Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

Here it is, Thursday evening already, October 3rd!  My, how this year has flown by! It is very hard for me to believe we are already into October, but I am glad of it. 

 

A few years ago I wrote a special post about Anne of Green Gables, as she paid a "visit" to "Pamela's Victorian Cottage".  I thought I would include this section of that post here, as "Anne" is exclaiming about the beauties of October, and finishes with one of her most well-remembered quotes about October... (Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery)

"October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry-trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths.

Anne revelled in the world of colour about her.  "Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, 

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.  It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? " 

 

(Painting by John Sloane, from one of his previous Country Season's Calendars)

You can read the rest of that special post HERE.

I feel pretty much the same as Anne did about October, even though the colors here in Florida are not quite a vibrant and glorious as they were at her beloved Prince Edward Island, still, there's just something special about October everywhere I think!

Last night I was enjoying watching the sunset here on Still Waters Pond, and it wasn't the most colorful of sunsets, but it was still amazing in its own way. Have you ever noticed that it is actually the clouds that make each sunset so interesting?  If there were no clouds in the skies, there would be nothing all that spectacular for the sun to reflect on and around.  I find it interesting in that God often uses the "clouds" in our lives to make our lives more spectacular and unique.  It's the challenges and trials and cloudy, hazy days of having to lean more on God for direction in our lives that help to shape and mold us into the strong characters He intends us to be.  Just some food for thought as you think about sunsets in a new way.    

Here's the sunset from last night, along with the verses from the 64th Psalm that kind of struck me as I was looking back at these pictures of the clouds and designs in the skies.  I wonder if you will notice some of the things that I noticed:

Psalm 64 NKJV

Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

"1 Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;

Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,

From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,

3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,

And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,

4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;

Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter;

They talk of laying snares secretly;

They say, “Who will see them?”

6 They devise iniquities:

“We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”

Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.

7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;'

Suddenly they shall be wounded.

8 So He will make them stumble over their own tongue;

All who see them shall flee away.

9 All men shall fear,

And shall declare the work of God;

For they shall wisely consider His doing."

10 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him.

And all the upright in heart shall glory."

Amen.

I hope you enjoyed those pictures along with that Psalm. Could you see the battle of the swords and arrows in the skies? Makes me think about the battles that are going on all around us in the spiritual realm, as well as the battles that are going on in real time around the world right now. It is so important that we keep our Spiritual Armor of God on at all times...(Ephesians 6:10-18)

I am thankful that we have had a relatively peaceful week here in our area. But of course we know there are still so many suffering without electricity, water, good shelter and even food. Last week's storm wreaked havoc on the lives of so many, and we need to continue to pray for them, and do whatever we can to help. If you aren't sure where to send donations, Samaritan's Purse is a strong and true organization directed by Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham. Also most church denominations have Disaster Relief programs that are hard at work in the hard hit areas. You can usually donate through your church to a disaster relief program.  

I am thankful also that my hubby had a successful medical procedure done yesterday. We made it there in plenty of time and all went well. He will get the results of the test in a couple of weeks, but it is basically a follow up to some work he had done a year ago, to make sure that everything is still "good".  We are trusting God that it is, however prayers are always welcome.  

I've been wanting to show you something very special for a few days now. Frankly, I was so overcome by this gift, that I had to give myself some time to process it.  Remember in my Monday Post that I showed you a picture of a dear friend (see her below), who has been battling Stage 4 cancer for the past year +, and she is now doing so much better?

Well, this dear lady mentioned to me on Sunday that she had a birthday gift for me, and that she wanted to drop it off at my house this week.  I never expected that, and was really surprised that she would want to give me a gift.  But indeed, it was not just any gift, it was something truly truly special, and I wish I had had my hubby take our picture together when she brought it over, but I was too overwhelmed by the magnitude of this gift that I never thought of it until she had already left.  So, I had hubby take some pictures of me with this gift this morning so you can see it, and you will understand why I was so totally humbled and flabbergasted by this very special gift:

This dear lady literally crocheted this beautiful shawl for me while she was having chemo treatments! How do I respond to that???? With tears, for one thing. And with much gratitude and humility. 

