Tuesday 4 The Music of Home

 The Music of Home

Hello again! You are very welcome here at Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
From the play Greenwillow comes the song The Music of Home:

Tis the music of home
The music of home
Full of wonder as angel song
All the music of home
Thе music of home
Singing, "Home is wherе I
Belong"

There is a music to home.. let's talk about the music in your home.

1. Was home always your safe place? Or did it leave a lot to be desired? What would improve the music in your home today?

Yes, the home I grew up in was a safe place. I am very thankful for the home and parents God gave me.  

What would improve the music in my home today?  Hmmm, well, I am not really sure how to answer this...my hubby and I are both very musical in our minds and hearts. We don't play instruments, but we love to sing.  My hubby tends to always be humming some kind of tune, many of which he actually creates.  I wish that I had kept a tape recorder going throughout our life together, because he often comes up to me and says, "Listen to this song that I just made up".  Sometimes he gets me in on it by teaching me the harmony while he hums the melody that he just created.  Sadly, they've never been recorded or written down, and so they are all long gone by the next day, or even the next hour.  But to have music constantly flowing in one's heart and mind is a lovely thing, don't you think?  I am not creative like he is, but I do get a lot of music "stuck in my head" throughout the day and often find myself singing tunes we are practicing in the choir at church, or something I might have heard on the TV or radio.  However, we really don't listen to the radio much anymore. I find it too distracting to the real music that is all around us.  I don't think I answered the question about what would improve the music in my home today...

2.Do you like coming home at the end of a day? How about when you were a kid?

Oh, yes, "there's no place like home."   When I was still working I couldn't wait to get home every day, even if it did mean I would have to get to work cooking and/or cleaning and taking care of the house and family, but still, it was home and there's no other place I'd rather be.  When I was a child I also loved coming home. After school I could be free for a while to run outside and play or stay inside and play...however, of course there were always "chores" and homework to take care of, but still, I was at home and happy to be there.

3. What is the music of your home? How would you describe life in your home growing up.. in the middle of your life and right now? Is there a song that might fit your home?

Picture above: At my family home with my family. If you notice the clock on the mantel behind me (in the middle), that clock was the backdrop of "music" every hour in our home.  No, it didn't play the Westminster Chimes or anything else so melodic. It basically just sounded out the number of hours in a most loud and awakening way...especially during the night, but it was a sound of home.  I miss that old clock today, but thankfully my niece Sandy in North Carolina has it at her home and she treasures it. Some time ago she sent me this video of the clock chiming at 3:00!  I'm glad I found this to share with you today.

To describe my home growing up, I would have to say that it was a pleasant place to live. Even though we didn't play musical instruments, well, I take that back...my parents bought an electronic organ when they retired and they enjoyed playing it...as did all of the grandkids:

Our son Scott playing the organ at Grandma and Grandpa's house

And playing it again later, when we were packed up and moving, hence all the boxes in the background...he still plays it today. It is in his bedroom here, and that is the first place he goes when he comes home to play music that he makes up as he plays. It's actually very good, and again, I wish it was recorded.

Back to my original home, our family did love to sing...well, at least my parents and my sister and I did. My brothers weren't really into singing, except on Christmas morning when we lined up by age, (me as the youngest got to go first!)  in the hallway and had to sing Jingle Bells before we could enter the living room to open gifts...but anyway, my parents both sang in the church choir and my daddy also sang in a Barbershop Quartet and chorus.  My sister and I both sing in our church choirs to this day.  At our home it was a requirement to watch "Lawrence Welk" on Saturday nights. LOL.  Oh, and my mother did take violin lessons and really wanted to be a violinist, but she never really progressed very far in that desire, except for a recital or two. My dad loved music and had quite a large record collection, which he enjoyed playing until he was too old to manage it by himself.  Then we watched a lot of "Gaither Homecoming" programs together up until his very last days.  He loved gospel music.  So yes, music was a big part of my home growing up.  

