Look for the Beauty

When I last wrote, I was missing the rain. If memory serves, I believe it rained the next day after that. Funny how that happens sometimes.

I had a particularly hard week this past week involving a bout with depression. I'll spare you the details as for what triggered it, but it was not a great week. There were some better days, when I was with friends, but mostly I got through by the grace of God. Even the time with friends was by His grace, now that I think about it. 

Also by His grace, He caused me to look at the beauty around me, take note, and take pictures. 

August started off unseasonably cool, which didn't make me mad. One morning on the first week it was 66 degrees when I took my morning walk. That whole week was cooler, and I had great walks. One day it was so cool I was able to walk in the evening, just before sunset, which is when I always used to walk before summer really hit. On a whim I took the west exit out of the college campus instead of the east one, toward my house, and because of this I witnessed a sunset as I stopped to turn onto the highway. 

I took a picture.

The next morning it was so cool I was able to linger in my little garden spot on my "front porch." It felt like a fall morning; I enjoyed it so much. 

I also took a picture of this.

This evening I went out to water my flower garden after the sun went behind the clouds on its way out of sight for the night. I looked up, and there was this beautiful sunset. 

And I took a picture of this, too.

I'm posting that picture of the sun just as it was slipping below the horizon after my evening walk, the picture of my tiny little flower garden, and the sunset I saw this evening.  

These were moments of beauty that I might have missed if I weren't looking up when I was kinda down. 

I'm feeling better, and on the way up again, and I owe it all the grace of God. I choose the think HE caused me to see the beauty He placed in front of me to cheer me up.

"I cried out, 'I am slipping!' but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, Your comfort gave me new hope and cheer." Psalm 94:18-19 NLT

Day by Day, Walk this Way

The other day I was a little frustrated because the "organized" me wanted to be able to--"almost"--put it in my planner that I would walk at 7:30 am. I say "almost" because I don't think I would REALLY write in my planner that I will walk exactly at a precise time every day. I am four years retired, though, and still live by my planner. So it's not completely unthinkable that I could start writing it in as a daily thing at a specific time.

I'm not writing it in my planner, ok? It's a habit now, anyway. 

Seems really silly now, but earlier this week, we had rain in the forecast yet again. This is a weird summer; the rain is usually gone by July, not that I'm complaining about the rain, because I'm not! I LOVE rain. (Read my blog post "The Puddles are Dancing" to learn why). However, it was messing with the daily walk I have become accustomed to. Rain in the morning meant I couldn't walk until evening, because the window is before 9am or after 7pm. All times in between those hours are unbearably hot and humid.

So I was praying about it on my way to the campus where the walking paths are. "I can't find one specific time to always have my walk," I complained. "Every day when I get up I have to check the weather to see if I will be walking as soon as I can get dressed and out the door or am I waiting until after 7pm."

"Or if it's good in the morning, but rainy that night, that day I will walk in the morning, but the next day, it might be just before sunset. It's so frustrating! I'm committed to walking daily, but it's a day-to-day process!"

Then in my spirit I heard "Kind of like trusting the Lord for your daily needs?"

Yes. It's exactly like that. I am daily depending on God's grace to be sufficient for that day. It ALWAYS IS, but it doesn't always come in the way I thought or at the exact time I was expecting. That's how it is. He promised to provide my needs, but He didn't give me a typed itinerary of how and what He would provide.

I know it's not for everyone, but I have found a new enjoyment in a daily walk. Somehow, I daily have the desire to go and the stamina to do it. I have actually walked inside Walmart during the spring when it rained just about every day. I feel like joy it brings me and the ability to do this is a gift from God. Otherwise, I would have already quit. I have tried many times before in my 70 years. It never became a habit, I never liked it, and after a few weeks I had quit because it was too hard.

A couple of days ago I reposted something I had posted years ago: 

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Psalm 34:1. 

It's still true today. I may wake up, check the weather app, and see that I can walk in the morning; or I may find that I will have to wait until evening. Possibly, I might even be walking at Walmart. It doesn't matter. He will work it out in His way. 

And I will still bless the name of the Lord. ALWAYS. 

Be blessed, my friends! 

The view above in the forest

The blessed shade!

It's all downhill from here!