Isn't it beautiful? It is a Civil War Era pattern, and it is absolutely gorgeous. 

What I love is that it will go with so many colors...and hubby said this outfit needed a hat...LOL

I am just overwhelmed with this lovely gift, and am so amazed that this precious lady would create this especially for me...I am already thinking about all the ways I hope to be able to wear it in the near future. 

But most of all, I am thinking about how very dear and special this woman is.  She is such an example of God's strength under fire.  When she was given the diagnosis and prognosis of her disease, she was determined to fight back. She did not give in to fear or anxiety, although she did have some of that for certain...but she would not let it take over. She stayed busy, even when the side effects of the treatments threatened to overwhelm her...she would not give up. Yes, I know there were days that she could not do a thing, but as soon as she was able, she kept moving forward. The fact that she would take yarn and crochet needles with her to chemo treatments and work on this beautiful gift for me is just so amazing to me that I cannot even fathom it. I do not even understand why for me? But God knows, and He knew how much this gift would bless me, and also I believe it was a gift for her to be able to do something for others in the midst of her own struggles. God does work in mysterious ways, and He weaves into the tapestry of our lives lessons of love, grace, and comfort. And the end result is a picture that is so beautiful to behold that we cannot always fathom the depth of it at first glance. It may take days, or it may take a lifetime...but I know that I am very very thankful to God for taking the extra steps to show us these things...

And so, with these thoughts in mind, I will close for tonight.  Wondering if there was ever a time in your life that you were overwhelmed with a special gift that you felt unworthy of?  Perhaps that is a picture of God's grace again...He sent Jesus to die for our sins, not because we did anything to deserve that gift, but because He loves us...

Romans 5:8 NKJV

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 

9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Something to think about... 

Good Night dear friends.

Sunday Night-The 3rd Sunday of Advent

 Today, the 3rd Sunday of Advent,  we lit the candle of JOY.   "Christ our Joy.  May the joyful promise of your presence, O God, make us rejoice in our hope of salvation. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."

Our prayer of confession this morning in church was:

"Prepare our hearts, O God,

to receive the Christ Child once more.

When we are lost in darkness,

shine Your light into the darkness of our world.

When the gloom clings tightly to us,

shine Your glory into the shadows of our lives.

Overcome our fear, Holy One, and inspire us to leave our flocks,

and seek the Christ Child this night.

Prepare our hearts, O God, to behold your precious gift in awe and wonder of peace and love.

In Christ's Name we pray, Amen."

Yes, Lord, prepare my heart to behold your precious gift of your Son, once again in awe and wonder and in peace and love. Amen.

We had a really sweet service today as our children and young people put on a Christmas musical play. They did a great job. We have a very small church and small group of children, but they each put their hearts into the program and the message came through loud and clear...they shared some "Really Really Really Good News!"  

I wish I could share the video, but it is too long for this format, so just a picture will have to do. I just love these kids' programs. Takes me back to when our kids were young and they performed in many Christmas and other similar programs at church. I must say that I was a little bit teary-eyed watching these kids sing and perform.  Just brought back too many sweet memories, which I am very thankful we have...

Moving right along...Yesterday my hubby's brother and wife and son stopped by for a visit on their way through to the mountains for a little vacation. We went out to lunch and had a great visit. My sweet sister in law gave me "an early Christmas present", because it needs to be enjoyed now and not after Christmas, so she insisted I open it now.  Sadly, we did not take any pictures while we were together, but I took these after I got home and opened the gift and was so thrilled with it I had to take pictures and text them to her...

This beautiful little church lights up and is like a snow globe...it is so beautiful...the pictures don't do it justice:

She also gave me the lovely poinsettia table runner and a couple of placemats that match it.

Such a thoughtful and beautiful gift! I do love little churches...

These are just a few little ones that I have that I enjoy lighting up...along with the angels...

