Saturday Meanderings

 Hello Everyone! Hey! It's the first Saturday in September! And it's 90 degrees here in sunny north central Florida!  However, there are some clouds forming and we are supposed to get some rain later this afternoon. 

I will believe it when I see it. They keep telling us that rain is coming and then it goes completely around us, so we shall see. The forecast for next week also looks like rain every day, so I am hoping and praying that the dry spell is coming to an end and maybe Still Waters Pond will begin to fill up again in time for the Canada Geese to fly in! I actually saw and heard a flock fly over this morning, heading over to a bigger lake nearby...but that is the group that usually likes to come over to our pond in the fall/winter months for a while most every day, so I really hope they will still be able to do that!Speaking of the neighborhood, guess what happened yesterday??? Do you see it??? Yes, that is a U-Haul truck in the yard of the new house next door, finally! The house was actually sold a few months ago, and I've been watching and waiting ever since for someone to move in, and yesterday was the day!



I may not have noticed them over there except that we went outside on our front porch to help our son Benton load up my old green recliner to take to the church Thrift Store finally, and there they were!


And there goes Benton and hubby, taking the chair away! Oh, and btw, that little house right across the street now has people living in it as well. It sat empty for quite a while after an older man purchased it but he never moved in. Instead, he put it back up for sale. However, the house did not sell, and after a while I guess he decided to go ahead and move in there after all. We haven't had a chance to really talk to him, but he seems quiet and pleasant.


I actually got to meet the new neighbors on the side of us as they were leaving last night to take the UHaul truck back. I was out in the front yard watering the plants, and when they went by I waved first at the truck, and then at the car behind it. The man in the car pulled over and stopped and rolled down the window, and he said, "Hi! We're your new neighbors!" He actually had a young lady with him who he introduced as his daughter, and he said that it would be him, his daughter, and his elderly father all living in the house together. Oh, and yes, they do have dogs...3 to be exact, and also a house cat. Thankfully they already put up a fence in the back yard for the dogs, and when hubby went outside this morning to bring our garbage cans back in from the street, the dogs greeted him with some nice loud barks. From here it looks like they are big dogs, like maybe a German Shepherd type. Again, thankfully they have a fenced area in the back that is not actually connected to our property, and it appears they are house dogs, so hopefully they won't be outside barking all the time. And the man and his daughter seemed very friendly and pleasant, so here's hoping that my prayers have been answered for having some good neighbors finally!!


September is a good time to take walks and enjoy the early fall foliage and wildflowers that are still blooming. We went to our historic village walking trail yesterday morning and enjoyed seeing the sights along the way. September is also a good time to see butterflies it seems.



This is a Zebra Longwing butterfly, and I didn't know until now that it is the state butterfly of our state of Florida! Huh! I wonder how come I didn't know that???





Anyway, I was enjoying chasing it around these Firebush flowers . "Firebush is a perennial or semi-woody shrub that is known scientifically as Hamelia patens. Gardeners love firebush because it produces flowers from late spring until the first frost, and the bright red flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies, including the zebra longwing and gulf fritillary butterflies. Song birds also like to feed on the berries."





All the while I was trying to capture pictures of that butterfly, I kept hearing a bird in the tree above me. Finally I looked up and saw this Mockingbird , who just so happens to be the State Bird of Florida! So how interesting to have the state butterfly and the state bird right there together at the same time!!!


Also right there in the same area was this beautiful Beautyberry bush. I think that may be what the Mockingbird was after, as they do love these berries. These berries can also be used to make a mosquito repellent! I have actually had some made from this, and it did work, but it is kind of a dark liquid that stains your skin, so I wasn't really too thrilled with putting it all over myself! LOL. The berries can also be used in jellies and wine, but again, I'm not really into anything quite this wild for my jelly. LOL.



I guess this post is becoming a nature class! LOL. That wasn't my intention, but I do like to identify the things I see for my own education and I figure you might like to know what these things are too! We are never too old to learn something new, right? Anyway, the next creature I saw was this Long-tailed Skipper butterfly. He was enjoying the nectar of some Lantana, which most likely is growing wild, although it may have been planted years ago around these lots that once had houses on them for a hundred years...

The Skipper was also enjoying the nectar of the Coral Vine flowers that were growing all over the same area.




I've shown you this same trunk of this palm tree before, and right now it is covered in coral vine. Earlier this year it had wisteria flowers, and then there was some Cat's Claw flowering vine on it after that. It is amazing to me how many different species of flowering vines can grow on this same tree trunk throughout the year!

The butterflies and birds weren't the only ones enjoying some nectar on this lovely fall day...(actually it is still officially late summer, but you know what I mean), any way...look at this bee! I am happy to see the bees on the flowers, but I just don't want to get too close!

