Delightful Thoughts!

Notice anything about this photo?

If you've been paying attention to my previous posts about my "One Word" for 2022 you will probably catch on right away. For the rest of you, you may need to click on the links above and go back and read those earlier posts.

Anyway, what a "delight" to find a teabag (Lipton) that reminds me to "Delight in deliciousness". And another one next to it says "Inspiration is just a sip away."  So I am sitting here at my computer on a Sunday afternoon having my afternoon cup of tea, and with each "sip" I am being inspired as I "delight in the deliciousness" of this delicious and delightful cup of tea!

Okay, moving right along...I am sure you've heard enough "Delightful" thoughts for this afternoon! I do hope that you are having a wonderful day, wherever you are and whatever you are doing.  We went to church this morning and then out to lunch with friends and family...then home to a delightful nap and now I am sitting here writing to you.  The weather is warm and sunny and very breezy. I believe a cold front is going to move through during the night, bringing rain and then cooler weather for tomorrow and the next few days. Nothing major here, but the rain and cooler temps will be welcome. It's felt more like spring or early summer here than winter lately.  My apologies to those of you who may be freezing in frigid winter weather...however, this is why so many people from up north come here for the winter...because it is "delightful!"  

Last evening we enjoyed having our son and daughter in love here for supper, to celebrate Rose's birthday, which was last week, but this was the first opportunity to get together and celebrate.  Rose requested grilled chicken, baked potatoes and tossed salad...and I added some black eyed peas on the side since it was New Year's Day and that is traditional here in the south. Our son Scott did the grilling honors...he's a pro, so it was all perfect.

We enjoyed a "delightful" dinner and conversation with our immediate family gathered together. (My camera was acting up and the only family shot didn't turn out well. So these are just some candid photos while Rose and Benton were dining and conversing)

Because it was Rose's birthday, I didn't want to continue using Christmas decorations on the table, so I added something new...

This snow-globe lantern was a Christmas gift to me from my sweet sister in law Peggy, but it is not just for Christmas. It is a Teapot pouring a cup of tea, while sitting upon a beautiful three layered cake!

Perfect for a birthday party, don't you agree?

Here is a close up of the teapot and cakes without the "snow" swirling about...isn't it really and truly "delightful"?

Speaking of birthday cakes, I know you will be "delighted" to see my amazing creation below:

Please try not to laugh too loudly. I never took a lesson in cake decorating. I did make my own butter cream cheese frosting, just like Rose taught me to do.  But it turned out a little soft and I ran out of confectioner's sugar, and by then the grocery store was closed since it was a holiday, so it is what it is. And necessity being the 'mother of invention', I had the wonderful Hershey's "hugs" candy kisses and some mini-M&M's available to give the cake some delightful and delicious decorations.  It was a vanilla two layer cake, and Rose said it was perfect, so that is all that matters. It did taste good if I do say so myself.

Here's the birthday girl as we sang Happy Birthday to her.

And here she is daintily blowing out the candles:  (This picture is traditional...everyone must have a picture of themselves blowing out candles, don't you agree?)

Yay! She did it! Now may all her wishes come true!

Also, in  honor of Rose's birthday, I set the table with a vintage tablecloth bordered by roses, and surrounded the Snow Globe lantern with a ring of silk roses...

And I have two of these vintage dinner plates (above and below) that I found at our church Thrift store.  I served Rose her dinner on one, (since it has roses in the center and around the border of the plate) and I used the other one. The guys had to eat on plain old ordinary dishes, but they didn't care as long as they got to eat!

This is a better picture of the tablecloth.  I have rarely used it because it is actually a bit too small for the table, but I put it over the top of another solid cloth that had more length to it.

Hey, I am not the world's greatest decorator of cakes or tables, but I think this turned out pretty sweet. And it was fun to "dress up" things a bit for our sweet daughter in love.

Well my friends, I hope you enjoyed this delightful little birthday party this afternoon. We are blessed to have this wonderful young woman as a member of our family. We thank God for sending her to our son and to us as well!

23 

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,

And He delights in his way."

Psalm 37:23

 

Do Not Fret...

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.  Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret--it only causes harm."  Psalm 37:7-8

"Do not fret"...who among us has never been guilty of fretting at one time or another ?(or many times...) 
If fretting is not something you can identify with, then you probably have been living in a bubble kind of world.  But if you are human, you most likely have fretted about something..perhaps even within the past few hours or minutes!

Verse 8 says, "Do not fret--it only causes harm."   How true that is...Fretting is a form of worry, stress and fear.  Stress in particular has been linked to many diseases...heart disease, strokes, gastrointestinal disease and distress, high blood pressure, and possibly even cancer.  In other words, it is a killer....the Bible is correct..."it only causes harm".  It not only causes harm to the individual who continually frets about things over which he (she) has no control, but it causes harm to those who may be the recipients of that worry and stress...the caregivers and family members and friends of the stressed out person.  Those who truly care about their stressed out friend or loved one end up fretting themselves when they are unable to help their friend.  It becomes a vicious cycle...and none of it is good.

So, what is the remedy?  Psalm 37 has the answers: 

• Verse 7: "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for HIM; ...
• Verse 8, "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath..."....
• Verse 3: "Trust in the Lord, and do good"
• Verse 4: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."
• Verse 5: "Commit your way to the Lord"
• Verse 5: "Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass."
• Verse 1: "Do not fret because of evildoers"
• Verse 1: "Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity"

God says in verse 9: "Evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth."

So, when you are feeling fretful, overly worried, or giving in to stress...think about these verses in Psalm 37.    I like what verses 23-25 say in particular:

• "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He (God) delights in his way.
• "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;"
• "For the Lord upholds him with His hand"
• "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread."

What have I to fret about?  I know that my God is in control...no matter what...I can trust in Him...He will uphold me with HIS hand!  There can be no safer "bubble" in which to dwell...I do not need to fret.

I believe I can sleep a lot more soundly tonight knowing that my God has all my worries in His hands...
Good night!

Who's Directing YOUR Steps?

I've been talking a lot lately about "life changing moments", things that happen unexpectedly, whether good or bad, that change the direction of "our plans".  Most of us have some kind of plans for our lives...goals that we hope to reach by a certain age, places that we'd like to visit, degrees we'd like to attain, the way in which we would hope to spend our retirement years.  There is nothing wrong with having these types of plans and goals...they are actually good for us and keep us motivated to continued growth and mental development.

But what happens when those unexpected life changing moments occur, and our dreams and plans have to be scrapped?  Again, these are not always bad things...just perhaps different than what we had anticipated. For whatever reason, our "Plan A" gets shelved, and we have to come up with a "Plan B".  I love the resilience of our human spirit...we get back to the "drawing board" and develop a new idea. We regroup, take stock of our situation and our resources, examine the possibilities of new ideas, set new goals, forge ahead.  We may, at times, feel like quitting, want to give up, wallow in our misery, lick our wounds...but usually, after a time of reflection, we get back up and start all over again.

When we allow God to be the author of our dreams and schemes, we need not fear what the future may hold. 

Psalms 37:23-24 says "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand."

I know I've shared this verse before, but it is worth repeating again:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Our future is always secure when we place our plans in the hands of God.  He will direct our steps, and He (God) will delight in our way. Also, when we: "Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness, delight (ourselves) also in the Lord...He shall give (us) the desires of our heart." (Psalm 37:3-4)

So, again I ask, "Who's directing your steps today?"  I am asking myself the same question...

Lord, please help me to always allow YOU to direct my steps...and keep me on the right path. Amen.

Proverbs 16:9 "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."
Psalms 119:133 "Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me."
I Peter 2:21 "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps."