It's About Time I Wrote Something!

I know, it's been a long time since I wrote anything...and I apologize for not being more attentive to everyone else's posts as well.  All I can say is, if you've ever moved, you will understand...and if you've ever moved at this stage in life...(late 60's early 70's, 50 years of marriage) then you should understand even better.  It's slow moving...literally...our bodies just can't do what they used to do, and the struggle to figure out where to put things, how to move them, what to do with many things, waiting for others much younger and stronger to help...the struggle is real...moving is NOT for old folks or sissies!

All that being said, I guess it's about time I give my dear blogging friends a sneak preview of what's been going on here...this is an exclusive just for my blogging friends.  Most of these pictures have never been seen before on Facebook or elsewhere...they are brand new, hot off the "press" so to speak. So where should I begin? Let's see:

Well, I do spend a lot of time looking at the pond, and that is probably another reason why this settling into the house is taking so long...I'd rather sit outside and look at the beauty surrounding us...the reason we bought this particular house...So here's a lovely look at the lilies on the pond as they opened up their blossoms to the sun...

And this is a lovely female wood duck seen paddling around on the pond early in the mornings and in the evenings...

This is the silhouette of our resident hawk who keeps a "hawk eye" on everything that goes on around here...

Today this Downy Woodpecker was pecking its way around the pines...

They are so small and quick, I was fortunate to get these photos...

These are "phragmites" on the island in the pond.  If you don't know what that is, here is a link to some information: https://www.fws.gov/gomcp/pdfs/phragmitesqa_factsheet.pdf

I think they are pretty waving in the sunshine, but I guess they are a bit invasive and apparently not a desirable thing to have. Oh well...I still think they are pretty.

My view from the "Secret Garden" bench...no I haven't exactly established the "secret garden" yet, but this is the closest thing to it for now, and I love to sit here in the evening looking at the pond.

This evening while I was sitting there I noticed something large fly in across the pond:

It was this giant blue heron...

See how tall he is when he stretches out his neck?  I guess he was looking for his supper...

The following pictures have already been shown on Facebook, but many of you haven't seen them...this rose is a blossom from the Memorial Garden rosebush that I dug up and brought with me when we moved.  I have been nursing it along all summer in its pot of dirt, and this week it rewarded me with this lovely blossom.  For those who may not be familiar, the "memorial garden" was established in memory of our son Matthew, who left this world for his eternal home five years ago.  We built a special Memorial Garden at our old house and planted special plants there in memory of him.  I brought this one with us and also the Rose of Sharon bush that we planted. It is also doing well, but no flowers right now. They usually only bloom in June and July.  I hope to plant these in a new "memorial garden" here at our new home, once I figure out where is the best spot to put it.

The wonderful blessing of this particular blossom is that my birthday is next week, and it always seems that this rose bush has bloomed on or around special days of our lives. I consider it a gift from heaven from our son...and I feel extremely blessed and thankful. God knows exactly what we need...

Switching gears a bit, many have been asking and waiting to see what the inside of our new house looks like.

I should have warned you that this post would be photo overload! But this makes up for the last few weeks that I haven't posted anything! Thank you for hanging in there with me. I don't know when I will be posting again, so might as well enjoy it while we can!

These pictures are of our kitchen cupboards.  I know many will say it's too cluttered. Others wonder why I didn't get rid of all this stuff.  I've been trying...I actually have gotten rid of quite a bit...but, well, what can I say?  I asked my hubby if it was just "too much" and he said "No".  "It's our home and these are things that make it special".  So there...he actually made me feel so much better. But I am still trying to eliminate quite a few things...it's just not as easy as one would think...

Having all glass door upper cabinets does make it look a bit busy, but actually I am enjoying them now that they are filled.

Since I had to leave behind my big white china cabinet where I was able to store and display so many special dishes, these cabinets have helped to provide a place for the special dishes and tea pots, tea cups, etc. (Even a place for the Pink Flamingo cookie jar..that was supposed to be a "joke", but it's still hanging around...it may become a gift to someone else one of these days...)