Rainy with a Chance of Walking

In my most recent post, I wrote about how my walks were in May and was thinking that we were probably headed into the dry, hot summer I've been dreading. That's not how the month of June has been playing out, though.

June kicked off for me with a concert by our wonderful Mountain Home Symphony on the afternoon of June 1. It was a blazing hot afternoon when I stepped out of the coolness of the Vada Sheid auditorium into a "sauna," a normal summer afternoon in Arkansas. I didn't walk that day because I couldn't bear the heat.

The next day I was back out there, determined to walk in the mornings when it wasn't cool but it was better than the evenings. I've attached some pictures of the beautiful days we had the first week of June. I think we had some showers here and there, but we had some nice days, too. I laughed at the "Happy Dog" art exhibit on the trail because someone had put a stick in his mouth, as you'll see in one of the pictures I took.

The rain intensified, and we had 3-4 inches over this last weekend. You can see in the pictures how high the water was on the trails; debris and tree branches were on the bridges over Dodd Creek. I still managed to get a walk in, every day but Sunday, June 15. The rain just never let up enough to get out there.

Yesterday morning, parts of the trail were completely covered in water, and you can tell by the way the grass is flattened how far out of its banks the creek was. It was still misting rain when I went yesterday; I knew it would get hot once it stopped raining. I was right; it was unbearable before my walk was over.

This morning was much better, though; 72 degrees when I started at 9:00. I walked as far as the "sitting dog" artwork today, which happened to be .86 of a mile. This was my turning around place. I'm still walking in the range of 1.5 miles daily, but occasionally I have good day where my back doesn't hurt, and my stamina holds out. I walked 1.72 miles total today without even meaning to. I praise the Lord for giving me not only the determination to continue my daily walks, but the physical strength to accomplish what He put in my heart to do. 

I am beyond blessed! I've included some pictures and tried to caption them so you know what they are. I've even put in a quick picture of my front porch refresh I'm working on. (It's not finished yet). I took this Sunday evening coming home from my daughter's in the rain. It had rained so much yesterday that some roads were impassable, but I found a way home.

Hope this is encouraging to someone who might need it. I know there have been many times I was grasping for something to lift my spirit. 

Be blessed, friends!

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 NLT

Busy But Great Christmas

It was a busy Christmas season this year; it seemed shorter. Some have attributed it to Thanksgiving being so late in November. Whatever the cause, the weeks flew by.

It was a good Christmas. I didn’t see my son Jeff but we had a nice phone conversation today. I also didn’t see Jeremy, at least not technically at Christmas, but he did come in for a whole week at Thanksgiving, plus we also had a nice talk on the phone tonight.

Jennifer, Matt, Zoe, and Rhett came and spent time with me on Christmas Eve (pictures are on my page). We opened presents, snacked on chips, dip, and fudge, and played Uno for quite a while.

I went to their house today for a delicious dinner and more quality family time.

It has been wonderful. I’m so thankful I live in the same town with my daughter and her family. I also love that I can talk on the phone or FaceTime with my sons often.

I am also blessed with friends “back home” that I stay in touch with. I have hesitated to post about my trip to VB because I didn’t get to see everyone I wanted to. I just couldn’t make it happen during Christmas. I hope to see the ones I didn’t see this trip in a few months.

There are a few pictures of my VB trip below. They include my friends Debbie and Patty, plus a clip of the awesome VBHS band at the parade. There are pictures of the lights at ASUMH, too. I drive through twice this year because they are so beautiful.

I’m also blessed with friends here in Mountain Home; people I have met and grown to love over the last 3 years.

Most of all I am celebrating the reason for the season: JESUS. God has been good to me in this “most wonderful time of the year.”

“…today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

Merry Christmas to my family and friends!

Thankful

Yesterday from 11am-7pm, Chick-fil-A was in town. As usual when they come here, about once a month, they were a hit. I stood in line for probably 20 minutes for my delicious chicken nuggets and waffle fries.

And they were yummy! I was finally able to eat without pain, following my endoscopy procedure that I had just had 3 days before, on Tuesday. Everything except the most bland food was burning as it went down, due to the fact that the doctor dilated my esophagus. (Aging problems; a subject for another day).

I was so thankful to be able to eat something besides mashed potatoes, especially since my favorite chicken place only graces us with their presence once a month.

