Songs 4 Worship Time Life Music |
Today I'm taking a cue from blogging friend Linda's casual writing style that feels like we are sitting at home over our personal beverages of choice, relaxed, just being ourselves. Click here to see her blog. Her form of writing may be her own meme; I like it.
my "office" today on the lanai |
Addressing random topics with my usual incorporation of perhaps more snapshots than verbiage may seem like a cop-out for a self-described writer/self-publisher, but as my good friend Diana shared with me in all honesty years ago, she likes a lot of pictures. Actually, I'm in agreement with that as I have a lot of blogs to follow and photos make keeping up so much easier.
Currently
Approaching mid-afternoon, too soon after a wonderful lunch for a snack, I'll be making a cup of caffeine-free green tea in a little bit. The music featured in my first snapshot is softly playing in the background. Gary has a wonderful collection of CDs, cassette tapes, and even vinyl records that he and Edith collected over the years.
How grateful I am to be able to listen to the kind of church music I prefer here at home. Like so many of my generation, I grieve the scarcity of hymns and more melodic style of music that blessed my faith in years gone by. But that topic has been beat to death and is pretty much a lost battle so I will move on to other subjects.
Weather
Summer is slipping in a little earlier here in North Central Florida than usual, with nods of the sun visor to 90-degrees in some towns. This is our dry season, I'm told, and now that I've been here for seven years, I see the truth in that. The rainy season will be here in May and beginning June 1st there will be wary attention to tropical storms moving across the Atlantic from Africa to threaten our eastern coastline.
selfie of our shadows |
While the above selfie was taken on a morning cooler than what we have today, right now I'm enjoying a striped short-sleeve crew neck T-shirt, blue jean Bermuda shorts, and Croc sandals. We walk most mornings shortly after breakfast, amassing at least two miles, and often twice as much. Gary's recovery from major surgery is going very well but he's been advised to not return to bike-riding until June.
And yes, we hold hands for the entire walk. People comment on that as they pass. More people should do this (hold hands, I mean. Comments are optional 😉).
Food
(such a fun topic!) As I've probably said before, Gary prepares us a hot mug of something wonderful as we sit to watch church on-line on Sunday mornings. For a while it was a caramel-flavored coffee in the Keurig, but now that has morphed to hot chocolate with large marshmallows.
yesterday |
While some parishioners pull mints out to share with those in their church pew as they settle in for the sermon, we have hot chocolate!
And lest you think I'm not aware, I am sure some of my readers are reading that last paragraph with critical thoughts.... we're not attending the service in person. Yes, I am well versed in Hebrews 10:25 ("not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together...")
I won't go into that except to say since the attack of COVID and serious losses many of us have experienced, one of the many lessons I've learned is to not judge stop judging others. We have no idea what their reasons may be but the matter is between them and the Lord.
I see where I have been judgy much of my life, so I'm preaching to myself here. The Lord deals with us in His way and with His timing. Let's allow Him to deal with people as He sees fit. He sees the hearts of people. If or when they need to be steered in another direction He will do so.
the menu at Red's |
But to get back to the subject of food, we had lunch the other day at a local "old Florida" type of place, well-known to my readers (and bloggers) who live in my area. Gary had the meatloaf and I had the marinara meatball sandwich -- both excellent choices.
outdoor dining on the deck at Red's |
One of the unique aspects of Red's is the sound of gators somewhere below the outside deck as they groan in search of romance. I've yet to actually see an alligator any time we've been there because they prefer to be reclusive in the willows and weeds but they are easily heard.
Continuing with the topic of food, we enjoyed meeting Joline and Don for lunch at Bob Evans on Tuesday. On Thursday Jersey Girl took me to Southern Pig and Cattle to celebrate my birthday (a late celebration but that's fine with me and any excuse to dine with her will do!!)
the last of Gail's Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies |
Our snowbird neighbors were prepping for their departure to spend the summer in Michigan, so Gail wanted to empty out her pantry. She shared her homemade Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, which filled this plate. I just happened to remember to take this snapshot before the last two disappeared!!
Health
actress Judy Garland in "The Harvey Girls" |
My health is very good. Well, I did have a bug and/or a pulled muscle this past week that seemed to come out of nowhere, making the refuge of my recliner in front of the TV a comfort. Not sure what that was all about, but it's past now. And as I said earlier, Gary is doing very well. For this we are both so grateful.
Reading
I finished the book of Corrie ten Boom's story (The Watchmaker's Daughter) and now Gary is in the middle of it. We both tend to prefer biographies. I've been leaning a little more into war stories and movies because they help me to better understand Gary's military and government service experiences.
a daily read that blesses me every morning |
For years a daily devotional book has helped to get my mind in the right place before life has a chance to slam [whatever] in front of me. I've greatly enjoyed this one by Joyce Meyer since its purchase last summer at Barnes and Noble.
colored pencil emphasis |
As I've shared before, one of my study helps is the use of colored pencils so I can later review the pages and tell at a glance the following:
general instructions or statements
what God is saying or doing
avoid doing this
specific directives for me
I do this in my Bible and in just about anything I read that will not be shared with others.
pen pocket |
Another very useful "tool" is this method to keep a pen handy. Terri D (from the blog Your Friend From Florida) gave this to me a couple of years ago and I've found it indispensable for this devotional book. I'll mark salient phrases in the book with this pen that is always handy, and later when I have more time to review, the colored pencils are put to use.
Watching
TV news. Obviously, it's not the most comfortable activity, but even though we want to focus on what is "true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy" (Philippians 4:8), we need to be informed. Choosing our news sources wisely is important.
Feeling
profound truth from FaceBook |
In spite of so much bad stuff, good counsel can be found on social media. The illustration above and this one, below, are samples of how I've been able to move through the most sad and challenging time of my life to where I am now.
also from FaceBook |
So to answer the question about how I am feeling: better. Better all the time.
Thinking
Recently one of my granddaughters shared this phrase,
"His sovereignty is my security"
When we really believe that God loves us and He knows all that concerns us, then we can trust Him to do (and allow) only what is best for us. Yes, bad things happen to us, but when God is in control (and He is!!), the final outcome will be good. That outcome may not be realized until much later, and possibly after we've entered Heaven, but in retrospect, it will be absolutely the best.
Making Me Laugh
This is the last "prompt" on Linda's meme that I'm following today. In all honesty, I get to laugh every single day. Sometimes my laughter is like Santa's belly that jiggles like a bowl of jelly and other days it's just a chuckle. But there is merriment to be had if we look for it.
Us photo by Jersey Boy |
Until next time, grace and peace.
from one of our neighborhood walks |