Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

 Before I get into this post, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the tragic plane and helicopter crash from last night and the loss of so many precious souls plunged into the icy waters of the Potomac River. What a horrific thing to happen, and such a tragedy for the families and loved ones of each of those dear souls. My heart goes out to them and they are definitely in my thoughts and prayers today.  I am thankful for those heroic first responders who risked their own lives to try to rescue anyone who might have survived, but who quickly discovered that it would be a recovery search instead of being able to rescue anyone. Our thanks to them for their quick action and commitment to saving lives. May God protect each and every one.  I pray for those who perished that they were ready to meet Jesus face to face, and that they are resting in His loving arms today. Amen.

First of all, I want to thank everyone for your kind comments on my last post about the nap blankets and other special photos, and also for those who mentioned from a previous post that you would be praying for hubby as he had his cataract surgery today.  His surgery went very well, as far as we know right now anyway. Time will tell if it worked. We go back tomorrow morning for a follow up appointment.  It's been a long day as we had to be there by 7:40 this morning, and the surgery center is an hour's drive away from us, so we were up before the crack of dawn to get there on time...and then to wait actually about 3.5 hours before he actually had the surgery! Then the long drive (me driving) back home to eat a bite of lunch before falling into bed and using our comfy "nap blankies" to take a much needed nap! LOL.  But thankfully everything went well, and tomorrow's appointment is at 8:25 a.m., so we don't have to leave quite as early as today!  Thank Goodness!  

I did take a few pictures on the way there this morning as the sun came up (while hubby was still able to drive before the surgery).  I've taken pictures at this location before on our way to his eye appointments, but never as early as this morning:

These photos were taken as we were crossing over the Black Creek, which is an inlet from the St. John's River. It was a little bit foggy as the sun was rising, and of course the car was moving quickly in traffic, so the pictures may be a little blurred, but they still have a kind of beauty all their own:

It was such a lovely moment...I'm glad I was able to capture it to share it with you!  Sunrise on the St. John's River and Black Creek is something to enjoy! It would be nice to take one of those sail boats out and see it up close.  Just don't go too far, as the St. John's River actually runs into the Atlantic Ocean!

This was the last photo as we passed the over the bridge. I thought this was kind of beautiful too! I hope you enjoyed the view!

Speaking of foggy mornings, this is how it looked on Still Waters Pond yesterday morning at sunrise:

It was actually a mixture of fog and smoke from the prescribed/controlled burns in the forest that they do periodically in the area...so I guess you could call it "Smog".  Thankfully it's not like this very often!! The air quality was not very pleasant for a while.

As I zoomed in on the pond, I noticed that our two Canada Geese were over there next to the island. They were very very still...probably not wanting to breathe that smoky air either!

Thankfully a little later when the sun came out the air cleared, and soon I noticed Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird had come for a visit to check out their birdhouses again, probably inspecting them to see if they are free of squatters! It won't be long before they will be setting up housekeeping again and preparing their nests for the next flock of baby birds!

First Mr. Bluebird inspected the house to make sure all was clear:

Then he called over Mrs. Bluebird so she could have a look inside and give her stamp of approval:

Then they flew back to the tree to contemplate things and discuss it further before making a final decision.  We actually have two birdhouses, and they flew back and forth between the two for a while, but I didn't get pictures of the other one on this day.  Time will tell which one they will decide upon.

Oftentimes it is a good idea to just "Be Still"...and consider Who God is, and seek His wisdom in what we should do:

Psalm 46:10 NKJV 

"10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!"

When we pray and seek God's direction in life we will know which way to go:

Isaiah 30:21

"Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,

“This is the way, walk in it,”

Whenever you turn to the right hand

Or whenever you turn to the left."

There was another visitor to Still Waters Pond yesterday morning:

I noticed something sitting on the branch of a pine tree way over on "Goose Island".

I'm sure you probably can't see it above, so I will keep zooming in for you:

Oh! It's a Great Blue Heron sitting in the tree, just minding his own business!

