Tuesday 4~ What Will We Find?

 What Will We Find....

Hello! Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
Thank you to our hostess Annie for these weekly questions for us to ponder and share our answers. These questions for this week are kind of fun and interesting, so let's go find out what we will find...

1. What will we find on top of your refrigerator?

Well, you know me...a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will be answering these questions with pictures! Here's the top of my refrigerator. Hopefully you can't see the dust...well, if you look closely, you will definitely see dust. I didn't take time to dust the top of the refrigerator for this picture, so you might as well get the real picture...

2. What will we find on your nightstand?

An alarm clock that also has a phone charger built into it, which is very convenient. A lamp. A box of Kleenex, a flashlight, and that pink round thing behind the lamp is actually a hand fan. It's one of those that you can "fold up" and put in your purse, if you can figure out how to do it. I can't,  so it just stays there and I can grab it as needed.

3. What is in your purse or handbag?

My wallet, keys, sunglasses, a little tiny cosmetic bag with lipstick, fingernail file, eyedrops and other emergency things...ink pen, a purse pack of tissues, notepad. And earlier today my Bible and Bible Study guide were also in there...oh, and my cell phone goes in there when we go out.  

4. What will we find on your coffee table or side tables? How about your kitchen or dining table?

The Coffee Table: That book in the middle front is a photo album called "My Pastbook", which I created a few years ago based on photographs that I had put on Facebook over the years. It turned out pretty good. I need to do a more recent one sometime.  The little book on the right is entitled "Beside Still Waters", by Darrell Bush, which I have written about before HERE. That little book was instrumental in our naming our pond "Still Waters Pond". The bowl in the back middle was created for us by a dear friend who has since gone on to heaven. He created it from a "burl" in a maple tree from New Hampshire. It is made in the shape of an eagle. It is holding a couple of those little wire puzzles that you have to figure out how to put it together and then get it apart again.  You will recognize the game to the left of that as coming from Cracker Barrel, and to the left of that are some magazines. Of course we always have coasters on every table.

The side table between our recliners. Yes, we each have our own remote. Sometimes we play dueling remotes to see who gets to watch what they want the fastest. Or who can mute the commercials the fastest, or which one of us wins how loud the volume needs to be. It can be rather commical at times. I turn it up, he turns it down. I want to watch a certain commercial, he mutes it. I want to watch something on HGTV, he wants to watch sports. One thing we do agree on is we like to watch "What's My Line" old reruns while we eat supper in front of the TV. But I think you need to be as old as we are to appreciate them.

The puzzle and game table. The Chess board was created by my father for my husband years ago, because he knew how much he loved to play chess. Sadly, I don't think anyone has played it in years. Maybe I need to challenge him to a game...he taught me how to play right after we got married, and once I got good enough to beat him, we didn't play it as often. LOL. It's been a long time, and I'm not sure I can remember all the moves now.

The little sign "He leads me beside the still waters" was lovingly created by my sweet DIL Rose for me for Christmas one year after we moved here "Beside Still Waters Pond".  The table itself was built by our son Benton, so that makes it extra special.  It can also be used as a bench when we need extra seating for company when we need to add more tables, like at Thanksgiving.

Current View of The Dining Room Table.

This is my Easter Bunny collection, which started originally with the green one in the middle, which was given to me by my maternal grandmother when I was a child. Then the little bunny laying on his back looking at a butterfly was given to Scott, when he was a "baby", by my mother. She also gave Benton and Matthew the two smaller brown bunnies. 

 The white bunny with the Easter egg was for our grandson Noah when he came to visit for Easter as a young child, and the flowered bunny on the left with the pink ribbon in this picture above was for his mother Nicole.   The little white bunny with the pink flower was added when Rose joined our family, but then she saw the cute little brown bunny next to it, and he was a little scuffed up and one of his ears had broken off. So she took him home and fixed his ear and painted him and said she really loved that little bunny the best, because when she was a little girl she used to raise real bunnies like that. So I guess the white one with the flower is up for grabs...maybe Blackie would like that one??? LOL. 

The gray bunny on the far right is the newest member  of the family. My hubby was the only one who didn't have his own bunny, and I saw this last week at the Dollar General store, and it was perfect for him. 

This is how he looks every morning, with his glasses, a cup of coffee, and his laptop. Perfect!

So there you have the current dining room table display. I will share more pictures on Easter when the table is set and ready for Easter Dinner.  

