Welcome to my "Open Window"...a place of hope, encouragement, and adventure as we journey down the road from "Closed Doors" to the new opportunities God places in our pathway. I hope you will take the time to go back and follow the trail of mixed blessings and fears, failures and triumphs from the past and side-trips in the present. Perhaps it will conjure up some of your own special memories, and be an invitation for you to share with others. I look forward to spending this time with you!
What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!
Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. She would be delighted you are here to join in and so am I.
The photo to the right is the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey. It is the largest cathedral outside Europe . Not only is it beautiful inside and out but has a magnificent pipe organ It's cornerstone was laid in 1899.
As buildings go she is a masterpiece of great workmanship.
1. What are some beautiful buildings in your neck of the woods?
We live in a small town that has an older historical area with several lovely old homes and churches, but the main part of the town currently is out on the highway and the majority of the new homes in use today are either older ranch style homes or manufactured homes. Click HERE for a previous post on historical buildings in our town.
This is one of the historic old homes found in the historic section of our little town. I don't know any information about this house, but I do love the style of it with its two storied porches. I am not even sure if this home is still occupied. It doesn't appear to be in use on a regular basis.
2. What buildings of renown have you experienced or would like to experience? The Louvre? Maybe Versailles? Things closer to home perhaps?
Many years ago our family visited the Biltmore Estate while on vacation. Our sons were very young at the time and really weren't old enough to appreciate the value and beauty of what they were seeing. I would love to go back again someday and see it again without having to worry about keeping my three young sons under control and away from touching things that shouldn't be touched. LOL.
We also visited Jekyll Island, Ga., many years ago, and toured the "national historic landmark district" known as an exclusive winter retreat for the wealthy back in the late 1800's/early 1900's. HERE is a LINK to more information and pictures of those homes. Again, when we visited there our sons were quite young, and I would love to go again some day and visit it without having little kids tagging along. LOL. Jekyll Island isn't very far from where we live now, so maybe we will get to go there again someday.
3. What do you think of the current trends in modern buildings?
I am not fond of modern architecture at all. So often it lacks style and beauty and designs of interest. I believe you can still design modern buildings that are both functional and beautiful if you just use a little more creativity.
4. If you could choose any style home you would like, what would it be? Victorian, Farm House, Craftsmen, Ranch, Georgian, Tudor, Cape Cod?
Although I love old Victorian style homes, they are no longer practical for me. I do not want a house with stairs or so many rooms. I prefer a more open concept, where I can see what's going on from the kitchen into the living areas, and the dining area also to be connected and open. At this stage in my life, a more rustic style of home, like a log cabin style home (but it doesn't have to be log...just that style) would suit me just fine. Although I do love the Farm House style and also a cottage style. I will have to find some photos to share.
Here's a few pictures from my Pinterest site that are examples of what I am talking about:
Cabin style:
Cottage style:
Farmhouse style: (but must have a first floor master suite).
Cabin style...a place where friends and family and maybe even "new friends" love to gather...
Location, location, location!
And no matter what style of house, it must have porches, preferably with a view of water and/or mountains!
No matter where or what the home, it's only a home if God and Love both reside there!
Okay, folks, that's it for today's Tuesday 4. I hope you enjoyed this. Now let's go see what others are sharing, okay? Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
Happy Monday Morning! Afternoon Evening!!...been a busy day! I hope this Monday finds you feeling refreshed and ready to start the new week! (I know, I'm probably much too chipper for some folks on a Monday morning! Sorry, but not sorry!...It's a great day to be alive and well and praising God for another day of life!)
It was a busy but happy weekend here in our neck of the woods. Saturday, November 11th, in addition to being Veteran's Day, was also our "kids", Benton and Rose's 6th wedding anniversary! HERE is a link to the post I wrote back then about their wedding day. Although we didn't celebrate with them on Saturday as we each had different things going on for the day, we did get together Sunday afternoon after church for a delicious steak dinner. Our son Scott came home and grilled the steaks to perfection, and we had a delightful time of celebrating together.
Here's the "kids" , ready to cut into their steak dinner. The hands dishing up the salad belong to our son Scott. (photo bomber!) LOL.
I know this table scene is probably becoming quite common to everyone who has followed me since we moved to this house...this is where we sit to celebrate all kinds of special occasions, as well as just getting together for plain and ordinary events as well! And really, anytime we can be together with family and/or friends is a special occasion, even if we are only eating peanut butter and jelly! LOL.
