Wednesday Treasures

Hey everyone! It's August already!  Where did this summer go? I like what Jane Austen says in this picture on one of my calendars below:

(Susan Branch calendar)

Ain't that the truth?  It's been HOT everywhere this summer! And I definitely feel like I am in a "continual state of inelegance".  LOL.

Hard to feel very "elegant" when you are constantly sweating and trying to find ways to keep "cool". 

I do love this John Sloane Country Seasons August calendar picture...Such a beautiful garden and a lovely lady with her kitty and flowers and birds...However, she would never be able to dress like that here in Florida in the summertime!  At least not while she's outside cutting flowers in the garden! 

 

Seems as though all of my calendars are full of lovely garden pictures this month:

Even the Teapot Calendar has a garden theme:

Here's the quote from that calendar for this month:

Oh, speaking of "The Secret Garden"...I like what that says, because "if you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden"...even my little "Secret Garden"...it seems as though it's a secret to everyone that it is really supposed to be a garden...

Not much blooming there right now except for these little purple wildflowers...

And we do have lots of holly berries growing on the holly tree...they just aren't red yet...

Yes, it is the Memorial Garden as well.  I'm ashamed that there isn't much blooming that would be a very good memorial to our son in this garden, but he was a lover of nature and ponds, so I am sure he wouldn't mind this little memorial along the shores of Still Waters Pond.

The butterfly garden has been suffering in the heat of this summer, but I am thankful for the rain that keeps it alive.  We just planted the Bottlebrush bush to the right of the bird bath. Hopefully it will grow and thrive here.

Since I started writing this post today we have been out to eat with our sweet kids Benton and Rose for an early supper.  They had to take us in their  (quad cab) pick up truck because our car AC decided to malfunction today.  It comes on for a while and then shuts off and blows hot air. When the temperature outside is already 92 degrees +, we sure don't want to ride around in a car w/o AC.  Just seems like if it's not one thing it's another!  We have an appointment tomorrow morning to have it checked and hopefully repaired...but that's another major expense that we were not anticipating at this time. 

Anyway, these pictures were actually taken last year at the same place, around the same time...when they took us to "Johnny's BBQ" for our anniversary dinner.  Our anniversary isn't for a couple of weeks yet, so this was not a special occasion...just wanted to go out to eat with our kids...(we already had this planned before our AC decided to quit on us. We decided we weren't going to let that spoil our lovely time with our kids). 

This was last year...we had just opened up Dixie Cottage, and so we were wearing our Dixie Cottage t-shirts.  This year our family no longer owns Dixie Cottage, but I still have those t-shirts and I can wear them around the house for "house shirts". LOL. They were about worn out anyway.

And there's sweet Benton and Rose...last year.  Nothing's changed much...we all still look pretty much the same, so I figured these pictures would suffice for showing where we were today.

When we got back from "lupper" (lunch and supper combined, lol), our library called me to let me know that the next batch of books I had ordered online was in...so I took back the old bag full of books that I had just finished last night and picked up this bag full of books to keep me occupied for the next couple of weeks...yeah, still reading the Beverly Lewis Amish stories...I tell you I am practically speaking Amish/Pennsylvania Dutch after reading these books...they are so "wunderbar gut!" LOL.

I am so thankful for this sturdy leather bag that my dear friend Sharon Watson created for me many years ago when I still lived in the forest amongst the bears...

Here's a picture of us together...Sharon is next to me, then my niece Debbie and my sister Doris. Sharon made these wonderful bags for each of us for Christmas that year.

And sadly, here is a link to a post about Sharon back before she passed away from cancer (in the summer of 2019).  Such a very dear and precious friend whom I will never forget. I am so thankful for her friendship and also for this bag to remind me of her...along with many other special gifts she gave me back in those days. Sharon was a treasure for sure.

So, speaking of sorrows and difficulties and unexpected events, here is a great verse to remember:

This is on the Thomas Kinkade calendar for this month.  Always so inspirational.

Another great verse to remember.

Well, folks, these are my "treasures" for today! I pray you are looking for treasures in your day each and every day.  It's kind of like the quote above from "The Secret Garden",

"If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden."

I say, If you look the right way, you can see treasures in the whole world all around you...

Have a "wunderbar gut" day!!

One Word for 2013

There is yet another challenge for the new year...to select one word to be a signpost or goal for my life in 2013.  Last year the word I chose (or did God choose?) was "Hope". (Click this link for "Hope" from 2012)  No sooner had I chosen (again, Who chose?) that word "Hope", beautiful things began to happen in our lives.  (See "Promises Fulfilled" for more on this story).   I am not trying to say that just because I happened to select a certain word for the year that God magically started doing things to answer my pleas and prayers...but then again, I am saying that He did do marvelous things in our lives and did answer many prayers and fulfilled many of our hopes and dreams in ways we never anticipated. Was it because I publically announced to the world that I was going to "hope in the Lord"...and He responded?  No, not exactly.  Perhaps it was more the fact that as I focused on my hope in the Lord in so many areas of life that I began to see that He was there all the time...working on my behalf behind the scenes...guiding and directing my life in ways that I had perhaps overlooked previously...and now my eyes were being opened to His presence more clearly.

A few weeks ago I was thinking about this new challenge of  "One Word" for 2013, (See "Easing Into Christmas"), and I thought perhaps the word I should choose would be "Emmanuel", meaning "God With Us".  I still love the word, or name, "Emmanuel", specifically because of its meaning, and the fact that it is the name for Jesus.  However, I don't think I am supposed to select a "name" for my "one word".  So, as I am sitting here contemplating this weighty subject, I believe the word has just been given to me...and it is...(oh, wait! Am I supposed to wait and tell you this on January 1st?....perhaps I should stop now and finish this later...)