And so this 3rd Sunday of Advent we have great joy in our hearts...and I hope to focus on that and not allow the stresses and hurriedness of the rest of this season to get to me. This week I must focus on getting some shopping done, the few cards that I hope to send sent out, along with our dress rehearsal on Tuesday night for our church choir Christmas Cantata, which will be performed this coming Sunday, and on Wednesday our ladies' United Women in Faith will have their annual Christmas fellowship, which is always a delight. Meanwhile, I will also be helping out at Dixie Cottage most every morning as needed. So it is a busy week ahead, and I need to pace myself and not allow myself to succumb to the pressures of time. It's my own fault that I get into this time crunch each year...I just seem to never learn about planning ahead for Christmas...I think it's one of those genetic cycles that is bred into me and I really don't see any help for it in sight at this stage in life. LOL. It is what it is, and somehow I always manage to get through it. My prayer is that the Lord will help me to stay focused on HIM, the real reason for the season, and not get lost in the hustle bustle.  

Matthew 1:23

23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated,

 “God with us.”

And that is "really, really, really good news!"

Let's Not Forget about "Epiphany"

 (Previous Post from 2019, UPDATED)

January 6, is the day that the church "liturgical calendar"  celebrates or recognizes "Epiphany", or the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child....

Epiphany definition:

1.   The manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12).
1.1  The festival commemorating the Epiphany on 6th of January.
1.2  A manifestation of a divine or supernatural being.
2.   A  moment of sudden and great revelation or realization.

Here is a link to some info on "Epiphany"https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/epiphany

Many churches, mostly the more liturgical churches do recognize Epiphany, or "Twelfth Night".  In my home growing up we never took down our Christmas tree until Jan. 6th, which was also my mother's birthday.  I always assumed it was because that was her birthday, and that is what they did in her home as she was growing up.  It wasn't until later years that I understood that Jan. 6th was "Epiphany", and many traditional churches recognize the visit of the Magi (The Wise Men) on that day. That doesn't necessarily mean that was the date they actually visited the baby Jesus. There are many discussions on that, mostly that it was anywhere from several months up to a year or more before the Wise Men actually arrived to present their gifts.  We just know that it wasn't on Christmas day.  They had followed the Star from their lands starting on the day Christ was born, and it led them to the Christ Child (read Matthew chapter 2).  

So whether or not you or your particular church recognize Epiphany as an actual event is not the most important aspect of this.  It's just another beautiful way to close out the Christmas/Advent season and recognize the significance of the gifts of the Magi...Gifts that actually may have helped the "Holy Family" to make their escape to Egypt when King Herod ordered all the baby boys two years old and younger to be slaughtered...just some things to ponder as you put away your Christmas things and your Nativity Scene...

And so yesterday (January 6, 2019) in our church our Pastor gave us some things to think about regarding the journey of the Wise Men.  I will summarize the main points here:

When the Wise Men saw the star shining they knew that the "King of the Jews" had been born. (see Matthew 2:1-12)  They had studied the stars and knew this star was significant.  And so they "put feet to their faith" and started off on their journey to find the newborn King.  

What can WE learn from the Wise Men?

• Be constantly alert---stop, look and listen...
• Be willing to act...
• When God presents us with a new opportunity, are WE willing to get up and start that journey of faith?
• What is God calling us to be doing?
• The Magi found Jesus and worshipped Him.  They presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But their greatest gift was to get down on their knees and worship Him.
• When God asks us to do something, somehow we have to put our feet to our faith
• Rise up and follow

It's a New Year...time for a new fresh start...time to stand up and put our feet to work to serve God.

• Where is the Light of the Star leading you now?
• Prepare your hearts for action...don't get too comfortable
• Put action to your faith
• What will YOU do with that star?

The following passage is a prophecy concerning the epiphany of the Light being given to the Gentiles...The Wise Men seeing that star was the fulfillment of the Light of God's salvation, Jesus Christ, being made manifest to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews...so there was a lot more significance to the Wise Men's journey to see Christ than just a few kings traveling to see a newborn king...

Isaiah 60:1-6

1.  "Arise, shine;

for your light has come!

And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.

2.  For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,

and deep darkness the people;

But the Lord will arise over you.

And His glory will be seen upon you.