As I said earlier, my hubby and I both enjoy singing and used to do a lot of solos and duets in church during our younger days. Now I still sing in the choir, and hubby and I still do an occasional duet.  I wrote about the first day we met HERE a few years ago, when we sang the song "Getting to Know You" to each other. We discovered then that we both loved music and it seemed to set the tone for our whole life together.

A song that might fit our home is "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine"...Most people know the chorus as "This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior, all the day long. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior, all the day long."    This little magnet on our refrigerator reminds me of that song every day:

My favorite t-shirt speaks to this theme:  "The earth has music for those who listen"

4. Like a symphony, home has it's ups and downs as the picture to the side illustrates. What are your homes best ups and worst downs?( stories of happy times, busted water heaters, goofy things that have happened, etc)    

I loved that picture at the beginning of the woman locked outside her front door in her nightgown, with the newspaper and milk, calling to someone to come and open the door for her!  I can well imagine such a crazy thing happening.  As far as stories of goofy things, happy times, etc., gosh, where do I begin?  I may not be able to answer this in one post, there's been so many.  Instead of trying to answer this, I will just post a link to one funny story that I wrote about many years ago HERE, entitled "alarms-sirens-whistles-bells-and-things that go bump in the night."     That's the best I can do without writing another whole book! LOL.    

Yes, all homes do have their ups and downs, and I can attest to the fact that we have had our share of them, some funny and many not so funny. But through it all God has been with us, walking beside us, before us, and often times carrying us.    Since this is about music, here is a great song to sum it all up: Through it All, by Andre Crouch, sung here by CeCe Wynans and Andre Crouch.  

You can join in with Tuesday 4 HERE

"Monday Monday..."

 Who remembers that song by the Mamas and the Papas?  "Monday Monday...so good to me...Monday Morning it was all I hoped it would be..."

Step back in time with me to 1966 and the Ed Sullivan Show, with Mama Cass and the rest of the group and sing along...(and if you let this video go on to the next one, "California Dreamin" will come up next...can't forget that song either!)

This was a fun little walk down memory lane from my teen years...it just popped up in my brain because it's Monday morning and I know I need to write something...so this is what you get today. LOL. Actually, this Monday morning may not be so wonderful for many people who are suffering from the various storms and crises of this past weekend...you are very much in our thoughts and prayers... more about that later...

Nothing too exciting to share from my neck of the woods. It's been so hot lately that we spend most of our time indoors, trying to stay cool. We did take a little ride on Saturday morning down to the town where we used to live in the Ocala National Forest.  One of our favorite places to to stop is the boat ramp park on Big Lake Kerr.  Two reasons, the view is always beautiful, and they have a clean public restroom! LOL.  Here are a few pictures from our visit to the lake (not the restroom! )

Just a peaceful Saturday morning, out fishing on the lake!

It really was a beautiful day...not a cloud in the sky, and the lake was calm and smooth as glass...

until this big boat came flying in, leaving quite a wake in its path...

But not even that could distract this honeybee from having his breakfast on this lovely wildflower along the shore:

Love to see these busy pollinators out doing what they do best:

Just so long as he doesn't mistake ME for a flower! LOL.

The waters of Lake Kerr are pretty clean and clear, so clear I could see these fish swimming about...

They are still too small to have to worry about being caught by a fisherman, so I hope they enjoy their freedom to swim wherever they please...

Back on land I managed to "capture" this dragonfly while he rested on the grass...

And I guess that was all the pictures I managed to get!  Oh, until we took our walk later in the day at our usual walking place, and I saw this lovely hawk up in the tree:

Not sure if he is a Red Shouldered Hawk or a Red Tailed Hawk, and actually there were two of them in the tree when we first arrived, but the other one flew away as soon as he saw us. This one stayed put and kept a hawk-eye on us!  They were both quite large! I am glad that I am also "quite large", so they won't come preying upon me!

