Thursday Thankfulness from the Back Porch

Good Morning from the back porch!  Sunshine and Blackie are "greeting" you, but after looking at their eyes and posture, it's more like they are "glaring" at us!  I'm thinking they are saying, "How dare you make us stay out here where it's so cold while you are inside where it is so nice and warm!" (this picture was taken yesterday).   However, seriously, they have been doing fine and they seem to have taken advantage of the warm places that we prepared for them on the porch for the past couple of very cold days, and now today it is already 47 degrees and heading back up to 75 this afternoon, so they are just fine.  

So, just after I wrote that paragraph with that picture above, I got up to go to the bathroom. When I stepped into my bathroom I was literally shocked to see Blackie in there, snooping around quietly and acting like nothing was unusual about him being there...and I am like, "Blackie! How did you get in here???"  He kind of turned around and smiled at me as if to say, "Ha Ha! I fooled  you!! I got in when you weren't looking and I've been in here for 10 minutes and you didn't even know it!"  The only thing I can figure out is that when I stepped out on the front porch to put out the flag, he must've been right there by the front door and slipped in when I wasn't looking because I was focused on putting out the flag and looking at the sunrise!  It certainly was a shock to me, because he's rarely ever on the front porch in the morning. He is such a little scamp! 

So here we go, I am herding him back toward the back door... (he sees those doggy beds under the coffee table, which belong to our grandpuppies when they come to visit, and I think he was kind of smirking at them, as if to say, "just you wait...I'll be in here in those beds one of these days!") LOL.

Sunshine was right there at the back door as if to say, "Hey! How did you get in there without me?" Meanwhile Blackie headed to the edge of the porch to look out at the birds and pretend nothing was any different. Mister Innocent. LOL.

And once again they sat down and got back to their normal places...

But Blackie looked back and gave me one last glance as if to say, "I almost fooled you this time! You better watch out, because I know all the tricks, and one of these days you won't be able to get me back out that door!"    Yeah, I'm thinking this blog is becoming a saga of whose will is going to break first...mine or the cats, (or my hubby...who is the real stern one behind the mandate of no cats in the house...and yet he goes out to give them treats when they really don't need them, and I hear him talking baby talk to them when he doesn't think I'm listening...)

Stay tuned.  I wonder how many of you are placing bets on how soon those cats will be living in our house? LOL.  

Meanwhile, life is calm and peaceful out on the still very dry Still Waters Pond. This was the scene this morning, with Mr. and Mrs. Sand Hill Crane literally walking on the dry pond over to the shore, which really isn't a shore anymore...it's all dry land these days. That black bird you see behind them is that male Muscovy Duck...who is still hanging around and trying to sneak up on the porch when we aren't looking... Did I say life was 'calm and peaceful'?  LOL. 

Yesterday morning hubby had a follow up Doctor visit to go over his labs from last week...and Praise the Lord! They were all really good, and he had a very good visit with the doctor. Things are looking much better than they were earlier this year, and we are VERY thankful.    So we BOTH had good doctor reports this week!!

From there we stopped at the hospital so I could visit our neighbor, who has been in there for about a week. This is the same neighbor who used to feed our kitties before I took over. She has had a lot of health issues over the past year, and has been in and out of the hospital several times after falling in her home.  It's really been a rough time, and her daughter works full time and lives a couple of hours away, so things have been really challenging for both of them.  I've tried to help as much as I could, but there's only so much I could do, along with other home health people her daughter has had to hire to come and check on her and help out.  Anyway, finally her daughter was able to find a rehab place for her closer to her home, and she is going to be going there for at least a month, and then we'll see what happens after that. I wanted to see her before she left today because I know I won't be able to go visit her at the rehab place 2 hours away.  I am thankful that she will be taken care of and hopefully she will get stronger...and of course her dream is to be able to come back to her home...but time will tell and I pray for what is really best for her.

After that it was lunch time, so hubby and I decided to go try out a restaurant in Palatka that has just reopened in a new location after about a year of renovation, etc.  We'd never been to that restaurant before, so we really didn't know what to expect, but we'd heard that people really loved it and they were anxiously awaiting for it to reopen. We got there around 11:15 a.m. for lunch, and there was already a line waiting!  Thankfully we got in pretty quick, and we were not disappointed in the food or the service...and the atmosphere was very "country". Of course I took pictures!

The name of the restaurant is "Bradley's", and they serve southern country style food and seafood. Oh, and steak and catfish too, on their supper menu, but we rarely go out for supper. Although I love some good catfish, and so we may have to go back for that sometime...

Here's some of the decor...one of Sunshine and Blackie's distant cousins was there: LOL.  (a.k.a. a Bobcat)

This area is known for large mouth bass fishing...and it looks like someone caught a few prize fish!

We are not far from the Ocala National Forest, so these fellas aren't far from "home".  There were a LOT of these deer mounted on all the walls of the restaurant...I was half expecting to see venison on the menu, but it wasn't...

LOL...This is what goes on at night out there on the shores of the lakes in the area...Welcome to north central Florida!  

Oops...that fella didn't get away...

I thought this painting was quite interesting.    Might be a bit too remote and swampy for my liking, but this is typical of places in "old Florida"...

And here's my plate! I ordered the Chicken and Dumplings special for the day, and it came with a choice of vegies...I chose Collard Greens, and Zipper Peas, and a "Hoecake"!  I had to ask what the "hoecake" would be, and was told it was cornbread. Imagine my surprise when it came looking more like a "pancake", but it was definitely cornbread! It was all REALLY good, if you like southern country cooking!

Hubby had the Chopped Beef Steak smothered in mushrooms and gravy, rice and gravy, and green beans. He ordered the hush puppies for his bread. Normally we have those with seafood, but they were good with this too...

It was all good, and we will definitely be going back! Now I see why people were standing in line waiting!!

Well Folks, I guess this is all from the back porch today. I'm very thankful for all of these blessings and also that today has turned out to be a lovely sunshiny warm day. Oh, and I just found out that my sister and her family are going to come here for Thanksgiving, and I am very happy about that! It's been a while since they've all been here at our house for Thanksgiving (or any dinner), so it will be wonderful. Now I just have to start cleaning house and planning ahead...

Here's a good thought for today...

 John 14:27 NKJV

 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

One more thing I am thankful for is that the government shutdown is over and hopefully things will get back to some kind of normal. Praying for all those who have been seriously impacted by this shutdown in one way or another. 

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers for my daughter in law's sister's family. You all are a wonderful family of friends. I do thank God for each and every one of you.  

Monday Monday and the Tuesday 4~Let's Blog!

Psalm 113:4-8

The Lord is high above all nations,

His glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like the Lord our God,

Who dwells on high,

6 Who humbles Himself to behold

The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?

7 He raises the poor out of the dust,

And lifts the needy out of the ash heap,

8 That He may seat him with princes—

With the princes of His people.

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly 

I know, it's Monday. I haven't written much since last week..just haven't had the heart or desire.  But I decided it's time to get back with the program. Even when difficult things happen to zap our energy,  life goes on, and we need to seek God's strength to persevere and keep moving forward.  

The weather has been glorious and so we've taken a few little walks.  It's so good to get outside in the fresh air (and away from the TV and Internet) and just breathe in God's beauty around us.  I've seen a few things that have caught my attention and made me smile, like that butterfly above.

And then look at this Beauty Berry bush...some bug must've eaten all those holes in the leaves, making them look so delicate and lacy! 

I think they look really pretty, even if it is a kind of destruction...sometimes beauty comes out of things that were not intended for good.  

It reminds me of this story in Genesis chapter 50, after Joseph had been sold into slavery by his own brothers, and then many years later he is in a position to provide food for them while they have been suffering through a famine in their land.  They were afraid that Joseph would not treat them well after what they'd done to him, but look at what happened instead: 

 

"19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 

20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, 

in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."