Speaking of Blackie: Last evening while we were outside doing a little yard work, Blackie came out to follow us around as per usual.  For the first time ever that I've witnessed, since his buddy and our sweet Sunshine went over the Rainbow Bridge, Blackie noticed the little gravesite where Sunshine is buried.

He sat right down on the little stones we set there mainly to make sure no critters came and tried to dig there. He sat and watched us working and seemed to be protecting that place and claiming it as his "territory".

It was a very sweet and touching moment that just might have a brought a tear or two to my eyes.

I will close this post today with these verses about love...some powerful words to ponder as we live out this week, the events of which demonstrate the greatest love of all time.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 13 NLT

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

John 3:16-17 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 15:13 KJV

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

I hope you and yours have a blessed Holy Week and Easter.

Wednesday Treasures from Still Waters Pond and Beyond

Happy Wednesday! I know, the day is almost over, but it's been a busy day and I am just now sitting down at my computer to read and write and try to get caught up with "stuff".   This may be a montage of various pictures from the past few days because I don't have a lot of "content" to talk about.  

It's been too hot to take very many walks lately, and the promised rain storms we were supposed to get here this week have not yet materialized in our neck of the woods.   Tonight it was a couple of degrees cooler (actually, quite a bit...84 now as opposed to the 99 we had earlier in the week), so we took a walk and went past the "Century/Agave Plant" that I've told you about over the past month. 

 I last told you about the Century Plant HERE.  Well, that picture above is how it looks now! It finally "gave up the ghost" and laid down to die.  It had a good life and brought some smiles to many people as I've posted pictures of it over the past few weeks here and on Facebook.  But like Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 

"To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

2 A time o be born,

And a time to die;"

And so I guess this plant finally reached the end of its season.  I hope that when it is my time to lay down and die it can be said that I brought some smiles to many people along the way. That, along with sharing the love of Jesus with others is a worthy goal and purpose in life.   Oh, before I forget, I wanted to share this song with you that our choir sang this past Sunday morning:

You may recognize the song as familiar verses from the Bible, John 3:16-17

John 3:16-17 KJV

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,

 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

If I don't share anything else with you ever again, this is the most important message that could ever be shared.

I guess I could just close this post with that, but I did have some other pictures I wanted to share with you, so here we go:

I watched this interesting scene the other evening out in our yard beside Still Waters Pond.  If you look carefully at the tree, you will see at first one bluebird sitting on a branch, and up in the branches above you will also see a Red Shouldered Hawk, and they are both watching each other very carefully.

Here's a close up of Mr. Hawk:

Pretty soon Mrs. Bluebird joins Mr. Bluebird on that branch, and Mr. Hawk continues to watch them, but they don't seem overly concerned.

This little standoff continued for quite a while until finally Mr. Hawk decided he'd better go look for his supper elsewhere and away he flew.

A little later I captured this picture of Mrs. Bluebird in her house, sitting on her nest. She is looking out the window and her mouth is open as if she is either gasping for air because it is so hot in there, or she's calling for Mr. Bluebird to bring her some supper.  Either way, it's quite a picture!

This is where she is sitting. That is Still Waters Pond in the background, but it might as well be called "No Waters Pond" right now, as it is getting so dry you could just about walk across it, but I wouldn't recommend it. The bottom of that pond is pure muck, and you would sink up to your knees very quickly...yeah...it's yucky! I know, I've tried it before!  That's why we need that rain so much! It will fill back up once the summer rains start, but until then it is pretty dry!

In between all the other excitement of the hawk and the bluebirds, Mr. Ruby Throated Hummingbird has been coming and going to the bird feeder, minding his own business and enjoying a cool drink of sugar water...

Hi there folks!  Nice to see you again!!

Speaking of the Red Shouldered Hawk again, I told you recently HERE about how unhappy the Hawk has been about having so many trees removed from the lot next door to us.  Well, I took a walk over to that lot the other evening and I was surprised suddenly by a rush of activity and some very loud screeches coming out from among some trees.  I was shocked to see not just one, but THREE hawks fly up into the tree above me, and they were all quite upset with me for being in their territory!  I managed to take a few pictures...I believe the two that you see in this tree are actually juvenile hawks, so apparently there WAS a nest in the area and no wonder Mrs. Hawk had been so distressed!

These two stood there squawking at me for some time, while Mama Hawk apparently went back to hunt for some supper for these noisy kids.

I was getting nervous about the way they kept looking at me, like I might become their dinner if I didn't watch out! LOL.

