Good Monday Morning!

Monday, May 4th, 2020! 

It is hard to believe we are already breezing through May so quickly. The days, weeks, and months all seem to run together anymore, don't they?  Without having any kind of definite schedule to our lives these days, many are finding it difficult to differentiate one day from another. That is why I wrote out the day and date above...for myself as well as for those who may need a reminder as to what day it is!

I trust you had a pleasant weekend wherever you are, and that you are staying healthy and safe.

We are very thankful to be staying well and God is taking such good care of us and our family during this time...we are very grateful.

We took our usual ride to our walking place the other morning, and I was very excited to see

these two deer alongside the road. You have to look very closely to see the second deer, down in the lower left hand corner, hiding in the grass. That one leaped up and ran into the woods as we got closer...

But this one just turned and stood there and looked at me as if to say, "Okay, here I am. Go ahead and take your pictures. I know you've been wanting to get a picture of me for a long time...so just go ahead. Take your time..."

And so, of course I did...She just stood there and waited patiently for me to take these pictures...

Isn't she lovely? I don't believe I've ever had such a close encounter with a deer alongside the road waiting patiently for me to finish taking pictures. I thanked her profusely and then we turned into the road to go on for our walk, and she turned into the woods to go catch up with her youngster, who was waiting patiently for her in the underbrush of the woods.

What a beautiful way to start the day!

After our walk, we decided to take a ride to a pretty little town about 15 miles north of us...

"Florahome"

This sign is in the park where the old train station used to be many years ago. They have now turned the railroad tracks into a biking and walking trail through the area, which is very nice.

I enjoyed reading about the history of the town. It was actually named after "one of the original residents...Flora Sipprell.  According to local lore, folks were headed for "Flora's home", which in time was shortened to Florahome."  I guess I feel a kind of kinship with this little community, because my maternal grandmother's name is "Flora", as was her grandmother's name. I have always thought that was such a lovely name.

This is what is left of the train station now... a nice picnic pavilion, overlooking ball parks on one side, and a tennis court across the road.  A very lovely place indeed.

Some of the "Flora and Fauna" that we saw while there at this park:

 This is a male "Spicebush Swallowtail" butterfly. Sadly, he has lost one of his "tails", and even though he was still alive, I am not sure that he would be much longer. But he was very beautiful anyway.

There was some pretty wild phlox growing alongside the road:

And these beautiful old live oaks surrounded the park.  The Florahome Methodist church is right through those trees in a very picturesque setting:

But what I was most thrilled to see was this Red Shouldered Hawk, sitting on the fence , obviously with his eye on some kind of prey on the ground. He was so focused on his prey that he did not mind me getting so close to take his picture:

 Isn't he magnificent?  So this was the second "close encounter" with one of God's beautiful creatures in the same morning!!  What an amazing blessing!

This morning as I was sitting here writing this I was thinking in my mind, "Now what scriptures should I add to go along with these pictures?"  But before I could get to that part, my hubby reminded me that it was getting "late" (he stays on a schedule no matter what) and we needed to go ahead and read our morning devotions. We do that together every morning. It is a wonderful way to start our day off right and gives us good "food for thought" before we actually get our "food" for the morning's breakfast.  

So anyway, I sat down in my chair and opened our devotional booklet to the page for today, and the first thing I do is look up the  suggested scripture references that go along with the devotional readings.  There is usually a Psalm, a Gospel reading, and then either one of the Epistles or something from the Old Testament.   The Psalm for today was Psalm 42, and here is what the first few verses say:

1.  "As the deer pants for the water brooks,

So pants my soul for You, O God.

2.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?

3.  My tears have been my food day and night,

While they continually say to me,

"Where is your God?"

4.  When I remember these things,

I pour out my soul within me.

For I used to go with the multitude;

I went with them to the house of God,

with the voice of joy and praise,

with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.

5.  Why are you cast down, O my soul

And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him

for the help of His countenance."

