it's almost over as I am just starting to write at 8:15 p.m. I may have to finish this post tomorrow. We'll see how far I get!

So, let's start out with some pictures to get our attention...

You may wonder what this picture is all about...well, I saw this while we were taking a walk the other morning and I had to take a closer look...

At first I thought it was just another tall skinny tree growing up in the middle of that oak tree and palm tree...

But upon closer inspection I realized it had climbing spikes in the sides of it...

And it wasn't a tree at all! It was an old telephone pole that was surrounded by two trees that grew up around it!  This is on one of those vacant lots where the old houses used to stand before the highway came through and they tore them down (or moved them) to make room for the highway...

No telling how long it has been there...long enough for those trees to grow all around it!  I just thought that was pretty amazing!  Sometimes when you open your eyes and observe things around you, you see all kinds of things you never noticed before. I bet I've walked by that pole at least 50 times and this was the first time I noticed it! LOL.

So here's some other pictures of  "do you see what I see?"

If you look closely, you will notice that the Sand Hill Crane family is standing out in the yard, right beside the back porch where Sunshine and Blackie are sitting and very quietly observing them.

The cats did not move a muscle while the birds were up close to them, because they didn't want Mama or Papa Crane to get all excited and start jumping up and down and flapping their wings at them to scare them away.   It was actually kind of a stare down for a little while, with the cranes staring straight at the cats, and the cats nonchalantly trying to ignore them, but also very aware of their presence.

Finally the Cranes started to move away, although they still kept a close watch on the cats, but Sunshine and Blackie finally felt comfortable enough to move and reassure each other that they had won the contest.  There's always something to watch around here!! Never a dull moment!

And speaking of "never a dull moment"...son Benton sent me these pictures a while ago.  They are in the process of doing a "kitchen refresh", as he called it.  

Rose took off some vacation time this week so they could do a lot of projects around their house, mainly this kitchen redo.  They are going to paint the cabinet doors and walls and brighten up the whole place! Plus they will be getting new countertops!

Here Rose is putting on the primer over the paneling, and then they are going to paint it.  As you can see by the amount of paneling, they have a big job to do, plus painting all of the cabinets!

Whew! I'm glad they are young and full of energy!  It makes me tired just thinking about all of this work!  But I know they will be happy when it's done and it will look so much brighter and prettier!

I am thankful for their talents and also their willingness to do these kinds of things together. They are a very special couple and we are very proud of them and thankful that God brought them together. (and that they live nearby so we can enjoy having them around!)

So now, I know some of you may be wondering how hubby is doing. He seems to be doing fairly well this week, but still dealing with so much fatigue.  Yesterday we met with our Primary Care doctor, and we were thankful for his listening ear and thoughtful approach to what we were sharing with him. After  going over every thing that has been happening, he did order a lot of lab work to be done. We had to go back this morning to get that done, and we will have to wait for the results to meet again, which will actually be in a couple of weeks because we wanted to be sure to get this same doctor. Our clinic has rotating doctors and you don't always get to see the same person every time, but we wanted to make sure that we would see  him again, so we are willing to wait until he is available. I'm sure if there was anything glaringly wrong in the results they would call us back in before then, but we are trusting that won't be necessary.

Actually yesterday, after leaving that office, hubby also had an eye appointment...so we headed there and once that was done it was lunch time so we decided to stop at Captain D's and eat. It's fairly new and we've never been there before. I was afraid that all they would have would be fried fish/seafood. But surprisingly they do have grilled dinners and several choices of healthy sides, etc., so we were pleasantly surprised and had a good lunch. I actually had enough to take home and have leftovers for supper.

Then this morning after hubby had to do fasting labs, we went to one of our local diners for breakfast! We haven't been out to eat two times in a row in a LONG time! I felt like we must be on vacation or something! LOL.  

I am thankful that things are under way regarding finding out what is going on with hubby. We are praying that it will be something that is reasonably "fixed" with proper medication or diet or some other treatment...but we are placing these things in God's hands and trusting Him to work it out. We take comfort in this promise from God's Word:

Psalm 55:22 NIV

"Cast your cares on the Lord

and He will sustain you;

He will never let

the righteous be shaken."

And also from 1 Peter 5:6-7

"6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, 

that he may lift you up in due time. 

7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts and prayers. I will keep you updated as we learn things, but for now we are just trying to take things one day at a time and trusting God to work it out.

I hope you have a pleasant rest of your week!  I'm trying to get around and visit with you as I can. You are all very special and dear to me.  Good night for now.

Wednesday Treasures

Philippians 4:8-9  NKJV

Meditate on These Things

"8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 

9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."

This morning's "Moonrise" on Still Waters Pond, around 6:30 a.m.  

And then there's this one:

Apparently I moved the camera as I was taking the picture.  At first I wasn't going to include it here, but then thought, why not? It's pretty interesting in it's own way.

However, it made me think about this passage of Scripture, where Jesus is talking to His disciples as He sends them out:

Luke 10:2-3, 17-20  KJV

"2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven."
 

Some very thought provoking words to start this day.  And it reminded me of a story I read last night on Facebook that I thought was interesting and share-worthy:

"I did not write this. Across the world, wake up! This is a MUST read!!!