Very soon Mama flew to this branch and they joined her there, so I am thinking she actually brought them some supper:

Mama left them again, and they continued to keep a "hawk eye" on me, so I decided to start heading back to home:

Besides, it was starting to get dark, and this was the last view I had of one of the hawks watching me go:

However, when I got back to our back yard I was able to see Mr. Bluebird one more time, standing guard over their house as the sun was finally setting behind me.

And with that, I think I will let the sun set on this post and put it to bed for the night.

Psalm 113:3 NKJV

"From the rising of the sun to its going down

The Lord’s name is to be praised."

Amen.

Friday Foto Friends~God's Promise

"I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant 

between Me and the earth."

Genesis 9:13 NKJV

This was our view on the way home from our walk last evening, following a very heavy rainstorm.

I love that the picture above looks like a cross standing next to the rainbow.

Another sign of God's "covenant" with the people of the earth, through the death of Christ on the cross.

During these turbulent times, we certainly need all the hope and encouragement we can get.

I am so thankful for God showing His love to us in so many ways, even through the storms and His protection over our loved ones and friends when it could have turned out so differently.

We will see rainbows again in heaven someday.

Revelation Chapter 4 is considered by most theologians to describe the viewpoint in heaven by John the Apostle, when he is caught up "in the Spirit" (see verses 1-2), "and as the word  "Church" does not appear again in Revelation until chapter 22:16, the catching up of John from earth to heaven has been taken to be a symbolic representation of the translation of the Church as occurring before the events of the tribulation described in chapters 6-19." (Per footnotes in my Scofield Reference Study Bible) 

In other words, many Biblical scholars believe this to be when the "Rapture of the church" takes place.

Revelation 4:1-3

1.  "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. 

And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying,

"Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."

2.  Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

3.  And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance;

and there was a rainbow around the throne, 

in appearance like an emerald."

With all of the things that are happening in our world today, many are watching and preparing for the very possibility of the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Church.  We know that no man knows the hour or the time of when He will come, but only God the Father knows:

Matthew 24:36-39, 42

36.  "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, 

but My Father only.

37. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

38.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

39.  and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be..."

42.  "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming." 

And here is what we can expect on that day:

I Thessalonians 4:16-18

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,

with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.

And the dead in Christ will rise first.

17.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together 

with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

18.  Therefore comfort one another with these words."

I really did not intend to get into a theological discussion today on the Rapture of the Church, but somehow that is where these pictures of the rainbow led me.  I know that there are many interpretations of when and even if the "rapture" will take place, and I do not want to get into any kind of debate over what some believe or do not believe will happen.  I am mainly sharing scriptures that tell us of the hope that we as believers have when we look forward to that day.  The most important thing to remember is, no matter when it happens, we need to be ready to meet the Lord one day.  Many of us will meet him when we pass from this life into heaven...but only if we have first accepted His free gift of salvation.

John 3:16-17

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, 

that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

17.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, 

but that the world through Him might be saved."

I, for one, am thankful for God's gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.

And I am greatly looking forward to meeting Him in heaven one day, face to face.

Whether or not He comes and calls us up into the clouds through the rapture of the church,  or whether He calls me home through death from this life into eternal life in heaven,

I will be with Him forever.

My greatest prayer is that all of my family and friends also have this same assurance and hope.

Have a blessed and beautiful day dear friends.

 

Beautiful Sunday...May we "Rest in Peace".

Well, we certainly have been having some plentiful rain these past few days, thanks to "Cristobal" out in the Gulf of Mexico.  Praying for those who may be in its path as it works its way northward through Louisiana and Mississippi and elsewhere. For us in our part of Florida, it was primarily a heavy rain event, but apparently in other parts of the state closer to the gulf coast and south of us, they had some very high winds and tornado warnings.  We are very sorry for those who may have been affected by that and praying for their recovery and safety. For us, however, we are very thankful for the rain.  Until the past week or so, we had been without any significant rainfall for about seven months or more, so things were quite dry.

Now Still Waters Pond is filling back up very nicely, and the water birds are coming back to enjoy the "fruit thereof".

This is a "Before" picture....

And then I took this picture last evening, looking out our front door as the rains were pouring down:

and then again this morning (on the pond) as more showers keep passing through...

And this is what a couple days of consistent rain can do:

This Great White Egret seems quite happy too. We haven't seen him on the pond in quite a while, and now he has come back, along with the other Heron type birds I told you about the other day.HERE.