I will close with these thoughts from Psalm 28 today...I am feeling much better these days, and so is my hubby.  Little by little we are regaining our strength and stamina and are looking forward to the beautiful fall days ahead where hopefully we can take more walks and get stronger day by day. We are very thankful to the Lord for helping us both through some difficult days this past summer and giving us a brighter hope for tomorrow. 

Psalm 28:6-7

"6 Blessed be the Lord,

Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!

7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;

Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,

And with my song I will praise Him."

Amen!

P.S. 4:00 P.M.   It's RAINING!!! Praise the Lord!

Friday Foto Friends, It's Good Friday...(Revisited)

Note to my readers: I have posted this same post twice today...one was the repeat of the old, and the other was a new copy w/o the old comments. Sorry if that is confusing to you...I wanted a 'fresh copy' to post on my church's facebook page. Anyway, I hope you'll forgive me for posting it twice in one day! Thank you for understanding. I should have done the new one first, but as usual, I'm slow to think these things out.  Have a blessed an prayerful "Good Friday" my friends.

This is another repeat of a previous year's Good Friday post.  As I re-read it just now, I was so touched by the message that God gave me here in 2018, that I wanted to share it with you again. Many of you may have already commented on it in previous years, but I hope you will appreciate the wonder of this day with me once again as we reflect on God's great sacrifice for our sins today.

Original Message 3/30/2018:

Dear Friday Foto Friends...Please bear with me as I share these pictures with you and tie them into Good Friday...a very sacred and Holy Day...The day our Lord was crucified for our sins...so that we might live forever with Him in heaven one day! What an amazing day this is...

Sunday morning as we went forward to take communion, I knelt before the altar to pray, and I was struck by the emblems displayed there on the communion table...the whole of Holy Week was right there before my eyes...The palms for Palm Sunday,  The Bread and the Cup for the Last Supper, and the cross with the crown of thorns that Jesus wore...

 and upon a closer look, I was shocked to see the nails that pierced His hands and feet, and the whip of cords that struck His back and body over and over again, and the money bag with the thirty pieces of silver that Judas received for betraying our Lord...

These items took my breath away...I wasn't expecting to see them there...and it brought me face to face with the agony that our Lord endured that week on my behalf...and as I ate the bread and drank the cup, I prayed that God would forgive my sins and make me worthy of His shed blood...I am only worthy because of His shed blood...His sacrifice that made me whole and declared me to be holy...what a humbling and beautiful experience...such joy in knowing Christ died for me...because He loved me! And He died for YOU, too, because He loves YOU.  I hope you know this to be true in your own life...

Earlier last week during one of our walks I noticed this thistle plant growing alongside the road...look at those thorns...can you imagine the pain of bumping into this plant?  Now imagine having a crown of thorns forced upon  your head...and nails hammered into your hands and feet...No, I can't imagine how painful that must have been...

"Who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,

and as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness;

and when we see Him,

there is no beauty that we should desire Him.

He is despised and rejected by men,

a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him.

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Isaiah 53:1-3

Surely He has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

the chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Isaiah 53:4-6

A few days later we passed by this same thistle plant, and look!!! Out of something so wicked and evil as these thorny thistles came a thing of great beauty...All of these beautiful butterflies were drawn to this prickly plant to find food and sustenance for their lives!  There were so many they had to fight each other for a place on the flowers to sip its nourishing nectar and live...

Who would have thought that out of something so full of "sorrow" as this thistle would come such life giving food?

Isaiah 53:10-12

"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;

He has put Him to grief.

When You make His soul and offering for sin,

He shall see His seed,

He shall prolong His days,

and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper  in His hand.

He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,

for He shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,

and He shall divide the spoil with the strong,

Because He poured out His soul unto death,

and He was numbered with the transgressors,

and He bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors."

Thank You, Lord, for Your sacrifice for my sins. Out of Your suffering and great sorrow came new life and extreme joy.  Thank You for the beautiful gift of Your grace and salvation...and food for our souls so that we might live, and that more abundantly.   Amen.

Have a Blessed and Glorious Easter, my friends!

Living in the Dash

 Today is my birthday! It marks the beginning date of my life here on earth, or at least the day I took my first breath of fresh air!  I began nine months prior to that, which would have been Christmas day!  

The story goes that my mother got a new Sunbeam Mixmaster for Christmas that year,

and she was SO happy, well...here I am, nine months later! LOL.  I always wondered why my parents called me their little "sunbeam". LOL.  Just thought I'd start this off with a laugh!  I never knew that story until I was an adult, of course...

Anyway, moving right along...today, __ # of years ago, I took my first breath...and you know the story about how on a tombstone you see two dates?  The birthdate, and then a DASH, and then the date of death.  The DASH represents all these years in between birth and death...in other words, our LIFE...and what we do with it.   We are all living in our "DASH" right now.  There is not enough room on a tombstone to list all the things we did during our "DASH"... but hopefully we are making an impact for good on someone, somewhere, someway, during our DASH years.  The things we do and say and think about and write about are all a part of our DASH.   That is our legacy that we leave behind us.  We can't take any of it with us...no fancy cars, houses, clothes or things...it all stays behind.  The only thing we can take with us are the things we do here that impact the lives of others for good, for Christ's sake.  

