Tuesday 4: September

 Tuesday 4

September 2022

Since I just did a  post on the first of September the other day, I don't want to be redundant on anything, but I want to play along on this week's Tuesday 4 Meme, so come along with me and maybe you'll learn something new that you didn't already know!  And also, I am posting this early because the next couple of days are going to be busy around here, so I wanted to be sure this got posted on time!

Hello and welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. We are so glad you have you join in.

The "Ber" months have begun: September, October, November and December. Let's talk about September okay?

1. When you were in school or university, did you look forward to returning? Why or why not?

Yes, I loved school and after a long hot summer I was always happy to get back so I could see all my friends.  Being at home all summer was kind of boring in some ways, unless we were on a vacation trip up north to visit relatives.    Here I am on my very first day of school in the first grade. I don't think I have any other school year "first day" photos.  That wasn't such a "thing" back then as it is now.

I love that you can see my mother's shadow taking this picture. That's definitely the shape of her head that I will always remember. She always wore her hair that way!

2. September has Labor Day, which, for many is the signal of summer's end and fall's grand entrance. Do you celebrate Labor Day in any way or is it just a day off for you?

Well, tomorrow is Labor Day, and yes, we are going to celebrate. But it's not exactly "labor day" we are celebrating. We will be celebrating several family members' birthdays that were in August. This is the first time we've all been together in a long time, so it will be a fun and happy day.  We are going to have pulled pork, fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, beans, deviled eggs, veggie tray/fruit, and cake for dessert.  Everyone is bringing something so I don't have to cook all of that, thank the Lord! Yes, they are coming to our house.  I decided to go ahead and start doing a little bit of fall decorations rather than something patriotic for Labor Day. I'm just so ready for fall to get here.

And yes, Lily Grace and her puppy Bailey are ready for fall too. Lily says she hopes we can do some of those fun things listed above this autumn: hay rides, apple picking, bonfires, raking leaves, corn maze and pumpkin patch...well, maybe we can have a bonfire and make s'mores, and we can rake leaves, and go pick out a pumpkin at a store, but we don't have apple orchards where we can go pick apples, and I know there are corn mazes around, but I doubt we'll do that or a hayride...but you just never know!

3. September's birthstone is the Sapphire which is 2nd only to a diamond in hardness. (Ruby is a red sapphire by the way) It comes in many colors. Do you know your birthstone and do you like it? 

Yes, as a matter of fact, my birthstone is sapphire, because I was born in September! And yes, I love it! I love the color of sapphire blue, and that is probably what prompted me to buy this at Dixie Cottage the other day:

Yes, that is a bird feeder, and we had quite a time figuring out how to hang it so it wouldn't be out in the rain and hopefully where the squirrel wouldn't get it, so we put it on our porch.  I've been waiting and watching for the birds to discover it, but wouldn't you know who'd find it first?

So now we've moved it further inside the porch on a more difficult rafter for the squirrel to get to...we shall see what develops next.  I'm thinking the birds are a bit afraid to come that far onto the porch to eat, but we shall see.

This is my anniversary present to myself, which was in August.  Or it might be an early birthday present...I have to justify it somehow! LOL. 

4. September's birth flower is the Aster. What is yours ?  Well, I guess it must be an Aster. Although I've rarely seen an Aster flower...they are not as well known here in Florida. But I do think they are very sweet.  Actually here is the last time I saw some wild Asters...in Maine at my son's house when we visited there in the fall many years ago before he passed away.  They grow wild all around their woods.

I think the cultivated Aster is more blue than the wild ones, but I prefer these since I know where these were and they bring back sweet memories.

So there you have the Tuesday 4 Meme for this week!    You may need to wait a couple of days to check out the other posts on this page as it really doesn't open up until Tuesday.  Thank you, Annie, for putting this together for us each week. I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day holiday...try not to work too hard on "labor day".  

If you want to hear a good sermon and our little choir singing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness", here you go!

The pastor's message today was entitled "What is the Condition of Our Soil?"  from Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23.  Some very good food for thought .  

Why don't you sing along on this favorite old hymn?

"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father

There is no shadow of turning with Thee

Thou changest not; Thy compassions, they fail not

As thou hast been Thou forever wilt be

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth

Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!"

Thorns among the Vines/THE FRUIT OF MY LABOR Updated again...

April 9, 2012...I had to update this again...please scroll down to the bottom to see the latest "fruit of my labor"...Thank you Jesus!!