That steak was so large I barely touched it because I was enjoying the huge baked potato, broccoli and cauliflower, salad and Hawaiian Roll too much. I saved my steak for later, and I may have a steak sandwich for lunch...or add it to a salad...that would be healthier, right?
A little fun gift I gave them was a set of six of these cute "North Pole Christmas red truck" mugs. They love that little red truck design, and actually I found these, brand new, for sale at the flea market. I figured giving them to them now instead of at Christmas would enable them to be used throughout the Christmas season...or they can use them to decorate some of their furniture at Dixie Cottage...where, yes, they still do put furniture for sale in the store even though they no longer own the business. And actually, starting in December, Dixie Cottage is growing! They are annexing the store space right next door and Benton and Rose will be putting more of their furniture for sale in there...some that Benton actually builds himself...unfinished or finished, whichever anyone desires. It will be an added adventure for them, but without the constraints of owning and operating a store...which is very time consuming and confining. So we wish them well in their new adventure!
While still on the topic of yesterday, November 12th, I got to thinking that that date was familiar for some reason, and I remembered that it was the birthdate of my paternal Grandpa (Mursch). It seems as though I've written lots and lots about my paternal Grandma (Elva) Mursch in the past, but my Grandpa hasn't gotten as much attention! So in honor of his memory, here's a few pictures of my Grandpa Mursch, who was born on November 12, 1890, in Utica, NY. He died on December 17, 1975, in Mt. Dora, Florida. He worked as an engineer for the U.S. Steel company in Pittsburgh, PA, for all of his adult life and retired from there in the mid 1950's, and then they moved to Florida. He was a brilliant man, and actually had a few inventions at U.S. Steel, but because he was employed by them, the patents belonged to the company. He and my Daddy built the log cabin vacation home in PA. that I've written about many times, which they sold when they retired and moved to Florida. He was very talented in woodworking as well as other skills. My father inherited a lot of his woodworking abilities from him, and then those skills I believe were also passed down to my son Benton. Okay, so here's a few pictures of my Grandpa:
Here's who is in the picture. My Grandpa is on the far right end, standing.
Back Row: My Grandpa's brother Fred, sister Louise, brother Jack Mursch, Step-brother Jack Humphrey, Step Sister Margaret Humphrey , My Grandpa William, front row: my Great Grandpa Frederick Wilhelm Mursch, my grandpa's half sister Marie, and Step Mother Hannah Humphrey Mursch
Here he is as a middle aged- man.
I love this picture of him with my Grandma.
And in later years with all his children. Sadly, by this time he had Parkinson's Disease, and soon became totally debilitated by it. This was before they had all the good medicines they have now for Parkinsons. It was very sad to see him suffer with it.
Uncle Paul, Grandpa Mursch, Aunt Marion, Grandma (Elva) Mursch, my Dad Bill Mursch,
and Aunt Ruth.
Grandpa died at the age of 85, but the last few years he was wheel-chair bound and the Parkinson's had robbed him of his ability to talk as well as walk. I feel like I missed out on really getting to ask him a lot of things because those were the years that I was "mature" enough to want to know him better. My Grandpa was a good Christian man, very active in their Lutheran Church in which they were charter members because when they moved to Florida there was no Lutheran church anywhere close by.
Happy Heavenly Birthday, Grandpa!!! I look forward to seeing you again some day in heaven, where you will be able to move around freely and without pain or suffering!
My father also ended up with Parkinson's disease, but thankfully by the time he had it the treatment plan was much better and he never totally lost his ability to get around and communicate.
Let's see, what else has been going on? Well, on Saturday our church had what we call an "Agape" Potluck luncheon. We do this once a month and it's just a gathering of whoever wants to come and bring a dish to share and a time of fellowship. This time we also celebrated the 80th birthday of one of our members, who also happens to be our church Sound Technician and Building and Grounds person. In other words, if it needs fixing, call Denny! Every church needs someone like him!!
Denny was also a Navy Veteran, so it was appropriate that his birthday was on Veteran's Day!
There was a great crowd and lots of really good food!
