Friday Foto Friends: Looking Backwards and Forwards

Good Friday Morning Friends!  I am scrambling to find some kind of pictures to share with you today! I haven't been out doing a whole lot of exploring this week, and so my photo log is a bit empty.  However, I will share with you what I have and hopefully it will all come together into something worthwhile.

These first few photos are from our morning walks both this week and last week, in the same location. I like to wander off the beaten path into the woods and enjoy the fresh scents of pine trees and feel the soft carpet of pine needles underneath my feet as I walk. The sunshine dappling through the trees is always a source of inspiration for me.  Come along with me and feel the coolness of the morning...

One week ago

One week later (today) Same place, same time

One week ago, looking behind

Today...looking ahead

Last evening I was trying to put this post together, and fearing that I would not have anything new to share, I went back in time to see what I was looking at a few years ago at this same time.

Looking behind, November 2017, at our previous home in Salt Springs:

Oh, I loved seeing these deer from our front door at our previous home.  

And this bear crossing the road near our house...one of my favorite photos of all time...."Why does the bear cross the road? Because he's in the bear crossing zone!"  

Sometimes I get a little "homesick" for life in the forest, where the bears and deer roamed freely about us.  But as this verse in Philippians says:  

Philippians 3:13-14

13.  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 

14. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

I must press ahead. Keep my eyes on the beauty that surrounds me still right here and now, and look forward to that which God has for us in the future.

Stepping out onto our front porch this morning, this is what I saw

A beautiful November morning sunrise...yes, a little cloudy, but full of promise for a beautiful new day.

Our sweet "Daughter in Love" brought this little bit of Christmas to us this week:

It's one of those "Norfolk Island Pines", which is an indoor pine tree that will grow and be a beautiful indoor blessing year round! (If I keep it properly watered, that is!) What a sweet and thoughtful gift!

That is our first Christmas decoration so far this year!  The rest will have to wait until after Thanksgiving.

So how are your Thanksgiving plans coming along?  Will you be entertaining at your house, or are you going elsewhere for your dinner?  Our Thanksgiving dinner will be a much smaller affair than the usual for us...just our immediate family who live here nearby...our "kids" Benton and Rose, our son Scott, and hubby and me, oh, and of course Lily Grace!  It will seem very strange to me to not have our extended family here for the day, but they each have other plans with their families.  After thinking about it, however, I am realizing that it is probably for the best for me this year. I thought about inviting in a few local people who don't have anywhere else to go for the day, but again, my hubby has had to kind of sit me down and give me a loving, but stern discussion about the fact that I am really not physically quite up to par yet since my surgery, and judging by my continued easily fatigued and needing a nap every day, I need to realize that hubby knows best.  One thing I've learned, the older we get, the harder and longer and it takes to get over any kind of surgery. On Thanksgiving day it will be exactly one month since I had my neck surgery. I guess I'm a little impatient...but I need to pace myself and behave.

Here's a few pictures from previous years Thanksgivings...

2018-Salt Springs... A LOT of family came that year!

This was the crowd:

2019: at our present home

And in 2020 also here:

the "kids' table"

So our table won't be as full this year and we will definitely be missing some special people, but we will count our blessings and be thankful for what God has done for us and we will look forward to brighter and better days ahead.

I remember learning this Psalm when we were in grade school and it seems as though we recited it for a Thanksgiving program or something.  I know that seems impossible today, but back in the 'good old days' we could still recite the Bible in school without fear or penalty. It would be wonderful if we could still do that today, but thanks be to God, we can still share God's Word here in our blogs, and I am very thankful for this freedom and privilege.  

A Psalm of Thanksgiving: 

The 100th Psalm

"1. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

2 Serve the Lord with gladness: 

come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; 

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: 

be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; 

and his truth endureth to all generations."

Amen

Have a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

Love Lifted Me

Good Sunday Morning!

Hope you are having a beautiful SONday wherever you are!

Come join us in singing "Love Lifted Me" and then stay for the sermon from our wonderful Pastor, if you please...

"I was sinking deep in sin

Far from the peaceful shore

Very deeply stained within

Sinking to rise no more

But the Master of the sea

Heard my despairing cry

From the waters lifted me

Now safe am I

Chorus:

Love lifted me

Love lifted me

When nothing else could help

Love lifted me

Love lifted me

Love lifted me

When nothing else could help

Love lifted me

All my heart to Him I give

Ever to Him I'll cling

In His blessed presence live

And ever His praises sing

Love so mighty and so true

It merits my soul's best songs

Faithful, loving service, too

To Him belongs

Chorus

Souls in danger, look above,

Jesus completely saves;

He will lift you by His love

Out of the angry waves.

He’s the Master of the sea,

Billows His will obey;

He your Savior wants to be—

Be saved today."

Chorus

This little Mrs. Bluebird might have felt like she was "sinking deep in sin far from the peaceful shore" these past few days...

It has rained and rained and rained. And thundered and thundered and thundered, with angry flashes of lightning all around.

