52 Years and Counting!

Today is our 52nd wedding anniversary!!!  I find myself pinching myself and wondering where all those years could have gone!  It just doesn't seem possible it could be so many years already!

I mean, I thought people had to be really old to be married this long! LOL.

But there we were, on August 16, 1969, being presented to the world as 

Mr. and Mrs. John F. Steiner...

Happy Day, Happy Day!!

Our first "act" as man and wife! LOL.

And here we are today...52 years later...still "acting" together...but not really acting...this is real life...

filled with real joys and many blessings...even though often mixed with real trials and real heartaches...

We are thankful and blessed to have at least this much of our family here with us today.

We have one dear son,  Matthew,  in heaven and his wonderful son and wife still living in Maine...we really miss seeing them,  but again, we are thankful for what God has given us here to enjoy.

L to R (below) Youngest son Scott, me, our daughter in love Rose, John, and our oldest son Benton

And no, our son Scott really isn't a little kid like it looks in this picture. He was the photographer who had just set the phone camera on a timer to take our picture and had to run and jump into his place before the picture was snapped. I think it turned out pretty good.

Certainly better than these candid shots he was taking when I didn't know it:

We were trying to figure out where to take the picture so the lighting would be "just right".

And Scott was just snapping away...

And I'm saying, "What are you doing???"

And I didn't know he was taking this video all the while...I hope you appreciate the humor of these moments captured for your viewing pleasure. 

Anyway, these fun pictures were taken last evening when our kids came over to help us celebrate our anniversary.  We had already been out to eat after church yesterday, but Scott couldn't join us then, so we decided to just have a "snack supper" last night of Sloppy Joes, and Rose and Benton brought over some fresh baked brownies and ice cream for dessert. Yes, we really know how to whoop it up for our anniversaries! And to tell the truth, I would rather eat sloppy joes with my family anytime than dine at any 5 star restaurant or go on a cruise or do any of those other things that would make us have to eat peanut butter the rest of the month. LOL. 

Today, on our real anniversary, we had ideas of going someplace for the day and doing something fun, but the weather was "iffy", and to be honest, I wasn't feeling really great and we decided a day at home together was just fine with us.  We'd been out to eat already yesterday, went to a church pot luck lunch on Saturday, and had also gone out to lunch on Friday because our AC was broken down and we needed someplace cool to sit until the repairman could come that afternoon and fix it, which he did, and we count that among our many blessings!! It was a simple inexpensive fix...and we are cool as cucumbers again and praising God for AC and honest repairmen!! 

So I feel like we celebrated plenty.  And very very thankful.

52 years of marriage to the man that God chose for me is definitely something to be thankful for.

Our cards to each other.

And as I was writing this, God sent this sweet little visitor from heaven outside my window, at least that's what a lot of "legends" say, that when a Cardinal comes a calling it is a visitor from heaven...I don't know that I really believe that, but then again...who knows?  Maybe it is true...and whichever visitor this is, he is certainly welcome:

Here's some of God's thoughts about marriage:

Genesis 2:18-24

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

23 And Adam said:

“This is now bone of my bones

And flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called Woman,

Because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

Thank You, Lord, for the gift of marriage and for the 52 wonderful years You have given us. I pray we will enjoy many more happy and healthy years together.

Amen.

Thank you for coming along with us on this little journey today.  We are blessed to have you as our special friends!!  

 

Friday Foto Friends~A Little This and That

Earlier this week hubby and I decided to take a different morning walk than our usual through the woods walk.  There is a very nice walking path down through the center of the historical section of our little town.  It apparently follows what used to be the train tracks  through town.  It was a delightful, quiet beautiful walk, past some of the lovely older homes.

Like this one. I thought I had shared pictures of this with you before, but apparently I only showed them on Facebook in a group that I follow called "Old Florida".  

So if you've seen these pictures before, pardon me. I get confused sometimes as to where and what I've been and done...comes with age, they tell me...

