Post Hurricane Thoughts

 In the Beginning there were five trees: This is how it looked along the shore of Still Waters Pond not long after we moved here over 5 years ago...there were five skinny pine trees down on the waterfront...

and even though we loved the view, these two trees on the right were growing rapidly and were actually making us a bit nervous about how big they would get and possibly some day fall and hit our house or porch...

And so we had those two cut down, and you can read more about it in this link: First two trees were cut HERE.  So that left us with three trees, which is what we've enjoyed for the past few years, and the birds love to sit in their branches and come back and forth for their food at the feeders.  

This was the view one bright sunny morning just a few  days before Hurricane Milton blew through.

And then THIS was the view the morning after Hurricane Milton blew through...I already told you about this HERE, and yes, we were very thankful that this one tree was really the only damage we sustained in the storm, apart from lots of little branches blown all over the yard from other trees, but nothing else significant.

And then there were two:

That is the view now on the shore of Still Waters Pond after we had some wonderful help from our son this morning:

And finally it was down:

Then came the job of hauling all the tree debris over to our debris pile on the other side of the lot. Hubby and son worked very hard to get it all over there. Also, a LOT of that debris under the pine branches were the many branches hubby and I raked up and moved there yesterday morning.  The pile is growing, and I'm not sure what the next step is, but eventually we will figure out how to dispose of them all. But that's for another day. 

There was so much sticky sap running from this stump that it was difficult to count the rings to tell how old it was. I may have to wait a while for it to dry up and then look again.

Meanwhile, Rose and I were in the kitchen cooking up a storm of our own! The original plan was that we were going to go to the church for the monthly Agape Potluck lunch at noon today, so we were making a Penne Pasta with meat sauce dish and also a pan of brownies to take with us.

However, the tree cutting and moving, etc., took a little longer than expected, and the guys were very tired by the time they got done. I took one look at my hubby's face and knew he was exhausted and overheated (even though it was a lovely low 70's degree morning, but they worked up a sweat hauling those logs), and Benton was sweaty and tired too, and neither one of them were really in the mood or able to get cleaned up soon enough and go to the church for lunch.  So we changed plans and decided that they would go home and have a light lunch and rest, and we would do the same here, and then they will come back over later for supper and we will eat the Penne Pasta w/ meat sauce and brownies ourselves! I felt bad about missing the luncheon, but sometimes you just gotta do what is best for the homefolks.  

Speaking of a cooler morning...we have had delightfully cool mornings and very pleasant days ever since Hurricane Milton blew through here. Thankfully that is a good thing for those who are working tirelessly to connect electricity for everyone, and all of the heavy clean up that is being done where there was so much horrific damages to homes and businesses and lives.  We cannot complain about our one tree that got hit, when people have lost everything they had...

I actually had to put on my flannel shirt this morning while we had our morning tea/coffee and breakfast before the "fire". That fire is not for real...it wasn't THAT cold, but it just set the mood for this fall morning.

This was yesterday morning's sunrise...so bright and beautiful...hard to believe just 48 hours before such a horrific storm was howling through our state.

I loved how the sunlight was shining through our bedroom window...

Psalm 43:3-4

"3 Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!

Let them lead me;

Let them bring me to Your holy hill

And to Your tabernacle.

4 Then I will go to the altar of God,

To God my exceeding joy;

And on the harp I will praise You,

O God, my God."

The day after the storm we took a walk in the woods, and I was so thrilled to see these lovely wildflowers blooming...note the bumblebee...I stayed out of his way!

Saw this cute Common Buckeye Butterfly flitting about, and he stopped to pose for me:

The "Blazing Star" flowers are blooming too...

Do you see the little bee on this one? I almost didn't!!

And these lovely yellow wild flowers were everywhere...A kind of wild coreopsis, I think...

So I brought home a bouquet and put it on the kitchen counter.

Within a few minutes I remembered why I don't bring these particular wildflowers inside the house. They have a very strong strange odor that is not very pleasant and they also affect my sinuses and eyes, so outside they went:

And they look lovely on our back porch table.  (As long as I am not sitting out there they can stay! LOL)

I guess some wildflowers are meant to "bloom where they are planted" and just stay there! LOL.

They aren't meant to become bouquets in fancy places! But aren't they absolutely gorgeous out along the roadways and in the woods? That is where they are meant to be...God created them just for that purpose, and to be a source of food and pollen for the bees and butterflies! So I should just let them stay where they belong and enjoy them there.  Lesson learned.

Yesterday, after raking up the front yard of all the branches from those big old oak trees, I went around back and started putting all the bird feeders and lawn ornaments/bird baths back in place.  I bleached the bird baths and washed off all the other things before putting them back...

And as I was washing off this little tea pot out popped this little head from the spout!

He wiggled around and squirmed in the spout and I felt like he was trying to tell me something!