Speaking of our church, I am so excited that our little United Methodist Church has voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist denomination and will officially become a part of the Global Methodist Church in December of this year. This has been a long process, with a LOT of paper-work and financial considerations that had to be met in order for the UMC to release us with our property intact. I won't go into all of those details, but suffice it to say that we are VERY thankful to be able to withdraw from the UMC and be free to preach and teach the true Word of God without fear of being forced to accept the false indoctrination of the UMC. If you aren't familiar with the issue that is facing the UMC, or if you don't know what the difference is between the Global Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, here is a good link with more information: Global Methodist Church: Our beliefs and governance. We are very thankful to have a very committed Bible teaching/believing/Spirit led Pastor, who preaches the true Word of God. Here is a link to this past Sunday's sermon, in case you are interested: From Matthew 25:31-46, "What if Jesus Showed Up at Church Today?"
I was also excited to find out that my home church where I grew up has also disaffiliated from the UMC and has become a part of the Global Methodist Church. I know that there are several of you who are blogging friends who are also a part of Methodist churches who are leaving the UMC, whether or not they have decided to join the Global Methodist Church or are now independent/non-denominational churches, they have decided to follow Jesus, "no turning back, no turning back".
Sing along with us:
1. I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.
2. Tho' none go with me, I still will follow,
Tho' none go with me I still will follow,
Tho' none go with me, I still will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.
3. My cross I'll carry, till I see Jesus;
My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus,
My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus;
No turning back, No turning back.
4. The world behind me, the cross before me,
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.
Amen!
In this day and age of so much turmoil and false teachings running rampant in the world and in so many main-line denominations, it is important to stand strong on the Word of God...and to stand with Joshua of old when he said:
Joshua 24:15 NKJV
15 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.”
1. What is your tradition for July 4th? Do you read the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights?
No, we have never made it a tradition to read the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights on July 4th, but I think it would be a good thing for everyone to do. It seems as though our younger generation has no clue what either of those documents say, and it apparently is not being taught in our schools anymore, at least not correctly. So yes, it would be a good thing to begin as a new tradition if not already done.
Regarding our own traditions....well, I know I've shared this before...our family has usually always gotten together for a cookout and also to make home-made ice-cream. This year our extended family isn't able to travel here since my brother in law recently had surgery and isn't quite ready to make the 2 hour trip to our house yet. But yesterday (Sunday), our immediate family came here after church for a BBQ dinner...but we didn't make ice cream. It's just too HOT to be outside that long! We are still under a heat advisory and so we are limiting outdoor activities as much as possible. Here's some pictures from our dinner yesterday:
Our sweet kids Benton and Rose, Scott, and hubby John all waiting to fill their plates...
What started out to be just a simple grilling of hamburgers and hot dogs turned out to be quite a feast, thanks to our DIL Rose bringing potato salad, deviled eggs, fruit, and cupcakes. I did the coleslaw (with Rose's help!) and baked beans...
And Scott grilled the burgers and hot dogs:
Here's my plate. It was so good! (I was trying not to overdo it, but I did end up having another hotdog...
Here's hubby and me after we finished eating, relaxing and enjoying visiting with the kids.
That's what freedom is...the ability to spend time with our family and friends and live in peace and harmony without fear of government intrusion and control of our every move. We are blessed to be able to worship God freely and openly, without fear of reprisal or retaliation by the government. Many people in this world do not have that freedom...and I pray that we will not take our freedoms for granted because there are forces out there who are trying their best to wipe out Christianity and all forms of conservative, Godly belief and choices. May we continue to stand strong and be diligent to protect these freedoms before it's too late.
Our little town does have a nice day in the park, with lots of activities and food, vendor booths, etc. They culminate in an evening of fireworks out over the lakefront. Here's the event listing for this year's activities:
Sounds like fun. We may go visit some of the activities during the day, and then we plan to watch the fireworks, but maybe from a bit of a distance so as not to get tangled up in traffic.
3. Do you fly the flag?
Always. We put our flag up every day, weather permitting.
4. Have you visited Philadelphia, Pennsylvania our first capital? What did you see there?
No, I have never visited Philadelphia. But I was born in Clarion, Pennsylvania....does that count? However, we moved to Florida before I was six, so I never had the chance to go to Philadelphia.
Here you can hear the real liberty bell rung in Liberty Square, Philadelphia Pa.
I hope you and yours have a wonderful 4th of July celebration in some way that is special for you.
