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.

Wednesday Treasures

Happy October!

This was the "sunrise" yesterday morning, October 1st.  It was a rather foggy start to the day and month, but soon the fog rolled away and it was a beautiful day.

I didn't do my regular calendar roll call yesterday, so will present it here for you this morning...

Let's take a walk down Memory Lane, shall we?  Isn't it beautiful here?

This picture is from my John Sloane Country Seasons calendar. I also receive posts on Facebook from John Sloane Art, and here is what he said yesterday about this very picture shown above:

"Happy Flip Day!

John Sloane says “Happy October! In my new painting ‘Memory Lane’, it’s a beautiful fall day, so let’s take a pleasant walk. In my scene, a couple stroll alongside a quiet path, no doubt familiar to them, seeing what has changed over the years and what has stayed the same.

Each of us is like a great tree, with roots deep in the past and many branches reaching ever-upward into the future. Each of our memories is like a rich colorful leaf on that beautiful tree. Things may change over time, but those rich memories last forever.

This month (and always), create your own memory lane. Every day, write down one memory. It doesn’t have to be big or fancy. Just start somewhere and follow your path of memories. The more you write down, day by day, the more you will remember … it’s true! Have a beautiful month!”

Question: What is your favorite walk down memory lane?

**** Enjoy a stroll through a country year with all new paintings in John Sloane’s Country Seasons® 2025 Deluxe Wall Calendar, available now in stores and online. There’s nostalgic beauty on every page!

https://johnsloaneart.com/collections/calendars"

I love that, don't you? Great idea regarding our own "walk down Memory Lane."

Okay, switching gears...here is the cute Susan Branch calendar for October, which goes along with the fun times of October and Halloween...

I like the little black crow above that is saying "Boo!"

Well, that calls for a cup of tea...which I am having right now as I write, as it is only 5:39 a.m. right now, and we have a trip to make this morning over to Gainesville for a medical procedure for my hubby, so this may be cut short and finished later today.

What a pretty teapot!  You can read more about it below:

(oops! Sorry, I didn't take a picture of the whole description, but you get the idea!)

Well, that "perfect Alpine lunch" described above might be somewhere on the banks of this lovely mountain river/lake setting.  Although seeing this picture makes me think of all the folks who are suffering right now in our own country's Smoky and Appalachian mountains since Hurricane Helene blew through and destroyed so many of their homes and businesses and way of life. We need to continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

I posted this Thomas Kincade calendar picture in my post yesterday, but it is beautiful enough to share again, along with the verses that came along with it:

One of my favorite verses...have you ever noticed the Acrostic for prayer in this verse: 

A:  ASK, and it shall be given you;

S:  SEEK, and ye shall find;

K: KNOCK, and it shall be opened unto you.

The first letter of each phrase spell the word ASK!  I love how God spells things out so plainly for us!

So that's the calendars for October!  And mine are already getting filled up with appointments, activities, and even a trip!  So stay tuned for further details as the month unrolls!

Speaking of trips, our grandson Noah and his mother Nicole have been on an amazing trip this past week.  Noah will be 25 this month, and something he really wanted to do for his birthday was take a trip through some of our nation's amazing scenic National Parks. So, he and his mother took off from work and flew out to the north west and saw some wonderful sights and took a LOT of major hikes! Thankfully they posted pictures on Nicole's Facebook page so we could go along for the ride, so to speak!  Here's just a few of the pictures. I've been so thankful to feel a part of this journey with them, as we don't get to be together very much anymore since our son Matthew passed away in 2014 (they live in Maine), so this was a treat to me to see so many pictures of their adventure together.

These pictures will be backwards most likely from the order in which they traveled, but that doesn't matter...let's just sit back and enjoy the view:  (I am posting them here for my own reference and album, but you can enjoy them too!)

The first batch is from the Grand Canyon and Sedona:

This batch is in Bryce Canyon

They did a bike and jeep tour/ride through Zion...

