Time for Nature

I should probably save this post for Friday Foto Friends, but when I have a bunch of pictures I want to share, I hate to wait too long!  Summertime is a good time for enjoying nature all around us, and this week has been a good example of that.  So I will share these pictures today, and I have included some kind of link with each picture...either to a site that gives more information about the item in the photo, or a link to a previous post that I have written about a similar item.  I guess you could call this Pam's Nature Academy!  I hope you will enjoy these interesting photos!

https://spiderid.com/spider/pisauridae/dolomedes/triton/  I saw this "six-spotted fishing spider" sitting on top of the water at the pond, resting on a floating plastic lid.

We watched two Ospreys flying about early one morning...here they are in the trees:

 https://www.naturesacademy.org/florida-feature/florida-feature-osprey-nesting-season-begun/

This is a young Swallow-tailed Kite...who was calling from the tree to its parents, who were flying around...https://www.naturesacademy.org/florida-feature/florida-feature-swallow-tailed-kite/

This White tailed deer was foraging for her supper one evening...https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/mammals/land/deer/

We woke up this morning to these Rain Lilies, which popped up after the rain and bloomed like magic!  My hubby called them lilies of hope, because made us feel hopeful...

https://flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-zephyranthes-atamasca/

I watched this Bumblebee enjoying his breakfast on the Rose of Sharon flower in the Memorial Garden
https://www.sunstatepest.com/fun-facts-about-bumblebees/ 

 This wild milkweed plant has popped up again. Just waiting for it to bloom. See THIS LINK for a previous post about this plant.

 The wild grape vines are quite prolific again this year, and it looks like it might be a good year for the wild grape crop.  Click HERE for a previous post about this. 

While at the pond I noticed this beautiful blue dragonfly again.  Click HERE for a previous post about dragonflies and their significance.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed these little nature lessons.  There is so much beauty around us to explore, if we just open our eyes to see. 

"God saw all that He had made, and it was very good." Genesis 1:31

How many of you remember this little song?

Words: Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander, Hymns for Little Children, 1848; original title: "Maker of Heaven and Earth." Alexander is believed to have written these lyrics at Markree Castle, near Sligo, Ireland.

Music: "Royal Oak," 17th Century English melody; arranged by Martin Fallas Shaw, 1915

Refrain

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
God made their glowing colors,
And made their tiny wings.

Refrain

The purple headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.

Refrain

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden:
God made them every one.

Refrain

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
We gather every day.

Refrain

God gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Refrain

Skywatch Friday...A Morning Meditation

This is my first time visiting and joining with Skywatch Friday (Click HERE to visit and join)

On my early morning walk to our neighborhood pond I enjoyed looking into the depths of the sky  reflected on the water...when you view these pictures please note they are taken by looking into the water, not up at the sky.   This was my morning meditation:

Psalm 130:1-6

"Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;

 Lord, Hear my voice!

Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, 

O Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with You,

that You may be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in His word I do hope.

My soul waits for the Lord

more than those who watch for the morning--

Yes, more than those who watch for the morning."

Thank you for joining me today for Skywatch Friday. I hope you enjoyed your visit here as we shared this morning devotion together.

Have a blessed day and weekend!

Friday Foto Friends - I think I need an intervention...

Friday Foto Friends and Thankful Thursday combined

After my post yesterday "Disappointment Turned To Thankfulness" (HERE), I have had several interesting and helpful thoughts shared by readers both here and on Facebook and in private messages, about what might help to sell our home.  The overwhelming response was "staging"...or, in other words, remove a lot of the personal stuff, and stage the house to make it look more like what the prospective buyer would like.  I'll share a few pictures here of our dining room and kitchen so you can see what a BIG job that would be for me to do...

 Dining Room

I mean, I love the idea...and I'd really like to do it, but we would have to rent a large storage unit to store everything by the time we went through the whole house and removed all of the "stuff" that makes this house our "home".   I won't bother to show pictures of the rest of the house...but these should give you the idea of what I'm up against...

 Dining Room

 Kitchen

 Kitchen

Kitchen

Yes, I know I have way too much stuff.  Most everything I have was either inherited from relatives on all sides of the family, or the accumulation of many wonderful gifts from friends and loved ones throughout the 50 years of our marriage.  Trust me, I want to start the process of downsizing...that is one of the reasons we are trying to sell our house and move to a smaller house.  But I've been thinking all along that when we finally sell this house and find another to move to, we will get rid of things that don't fit in the new house.  That will be my guide and impetus to give, sell, donate, throw away all the things that just don't fit.  And so, therefore, I don't really want to "pack" and "store" all that stuff now, because I'm not too sure that I even want to keep a lot of it.

