Thursday Thankfulness!

 Happy Thursday...and it's Halloween! So hard to believe the last day of October is here already!  It's been a very busy month, and I am thankful that we made it through without any major incidents...taking a long trip with many hours on the road...surviving two major hurricanes (one was in the end of September, but still close enough to be October), and then catching a cold but today I feel SO much better...and hubby is starting to feel better too, although I think he still needs to take it easy for another day or so...but still...we are very very thankful for God's protection and care of us throughout this past month...

So today I want to "Give Thanks" with a grateful heart for all of God's wonderful blessings and protection and grace...

It was wonderful to come home to our own "Still Waters Pond", and find that the pond was still alive and well with our resident water birds...

Mr. Great Blue Heron stopped by to say welcome home...

And then he went on about his business of catching fish for dinner...can you see him in the camouflage below?  

And Mrs. Great White Egret has been stopping by on a regular basis as well...they seem to like the same fishing spots as the Great Blue Herons, but they seldom ever come at the same time...

However, Mr. Sand Hill Crane was NOT happy about Mrs. Great White Egret being in his territory this morning, and he was making a racket about it...

He was calling to Mrs. Crane across the pond and warning her about the Great White Egret being in their territory.  Oh, do you see that big pine tree laying down in the background? That fell during Hurricane Milton over on the other side of the pond.  I love that the reflection in the water makes it look like it is perfectly matched up with another tree...but it is just that one.  I guess it will just stay that way until it falls apart someday, as that is not on our property or anyone else's as far as I know. It was one of the trees standing alongside the road and pond, and thankfully it fell this way and not into the busy highway on the other side...

After a few more warnings from Mr. Crane...

He picked up his mighty wings and flew over to his mate, and actually, The Great White Egret flew away at the same time, but I couldn't get it in the same picture.

A little later I saw the whole Crane family fly in across the street together, and they were on about their duties for the day...

Meanwhile, Mrs. Cardinal was busily getting her breakfast from the bird feeder in our yard...

And Mr. Cardinal was waiting his turn in the tree...

Yes, it's good to be home again! It's wonderful to see that all is well here in God's beautiful wild kingdom along the shores of Still Waters Pond!

Meanwhile, inside, I realized that today is Halloween, and I haven't really done much about decorating or preparing for it.  So I got busy this morning and put out a few more decorations...oh, and I did buy some candy at the Dollar General up the street a day ago so I will have something ready for the trick or treaters. We still get quite a few here on our street, and even though I haven't been feeling all that great this week, I just couldn't bear the thought of not being able to greet the sweet little children when they come...so I am getting ready little by little today.

I put out Mr. Scarecrow...

This will have to be my "jack-o-lantern" for the yard, as I didn't even buy a real pumpkin this year!

However, this little ceramic jack-0-lantern will join me on the front porch tonight.

The "pumpkin patch" little church is lit up and ready...

And our dining table is decorated and ready...

Thankfully when we were up in the mountains, my SIL Peggy and BIL Billy went to a pumpkin patch and brought us back these little pumpkins and Indian corn. So I have some fresh items to decorate with. 

"Welcome to our neck of the woods...where life is good..."

Oh, Lily Grace and friends are ready for the trick or treaters!  Lily hasn't figured out her "costume" for tonight yet...hopefully we will come up with something special before then...

So now I just need to prepare the little bags of candy for the trick or treaters:

And this year I decided to do something different.  I have these "Prayer Cards", which are actually cards with a scripture verse printed on them, and I am going to include one in each little ziploc bag of candy.  I wanted to get some smaller business card sized cards with a verse, but I didn't get around to it, and I already have these, so these will work as well.  I think I have 60 cards, so that will probably be enough.  My thought is that this is an opportunity to share the love of Christ with our community, with those who are coming right to my door! I actually found these at the Dollar Tree some time ago, and they are called "prayer cards", even though they aren't really a prayer, but the Word of God, and my prayer is that God will use this to bless the children who receive them, as well as their parents.  

Many people see Halloween as something totally dark and evil,  but my feeling is why not take advantage of this opportunity to spread the LIGHT of God's Word in the darkness?   I am thankful that there are churches in our community who are also using this opportunity to be a positive witness for Christ, as they have a "Trunk or Treat" event at their churches and have a fun time, but they also share the love of Christ with those who come.  I believe that we as Christians need to take advantage of every opportunity to be His ambassadors of His love and grace.   There's already too many negative influences out there vying for our children's hearts and souls...Let's be the LIGHT!

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Matthew 5:14-16

So let us light our lamps and shine brightly for the world to see!!

Have a blessed and safe and Happy Halloween!

Christmas is Coming!

Christmas is coming!

I have to tell you I really didn't think I'd be able to get the tree up and decorated this year. But yesterday our son Scott came home (after working for several hours in the early morning and then driving an hour to get here) and by the time we got home from lunch after church he had the tree already standing in the living room with the lights on it! That was a miracle to me! (And we brought him a nice hot cheeseburger and fries from the restaurant for his lunch too). As the afternoon progressed, I did manage to start putting the decorations on it, and by evening it was looking pretty good!

