Friday Fotos After the Rain

I am rejoicing this morning for all the beautiful rain that we got yesterday! We are seeing wonderful results here already in our Still Waters Pond.

Last evening after our weekly family pizza night, I stood on the back deck with my sweet 

daughter-in-law, listening to the frogs singing in the trees, watching the birds flitting back and forth from the trees to the bird feeders and also feeding their babies in the birdhouse...lots of happy activity to see as we chatted about life in general.

Joel 2:21

"Fear not, O land;

Be glad and rejoice,

For the Lord has done marvelous things!"

My first sighting of a Tri-Colored Heron! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricolored_heron

 Joel 2:23

"Be glad then, you children of Zion,

and rejoice in the Lord your God;

For He has given you the former rain faithfully,

And He will cause the rain to come down for you--

 The former rain,

And the latter rain in the first month."

 Not only did we see the Tri-Colored Heron for the first time at Still Waters Pond, but we also saw this Green Heron for the first time!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_heron

 It is kind of difficult to see him among the lily pads and mud, but he was very busily pecking his way along, finding perhaps some little minnows, frogs, or other water creatures to feast upon.

 It was exciting to see both of these "new species" enjoying the benefits of the rain that God sent to us.

And then, just as I was sitting down this morning to write this post, I looked out my window and saw this beautiful Great Blue Heron land in the pond, and he began wading around looking for his breakfast.  Amazing what a good rain can do to restore the ponds and provide food for the beautiful creatures that God has placed here. 

Joel 2:25-27

25.  "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,

The crawling locust,

the consuming locust,

and the chewing locust.

26.  "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,

and praise the name of the Lord your God,

Who has dealt wondrously with you;

And my people shall NEVER be put to SHAME."

27.  "Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel;

I am the Lord your God

And there is no other.

My people shall NEVER be put to SHAME."

I love that God repeated the words twice: "My people shall never be put to shame."  And yes, I realize that God is speaking to the people of Israel through this Old Testament prophet, but truly He is also speaking to us, His people who are redeemed through His Son, Jesus Christ, into His family.   As we see so many difficult and unpleasant and downright terrible things happening in our land, we, the people of God are often looked upon with scorn and ridicule by those who are attempting to push aside our righteous way of life and government that was originally based upon God's Word and the laws passed down to our forefathers through the Ten Commandments. We have seen people in high places and even people in our own towns and sometimes even within our own extended families trying to shame us for our stance and beliefs.  

But one word of caution here...we who stand for truth and for God, let us be careful lest we fall into the same traps and begin to shame those who are actually united with us.  Not everyone responds to these things in the same way. We each have our own "callings" in life and ways of communicating. I've noticed lately on social media a tendency to "shame" people into fighting back and approving of things that people say and post and proclaim, and then judgment proclaimed if you don't speak out in the same way as others think you should to show your allegiance and faith.  Not everyone is called to be a "prophet". Not everyone is called to stand on the soap box and preach. But we are all called to pray for our leaders, pray for each other, and to love one another.  I would refer us to Romans 12:9-21 as well as to Romans 13:1-14. I will not print it all here as it is too lengthy, but will quote a few key verses that spoke to me:

Romans 12:9

"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good."

Romans 12:16

"Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. do not be wise in your own opinion."

Romans 12:21

"Do not be overcome by evil,

but overcome evil with good."

Romans 13:8

"Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law."

Romans 13:10

"Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

Romans 13:11-12

11.  "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

12.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand.

Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light."

More than ever during these turbulent times, we must learn to support one another and encourage each other in our walk of faith.  This is not the time to shame or ridicule others for not doing things exactly as we expect them to do them. 

"But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.  

For God did not appoint us to wrath, 

but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, 

we should live together with Him.

Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, 

just as you also are doing."

I Thessalonians 5:8-11

Amen.

Have a blessed and beautiful day, wherever you are!

Friday Foto Friends: Pamela's Victorian Cottage Fixer Upper Update

Hello Friday Foto Friends out there in "Blogland"!  So glad you could join us today for another episode of "Pamela's Victorian Cottage Fixer Upper"!  I'm sorry that it's been over a week since our last episode, (which you can visit HERE), but I've been a bit under the weather and haven't felt like working on a full blown production of this popular show for a few days...so please forgive me for keeping you in suspense!  Not a lot has been happening, but then again, a few things have been added that you might enjoy! So here we go:

One thing that has been on my mind that this sweet little mother of five girls and one little boy might need is a sewing machine!  I mean, can you imagine trying to keep up with all of the girls' dresses and the little boy's patches on his knees (because he's always praying by his bedside! Click here for pictures of the children at play)

So last week I was scrolling through some pictures online and found  this picture, which I fell in love with:(In the Garden of Faith, Hope and Love, on Facebook)

And I thought that would be a perfect sewing machine for my little mother to use in her house, so I printed the picture out and then cut out the sewing machine and glued it to the wall. And now the family also has a cat!!!