Perhaps he was taking a nap! He has his "nap blankie" wrapped all around him like a feathery shawl:

He really is magnificent! Another of God's majestic creatures that love to visit Still Waters Pond:

After he woke up from his morning nap he decided to go do some fishing:

Looks like a beautiful day for fishing! 

Now this is something really sweet and special and I want to acknowledge what a fun and thoughtful thing someone did for me...yes, one of our favorite blogging friends.  If you know and read our friend Annie's blog, Cottage by the Sea, you will know that she is our hostess each week for the "Tuesday 4" meme.  Well, you may not know that Annie also an amazing artist, and she paints the beautiful headers that you will find on her posts.  They change from time to time, so you have to check them out frequently so see them.  Well, her original post for this week's Tuesday 4 had a painting of a lovely little church in the woods on the shore of a lovely lake or on an island.  I commented on it how much I loved it and would love to live in such a beautiful place in a little cabin near that little church, that she said she painted while she was listening to "The Church in the Wildwood".   So, sweet Annie said she would add a little cottage or cabin for me on the painting...and so in her comment to me HERE, in yesterday's post, she said 

"I painted in a little house on the shore of Lake Pamela on the header. I named the lake for you since you want to live there. It's tiny to fit with the perspective of the picture but, its a nice home with your own path to the beach. I am not sure if it's what you had in mind but, let me know."

So of course I had to go look at it and see what she did on her post HERE, and sure enough, there was a lovely little cabin next to the church on the shore!  Now, I have copied the picture for you here, because I know that whenever she changes her header again on her post that picture will go away, and I wanted to preserve it to enjoy looking at and also to share with you, because it is so special and beautiful, so Annie, thank you so much! This is your painting, and I hope you don't mind me sharing it here:

Can you see the sweet little cabin next to the "Church in the Wildwood" on the shore of "Lake Pamela"?  Gosh, Annie! You have blessed me so much with this. Thank you, thank you, Thank you! I am saving this picture to look at and enjoy again and again!

Our blogging friends are such a group of talented and thoughtful people.  You all never cease to amaze me with your talents and special gifts.  Thank you all for your dedication to your craft of writing and sharing the things that matter to you with us. May we always treasure those gifts and show our deepest appreciation. 

To commemorate this special painting, I've been sitting here enjoying a "cup of cozy" tea, pretending I am on the shore of "Lake Pamela" in that cozy little cabin.  I told Annie that since the cabin is beside the church, of course my hubby would be the pastor of that "Church in the Wildwood", and we would live there serving God and never want to go anywhere else ever again!  Such a pleasant thought!   Hopefully there are some other cabins back there in the woods where other people live so we would have a congregation to worship with!  (or maybe they come across the lake in their boats? Either way, it's a nice dream!)

Once again, I thank you all for being such dear friends.  You do make our days so pleasant with your stories and pictures and interesting things you share.  Now it's time to go figure out what we are having for supper. We had a late lunch, but still eventually the tummy will grumble again and beg to be fed, so I'm off to the kitchen to figure it out. I didn't have time this morning to plan ahead.  Sounds like a good night for grilled cheese sandwiches and maybe some tomato soup.  

Good night my friends, and hug your loved ones a little bit closer as you say a prayer for those many families who lost their loved ones today.  Amen.

Matthew 5:4 NIV

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Tuesday 4: Names

Names

Welcome to Tuesday 4 kept up for Toni Taddeo our dear friend who was taken home to God on December 14, 2019. She would be pleased to know you all join in.

Note from Pam (me)
I did not realize that this Tuesday, December 14th, would be the anniversary of Toni's passing.  I am so glad we are keeping up this meme in memory of her. (Thanks to our friend Annie). Toni was such an inspiration to all of us who "knew" her, even if we only knew her through her blogs...that's how most of us know each other, and I feel like we are a pretty close family.