I know that all of us who have been watching the news this past weekend have been heart broken for the good people left behind in Afghanistan.  Our prayers are with them for their safety and peace and safe deliverance from the evil forces that are there seeking to destroy those who are believers in Christ, as well as anyone who has supported or assisted the American government. May God cover them with His strong arm of protection and shelter them in His mighty wings. Psalm 34 is a favorite Psalm of mine. The following verses in particular stand out to me this morning as I pray for the people of Afghanistan:

Psalm 34: 15-22

"15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

And His ears are open to their cry.

16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,

And delivers them out of all their troubles.

18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,

And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

20 He guards all his bones;

Not one of them is broken.

21 Evil shall slay the wicked,

And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,

And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned."

I am also praying for the people in Tennessee who have had such a horrible flood over the past few days...many have lost their lives, homes, and livelihood, and there are still quite a few people missing. Also many have suffered from the flooding in upstate NY this past week, and now many are enduring heavy rains and flooding from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Henri along the north east coast and further inland.  May God be merciful to them and lift them up out of the floodwaters to safety.  Also praying for the many who are truly suffering from Covid right now, and there are many here in our area. Sadly our hospital is full of patients and even sadder,  I understand our funeral homes are full as well...that is a very sobering thought.

I am quite humbled as I contemplate all these who are suffering so much in our land and around the world. My heart goes out to them, and I wish there was more that I could do. I am not financially able to help, and not physically able to go and do any kind of rescuing...but I know WHO is able to do all of the above, and the best thing I can do is pray. Yesterday our pastor delivered a wonderful sermon from the book of Isaiah, chapter 38, about  King Hezekiah's prayer and healing from the Lord.  You can listen to the sermon here on this video.  This message was one of hope and faith that God does hear our prayers and yes, He does answer our prayers!  I hope you will enjoy this message...as well as the Praise Team singing "Through it All" at the beginning of the video.

Through It All

by Andre Crouch

"I've had many tears and sorrows

I've had questions for tomorrow

There's been times I didn't know right from wrong

But in every situation

God gave blessed consolation

That my trials come to only make me strong

Through it all, through it all

I've learned to trust in Jesus

I've learned to trust in God

Through it all, through it all

I've learned to depend upon his word

I've been to lots of places

And I've seen a lot of faces

There’ve been times I felt so all alone

But in my lonely hours

Yes, those precious lonely hours

Jesus let me know that I was his own

Through it all, through it all

I've learned to trust in Jesus

I've learned to trust in God

Through it all, through it all

I've learned to depend upon his word

I thank God for the mountains

And I thank him for the valleys

I thank him for the storms He brought me through

For if I'd never had a problem

I wouldn’t know that He could solve them

I'd never know what faith in God could do

Through it all, through it all

I've learned to trust in Jesus

I've learned to trust in God

Through it all, through it all

I've learned to depend upon his word"

So, I hope this "Monday Monday" will be a good day for you.  May the Lord lift you up out of any deep waters in which you may be treading, trying to keep your head above water today. May He deliver you safely to the shore and take care of your every need.  

Apple Pie at Sunset

Psalm 17:8 NKJV

8 "Keep me as the apple of Your eye;

Hide me under the shadow of Your wings"

One of the things I really wanted to find while we were on our trip to north Georgia was some fresh apples.  My sweet daughter in law googled apple orchards until she found a place near where we were. Fortunately they were open on a Monday, but their supplies and choices were pretty picked over. But we we were able to get a decent bag full of apples to bring home and divide up between us.

Today my hubby and my son who lives at home suggested that it might be a good idea to use those apples up before they go bad...and wouldn't an apple pie be a good way to use them???

Of course, I said cheerfully!  I love baking apple pies on a Sunday afternoon!  Well, maybe I didn't exactly say that, but nevertheless, I agreed that the apples needed to be used and an apple pie would be just the thing! Even saved a few apples for eating later.

So what could be better than eating a warm piece of fresh apple pie on the back porch and watching the sun go down?