The Tea and Coffee station

I forgot that my blogging friends haven't seen this new pantry cupboard that my son built for me.
I really needed a place to put canned goods and some large items that wouldn't fit in these smaller cabinets. Plus, I am too old to get down on the floor to look for canned goods anymore. This has been a life saver.

Here's my sweet son and his wonderful wife. They do have a furniture building business in their home, so this was a natural thing to do...(after I presented the idea with a big "please, please please?")

Here it is filled up:

Welcome to the foyer...please be sure to sign the guestbook when you arrive...

And the buffet has to be in the living room/great room. This house does not have a formal dining room, so we are innovating...

Here's the dining room table, trying to look like fall...

Around the corner in my little den...yes, the doll house made it without too many bumps or issues!

 These cabinets are all in my little "den"/office/tea room...it's a bit crowded, but there was no other place to put them...and I can't get rid of "Nanny's Hoosier Cupboard" or the lovely hutch cabinet that my son built for me at our old house...

Remember, "the room with a view"? 

(my view on a sunny day:)

But all this stuff had to go somewhere...so as I twirl around in my rolling office chair, these are the things I see around me..."Nanny's China Cabinet" (remember the one I broke the curved glass in when we moved into our other house?  Thankfully the remaining glass survived this move).

Now, on to my bathroom...yes, "my bathroom"...I've never had my very own bathroom before that I didn't have to share with my hubby...but this house actually has two bathrooms in our master bedroom...one with a shower, sink/vanity and toilet, and the other with a large soaking bathtub, sink/vanity, toilet (remember the three toilet story HERE?) and then an additional bathroom for our guests on the other side of the house.  But here in my bathroom (the one with the tub) I hung the picture of the "Angel of the Woods" that I took back at our old home...I thought she would enjoy living here and watching over these "woods" too....

 Our living room is still a work in progress. We haven't been able to hang too many pictures, etc., yet, as I am still trying to make sure the furniture is where we want it before we start hanging things. But I think we are about ready to get pictures hung...it's just so time consuming and you have to be so careful to find the studs and line things up straight before you poke a hole in the wall.  So I am taking my time with this...

The other side of the living room, looking back toward the foyer and front door.

I probably should have cleaned up a little before taking pictures.  But if you have to wait for me to clean up you will never see any pictures...

So, let's go back outside before we close for the night...Last evening our kids came over and helped us set up the new patio tables and umbrellas.  We got an extremely good deal  at Home Depot on their end of the season patio furniture sale. We were able to purchase two round tables and umbrellas basically for the price of one...and now we are ready to start entertaining on the back deck...

as soon as these pesky "lovebugs" go away.  (You have to live in the south to understand just how nasty these things are...we are definitely ready for them to leave...usually here for the month of September and May...)

And the front deck is decked out for fall and ready to welcome guests...

So here we come to the end of this day and time to say good night...

But like Motel 6, "We'll keep a light on for you"...if you want to come and stay a spell...

(Just let me know in advance...the guest room is one room that is NOT ready...but I am working on it a little at a time...it's just a kind of catch all room right now for things that we don't know what to do with...and there's still a lot of that...but if we know you are coming we will get it ready asap!)

So thankful that the Lord always keeps a light on for us too...His guest room is always ready and He will never turn anyone away empty...

Here are some thoughts from the Psalms as we close for this evening...(actually this is what we read in our morning devotions this morning)

Psalm 111

"Praise the Lord!

I will praise the Lord with my whole heart,

in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

The works of the Lord  are great,

studied by all who have pleasure in them.

His work is honorable and glorious,

and His righteousness endures forever.

He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.

He has given food to those who fear Him;

He will ever be mindful of His covenant.

He has declared to His people the power of His works,

in giving them the heritage of the nations.

The works of His hands are verity and justice;

All His precepts are sure.