Yes, my friends from my hometown of Van Buren, I know you have a whole restaurant of said chicken as compared to my monthly food truck. I’m so happy you finally got one! I’ll be eating there on my next visit back home.

I’m just grateful they have started coming here with a limited menu on a regular basis.

That’s the theme of this blog post; by the way. I’m learning to be thankful in all things. I look for things to thank God for, but I don’t have to look very far. He is SO GOOD!

As I stood there yesterday waiting to buy my supper, I was thankful for the pretty sunset going on behind the food truck.

After I got home, I was thankful I didn’t have pain eating my supper.

I was thankful yesterday morning that we got a nice rain shower for about 30 minutes. We had gone a while with no rain in these parts.

I’m trying to post more often, and when I saw the sunset yesterday evening I knew what I needed to write about.

I am thankful for so many things, but I only listed a few. Until my next blog post, take care, my friends. God bless you all.

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB

From the Porch: Why is the Tree There?

Rain kept me inside all last week, but I've been able to get to the porch

for my morning coffee and prayer time for most of this week. Sitting out there, I noticed something.

All the other condos in my neighborhood have very similar landscaping. We all have hedges by the front entrance and some other shrubs that are almost cookie-cutter identical. 

My front area, however, has a cedar tree by the driveway instead of a round shrub. As I sat there a few mornings ago, I was pondering why this is. 

I'm not a fan of bright sunlit rooms in my house. I know that's not typical. I like more of a warm, softly lit vibe. Bright sun hurts my eyes; I'm just very sensitive to bright sunlight. I almost always wear sunglasses on the rare occasion that I am outside on a bright day.

This cedar tree shades my living room perfectly. From afternoon through early evening in the warmer months, the sun hits my house increasingly toward the southwest as the summer wears on. Together with the window treatments and mini-blinds, my living room has a bearable level of afternoon sunlight, filtered so well by the tree.

Some would say I was lucky to get the house with the tree when I was looking for a place to rent. I feel like it's more than that, though. I think God had this place in mind for me long ago, when the tree was just a sapling. 

Laugh if you think it silly. I don't mind. I'm sure lots of people laugh when they read my blog. I'm not sharing content that I think will draw people in. I'm just sharing my heart. I know my God orders my steps. Why wouldn't He give me a tree to shade me from the harsh late afternoon sun? 

One more thing. It's a cedar tree; an evergreen. It's green year round, just like God's love is everlasting. 

I'm counting it as one of my blessings. I thank God for the tree that gives me shade.

Be blessed, my friends!

 "I will exalt You, my God, the King,
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable." Psalm 145:1-3 NASB

Christmas in the Hometown

I went back to my hometown for a Christmas visit last week, but I'm just now posting about it.

It was a good visit; I saw friends and family (sorry, didn't get pictures of everyone I got to see) and visited places in town that are new to me (since I haven't lived there in over 2 years). My oldest son flew in from Atlanta, so we got to hang out for a couple of days.

Interesting perspective: My children visited me lots of times in the many years I lived in Van Buren; I would take them to see new things and they would comment on how much their hometown was changing. Well...this time, my son and I were BOTH seeing our hometown as visitors who hadn't lived there in a while. We were amazed and delighted by visiting some things that hadn't changed, such as Paul's Bakery, Pizza Parlour, and Braums. Thank God those places are there! Neither of us have anything as good or nostalgic in our current homes. (Ok, it's not all about food, but we still have to partake of their goodness when we visit! IYKYK!)

We were also amazed and excited to see things that are different, like Arts on Main, which is delightful, and the beautiful downtown area that is vibrant with glorious color and is so alive with the community gathering there.

Also, finally a Chick-fil-A is coming! About time! Although, the traffic is already terrible in that area. I hope someone can engineer a solution to the traffic problem.

We drove through the City Park one night to see the lights there. It's so fun to see what they have done there; they have added some since last year I believe. We forgot to take pictures of them, though.

We also visited Creekmore Park in Fort Smith. Some of the pictures are from there. The line was extremely long, so we didn't ride the train. We just walked around the walking path.

Saturday night, after Jeremy had to go catch a plane, I watched the Christmas Parade. I thought I was videoing the very awesome VBHS marching band but found that I wasn’t! I hadn't pushed the record button apparently. I almost cried about that. They were magnificent.

So there aren’t many pictures of the parade because I was heartbroken I hadn’t captured the band’s performance.

