Getting the New Year Started off Right!

 This is how I felt when I was beholding the beauty of the skies this evening...What a beautiful way to start off the New Year!!!

Psalm 19 NKJV

 1 The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament shows His handiwork.

2 Day unto day utters speech,

And night unto night reveals knowledge.

3 There is no speech nor language

Where their voice is not heard.

4 Their line has gone out through all the earth,

And their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,

5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,

And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.

6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,

And its circuit to the other end;

And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Psalm 8:3-5 NIV

3 When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you care for them?

5  You have made them a little lower than the angels

and crowned them with glory and honor.

Psalm 104:1-4

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, You are very great:

You are clothed with honor and majesty,

2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,

Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,

Who makes the clouds His chariot,

Who walks on the wings of the wind,

4 Who makes His angels spirits,

His ministers a flame of fire."

‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth 

by Your great power and outstretched arm. 

There is nothing too hard for You.  

Jeremiah 32:17

I hope you enjoyed those beautiful views of the sunset and the moon rising into the clouds as much as I did. I apologize for so many pictures, but it just kept changing, and it was all so amazing! We are thankful for the clouds, because there is a prediction of some rain tomorrow!  We are truly hoping that is the case!! Our "Still NO Waters Pond" is in great distress!  So we are praying that 2026 will turn that situation around and provide the much needed rain. I will keep you posted.

So, how did YOU start out the New Year?  We actually had our traditional New Year's Day dinner last evening...the southern tradition, that is, of Black Eye Peas cooked with some ham, Collard Greens, Cornbread, Rice, and also a Meat loaf (which isn't the tradition but it's what we wanted).  And do I believe this will bring us "good luck" in the New Year? No, I don't believe in luck, bad or good. We just eat it because it's the southern traditional meal for New Years and it's a fun way to start off the New Year. When we lived up north we often had pork roast and sauerkraut on New Year's.  Whatever the local tradition is, we enjoy trying it.

Anyway, I cooked the food and we took it over to Benton and Rose's house since they were busy working on a project and didn't have time to stop and cook.  

Here's my plate: (Sorry, I had already started eating it before I remembered to take a picture)

Here we are, and yes, thankfully we are both feeling much better than we were and it was fun to get out of the hoouse and be with the kids at their house for a change...

Rose's sister Tina and her son Charles were there helping them with their special project...

Charles and Benton (and John too)

After supper Tina and Charles had to head back to their home about an hour north of us, but we settled down with the kids in their living room and they put a fire in the fireplace and we enjoyed visiting in their cozy Christmassy home. You can see Sugar and Spice there also...

So what's the big project they were working on? Well, they have a shed that mostly has been used for storage, but they've been wanting to fix it up to use it for a possible guest cottage in the future, so they needed to insulate it and put a few more windows in...

Here's Rose with new window #1,

And Tina getting ready to install window #2:

And Benton showing me both of those new windows and also the wall insulation:

Charles and Tina both working on the other side, doing a little bit of wiring and more insulation....

and here's window #3 on the other side and that wall insulated...

Eventually they will finish insulating the ceiling and then will figure out the rest of the interior layout. They won't be able to install a real toilet due to the distance from their septic tank, but they will put in a sink and shower and whoever stays out there will have to use a "honey bucket" or a camper toilet. There will be a small kitchenette as well.  Except for the "honey bucket" thing, I wouldn't mind staying there myself,  but I'm not so sure about that honey bucket idea. A toilet is one of those "necessities of life" for many of us older folks...

But all that notwithstanding, it is a great idea and a lot of fun. They have wanted to do this for a long time, and now I hear that two of Rose's other sisters from Minnesota may be coming down for a visit in February, and so the goal is to have it ready by then!  They are the younger more outdoorsy type who won't mind the inconvenience so much...and it should be a lot of fun!

So, that's how our New Year has started out so far!  I'm excited for them, and happy to see things starting out in a positive and productive way!