They stand fast forever and ever,

and are done in truth and uprightness.

He has sent redemption to His people;

He has commanded His covenant forever;

Holy and awesome is His Name.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.

His praise endures forever."

Amen.

Here is a little worship song we have been singing as our "call to worship" at church lately, and I find myself singing it over and over again as I enjoy the beauty of each morning out on the deck overlooking the pond...

All that we have is a gift from God to give back to Him in honor and glory.  Our home is to be a place to honor Him as we open our home and hearts to encourage others.  We are just the caretakers of God's house here on earth.  Our real home is in heaven, where neither dust or moth can corrupt or destroy. (Matthew 6:19-20). 

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of our new home on the pond.  We are loving our new community and church and being so close to our kids...who are such a blessing to us. We are thankful and blessed beyond measure.  Now may we give back to the Lord all that He has invested in us for His glory and kingdom.

Have a blessed and wonderful weekend my friends. I hope to get caught up with you all very soon.

Yes, I Am Still Here...

Yes, I am still here... I know it's a been a while since I last posted anything. If you are a Facebook friend, you know that I've been a bit "under the weather", and not just Hurricane Dorian weather, which, praise God, did not do us any harm at all...but now we must focus our prayers on those living in its track up the Ga., S.C., N.C. coasts, and especially pray for the folks in the Bahamas. What a horrible tragedy for them.  Here in Florida we were protected by what I would consider a true miracle of God, holding that storm just enough off shore to keep it from doing any serious damage to our state. We want to thank the Lord and give Him praise for sparing us.

I am still in the throes of unpacking, and at the current rate I'm going, I'm hoping to be unpacked in time for Christmas...but even that is questionable.  I look around and when I consider all of the things that are still waiting to be opened and put into proper places, I just want to go outside and sit on the deck and forget about it...

This was our view last evening after the hurricane had passed by, leaving us with a gorgeous sunset and balmy breeze.

Our "kids" came over and joined us for pizza on the deck...a no stress way to end the day.

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about "An Interesting Coincidence?" HERE...

Well, here is my real front door after being painted...and actually we hired some guys to paint our door and shutters... They gave us such a good deal that we couldn't refuse. If it had been left up to us to get it painted, again it would probably be Christmas before we got it done, if then...

They did a great job and I didn't have to sweat a drop...

We are also happy to get our flag put out in time for Labor Day, but then the hurricane came and we had to take it back inside...

But hopefully we won't be getting anymore storms for a while, and we can wave our flag proudly and begin to settle in and enjoy our home.

Some of you have wondered if I will have a place for The Secret Garden here at our new home.  Well, the special bench made it,

and this is the view from its current vantage point:

I may still move it to a little more secluded spot but am waiting for cooler weather to clear that area out a little more to make it more appealing for sitting and praying, reading, meditating on God's Word. So for now this is better and not as "buggy".  When you live in Florida that is always a consideration when sitting outside, especially in summer.

We have already "christened" our house with the first birthday party for our oldest son. 

His sweet wife helped make our dinner of lasagna and also made the delicious cupcakes for his cake.  We are enjoying having them live about a mile away from us...such a blessing to have family near.

We are still using paper and plastic products, but we did dress up the table with candles for dinner! Took a few minutes to find them and the candleholders, but it was worth the search.

As you can see in this picture below, there are still many boxes stacked up in the kitchen waiting to be unpacked. That was last week, and it still doesn't look much better. As I said earlier, I've been a bit under the weather, and had to be put on benadryl 4x a day to counteract an allergic reaction I had to a strong antibiotic.  So I'm taking lots of naps in between opening boxes...and I am basically just very tired. God apparently wants me to rest, and so I am doing just that.

Today is the first day I didn't have to take the benadryl, and so little by little I hope to regain my energy.  Maybe we'll get unpacked before Christmas after all.

Meanwhile, hubby has been busy trying to get his shed/workshop in order. That is another big project, and when it is so hot outside it is hard to spend much time in there.