Wow!  I love how God puts these things together,  don't you?  Seeing that lovely deer, and then putting that with the fact that yes, my soul is panting for God during these days of "social isolation" and not being able to attend church and worship together with our dear friends.  Yes, I am fully able to worship God anywhere, and that I do.  But even though we have been provided with wonderful messages of hope and inspiration on the computer, radio, TV, or whatever ways available (some attend drive-in church services), my soul is "thirsting for God".  I long to "go with the multitude, to the House of God, with the voice of joy and praise, and with the multitude that kept a pilgrim feast."

I miss our church fellowship and corporate worship, singing hymns of praise together in one voice, worshiping together through praise, prayer, and our offerings. 

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, 

so pants my soul for You, O God."

But my hope is in the Lord. Just like the Psalmist says in verse 5, "Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance." 

I know it won't be long until we will all be together again...things may be a little different...it will be difficult to restrain ourselves from giving holy hugs to one another, but I pray that soon God will remove this plague from our land and we will "yet praise Him for the help of His countenance." Amen?

After our little ride out in the country, as we headed back home we stopped by a little roadside vegetable stand, which I was SO happy to see as I've been craving some fresh fruits and vegetables.  We were able to purchase our first real fresh from fields cantaloupe and watermelon and fresh tomatoes .  

Here I am enjoying a bowl of watermelon beside the pond....

And, I asked my son to move one of our picnic tables down from the deck,  so I can enjoy it in the shade in the yard when I sit out there to watch the birds. Now we can "entertain" friends  as we social distance...

I just need to get a few more chairs for down here. 

So now, y'all come!

We'll eat our watermelon and enjoy visiting outside!

Have a blessed and beautiful day my friends!

Be Vigilant!!

 The visitors to our "Still Waters Pond" keep coming.  It is such fun to watch and see who or what will show up next.  Now here, this lone Canadian Goose is swimming around, but he is not really alone. His mate is out there somewhere, possibly sitting on her nest, and he is keeping a close watch over her lest some predator come and try to sneak up on her.

 One of these things is not like the other....Note the goose is vigilantly standing guard on the lower right. But note also that Sand Hill Crane is over there on the left by himself, checking things out around the little island. The goose stood his ground until the crane went away.

And no, you aren't seeing double...here's Mr. and Mrs. Canadian Goose out for a swim together:

 But wait! Now there are four of them! That other "interloper" couple showed up today and dared to come up on our shore to try and get some of the bird seed on the ground. Our "resident couple" played "King of the Mountain" and wouldn't let them come all the way up, so they had to be content eating the grass along the shore...

Everyone was happily doing their own thing...(I love how somehow I managed to get a reflection of the American flag, which is actually on the front porch, and I was looking through the window of the back porch, and the flag reflected on the window. Pretty cool!) But anyway, the geese were minding their own business, enjoying eating and not really bothering each other,

 When suddenly a neighborhood stray cat came sneaking up on them from out of nowhere...(it happened too quickly for me to get a picture)  And then they all flew away:

 Thankfully the cat was not able to get close to the geese, but it sure caused a lot of honking and flapping of wings and off they went...

And then later, who do we see but TWO Sand Hill Cranes on the shore!  I think the word is out that the beaches are open again in Florida! But at least they are maintaining their appropriate social distancing.

On a more serious note, seeing  that cat sneaking up on those geese today made me think about the verses we read in our morning devotions:

"God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,

that He may exalt you in due time,

casting all your care upon Him, 

for He cares for you.

Be sober, be vigilant; 

because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion,

seeking whom he may devour.

Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings 

are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

But may the God of all grace,

Who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus,

after you have suffered a while,

perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.

Amen."

I Peter 5:5b-11

Seems like some appropriate words for us today in our current situation.  We are all going through the same kinds of "suffering" around the world these days, and for some it is becoming truly unbearable. Not only are many very sick and possibly dying, but there are many who are watching their livelihood slipping away and they have bills to pay and children to feed and businesses that are closing up...and people are getting weary of the struggle and the waiting for it to be safe to come back out of "hiding".   God is encouraging us here to cast all our cares upon Him, because He does care about our every need...physical, emotional, financial...whatever it may be. Don't give in to the devil...he's looking for the weak ones who are getting weary...and wants to drag us into his traps.  Resist the devil...and look unto Jesus...Who is working all things together for our good, to perfect us, establish, strengthen and settle us.  He will not fail us...so don't lose hope and give up too soon. Stay vigilant and hold your ground like that goose. God will carry us through to victory.  Amen!!