3.  The Gentiles shall come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your rising.

4.  Lift up your eyes all around, and see:

They all gather together, they come to you;

Your sons shall come from afar,

and your daughters shall be nursed at your side.

5.  Then you shall see and become radiant,

and your heart shall swell with joy;

Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,

the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.

6.  The multitude of camels shall cover your land,

the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;

All those from Sheba shall come'

They shall bring GOLD and INCENSE.

And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord."

Question to consider:

How does the Presence of the Holy One manifest itself in our life today? And how will we, when He is revealed to us, like the Wise Men, express our joy at seeing that "star"?  

Sermon Notes from FUMC Interlachen, FL., Pastor A.C. Myers, 1/6/2019

Please Note : I want to repeat this disclaimer here...the notes, outline, and content included here are based upon my own personal understanding of the message that was being given. I am not attempting to completely quote or reproduce this message or any other message I've shared previously. Just as each person reading these notes may glean insights and thoughts that seem to directly apply to one's own situation and interpretation, my own delivery of these messages is skewed by my hearing and translation of what is being said. Some may read my notes here and wonder if they were hearing the same message as I...and I say, God speaks to each of us as He wills...there are things He is trying to get across to each individual that may be entirely different than what the person sitting next to you in the pew is needing to hear... That is how the Holy Spirit works! He knows what we need to hear and how to apply it to our hearts. So it is with that understanding that I present these sermon notes to you.

An "Unmerited Favor"

 NEWS UPDATE:  Please see on the sidebar of my blog that there is link to "The Adventures of Lily Grace".  Lily is going to have her own blog and will be sharing her adventures with us as she writes letters to her "Aunt Debbi and Identical Cousin Tracie".  If you enjoyed this, I think you will enjoy Lily's blog. The first episode is pretty much the same as this post, but it will be changing with new excitement and fun with every post. I hope you will come visit Lily Grace at her own new blog! (which is still under construction, so bear with me...)

The other day I mentioned that a blogging friend was sending me an unexpected gift (HERE), and I promised to share it with you when it arrived.

Here she is! I know you are probably wondering why someone would send me such a sweet doll in the mail!  Well, I wondered the same thing at first when my friend said she had found this doll and was going to send it to me.  You see, this dear friend loves dolls much like I do...and she had shared a picture of her doll just like this on her blog. (I am not going to share her name because I wouldn't want to put her on the spot...but she is a very thoughtful and giving person).  I happened to mention that I loved her doll and thought she was so very cute and sweet and fun.  And the next thing I knew, she had found one for me and was sending it! Oh my! I was so surprised and somewhat amazed.  I certainly never intended for her to go out and buy this doll for me...but she wanted to "bless me" with this doll...she said it gave her joy to do so.  And you know what? It gave me such joy to just think about the fact that this cute little doll was on her way to me that I felt much like an expectant mother waiting for her baby to be born! 

Before my friend put the doll in the mail, she took a series of pictures of her "seeing the sights" around her town so that she would have some adventures to tell us about when she arrived here. My friend prepared her with as much information as she knew to give her about our home and where we live  and what to expect...but of course she would have to wait until she got here to see it all for herself.

Well, when I told my hubby that we were about to have a new little member added to our family, I was afraid he might think I'd slipped a cog or something...but do you know what that sweet man said? "Well we'd better come up with a name for her!" Oh my! He was absolutely right! We couldn't name her the same thing that her identical twin was named...(whom we decided would be an identical twin cousin, much like the Patty Duke show...remember them? Well, if you don't you must be much younger (or older) than I am).   However, we both agreed that we would wait until she arrived to decide on her name...much like we did with our three sons.  We tossed different names around, but didn't make a final decision until we saw them face to face. (Of course, when they were coming along we never knew whether or not they were a boy or a girl until they were born. That's how long ago THAT was!)  And that is what we decided we would do with this new little friend. 

So today was THE day. I had actually been out to breakfast with a dear friend from church, who just happens to be named "Pamela"!! I invited her in to see our house and to visit a little more, when the mail-lady pulled up in front of our house and started honking her horn! I ran outside and saw that she had this package, and I knew then that our new little friend had arrived!