But our son helped him build a workbench, and that will be a good start. Next we need some good strong shelves to hold a lot of storage items,  but that will come. One thing at a time.

I haven't really taken any pictures of the inside of the house yet because I am still unpacking and rearranging things a little at a time. That will have to be a post for the future.

This is where I am sitting right now, writing to you. I love my little desk area, 

And especially love this little lamp with a bear roasting his marshmallows over a campfire, while the owls watch from the tree and a squirrel begs for a marshmallow down on the ground...

I also love that the scene on the lampshade is of a pond...

I also love that my little office/den is a room with a view...

I am hoping this will become an inspirational place to write and pray and connect with you dear friends.

See? I haven't forgotten you. I've just been a bit busy. I've tried to catch up with you on your blogs and/or Facebook, but I know I am way behind.  Please don't think I've gone away...I will be back...just having to take my time and prioritize what I do each day...

Praying that you are all safe and healthy and doing well. I know many have been through some difficult times, and others are rejoicing over good news in their lives.  We are all  connected to one another as sisters in the Lord (many of us)...and if you don't feel that you truly understand what that means, please feel free to ask...we'd love to introduce you to the "family".  

This is where I am at this point:

"Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God."  

Job 37:14

The Lord has done so many wondrous works in our lives here lately, that I just have to praise Him and give Him the glory for the great things He has done. I hope that is your testimony as well...when we stop to count our blessings and look around in awe at what God has done...how can we not praise Him?

Okay, I'm feeling the effects of the benadryl still in my system, and it is time for beddie-bye.

So good night dear friends.  Sleep Tight...and don't let the bed bugs bite.  :)

Update on the New House Saga

Good Evening everyone! It has been such a busy week already, and it's only Tuesday! Praying I can survive until Saturday, when we officially move into our "new to us" home, "Lord willing and the creek don't rise"...Keep praying for no rain! Thank you!

My Facebook friends already saw our back deck pictures last night, but since many of you are not on Facebook, here you go:

Here we are, our first "selfie" from the new back deck overlooking the pond:

Some of view from the deck:

Our kids stopped by and took our picture:

And then we took their picture!  The beautiful thing about our new home is that it is only about one mile from our kids! What a blessing that is already proving to be!!

So here is the deck as the workers are finishing it up today:

Yes, it is big enough to have a party! Can't wait to have a barbeque on the deck!

And then, to top off all the great news of this week, something else new has arrived:

 Since our house does not have a garage or any other kind of outdoor storage or even an attic, we knew we would need a shed to store our tools and other outside equipment...Hubby is quite excited and ready to start filling it up with all his stuff...no, this will not be a "she-shed"...(I wish), but I have been promised some space to store some things like Christmas decorations, etc., provided he doesn't do a lot of woodworking in there creating lots of sawdust, etc.  So we shall see how this works out...

So here's our selfie in front of the shed:

I am wearing my painting clothes as I was busily painting inside the house when the shed arrived...but I was very happy to take this little break for all the excitement!

This picture below is when the shed was being placed and leveled.  So exciting!

So little by little our home is coming together. I still have some painting to do outside and inside...the door and shutters will get a fresh coat of paint soon, but that will have to wait until after we've moved in now. I think I need to concentrate on getting the inside settled so we can live in it first. Unless there are some volunteers who would like to donate some time to do some painting???

I was so pleased yesterday that one of our neighbors came over to meet us while we were there working. She is also new to the neighborhood, and I think she was just checking us out to see what kind of neighbors we were going to be. Of course, I was in my oldest paint covered clothes and looked a fright, but we had a wonderful conversation and I think we will enjoy being neighbors.  A couple of days before that I met another lovely lady across the street, and found out we have mutual acquaintances in the community and church.  She also seemed delighted that we were moving into the neighborhood. Our house has been vacant for a long time, and it seems that we are quite the curiosity to everyone passing by as they are watching our progress on the house and hopefully they are happy to see that an empty house that was becoming a temptation for vandals is now becoming a lively hub of happy activity.  We pray that God will bless our home and that we will be a lighthouse along the shore for those who may need some hope and encouragement.