Morning Glory growing wild in the weeds

Isaiah 61:3 

"...To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

I love it when God gives us pictures of His love and grace and comfort even in nature. After all, He created it, and it's here for our benefit...to behold His beauty in creation, and to be reminded that He is close to the broken hearted and those who mourn.  Not only that, but what man intended for evil, God turns into good.  As the result of the very sad death of one of His servants last week, Charlie Kirk, who was a strong believer and witness for Christ, there has been a revival going across the world of people who are now more and more committed to continuing that work throughout the world and becoming the hands and feet of Christ on earth. May they stay true to that purpose and not lose sight of WHO it is for, Jesus Christ... and not just a movement in memory of or allegiance to a man that they admired and loved, but for the actual furtherance of The Kingdom of God.  That's my prayer...that God will use this moment in time to draw many to Christ for salvation before His return.   

So now that brings us to the Tuesday 4.  I hope you don't mind that I am combining these two today.  The questions have made me think about the real reason that I enjoy blogging...so let's proceed...

Let's Blog!

Welcome once again friends to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 and how about talking about blogging this week since it's something we all do anyway.
Get yourself a cuppa, come sit down at your computer and let's think about blogging for a bit....

Blog is short for Weblog, a log or diary on the World Wide Web or internet. Your journal or diary can hold personal stories, ideas, opinions of all kinds and can be private or public as you wish. It is an excellant way to document your life or interests.


1. Why did you begin blogging?

Click Here for a link to a post I wrote a few years ago about why I love to blog

To sum it up, I blog to because I love having a place to share my heart with others...and to share the beauty that I see around me here in God's beautiful creation.   My initial beginning was because I was discouraged from writing a book due to many reasons...the cost, the lack of "audience",  and all the other little details that go into publishing a book that maybe only a few people will read.  I went to a Christian Writers Conference, and the only thing I learned there that was helpful to me at that time was someone was giving a class about blogging. I had NO idea what a blog was, or how to do it, or what impact it could have...but I came home and looked it up on my computer and found this blogging program, and well, the rest is history. In my mind, this has become my "book", and it is free to publish, and free to you, my readers!  And every "chapter" is something fresh and new, whatever God leads me to for that day. It has opened a whole new world to me, and I am very thankful that God led me to it!


2. What benefits does blogging offer you?

Well, see question #3 below...yes, I have made some very good friends, both in person and through cyberspace. I consider that a great benefit!  Blogging also gives me a way to communicate with people all over the world, people I would never have had any opportunity to know in any other way, and you have all enriched my life with your stories and encouragement.  I also believe that blogging is a great way to stimulate mental acuity. As we age, finding words becomes more and more difficult, and blogging has helped me to keep thinking and striving to improve in my writing skills while I still have my mental faculties!   I hope I can keep it up for a long time!

3. Have you made friends from blogging?

See question #2 above. Yes, I have met in person several wonderful people, and I think that has been the best surprise of blogging of all!  But even for those I have not met in person, I still think of you all as friends...we share so many personal stories and look into the hearts of one another through good times and bad, in sickness and sorrows...and we lift each other up and encourage each other with words of hope and wisdom and joy.  I seriously wish we could all meet in person someday. I would just love to hug every single one!!  Maybe in heaven there will be a special place just for bloggers! LOL.


4. Where do you get ideas for things you blog about? Do other bloggers influence you?

Well, this weekly Tuesday 4, thanks to Toni Taddeo's influence and our current hostess Annie, have been great about giving us ideas to write about each week. This is really the only weekly meme that I participate in, but I enjoy reading what everyone writes in whatever format you choose.  And yes, your thoughts and questions and ideas do influence me in a very positive way. I've learned so much since becoming a blogger. You've opened up a whole new world for me, and I love it.  

