Monday Monday~Great News!

 This morning we rose bright and early to head over to St. Augustine for my medical procedure.  God blessed us with this glorious sunrise to enjoy while on the way:

It was a misty foggy morning as we rode through the country...

But the sun just kept rising in the sky ahead to light the way...

Sometimes it just pays to get up early and get out on the road and enjoy the view!

Here we are crossing the St. John's River...

Now, wasn't that worth getting up early to see??

And we made it to our destination in plenty of time...even before the staff arrived. Didn't think to take any pictures there, but the good news is, I came through the procedure just fine! I will see the Dr. again in 3 weeks for the results of the findings, and then again in five years for my next procedure.

God is good, and I am very very thankful for your prayers and concern. Yesterday was a long day of you know what in preparation, and now I am "refueling my empty tank" and taking it easy while I recover from the effects of anesthesia.  The instructions were to make NO important decisions today! So I told my hubby he could not ask me to pick up and move to Tim Buk Too or any other crazy idea today! LOL.  No worries there...

Meanwhile, over the weekend things really got busy over at Dixie Cottage.  If you're a Facebook fan, you already know about all of this, but if not, here goes:

I guess they'll have to redo this sign...it's no longer in St. Augustine. Everything has been moved now to the new store in Interlachen.

Now comes the fun part of arranging and setting up and unpacking and making it all look presentable:

They've definitely got their work cut out for them:

It was wonderful to have family and friends all pitching in, and also wonderful that God gave them two beautiful days with none of the predicted thunderstorms to cloud or drown out their day!

They were able to get it all with the help of pick up trucks, cargo trailer and open trailer and didn't even have to rent a UHaul!! That was nice!

This is Rose and one of her dear friends who came and worked like a trooper too...

Everything neatly stacked and ready for the fun part...

They are still on target for their opening date of August 2nd, Lord willing and the creek don't rise!

Oh, and about that new door color?  I know most everyone said they really liked the blue doors, but the Landlady had another vision in mind:

I think they are very pretty and classy, what do you think?  If you prefer the blue, come on inside, because they are still blue on the inside!  Either way, a warm welcome awaits you when you do come for a visit...just wait until after August 2nd please and hopefully everything will be in place and ready for business!!

So, until next time, remember my slogan...

"When God closes a door, He opens a window"....or in this case...a green door!

Here's some food for thought:

"I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name."

Revelation 3:8

Something to think about during these troubling times in our world today...

May your day be filled with joy and blessing and the strength of the Lord.

Thank you again for your kind thoughts and prayers!

Friday Foto Friends: What Do You See?

Hello Friday Foto Friends! Another week has come and gone! Wow! Can you believe this is the last weekend in October? Halloween, End of Daylight Savings time! (Fall back), the last weekend before the election? (Don't worry, not going to talk about that) and a Full Moon!

Right now as I write (Thursday night)

So as I started to put this post together, sorting through the pictures I've taken this past week, I kind of discovered a recurring theme...each picture is kind of like a mystery photo...different shapes, items, shadows, things...so I thought instead of me telling you what the pictures are, I'd let you see whatever you see in the pictures and you can tell me in your comments. I may have some connecting thoughts throughout the page, but I really hope that you will use your imagination and tell me what you see or don't see or think you see. There is no exact answer...I just want us to use our imaginations and tell us what you see.

This first one is pretty obvious...it's kind of a selfie, but actually it was totally by accident. I was trying to take a picture of that old mirror hanging on the wall in the church Thrift store garage when I went to visit again the other day. I never even realized I was taking a picture of myself when I snapped this photo, so this was a surprise to me.  Might have been a surprise to someone else too...I wasn't the only one in the picture. LOL.

This is a picture of a picture in the thrift store. Do you see what I see?

Can you guess why I wanted to take a picture of this picture?