Speaking of prayer...many of us in blogland know our dear friend Sylvia at A Grandma's Blessings.  Early this morning Sylvia's husband Curtis passed away after a long battle with respiratory issues.  Please lift up Sylvia and her family in prayer, and perhaps send words of love and encouragement her way as you can.  She has been one of our sweetest friends here, and I know she would appreciate our thoughts and prayers.

Psalm 86:6-12

"Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

and attend to the voice of my supplications.

In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,

For You will answer me.

Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;

Nor are there any works like Your works.

All nations whom You have made 

shall come and worship before You, O Lord,

And shall glorify Your name.

For You are great, and do wondrous things;

You alone are God.

Teach me Your way, O Lord;

I will walk in Your truth;

Unite my heart to fear Your name.

I will praise You, O Lord my God,

with all my heart.

And I will glorify Your name forevermore."

An Interesting "Coincidence"?

As Christians we know there is no such thing as a "coincidence". However this morning, when my hubby was getting ready to post the daily devotional posts on his website, https://simposious.com/ , he clicked on this site, Desiring God.org,  and the following is what popped up:

"God Chose This Home for You"

Article by 

Marshall Segal

Staff writer, desiringGod.org

Your address is not a coincidence.

Where you live — house, townhome, duplex, apartment, or dorm — is not ultimately a consequence of your budget, your stage of life, or your commute. You live where you live because God has deliberately, sovereignly placed you here. The long series of events, decisions, and circumstances that led you here really did lead you here. He brought you home one detail at a time.

The God who made the world, and everything in it, as Paul preached at Mars Hill, “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26–27).

God not only knit you together in your mother’s womb; he also sovereignly orchestrated all the places you would call home — the periods and boundaries of your “dwelling place.” You do not have a home by accident. Your home is an invitation from God to seek God, and a commission from God to help others seek God."

________________________________________________________________________

That was just the first section of the article, but what caught his eye, and he had to call my attention to it immediately, was the door...because that is almost exactly the same color that we are going to be painting the front door (and shutters) on our new house that we are in the process of moving into this very week! And then as we went on to read the article written by Marshal Segal for Desiring God.org, it was as if God was giving us a specific message about our very own new home.  I especially love the last statement quoted above, "You do not have a home by accident. Your home is an invitation from God to seek God, and a commission from God to help others seek God."

Yes, Lord, this is how we feel about our new home, and this little message today confirms exactly what we've been feeling, right down to the same color for the front door! No, there are NO coincidences with God. He perfectly orchestrates our lives so that we may be better servants in His Kingdom here on earth. We know that He is ultimately preparing us for our heavenly home, but He wants us to help others get ready for that eternal dwelling as well.  If our new home here on earth can be a place where we encourage and assist others in their personal walk with the Lord, then we will have accomplished our mission for this current place. Praise God!  And Thank You, Lord, for this sweet confirmation today.  

Now I must get dressed and get going as we have a lot happening at our new house today in preparation for our big move coming up this weekend. Please pray for us this week, and especially pray that it doesn't rain on Saturday! The forecast is looking wet all week, so we need those extra prayers!

Meanwhile, over weekend, in addition to celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary with family, work was being done on the property along the shore of the little pond so that we could have a better view from our back deck (which is being built today!)  Here are a few pictures:  (It was actually raining while this fellow was working, but that didn't stop him. However the pictures are not as clear due to the rain).

I will have to do another post about our party later. If you are a facebook friend you have already seen them, but I will try to get caught up a little later. Gotta run!  But, please think how God may be using you in your particular home to serve Him right now, wherever you are!!! It can change the way you view your house, be it ever so humble...God wants to dwell there with you!!!!

Have a blessed day my friends!!