Speaking of our blogging family, most of you have heard by now of the sudden passing of the beloved son of our friend Linda Conley at Just Simply Linda.  Please keep Linda and her husband Dave in your thoughts and prayers as they grieve the tragic loss of their precious son Liam, their only child. 

"Blessed are those who mourn,

For they shall be comforted."

Matthew 5:4

Now on to today's topic:  

This week let's talk about your name!

1. What name would you take if you had to change your name?

 I don't think I would want to change my name. I can't imagine myself being anyone else. It was hard enough to change from my maiden name to my married name...I had to get used to being called Mrs. John Steiner instead of just plain Pam Mursch. I went through a little bit of an identity crisis at that time, but that was over 52 years ago, and I've been Pamela Mursch Steiner ever since, and now I wouldn't want to change that ever again. It's who I am.  BTW, most people who know me just call me "Pam". But I like the name "Pamela", and have often said that name is my "alter ego"...the old fashioned, more "victorian"  feminine form of me...rather than the more modern, rather outdoorsy active  "Pam" side of me.

By the way, did you see my last post, where I showed you this picture of the three "Pamela's" in our church:

It seems rather strange that for such a small church there should be three of us in one place! But also in my school class grades 1-12, there were two of us Pam's.  We always thought we were pretty special. LOL. (there were only 50 students in our graduating class). 

2. What is the meaning of your name.. how about your last name, do you know it's meaning?

"The name Pamela is primarily a female name of English origin that means All Honey, Sweetness. The name was invented by Sir Philip Sidney for a poem titled "Arcadia" in the 1580s; used by Samuel Richardson for his novel Pamela in the 1740s."  

I just looked up my last name (Maiden) Mursch: According to Ancestry.com

Mursch Name Meaning: German: nickname for a frail person, from Middle High German mursch ‘brittle’.

I really don't agree with that description. I have not met any of the Mursch family who I would consider to be "frail" or "brittle".  Of course, none of us are totally what our maiden name was. We are a combination of both parents.  

3. Do you think you fit your name and it's meaning? Yes, I am surprised by the description  of Pamela above, and somewhat humbled and blessed at the same time, but I do believe that I possess many of those attributes, although I'm not too sure about the ingenious ideas part....LOL.

4. Were you named after anyone or given your name for a specific reason? How about your kids?

I know I've told this story before...Here's ONE link, but there are others.  My birth name is Pamela Anne...Anne with an "e", like Anne of Green Gables.  Because I was born a redhead, my mother wanted to name me after her favorite heroine, Anne of Avonlea or Anne of Green Gables.  I'm not sure why my parents chose the Pamela part of my name, but I definitely know why they chose Anne for my middle name. 

As far as our kids are concerned, our oldest son is named after several people. His first name is William, which is after both of his grandfathers and one of this Great-Grandfathers. (as well as a couple of great-great grandfathers)

This is his paternal grandfather: (William G. Steiner)

This is his maternal grandfather. William F. Mursch: (my dad and mom on their wedding day)

And this is his great-grandpa William H. Mursch, my paternal grandfather:

His middle name is Benton, which is what we call him, and that is after my maternal grandfather: Benton Tedlie:

Our other two sons were named a little differently: Matthew Everette wasn't really named after anyone, but his name "Matthew" means "Gift of God", and that he was. Matthew is now with God in heaven, but he was God's gift to us for the 41 years we enjoyed him here. His middle name of Everette we picked at random because it just seemed to sound good with Matthew. I added the extra "e" to the end of it because I thought that looked extra nice, kind of like my middle name with the "e" on it.

Our youngest son is named John Scott. We call him Scott.  He is named after his daddy, my hubby John, (who, incidentally was named John Frank for his two grandfathers),  but the name Scott was chosen by our two older sons.  We asked them what they wanted to name their new baby brother, (because I really didn't have any boy names picked out, thinking for sure that the third child would surely be a girl and we didn't have "gender reveal" tests back then)  and they said "Scotty", after the little boy who lived across the street from us.  And so we named him John Scott, and then learned afterwards that the little boy across the street was also named "John Scott". So...there you have it. We have no clue where that little boy is today (of course he'd be probably in his late 50's by now).

