Friday Foto Friends

Hello and Happy Friday Foto Friends!

I woke up this morning and bemoaned the fact that I did not have any new pictures to share with you today. It was still dark, and I figured I'd just have to go around the house and look for something to take some pictures of, but then I got distracted with other usual morning routines and pretty soon the sun was coming up and so I went outside to put out the flag, and this is what I saw:

As I watched the sun attempting to break through the billowy, turbulent yet majestic clouds, this song came to mind.  If you wish, you can listen to it while you scroll through the rest of the pictures that I took both in the eastern skies as well as over Still Waters Pond...

A PERFECT HEART

 Lyrics Words and Music by Reba Rambo and Dony McGuire Arranged by Tom Fettke

"Morning sun, light of creation; 

Grassy fields, a velvet floor; 

Silver clouds, a shimmering curtain, He’s designed a perfect world.

I’m amazed at His talents,

 

stand in awe of One so great; 

Now my soul begins to sing out 

to the source from which it came. 

Bless the Lord who reigns in beauty; 

Bless the Lord who reigns with wisdom and with power. 

Bless the Lord who fills my life with so much love, 

He can make a perfect heart.

Bless the Lord, O my soul; 

Bless the Lord, O my soul; 

And all that is within me bless His holy name."

I hope you enjoyed that song and the pictures of the morning skies.  By noon those clouds turned into a beautiful rainstorm.  I took a video of the rain pounding on the tin roof of our porch and shared it on Facebook. It's too long to share here, so if you want to see it, go to my Facebook page for today.  But this is how it looked...along with quite a bit of thunder to accompany it.  It was delightful. We needed the rain!!  I hope it cooled things down a bit.  Our mornings have been lovely, but the afternoons have still be quite steamy and hot.  

But Fall is making her way into our region a little at a time...as well as making her way into our home a little at a time....I picked up this new fall garden flag this morning at our Ollie's store. I am waiting for the rain to go away before I attempt to put it outside:

Although we still haven't been able to bring in all the fall decor tubs from the shed, I've been bringing little things out here and there to change things over from summer to fall inside the house:

I baked a banana nut bread the other day with some overripe bananas, and decided these "Grateful" dessert plates would be appropriate to start using for breakfast and/or snacks.

It was time to change the summer teapot and cups for something with more of an Autumn flare as well.

I did manage to find the Fall wreath for the front door:

(I think it might be upside down...what do you think?)

And that's as far as I've gotten!  

Well friends, it's now Friday afternoon and it's time to start thinking about what we are doing for supper. It will either be leftovers or pizza. Hubby kind of wants pizza. I kind of want to use up the leftovers. Maybe we'll compromise and do both. LOL.

What do you usually do for supper on Friday nights?  Is it a casual supper kind of night...or do you go out to eat...or do you go all out and fix a big meal?  Since it's just the two of us, we tend to do whatever seems simplest and be done with it. 

And so with that, I will say have a pleasant and wonderful evening, no matter what you do!

Happy Friday!

 

Mountains in the Clouds?

Do you ever look at the clouds and pretend they are mountains? Where we live in Florida of course there are no mountains...but if you look at the clouds as the sun is setting and lighting up the tip tops of the clouds you can almost imagine snowy white peaks with the sun glistening across the tops of them...

The pictures never do them justice, of course. You had to have been there.  But for a few fleeting moments I could imagine myself in the Alps, or the Rockies, or maybe the White Mountains of New Hampshire...

And as the sun was setting even further, the crescent moon was appearing above the trees, and the "mountain range" turned a lovely shade of blue.  Actually, I was trying to capture a picture of the heat lightning that kept lighting up my "mountains" in the distance, but my finger was never quick enough to catch the flash, so we will just enjoy my "mountain range" in the dusky twilight.

Kind of puts a new perspective on the evening skies, doesn't it?

There was a time in our lives when we had moved from those gorgeous White Mountains of NH to the plains of Kansas.  Nothing could have prepared us for the stark flatness of the horizon at sunset. The sun looked so close and huge and bright you would think you could almost touch it. There was nothing between us and the sun it would appear. Very few trees, absolutely no hills of any kind...just mile after mile of flat fields of sunflowers or whatever other crop they were growing in that sweltering heat.  It was no wonder that one evening as we drove the twenty mile trip back home from the nearest city where we did our grocery shopping that I looked to our left as we drove and it appeared that there was a range of mountains in the distance.  Of course I knew it had to just be the clouds, but it looked so real to me that all the way home I could imagine that we were back in our beloved mountains of NH and not 1500 miles away in the desert of Kansas.  I literally cried all the way home.  Our move there was a mistake and we were extremely homesick.  Needless to say, when we realized things were not all that we had been promised in our place of employment, it did not take much convincing to decide to move back "home" to the mountains where we had left behind family and friends.  Of course, eventually we would make our "final" big move back to Florida, where our elderly parents were in need of our attention, but by then we had gotten the mountains out of our system a little better, and at least Florida was not quite as flat as Kansas.  But whenever I see these "mountains" in the clouds, I think about that time in Kansas, and I thank the Lord for taking care of us even when things were difficult...and also for making a way of "escape" for us when we needed it most.

Do you ever find yourself dreaming of a better place, better times, happier memories? It isn't always easy to just pack up and move when things get difficult or disappointing.  But God sends us reminders that He is always with us no matter where we are.  It may be a vision of mountains in the clouds, or it may be something more tangible...a visit from a friend or a phone call that gives you such joy to hear the voice of someone you love.  It may be a promise of His love and care found in His Word...