A Happy Institution...or "The Funny Farm"? Updated for Our 50th Anniversary

Updated for our 50th Anniversary - Today! August 16, 2019

Marriage, An Honorable Institution...or "The Funny Farm"?

(This was originally written on 8/16/2011, but has been edited for our 50th Anniversary. 

The message is timeless)

Today is our 42nd  50th Anniversary!  Can you imagine? In this day and age, a couple who have actually been married to each other for 42  50 years?  Yeah, sometimes I wonder about that myself!  How did we do it?  You may be asking..."Has it all been perfect wedded bliss?"  Well, what do YOU think?  Anyone who knows me very well knows that most likely it has not been all perfectly lovely all the time.  I will be the first to admit it that I've not always been sweet and charming and obedient and submissive and all that stuff...but, on the other hand, I can honestly say that even when I wasn't all sweet and lovely and blah blah blah, and even when my husband wasn't always perfectly wonderful and full of wisdom and always doing the right thing...even when we were absolutely acting like two crazy human beings...we somehow always found a way to love each other...in spite of the mistakes and arguments and disagreements and disappointments and trials and tribulations and heartaches and fears and sorrows and betrayals and ....well the list could go on and on. Why?  Because I don't believe it is humanly possible for any two human beings to live together in perfect harmony for forty two  fifty years without having some times of hurt and pain and disappointment, and doubts and fears.  It just isn't possible...and if you say to me that you've been married that long and have never had a disagreement or disappointment or have ever had to say, "I'm sorry...", well, I would truly question your humanity!  I would seriously doubt you were for real!  I would think that perhaps someone is fooling someone somewhere 'cause it just "ain't possible!" 

The thing that I love most about our marriage is the fact that in spite of all the heartaches and disappointments and moves (and we are in the middle of a major move right now as I write this today, Aug. 16, 2019) (more moves than I care to number), and frustrations and embarrassments and all the other trials and tribulations...we can still laugh...we can still love...we can still say, "I'm sorry, please forgive me...and "Yes, I forgive you..."  We can still lay our heads down on our pillows at night and no matter how awful the day has been...how angry we might have been, how tired we might be...we have always tried to live up to the one vow we took very seriously in the beginning...

"Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil!"  Ephesians 4:26

If I could give one piece of advice to any newly married couple it would be exactly that verse...if more couples could heed the wisdom of that one verse and practice it in their homes, how many marriages and homes could have been saved?  I know there are always exceptions and people who are just downright evil and mean and cruel...so I cannot give this advice to someone who has been trapped in an abusive situation...but to the normal everyday couple...if they would just try to practice this advice...kiss and make-up before your eyes shut for the night...even if you have to settle the issue the next day...at least agree to love one another in peace and let God bring needed rest and healing to your hearts throughout the night.  It is amazing how much clearer and better your thoughts are in the morning. 

I am not some "Pollyanna" who thinks just wishing and thinking good thoughts can make it so...but I do believe in the power of love and prayer.  Commit your way to the Lord...give your heartaches to Him each night...even if your spouse refuses to agree or change...YOU do your part!  Don't give way to stubbornness...for stubbornness gives way to unforgiveness and hard-heartedness.  Give God a chance to work in YOUR heart and mind first...and then see if He doesn't do something about your spouse's mind and heart as well!  Try it...pray about it...and see what God can do.

Yes, our marriage has been a real "institution"....sometimes a "funny farm", sometimes a war-zone, sometimes a place where angels fear to tread...but underneath it all,

"The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms..." Deuteronomy 33:27

That's the only secret to success in marriage I can offer...Make God your refuge...and rest in His everlasting arms...and no matter what befalls you...you will have a safe resting place...no matter what.



Mr. and Mrs. John F. Steiner
August 16, 1969 -The Honorable Institution of Marriage...

John and Pam Steiner  - 42 years later  ..."The Funny Farm" 



And today...50 years later!

Good Night, Sleep tight...and don't let the bedbugs bite!!