Like this lovely old home...it has some age on it...about 100 years to be exact. But I don't know anything more about it. It does not appear to be actively lived in, but I know according the the tax records that someone bought it about 10 years ago, and it is being maintained.

Can't you just imagine sitting up on that upper verandah, enjoying a nice summer breeze and sipping some southern sweet iced tea?  (I prefer mine unsweet, with lemon, thank you!)

I really was tempted to walk up to that front door and knock on it, just to see if anyone was home.  But my courage failed me. Maybe if one of you were here with me we could get up our courage together. Wouldn't that be fun? Maybe they'd invite us in for a cup of tea and some cookies or cake...

Yes, I would LOVE to explore this old house.  I am going to keep an eye on it, and if I ever see anyone there, I just might get up my nerve to seek out an invitation...LOL.

Anyway, back to our walk...there is another lovely big house over across the way from that one above, but I was more interested in taking a picture of the wonderful sign in their yard, which stays up year round:

"Christ is Risen", and the other smaller sign to its right says, "And Coming Again".

I think that is a good reminder for us to ponder upon in these days of turbulence in our land.

I also enjoyed their lovely white picket fence and this nice park bench to sit upon when we got tired from walking:

I hope we will take this walk more often. There are more pictures I'd like to take along the way.

Meanwhile, this past week I had a little setback with my neck issues. Two weeks to the day from when I had the epidural in my neck for pain and inflammation, I had another major spasm that was very painful. That was very disconcerting for me, as I was hoping the epidural medicines would last a bit longer. There are no guarantees on this procedure, and so I must continue to persevere with my physical therapy and exercises and prayer.  I did have PT that same day, and I came home with this lovely blue bandage. It is not an ordinary bandage...it is to help with nerve conduction or something like that in my arm. The therapist said I had something called double crush syndrome.  After he manipulated and stretched and basically tortured me (not really, but it felt like it), he put this bandaid on it and said to leave it there all week and not try to take it off except with baby oil or something like that so it wouldn't pull off my skin when I remove it.  Thankfully, whatever it is supposed to be doing seems to be helping, so I guess I'll do what I'm told.

Okay, this is a picture of a grocery delivery truck from our local grocery store.  I just think it is cute and I wanted to take a picture of it.  Signs of the times...grocery delivery trucks!  

And this family stopped by for a visit last evening:

The Sand Hill Crane family came for hors d'oeuvres of some tasty bugs and grubs.  

Now I will close with these photos. As I was sitting at my desk last evening I looked out the window and I couldn't help but see that heart in that tall pine tree over there across the pond. Do you see it?

I know the picture is grainy and not too good because it was dark and this was taken through the window, but can you see the shape of the heart in that tree?  I had never noticed it before and last night it just stood out so clearly to me, I wondered why I had not seen it before.

But if you look at this picture below, taken the night before, it is there, plain as day...I just wasn't focused on it.  

That heart was there all the time...much like God's love for you and me.  It's there all the time, and we tend to overlook it when we are so focused on other things around us.  We get to a point where we think God must not love us or we just don't think about Him at all.   There's an old song I remember that kind of speaks to this:

He Was There All The Time

by Bill and Gloria Gaither, 

Sung by Sue Dodge

Time after time I was searching for peace in some void

I was trying to blame all my ills on this world I was in

Surface relationships used me till I was done in

But all the while someone was begging to free me from sin

Chorus

He was there all the time

He was there all the time

Waiting patiently in line

He was there all the time

Never again will I search for a fake rainbows end

Now that I’ve found the answer my life is just starting to rhyme

Sharing each new day with Him is a breath of fresh life

Oh what I've missed He's been waiting right here all the time

Chorus

He was there all the time

He was there all the time

Waiting patiently in line

He was there all the time

I hope you enjoyed that song...and that it spoke to you today...Remember, Jesus is always there for us, even when we aren't even looking for Him...He's still there...waiting patiently in line!

Have a blessed and wonderful weekend, my friends.

 

Mountains in the Clouds?