Now for a continuation of the Bluebird Saga... If you recall in my last post HERE a few days ago,
Bluebird couple #2 had come back to inspect Bluebird house #2 to determine if it was suitable for setting up housekeeping and preparing for their 2nd brood of babies this year. They seemed quite taken with that house and I was certain they would be moving in right away. Well, they seem to have had a change in plans. You know I had told you that Bluebird couple #1 had abandoned their nest in house #1 a week or so ago, and they had not been back at all. So, Friday evening when Rose and Benton were here for a spaghetti supper (oh, I haven't told you about that one yet...I thought we were just going to order pizza from Domino's, but Rose brought over a full spaghetti dinner instead and then we played a game of Dominoes instead of eating Domino's. LOL.)
Anyway, Rose and I went outside to check the bird house and decided to open up house #1 and check the nest. Sure enough, the nest had been abandoned with 3 little blue eggs still there tucked way down inside. So we gingerly pulled out the nest and I laid it down in the garden beneath the birdhouse. I felt really sad for the little birdies who never hatched, but either it was just too hot for them, or for whatever reason these eggs were not fertilized or some other problem. That seems to happen more often than not with the 2nd batch of eggs, which this was for couple #1.
So, anyway, we cleaned out the birdhouse and left it alone.
The next day Bluebird couple #2 shows up supposedly ready to move into house #2. But for some strange reason, Mr. Bluebird decided to give house #1 another look. He had looked into last week, but seeing the old nest still in there he moved on to house #2. However now, he looked inside and found house #1 all neat and clean...and then he started calling to Mrs. Bluebird and telling her to come quickly and check out this house!!
There she goes, inside the house to check it out! All the while Mr. Bluebird is chattering away at her, telling her all the merits of this house as opposed to house #2. This house seems to be more stable, because it is attached to a metal pole and does not sway in the wind as much as house #2, which is attached to a PVC pole and is a bit more flexible.
Mrs. Bluebird came back outside and talked to her mate quite excitedly...I am sure I heard her say, "Oh I love this house so much more than the other one! It seems so much more secure, and it has so much character! Oh, I do think we should take this house instead of the other one! What do you think, dear?"
He seemed to agree, and ever since the two of them have been bringing straw and sticks and have already started building their new nest in this house! So I will keep you posted on further developments! (My kids think I am a bit crazy when I start telling them how the birds talk to each other back and forth. Of course I try to talk in bird language just like they do, and the kids just shake their heads and give little looks at each other like "yep, she's losing it..." LOL.
Speaking of houses...I turned the page on my calendars this week since it is now July, and here is the picture found on the Thomas Kindade calendar...isn't it beautiful?
I love every detail of that picture, and would gladly choose this house if I had a choice. Love the swans and the ducks on the pond, and the bunnies on the lawn, and is that a cat on the bench? I'm not sure..., yes it is. I had to get my magnifying glass to check it out! And I love the Bible verse up on the corner of the picture from Joshua 24:15. One of my favorites.
That is a strong statement to make in this day and time, and thankfully we still have the freedom to say it and believe it and act upon it. I pray that the day will never come that we are forced to make a choice as to whether or not we will bow down to the "gods of this world" or to worship Almighty God. If so, may we always have the courage to say what Joshua said above, regardless of the consequences.
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
In God we trust!
God bless America!
Let Freedom Ring!!
Amen.
Now let us go check out what our other friends are sharing over at Tuesday 4 for today.
Good Wednesday Morning Everyone!! I hope you are having a lovely morning wherever you may be!
It's a crisp 45 degrees here in north central Florida this morning! Time to put on the flannel shirts and light up the fire...
Bake a batch of Blueberry Bran Muffins (or whatever other kind you might like...probably pumpkin would be better this time of year, but this is what I have...so I hope you enjoy it)
I am grateful for the delightful aroma of fresh baked muffins...
And for a hot cup of tea while I write to you...
This should be about Tuesday's treasures...Yesterday morning we had to leave early to go to the doctor's office for my hubby to have fasting lab work done before breakfast...I could see a beautiful sunrise appearing in my side view mirror of the car, and I hoped it would still be there when I could get out and see it for real instead of in reverse...
Sure enough, when we got to the Doctor's office parking lot...there it was in all its beauty and glory:
We were early for the appointment...the office hadn't even opened their doors yet, so I just stood outside and enjoyed God's glory in the heavens...
Even the clouds couldn't mar its beauty:
Looks like Mr.Vulture (Buzzard) was enjoying the view with me...see him on top of the light post?