This little mother reminds me a lot of my husband's grandmother, "Nanny Martin", who had four daughters to sew for...and she also made lots and lots of quilts, which she sold to make money to put my mother in law through beauty school!!!  "Nanny Martin" looked a lot like this little lady above, with her white hair pulled up into a bun on the back of her head. My first thought about this little house and family was that it was kind of like the story of "Little Women", but the more I think about it, it's more like Nanny Martin and family, except they didn't have a little brother...Oh well...some things have to be imagined..

For more about "Nanny Martin's" story you can click HERE. And HERE.  We may include more episodes about her life and family here in the future.

For now, I want to move on to a few more additions to the family homestead:

It seems as though every woman's dream these days is to have a "she-shed" or a garden shed of some kind...and our little family definitely needs a garden shed because they obviously will need to grow a big garden to keep everyone well fed:

The garden shed itself was originally built by my son, a.k.a. "Ben's Country Woodshop", as a gift for his grandmother, my mother in law,  "Nanny Steiner" (yes, one of the daughters of "Nanny Martin", mentioned above).  It is a bird house, but too nice to be put outside where it will get ruined. So Nanny Steiner kept it safe in her house, and when she passed on last year, this little bird house came home to live with me.

 I found this cute little farm boy and girl and some of the other accessories at the Dollar General...

 Some of the other things I already had in my "craft supplies" .  I love the little rustic table and bench above, which has a little teapot and cups set out and ready for tea time in the garden. (Do you see a doggie in the background? I think he is one of the farm dogs that helps keep the animals herded...)

Maybe it is time for another tea party!  The little boy and girl invited the sweet little fairy from the garden at the big house to join them. They are each holding a special little friend:  The little fairy is holding a baby fawn, the little girl is holding a gray squirrel, and the little boy is holding a brown squirrel. That along with the birds and butterflies should make for a lovely little tea party in the garden.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this latest episode of Pamela's Victorian Cottage Fixer Upper.
There are still a few more things that I hope to "fix up" in the big house soon, so I will let you know when that happens.

In the meantime, here are some thoughts for us to consider from the book of Joel, chapter 2:

21.  "Fear not, O land;

Be glad and rejoice,

For the Lord has done marvelous things!

22.  Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;

 (Yes, the deer are back in our yard! Picture taken Thursday evening as they ran away from me when I appeared in the yard, then turned back to look at me)

For the open pastures are springing up,

and the tree bears its fruit;

This young pine tree is sending out new shoots as it grows and prospers. I thought they looked unusually interesting as they reach out every which way.

The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.

23.  Be glad then, you children of Zion,

And rejoice in the Lord your God;

For He has given you the former rain faithfully,

And He will cause the rain to come down for you...

The former rain,

and the latter rain in the first month.

24.  The threshing floors shall be full of wheat,

and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.

25.  So I will restore to you the years 
that the swarming locust has eaten,

the crawling locust,

the consuming locust,

My great army which I sent among you.

26.  You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,

 (those same deer in our yard, before I accidentally scared them away...)

and praise the name of the Lord your God,

Who has dealt wondrously with you;

And My people shall never be put to shame.

27.  Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel;

I am the Lord your God

and there is no other.

My people shall never be put to shame."

These verses were spoken from Jehovah God through the prophet Joel to His people Israel, in which deliverance was being promised to Israel if they would repent...
I believe God is also speaking to us today here in our land...if we will repent and stay faithful to God, He will not allow us, His believing children, to be put to shame.  This is also reminiscent of
II Chronicles 7:14, which says:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)

14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

As we approach Easter, may we pray more and more for repentance in our nation, and may God forgive our sin, and heal our land.

Amen.

Now, let us go over and visit with our other Friday Foto Friends, who are gathering at Deb's Place at Breathing In Grace, and see what beautiful things they are sharing today!! Have a blessed and wonderful weekend!!