I also walked around and took some pictures of the area close to the depot where the skating rink and tree are (can’t remember what it’s called). I hadn’t taken pictures of it lit up when Jeremy and I had seen it earlier that evening.

It was a great trip, and I'm pleased that my hometown is doing so well. I miss living there, and I miss lots of people there, but I'm so glad to be living where I am now, 10 minutes from my daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids. I'm also gaining new friends and have a new church family here. I'm so blessed.

I hope you all have some wonderful experiences this Christmas season, and that you remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family! ❤️🎄❤️🎄❤️

Letting Go and Letting God

Guess I'll catch you up on recent events. The last time I posted I was all

excited to see my hometown high school band at a competition 2 hours away. Well, I guess by it's evident that I didn't get to see them this year. If I had, I would have posted about it. It just wasn't to be.  

I haven't seen them perform in person for the last 3 years. It's disappointing; as a lifelong band mom I love marching band, but especially the one all my kids were in. I'm hoping to make better plans next year and either go back to my hometown for a ballgame or get to one of the competitions that are not too far away.

It seems I'm in a season of letting go of some things. As much as I love watching marching bands, I have finally realized that the season for that part of my life has passed. I will still get to see bands perform, but not with the regularity I did for all those years I lived practically in the shadow of the football stadium.

Honestly, being so far away from where I grew up, raised my family, and worked for my whole life until 2 years ago has been so much harder than I had anticipated. I had NEVER lived anywhere else; not even for college. I went to college as a non-traditional, older student with a full-time job. 

I'm adjusting, but wow. It has not been easy for this senior citizen. I have a new appreciation and respect for those of you who have relocated one or more times. 

I'm also in a season of embracing the new. As I have allowed Him to, God has been showing me things and people to add to my life. I guess I'm stubborn, because I didn't "get it" the whole first year I was in this new town. He's been showing me that while I have had to let go of some things of the past, He is opening my eyes to what I have around me.

I have family, and that is amazing! They are the reason I moved here. I also have friends and events right here.

For instance, Last Sunday afternoon I went to the Winter Concert of the local symphony, which was held on the auditorium of the university here. It was amazing! I love classical music, and it is so much better in person. The whole concert was wonderful, but there were two pieces that stood out. 

First, they performed one of my favorite Christmas songs, Sleigh Ride (the arrangement by Leroy Anderson, complete with the "jazzy part." Has to have that for me). Second, they performed the Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah, by Handel, complete with a choir. Even though I always listen to this every Christmas, I hadn't heard it in person in a number of years. It was so moving; it brought tears to my eyes.

This is one of the new things I have available to me that I have come to accept and embrace as part of my new life here. Basically, I had to "let go and let God" show me some of the blessings He has for me here, where He prompted me to move.

So I have family, I have a church family that I am getting to know and love, and now I have the music I love so much. God is so good. 

Thanksgiving Day was a good time with family for me. We had a lot of good food, some great fellowship, and fun. We had times of laughter, some good belly laughs. After stuffing ourselves, we all went for a walk. It was a beautiful day in my neck of the woods; upper 50s and not a cloud in the sky at the time of our walk. After our walk we had dessert, and after that we played Pictionary. Family time is the best.

I totally meant to be started on decorating for Christmas by now, but I've been busy. I plan to start this weekend. I'll post pictures of my Christmas decor in an upcoming post.

Be blessed, my friends. I hope your Thanksgiving was a good one. I pray that if you are having to let go of some things you hold dear, as I have, that God will show you something good He is bringing to you, waiting for you to embrace.

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every season under heaven..." Ecclesiastes 3:1 

Can We Talk About Band?

Something I didn't think about missing when I moved halfway across the state after retirement was how much I would miss the things in my hometown, in addition to the friends I have there.

Don't get me wrong; I love being in the same town with my daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids. It's amazing to have family so nearby. I've settled in here quite nicely, and I am well into my third school year retired (I guess spending 26 years as a school employee has caused me to think of time in school years. Occupational hazard, LOL). 

I manage pretty well most of the time. I'm in a routine of picking up my grandkids from school when needed, I have lunch or coffee with a friend every couple of weeks or so, and I attend church on Sunday and Wednesday, as well as Bible study on Thursday mornings at my church. 

Mostly, life is good.