Here I am feverishly trying to extricate the sweet little dolly from her box. They sure do make packaging so difficult these days... 

Finally she was free and able to "breathe" some fresh air!  

Thankfully, my friend Pamela is a "Kindred Spirit" and totally loved the doll as much as I did. I think she would have liked to have taken her home with her...but that wasn't going to happen...

This cute little girl with her flowers in her hair and tie dyed t-shirt and long lace coat, boots and guitar with a karaoke machine and a microphone was going to stay here with us and liven this old place up a bit! LOL.

And so we started right away with trying to come up with a name...and we all agreed we would just wait a while and a name would come to us.  While we were examining all of her little special gifts and things that came with her, I heard my hubby say something from his chair where he was sitting and trying not to act like he was too interested...I heard him say, "I think her name should be "Lily".  

My friend Pamela and I looked at each other and agreed! "Lily" was a lovely name for this "flower child"!   It suited her perfectly. Also, my hubby went on to say that his paternal grandmother's name was "Lillian", and so "Lily" would be short for "Lillian".  I then added the middle name of Grace. Lillian Grace. Grace because she is an "unexpected blessing".  "Unmerited favor" is the biblical definition for "Grace".  And Lily is just that...an "unexpected gift", an undeserved favor...from a very special friend!

And so please meet the newest member of our family:

"Lily"...or "Lillian Grace".

The first thing Lily wanted to see was "the big pond".

She was pretty amazed at how big it was and hopes to see some geese or ducks tomorrow. They weren't out there this afternoon.

Next she watched me write a note to our dear friend who sent her to us, letting her know that she had arrived safely!

Then Lily wanted to meet her new "family" here, and they were all quite excited to meet her as well. They had a little tea party for her and even brought some cake. Lily played some songs on her guitar for them and they all sang together. As you can see, Lily is quite the modern young lady compared to the rest of this group. She will definitely be a fun and lively new addition to the "family".

Later in the evening our "big kids" came over for pizza:

And they were very "happy" to meet Lily.  

We decided that she kind of takes after "Aunt Sherrie" a bit. 

It's nice that our family members are all good sports and like to humor me with my dolls and toys and things...

And so that is the story of "Lily Grace"...

and it is to be continued, you can rest assured of that. I think she will be taking me out for a lot of new adventures! I don't believe she will be content to just sit at home and have tea parties!

So until next time...why not be an unexpected blessing to someone else today...

Let us be givers of "unmerited grace" to others who may be in need of a lift to their spirits.

God is teaching me a lot about this lately.

Thank You, Lord.

(And thank you to my very special friend...you know who you are!)

More Unexpected Blessings

 I am writing this on Wednesday evening, but it is intended to be posted for Thursday...we shall see...I may go ahead and post it tonight. Let's see what develops as I write...

This morning I reposted an old post from about 9 years ago entitled Unexpected Gifts.  It just seemed appropriate to share it again after so many years, and especially on a day when I think many of us were needing some encouraging thoughts.  I was listing some of the many ways God has surprised us through the years with "unexpected gifts"...blessings from "out of the blue" that were a total surprise to us.  The neat thing about most of them was the timing...in every instance it seemed as though these "gifts" were sent to us one way or the other at a time when we needed it most.  Only God could have orchestrated that because He was truly the only One Who knew what we needed and when. That is what made these events so significant in our minds.

Today (Wednesday, January 20, 2021), was another of those kind of days. This morning as we watched  our President and the First Lady bid farewell and walk up those steps into Air Force One for the last time, it was a rather emotional moment for us, and I expect for many of you as well. If not, well, then, just please just try to appreciate and respect the rest of this story because it was special for me.  

As I stood there watching them depart on Air Force One, it was a bit overwhelming in many respects. And I was at the point where I couldn't bear to watch another minute of the news broadcast as things were shifting from one story to another.  Right at that very moment my husband called my attention to the window to look out into the back yard at this sight:

Yes, Goldfinches all over the thistle seed sock that I had recently hung up in the back yard in hopes they would come.  And they chose this very moment to show up!