Have a blessed evening my friends and a peaceful Sunday tomorrow. Praying you will be able to set aside some time for worship and study of God's Word on the Lord's Day.  So thankful for our pastors who are working diligently to prepare messages to be seen /heard over the internet or radio or whatever way possible. Praying it won't be long before we can enjoy sweet fellowship again, but until then, "Be Sober, Be Vigilant! And Cast your cares upon the Lord, for He careth for you."  

Monday Morning Thoughts

It is Monday morning, and for those of us in the midst of this "social isolation" of the COVID 19 Pandemic, it seems a lot like "Groundhog Day", (the movie), if you remember that story. We wake up and every day seems the same...many of us have mentioned that we are having difficulty keeping track of the days. They all seem the same.  Although I must admit, since retirement that has been a fairly typical feeling...the only day that seemed different and special was Sunday, because we could go to church. And now we can't even do that, but thankfully we are able to still worship and praise God from our living rooms thanks to modern technology. Not quite the same thing as being there in person, enjoying the presence of other fellow believers and singing songs together, worshiping and praising and lifting our hearts in unison to sing the Doxology as we "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow...", and even though we know we can worship God anywhere at any time...it still isn't the same, and we miss it. 

However the enforced isolation continues, and probably will for a little while longer. I realize the importance of "social distancing", but I also realize the importance of getting to a place of realizing that in this life there are always going to be dangers and illnesses lurking in the shadows.  We are people of faith...and there comes a point in time when we need to allow our faith to conquer our fears and get back to living. Otherwise, our fears will overcome us and we will never be able to walk out of our homes without wondering what germ is going to get us this time.

Sorry, I can't live like that. I don't believe that people of faith were meant to live like that.

Yes, we are sensible, thoughtful, and caring about others even more than ourselves. 

However:

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

7.  "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, 

but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

I think the longer we continue in this enforced isolation and not allowing people to get back to work and resume their normal lives we will find that more and more people will not be able to sustain a "sound mind".  Fear is taking over rational thought, and some are becoming handicapped by it so that they may never be able to hug another person, shake a hand, or stand closer than six feet to a person ever again. 

I believe in being reasonably cautious about spreading germs, especially where those with underlying medical conditions and the very elderly are concerned,  but we also need to be cautious about becoming so overly conscious of germs that we can't function in a normal way.

This is my opinion, and I don't expect everyone to agree with me. I may even lose a few "followers".

I certainly do understand that this is a serious disease and many have suffered and even died from it, even people that I know have lost loved ones or have suffered from this illness, and my heart goes out to them and my prayers are with them for healing and comfort and strength to keep going.  

However, I also understand that there are many serious diseases and germs out there, and they have been out there since time began, and after this particular pandemic is over, there will be others to follow in the days, months and years to come.

We can't stop living because we are afraid to die.

That's it in a nutshell.

We are already dying every day...and have been since the moment we were born.

Many of us have seen loved ones die way too soon from diseases that we wish the medical world would spend as much time and energy and money on trying to find a cure as they have this virus, because cancer and other major diseases have been killing our loved ones for centuries and they can't find a cure. There is no vaccine to prevent it, and no real treatment that completely cures it.

Oh well, I didn't wake up intending to write all of this, but apparently it is on my mind and it needs to be said. 

So there it is.

Something to think about and pray about and seek God's face about. 

I have a copy of this list of verses about fear and anxiety that I keep in my Bible.

It is there as a ready index to help me find words from God's Word to help me when I am feeling fearful or am anxious about life. It has been said that there are actually 365 verses or admonitions to "Fear Not" in the Bible, one for every day of the year....I don't know that for certain, but I do know that God does not want us to live in fear,  but to live in faith and to trust Him with every detail of our lives. And that is how I want to live my life. How about you?

