Friday Foto Friends~Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day! Happy 4th of July! Whatever you may call it, let's celebrate our freedom and independence from tyranny! 

 And let us pray that our country never slips back into allowing another foreign power to reign and rule over us. But we must be vigilant and strong, because our enemies are watching and licking their chops as they see the weakness in our leaders and the breaks in our walls of defense allowing evil forces to sneak in and infiltrate our ranks. We must stand united and strong against the trickery of sleek politicians who disguise themselves as sheep when they are in reality wolves, just waiting and watching for their opportunity to take off their masks and reveal their real purpose of destruction and control over all that we hold dear.

Sorry to sound so negative and bleak on this beautiful Friday morning before the holiday weekend, but I feel very strongly that we need to heed this warning and we cannot let our guard down.

I Peter 5:8

 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, 

seeking whom he may devour."

Matthew 24:43

"But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into."

Now on to more pleasant thoughts this lovely Friday morning and to lighten things up a bit!

Look at this gorgeous "Crinum Stars and Stripes" lily that is finally blooming in my yard, just in time for the 4th of July!

Sadly, the rains have knocked the bloom stem down and I had to hold it up so you could see how pretty it is.  My sister Doris had given me a couple of these bulbs not long after we moved to this house, and I let them sit for a long time before planting them in the ground.  So I wasn't sure if it would even live, let alone ever blossom.  I was amazed to see it finally send up that long stem and develop these lovely red and white striped lilies right now at this perfect time!

Here is the 2nd bulb/plant, that looked totally dead when I planted it, and for a long time I didn't think anything would develop at all. But now even it has some green leaves and it looks like it is starting to develop a possible stem in the middle. So we shall see what happens! This would definitely be an example of the resurrection from the dead!  God is so good! He knows what we need to brighten our days!

Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to express kind words and prayers for my neck situation.  I am so thankful for all of you, and you have encouraged my heart!  Here's the good news:  I do have an appointment scheduled next Thursday, July 8th, at the University of Florida Shands Neurosurgery Department! That was a huge answer to prayer! So I have cancelled the other appointment that wasn't going to be until September 1st!   This appointment is scheduled with a doctor of anesthesiology in the neurosurgery department of pain management. Here's my prayer and concern: I don't want to just be put on drugs to control this issue in my neck, but on the other hand, I don't necessarily want surgery, which can be very risky as well as no guarantees that it will fix the problem of pain. I know I can't stay on this medicine I am currently on, which is helping with the spasms and pain, but it is a muscle and nerve relaxer and I can feel weakness developing in my limbs and body muscles.  And I just feel so blah.  So, my prayer request is that they can help me without the cure being worse than the problem. Does that make sense?  I know God knows what I mean, and I am trusting Him to handle me with love and care.  Thank you for your continued prayers.

Okay, when am I going to get to the "more pleasant thoughts" you ask?  LOL.  

Yesterday my hubby had some lab work early in the morning, and then, as is our custom after such tests, we went to the CP Deli for breakfast. While we dined I enjoyed taking a few pictures of the pictures on the wall next to us:

I don't know who the artist is, but these are drawings, and very good!

Sorry, this menu picture is kind of blurry. It was actually an accidental snap of the camera!

My cup of tea and hubby's coffee. I don't know why I forgot to take a picture of my french toast, scrambled eggs and bacon! That would have been a wonderful picture on this fine Friday morning when we haven't eaten anything yet!

And to finish up this post on a funny note, here's some bathroom humor from the ladies' room. I just couldn't resist taking these pictures:

And meaning no disrespect to Jesus...yes He IS everywhere...but He's much greater than all those germs! But still, wash your hands and say your prayers!!!

Have a blessed and wonderful weekend!!

Some Interesting Sunday Adventures

Thankfully, "Hurricane Isaias" has been pretty much a non-event here where we live. These are the skies at 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Yes, there is a slight breeze, as you can tell by the waving American flag...

And we have had a passing shower or two or three throughout the day, but pretty much this is how it has looked all day...right now as I look out my window, the sun is shining brightly again.  So we are very thankful that this storm has passed us by.  I don't think it is actually even here just yet. We may get more rain and wind throughout the night tonight, but I don't see anything too scary in the forecast.

