Welcome to my "Open Window"...a place of hope, encouragement, and adventure as we journey down the road from "Closed Doors" to the new opportunities God places in our pathway. I hope you will take the time to go back and follow the trail of mixed blessings and fears, failures and triumphs from the past and side-trips in the present. Perhaps it will conjure up some of your own special memories, and be an invitation for you to share with others. I look forward to spending this time with you!
What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!
You know, even though I am retired, I still seem to feel some kind of excitement when Friday rolls around! There's just something special about Fridays! That feeling of "TGIF" must be inherent in my bodily makeup, or it's the anticipation built up from years of school days and/or work days where we can't wait until Friday so we can feel that sense of "freedom" to do what we want to do at least for a day or two. It's crazy, since I am retired and I can pretty much do what I want to do every day, but there's just something special about the weekends, isn't there?
Well, that being said, it has been my tradition here in blogland for a long time, ever since one of our blogging friends who no longer blogs, Debbie from "Breathing in Grace" started the Friday Foto Friends day, to share whatever photos I have accumulated throughout the week that I haven't already shared. So grab your teacup or coffee cup (or glass of iced tea), and sit down for the show. LOL. My last posts have seemed kind of heavy, so today I promise to be full of light and joy...
Like last evening's sunset! I hurried outside to catch it before it disappeared into the shadows of the night, even though the mosquitoes were out there, so eager to greet me (and eat me!), it was worth it to watch the way the sunlight was shimmering against the clouds...
Thankfully we had had a wonderful rainstorm a little earlier, and everything was fresh and wet and rejoicing!
Psalm 8:1, 3-4 NIV
"1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens."
"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?"
I just can't help but rejoice when I see the beauty of God's Creation in His skies.
And my neighbor's dogs were "rejoicing" along with me...bark, bark, bark, bark! I said hello to them from a distance, but I'd have to trespass across their side yard to get to them and pet them, so it's probably best that I don't do that. But they do get really excited when I come outside. They aren't bad dogs, just a bit noisy sometimes, but thankfully they don't stay outside for long. They are well loved by their family inside.
Oh! My first zinnias are starting bloom!!!
This overgrown patch of flowers is getting ready to burst into bloom. I do need to pull a few weeds and some grass from around there. I think you know by now there is nothing fancy or proper about our garden/yard. It is what it is...pretty much wild and natural...like me! LOL.
OH!!! LOOK AT THIS TOMATO!!! It's the first really perfect one I've seen! Most of the others were small and had lines in them or lumps and crevices...but this one is perfect in every way!!
And here's a couple more that look really pretty!! I'm so happy to see what God has provided! Having some rain has helped too! Last evening I actually "stewed" some of the smaller tomatoes with some onion, green pepper and celery, and then mixed it in with some leftover cooked cabbage and sausage and added some leftover cornbread, and that was SO GOOD!
Last night was eat up the leftovers night. I think I mentioned that our son has been coming over for supper every night while his sweet wife Rose is in Minnesota visiting her father and family up there, and of course he brings the sweet pups, Sugar...
And Spice...
We've had a good time, and as I said, last night was leftover night, to clean up all the leftovers from the meals we've fixed every night. So it was a smorgasboard of salisbury steaks, cabbage and smoked sausage, and pizza! What a combination! But it was all good, and my fridge was finally cleaned out a bit. Not sure what we are having tonight. We will have to start from scratch (or go out to eat! Hey! It's Friday! Why not????)
Yesterday morning hubby and I had our follow up appointments to review our lab work from last week. This pink tree has been in the waiting room ever since Christmas, and every month they change the decorations to go with whatever the season/holiday is. However, they need to do something with the huge "inflated" pink flamingo that is supposed to be standing up on top of the tree! I said, "sometimes that's just how I feel...deflated and hanging upside down!" LOL. OH, btw, Thankfully both of us had excellent results on our lab work! Praise the Lord!! I just wish we felt as good as our lab work looks, but I guess that's just how it is when you get to be so "OLD". I'm thankful there's nothing seriously wrong...just aches and pains that come with the territory.
Since last night was kind of hot and sultry and muggy after the rainstorm, we decided to take a little ride and then ended up at our local Dollar General and bought a package of these wonderful drumstick ice cream cones! It was the perfect ending to our day!