Of course I was quite startled by his appearance, and put the teapot down on the ground and waited for him to work his way out of the spout. It actually took him a minute or two, as I believe he was actually stuck in there!  Once he finally came out onto the ground, he just sat there rather stunned for a while, and eventually started wiggling his feet and toes and tail and managed to crawl away! I really do believe he had gotten himself stuck in there and he was trying to thank me for helping him out by running water in the pot and providing moisture for him to slip on out.   At least that's what I think he was trying to say! Soon he ran away to another place and I'm sure he had a story to tell his friends about how he rode out the hurricane inside the spout of a teapot!!   

Isn't there a story or saying about a "tempest in a teapot", or something like that?

"Tempest in a teapot (American English), or also phrased as storm in a teacup (British English), or tempest in a teacup, is an idiom meaning a small event that has been exaggerated out of proportion." Click here for more information about that saying  

Perhaps the lizard might have exaggerated his story a bit to get the attention of his peers...who knows? Sounds like a great story to me!

After I finished my chores down by the shore (rhymes!), I went and sat down in the swing in the Memorial/Secret Garden and just rested and relaxed and listened to the sounds of the birds, and gave thanks to the Lord that everything was okay once again for us here. 

Tonight as promised, Rose and Benton came over and we ate the Penne Pasta and brownies as planned, and afterwards Rose and I enjoyed once again watching the sunset over Still Waters Pond:

These verses from Psalm 136 came to mind to me as I was looking at these pictures again just now:

1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.
4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.

5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.

6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.

7 To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:

8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:

9 The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

23 Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:

24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.

25 Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.

26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever."

Amen.

With that I will close for tonight. My heart is filled with thanksgiving and praise, but also with prayer for those who are still suffering. I still can't get over how much so many others are still hurting and struggling to get back to some kind of normal. My heart goes out to them and I pray that God will comfort them in their sufferings and help them find some sense of His peace for their lives once again.  

And thank you to so many of you who have mentioned the people of our state and also the Carolinas and Georgia in your thoughts and prayers. Your prayers are very much appreciated for sure! Thank you.

Tuesday 4 Thankful

 Thankful

Hello friends and welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

Thanksgiving Day is about here. Let's talk about the holiday and thankfulness.

1. Whether you are from the USA or not, thankfulness is beneficial to a nation and people. Is it a natural thing for you to think of being thankful or is it something you must be reminded about?

Being thankful is something that I think about all of the time. Every day is a gift from God. Every breath I take is a gift from God. When I see the sorrows and perils and poverty around the world and even in our own community, I am thankful to God for His kindness and mercy and grace and blessings bestowed upon us, who are most unworthy. 

 

Psalm 136:1-3

1  Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods!

For His mercy endures forever.

3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!

For His mercy endures forever:

2. Plimoth Plantation is the site of the original settlement and everything is authentic to the 1600's including how they speak. Have you been to Plymouth Rock? How about the Plimoth Plantation (yes that is the proper spelling). Would you like to go visit these places? What places are you thankful for having seen?

I have never been to Plimoth Plantation or any of that area. I would love to visit it someday.  I do appreciate our country's history, and especially the courage of those Pilgrims who traveled so far to a new land so that they could have religious freedom.  They withstood many hardships and many did not survive that first year...but for those who did, it is quite fitting that they should set aside a special time of giving thanks to God, their Creator and Sustainer.  I love that they also shared that celebration with the local Native Americans.  It is sad how that early good relationship with them deteriorated as so many people flooded our continent and drove them out of their native lands. History cannot be re-written or erased, however, and we must not forget the "good, the bad, and the ugly" parts of our country's development over next many decades.  We should learn from our mistakes and teach our children the truth...and pray they will strive to do better in the future, with God's help.

3. Do you tune into the Macy's Parade ?

It may be on the TV, but I am usually too busy in the kitchen to pay much attention to it.  I do, however, love the old movie, "Miracle on 34th Street", and would rather watch that than the modern day parade.

4. What will you be eating on Thanksgiving Day this year?

The usual traditional dishes: Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Sweet Potato Casserole, Green beans (not the casserole!), maybe a Corn pudding casserole, jello, rolls, and maybe some carrot and celery sticks if anyone gets around to fixing them...(me?)  Then there will be pumpkin pie and apple pie for dessert.  And whatever else we think of.  

We will be a smaller crowd than usual, just our immediate family here and one guest friend from our church.  Our extended families all decided to do their own thing this Thanksgiving due to health and family travel concerns, etc., and now I am missing them already.  I miss the anticipation of seeing our loved ones come through the door and hearing their voices and seeing their happy faces and enjoying their chatter around the table.  I wish now we could have managed to pull everyone together...but I guess as we age and  families scatter and grow it becomes more and more difficult to gather everyone under one roof for one day.  I am thankful we had a lovely family reunion in September with most of our family there. That helps me not feel too blue.

I spent a few minutes scrolling through the posts I've written over the past years about Thanksgiving, and it made me really miss everyone even more.  If you want to see what I am talking about, you can go to the link for "Thanksgiving" on the right column of my blog page and go back as far as you want. It definitely made me a bit nostalgic, but happy that we have such good memories.   I suspect many of you have similar feelings on these holidays. We can't always do what we remember doing back in our younger years. So we do the best we can with whoever we have...and if we don't have any family nearby, we can always create some family and invite over neighbors or friends or folks who have nowhere else to go for the day. That always makes for an interesting and delightful celebration. 