When I was a HS sophomore – decades ago! – my World History teacher was Mrs. Holloway, but we all called her Granny Holloway. She was a slight woman, scarcely 5 feet tall, seemingly fragile, but full of vim and vinegar….you know the type. She could speak for hours about the Fall of the Roman Empire, the Inquisition, the Industrial Revolution, and the World Wars. She never sat while she lectured, never stood at a lectern, but moved around the room making eye contact with all of her students. She was demanding too, and I can’t remember how many papers were sent back to me because she would note “you can do better than this, Miss Schaal.”

One day during class, an office aid interrupted her lecture to hand her a note. She read it silently, apologized, and said she needed to leave the room. We knew it had to be important because Granny Holloway stopped lectures for no one.

We sat in the room talking to one another when the door opened, and in walked Mrs. Abels, another teacher in our HS. She explained to us that Granny had been faced with an emergency, a serious one, and it was questionable if she would even be returning to finish out the semester. We were stunned. Would we get a chance to tell her goodbye? Would we get updates, so we would know she was ok? Mrs. Abels assured us that we need not worry, that Granny was safe but needed time away, and that the best thing we could do for her, and the best way we could show our devotion to her, was to be cooperative with her replacement. Mrs. Abels confirmed that she had been asked and had agreed to step in as Granny’s replacement.

Cheer up, she told us, this could be a good thing. Other teachers still believed in endless homework and projects with deadlines and hard work. She would not bring that into our class. She believed in clean slates. If there were grades that we did not like, she could give us a chance to bring them up. She asked us what suggestions we had to make the semester a better learning experience. Someone mentioned that lectures were boring and we wanted more films. Done, she said. Someone else mentioned that a free day now and then would help us if we needed to catch up on work in other classes. She didn’t see a problem with that. She asked us how we felt about an end-of-semester party. Um, yeah, sounded very good to us. And on and on. Mrs. Abels listened intently and agreed to all of our suggestions, continually emphasizing that her concern was that we have a good learning experience and enjoy the semester. She also reminded us that we were lucky to not be sent out to other classes where we would be working to catch up, and that of course this was all for Granny.

Near the end of the period, shortly before the bell rang, the door opened and Granny sauntered in with her usual Granny Holloway attitude. “How did they do?,” she asked. “Marvelous,” said Mrs. Abels. “They were completely in my hands.”

Granny then faced us and said “And that, my students, is how a dictator takes over a nation. Not with guns or tanks or laws or mandates. They do it using false promises and gifts”

I can’t remember a lesson all through 12 years of public school that made such an impression on me, and has stayed with me.

We are among wolves in sheep clothing, many are being deceived.
Stay awake! And buckle up.
Put on the FULL armor of God, we are going to need it in the days to come."

The Armor of God  Ephesians 6:10-17

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 

15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 

17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And with that, I will close for this morning.  Just some things to think about during these turbulent days.  Let us not be deceived...and may we always keep our "armor" on...don't go out without it!  

1 Peter 5:7-9  New King James Version

"7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."

May God be with each and every one of us today and always.

Amen.

Choose You This Day

I just posted this on my facebook page, and wanted to put it here so it won't get "lost in the shuffle".  I am certain it will illicit some negative responses...but perhaps it will also inspire some positive thoughts as well. That is my prayer.  Please pray for our nation and our President and leaders. I feel greatly burdened to do this today.

I can't help but think that while people in our country are going around tearing down monuments that are over 100 years old, and fighting with each other over their right to destroy artifacts from the history of our nation and express their freedom of speech regardless of how crazy and unfounded it may be...while we are destroying each other from within, and forgetting that we are supposed to be "One Nation, Under God, Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all..." there is a much bigger and more ominous enemy sitting on the outside of our country, watching, waiting, and preparing to strike when we least expect it. The enemies of our free way of life are sharpening their swords, testing their missiles, building their weapons of destruction, and they laugh at us as we fight each other over old, moldy, tarnished, statues and monuments...and as we rehash old battles long over and done with that we should have learned something from...those enemies are watching us as a lion stalks her prey...and while we are much distracted with our fights over rights and speeches and crazy ideologies...the Lion will cease to just watch and will pounce with fury and terror upon us and devour us...and we won't even know what hit us until it is too late.

Remember 9-11? I know I won't forget it... and I pray that our nation will wake up and realize that there is a much bigger picture going on that we can't see...but our President, our military, and many others who are awake and aware of this mortal enemy are trying their best to be prepared and protect us...and we are kicking against them like a furious two year old child having a temper tantrum...we can't see the danger we are in because we are too focused on our own little petty struggles and fights for our rights...all I can say is, wake up, America! Stop your infighting and crazy squabbles and realize the real danger we are in before it is too late.

We need to stand together against terrorists, evil, and hatred from every side. Our enemy is NOT our President or those elected to serve and protect us. Our enemy should not be our neighbors and family members and people across the aisle politically. Our enemy is much bigger...and it hates our freedom to live in such a marvelous country...and it wants to destroy us.

Of course, there is an even bigger enemy...Satan himself...who is behind all of this terror and hatred...and that is where the real battle is. I am reminded of Joshua, as he reviewed the history of Israel from the time of Moses when God rescued the Israelites from their enemies and captors in Egypt...and then the people wanted to go back to Egypt and wanted to turn against Jehovah God who had saved them...and Joshua said to them in the book of Joshua 24:14-15

"Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

People, if we are going to survive as a nation, we have to stand united. Recognize who/what the true enemy is...and put away all your little 'gods' and idols and battles over past history...and stand strong to fight the real enemies of our land...and to give our children and grandchildren the chance to live an even better life than we've had.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the DEVIL walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."
I Peter 5:6-9