And with that, I will close this post because it is now time for breakfast! So I hope you have a lovely Friday! What fun things do you do on Friday night? Do you get all excited because it's Friday? Tell us about your Friday adventures!!
Bye for now!! Be blessed, and look for the bright shining moments in your day!
I had some visitors in the garden this afternoon...
They saw me putting some bird seed in the bird feeder, so they came right up to clean up whatever fell on the ground...I don't purposely feed the Sand Hill Cranes, as it is actually against the law. But if they want to "clean up the crumbs from under the Master's table...", (Reference to Matthew 15:21-28) then I can't stop them, can I?
And so they pecked away at the leftover seeds in the grass, and then they wandered over to where I was sitting on the swing in the Memorial Garden and waited to see if I would give them anything else to eat...
I told them I was sorry, but that I was not allowed to feed them, however I welcomed their company and was so glad to visit with them.
Mama Crane turned her back on me and flapped her wings at her now grown children, (Pat and Val), as if to say, "Come along children...nothing to see here...this lady isn't going to feed us anything more..."
I wasn't sure if I should be insulted by her actions or feel honored that they would stay and visit so long.
I just kept talking to them and thanked them for spending this past year with us and being such good "entertainment" for us. I know the young "colts", Pat and Val, will soon be heading out on their own as they are almost 10 months old, and that is about the length of time they stay with the parents. I don't know if Mom and Dad Crane will establish a new nest or not this winter...time will tell.
But I took this opportunity to let them know that I appreciated them. I sang this little song to them that came to my mind as I sat there talking to them: (based on Philippians 1:6)
"He who began a good work in you
He who began a good work in you
Will be faithful to complete it
He'll be faithful to complete it
He who started the work
Will be faithful to complete it in you"
As I finished singing they all turned away and headed back to Still Waters Pond. Not sure if it was my singing, or just that they needed to get a move on to the next thing on their agenda for the day.
Here's the complete song, sung by Steve Green:
I hope you'll listen to this special song, and perhaps apply it to your own life. This song has wonderful meaning and gives us hope when we aren't sure if God is still working in our lives or not...
"He who began a good work in you
He who began a good work in you
Will be faithful to complete it
He'll be faithful to complete it
He who started the work
Will be faithful to complete it in you
If the struggle you're facing
Is slowly replacing
Your hope with despair
Or the process is long
And you're losing your song
In the night
You can be sure
That the Lord has His hand on you
Safe and secure
He will never abandon you
You are His treasure
And He finds His pleasure in you
He who began a good work in you
He who began a good work in you
Will be faithful to complete it
He'll be faithful to complete it
He who started the work
Will be faithful to complete it in you"
Maybe I'm silly for singing it to a family of Sand Hill Cranes, but hey! It's what came to my mind, and I believe it was a message meant for me as well...and for anyone reading this post who needs to know that God is always there for you.
Yesterday was a lovely day...it was kind of chilly and cloudy all day, but there was no rain in the forecast. Then all of a sudden it started raining, and we had a great rain shower for over an hour, which we really needed. I was so happy that I stood out on the back porch and took lots of pictures:
Still Waters Pond was "singing in the rain"....
The "Secret/Memorial Garden" was enjoying the gentle rain as well.
This little Wren was sitting on the porch railing, watching the rain...or was he merely just obeying the "Porch Rules"?...
"Take a Nap...Feel the Breezes" LOL.
Today was sunny and beautiful again...still a little cooler...just gorgeous Fall weather for us here in Florida. I was happy that hubby felt up to taking a little ride and we went to the local flea market for a little while. I picked up a couple of little things, but I am not going to share them now because they are Christmas decorations, and I promise not to show any thing Christmassy until after Thanksgiving...so you will have to wait! (I hope I don't forget about them by then! LOL)
While I was writing this I kept looking out my window here in "My Room With a View", and I couldn't help but notice the evening skies over Still Waters Pond. I hope you don't tire of me sharing these pictures with you...I just believe that God gives us such beauty to enjoy and also to give Him praise for the masterpieces He creates for us because He loves us.
The skies were such a brilliant shade of blue today, and then those puffy white clouds just really set off the gorgeous blue...
And then a few minutes later, this is how it looked:
Psalm 8:1-4
1 "Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
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?"
Well, I hope you enjoyed this little visit with us here at Still Waters Pond. Praying you have had a good day...oh! And don't forget to turn your clocks back one hour tonight!!!
And remember...
"6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;"