Next on my agenda is to get the Christmas decorations/tree put away, but I am not in a big hurry and will take my time. We enjoy the lights of the tree and other things, so I kind of hate to put it all away while it is still so dark so early! Then again, some days I just want all the clutter out of the way, so we'll see which side of me wins out. LOL.

I hope you are starting out the New Year in a positive and productive way too!  

Here's a positive thought from the book of Revelation:

Revelation 21:5 a  NKJV

5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”

I am looking forward to that day.  Amen.  Be blessed my friends.

Thankful Thursday

 It's Thursday Evening...and I'm thankful for so many things...

Let's start with this gorgeous sunrise this morning...

Psalm 118:24 NKJV

24 This is the day the Lord has made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

And our flag is still standing strong, no matter what the rest of the crazy people in our world (country) may be doing or thinking...but this is not going to be a political post...let's just say I'm thankful to live in Florida, where we still proclaim "In God We Trust"!

This was last night's sunset over Still Waters Pond...

Psalm 19  NKJV

The Perfect Revelation of the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

 1 The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament shows His handiwork.

2 Day unto day utters speech,

And night unto night reveals knowledge.

3 There is no speech nor language

Where their voice is not heard.

4 Their line has gone out through all the earth,

And their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,

5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,

And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.

6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,

And its circuit to the other end;

And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Last night's full moon...(I wish my phone could capture its beauty better, but you get the idea)

And here it is again tonight, partially hidden behind some cloudy skies, but still beautiful:

Many of you have mentioned and noticed how dry our Still Waters Pond is from my previous post.  Here was how it looked early this morning...Even though it is nearly dry, the Great White Egret, Great Blue Heron, and Mr. and Mrs. Sand Hill Crane are still finding some water in which to look for their breakfast:

It was still just barely daylight, so these photos aren't real clear, but I wanted you to see that there is still life on Still Waters Pond in spite of the dry conditions. I am very thankful for that little bit of water, and continue to pray that the rains will soon come and replenish and restore it to new life once again.

Now, here'a praise item.  I hadn't mentioned it, but our pretty kitty Sunshine had not been home for over two days, which is not like him at all. He rarely ever misses a meal, even if he might be a little late sometimes.  I was really getting worried and was afraid he was lost or hurt or perhaps got himself locked in someone's shed or something...I read about someone else's cat doing that here in our community, and the poor kitty was locked in a neighbor's shed and the neighbors weren't home for several days, and the owner of the kitty finally heard the kitty meowing in there, but had no way to get him out. Finally some good Samaritans came to her aide and they managed to get the kitty out, who was hungry, but otherwise fine after several days of confinement. Anyway, when I saw that on Facebook in our community "Word of Mouth" page, I wondered if that could've happened to Sunshine. So I thought maybe I should at least check our shed just in case, even though I knew it was doubtful he could be in there.  Just as I was on my way to unlock the shed, I looked at our car, and there he was, relaxing in the shade under the car! I don't know when he showed up there or where he'd been, but I was so happy to see him I literally had tears of joy running down my face!

It wasn't quite supper time yet, but I knew Sunshine would be starving, and of course Blackie showed up and he'll eat anytime of day or night if I put food out there, so I fed them and gave them both lots of loving.  

When I was petting Sunshine on his back, he winced and meowed like he was hurt, and then I noticed that he had a cut near where the tail attached to his hindquarters. It was very tender, and it was pretty obvious he had probably been in a 'cat fight'. It's not too bad or deep, and he has been licking it and taking care of it, but if it doesn't get better soon we will get him checked out. That must explain where he'd been...somewhere perhaps licking his wounds for a couple of days. I'm so thankful he's home safely and I pray he'll stay out of harm's way.  Yes, I'd love to bring them both inside, but they are outdoor cats, and I'm not too sure that would work out so well for us or them. 

I guess, that's all I've got for now. It's bedtime, and the time change is still making me want to go to bed at my usual time pre-time change time,which would be right now, so I think it's time to say good night.

Here's some closing thoughts that bring comfort and peace...

John 14:27  NKJV

27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Amen.