Ok, maybe I'd better tell you now before I forget it myself!  The word that the Lord has just this minute impressed upon my heart for 2013 is .... 

Presence

   Why this word?  Well, perhaps it started with  the chorus of the song we sang in our Christmas cantata:

"Lord, I want Your presence for Christmas,
I want Your presence for Christmas,
I long to feel Your Spirit speaking peace to my heart.
Of all the gifts I may receive,
there's only one I really need,
and it's Your presence,
Your presence for Christmas."

 

 

and I couldn't get this message out of my mind...it's not just for Christmas that I want to feel the "Lord's presence speaking peace to my heart"...it's for ALWAYS, starting now in 2013.  I want to not only feel  His presence, but to know  He is present in every aspect of my life. Not only in the good times and happy times, but in the difficult places and sad times as well. Every year has both kinds of times...good and difficult, happy and sad...so I'm not speaking something into my life that sets me up for difficulty...that's just life. But when I walk through my life this year...I want to acknowledge the fact that God is with me...with us...with you, no matter what.

 

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.  For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;..."

Isaiah 43:2-3

 

 So, in 2013 I am going to explore God's presence in every aspect of my life.  I will be watching for Him in places that I might ordinarily overlook.  Perhaps you will want to do this as well...in your life. Watch for God to appear...wait for Him to "show up" before you act...Let Him be in control...let Him be your guiding Light...

"You will show me the path of life;

In Your PRESENCE is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Psalm 16:11

 

 

 

Here's a good way to start the year right:

 

 

"Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He Who has made us,

and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

 

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

and into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

and His truth endures to all generations.

 

Psalm 100: 1-5

 

 

 

Perhaps we can compare notes throughout the year and list the places and ways we experience God's PRESENCE in our lives. Are you up to the challenge? Let's go!

 

I may be a couple days early, but I want to wish you a very

Happy New Year, filled with the PRESENCE of the Lord.

Amen.

 

 





 

     

What's Next, Lord?

Isaiah 43:2, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you."

For those of you who have been following the progress of our son Matthew over the past six months or so, you know that we have been anxiously awaiting the results of his latest Pet Scan to determine whether or not he is finished with chemotherapy and if his cancer is finally under control.  Well...the good news is, the cancer is definitely in retreat...but not totally eradicated...he has one more scheduled chemo treatment this coming week, and then he will go back to the specialist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston to determine the next step. 

Matthew was able to view his previous two Pet Scans alongside this latest one, and he was definitely able to see the progress that has been made.  He said that the original Pet Scan was extremely scary...it was full of bright red zones...active cancer cells that were glowing like red hot coals throughout his abdominal cavity.  The second scan done after about three months of chemotherapy showed marked improvement...much fewer "hot spots" than before.  And now, after six months of chemo, the most recent scan is more like a burned out campfire, with dying embers disentegrating into ashes.  However, the danger is, if a little wind bellowed up it could reignite those embers back into a raging inferno, so the fire pit must be fully extinguished before it can be abandoned.

The verse quoted above is very comforting...especially the part that states, "When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you."  Even though in this life we often find ourselves in the midst of the fire... and sometimes a raging inferno...we are reminded about Daniel's three companions who were thrown into the belly of the burning fiery furnace because they refused to worship the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar's false god.  The fire was fired up seven times hotter than it was normally heated (Daniel 3:8-30), and they were cast into it bound in their clothing...and even though it was hot enough to totally destroy the men who threw them in there...these three young men were protected and sheltered in the midst of the furnace by the actual presence of the Son of God.  They were brought back out of the fire alive, without even the smell of smoke on their bodies...totally free from any evidence of any flame upon their bodies!

Am I being too literally optimistic to pray and expect that our Matthew will be brought through this fiery trial without a singed spot on his body? Is it even reasonable to expect that he can be completely healed of this rare and deadly disease that has already ravaged and destroyed so many precious children and adults before him?  You may think that I am getting my hopes up way too high and that I will only be hurt in the end.  Well, first of all let me say that I know my Lord and Savior...and I know what He is able to do... just as Shadrach, Meshach and AbedNego answered old King Nebuchadnezzar in verses 16-17 of Daniel Chapter 3 when Nebuchadnezzar had asked them "Who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?"  They replied, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.  But, if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."

Yes, I do take God's Word at His Word.  This trial is not only about our son's battle for his physical life, which is precious enough...but it is also about the battle for the soul and spirit of a young man who has stood on the front line of spiritual warfare ever since he was conceived.  His life has been one test after another from day one...those of you who know Matthew know all the battles he has already been through and the victories that God has won on his behalf.  Satan has tried over and over again to quench out his young life and testimony, but GOD has defeated Satan every time.  So what if Matt doesn't survive this battle? Does that mean Satan won and God lost?  No, quite the contrary...whether Matt lives or dies, he belongs to Christ.  His life is secured in the hands of the Almighty...his spirit lives on eternally in victory...so no matter what ...just like those lads in the fiery furnace...our God whom we serve IS able to deliver Matthew from this fiery furnace...but even if He choses not to, his life will go on...and he will be completely healed.  It's a win-win.  He can't lose.

Yes, I pray for Matthew's complete physical healing here on this earth...nothing could make me happier than that.  But I also trust the One Who gave His life for our son...Jesus Christ...our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King.  He will do that which will accomplish His plan in the very best way possible.  Of that I have no doubt or fear.

Photo by Michael Belk, "Journeys With The Messiah" Collection

And that is what gives me complete peace of mind and heart.  I pray that you have that same kind of peace in your heart as well.  If not...ask Jesus to be your deliverer...He will not fail you.