This is a favorite picture of what I call "My Three Sons", taken way back before they all went their separate ways of college, marriage, work, etc....while they were still just that, "Our three sons".  Of course they always belonged to Jesus too. Our children are a gift to us, on loan from God.  

It is our job to:

  "Train up a child in the way he should go, 

And when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Matthew, Benton, Scott

No matter what name we may give our children, or what name we are called ourselves, the most important name we have is that our name is written down in the "Lamb's Book of Life" in heaven. There can be no more important name than that.

Except for this one:

The Names of Jesus:

The One whose Birth we will soon be celebrating:

Merry CHRISTmas!!

Note from Annie regarding this Tuesday 4 Meme: "As always thank you so much for joining in and making this a success. It just means the world to me. And, remember I am always looking for topics and questions so leave a comment if you have any!"

Thankful Thursday-The Secret Garden Chronicles -I'm So Out Of Touch!

Dear Friends out here in Blogland...I apologize for being so OUT OF TOUCH lately...

but most of you know that we were enjoying entertaining our grandson here from Maine this past week...or should I say, "we were enjoying our grandson entertaining US?"  Probably that would be more to the point!  What a delightful, wonderful visit we had...and yes! He was very entertaining!

And so, for my Thankful Thursday, I'd like to thank the Lord for sending our grandson to us...he is God's gift to us from our son Matthew, who departed this world much too soon almost three years ago.  Here are a few pictures from our visit...needless to say...he kept us happily busy...and nearly  ate us out of house and home as only a 17 year old "growing young man" can do!  If you are on my facebook, you may have already seen most of these pictures...so bear with me as I relive our happy times together.

Here he is...straight off the plane and right to the restaurant for some FOOD!
When I asked him if he was hungry, he replied, "Yes, Grandma, I am always hungry".
Truer words were never spoken! LOL

When we got home, our grandson and "the uncles" started building a bonfire so we could have s'mores and hot dogs...this, after a full meal at Cracker Barrel...

Of course I was right there in the middle of that!!

Next day he helped his uncle sell signs at the flea market, a.k.a. "Ben's Wood Signs" (seen on this link at his ETSY shop, "Rustic Forest Studio"  When told that he would have to get up at 6:30 a.m. to go to the flea market, at first he demurred on the idea...until I mentioned that there is a breakfast buffet at the restaurant where this flea market is held..., and then he said,
"Okay, I'm in!!"

Then we had a birthday party for my hubby, with lots of food, friends, and fun!

We took a family hike on one of the many hiking trails in our part of the woods...

Yes, that's me on the end..."pack horse pammy"

Two tall handsome young men, our grandson on the left, and our youngest son on the right

Here's the guys at one of their many outdoor games...Bocce Ball

Then we went out to eat at one of our favorite places on the St. John's River...had to keep him fed... LOL

The guys played a lot of chess...

And then played a lot of corn hole

Even I got in on the act, with my grandson watching and making faces in the background.

The photo bomber is stealing the show...

and again...

and again...while I am totally oblivious...

Next day we went to the beach...but had to stop at Larry's Giant Subs
for lunch first..."The home of the Big One"

And then we watched him swim in the 62 degree ocean water...which was no problem for him
"cause I'm from Maine, Grandma!"

One last chess game before he had to leave to catch the plane...after a big "brunch" (1/2 way between breakfast and lunch) to tide him over...and then a stop at McDonald's on the way to the airport for a "Grand Mac" to seal the deal...

In thinking about this week, one verse came to mind:

"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."  Matthew 5:4

That pretty well sums it up...interestingly that verse comes from the book of Matthew...our son's name who is in heaven...and this is his son who came to comfort us...and to bless us with his presence.  

So, on this "Thankful Thursday", I am thankful that God does not leave us comfortless...and that He provides plenty of food to feed the "hungry".  Amen.