 So I am a happy camper now...very happy to enjoy "Still Waters Pond" once again.

I have been "laying low" the past few days, trying to stay peaceful and quiet and away from the fray. And today, Sunday, is a day of worship and praise for our Lord, Who, even in the midst of the turmoil, reaches out to us with love and peace.

The verses we read in our morning devotions today are quite familiar to most of us, but this is the message to us for today:

John 3:16-17

16.  "For God so loved the world that He gave 

His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believes in Him should not perish 

but have everlasting life.

17.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

And I will end this post with these words from the Apostle Paul, from 2 Corinthians 13:11

"Finally, brethren, farewell.

Become complete. 

Be of good comfort, be of one mind,

live in peace;

and the God of love and peace will be with you."

Amen.

 Have a blessed and beautiful day, resting in the peace of the Lord.

Now we are off to go meet some of our church friends for "brunch" at our local True Grits restaurant. That has become our "church fellowship time" lately since we still cannot meet at our church. Hopefully we will reopen in a couple of weeks. I pray so. How about you? Is your church open yet?

A Closed Door...and An Open Door - Updated

UPDATE:  This post was originally written several years ago, and as I was just re-reading it I thought it would be a good repeat for Father's Day weekend.  I was feeling a bit nostalgic and missing my family home...especially the ones who made that home so special.  Read on:


This is the door to my childhood home.  My parents' home.  I lived there from the time I was seven until I left to get married at the age of almost 19. (okay, I was still just 18, but very mature for my age!)  My Dad built this home, and he and my mother lived in this house for over fifty years.  They both died in the home they loved, and their wish to remain in their home until they died came true.

Seeing this picture of the door leading to my parents' home posted on my niece's Facebook page today kind of hit me right between the eyes and deep within my heart. Why? Because this door is closed. This door is now locked, and it will never again be open to welcome our family to the joys and happiness that we once shared within.

During all of those fifty plus years of our parents living in this home memories were made that will always be treasured in the hearts of each of their four children and their families, grandchildren and great grandchildren. We can never go back and relive those happy days, but we can remember them in our hearts and share them with our children and grandchildren and pass on the marvelous heritage of a loving home to all those who follow.

The thing that I need to remember is that although my parents' earthly house is empty and it will never be the same again, that is not the end of this story.  Why?  Because my parents are still alive and well...and enjoying the home that was not built with human hands...their heavenly home.  And the door to THAT home will NEVER be locked shut to those who believe.  It will be eternally open, and ready to receive those who have accepted the invitation to enter. As a matter of fact...that invitation is there for YOU as well!

Hear what Jesus said to His disciples:

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.

I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come again and receive you to Myself;

that where I am, there you may be also. 

And where I go you know, and the way you know." 

"Thomas said to Him,

'Lord, we do not know where You are going,

and how can we know the way?'

Jesus said to him,

"I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through Me."

John 14:1-6 

I am so thankful to know that I have a heavenly home, where the door is open, and Jesus is there waiting with open arms to receive me.  I also know that I will see my parents again in that home, because I have no doubt that they loved the Lord with all their hearts, and that they were looking forward to that heavenly home as well.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whoever believes in Him should not perish

but have everlasting life."

John 3:16

Have you accepted Christ's invitation to dwell with Him in His heavenly home?  Think about it...and accept that invitation now while there is still time.

POSTSCRIPT: I Just had another thought...my parents also continue to live on in the lives of each of us, their children, and those who come after us. So this story has a double happy ending...or rather, beginning...

My Mom and Dad. 'Nuff said.  Love & miss them so much.

A Place of Perfect Peace

 

The obituary of an untimely death...

"___ entered the Presence of the Lord on August ___, at the age of 24."

"___enjoyed too many things to list them all, but most notably were baseball, traveling, music, dogs, food, the shore, and fishing. Most of all, he enjoyed meeting people of different cultures, countries and backgrounds. He traveled through Europe, parts of Africa and different islands around the world. He was a person to “ride the river with”.

"__was a member of the US Army, and recently retired due to an injury attained in Afghanistan. He was based in Germany and Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was trained in infantry and cross trained for the Cobra Strike Team. He went on over 180 missions and received numerous medals and recognition for his service to our country." 

"__was attending Penn State at the time of his death. " 

"He was loyal, kind and generous, yet he was also a warrior and sheep dog through and through. He was a preacher’s kid who loved Jesus, but struggled with the church. One of the highlights of this year was when he was working with His Work, His Way, and he exclaimed, “if every town did this, our country would be turned around for the better”. 