Now, I wonder how many of you will see what I saw in this cloud:

I must tell you the story about it.  My hubby and I went for our usual evening walk. No sooner had we stepped out of our car to begin walking when we started hearing what sounded like gunshots on the other side of the woods. We debated whether or not to keep walking or just get back in the car and leave, but we decided to keep walking. However, the gunshots kept happening, and we walked a little faster and actually held each other's hands as we walked.  Hubby moved to my right, which was between me and the direction from where we could hear the gunshots. My hero!  Now, please understand, this is a wooded area, but not wooded enough for hunters. There are homes not far away, and the shots were actually coming from the direction of where the houses were on the other side of those trees. But it was a pretty good distance away from us, and we decided someone must be doing some target practice and they weren't aiming at us. So we kept walking. But to be honest, I was nervous. Maybe even a little bit scared. By the time we got down to the other end of the road we were discussing what to do if the shots kept firing. I was praying as we walked. And I looked up in the sky and I saw this cloud above . And immediately I felt totally at peace. I knew that God had sent this angel to pray for us and that we needed not fear.

For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.

Psalm 91:11

And we walked all the way back to our car and never heard another shot.

Thank You, Jesus!

Now this cloud below wasn't so "angelic" as the other one. This was taken on another evening, through the window as we drove along the road again to go for our walk.

What do YOU see in these clouds? (Pardon the spots on the window...not sure if they were raindrops or just dirt...I didn't notice it at the time)

Now, I wonder if you can see what I see in this photo below?

You have a good eye if you can spot the spider web!

Thankfully, my "hero" spotted it before we walked right into it!

He is pointing to where it was stretched across the road,  coming down from a tree limb above us and attached to some weeds on the edge of the road.

This is what we would have walked into had he not been very observant:

Coming toward it from the other direction, which was actually the direction we were walking originally,  can you see it?  Aren't you glad my hero saw it first?

This was the morning sunshine on one of those morning walks:

I guess the pink spots were spots on my camera lens as the very bright sun shone through. Either that, or there were pink balloons being sent up into the sky...what do YOU see?

Now this is one of my favorite pictures of the week: 

Sunrise from my front porch!  Here is what I wrote on my Facebook page that morning:

"Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, 

By His name YAH, and rejoice before Him." 

Psalm 68:4

The interesting thing is, I did not see those figures "riding on the clouds" until after I posted the picture online and also not until after I selected that particular verse to go with it. Now, do you see what I see?

Revelation 3:8 NKJV

 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it;

 for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 

My collection of antique doorknobs.

But what do YOU see? 

There may be a clue here for a previous post for those of you who are still trying to figure out the answer to my scavenger hunt.

But you will have to wait until Halloween for the answer.

And speaking of Halloween, which is tomorrow, by the way, 

what do YOU see in this picture below?

All in good fun, of course...

I'll be interested to hear your replies to this and all of the other questions above.

Regardless of what you see or don't see, or whether or not we all agree on things or agree to disagree, here is a passage that is on my mind going into next week:

"I will love You, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;

so shall I be saved from my enemies."

Psalm 18:1-3

Amen

Have a wonderful weekend!

Don't forget to turn your clocks back!

The Door Which No One Can Shut

Revelation 3:8:  "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name."

Even though the above message is given to the church in Philadelphia at the end of the age...I am claiming it as God's message to me today.  This is personal!  You see, I've been attending this "writer's conference" the past few days, and I must admit I am exhausted and have just a little strength left in me.  My greatest temptation this morning is to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over my head and say, "I'm too tired, I'm sick from coughing all night, my Nyquil didn't work, and I would rather just stay home and recuperate!" 

To be quite honest, I've felt a bit discouraged in my so-called writing career as I've heard over and over again from so many just how difficult it is for a first time author to get a book published in today's market.  Afterall, the Rick Warrens and Max Lucados and Jerry Jenkins don't come along every day!  One must have a have a unique message that has a waiting audience clamoring to purchase your long awaited masterpiece. 

But then there have been those voices which have risen above the others saying, "Don't give up!  Be true to yourself and the message that you believe God has given you.  You may need to redefine your purpose and the direction in which you are headed in order to reach your desired goals...but don't quit now!

"I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it."   Yes, I like that voice; It's God's voice above the din...Yes, Lord, I will listen to Your voice and trust that You will guide me in the right direction. That way I can't go wrong!