Meanwhile, here's a few "this and that" things that have caught my attention while walking here and there and trying to stay alert and healthy:

This lovely golden dragonfly came to visit us yesterday, and stayed attached to our front window screen for a very long time.

 Here is a link to something I wrote about the dragonfly last year.  They are certainly fascinating creatures. Yesterday was the 9th anniversary of when my father passed away.  Not saying that I think anything about this is related to that, but it is an interesting connection none the less.

This is a picture of my daddy, just after winning a game of horseshoes with my brothers and hubby. This is the way I love to remember my dad, always full of fun and energy and joy at being with the family.  I miss him every day.

 Now this is certainly shifting gears a bit...The place where we like to take our walks is very secluded and woodsy.  This old dead tree has been "speaking to me" every time I pass by it. So I decided yesterday was a good time to take its picture.  Do you see the face? Not very pretty, but interesting none the less.  Hello tree creature!   People are saying since we can't hug each other we should hug a tree. Not sure I want to hug this one...

 I did, however, hug this huge pine tree one day, because it is enormous!

It's branches reach out in every direction much farther than our normal pine trees here in Florida:

 And I just thought it deserved a hug...it must be very old and wise to be still standing after so many storms of life...I'll bet if trees could talk, it could tell us many interesting stories.

Now back to Still Waters Pond in our own back yard...I know this isn't the best picture of the Great Blue Heron. It was taken at noon, and the sun was too bright for good lighting, but I wanted to include this picture so that you would understand the next picture after that better.

Here is that same bird taking off in flight. I wish it were more clear, but it is so rare that I get to actually capture a picture of one of them in flight, I had to include it for you:

Last but not least, this past week we heard some sad news.

The lovely Indian Maiden "Mia" who has graced the packaging of Land O' Lakes butter since 1928 has been removed from their packaging.  See the quoted information from Wikipedia below.

Wikipedia says: "Butter packaging[edit]

The recursive image long shown on the Land O'Lakes butter packaging is an example of the Droste effect.

The Land O'Lakes indigenous woman, named Mia, holding the butter box was painted in 1928 by Brown & Bigelow illustrator Arthur C. Hanson.^[23] According to Land O'Lakes, the original image of Mia was "simplified and modernized" in 1939 by Jess Betlach and has undergone many minor modifications since as the enduring logo of the co-op. Red Lake Ojibwe artist Patrick DesJarlait updated Mia's image in the 1950s.^[23][24] The original image is an example of the infinite-loop motif or Droste effect, in which the image is repeated, in theory infinitely, within itself.

In 2018, the image was changed to depict only the head of the Indian woman (doing away with the Droste effect).^[25] In April 2020, the company announced it was removing the image of the Indian woman altogether.^[26] The use of an indigenous woman as a mascot had been criticized as a racist stereotype,^[27] and the decision to change the label was praised by Native advocates such as Peggy Flanagan, Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota and a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe." ^[28]"

When I heard this news I was sad because I think "Mia" is lovely, and she certainly represents the beauty of Native American women since time began. I am sorry if people now think she is a "racist stereotype".  However, I am sure people will disagree with me there as well. However, I am happy that I have this wonderful mug with Mia's picture on it. I have had this for a long time, not even sure where or how I got it, but I love it.

It contains my little corn on the cob holders so that when we have corn on the cob you don't burn your fingers or get buttery hands while trying to eat the corn off the cob. 

They go along nicely with these corn on the cob dishes, that hold the butter so you can turn your corn cob around in it and get it nicely buttered:

Now I want some fresh corn on the cob, but it probably isn't really good for my dietary condition...LOL.  Anyway, my little Land O' Lakes Indian Maiden mug probably just went up in value so I will be taking very good care of it. Besides, I love it, and I will enjoy looking at Mia's pretty face and traditional Indian dress no matter what other people may think. There is a legend that my mother's mother's family descended from a lovely Native American woman many moons ago. It has never been fully authenticated, but it was a wonderful story. I will have to share it sometime. One of my uncles wrote it beautifully for us to preserve for future generations. Yes, I think I need to share it...perhaps in another post very soon.