Well, friends, I'm sure we all have a lot to get done in the next 24-48 hours to prepare for Thanksgiving Day, so I will bring this to a close and wish you each and everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! May we always be counting our blessings and giving thanks to the Lord for what He has done!

If you want to join in this week's Thanksgiving meme, HERE is the Link.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!...Revisited from 11/17/2012

Note: This post was originally written five years ago (11/17/2012), so my "tongue" is well-healed today...and I praise God that His mercy and love and strength continues to endure forever. I just wanted to share a few pre-Thanksgiving thoughts today!  Have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving week!! 

The Secret Garden 11-18-2017

Original Post written 11/17/2012 and all pictures are from today 11/18/2017:

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! 

For His mercy endures forever."  

Psalm 136:1  

If you read this particular Psalm, you will see that it repeats the second part of this verse, "For His mercy endures forever", after each and every verse, all 26 of them, in fact!...I think the Psalmist is trying to make a point...read it through and see what you think!  If you don't learn any other thing from this Psalm, you will definitely learn that the mercy of the Lord endures forever!  And that is a good thing to know when you are going through deep water, difficult times, health issues, financial crisis, loss of loved one or impending loss of a loved one, governmental concerns, etc., etc., etc., no matter WHAT you are going through, it is good to know and believe and experience the fact that the mercy of the Lord endures forever, and for THAT, we should always "give thanks".

 11/18/2017: This male cardinal was quietly resting and safely hidden in the bushes outside my kitchen window.

I give thanks for his beauty and for the reminder that we are safely hidden in Christ from the onslaughts of the enemy of our soul...

Now on to the rest of the message for today...I would like to give thanks today for several things.  This being Thanksgiving week here in America, many of us are counting our blessings and expressing our thanks for all of the marvelous ways God has cared for and blessed us with His abundance and mercy.

This past week (2012) I have been a little quieter than usual.  Maybe you hadn't even noticed...but it's true.  A week ago I had some dental work done, and in the process my tongue was injured.  Not seriously, but enough to make it extremely sore and painful, whenever I eat and even when I talk too much. (Which for me, is always).  I never realized how much I took my tongue for granted until it became so difficult to do the normal things I enjoy doing...like eating and talking.  With the big Thanksgiving Dinner coming up in the very near future, I am anxious for my tongue to be healed.  I've thought about how awful it would be to never have a normal tongue...not only would it be extremely difficult for me to eat like a normal person, but I also would not be able to communicate in a way that others would understand or appreciate. Not that others always enjoy my communication that much, but what if I could never talk normally again...or sing praises to the Lord with my heart AND voice? I know that I would be very sad.  Perhaps some others who know me and love me might be a bit saddened by that as well.

So today I am taking this opportunity to thank the Lord for my tongue. I thank Him for the many ways He has used my tongue to sing praises to Him throughout my lifetime, and to share His love and words with many.  I know that I have not always used my tongue for these holy and beautiful purposes. There have been many words that I wish I had never spoken, and things that I have said that have brought pain to others. I have been known to speak without thinking many times, and then living to regret my foolishness.  I am truly sorry for those words spoken in haste or in anger or in denial of my own guilt.  Thankfully, the mercy of the Lord endures forever, and He has already forgiven and forgotten these broken promises and regrettable lapses of good judgment, and His mercy has already covered all my sin and folly.

During this week of remembrance of God's mercy and blessings, I list my tongue at the top of the list. This is only the beginning.  There is much more to follow.  But for today, this will do.

Thank you, Lord, for my tongue, my voice, my ability to communicate.  May my words only bring hope and encouragement and comfort to others within my sphere of influence, and may You, Oh Lord, be glorified in all I say or do.

To quote one of my old favorite hymns: ("Take My Life, and Let It Be", by Frances R. Havergal) verse 3:

"Take my voice, and let me sing

Always, only for my King,

Take my lips, and let them be

Filled with messages from Thee,

Filled with messages from Thee."

and then from another "Oh, for a Thousand Tongues" by Charles Wesley, :

"Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing

My great Redeemer's praise,

The glories of my God and King,

The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God,

Assist me to proclaim,

To spread through all the earth abroad,

The honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the Name that charms our fears,

That bids our sorrows cease:

'Tis music in the sinner's ears,

'Tis life and health and peace.

He breaks the power of cancelled sin,

He sets the prisoner free;

His blood can make the foulest clean,

His blood availed for me.

Glory to God, and praise, and love

Be ever, ever given

By saints below and saints above,

The Church in earth and heaven."
Amen.

A few fall pictures from our "neck of the woods" today 11/18/2017:

Picture from the shelves in our foyer
11/18/2017


Two roses blooming in the midst of the decaying leaves..."Beauty for Ashes" perhaps?
New Life springing out of the old?
Praise God for His gift of new life!!

Yes, the autumn leaves are falling, even here in sunny Florida,
where it was 47 degrees this morning!

Have a blessed and joyous Thanksgiving!