Then I'll be scrolling Facebook and see posts from someone in my awesome hometown and get a wave of nostalgia.

Old Timers Day, or whatever they call it now, was either very recently or is coming up soon.

Someone posted a video of last week's events at the school where I worked and it got me right in the feels.

And then...last Thursday night I came home from Walmart, and as I was unloading my groceries, I heard the sweet sounds of a band playing a few blocks away at the football stadium. I didn't realize I would be able to hear it from here, but maybe because of the mountains and valleys the sound carried. Anyway, a Thursday night junior high football game was going on close enough for me to hear the announcer and the band.

And just like that, I was instantly homesick for my hometown and my little house, which was in close proximity to the football stadium where I heard the band playing countless times.

I got online and was temporarily overjoyed to see that my hometown team was coming here to play the local high school football team this coming Friday night.

But, after doing some research I came to the conclusion that the band would not be making the trip all the way to here. I was crushed. I'm not a sports enthusiast in the slightest. (Sorry if you are. I'm just not. It's a long story, for another time). I only go to the football game to see the halftime show. Usually, I go home after halftime.

So, will I go to the football game this Friday night anyway? Maybe. It might be nice to see some familiar faces on the visitors' side. If I go, I will probably walk around to the home side to watch the local band, like I used to do in the old days when I chaperoned with other band parents and the band almost ALWAYS went to the away games. 

Ah, the nineties. Life was just different, wasn't it?

I've heard that my hometown high school band is going to be playing in a marching contest on Saturday. It's a 2 1/2-hour drive from here, almost as far as going back to my hometown, except in the opposite direction. I might go though, if I can verify for sure that they are going to be there and find out exactly where the high school stadium is.

If I do, there will be another post this time next week, complete with pictures. I do love a marching band contest. 

Until then, blessings my friends! I posted a few pics from the 90s band experience. <3

#foreverabandmom

Late Summer Post from the Patio

I haven't been sitting on my patio for a while now. As you may recall if you've read my blog posts often, my east-facing backyard patio is too bright and usually too hot by the time I'm up and have taken my meds and made my coffee. 

Most days, I'm up by 8:00 or so (retirement perk!), but since the sun gets up much earlier than that, I end up taking my coffee to my recliner, which is in front of my west-facing living room window. This is a nice place to have my coffee and quiet time. My bird feeder is outside this window, so it's "somewhat" like being outside. 

Nothing really replaces the cool morning breeze and the sounds of nature waking up, though. For that, I have to actually go outside.

This morning, I woke up about 7:30, and managed to get myself up out of bed within a few minutes. I took my medications and fixed my coffee, then outside I went! By the time I opened the backdoor, about 8:10, the sun had topped the trees, at least from my perspective on the back porch. Seven steps down to the patio, however, and the sun was still behind the trees a bit. 

I sat down, after I reopened the patio umbrella. We've been having lots of thunderstorms with high winds in the past few weeks, so I have just left the umbrella closed to protect it.

I was only able to sit out there for 15 minutes or so, because even though it was still a cool 65 degrees out, the sun was blaring down on my patio too much for me.

One thing I got from this morning that I felt was worth sharing was that of perspective. If I had judged whether or not I could have my coffee and prayer time on the patio based on the conditions on the porch, I would have turned around and gone back inside. But five feet can make a difference. Once I was on the lower ground of the patio, it was still shady from the trees behind my house. 

It may seem silly, but I was so glad to have a short time on the patio. It was like a preview of the cooler weather that is to come. I am looking forward to the cool mornings that come with later sunrises. Fall and winter are my favorites for this reason. I love the mornings that I need a sweater to sit out there.

From this morning's reading:

"The Lord sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." Psalm 145:14-16.

Be blessed my friends! 

[Reluctant] Post From the Patio

This is the first post from the patio in a long while. Ever since the blasted "spring forward" time change, I have not been able to beat the sun out there. It's always blaring by the time I'm awake enough. Well, that changed this morning.

Thanks to a steroid shot on Monday for relief from really bad seasonal allergies this spring, I have not been able to sleep more than 3-4 hours a night. Last night I slept about 3 hours; I was awake until midnight (trying to get to sleep for at least an hour) and woke up at 3:00 am. Wide awake. I still laid there though, trying to go back to sleep for 3 hours. I finally gave up at 6:00 and got up. I'm hoping I can return to normal (for me, anyway) sleep patterns soon, and also hoping when the newly prescribed Flonase kicks in it won't cause insomnia, too. I already struggle with that as it is.