Do you ever look at the clouds and pretend they are mountains? Where we live in Florida of course there are no mountains...but if you look at the clouds as the sun is setting and lighting up the tip tops of the clouds you can almost imagine snowy white peaks with the sun glistening across the tops of them...

The pictures never do them justice, of course. You had to have been there.  But for a few fleeting moments I could imagine myself in the Alps, or the Rockies, or maybe the White Mountains of New Hampshire...

And as the sun was setting even further, the crescent moon was appearing above the trees, and the "mountain range" turned a lovely shade of blue.  Actually, I was trying to capture a picture of the heat lightning that kept lighting up my "mountains" in the distance, but my finger was never quick enough to catch the flash, so we will just enjoy my "mountain range" in the dusky twilight.

Kind of puts a new perspective on the evening skies, doesn't it?

There was a time in our lives when we had moved from those gorgeous White Mountains of NH to the plains of Kansas.  Nothing could have prepared us for the stark flatness of the horizon at sunset. The sun looked so close and huge and bright you would think you could almost touch it. There was nothing between us and the sun it would appear. Very few trees, absolutely no hills of any kind...just mile after mile of flat fields of sunflowers or whatever other crop they were growing in that sweltering heat.  It was no wonder that one evening as we drove the twenty mile trip back home from the nearest city where we did our grocery shopping that I looked to our left as we drove and it appeared that there was a range of mountains in the distance.  Of course I knew it had to just be the clouds, but it looked so real to me that all the way home I could imagine that we were back in our beloved mountains of NH and not 1500 miles away in the desert of Kansas.  I literally cried all the way home.  Our move there was a mistake and we were extremely homesick.  Needless to say, when we realized things were not all that we had been promised in our place of employment, it did not take much convincing to decide to move back "home" to the mountains where we had left behind family and friends.  Of course, eventually we would make our "final" big move back to Florida, where our elderly parents were in need of our attention, but by then we had gotten the mountains out of our system a little better, and at least Florida was not quite as flat as Kansas.  But whenever I see these "mountains" in the clouds, I think about that time in Kansas, and I thank the Lord for taking care of us even when things were difficult...and also for making a way of "escape" for us when we needed it most.

Do you ever find yourself dreaming of a better place, better times, happier memories? It isn't always easy to just pack up and move when things get difficult or disappointing.  But God sends us reminders that He is always with us no matter where we are.  It may be a vision of mountains in the clouds, or it may be something more tangible...a visit from a friend or a phone call that gives you such joy to hear the voice of someone you love.  It may be a promise of His love and care found in His Word...

Isaiah 49:13-16

"13  Sing, O heavens!

Be joyful, O earth!

And break out in singing, O mountains!

For the Lord has comforted His people,

And will have mercy on His afflicted.

14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,

And my Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,

And not have compassion on the son of her womb?

Surely they may forget,

Yet I will not forget you.

16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;

Your walls are continually before Me." 

Surely God will never forget His children, no matter how much into the wilderness or desert they may have wandered.  He tells us He has "inscribed you on the palms of My hands..."   I like to think of that as the nail prints in the hands of Jesus...those holes are in His hands because of His love for us...He died for us, so how could He ever forget those He gave His life for?  Never could He ever.  So no matter where you may find yourself, no matter how disappointed or lost you may feel...God has not forgotten nor forsaken you. He will make a way out of no way and will comfort and care for you.  He may even provide those lovely mountains for you to enjoy once again...whatever it takes to show you His everlasting love.  

Isaiah 49:23b says:

"For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me."

Rejoice in this hope.

Sunday Night Hope and Comfort

Happy Sunday.  Just wanted to share today's message with you from Philippians 4:10-23, as well as the Praise Team singing, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand"

You can sing along with us, if you wish:

"Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, help me stand.

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.

Thro’ the storm, thro’ the night, Lead me on to the light.

Take my hand, precious Lord; lead me home.

When my way grows drear, Precious Lord, linger near

When my life is almost gone.

Hear my cry, hear my call, Hold my hand lest I fall

Take my hand, precious Lord; lead me home.

