A Gate... and a Give-A-Way!

I've been blogging for over a year and a half,

and I've never done a "Give-A-Way",

so I guess it's time!

If you (or someone you know) have recently lost someone,

you may want to sign up for an autographed copy of

Joy in the Mourning!

To preview the book, click on the link above.

To qualify for the "Give-A-Way",

just leave a comment at the end of this post,
or click "Like" on my FaceBook page.

I'll let my sweet granddaughter Haley

(who has helped me with several posts)

be the designated chooser of the winners!

Winners will be selected the last week of July.

(To qualify, you must have a valid email address associated with your profile,
or a valid FaceBook account so that we may contact you for a mailing address.)

Since I will be linking with

Jenny Matlock of Alphabe-Thursdays ,

I'll enclose another "G" word:

GATE...

This is a gate to my younger sister's garden.
It's located in Canada on the farm
 where my parents lived until I was ten years old.

This is a gate in my backyard:

"Enter through the narrow gate.
For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction,
and many enter through it. 
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
and only a few find it."
 Matthew 7:13-14

It is my hope that you have entered

the GATE of salvation.

If you're not sure and would like to be sure,

click on this LINK to find out more.

Click HERE to see my most recent post of

Names of God on Rocks!

Summer birds at my Feeder

Many people only feed birds in the winter, but I enjoy feeding them year round. 

The variety has been less this summer than last.

Here are some that I caught this evening:

I always love the bright red cardinals.

The tufted titmouse is not shy, and doesn't fly away -
 even when I'm watering my plants below the feeder!

This little downy woodpecker and his mate are frequent visitors.

The black capped chickadee is like his cousin the titmouse,
and seems more tame than many of the other birds.

The house finch and the purple finch are regular visitors,
and are not easy to tell apart at a quick glance.

The goldfinches aren't as numerous as they were earlier this spring.

This ladder backed woodpecker is easily frightened -
probably because he knows my husband won't tolerate
him pecking on our house!

Blue jays, blue buntings, various types of sparrows, and an occasional grossbeak

have made appearances, but I haven't been able to catch them on camera.

Our mulberry tree puts out berries all summer,

and is a favorite of the robins and mockingbirds.

Birdwatching makes me appreciate our Creative Creator.

Each bird is so unique in its markings, behaviors, bird calls,

 songs, and even in its choice of what it likes to eat.

Are you a birdwatcher?

Do you have a favorite bird?

To see my Names of God on Rocks post for this week, click HERE!

Echinacea... and Expectations

Are you wondering what on earth echinacea has to do with expectations?!!!

    Well, actually not too much, except that this year

 my echinacea plant is blooming far beyond my expectations!

Purple Cone Flower or Echinacea

Actually, I have a confession to make about expectations.

I have a very difficult time defining the fine line between

lowering my expectations so I won't be disappointed,

and raising my expectations so that I might encourage

someone to be (or do) their very best.

No matter which of these I do,

people will often disappoint me,

and not live up to my expectations.

There is only ONE who can meet all my expectations,
and that is God!

"When You came down long ago,
You did awesome deeds
beyond our highest expectations...
For since the world began,
 no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like You,
who works for those who wait for Him!"
Isaiah 64:3-4

For this week's Name of God on Rocks, click HERE!

Daisies

.

Daisies have been one of my favorite flowers for years.

One of the reasons I like them so well

has to do with their resiliency.

They can be wilted;

you may think they're nearly dead,

put them in some water...

and voilah!

They perk up and look freshly picked.

  These are high school graduation pictures of my husband and me.   We met a few years after these pictures were taken. He knew my fondness for daisies, and often stopped to pick me a fresh bouquet on his way to see me. 

We liked them so well that we had daisy designs on my wedding dress,  and live daisies on our wedding cake.

One of the reasons that I think our marriage has lasted this long has to do with a decision we made before we were married.  We read the Bible verse in Ephesians 4:26 that said "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry," and decided to never go to bed angry at each other.

Sometimes we stayed up quite late,

but we always tried to put that into practice!

Here we are a little over 40 years later...



  

Can you see any resemblance?!!


To see my Name of God for this week,
click HERE!

Onion Flowers

Even onions have their beauty!

Click to enlarge and see the many tiny flowers
that make up this onion blossom!

"The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the Word of our God stands forever."
Isaiah 40:8   

Chiggers.... and Joplin one year later...

My husband and I recently made another trip to Joplin.

We had not been there since last fall,

and I was anxious to see how much progress had been made

from the damage that had been caused by the tornado last year.

Our first business, however, was to visit my husband's
95 year old aunt who still lives independently.
She had a "TO DO" list for us which was
just as important as any disaster relief work we could have done.

High on her priorities was putting up a plastic lattice fence. 
My husband had a tough time setting the steel posts
in the ground due to a rocky ledge just below the soil.

My job was fairly easy.

It mainly amounted to getting supplies for him

and holding the fencing in place while he secured it.

My husband was wise enough to use bug spray.

I WAS NOT!

...And today I am paying the consequences...

I must have a hundred or more chigger bites.

(If you don't know what chiggers are, click HERE , 

or for how to treat the chigger bites, click HERE and listen!)

Since we were busy taking care of Auntie,
we didn't have much time to look around.
On Range Line Road there were many businesses that had reopened.

Houses were being rebuilt or repaired.

Reminders of the tornado damage
were implied on many of the stores' marques, 

...and evidenced in the large community of still occupied FEMA trailers.

The sky was looking ominous as the sun hid behind clouds,
and tornado watches were being given as we prepared to leave. 
I'm sure the warnings must have brought back many memories
and struck fear in many hearts.

On the outskirts of town a tall reminder stood to remind us all to
PRAY FOR JOPLIN!
...As for me,
I have chigger bites as a reminder to do that!

Click HERE to see another "C" post -

my Name of God on Rocks for this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Terrapin, Turtle, or Tortoise?

This last week when we went down to our farm,
 I was excited to see the peaches were nearly ready to harvest.

When I looked down on the ground, 
 I saw that something - or someone...
was also happy for this new peach crop.

Not far from the peach tree
I found the culprit.

He didn't seem afraid,
and even seemed to laugh at me as he enjoyed each bite,
at times holding the peach with his claws!

(Click on the picture to enlarge.)

I had always called these creatures terrapins, 

but the Wikipedia seems to call them tortoises or turtles.  

If you are interested in looking at MANY colorful varieties in the turtle family,

 click HERE!

I guess God was using our peach crop to help fulfill the words

of this verse from Psalm 104:27&28:

"These all look to You to give them their food at the proper time.

When You give it to them, they gather it up;

when You open your hand, they are satisfied with good things."

My JOY4TODAY thought is

that I am glad that God not only takes care of the creatures in the world,

 but He has promised to take care of me, too!

"And my God will meet all your needs

 according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:19

To see my Name of God on Rocks for Today,

click HERE!