So I took my meds, made coffee, grabbed my morning devotional supplies and headed out to the patio. Of course, God met me there. Why do I fight this? I should know by now that He works in the low moments, the ones that frustrate us. Those moments that we see as a terrible roadblock in our plan. He meets us right where we are, in our most annoyed and disappointing times if we sit still long enough.

I'm reading a Max Lucado book that I've owned for 19 years; it was first published in 2004. It's titled Come Thirsty.  I am using it as a devotional book, reading one chapter a day. I can't quote it here because of copyright laws, but if you have access to that book, check out chapter 14. It's all about abiding, and God used it to speak into my heart about something I've been praying about. 

So sometimes what we perceive as a bad thing, God uses to show us the answer we've been asking Him for. Would I have still received this written word in the same way if I had read it from inside the house in my chair by the window? Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? I just felt drawn to the patio this morning at 6:20 am when it was a brisk 57 degrees. 

I think we have to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in things like this. 

Be blessed, my friends. God really, truly does love you. Always.

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." John 15:7 NASB

6:24 am coffee with steam

sun creeping to top of trees

from porch-here comes the sun

Someone Else Will

I'm new to the whole birdfeeder-in-the-backyard thing. After all, I've been retired less than 2 years. I'm learning about the bird population in my area and what they like to eat, but word has spread in the bird community lately, and there are more birds coming to my backyard this spring than there were last year.

I realized I hadn't been keeping up with the feeder as well and I meant to when I noticed it was empty again.

"I let the birdfeeder get empty again, and the birds are going hungry," I thought to myself.

Now, the Lord doesn't speak to me audibly, but I sometimes I just get a sense of what He's saying. In my spirit I felt Him say:

"I won't let them starve. I use many different means to feed the birds."

Ok. There are two of the things I know I'm called to do. First, all Christians are called to the Great Commission of sharing the Good News about Jesus with the lost. The second one, encouraging others, is one of my spiritual gifts. I realized this early in my walk with Christ, and it's still one of the things I'm called to do. It's one of the reasons I write this blog.

So I'm standing in my kitchen, looking out into my backyard. The thought occurred suddenly to me that sometimes we rationalize this way about sharing the Gospel and encouraging others.

Well, if I don't do it someone else will.

Yes, someone else will, because God desires for all to come to Him and be saved. He is "not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9 NASB

But...someone else will get the reward for that lost soul being saved.

Someone else will be rewarded in heaven for encouraging that person that was on my heart, but I couldn't be bothered to reach out to them when I felt the tug on my heart to do so.

This revelation was earth-shattering to me.

Something inside me broke. I was convicted of my actions, or lack thereof:

I'm guilty of not sharing Jesus every time I feel like I'm supposed to.

There are times I know I need to write a note of encouragement to someone and I don't do it.

There are times when I really, truly know I'm supposed to write a blog post about something for some person to see someday, probably someone I don't even know. I'll write it in the morning, I tell myself.

In the morning, I can't recall what I was going to write about. IF I even remember it at all.

Someone else could do it, but I'm committed afresh to not let someone else do what God asked me to do.

Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing.1 Thessalonians 5:11 NASB

A Note About Spring

I've mentioned before that I didn't like Spring. In fact, I believe I said I hated it. Granted, I mostly hated it because of tornadoes, but I also didn't like the pollen that torments allergy sufferers.

Anyway, there are some new developments on that topic.

Spring is...growing on me. (I promise there's no pun intended here, seriously). It might have started with something my granddaughter said to me recently. I had mentioned that I was sad Winter was leaving, and she said Spring was her favorite season because that's when Jesus died for our sins and then rose on the third day.

I started to argue that we didn't know the exact time of year, like for instance, Christmas probably isn't the time of year He was born. But then, I quickly remembered, concerning His resurrection, yes it is. Yes, Jesus' death and resurrection was in the Spring. It was at passover. So I had this little argument in my head, thankfully, and never said a word about it out loud. 

A while back I was having a little prayer time while walking in the park, and I felt convicted about my stance on Spring. The Lord reminded me that Spring is a joyous time of new growth, and, as my granddaughter had mentioned, it was when He redeemed all mankind. 