Have you ever heard the quote, "Only one life, twill soon be past; Only what's done for Christ will last." ? I had heard it many times in my early adult years, but never knew who said it.  I just looked it up. His name was Charles Studd, and he was a British Missionary, who lived from December 1860 - July 1931.  Being a missionary, I expect there's a lot of life and blessings in his DASH. Yikes, he only lived to be the very same age as me! Oops, I didn't mean to give that away.  

I just found this picture on Pinterest, but we actually used to have this exact same little plaque on our wall for many years. I don't know what happened to it. It may be in the bottom of a box somewhere. It was very old, but it always meant so much to us, I don't know why it disappeared.  It may show up someday.  But anyway...having a birthday tends to make one think about such things as how one is living her "DASH"...

I can only pray that my DASH will have many blessings attached to "what's done for Christ".

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:19-21

Speaking of moths...that cocoon is still just a cocoon...still waiting on the moth to appear...Meanwhile, deep inside the cocoon, there is life...that caterpillar that became a pupa is developing day by day into a beautiful moth, and one day he will emerge from his cocoon and breathe the fresh air and fly away to live his "DASH"...his life here on earth until he is called to his "heavenly home".   I do hope I will get to witness his debut into this world and see his beauty while it lasts...

Today we took a nice ride down to where we used to live in Salt Springs...just to relax and enjoy a country ride. We always stop at the boat ramp on Big Lake Kerr, (because they have a nice public potty), so that I can take some pictures of the lake and whatever other nature we may see.  Here's what I took today:

Yes...butterflies and moths! September seems to be a good month for these beauties to appear, and they are enjoying the nectar/pollen from these wild daisies while they last...

Oh, yes, I did look at the lake too...

looks like the maple leaves have already mostly left the trees...

It was a gorgeous day for being out on the water...

Oh, back to the butterflies...This Gulf Fritillary was hard to capture, but he finally stayed still long enough for a decent picture:

And the little skipper butterflies were busy too...

And then there was this magnificent Swallowtail flitting around...

Such beautiful blessings for my birthday celebration!

Oh about that...we will be having a "big" celebration tomorrow afternoon with family and friends, but today is just kind of a relaxing do what I want kind of day.  I took some pictures on Still Waters Pond this morning...oh wait...first there was this marvelous sunrise in the east:

And yes...the birthday rose from Matthew's memorial garden is still blooming beautifully today! It has lasted all week long, and every day has been such a fragrant blessing from heaven...

Meanwhile...these lovely Great White Egrets were enjoying an early breakfast on the pond...

Such a peaceful setting...

A little blurry, but you get the idea:

Oh, look who else was out there on the pond!  The Sand Hill Crane family!

And then there were these two Egrets again...they look like Siamese Twins! LOL.

All these blessings for my birthday just thrill my soul and make me so thankful for the ways God has blessed me over and over and over again.  

Yesterday morning hubby and I went to town to do a little shopping and we decided to go out to breakfast first.  The place we usually go to was too crowded, so we tried a new place:

Someone had told me they had the best huge cinnamon buns, and so I thought, "why not? It's my birthday afterall..."

Yes, it was HUGE, and VERY SWEET...

(the underside), and we took most of it home for our son Scott to enjoy later... and yes, we did have other real food too...delicious eggs, home fries, bacon, and home made bread toast. It was very good, and we'll probably go back again...

The decor was cute, and I liked the old style diner tables and chairs and booth seats

After breakfast we went to Home Depot and I picked up some mums:

(looking down at them from the deck)

Well, what else is there to say today?  I know I will have a lot more to say tomorrow afternoon after we have our family/friends gathering.  Right now I have put an apple pie in the oven and it has bubbled over and I can smell burned apple pie juice on the bottom of the oven...great...something to clean up later, AFTER we eat the pie of course.  Apple pie is my favorite kind of "birthday cake", which is what my mother always baked for me.  Usually my sister bakes an apple pie for my birthday, but since we are eating at a restaurant tomorrow I don't expect she will be able to do that and besides, I wanted one today!  My gift to myself! LOL (and the rest of the family who are here nearby).

So here it is! Fresh and hot out of the oven just now. Except for the burnt apple pie juice smell in the oven, the pie smells pretty good!!

Thank you for allowing me to reflect on life in the DASH today, my birthday.

You are all a very special part of my life, even though most of us have never met in person...we share our innermost thoughts and dreams and challenges here...and what we say and do here is all a part of

our individual "dashes".

"Only one life, 'twill soon be past;

Only what's done for Christ will last..."

Charles Studd

May your "dash" be filled with joy and blessings overflowing...until we meet again...good night!