Rock Flowers

 Recently, one of my daughters sent me this charming bouquet to bring some cheer & comfort upon the loss of my dear 'little' brother, who, unexpectedly, crossed over into his Promised Land & into Jesus arms. This isn't the first time that family loved ones have crossed over, & there is always joy (for those who are with the ones they love who are already in heaven) mixed with grief of the ones who are left behind, to look at the empty chair, the empty bed, the silenced voice, the presence that just isn't. My first birthday that there was no phone call. When we called each other, we would talk sometimes for two or even three hours, talking, laughing, joking, & just 'being together'. I am eight years older than Scottie & we lived quite a distance away in different states. But the family familiarity was always there so no matter what the time between 'visits', it was like picking up where you left off. We always talked about Jesus too. & the last thing we always said to each other was "I love you". The last time I talked to him was on his birthday, in September. So we are coming up on Thanksgiving now, & crossing another 'first' to say, 'until we meet again', but I miss him not being here. Others suffer too. Two of my friends won't spend the holiday with husbands this year. Another friend has said goodbye to her mother, another friend, to her son. I have said farewell for now to a beloved horse & sweet, sweet dog. & there are other hard times, financial, relationships, loneliness, unwanted divorce, cruel losses beyond our control. Make no mistake. These times come to all who live or who have ever lived. But the question is, through it all, as our Father's children, how do we respond to the loss, the endless waiting, the cruel injustice that resulted in devastation in our own personal lives & those we love. Sometimes those are the hardest losses to bear. & times when joy doesn't come in the morning, or mourning. at least not in the time frame that we have set. Jesus said,  "In this world you will have tribulation..." John 16:33

definition of tribulation:

"A state of great trouble or suffering"

How have we responded to those times as the followers of Jesus. I have had brothers & sisters in Jesus that have become bitter & angry & have left the Lord & gone willingly into the camp of the enemy & pitched their tent. Others have become cynical, hard & distant. Still others have stopped following Jesus because He didn't answer in the way they thought He would. or He isn't the Jesus that they have created, which isn't who Jesus is at all. When we have been thrust into the time of trouble or suffering, & not by choice, we do have a choice in our response. I was reading from a favorite devotional a few days ago, an entry on my birthday date.

"I have always been glad that the psalmist said to God that some things were hard. There are hard things in life. Some beautiful pink flowers were given me this summer & as I took them I asked, "What are these?" And the answer came, "They are rock flowers; they grow & bloom only on rocks where you can see no soil." Then I thought of God's flowers growing in hard places & I feel , somehow, that He may have a peculiar tenderness for His "rock flowers" that He may not have for His lilies & roses." Margaret Bottome

The above flowers are called 'Verbena'. I planted them in a barrel with a variety of other flowers the first of June. These flowers have survived several frosts, freezing temperatures, an ice storm & high winds. I took this picture this morning. It has far outlived it's sister & brother summer flowers. You can look up the hardiness of the 'Verbena' flower, but henceforth, I will call them "Rock Flowers". They not only survived the literal storms of life, they thrived. & have encouraged & inspired me!

God has many, many Rock Flowers in His garden. & they mostly thrive & flourish in the Gardens of Gethsemane. They are steady. They are strong. They are patient. They are enduring. & they are precious to His heart. & when Jesus calls us home, wouldn't you like to be in that 'plucked by His own hands' bouquet of Rock Flowers? I know I would.

Raintree Perk of the Day:

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, & His mercy endures FOREVER!

& to you growing Rock Flowers, who are tempest tossed, the conclusion of the verse, John 16:33, 

"...but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world"!  & because He did so can we!! Onward & upward fellow Rock Flowers!

Happiest EVER Thanksgiving!!

Songs of September

Maisie has become our photo-op kitty. This is it for September. 

This was it for August. & no prompting at all, she is just a natural. This was her best pose, so adorable & so accommodating! Don't let that adorableness fool  you though. It belies a bit of little sister brattiness when it comes to much older sister Lollipop. She was born with a "It's your life but you'll do what I want" variation from the song in the sixties made popular by 'The Animals'. & human or animal, it makes no difference to her. She was born to be adored ( at a distance & on her terms) & to rule (definitely not a distance & also on her terms.) At night is when she redeems herself because then she is Dr. Jekyll, sweet, cuddly, & lovable. When the sun comes up, the narcissistic Miss Hyde does too, as does everything else. Hide that is. That's our Maisie!

🐱😸😹😺😻😼😽😾😿🙀

The first half of this very changeable month was pleasantly cool & puts me in the mood for Autumn decorating, so light the 'Autumn Harvest' candle, play "Simple Gifts of Autumn" music,  by Tim Janis which is accompanied by the sound of the sweetly falling rain, &, as for the taste buds, homemade chicken noodle soup mixed with the fragrance of pumpkin muffins & you have the perfect setting for songs of inspiration.

The twin piggies sporting Autumn bows. 🐷

Chrysanthemums are the Queen of Autumn flowers for me. 

Song of love.😘

This is a culinary 'song of thanksgiving' that  started with this.

🡇

Our gracious neighbor let us pick all of the apples that we wanted from his apple tree which has already resulted in several apple pies for today & many future awaiting apple pies in the frozen form right now. Also, several quarts of applesauce, & apple butter waiting to become apple butter! 😋

Our neighbor's song of sharing has had many expressions, for him also.

🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

I love to listen to the whispering songs of the soft winds that gently free the leaves that pirouette soundlessly to the earth. It is so restful to watch their quiet descent.
🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂

The tantalizing aromatic songs of wood burning from hearth & home, a hotdog roasting, hot apple cider, simmering, fresh rain on a dry, dusty landscape, the fragrance from the freshly opened container that holds all of my autumn decor. It's the musical fragrance of memories, of times past.

The song of the moon as it waxes eloquently into a full 'Corn Moon'.

There has been a bittersweet September song for us of a loved one who slipped right into eternity, on his 54th birthday, into the waiting arms of Jesus...and it was doubly sweet to him, as he was finally reunited with his son &  our grandson. Very sweet indeed...

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

"September! I never tire of turning it over in my mind. It has warmth, depth & color...."

It also has songs. 

So, time to write & sing! our own beautiful, colorful, September songs.
🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

Raintree Perk of the Day:

"To everything there is a season..."

This is the season, the month, the day to SING!

Jesus didn't just make September for us. He made us for September. We are the Songs Of September!

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

 To be here...

A sign  of the last of August which is when this post was supposed to be published. But, alas, "the best laid plans of mice & men (& women!) often go awry." ( from the poem 'To A Mouse' by Robert Burns. Ha! You thought it was by John Steinbeck didn't you? I confess. So did I. 😁) But the sunflowers are still with us in the first of September & will be for awhile along with other flowers & roses I'm happy to say, barring any of the aforesaid Ode to a mouse issues. I guess it's safest to say, 'if the Lord wills'. James 4:15  Of course, His word is His will & vice versa, but that's a different subject that I will address at another time.            Whew! I'm really getting off topic!

I have barely gotten started with my canning. So much rain has slowed (or is it slowered? or slown? They all sound right.) the ripening harvest & we have had unusually cooler temperatures in August which has also caused the dawdling progress. Then there's  the energy-depleting humidity (several days of 100 percent!) which is debilitating, falling into rhythm with 'the heart is certainly willing, but the slothful body says, 'uh-uh, not today. 

Oliver & Clooney above.
Fatsy Patsy beneath.

In the words of the Cole Porter song,

"Well it's too darn hot!" 😓

😴😴😴😴😴😴😴😴

Air-conditioning helps. As well as the above respite. 

Some August blessings.

Our one little carrot from the garden.

Crunchy & sweet! 😋

My favorite, Black-eyed Susans!

I love stormy clouds

& August blue skies

Suppertime!!!

Husband dispensing supper! He loves his birdie-folk.

Here are turkey dispenser of-ers of the dreamer feline kind!

The rise of the August full moon.

"Shine on, shine on (August) moon, up in the sky...🎵"

Such beautiful August roses. & the fragrance is rapturous!

We did have an August sort of adventure when a bobcat showed up at our next door neighbors fish pond. Not exactly a blessing. It ran in the woods behind our house, so our cats are quarantined to our house again.

for awhile anyway. 
😑

Rounding up those straying thought doggies, I want to quote a poem that

Robert Louis Stevenson penned in "A Child's Garden of Verses",

"The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings."

The Bible says in Psalm 68:19 , "Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits." Now, benefits can mean different things, such as, things that promote peace or well being, or prosperity or healing. Benefits are always positive & can greatly enhance the quality of living. It's always life giving to live in the today of our blessings. To be here, to live in our 'now' is a very restful way to live. I have to admit, there are times when I hop into the 'time machine' of the past, when my children or grandchildren were small & I was young, or younger. How much fun it was, how sweet to have all of the shining faces around the dinner table, the laughter, the jokes, the camaraderie, the family games, the bedtime stories, the songs, bible reading & prayers. The bike rides,  the horseback rides, tractor rides, nighttime games of Hide 'n Seek, dart game competitions & on & on. Now the voices are mostly silent, the dinner table is set for two, my husband & me most of the time. The younger bodies we were are replaced by well, older bodies that can't do what we used to.

"Memories, memories...🎵"

But if those memories steal the joy & contentment of today, are they really productive?

& then what about the imagination projector that thrusts us into the future,  which sets us on a merry-go-round of 'what ifs'.

"I've had many worries in my life, most of which never happened." (Mark Twain)

To be here. This is where our life is, this 'Today'. This is where we see God. & hear Him. Of course, as I have said in a previous post, we can learn from yesterday, make good choices today that will produce life for future generations, but I want to live a passionate life for the Lord & that can only be done Today. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. It's very wearying & energy-stealing,  to live on opposite sides of today. That's because it's impossible to live in three time periods. I want to be here because it's where I'm contented & peaceful, because here is where I can make a difference in my world. Here is where my husband, children & grandchildren need me to be. Here is where I get the daily benefit blessings. Here is where I have fellowship with Jesus. Here is where I can comfort those who mourn, heal the brokenhearted, set the captives free. Here is where I can pray, tell others about the love of Jesus, save a life or just listen. I am Jesus with skin on Here. & I can live the totality of my being...here.

 So, you know what I think? I think that Jesus really, really, really!! wants me...To.Be.Here. 

 

Raintree Perk of the Day

"This is the day that the Lord has made so let us rejoice & be glad in it!"