Nothing could be better than that, unless there was a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

And the sunset did not disappoint us!

I hope you have had a day where you know that you are like the "apple of God's eye", and that He is always hiding or protecting you under the shadow of His wings. He is always there for you, no matter what you are going through. 

In case you missed it on my Facebook page earlier today, here is the link to our Sunday morning worship service:

The Pastor is preaching a wonderful message from Matthew 15:1-20.

I hope you will join in and listen as the Praise Team sings 

"Through It All"

I've had many tears and sorrows, 

I've had questions for tomorrow,

there's been times I didn't know right from wrong. 

But in every situation, God gave me blessed consolation, that my trials come to only make me strong. 

Through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus, 

I've learned to trust in God. 

Through it all, through it all, I've learned to depend upon His Word. 

I've been to lots of places, 

I've seen a lot of faces, there's been times I felt so all alone. 

But in my lonely hours, yes, those precious lonely hours, Jesus lets me know that I was His own 

Through it all, through it all, 

I've learned to trust in Jesus, I've learned to trust in God. 

Through it all, through it all, I've learned to depend upon His Word. 

I thank God for the mountains, 

and I thank Him for the valleys, I thank Him for the storms He brought me through. 

For if I'd never had a problem, I wouldn't know God could solve them, 

I'd never know what faith in God could do.

Through it all, through it all, 

I've learned to trust in Jesus, I've learned to trust in God. 

Through it all, through it all, I've learned to depend upon His Word. 

I hope you can sing along with this song as well, knowing that no matter what you are going through, you can trust in Jesus, and you can depend upon His Word to be true...Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever!

Have a blessed and wonderful week! 

Through It All-An Anniversary Song

Today we celebrate our 46th wedding anniversary...my hubby and I.  It seems impossible that these two kids:

are now these two "kids":

and that our family grew to be this:

and then, very sadly, we said good-bye to our wonderful #2 son last year...

not very long after this picture was taken of him and his lovely wife and son...following a 4 year battle with cancer.

This morning as I was thinking about our 46 years together, this song written by Andrae' Crouch came to  mind.   I thought it was a fitting description of our life together, and it should be written to say "We've had many tears and sorrows..."  replacing the "I" with "We" throughout the song...

We've had many tears and sorrows

We've had questions for tomorrow

There've been times we didn't know right from wrong;

But in every situation

God gave blessed consolation

That our trials come to only make us strong

We've been a lot of places

(and these aren't anywhere NEAR 1/2 of them!)

And We've seen so many faces,

But there've been times we've felt so all alone;

But in that lonely hour

In that precious, lonely hour

Jesus let us know we were His own.

Through it all

Through it all

We've learned to trust in Jesus

We've learned to trust in God

Through it all

Through it all

We've learned to depend upon His Word.

So we thank God for the mountains

And we thank Him for the valleys

We thank Him for the storms He's brought us through;

Cause if we never had a problem

We wouldn't know that He could solve them

We wouldn't know what faith in God could do.

Through it all

Through it all

We've learned to trust in Jesus

We've learned to trust in God

Through it all

Through it all

We've learned to depend upon His Word

Yes, we've learned to depend upon His Word

We've learned to depend upon His Word

Thank you, Jesus, for being there for us through it ALL.  There are many storms and trials that we've been through that we cannot even begin to talk about here...but Lord, You've been there for us and with us all the way.  You've never left our side...and we can only say
Thank You, Lord.

I'm sure there are many here reading this who could say the same for their own lives.  Your troubles and trials were not the same as ours, but if you've lived on this earth any length of time, you've had your share.  I hope that you have known the strength and comfort of having God with you throughout those difficult days as well as during the joys and triumphs.  If you can't honestly say that you know that for a fact, then I implore you to seek His face...ask Him to come and be a part of your life before another day passes.  There's only two ways to go through this life: either with God, or without God.
I cannot imagine living this life without His presence in my life every day.
I pray that you will know that peace today as well.