So, I think I need an intervention.  I need some people to come alongside and help me start the process of  "letting go".  This is too big of a job for just one person.  I know, yes, I have a husband, and he agrees we need to do this...but his ideas of what to get rid of and my ideas don't always coincide.  Men, in general, don't have the same understanding of the value of grandma's dishes, or great Aunt Dode's dresser, Click HERE for it's story.

(Yes, there is such a thing as "Great Aunt Dode's Dresser"...actually she was my great-great Aunt Dode!)

or Nanny's sewing machine...you know what I mean?

Nanny Martin's Sewing Machine on the Sun Porch

Well, maybe you don't...but trust me...I have struggled with this for many years. I have been the "keeper" of the family heirlooms, entrusted with a holy mandate to take care of them for posterity's sake... or something like that...and pass them along to the next generation.  However, sadly, the next generation isn't all that interested in preserving the family heirlooms.  I mean, they really aren't that valuable from a monetary point of view...they are only valuable because they belonged to people we knew and loved...or people those people we knew and loved knew and loved whether we knew and loved them or not because they were before our time...(So you see my problem?)

Foyer

Anyway...back to the problem at hand.  Much of the issue here regarding selling our home is not really about what I have inside the house...it's more a matter of there just aren't that many people even looking for houses in our area, especially houses like ours. This is mostly a vacation/resort/weekend/snow-bird kind of community.  The weekenders/vacationers are looking for houses on or near the lake or rivers or with water access.  We don't have that. It's nearby, but not near enough for those people.  The snowbirds and retirees who move here aren't looking for a big house and yard that they will have to maintain. I get that. We don't want that anymore either since we are retired and getting tired of doing all of that.  This would make a wonderful family home for a large family, except there are no schools in this community. The nearest elementary/middle school is over 15 miles away, and the high school is even farther than that.  So the biggest problem is not really all this stuff in the house, it's just getting them to come and look at the house in the first place. I mean, we've had this house for sale for almost 9 months, and we've probably only had about 9 people look at it, if that.

So, that's my story.  For now, I am working at beginning the process of letting go.  If you come and visit, don't bring gifts, you may have to take something back home with you.  (You can bring food...that always gets used right away and appreciated! LOL)  But seriously, if you do come, maybe you could help me figure this out...and maybe take a few things home with you...

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and ideas. I DO appreciate them, believe me I do. I love that many have taken the time to share their thoughts with me.  That's what I love about this community of friends...we actually do care about one another, and we want to see each other succeed and be blessed.  I am blessed by you. God bless you and thank you. Your love and concern mean more to me than you know. Thank you dear friends.

Disappointment Turned to Thankfulness

It's been one of those days...

You know, when you work really, really hard to make things extra special...

And you arrange things just so, thinking it will be noticed and appreciated...

And even the "baby" (Baby Elva) is all dressed up and ready to be noticed...

And Pamela's Victorian Cottage is ready to welcome guests...

And the people come, who are "prospective buyers" for our house, and they kind of breeze through, looking around, but not with the kind of interest and intensity that we, as prospective sellers, would like to see. And then they tell you they are looking for "investment property", to use as a rental...and your heart does a little drop, knowing that this particular house and property are most likely not what they are really looking for...and they really didn't care how "cute" and dressed up things were...they don't plan to live here.

So, you thank them for coming...and you wish you hadn't worked quite so hard and wore yourself out trying to make things look so nice...because they really didn't notice at all...

But, as I sit here feeling sorry for myself, one of my dear friends from here in Blogland as well as Facebook sends me an encouraging message, telling me a story of how when they were trying to sell their house, and they had a really special new house picked out that they wanted, and they were meeting with the builder and making changes to the floor plans, etc, in hopes their house would sell and they could buy that wonderful new house just the way they thought they wanted it...with only two bedrooms since they were downsizing...one very large master, and the other a regular bedroom...but then their house didn't sell and they had to give up on that particular house.  They were quite disappointed.

Then a few weeks later their house finally sold, but that house that they wanted was no longer available.  They ended up choosing another house, with three smaller bedrooms, but it was okay...just not exactly what they thought they wanted.  Long story short, not long after moving into that home, their son came back home to stay with them because of an illness, and they found that they really needed that 3rd bedroom, and were so glad that God had stopped them from buying the first house as it would not have been adequate for their current needs.

My friend then said to me: 

"The Bible tells us to wait on the Lord, that is so very true. We don't know our future but He does. He is leading you through this venture so everything will work out for your best interest. "

Yes, that is so true, and I truly appreciate my friend (you know who you are!) for sharing this story with me just now as I was starting to write this post. It helped change my whole attitude and demeanor from being frustrated and discouraged, to hopeful and thankful again.