Isaiah 49:13-16

"13  Sing, O heavens!

Be joyful, O earth!

And break out in singing, O mountains!

For the Lord has comforted His people,

And will have mercy on His afflicted.

14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,

And my Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,

And not have compassion on the son of her womb?

Surely they may forget,

Yet I will not forget you.

16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;

Your walls are continually before Me." 

Surely God will never forget His children, no matter how much into the wilderness or desert they may have wandered.  He tells us He has "inscribed you on the palms of My hands..."   I like to think of that as the nail prints in the hands of Jesus...those holes are in His hands because of His love for us...He died for us, so how could He ever forget those He gave His life for?  Never could He ever.  So no matter where you may find yourself, no matter how disappointed or lost you may feel...God has not forgotten nor forsaken you. He will make a way out of no way and will comfort and care for you.  He may even provide those lovely mountains for you to enjoy once again...whatever it takes to show you His everlasting love.  

Isaiah 49:23b says:

"For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me."

Rejoice in this hope.

Sunday Morning Meditations: Be Ready and Watching!

24.  “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25.  the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27.  And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

Mark 13:24-27

 "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen."

Revelation 1:7

16.  "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

I Thessalonians 4:16-17

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” 

says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, 

the Almighty.”

Revelation 1:8

Some sobering thoughts to ponder this Sunday morning.  The cloud pictures were taken on my way home Friday afternoon with my sweet daughter in love. We thought about how wonderful it would be to see Jesus coming through those clouds, coming to take us "home".  I know I am ready for that day to come....what about you?

Here is our worship service for this Memorial Day weekend. I hope you will enjoy the message and the song by the choir: I Sing a Song of the Saints of God:

1. I sing a song of the saints of God,

patient and brave and true,

who toiled and fought and lived and died

for the Lord they loved and knew.

And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,

and one was a shepherdess on the green;

they were all of them saints of God, and I mean,

God helping, to be one too.

2. They loved their Lord so dear, so dear,

and his love made them strong;

and they followed the right for Jesus' sake

the whole of their good lives long.

And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,

and one was slain by a fierce wild beast;

and there's not any reason, no, not the least,

why I shouldn't be one too.

3. They lived not only in ages past;

there are hundreds of thousands still.

The world is bright with the joyous saints

who love to do Jesus' will.

You can meet them in school, on the street, in the store,

in church, by the sea, in the house next door;

they are saints of God, whether rich or poor,

and I mean to be one too.

 Have a blessed and beautiful SONday!  And be ready and watching for the Lord's return. 

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Matthew 24:36-44

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!

Angels Watching Over Me

I stepped outside this evening ostensibly to watch the sunset, 

and it was magnificent and did not disappoint.

But what really caught my attention were the clouds...and it was as if God was putting on a beautiful display of His cloud creations just to give me great comfort and encouragement tonight on the eve of my surgery.

The song that came to me right away was:

"All night, all day, angels watching over me, my Lord,

All night, all day, angels watching over me."

(There's a video of the Oak Ridge Boys singing this song following these pictures if you want to sing along)

Now, don't get me wrong, no, I don't believe that the clouds are angels. But 

so often when I have needed a little reassurance from the Lord He has shown me "His angels" in the clouds, and they have always given me peace.

 Several verses from  Psalm 91 also came to mind:

1.  "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

 2.  I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, 

My God, in Him I will trust."

 3.  Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the perilous pestilence.

 4.  He shall cover you with His feathers,

and under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

 5.  You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

nor of the arrow that flies by day,

6.  Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

 9.  Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,

even the Most High, your dwelling place,

10.  No evil shall befall you,

nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

11.  For He shall give His angels charge over you,

to keep you in all your ways.

12.  In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

14. Because he has set his love upon Me, 

therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he has known My Name.

15.  He shall call upon Me, 

and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble' I will deliver him and honor him.

16.  With long life I will satisfy him,

and show him my salvation."

I want to thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement over the past few weeks/days as I have shared with you the fact that I am having some major surgery tomorrow. Yes, it is "repair work", but because of the intricacies of this particular repair, it will be somewhat invasive and I will need several weeks to fully recuperate. Hopefully I will soon be back up and writing again, but if you don't hear from me for a while, please just say a little prayer. I will be anxious to get back to visiting with you all again as soon as possible. 

Oh, one more thing:  This morning I shared on Facebook that I was drinking that stuff that cleans you out, and I was drinking from my favorite cup:

I wanted to say that during the early moments of drinking this lovely drink (!), I did actually 

"Stand Still and consider the wondrous works of God" 

(Job 37:14) 

as I watched the geese on Still Waters Pond:

And I rejoiced in the way that God sent these beautiful creatures to visit and entertain me this morning...at least for a little while as I was able to "stand still and watch" them. 

So the day started out with God's blessing, and has certainly ended with His blessing.

And now, dear friends, I must get ready for bed. We finally heard from the hospital that I am to arrive at 5:00 a.m., and it is almost an hour's drive away from us...so...we will be rising very early in the morning. Makes me wish they'd go back to the olden days when they'd let you come and spend the night at the hospital the night before surgery. Oh well...hopefully I will be first on the docket and we can get this party over and done with!!

Final thoughts for tonight:

"I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;

For You alone,  O Lord, make me dwell in safety."

Psalm 4:8