Now, for a great big thank you...for quite some time most of you know that I've been praying for some good new neighbors to move into the house next door to us.  As I mentioned a week or so ago, the new neighbors did finally move in and I met them in passing on the road. Well, today the man and his father actually came over to our door and introduced themselves to us! The daughter is working as a caregiver for an elderly woman, so she stays there during the week.  But here's the good news!  They are a fine Christian family, and I do believe that God has answered our prayers by bringing us some really good neighbors!  Praise God for this answer to prayer!  Now I pray that we will be good neighbors to them as well!  Thank you all for your words of encouragement and prayers for this situation over the past few months!  I knew you'd want to know how it all turned out!! God is so good!!!

In closing, I will share this little quote from a devotional calendar that I have. I thought it was some good food for thought today in particular:

Wherever we are, God has placed us there for a purpose.  We are to use these gifts, whether it be our home, our blog, or whatever talents we may have, for God's glory and honor and to be His ambassador of hope to others along life's way.  And that is why I love to blog in a nutshell.

Now let's go see what others are writing about this week here at https://tuesdaysplace.blogspot.com/

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!

Thursday Thankfulness and More

 

A Foggy Sunrise morning

Good Morning Everyone!  This week is flying by in some ways, and creeping along in others.  For those of you who have followed things recently here, you may have wondered if my hubby had his scheduled appointment with our PCP yesterday (Wednesday).  Well, no, he didn't. They called us on Tuesday to reschedule it for Thursday, today, at 11:00.  That was frustrating, after waiting for two weeks to get the results of his lab work, and also to see the doctor (actually a PA) that we had met with previously. He wasn't available for the Wednesday appointment, and wouldn't be available the rest of the week, so we will be meeting with another member of the staff, (again, a PA), today, instead.  I am taking time to get this post started now before we leave for the appointment, and will update it when we get back home.  

Meanwhile, on Sunday we went to church, and it was wonderful to be there with our family and friends. Our kids (Benton and Rose) were there sitting in the pew with us, and they also actually participated in serving Communion, and it was such a blessing to my heart to see them both standing there administering the bread and the cup to each person as they came forth to receive it. I wanted to take their picture, but thought it might be irreverent to do so, so I refrained.  But I think every parent understands what a blessing it is to see our adult children taking part in the worship service in any way, whether it be singing, ushering or taking up the offering, reading the Scriptures or lighting the candles during the Advent season, or just showing up! That is a comfort and joy to our hearts for certain.  We are very thankful for the precious, godly adults they have become.

And speaking of our church, our new church sign installation is finally complete and made its "debut" to the community last night:

"Sunday Service 10am"

I haven't actually been there to see it working in person yet, so I'm not sure how quickly these messages scroll by.  My thought would be that you'd have to be driving rather slowly to see/read them all as they scroll, but hopefully people will notice and get the message that they are welcome at our church!

Just a note...I believe the plan now is also to add some flowers or other plants around the base of the sign so it doesn't look so bare.

And then I guess it ends up with the current time. I wonder if it has the temperature too? I will have to check that out!

Anyway, it is our prayer that this sign will help people who are looking for a place to worship to take notice of our little church and come and visit and maybe decide they feel welcome enough to want to stay!  They will definitely find a warm welcome there and will hear the Word of God being taught and preached. That's what it's all about.

This morning I noticed something red over in the "Secret/Memorial Garden".

As you all know, if you've been with me for a while, I get excited when I see something blooming there...

Yes! The Memorial Rose bush is blooming again!  This rosebush has a "history", and lately it only seems to bloom a couple of times a year, so it is always a cause for celebration when it does!

Of course I cut the rosebud and brought it inside where I can enjoy watching it open and bloom. I added it to the vase with the other roses from the beautiful rosebush our dil Rose gave me for Mother's Day. It's the little things like this that brighten our days and give us a reason to "stop and smell the roses" and be thankful for what God has given us.

Here's a couple of other reasons to smile each day...

Sunshine and Blackie had a little visitor come outside to help me feed them this morning...

Yes, that's Lily Grace, and you can see that at least Blackie was happy to see her! Sunshine was more interested in his food to acknowledge her presence, but Lily Grace was just happy to be able to see them and enjoyed watching them eat.