Another blogging and Facebook friend posted this verse on her page this morning:

Today's Verse: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” -

1 Thessalonians 5:11

I love how our friends here do exactly what this Bible verse says...You know, we can say a lot of negative things about Facebook and they would probably be true, but there are also many wonderful things about it...and that is the fellowship of friends that we have there, and here, in blogland.  I have met so many wonderful people here, and keep up with many old friends as well, and we are able to bless one another with words of encouragement, often just at the right moment.  I had another friend email me this morning to tell me she would be praying for me as we showed the house today. Again, this is a friend that I met through blogging and facebook.  (and have also had the joy and privilege of meeting face to face as well).

This week another of our friends has been sitting in the hospital with her husband, who has been in ICU.  She reached out to her friends here, and one thing led to another, and she actually called me on the phone the other night and we were able to talk to each other "in person" for the first time, and to encourage one another. The good news is her husband is on his way to rehab today, and appears to be doing much better. Many friends have been praying, and God is answering those prayers.

So, what started out to be kind of discouraging, disheartening, and disappointing, has turned out to be a blessing to me today.  I know in my heart that God is in control, and that He is working ALL things together for my good, (Romans 8:28), and therefore, I will rest in that knowledge and trust in His goodness.  And my hubby and I will just enjoy having a clean house for the rest of the day. I may even go have a little mini tea party with myself and Baby Elva, just for the fun of it.  

God knows when and if this house will sell, and He has just the right kind of people who will come and love it as much as I do and appreciate the special things about this house as they make it into their own home.

Meanwhile, You are always welcome to come for a visit...and I will definitely put the tea-kettle on so we can have a tea party!!

Have a blessed day...and Thank YOU, dear friends, for being exactly that!

Dear Friends!!!

Sermon Notes ...Christ WILL Come Again!!!

Before our Sunday School class began yesterday I had an opportunity to go into our little prayer chapel...a room set aside for prayer. It was a very moving experience as I studied the pictures on the walls and thought about what they really meant...and how Jesus is our Great Shepherd, and that He came to seek and save that which was lost...

Read what Jesus said in Matthew 18:11-14...

"For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

What do you think? 

If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, 

does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains 

to seek the one that is straying? 

And if he should find it, assuredly, 

I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven 

that one of these little ones should perish."

I was reminded of the 23rd Psalm:

"The Lord is my Shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil; 

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me int he presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

And then our choir sang this beautiful song yesterday in church, "Dwell in the Light Forevermore". 

If you click on this link and click on the arrow you can listen to it.
https://www.lorenz.com/choral/church/choral/church-choral/dwell-in-the-light-forevermore 

It wasn't an easy song to learn, but it had such a beautiful message. Here are the publisher's words about how this song was written:

"I was working on Susan Bentall Boersma’s new lyric, Dwell in the Light Forevermore, on Friday, December 14, 2012, when a lone gunman burst into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, inexplicably taking the lives of twenty young children and six adult staff members within a matter of minutes. As news of the tragedy spread, I, like so many, was devastated by the senseless loss of life. I found Susan’s words to be a source of solace and hope that day: 

"Into the valley of shadows

under a veil of gray,

God calls the good and faithful,

then guides us on the way...

Through the valley of shadows, 

lost in the dark of night, 

our God goes before us to lead us to the light. 

There will be no more night! 

No need for lamp or ray of sun, the Lamb will be the light. 

There will be no more night! 

No need to fast, to watch, to weep around the throne so bright. 

My dear friend and mentor, the late Dr. Robert H. Reardon, President of Anderson University (IN) from 1958-83, said to me several years ago following the unexpected death of his wife, Geraldine, “Grief is a common journey we all share in life. Though none of us wish to take the trip, eventually we must all travel it.” Pain and disappointment come in many forms. Life is never scripted quite the way we would have chosen. But by faith we know that God walks with us and goes before us shedding light in our valleys of shadows, longing to embrace us when we reach the end of the journey‒be it long or short– with joyous words ushering us into the eternal presence of Christ’s holy light: 

"Out of the valley of shadows,

We step into the day,

We see the Lamb upon the throne

and hear the Savior say:

“Well done, well done, my good and faithful one! 

Come, dwell in the Light of Life forevermore!” 

This is the eternal hope to which we cling!" – Lloyd Larson

I know I haven't been keeping up with the Pastor's sermon notes here lately, and I must apologize to our pastor as well as to you. It seems like each week things have come up that have distracted me from my purpose, and by the time I got around to it, it was time for the next message! So today I just want to say thank you to our Pastor A.C., for his faithful commitment to our church for the past 18 years. This past Saturday we had a luncheon to celebrate his upcoming retirement.  He will be with us a couple more weeks, and then on to enjoy whatever the Lord has for him and his wonderful wife Leslie.  Here are a few pictures from the celebration:

The church gave him this plaque, which is appropriate for him as he loves old cars...