For now, I hope that I have not stepped on too many toes or caused people to think less of me. I think most of us are quite anxious to have this social isolation over and done with. I also know that we have to do it carefully, gradually, and sensibly.  I am not advocating rushing back into life as we knew it before...but  I do hope that we will not allow fear to keep us from living our lives and showing our love for our families and friends.  I believe that a hug is a way to pass the love of Christ along to our fellow man. Many people need to feel the warmth of that embrace and know that God loves them.

I pray that we will soon be able to share that warmth and love once again.

Wednesday Wanderings

Wednesday is one of those days in the middle of the week when I just feel like posting whatever I've been seeing as I wander around the yard or our walking place.  

I know we are all getting tired of "social distancing", but realize we have to keep it up until things get better.  So here are a few birds and other things that are keeping their distance:

This lovely Great Blue Heron stands alone in the pond throughout the day, fishing for his supper and generally just looking around at the lovely pond lilies while he waits for the next fish to appear.

 The Canadian Geese Couple continue to dwell here on Still Waters Pond.  This male waves off any strangers while he watches over his mate, who must be getting anxious for her babies to be born.

 Almost every day the Male escorts the Female goose up to our yard, and he watches over her while she eats bird seed under the bird feeder.

This is usually late in the afternoon, when I suppose they deem the nest is safe enough to leave for a short period of time, but at the least little noise of anything that may sound threatening to them, they take off flying back across the pond with a lot of honking and flapping of wings.

 But now, every morning and some afternoons, the male goose comes to the feeder alone and helps himself to whatever seeds are left on the ground after the squirrels have scattered them out of the feeder.  This morning I was really surprised as I went out on the deck to drink my morning glass of Metamucil (yes, that is a daily routine that I must do every day now! Doctor's orders!), and as I was standing there stirring and drinking (have to stir before every sip...) I noticed the male goose on the other side of the pond sitting where he usually spends the day in a close proximity to wherever the nest is (I suppose, because we can't see the nest from here),  and as soon as he saw me come on to the deck, he immediately flew directly across the pond and landed on our shore and started walking right up to the bird feeder, as if he knew if I was out there, there might be something good to eat. While he was still approaching the feeder, I dared to walk down the steps and go to the feeder and shake out some extra seeds on the ground, and it did not deter him one bit. I quickly went back up the steps, and he continued his walk directly to the feeder and with a look of gratitude immediately began eating the scattered bird seed on the ground.

 He did not mind my watching him at all. He even flapped his wings and fluffed his feathers for me, which must be his way of saying "Thank You."

So I reluctantly left him there alone to eat his feast as I had my own things to take care of. But it was a close encounter of a pleasant kind. He has learned to trust us, so I hope that means once the goslings are born he will bring the family over to meet us.

 Now, if any of you are my Facebook friends, (and many of you are), you've probably already seen the conversation between the two Red Shouldered Hawks that I placed on there this week. There are many more pictures than just these three, but I wanted to give you a little sample of this couple who seem to be having a bit of a disagreement during their time of "social distancing"

Hey, someone is watching us!!

 I told you to quit arguing with me...

Anyway, if you want to see more their conversation, go to my facebook page and click on the photo album "Red Shouldered Hawks practicing Social Distancing".


And from our walk one day I spied this Red Bellied Woodpecker all alone up in  a dead tree:

I've also been watching the progress of the Cactus blooms, as they are always so pretty and don't last long so you have to catch them while they are open:

Looks like this little bee is enjoying some Cactus Juice:

Isn't it amazing how something that is so prickly and unpleasant to bump into can produce such a lovely flower?   There must be a lesson in there somewhere...

How about this verse:

Proverbs 31:30 (NIV)

"30.  Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Okay, that's good!  Now I must get a move on...

someone is wanting his lunch, and he won't go out to the bird feeder 

and pick it off the ground. LOL.

Have a blessed and happy day, my friends. Look for the beauty and

the positive in what is around you today. 

We can always just see the negative in the world situations,

but we don't have to camp out there.

God is still alive and well...and He is not going to forsake His children!

Amen??