When the darkness appears and the night draws near

And the day is past and gone,

At the river I stand, Guide my feet hold my hand

Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.

Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, help me stand.

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.

Thro’ the storm, thro’ the night, Lead me on to the light.

Take my hand, precious Lord; lead me home."

I know there are many times when we feel just like this...we are weak and worn and tired, and we just need the Lord to take us by the hand and lead us gently home.  How blessed we are that we have such a Savior as Jesus Christ our Lord, Who is always there, ready to help us stand when our own strength is gone.   

I hope today has been a good day for you.  We enjoyed church this morning, then went out to lunch with our kids and friends as per usual.  It's just good to spend time together, fellowshipping and enjoying good company.  I must say it is the highlight of our week!

Another highlight this weekend was this:

There's a story here.  The other evening I saw a hummingbird fly up to our back porch glass doors and flutter about, looking inside, as if to say, "Why haven't you put out your hummingbird feeders for us this summer???"  Well, to be honest, the only answer I could give was I was lazy.  The hummingbird food has to be changed every couple of days in the summertime, because it is so hot outside that the sugar water will ferment and/or mold very quickly. If you don't keep it changed often and clean the feeder thoroughly, it could make the hummingbirds very sick and they will die.  So, I decided rather than go to all that trouble, they could just search for natural sources of nectar out there in nature and not become dependent on me.   I thought I was being rather noble.    

But then, my son said to me, "Mom, I saw a hummingbird out there around the trees last night, and he was looking for food. Where's your feeder that you usually put out for them?"  Talk about being shamed by my own son. I should have said, "If you want to keep up with boiling the water and adding the sugar, and then keeping it changed every couple of days and cleaning the feeder, then YOU are welcome to do so."   But instead, I grabbed the pyrex measuring cup, boiled the water in the microwave, added the sugar, washed the feeder, cooled down the sugar water until it was cool enough, and put it in the feeder and hung it on the back porch where we could see it.

And then we were rewarded with these pictures, (and many more feedings that I couldn't get a picture of quick enough).  There will probably be more to come later.  And actually, the honest truth is, the female ruby throated hummingbird literally flew back toward the glass door after getting her drink and fluttered outside the window as if to say, "Thank you for caring enough to feed me." 

Reminds me of this story found in Matthew 25:31-40

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 

33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"

(To read the rest of the story, for what happened to the goats...keep reading from Matthew 25:41-46)

And then remember Harriet the Hawk?  Looks like she came back for another fashion show...

Isn't she lovely?  

I do believe she knows when we are talking about her...

After posing for us on the tree, she leapt down to the ground to see whatever she was spying on down there:

I believe there is a hole in the ground there, and I think she can see the wiggles of a mole in the ground, probably digging his tunnels...

She stood watch over the hole for a while, using her talons to dig at the ground a bit...

Looking around to see if anyone else was watching...

She flapped her beautiful wings and stomped her claws on the ground a few more times,

And after giving whatever was down there a real hawk eye look...she took off into the trees as if to say, "I'll be back later for you!"

Well, that's all for now...oh wait...Last evening on our walk we met this "deer" lady:

Sadly, I did not have my good camera with me, so these were taken with my cell phone from a distance, hence the poor quality. But I think you will get the "picture" anyway:

I think this is a great way to end this post for tonight:

Habakkuk 3:18-19

18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

19 The Lord God is my strength;

He will make my feet like deer’s feet,

And He will make me walk on my high hills.

Joy of the Redeemed

Isaiah 35:1-6

1. "The desert and the parched land will be glad;

the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Like the crocus, 

2 it will burst into bloom;

it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;

they will see the glory of the Lord,

the splendor of our God.

3 Strengthen the feeble hands,

steady the knees that give way;

4 say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, do not fear;

your God will come,

He will come with vengeance;

with divine retribution

He will come to save you.”

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,

and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness

and streams in the desert."

How's that for some hope and joy as we begin a new week?  Be blessed my friends, and have hope. 

"Be strong, and do not fear; Your God will come....He will come to save you."