These pictures are a realistic view into our living room when the Christmas boxes come in from the storage shed...again, thanks to our son Scott.  He dodged a little bit of rain to get everything in just in time before it really started pouring.

Then, since he was still here with us, we called the other "kids" to come over to visit and have an impromptu "breakfast for supper"...bacon, sausage, eggs, and biscuits. It was pretty good and fun to be together before Scott had to hit the road to get back to Jacksonville.

Our grandpup Sugar was enjoying sitting in her Daddy's lap and stretching her head backwards to look at the pretty tree...

It did look very nice. I love the lights most of all, don't you? There's just something about lights at Christmas...

We didn't try to put up the train/village last night as we were all a bit too tired to start that project. Still not sure if it will happen this year or not...time will tell.  If I can't get down on the floor and back up again, then it probably won't happen, unless the kids want to come back over and spend another evening playing with the trains. However, I must say, I truly believe I am starting to turn the corner with this arm/shoulder/back pain...little by little, day by day, I believe it's getting better...but I still have to pace myself and not overdo it. I do give thanks to the Lord for the improvement that seems to be happening.

Today I did a few more things...the Tea Cup tree is ready, 

along with the angels singing...

And tonight I had my first official cup of hot cocoa of the season (hot ovaltine,  actually...my favorite!)

It's always fun to sip a cup of hot cocoa while watching the skaters and the sleds on the little pond...(lol)

Poinsettias and candles and the little white church make the table look pretty and bright...

This little white church was a Christmas gift last year from my sister in law. I love it.   I love how it lights up and shines so brightly.  

It reminds me of our own little white church, and it "shines so brightly" as a light in the darkness around us.  

Yesterday we sang this song in the choir..."Christmas is Coming, let the church bells ring...people celebratin' the birth of a King...shoutin' hosanna 'til the heavens ring! Christmas is comin', let the church bells ring..."    You might enjoy listening to the song...this is not our choir singing, but we did our best to sound this good...

 Do you ever wonder why we have so many lights shining at Christmas?  Maybe it's because of the Star of Bethlehem that the Wise Men followed...or perhaps even more so, the lights of Christmas shine for Jesus..."The Light of the World"

John 1:1-14

"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

And in John chapter 8:12, Jesus declares to us:

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Yes, I believe that is why we love the lights so much at Christmas...because we celebrate the birth of Jesus, "The Light of the World".    So now, when you see those lights twinkling and shining so brightly everywhere, on Christmas trees, in the windows of houses and churches, on the rooftops and porches all across the land...wherever you may see the lights of Christmas, remember that Jesus is the Light of the World...and whoever follows Him will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life!  Praise God for that beautiful Light, Jesus, the Light of the world!!

Happy Advent!!

2022 The 4th Sunday of Advent

Today was the 4th Sunday of Advent.  

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through Me." 

John 14:6

We lit the 4th candle on the Advent wreath in church. I've been wanting to get a picture of this unique advent wreath, and finally did today. I love that it is set in a beautiful crown, symbolizing the royalty of Christ, the Son of God, Prince of Peace, and Lord of lords!

I snapped this picture at the close of our service today, which was a full house, praise the Lord!  We had just had the benediction and were singing "Go Tell it on the mountain...that Jesus Christ is born!" I love that we sing that at the close of the service as a fitting reminder to go out and tell everyone about Jesus!

Today was our choir's presentation of "Light of the World".  This recording was done during our dress rehearsal this past week. If you want to sit back and enjoy some happy music, please click on this and enjoy. Please excuse my coughing toward the end (and possibly somewhere in the middle). Other than that, I made it through!  This morning for the real performance I don't think I coughed until the very end, so that was an improvement. LOL. The words and music were a beautiful way to tell the Christmas story, so I hope you will enjoy it. As I've said before, we are a small country church, and our choir is very down to earth with no professional singers or musicians. We just sing for the glory of the Lord, and that is what I hope shines through.

After church we went out to eat at one of our local eateries, (Hog Wild Country Cafe'), and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus were there! What a surprise! He was listening to children's requests, and I told him I'd been a good girl and I hoped he'd bring everything on my list.  He said he'd try really hard. LOL. As it turns out this couple used to attend our church but they have moved to another church in the past year or so, so it was a surprise to see them.  And yes, it was cold enough for that fire in the fireplace today! And I understand by next Sunday it will be in the low 20's here, so who knows what might happen? Santa just might get to ride in his sleigh after all! He may have to revive that reindeer on the wall first. LOL.

I was looking back in my blogpost history and found these posts from previous years' 4th Sunday of Advent, so if you have some extra time and want to go back and re-read these old posts, you are very welcome to.  I mainly have them here for my own reference so that I can keep track of the different things that were written for this Sunday in Advent.  It seems like we do something a little different each year, which is good. There is no absolute format for each Sunday in Advent. You can do it any way you want. The important thing is to think about the wonderful story of the Birth of Christ, and His purpose for coming here to earth in the first place. Each Sunday in Advent we share a little more of the story that helps put the whole big picture into focus.  Christmas is all about Jesus...not just as that baby in the manger, but looking ahead into God's plan for our redemption through His Son. He came to redeem us from our sins and give us hope for eternity. And that's what Christmas is all about.  