This series was in Tufas at Mono Lake, the east side of the Sierrra Nevada, through Death Valley, and then to Hoover Dam...

And this was in the Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks:

They logged over 1500 miles and 6 national parks in 8 days!  Nicole said they were looking forward to "temps under 100 and a bit of humidity" as they headed back home to Maine last night!

What a trip! You can tell they are a lot younger than we are! LOL.

I enjoyed this so much, as I am sure I will never be able to see and do all of that in my lifetime. What a wonderful adventure!

Happy Early 25th Birthday, Noah!

May God bless you and guide you on all of your life's journeys.

And with that, I will say bye for now. I have to get ready to go for our little trip to Gainesville this morning.

Have a blessed and glorious day!

 

Tuesday 4~ Advice: 5 Cents

 

Advice: 5¢

You are very welcome here at Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. We look forward to your participation and seeing your answers to the questions we provide. It's enjoyable to get to know more about blogging friends.

We all take and give advice at least once in our lives.
Oxford dictionary says that advice is: guidance or recommendations offered with regard to prudent future action.

1. Is there one piece of advice you were given that you feel has been very important in your life?

This scripture verse below was shared with me prior to marriage, and it was the best advice ever given to any married couple:

Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,"
Obviously, every couple will have disagreements about many things, but it is important to not allow those disagreements to carry over into the night and not be settled as much as possible before you go to sleep. Sometimes you may have to "agree to disagree", but do not allow things to fester and grow bigger between you. Try, with as much as is within you, to settle the little issues before they become bigger issues. "Kiss and make up" and get a good night's sleep.  If you have to discuss things further in the morning, at least you will have had time to "sleep on it" and you may have a different perspective in the morning.

2. What advice do you think is important for building good personal relationships?

Practice forgiveness as much as possible.  Even if they don't ask for forgiveness, settle it in your own heart and mind and don't allow unforgiveness to cause you more pain. Sometimes you have to just move on and pray for God to deal with the other person in His own way.  Don't allow other people's problems to destroy you.

Matthew 18:21-22 NKJV
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Matthew 6:14-15 

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

3. Do you give advice to friends when they have problems to solve or do you refrain unless asked?

I usually wait until asked, unless I see that someone is headed for something really bad and they need to be warned before it's too late. But that would be an unusual situation. And it also depends on the person. Some people wouldn't listen to good advice no matter what, while others might really appreciate someone's words of wisdom.  It really depends on the relationship and the level of trust between you.

4. What advice can you give us today?  The only good advice I have comes from God's Word. Here is a passage that I have found helpful and comforting throughout the years:

Psalm 37:1-8

"1 Do not fret because of evildoers,

Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,

And wither as the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday.

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;

Do not fret—it only causes harm."

The best advice I can give to anyone is to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, before it is too late. Our world is rapidly spiraling into a major conflagration, even as I sit here writing and hearing what is going on in Israel as we speak, and for those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, the results could be extremely catastrophic.  

2 Corinthians 6:2

2 For He says:

“In an acceptable time I have heard you,

And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

John 14:6 NKJV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through Me."

I realize that this post is pretty heavy on the Scripture, but my heart is truly burdened right now for our country and our world and for so many who really do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. While I am sitting here writing right now, Iran is bombing Israel, Israel is fighting back on many levels...we've had major weather related catastrophes here in our part of the country this past weekend, and there have been fires and earthquakes in many parts of the country and world.  There are also some major financial issues going on throughout the world that could have a serious impact on our own American dollar. If you know anything about the prophecies concerning the end times and the Rapture and the Tribulation, you will realize that Christ's return could be imminent.  I am not a fear monger...just a person who sees the signs of the times and realizes that life as we know it could be changing very rapidly.  

Today, being the first day of October, I will share this one new calendar picture for today, especially because of the verse that is attached, "Pray without ceasing".  I Thessalonians 5:17.  

And with that I will close for today.  Please pray for Israel, and for all of our world.

Amen.