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!

Walking In the Light of His Countenance - Revisited

This is a repost from 11/2/2016, but it just seemed to be a good message for today. May your SONday be filled with praise, as well as prayer for our nation and those that we love.  Have a blessed day, dear friends!

Original Post 11/2/16:

"Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;

Mercy and truth go before Your face. 

Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!

 They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.

In Your Name they rejoice all day long.

 And in Your righteousness they are exalted.

For You are the glory of their strength,

 and in Your favor our horn is exalted.

For our shield belongs to the Lord,

and our king to the Holy One of Israel.

Psalm 89:14-18

 "Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!

Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; 

Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

 For the Lord is the great God,

and the great King above all gods.

In His hands are the deep places of the earth;

the heights of the hills are His also.

 The sea is His, for He made it;

and His hands formed the dry land.

Psalm 95:1-5

"This is the message which we have heard from Him (Jesus) 

and declare to you,

That God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  

If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,

and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

I John 1:5-7

"Therefore He says:

Awake, you who sleep,

Arise from the dead,

And Christ will give you light."

Ephesians 5:14

Dear Friends, 

Our world is increasingly becoming encased in darkness, but Jesus Christ gives us light to enlighten our way and keep us on the path to righteousness and truth. There are so many voices out there clamoring for our attention, and it is easy to become confused and frightened with so much darkness invading our world. But listen to the truth found in God's Word, particularly in the Gospel of John 1:3-5

"All things were made through Him (Jesus, the Word of God),

and without Him, nothing was made that was made.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men,

And the light shines in the darkness, 

and the darkness did not comprehend it."

Come to the Light, Jesus Christ, and He will show you the way of life.  

I hope you enjoyed these pictures today. They were taken 11/1/2016,  at the lovely lakefront home of some new friends on Lake George, Florida. Have a blessed day, my friends...and "Walk in the Light of His Countenance!"

Repurposed For Christ (Friday Foto Friends)

"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness,

who has shone in our hearts 

to give the light of the 

knowledge of the glory of God 

in the face of Jesus Christ...

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, 

that the excellence of the power 

may be of God and not of us."

(2 Corinthians 4:6-7)

Just an ordinary light fixture, repainted, recycled, repurposed and lit up for 
God's Glory!

Isn't the transformation remarkable?
I wish I had taken a BEFORE picture of the light fixture...it was 
 very dingy, dark, dirty and boring....

This is what happens to us when we allow the 
Light of Christ
to shine in our hearts!
We become re-purposed for His glory!!!
No longer dingy, dark, dirty or boring...
but filled with the joyous Light of Jesus, 
radiating out to a darkened world!

(and yes, this light is going to shine
in 
The Secret Garden!)
Stay Tuned!

Linking today with Deb at Breathing in Grace and friends for Friday Foto Friends. Hop on over and visit with the rest of the group!  Have a blessed and Light-Filled Friday!

Happy New Year everyone!

"It Is No Secret!" - Reposted

This is a repost of a blog that I wrote about this same time last year.  Somehow, it seems good to repeat it again this year.


Original Post written 10/24/2015:
I'm not alluding to the song, "It Is No Secret What God can do..."  even though that is a wonderful old song and certainly true.  But what has been impressed on my mind lately has to do with darkness and light...hidden and revealed. Read on~

Luke 12:2-3

"For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops."

Luke 8:16-17

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light."

Proverbs 28:13

 "He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."

Photo via Internet

I started this post a couple of weeks ago, and then just let it sit on the back burner and simmer a while. Not sure if I am ready to tackle it again or not.  It is a deep subject. Maybe I should just let God's Word speak for itself. I certainly cannot do it any better than that.  God's Word encourages me to press on:

Isaiah 58:1

"Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins."

Isaiah 55:6-7:

"Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,

And He will have mercy on him;

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon." 

Isaiah 58:6-9

"Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the heavy burdens,

to let the oppressed go free,

And that you break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;

When you see the naked, that you cover him,

and not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then your light shall break forth like the morning,

Your healing shall spring forth speedily,

And your righteousness shall go before you;  

The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard, 

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; 

You shall cry, 

and He will say, 'Here I am.'" 

Isaiah 55:10-11

"For as the rain comes down,

and the snow from heaven,

and do not return there,

but water the earth,

and make it bring forth and bud,

that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Isaiah 55:12~

"For you shall go out with joy,

And be led out with peace;

The mountains and the hills

Shall break forth into singing before you..."

So be it, Lord, I pray, even as You have spoken.

Amen.