And finally when the rain would let up for a while...

She would pop her head back out of her house and look around as if to say, "Is it safe to come out yet?"

And then she'd fly away for a little while to gather more twigs for her nest, where I am assuming she is already sitting on some new eggs. Father Bluebird  comes around regularly to check on her and guard the nest from any intruders.   So she feels safe inside knowing she is being cared for.

How much like our Heavenly Father is that?  He is always right there, watching over us, guarding our "nest" so that we are safe from those who would seek to do us harm.  

Some good references for this can be found in Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:36-41, and Luke 8:22-25.

My favorite verses come from Matthew 8:25-26

"Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, 

“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, 

and there was a great calm."

And even when our little "boat" of life is tossing in the tempestuous seas so that we fear we may sink and never rise up again, all we have to do is cry out to Jesus, and He will be right there to lift us up out of the depths and put us back on solid ground. He will calm the waves and the angry seas around us and give us peace once again.  Our part is to have faith and believe...Jesus' part is to save us. And He will...because He loves us.

Today let us keep our faith in God no matter what the world may be tossing at us.  He is there to rescue us and save us from all that would seek to do us harm. There is no need to fear...Jesus is always near.

On a different note, if you notice up in the right hand corner of the sidebar, I have added a button for a new way to  follow this blog by email, called:

If you currently follow my blog(s) via email notification only, starting in July the previous method (Feedburner) will no longer be sending notification of my new posts to you by email.  In order to receive this notification, you will have to resubscribe using this new link to "Follow It."  I do hope you will continue to follow my posts via email by using this new method. If you also follow me on The Adventures of Lily Grace  via email, you will have to go over to that blog page and select the "Follow this blog" icon there as well.

Once you have subscribed using this new method, please let me know if you have any problems in receiving notification for my posts. Since this is all new to me, I won't know if it works unless you let me know! Thank you for your patience as we try to work through these new technological issues.

"I focus on this one thing: 

Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead."

Philippians 3:13 

 

Peaceful Journey on the Pond

Are you ready for a little trip around Still Water Pond with me?  I think it is about time, don't you? I haven't been out on the pond in over a week, and this morning I decided I didn't care how warm and muggy it is out there, a little voyage around the pond was just what I needed.

So come along with me and enjoy the ride. I will caution you, however, the rowing was rather difficult today. The water lilies are so thick in the pond that it is almost impossible to work our way through them.  But once out there on the water, there was no turning back. It was a kind of spiritual challenge to keep going until I found a sense of peace and calm enveloping my soul.

Philippians 3:13-14

13.  "Brethren (sisters!), I do not count myself to have apprehended;

but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind 

and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

14.  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

I am not sure what that is in the picture above...some kind of egg sack for some kind of insect perhaps? Anyone have any ideas? I may have to look it up.  Whatever it was, I let it stay right there. Didn't look like something that I wanted to bring home with me. So I kept paddling onward...

Ah, this is more like it!! This lovely lily was turning her face toward me as if to say, "Here I am, take my picture please! I am posing just for you!"    One of the little "prizes" of this journey today...

I was surprised to discover this blackberry bush growing up through this old post from a long ago forgotten dock in the middle of the pond.  Talk about perseverance!  How is it growing there? Perhaps some bird left the seed while sitting on that perch eating some blackberries?

Reminds me of this verse also in Philippians 4:13~~

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

While I was laboring in my efforts to paddle around the pond today, I was praying for a sense of peace from the stresses of the world. And I also asked the Lord for something extra special to see today...and all of a sudden a duck flew up and away over on the other side by the bank. Of course I was too slow to get a picture of him, but then I looked again, and this lovely female wood duck swam into view:

She lingered a little while, contemplating her next move. I could tell she was anxious to join her mate who had flown away, but she seemed to be reluctant to join him too quickly. I wonder if they are nesting in that area and perhaps she was distraught about leaving her nest? I don't know, and I didn't want to get too close to disturb her. So I sat quietly in my kayak and thanked the Lord for allowing me to see her and that she sat still long enough for me to get a few pictures...

However, she could see me out of the corner of her eye and right after this picture she flew up up and away to join her mate.  

So I rounded the bend in the pond and started my homeward stretch. The reflections were lovely here in the shadow of the trees of the little island, so I sat and reflected upon their beauty for another moment.

Philippians 4:4-7

4.  "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice!

5.  Let your gentleness be known to all men.

The Lord is at hand.

6.  Be anxious for nothing,

but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,

let your requests be made known to God;

7.  And the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

I hope you enjoyed this little trip around the pond with me today. I must say that even though my arm muscles are tired from rowing against those lilies, the sense of peace and joy that I feel in my heart now is well worth the effort.   And that is how it is in our journey through this life.  We will face many challenges and struggles throughout our days, but when we reach  that "goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14), it will be worth it all.  We will forget those things that were behind us, and we will rejoice in the Lord carrying us through to victory.