What a delightful and joyful time this was to watch! They were flying in and out from the trees faster than we could keep track of them.  

And then, almost as fast as they came, they were gone again...but they accomplished their mission. Not only did they help take our minds off of a very difficult moment, but they also gave us hope.

Here is what I believe God was telling me:

Do Not Worry  (Matthew 6:25-34)

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

After this we decided to turn off the TV (news) for the rest of the day, and we went and took our morning walk:

It was so peaceful there, and I could hear many little birds twittering through the trees...possibly more finches and chickadees and Tufted Titmice.  They were going about their morning routine of finding insects and things to eat and singing happily as they flew about...without a care in the world. Again...God was taking care of them...and I know He cares for me...

I took a picture of this little oak tree showing off it's beautiful red leaves as a last nod to autumn here in Florida. The sunlight was shining through the leaves giving them such a glorious scarlet hue...yes, it is just a scrubby little wild oak tree, but it was decked out in its most beautiful dress and it seemed to want to be noticed, and so here you are...another unexpected "gift"...

We came back home and I stayed busy baking banana nut bread,

(had a couple of overripe bananas calling out to me that it was time to do something with them before it was too late!) 

Oh, and I already had made some blueberry bran muffins for breakfast

 because I had some blueberries that were starting to dehydrate in the refrigerator also calling out to me to do something! 

 And then, while the banana nut bread was baking in the oven, hubby was "calling out to me" and said something about cookies...and so I whipped up a batch of coconut pecan cookies. 

 (Recipe can be found at https://southerndiscourse.com/perfect-coconut-cookies-with-pecans/ )

I guess you could say these were "unexpected gifts", because I never expected to do all of that today, but the overripe bananas and blueberries and the need for cookies for the "cookie monster" all came together at the same time to inspire me to go on a baking spree. Doesn't happen all that often anymore, so gotta get them while they last!  Kind of looks like a bakery here!  (It smelled like one too, while they were baking! Yum!)

After lunch and our "afternoon nap" (yes...after all that work I needed one!) we took another walk. As soon as we drove down the little dirt road to our usual spot to park the car, I looked up in the top of a very tall pine tree and saw this beautiful hawk sitting up there watching us.

Because of the brightness of the afternoon sun the lighting is kind of difficult to see his full colors, but I believe he is a Red Shouldered Hawk, which is typical for that area.

Just as I was getting up and out of the car to step a little closer, he flew away...but I considered him another one of those unexpected gifts for today...because I was grumbling on my way over there that I wanted to walk somewhere different for a change because we rarely ever see many birds or other interesting things on this walk...and God just had to show me that I was wrong...He had this surprise waiting for me.

To top it off for this week, in one day I received two different messages from two people that I've never met in person...both bloggers...one that I've really only read a couple of times and made some nice comments, and the other has become a special friend who has very similar interests...anyway, they each are surprising me with something special coming in the mail soon! Totally out of the blue! When these things arrive I will be sure to share them with you...but wow! In one day to receive two such special "unexpected gifts"...well...all I can say is God is so good. He knows how to bless His children and sometimes He goes above and beyond to do so.

All I can say is, Thank You, Lord. I don't deserve such grace and mercy and love.

But Jesus loves to bless His children.

So, if you are feeling a bit discouraged or sad or disappointed...or worried about the future...keep looking up...up...up! Up to Jesus...because He has promised to take care of His children.  He knows what we need even before we do...and often the "unexpected gift" is already on its way before we even realize we are in need of being blessed. It's not always material things...it may just be a lift to your spirits...a touch of healing...a comforting warmth that comes over you when you need to feel loved or remembered...a word of encouragement or an answer to a prayer. 

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." 

Proverbs 25:11

(internet photo)

Have a blessed and beautiful day today...and be sure to keep an eye out for those little "unexpected gifts" that God may be sending your way! I hope you will write them down when they happen and share them with us if you can.  Sometimes they may be too personal to share, but just the acknowledgement that something special blessed you is an encouragement to the rest of us!

Be Blessed!