I WROTE THIS ORIGINAL POST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AFTER SPENDING THE AFTERNOON PRUNING THE VOLUMINOUS VINES GROWING OVER OUR PRIVACY FENCE.  THIS WEEK I HAVE BEEN REWARDED WITH THE FRUIT OF MY LABORS:  THESE MAGNIFICENT WISTERIA BLOSSOMS ARE BURSTING FORTH WITH SUCH FRAGRANCE AND BEAUTY BEYOND MY IMAGINATION! THANK YOU, LORD!!!!!!  I CAN'T TAKE THE CREDIT...ALL I DID WAS SET THEM FREE FROM THE BRIERS... HEY, ISN'T THAT WHAT JESUS DID FOR US?  HE SET US FREE FROM THE BRIERS AND ENTANGLEMENTS OF THIS LIFE THAT HAD A STRANGLEHOLD ON OUR HEARTS AND MINDS AND SOULS...AND NOW, WE TOO CAN BLOSSOM WITH SUCH BEAUTY AND FRAGRANCE BEYOND OUR GREATEST IMAGINATIONS!

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.  For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing."  II Corinthians 2:14-15

ORIGINAL POST:

"I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; and there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down.  When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction..."  Proverbs 24: 30-32

Well, today I tackled a "thorny problem".  It was such a glorious day...picture perfect weather...sunny skies, temperatures in the mid 60's, which, after yesterday's high 80's (yes, it is February in Florida), the refreshingly cool day was a God-send. So, I said to myself (and to anyone else who would listen) So I said to MYSELF, (because no one else WOULD listen)..."Today is much too beautiful to sit inside and watch a race on TV...a person would have to be crazy to stay inside on a day like this..."   And because it was such a marvelous day, I decided to do several things I have been wanting to do ever since moving into our new house in the forest. 

1. I washed our sheets and hung them on the clothesline! (Should that be "hanged" or "hung"?)
2. I washed some towels and underwear and hung them on the line also (after I took in the freshly dried, sweet smelling clean sheets and put them right back on my bed to enjoy tonight).
3. I opened windows everywhere in the house and let the fresh air in and the stuffy air out. (Who said mid 60's are too cool to open the windows? Bah humbug! Put on a sweater if you are cold!)
4. And then I decided to tackle the overgrown honeysuckle and/or wisteria vines on our privacy fence.

I have been wanting to prune these vines ever since we bought this house...and to get them cleaned out before they start to bloom and attract all manner of honeybees and bumblebees!  They appeared to not have been pruned in a long time, and I knew if I didn't get started on them soon, they would be even more overgrown and difficult to manage.  So I headed out there with my brand new pruning shears and thick work gloves, and started cutting and pulling out the dead vines.  I soon discovered why several sections of the vines were looking dead even though there appeared to be green leaves growing on them.  The green leaves did not belong to the honeysuckle and wisteria vines at all...they belonged to a thorny vine that was working its way through the healthy plants and choking them out, leaving dry, brittle dead stalks in its wake. 

As I struggled to cut through these thorny vines and pull them out I couldn't help but think about the parable Jesus taught His disciples about the "Sower and the Soils" in Matthew 13:3-23...and particularly verse 7, which says:

"And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them."

Jesus later explained this parable to the disciples as the seed that is the Word of God that is sown among good soil (hearts and minds willing to hear and learn) and the Word of God that falls upon the wayside on stony or thorny ground, are hearts that are not receptive to God because of the "cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches" that comes and chokes the word so that the person becomes unfruitful. (Matthew 13:22)

Those thorny vines choking out the good vines became a very clear picture of what Jesus was talking about, in the literal, agricultural sense.  It also made me realize that I sometimes allow thorny vines to creep in and choke out my healthy growth...thorny vines of anxiety, insecurity, selfishness, preoccupation with things that really aren't that important... and I needed to add to my checklist for today to take some time out to prepare my heart for reading and hearing God's Word...(and writing the things that the Lord lays on my heart to write...)  So here I am, Lord.

"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. 

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, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 

Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."  Isaiah 55:10-13

Lord, I pray that instead of the thorns around my heart and mind, You will cause new healthy growth to appear, and that it will indeed be an everlasting sign that will not be cut off.   I pray that Your Word, which You have shown me here today from Your mouth, will indeed not return to You void, but that it shall accomplish all that You please, and that it shall prosper in the thing for which YOU sent it.  Amen.

"And all the trees of the woods shall clap their hands"  Isaiah 55:12...Even this beautiful magnolia tree which
happens to be in my backyard will clap its hands!   (See below for a later update...)

"For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace."  Isaiah 55:12

AMEN! Thank you Lord!!

April 9, 2012...The Magnolia Tree is starting to bloom...

April 9, 2012:  Our fence is now loaded with Confederate Jasmine and
Honeysuckle in full bloom!  The hummingbirds and butterflies are in
nectar heaven!!! Thank you Lord!!



Can you smell this honeysuckle?  It is divine...



God is so good.