If anything changes I will be sure to let you know tomorrow!  But for now, I am breathing a sigh of relief. I mean, we got so little rain that I had to go outside and water my plants that were wilting from the heat that I didn't water yesterday because I thought we would be getting so much rain today! I guess that's a good problem to have. I am not complaining. I am praising the Lord.

So how has your Sunday been?  We've actually had a wonderful day.  Here is a link to our Sunday morning worship service, which was recorded by our pastor ahead of time for those who still prefer to do online worship.  However, his message from Joshua chapter 3 is what we also had in  our "in person" service this morning. We've been enjoying his messages each week from the book of Joshua.

 

If you are interested in hearing the whole series on Joshua, you can click on this LINK HERE to check out the other messages on the "Sermons" tab.  

Be sure to start at the beginning so you can hear and see our Praise team singing "He's Ever Interceding".  If you look real closely you might see yours truly. We enjoy recording these songs for the online service, but then we also sing live on Sunday mornings. We just have to be sure to be distanced from the congregation when we sing to make sure we don't  share any "droplets". Praise God He's ever interceding for His children in all these things...

And He's Ever Interceding

"Someone who'll go the extra mile

Just like a mother caring for her child

A friend who'll stick through thick and thin

No matter what you've done or where you've been

Just like one great big family

A stronger older brother He will be

So quick and ready to defend

The younger, weaker, to the end

And He's ever interceding

to the Father for His children

Yes, He's ever interceding to the Father for His own

Through Him you can reach the Father

So bring Him all your heavy burdens

Yes, He's ever interceding

So come boldly to the throne

Just like sheep we'd gone astray

struggling beneath a debt we could not pay

not ever hoping to renew, the love and fellowship that we once knew

But He began to intercede, crying "Father please forgive, I plead."

And as the nails pierced in His hands

God once again reached out to man

And He's ever interceding

to the Father for His children

Yes, He's ever interceding to the Father for His own

Through Him you can reach the Father

So bring Him all your heavy burdens

Yes, He's ever interceding

So come boldly to the throne."

I wanted to make a little correction to my post from YESTERDAY.  I had posted a picture of this bird below, and said that I thought it was a "Cooper's Hawk".  However, our friend Diane over at Lavender Dreams  sent me a message and said that she thought it could actually be a Mississippi Kite. So I looked it up, and sure enough, she was correct. So I stand corrected, and I thank Diane for helping out with that. This Mississippi Kite has been showing up every evening lately, perched high on the top of this pine tree. 

He looks quite regal up there.

However, the local Blue Jays are not at all pleased with his presence. You can see one in the picture below. They fly all around the "Kite" and buzz right into his space, letting him know that he is an intruder in their territory, and he is not welcome.  After a while of taking this "abuse", the Kite decides to fly away and go elsewhere...but he usually comes back again later.  

It is interesting to watch how the bird kingdom handles threats from outside predators. They do not put up with those whom they consider to be a threat to their families and society.  Even though the blue jays are much smaller in size, they find their strength in sticking together and driving out the enemy before he can do harm to their youngsters or rob their nests.  Even though the Mississippi Kite is an attractive bird, the Blue Jays are not fooled by his good looks. They know that he is the enemy of their own kingdom, and they drive him away.

I Peter 5:8-9 reminds us:

"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."

To end on a pleasant note, while I was watching the activity in the treetops with the Mississippi Kite (which is a kind of hawk)  and the Blue Jays, this different kind of "hawk", or Dragonfly, which is also known as a mosquito hawk because he eats mosquitoes, was doing some interesting acrobatics on the top of the rooster weather vane on the deck: 

I'm not sure what he found so interesting on the top of the Rooster's "coxcomb", but he stayed there and studied it thoroughly and allowed me to enjoy watching him do his exercise routine:

It's not every day you get to watch a Dragonfly doing acrobatics on the top of a rooster's coxcomb, now is it?  I didn't think so.

I hope you have enjoyed this little adventure from my part of the world today.

Praying that life is pleasant and peaceful wherever you may be,

and remember, even if things are not so pleasant and peaceful in your world,  we have One Who goes to battle for us, to protect us from the enemies of our soul. His name is Jesus Christ...

And He's ever interceding

to the Father for His children

Yes, He's ever interceding to the Father for His own

Through Him you can reach the Father

So bring Him all your heavy burdens

Yes, He's ever interceding

So come boldly to the throne."

Amen.