Saturday Meanderings

 I titled this post "Saturday Meanderings", and then I thought to myself, "just what does meandering mean, anyway?"  So I looked it up on Google, and here's what popped up:

"me·an·der·ing

/mēˈand(ə)riNG/

adjective

following a winding course."

"a meandering lane"

Yep, that's just what I thought it meant...kind of wandering around from one thing to another, no particular direction, just a little bit here and there...yes, "following a winding course".   That's what I'm doing tonight.  So buckle up and come along for the ride.  

Why don't we start out with a few words of Scripture to give us some guidance as we meander along this winding trail, okay?

Psalm 43:3  NKJV

"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."

That looks like a good way to begin this journey.  Thank You, Lord, for leading me with Your light and Your truth!   May I be led to Your holy hill and tabernacle...a place of peace and worship.  Amen.

So, where do we go next?  Well, it was chilly enough this morning (67) to "pretend" that it was really cold enough to put a "fire" in the fireplace. Well, it's a fake fire, and there's no heat turned on...and yes, that fan on the right is actually blowing cool air, but it was cloudy and windy and very chilly outside, and this just "felt good" to our minds anyway...

The message on the mug of hot tea says:

Job 37:14 NKJV

14 “Listen to this, O Job;

Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.

I noticed hubby's bathrobe  stashed on the shelf of his nightstand, and again I felt that little "nip" in the air of my mind and felt the thrill of cooler fall days ahead on their way...

We actually went to the farmer's market and Trading Post at Deep Creek this morning, and I saw this little picture and rustic frame for sale, and the price was right and I couldn't resist...I told the clerk at the check out that it's a picture of my little dream cabin in the woods and it just makes me happy...

So there it is on my counter top above the kitchen sink where I can look at it often and enjoy the "view".

Next week we are taking a little trip to the mountains of N. Georgia with our kids and the grandpups, and we will be staying at a little cabin in the woods. I don't think there will be any snow, but you never can tell...stranger things than that have happened...but mostly we are hoping to see some beautiful fall leaves and get some fresh apples, apple cider, and fresh apple cider donuts while we travel around the hills enjoying the views.  It's a much needed little getaway for us, and we thank the Lord for making it possible. If our kids weren't going with us and taking care of the driving and other arrangements, we would not be doing this.  We are very thankful for them being willing to take us old folks along and giving us a nice little vacation.    I will be taking lots of pictures and will share them with you when we get back home, since I don't plan to take a computer with me and I can't figure out how to write a blog post from my phone.  If you're a FB friend you will most likely see pictures  on FB throughout the trip.

Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

I believe God arranges these things for us because He knows what we need, even when we may not acknowledge how much we need it.  I pray it will be a time of rest, relaxation, and enjoyment with our family.

And no, Blackie has not yet returned home. He's never been gone this long before, and I am getting concerned. But when it is an outdoor cat that is used to being free to roam and wander and "meander" along wherever he wishes, he may sometimes meander into places he shouldn't, and it may take him longer to find his way home. I pray he is safe wherever he is and that he will come home in due time. There's really nothing else I can do about it but wait and pray.

Sometimes we humans are like that...we wander and meander along, not paying much attention to where we're going or where we've been, and all of a sudden we find ourselves lost or trapped in a situation that we can't easily find our way out of.  And we cry out to the Lord,"Lord send out Your Light and truth and let them lead me..."   We need God's light to shine brightly along our pathway so that we can find our way back home safely.  We need His wisdom to guide us and give us clear directions when we aren't sure which way to turn. I am happy to say that with God, we really don't need a GPS system or even a cell phone...we just need to say (or pray) the words and He will hear and answer us...but we need to train our ears to listen for His voice so that 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."

I've been paying a lot more attention to Sunshine these days as he still seems quite lonely.  I just noticed that he is curled up on the front porch table, watching the traffic go by and probably watching for any sign of Blackie coming home...

But he caught me looking at him through the window...

And so he started heading in my direction...

He was trying to figure out how to get to me...

So he stepped over to the little table that holds that pretty penta plant...

And got as close as he could through the window...

So of course I had to go outside and give him some love and attention and reassure him that we love him and we are still here for him.   He's been very clingy and if I had a litter box in the house I'd be really tempted to let him come inside...but I don't, and for many reasons it just isn't the right time to do that...(I keep telling myself this, anyway).   But if Blackie doesn't come back we may have to think about these things a little more...(of course I'd have to convince hubby it's the right thing to do as well...)

That face is getting hard to resist...

Back to the Lord lighting my pathway and enlightening my darkness...and leading me in the way that is perfect...

Psalm 18:28-32

"28 For You will light my lamp;

The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

29 For by You I can run against a troop,

By my God I can leap over a wall.

30 As for God, His way is perfect;

The word of the Lord is proven;

He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

31 For who is God, except the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God?

32 It is God who arms me with strength,

And makes my way perfect."

I will put my trust in the Lord and let Him guide my pathway in this and all matters of life...then I know I can't go wrong.

I hope you have enjoyed meandering along with me on this pathway tonight. Yes, I will keep you posted on Blackie's journey, as far as I am able to know it, and whatever lies ahead.  Meanwhile, I pray that God will "light" your lamp and enlighten your darkness, and lead you along a smooth and straight path.  Perhaps He will even help us all to "run against a troop and leap over a wall",  if needed.  Remember, it is "God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect."  We really can't go wrong with Him as our guide. Amen.

Good Night, and Sweet Dreams.

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.