After the lab work was done we headed over to Nanna's Country Cafe' for breakfast before going to Dixie Cottage for the morning. I didn't take any pictures of our breakfast...I guess I was too busy enjoying eating it! But that was yesterday...
So now here it is Wednesday afternoon and I still haven't finished this post! I got interrupted this morning by the clock ticking the time away. We ate our blueberry bran muffins after reading our morning devotions. Then we got ready and headed over to Dixie Cottage again for the morning. That is our "normal" routine these days for most weekdays. We try to get there before 9:30 a.m. to get things ready to open the store at 10:00 a.m. Then we stay until usually around 11:30-12:00, when our son comes in to take over for the afternoon. That works out perfectly for us. We can come home, get some lunch, take a nap, and then finish whatever else needs to be done...like this POST that I started writing at 6:30 a.m. today when it was 45 degrees. Now it is up to 62 degrees at 3:00 p.m.!! A very chilly fall day for us here in this part of the country! Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder in the morning! I know for most of you who live north of us this is nothing...but consider where we are and remember that for us this would be more like one of our winter days!
So what else is new? Let's see...Oh, I'll share a couple of Dixie Cottage pictures with you to keep you up to date on what's happening there:
Several months ago we found this game table at the local flea market, and picked it up for Benton. It needed to be refinished as it was kind of old and beat up looking, but it was still functional. So this past week he finally got around to pulling it out of his storage shed and decided to bring it to the store to sell. I am sorry we didn't take any "before" pictures of the table. It was a typical light golden oak color. These four chairs are not the ones that came with it, but these were some he had that needed to be sold. I suggested that he paint the table something "fun" instead of a traditional table color. So after some discussion we decided on this pretty kind of a colonial blue color.
The checkerboard piece fits on top of the backgammon piece, and can also be turned over for a solid colored side and be used as a regular table. I forgot to get a picture of that.
Anyway, he barely got finished putting the second coat of paint on this table before a lady walked in and said she wanted it!
So that was a happy ending to that story!
Then this morning while we were there a gentleman called on the phone and asked if we still had that little Secretary desk that he saw on our Facebook Page. I told him yes, and he asked for dimensions and more information, and then said he'd be right down to get it!
Sure enough, after we left for lunch, he showed up and purchased the desk as promised!
He also wanted to buy this antique oak dresser, but alas! The lady who purchased the game table also bought this dresser and was on her way to pick it up! So sometimes it pays to speak up quickly, because if you "snooze, you lose!"
Meanwhile, some other interesting things going on...
A couple of weeks ago a very interesting lady came into the store looking around and ended up buying several of our more inspirational items and signs. She said she had just moved to our community and was establishing a small "chapel" on her property...a "House of Prayer", for those in need of a place to pray and be prayed for.
She saw that our son creates custom signs and asked if he could make a couple of signs for her to put in her special chapel. These (above and below) are the signs she wanted, and she came to pick them up today, but sadly we had already left for the day so I missed seeing her again. I would love to have seen her because when she was there before we had such a beautiful time talking to each other. She is of Puerto Rican descent and wanted to pray for us. She prayed a most wonderful prayer in Spanish. I couldn't understand all that she was saying, but I know God understood her perfectly, and it was a time of blessing and joy for us to meet together. I hope I will get to see her again sometime.
I think this is a good place to stop for today. I hope to be a little more punctual in writing and reading your posts as the days go by, but it seems as though we are being kept very busy, which is actually a very good thing. I do enjoy your comments so much and read every one, even if I don't always reply.
We are very thankful for the ways in which God is blessing us and also our family's store. I would ask you to pray, however, because the small store space next to us is now vacant. It was a beauty/barber shop, but they have moved on. Our landlady is looking for new tenants for the space and there are many people who want to lease it. We are praying that God will lead just the right kind of people there, and that our landlady will not allow "greed" to cause her to put someone in there who may be able to pay her more money in rent, but not be something that will be good for our community....there is such a possibility on the table, and we are very concerned about what her decision will be. Please pray for this situation. It has been causing us a little bit of tension, but we are placing it in God's hands and trusting Him to work it out for the best for all concerned. He knows our needs and we are trusting Him to work it out...but more prayers can't hurt...
Matthew 21:12-13
12 And Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And He *said to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.”
Isaiah 56:7
7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be accepted on My altar;
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Thank you again for being such special friends!
God bless you all, and have a wonderful rest of your week.