On a fun note, yesterday I was enjoying reading many of our friends' blogging posts, and one in particular made me giggle and think about what I guess, others like me, tend to do during the day...

If you didn't read our friend Myra's "Respice, Prospice, A Cheerful Herald" post yesterday, then you can click on that link and read it so you'll know what I'm talking about.  I'm going to take the liberty of copying the internet photo she shared  here, because it just made me chuckle out loud when I saw it...

Why? Well, because it's just so true! LOL.  Especially this week.  Myra asked at the end of her post, "What interactions, if any, do you enjoy with your neighbors?"   Well, Myra, it's not so much the "interactions", but the actions of things going on outside our windows...It seems like this week I've been checking the windows frequently to see what's been going on out there. 

 

For one, the house next door to us that has been for sale for so long has finally been sold, and early last week we saw a few people coming and going to check out the house most likely after they had their closing.  We saw vehicles coming and going and I kept running to the windows to try and get a glimpse of what kind of people they were.  I'd already been told by the person who sold the house that it was "an elderly man and his son and grandson" who bought the house. No mention of any wife or mother or woman. Natually I was a little disappointed by that news since I'd been hoping for some nice neighbor to get acquainted with and perhaps become friends.  I really couldn't tell by who I saw coming and going just who was who, but it does look like that's the case...an older man, a middle aged man and a younger boy.  Of course I've been watching every day for them to pull up with U-Haul truck and move in, but so far that hasn't happend.  I did see someone with a pick up truck and some lumber in the back yard, which looks like they may be going to put up a deck or porch, *so that's nice.  Time will tell as to what kind of neighbors they will be, but for now I am still praying that they will be friendly and pleasant and that WE will be good neighbors to them. *I just took another look, and it appears they are putting up a fence in the backyard, so most likely they have a dog. Praying it's a friendly, non-barking dog! LOL.

Meanwhile, across the street there is another little house for sale, and this week there has been some activity over there every day. 

You can't tell it from that picture above, but there have been guys over there every day building that new porch railing. I felt rather sorry for them, because just when they'd get going real good, it would start to rain really hard and they would have to pack up and leave and come back the next day and try to get it finished. I think it took them three days to get it done finally. I told my hubby that I hoped they weren't being paid by the hour, because this was the slowest porch railing job I've ever seen! LOL.

And in the middle of that going on, one day the county road department sent out a truck load of prisoners from the state prison to do tree trimming up an down the streets.  They were cutting back tree limbs that hang over the right of way alongside the road, and they left little piles of branches in everyone's yards for the trash men to come pick up sometime.  Hopefully they won't wait too long so that they blow away and get scattered.  Anyway, you can imagine me standing at the windows peeking through the blinds and trying not to be too noticeable while the prisoners were in our yard trimming our big oak trees!  We are thankful for the work being done, and I'm glad we didn't have to pay for it!  

And now for the news we've all been waiting for...yes, we went to the doctor's office this morning as expected.  The P.A. very carefully went over the report of the blood work that had been done on hubby, and he read through every category rather quickly, saying,  "this one's good, that one's good, this is good, that's good, that's good, this one is good, that one is good," etc., etc. etc., all the way down the list of all the tests that had been performed. There was only one test that showed any numbers out of line to what they should've been, and that was for a virus, but he said that was something that could've been there for years and will always show up when tested, and not something to be too concerned about.

So after all these weeks/months of waiting for results of MRI, blood work, etc., we want to give thanks to the Lord for this news. I am praying that hubby will start feeling better  and want to do more now that he knows he's not in any major danger. You know, when you get to be our age, every little thing can become a much bigger thing in our minds, and it is easy to become fearful of what "could be".  

Philippians 4:6-7 says the following:

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

And now this is what I say:

Psalm 34:1-7

"I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;

The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

And let us exalt His name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me,

And delivered me from all my fears.

5 They looked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces were not ashamed.

6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,

And saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,

And delivers them."

Amen.

I pray each of you has a blessed and beautiful rest of your week, and may God be with you always!!!