With that I will say good night for today.  

 2016 4th Sunday of Advent

2018 4th Sunday of Advent

2019 4th Sunday of Advent

2020 4th Sunday of Advent

2021 4th Sunday of Advent

Friday Foto Friends: December Trees and Memories

Welcome to Friday Foto Friends!! I hope you have all been having a wonderful week, preparing for Christmas in this lovely Advent season.

We received our first Christmas cards in the mail today...and this one I had to share with you...If I were to design a Christmas card from my neck of the woods, this would have to be it...

Those of you who know me can understand why...

We haven't been seeing much of our wildlife here lately...our deer family seems to be in hiding, probably because it's hunting season.  So I hope they have found a safe place to hide until the hunters go away. And the bears also seem to be settling down for a little nap somewhere. They don't officially hibernate here in Florida, but they do "rest" for a short time and start getting more active again around February.

Are you sending out Christmas cards this year?  I always write a Christmas letter and send it to folks we don't hear from too often throughout the year, especially those who are not on social media.  I figure those who are my Facebook/blogging friends already know everything there is to know about our happenings throughout the year, so in an effort to keep our expenses down (postage, printing) I have reduced the number of letters/cards that are sent out considerably.  But I do love to get cards....and I find that I usually send cards to people who send us cards.  I hate to let the tradition die out altogether.

Here are a few pictures from in and around our house and other places from this past week.  I find that I am waxing nostalgic a bit, knowing that this will most likely be our last Christmas in this house. So I find myself taking pictures of things (and trees!) that I enjoy here that I want to remember.  Here are just a few from this week:

Looking at our little grapevine Christmas tree that is on the front porch...looking out through the windows next to the front door...

And here is "Baby Elva", dressed up in her Christmas outfit,  sitting beside her little Christmas tree in the Dining Room.

Closer view of "Baby Elva", holding her "Boo Bear"

Another little Christmas tree in our kitchen...

Morning Tea Time...

Another view of the little tree and my rocking chair...

I like to sit here and sip tea and read some of the lovely books about tea time while I watch supper cooking on the stove! It is also a nice place for a friend to sit and visit with me in the kitchen. Nanny used to sit here a lot. I do miss her presence here.

My "Tea Time" calendar for December... ( I do save these calendars from year to year. They are too pretty to throw away. They have recipes and history of the teapots, etc. included.) 

(Now you may understand why I have a difficult time "downsizing"...)

Another of my favorite calendars...would just love to be on that wagon bringing in the Christmas tree...we did that when we lived up north.  I loved tromping through the snow looking for the perfect tree.  Toes and noses were numb by the time we found that "perfect tree". 

This year we went back to using our artificial tree, after two years of going and cutting a "Florida Cracker Tree" from the forest... (click on the link for more about that from last year)

And click HERE for the year before that....,  and HERE for the history of the Florida Cracker Tree

With the prospect of moving I really didn't want to go to all the trouble of searching for and cutting and cleaning up after a live tree.

And speaking of trees, This little maple tree is showing off its colors finally. We planted this little tree about 4 years ago, in memory of our son Matthew.  I hate to leave it here when we move, but I'd feel even worse to dig it up and have it die when we try to transplant it. We will just plant something new in memory of our son at our new house, when the time comes. We can always come back and check on its progress in the future.

This is another view of the maple tree, seen from the Bear Crossing sign that our son "Ben's Wood Signs" created after we discovered that our yard is most definitely a "Bear Crossing" zone. I guess we will probably leave that here as well.  Don't think we'll need it in the area where we hope to be moving...but if we do discover any bears, "Ben's Wood Signs" will just have to make me a new one!!

Looking out across our front yard at the close of the day as the sun was going down, shining its brilliant rays through the trees...this picture doesn't do it justice...

This one may give you a better idea of what I was seeing.  It was beautiful...

That is probably a good place to close for the day at the end of another beautiful day....(written on Thursday evening)

Here are some verses from my Bible reading that I found especially comforting today:

"I called on the Lord in distress;

The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.

The Lord is on my side;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?"

Psalm 118:5-6

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 

We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.

God is the Lord,

And He has given us light..."

Psalm 118:26-27a.

Isaiah 26:3-4

"You will keep him in perfect peace,

whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You.

Trust in the Lord forever,

For in YAH,  the Lord, is everlasting strength."

If you are struggling with any distress or fears during this busy and somewhat stressful season of the year, lean on the Lord...call on Him in your distress...and He will hear your cries...and He will answer you and give you peace...and light...and everlasting strength. He has promised...and I believe His Word.  Have a blessed week, dear friends.

Now, let us travel over to Deb's place at Breathing in Grace and see what our other Friday Foto Friends are posting!!