It was with much angst that I read the above obituary recently. Although I did not know him personally, this young man was the son of an acquaintance of ours who was a former colleague in ministry. We knew his grandparents more so than his parents. They were also former colleagues, serving as the District Superintendent & wife for the religious denomination in which we served in the pastoral ministry for many years.  His great-grandparents were very well known in this particular denomination, having served first as missionaries and then in the highest position of leadership for the denomination. He came from a very loving Christian home, with his ancestry steeped in service to the Lord Jesus Christ.

What this obituary did not state was the fact that this wonderful young man, with such a strong Christian heritage and ancestry,  a stellar record in service to our country, and with the intelligence and ability to enroll in an excellent university to begin the next phase of his life's journey...what it didn't tell you was that he died tragically from an apparent drug overdose.

I am not aware if the overdose was on purpose or accidental...and at this point, I'm not sure that matters.  The fact remains that this young man, with such great potential and so much positive influence in his life had his life come to a screeching halt at the age of twenty-four.

My mind is reeling and my heart is breaking...for him, for his family, and for everyone who knew him.  Only God knows what happened that brought him to that point in his life...but I suspect it may have had something to do with the action and injury that he sustained in his service to our country in Afghanistan. I don't know that for a fact and I'm certainly not going to ask...but we see so much of this in the lives of our military when they come back home.  They are wounded in ways that medicine can't fix, and our country has failed in its efforts to rehabilitate and properly care for the countless thousands of men and women veterans who are in similar circumstances.

However, this is not intended to be a political message ...but it does give one pause to reflect on that particular subject, and say a prayer for those in service to our country.

The other part of his obituary that caused me to stop and take notice was this statement:

"He was a preacher’s kid who loved Jesus, but struggled with the church."

From one who knows about these struggles, having had three sons who are preacher's kids, I can so relate.  My kids (now adults--one in heaven) all loved Jesus, but they have also had struggles with "the church".  Not with God, not with Jesus, not with true Christianity, but with "the church".  Or perhaps the expectations of the members of "the church"...expectations that were placed on "the preacher's kids" that no one would dare place on their own kids.  (Something to think about, huh?)

Now, I am not going to bash the church because I love Christ's church, the Body of Christ.  However, all too often things are done and said in "the church" in the name of "the church", or religion, that are not totally representative of Christ and what He intended the church to be. Sadly, many times "the church" stands in judgment of people and forgets that we are to extend the LOVE of Jesus to all people.  Christ offers love and forgiveness to anyone who will come to Him and ask.

Jesus said in John 3:16~

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

But have you ever read the next verse, John 3:17?

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world,

but that the world through Him might be saved."

Remember what Jesus said regarding the woman taken in adultery in the Gospel of John, chapter 8...

Vs. 7:  "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."

And when one by one all the accusers dropped their stones and walked away, Jesus asked the woman 

in verse 10:

"Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?"

She replied to Him, (vs. 11) "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her:

"Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

But this isn't exactly where I wanted to go with this either.  It concerns me that perhaps there are those who would cast stones at this young man because he very possibly took his own life due to the wrong choices he made.  Again, I really don't know the details or particulars of what led him to this point in his life.  But this one thing I do know, according to God's Word:

John 6:39:  

"This is the will of the Father who sent Me, (Jesus)  that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day."

Vs. 40:

"And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

Vs. 47:

"Most assuredly, I say to you,

he who believes in Me has everlasting life."

Our God is a God of great mercy...

"But God, who is rich in mercy, 

because of His great love with which He loved us,

even when we were dead in trespasses,

made us alive together with Christ 

(by grace you have been saved)

and raised us up together,

and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace

in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith,

and that not of yourselves;

it the the gift of God,

not of works, 

lest anyone should boast."

Ephesians 2:4-9

It is my prayer that the Lord Jesus Christ give the comfort that only He can give to this dear family and friends during their time of great grief. May they feel His Presence and know that their child is safe in the arms of Christ today... 

No more suffering...no more fears, but in a place of perfect peace forever. Amen.

"Let not your heart be troubled; 

you believe in God, believe also in Me.

In My Father's house are many mansions.

If it were not so, I would have told you. 

I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come again and receive you to Myself;

that where I am, 

there you may be also."  

John 14:1-3

"Peace I leave with you,

My peace I give to you;

not as the world gives do I give to you.

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

John 14:27

Amen.

(All photos are from a walk in the woods to a "Place of Peace")