His message this past Sunday was about the Ascension of Jesus Christ, from Acts 1:1-11.  Some of the key points were:

• Jesus HAS to come back again...we've made such a mess of things here on earth...we need Jesus to come and straighten it all out...
• We don't know when He is coming...but we've been given work to do in the meantime....both in "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth...even in Interlachen..."
• We've been commissioned by Jesus to preach the Good News... (Matthew 28:18-20) and to be His witnesses
• We need the Holy Spirit to help us do that...(see Acts 1:8)
• We have that ministry to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick...be the hands, feet and eyes of Jesus to a lost and dying world
• Our world is in a mess. We need to get out of our comfort zone and reach out to those who need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and His Salvation.
• We need to be more accepting of God's people...welcome them and pray with them and for them, and introduce them to Jesus, and let Jesus do the rest.
• We need to "reach out and touch someone" with the love of Christ today...
• Jesus IS coming back again...
• 
  
• "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." Acts 1:11

Therefore...let's get going...there's work still to be done until He comes again...

Sermon Notes: FUMC, Interlachen, FL, Pastor A.C. Myers, 6/2/2019

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

Friday Foto Friends...As Dawn Awakens

It's Friday morning, and this week has been one for the record books in heat and dryness here in Florida.  I haven't been able to get out much since it has been so very hot, and plus we were dealing with our air conditioner breaking down right at the worst of it...after several days of suffering and waiting for our AC man to figure out exactly what was wrong and finding the right part to fix it, we are finally now back to normal and I can breathe again!  So thankful for the invention of air conditioning. I grew up in Florida without it, and let me tell you, that is not a pretty sight! But we were young and played outside most of the time anyway, so we didn't know the difference. No one else had it either, so we all sweated together!!  But now that we are so accustomed to having it, even one day without it is miserable.  But after seeing what others are dealing with around our nation...horrifying tornadoes, floods, and even fires, I must count my blessings and give praise to God for His protection over us, and for being with us even during times of a bit of inconvenience and discomfort.  God is good...all the time, God is good. 

So, I woke up this morning and realized that I didn't have any new pictures to share with you today, so I hurriedly took a little "walkabout" the neighborhood to see what I could see before it got too hot to go out.  Won't you come along with me?


Okay, this is the one picture I took earlier this week, one hot afternoon as I went out to get our mail.  I looked above me and saw this squirrel spread out on this perfect Y branch, trying to keep his belly cool... at least that is what I think he was doing.  He never even budged when I walked under him and stopped to take his picture. He was really relaxed and happy...

So happy to see that the crepe myrtles are starting to bloom in the garden!  I love it when they bloom...they brighten up the yard and brighten up my day...

When I got to the pond, the sun was just rising up behind this big cloud...Isn't that beautiful? And the reflection in the water is actually a better view of the glow around the top of the cloud...

As I surveyed the water to see if anything was out there, I discovered this bird having his breakfast.

At first I thought it was one of the Sand Hill Cranes, but when I got a better view here on the computer, I can see this is something totally different...but I'm not sure what.

Okay, I just looked it up. It is a "Limpken", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limpkin, and I discovered that it is actually a threatened species. 

Here is a video about it,  and now I know that I was very privileged to see this bird in action here this morning.  (This video is from YouTube, not my video, but it also tells more about it this bird in the info underneath the video.)

After watching the bird, I moved on around to the other side of the road, and wanted to take a picture of this little vacation home, aptly named "Reality Check". 

Next I headed back toward home, and just snapped a few more pictures of some of my favorite picturesque spots along the way.  Many of these vacation homes are hardly ever used, which I think is so sad. But at least I can enjoy the beauty of their views while the people are away. 

My favorite little red A-frame in the morning light:

Back to my own yard again, and these trumpet vine flowers are blooming...I used to call them "witches fingers" when I was a little girl. I remember them growing at my Uncle's farm in Pennsylvania, and my cousins and I would pick the flowers and stick them on the ends of our fingers and call them "witches fingers".  Silly kid stuff. Did you ever do that? 

And one of my favorite views, the early morning sun in the Secret Garden...

Psalm 63:1-5

1. "O God, You are my God;

Early will I seek You;

My soul thirsts for You;

My flesh longs for You

In a dry and thirsty land

Where there is no water.

2.  So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,

To see Your power and Your glory.

3.  Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,

My lips shall praise You.

4.  Thus will I bless You while I live'

I will lift up my hands in Your name.

5.  My soul shall be satisfied as 

with marrow and fatness,

and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips."

I pray that you and yours will have a blessed and beautiful day and weekend.  Thank you for sharing this special time with me today.  You are friends that I cherish greatly.