Have a blessed and peaceful day my friends.

Oops! I Almost Forgot! (Sermon Notes and Weekend Wrap-Up)

Here it is getting to be late Monday evening, and I still haven't sat down to write about our weekend. Probably because it was busy today as well as yesterday...and I know you may be wondering about how things went...

If you read my post last week HERE about getting ready for company, you are probably wondering how our guests liked the guest room, etc., etc.  Well...that's another story...Oh, yes, they loved the guest room...they just didn't get to spend the night there after all!  Their travel plans met with some unexpected delays due to weather, and they were not able to get here Saturday night as originally planned.  So instead they traveled here to visit with us on Sunday afternoon, but had to keep going as they had other commitments further down the road, and were unable to spend the night. We still had a wonderful visit over lunch at our local "True Grits" restaurant, and then they came here for the grand "tour" of the house and guest room. Sadly, we forgot to take any pictures while we were together! We were just too busy visiting and talking and reminiscing, and totally forgot about pictures!  However, my cousin did bring me a "hostess gift" from their recent visit to New Orleans...

She knows how much I love tea, and so she brought me this bag of very delicious "Rooibos Tea" from the "World Famous bottom of the Cup Tea Room".


We didn't have time to share a cup of tea together yesterday as they really needed to get on the road, and so tonight I treated myself to a very special cup of tea...and it really was delightful!

I didn't realize until after I sipped my cup of tea that I was drinking from a beautiful little tea cup that our grandmother gave me years ago. I am sure Grandma would have been pleased to know that her two granddaughters were still staying in touch and carrying on the family traditions that she inspired.

It was our mutual Grandma who created this lovely needlepoint picture many years ago!

So thank you, cousin Becky, for thinking of me when you were in New Orleans! I only wish we had taken the time to drink a cup together...but maybe next time!!

Now, before I forget...I wanted to share the sermon notes with you from our Sunday message.  The title, or actually the theme of the message was "Mastering the Spiritual Discipline of Selective Recall".  I know, that's a mouthful, but you will understand it better if I can "recall" all of the important details!

We all have memories that we'd probably like to forget...or that are just really hard to "let go of".  

Selective Recall means that there are some things that we need to forget and some things we need to remember.

Things that we should try to forget:

• Past hurts, unkind words, unkind actions:

          Let it go! If it can't be undone, then let it go!

          If remembering hurts  you...forgetting might help you!

• Our Own Mistakes...Past sins...If you are struggling over guilt of your past sins, do what God has done...Forgive Yourself!

Philippians 3:13-14 says:

"13.   Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 

14. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

We often play the "if only game"..."If only I had done this", or, "if only he/she/they had not done that..."

Hanging on to what you think is sin...Is Sin!  You are putting up a wall between you and God.

Look at the scripture above...Paul was practicing "selective recall".  

• Forget what is behind.

Things to Remember:

• Things that God has done for you. 
• Every blessing, every gift, every answer to prayer.

Deuteronomy 8:10-11:

10.   When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.

11.  “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today,

A Good Suggestion:

• Each day write down three things you are thankful for.
• Put it on your calendar or in a journal
• Remember what God has done in your life
• Remember what others have done for you

Philippians 4:8-9

8.   Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 

9.   The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Remember:

• Whatever is noble
• Whatever is right, pure, lovely
• Whatever is admirable, excellent, praiseworthy...

The choice is yours...what you choose to remember and forget.

You can't control what comes into your head, but you can control how long you dwell on it.

Martin Luther said:

“You cannot keep birds from flying over your head. but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair”

So it is a matter of choice what we choose to remember and choose to forget. It takes persistence and obedience to Christ...a daily discipline.

God chooses to forget and forgive our sins. 

Hebrews 8:12:

12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Isaiah 43:25

25 

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions 

for My own sake;

And I will not remember your sins."

God also chooses to remember His promises to us.  When we read through the Old Testament and Psalms, we see many examples of how God remembered His promises to His children, and were always followed by something that He did for them.  

Back to Philippians 3:13-14..."Forget those things which are behind...and reach forward to those things that are ahead...and press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus..."

This is a powerful message to REMEMBER!!  

Sermon Notes: FUMC, Interlachen, FL, Pastor John Bennett, 02/09/2020

Please Note : I want to repeat this disclaimer here...the notes, outline, and content included here are based upon my own personal understanding of the message that was being given. I am not attempting to completely quote or reproduce this message or any other message I've shared previously. Just as each person reading these notes may glean insights and thoughts that seem to directly apply to one's own situation and interpretation, my own delivery of these messages is skewed by my hearing and translation of what is being said. Some may read my notes here and wonder if they were hearing the same message as I...and I say, God speaks to each of us as He wills...there are things He is trying to get across to each individual that may be entirely different than what the person sitting next to you in the pew is needing to hear... That is how the Holy Spirit works! He knows what we need to hear and how to apply it to our hearts. So it is with that understanding that I present these sermon notes to you.