As I walked, I was noticing the daffodils blooming in large bunches all over. Daffodils are very special to me (see Just a Daffodil, Feb. 25, 2018 in my older blog posts), but I've actually started to enjoy other things about spring as well.

I enjoy hearing the birds singing. I love to see the birds at my birdfeeder in my backyard. I also really enjoy a day when I can raise the windows and let the fresh, Spring air flow through the house. 

So I guess the Lord is changing my heart. If He can work in the heart of an old curmudgeon like me, He can work in anyone!

On a related note, I haven't posted the sunrises much lately, but I took a picture this morning. The first picture is January 27. The second one is this morning, March 15. Look how much farther toward the northeast it is rising now! 

I love this part of science. It's fascinating to me!

Also, notice the birds at my backyard birdfeeder. I love to watch them. 

Be blessed! 

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118.24 ESV

Happy New(ish) Year and Assorted Other Stuff

Well, here it is February, and I haven't posted in my blog. There's a reason for this. I thought I would spend a little time catching you up on my blog-posting saga.

A few months ago, I became very discouraged because it seemed no one wanted to read my blog anymore. I noticed that lots of people read my Facebook posts, though. So I'm not sure what the disconnect is concerning my blog. I used to post a link to it on my Facebook page and people clicked on the link and read it. Then people quit doing that but they were reading my FB posts. I was confused.

I decided to post on FB first, then copy and paste it to my blog, just so I could keep it. Facebook has changed so much over the years, and I was concerned that I would lose those posts. Posting them to my blog seemed the logical choice. 

This worked for a while, then in the busyness of the Holiday season (this is my excuse, and I'm sticking with it!) I kept forgetting to post my FB posts to my blog.

So here we are in February 2023, as I stated earlier. I am back to the drawing board. I've decided I'm going to be posting on my blog so I can keep the posts for material for my book writing, and I will also post the same content to Facebook.

This content, starting with New Year's Day, will be below. This post may be a little long, but I'm reasonably sure no one is going to read this since I've already posted this to my FB. This is just so it's on the blog.

Christmas 2022 with Family

December 10-12 (even though the 12th was a Monday): 

Over the weekend I went to see friends and family in my hometown. It was a good visit, but too short. I spent some time with BFFs. We had dinner at a restaurant downtown, then we watched the Christmas Parade.

I also got to spend time with my firstborn, who lives out of state. I hadn’t seen him in too long. I blame the pandemic. We had a nice visit with our cousin and her husband (but forgot to get pictures).

My son and I watched movies, talked and got caught up, got coffee and walked around in the beautiful downtown area, and the last night I was there we drove through the park to enjoy the Christmas lights. It was a great visit.

We didn’t take many pictures, but the quality time is more important than the documentation anyway. We did take a picture of eating biscuits and gravy at our hometown's Braums. Neither of us have one where we live now. I have posted pictures at the bottom of this post.

December 25, Christmas Day with Family.

My daughter posted the following: It started calm. It ended wild. But, that is always the case when Rhett is involved. Absolutely wonderful Christmas!! We even sang Happy Birthday to Jesus! Merry Christmas!!!!

My youngest and his wife drove in to spend Christmas with us. So we had a great time hanging out.

...Christmas with family, continues…

Christmas night after dinner at my daughter's, we came back to my house. My son, his wife, and I opened our gifts to each other. We had our traditional Christmas crackers and even remembered to take a picture.

After a late breakfast we went for a walk. The pond was still mostly frozen because is the extreme cold temperatures we’ve been having. We had to take pictures because we southerners don’t often encounter frozen ponds.

We wanted to go to the library, but they were closed. Hopefully we can go there before they head back home.

December 27...

We went to the library and looked around. My son and his wife had never seen my library here, where I spend a lot of time. It's a fabulous place to be.

Afterwards, they got in their car and headed back to the far away city where they live. It was a great visit, but I was lonely the rest of the day.

I love spending time with my family. Over the course of 2 weeks, I got to see all three of my grown children, and my grandchildren (they live across town from me).

I hope all my readers had a fantastic and Merry Christmas! Blessings to you in 2023!!!

* My apologies for the haphazard way the photos are installed. The options for moving them around have been taken away. So this is what we are left with. *