My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

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Saturday, July 11, 2026

This Afternoon .....

Roseate Spoonbill (right) -- 
photo from my camera while on an airboat tour
in Central Florida.
The bird's beak is rounded, like a spoon!

Weather

Today my format is inspired by Linda at Just Simply Linda. She and I live in the same town, as well as Diane.  Other relatively close-by blogging friend, Pam is a little over an hour to the northeast, and Terri D is 2 hours due south. 

I know some of you follow their blogs. All of us are "glowing" (perspiring) in the heat. Please forgive us when we make comments on the weather. It is a little over the top with no relief in sight until --- October? 

Reading

If you are familiar with author Sarah Young and her book, Jesus Calling (which I read a portion of daily), I am reading (and enjoying) a biography written by her brother, Sarah Young's Journey to Jesus.

Eating

Yesterday I asked Gary what he wanted for supper, which is typically light, with lunch as our biggest meal of the day. I suggested beef quesadillas (we each get half of a tortilla, so it is, indeed, a less-heavy meal). He thought about it and then asked for a grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich. 


If I do say so myself, this was perfect: a hot meal but not too much.

The Past Few Days

In spite of the many times I've extolled the pleasures of afternoons on our lanai, this week we decided to donate the furniture and get new pieces that are more comfortable. Here is the old; I'll show you the new after it's delivered one day this next week.


Feeling

I have been feeling more upbeat as perplexities about [stuff] are either clearing in my mind and/or acceptance has grown stronger. I've learned that partnered with "acceptance" needs to be "adapt." When we decide to accept something, we often need to also determine how we will adapt (or live with) whatever it is we are accepting. 

Celebrating

In addition to the 250th anniversary of Independence Day, we have been in a season of family birthdays. We both have large families (11 grandchildren on my side, and Gary is expecting his 4th GREAT grandchild this summer). Since April there have been more birthdays than I have fingers and toes to count. 

Making Me Laugh

While I don't have a cartoon to share at this very moment, here is advice I take seriously:

Thankful

Right now the clouds have thickened up, the wind is blowing stronger through the pines outside our windows, the sound of thunder is like bowling balls in the sky, and the temperature has dropped to 88 degrees. Yes, I am thankful for this respite, brief, as it will probably be.


Beyond that, there is so very much for which to be thankful and I try to dwell on that when discouragement tries to steal my peace. It really is true that what we allow our thoughts to dwell on affects our mood and behavior. 

The really good news is that we can change what we are thinking about! The choice is up to us.

We are told in the Bible to not worry about anything and to pray about everything. (see Philippians 4:6-7)

Holy Scripture also tells us that when we trust (wholly rely upon) the Lord, He gives us perfect peace. 

(see Isaiah 26:3)

For I know whom I have believed

and am persuaded

that He is able

to keep what I have committed to Him

until that Day.

II Timothy 1:12

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara



4 comments:

Linda said...

Thanks for the shout out, just to let you know, at nearly 5 the sky has darkened and turned windy here in southwest Ocala with thunder. Hopefully we get some rain soon. Grilled cheese sounds good, we stopped at Capt. Ds and bought food home. I hope you have a lovely evening, say hi to Gary,

Mari said...

I've always said that I'm far too much of a wimp to live in the south. That being said, we just had a very hot and humid week last week, a respite this week, but they tell us that next week will be near 100 degrees. Yikes!
I hope that rain gives you a little cooling that lasts a bit.
Yes, lighter meals in this weather is a good thing.
I enjoyed Jesus Calling.

🌺 Debby/From My Shasta Home said...

I faint if the humidity hits 22%. That was the one issue that always "hit me" as a child on those car trips to Tennessee to see my grandparents. It was the humidity. I'm just more comfortable in a dry climate, like where I'm at now or the desert. I love that rainy photo . For me that reminds me of our rainy season in the fall and winter. I'm already looking forward to that.
Can't wait to see your new furniture!

Pamela M. Steiner said...

Oh yes, I love those scripture passages. And I loved this post. Grilled ham and cheese is a winner for dinner here quite often. And yesterday we got quite the thunderstorm with lightning AND HAIL! That was pretty scary, but thankfully no damage done.We just had another thunderstorm blow through a few minutes ago. If it keeps this up, maybe Still Waters Pond will start to be a pond again instead of a spot of desert in our back yard. I love your "old" lanai furniture...so pretty! I hope the new will be really comfy. Someone will enjoy your "old" stuff I am certain. I wish we had a screened in back porch where I could keep things nicer, but yesterday's storm totally drenched everything on the porch even though it is under shelter. It was quite a blow-up! Have a lovely rest of your weekend. God is in control, always!!!

This Afternoon .....

Roseate Spoonbill (right) --  photo from my camera while on an airboat tour in Central Florida. The bird's beak is rounded, like a spoon...