Month: May 2008

  • Weekend Photo Blog ~

      

    untitled

      
    Blessings, everyone!  Monday has come and gone, but a beautiful Monday it was, Tuesday is now over and it, too, was very nice … but now, later today they’re saying rain.  I hope you’re all having a good week … I’ll be around to catch up with you soon.  For now, I’ll catch you up on our weekend … late as it may be, hope you don’t mind!  Our Sunday was just perfect … in more ways than one … Mom Betty and O.P. came to church with us, and everyone made them feel so welcome.  They enjoyed the service, but Dad doesn’t like sitting for too long … thankfully, for him, it didn’t last as long as usual.  From there, we went to Don Pablos for dinner … Dad’s request, as it’s his favorite restaurant, with Applebee’s a close second.  We had a good time sharing and talking about their past, things their children did as they were growing up … I keep telling Mom she should write a book!  Probably be a best seller.  She is very good with details.  Many times she repeats things, but we don’t mind one bit!  Dad just listens … like a good husband!! :o)  After our meal, they were ready to head back home to take their Sunday afternoon nap … we were concerned about their driving, but they seem to be doing just fine … thankfully it isn’t far from us at all.  They just feel like they have a bit more freedom when they are able to take a little drive every now and then.  We were going to keep the car for them, but I think we’ll leave it with them for now.  After we said our ‘see ya laters’, we headed on over to a nearby pond to ‘sit a spell’ before heading back to church for our financial class.  It was so pretty there, lots of ducks, and geese with their goslings, all getting along just fine … hubby was wishing he had his fishin’ pole!   After our class, we headed downtown to the inner city … I wanted to get some photos of the White River Canal Walk again … and such a beautiful day for a nice long walk … couldn’t have asked for better weather.  You can read more about this pretty place, which we like to visit, here at http://www.indycanalwalk.org/.  There are also other surrounding tourist attractions listed on that site as well.

    While there, we were hoping to climb in a paddleboat and work our way down the canal, but they weren’t in use  … we’d also like to rent a ‘surrey with the fringe on top’ … and give that a spin!  Those are like bicycle ‘cars’ for 2, 4, or 6 people.  They sure would save on gas these days!   The canal itself was just cleaned … we only saw one smaller fountain that was flowing, though, and I had hoped to share a photo of the larger ones with you, especially ones taken at night … maybe next time.  We stayed until after dark, and the night lights are so pretty reflecting off of the water.  I have one below, which is not the best, but you get the idea … still working on learning how to use my camera for night time shots … but you’ll have to stop over at BetsaflyGallery and see the one of the skyline I submitted, along with the other great ‘night light’ photos that are posted on her site. 

    We also got pretty close to the White River … I’d never seen so many mosquitoes in my life!  We didn’t tarry there too long, which was disappointing … the sunset was just georgous!  One of the pictures I took has tiny little specks in it … I thought it was my camera lense … but, no, it was the mosquitoes!  There were some brave souls down by the river … one man in the group was juggling 3 fire sticks, which was quite interesting.  He was good at it, too … didn’t drop one! Don’t think I’d attempt that, although the fire might keep the ‘skeeters’ away!!  We watched him for a little bit, but the mosquitoes got to be too much to handle!  I don’t ever remember them being that bad, but I’m thankful to say, after all that, they didn’t get either one of us!  We finally headed home after the Lord had blessed us with a long, and fulfilling day!  Ever feel like you have 2 or 3 days wrapped up in one?  That’s how it felt Sunday!  Well, I’ll say no more, except that, all in all, the day was ‘just ducky’ … with a goose, or two, thrown in!   Here are a few photos of our day … just a few :o) … I pray you all have a wonderful day being blessed in Him!   

    Tiny Tag Rose White Hugs,
           ~ Deborah <>< 


    Geese at pond 1 RS




    Flowers RS




    Geese & Ducks @ pond 5-4-08 RS




    Goose on the edge 5-4-08 RS




    Geese Babies @ church




    Duck Duck Three 5-4-08 RS


    My husband loved the curl in the tail on this one!


    Geese at pond 2 RS




    Canal Stairway from bridge RS


    A stairwell down to the canal from the street.



    Canal view 2 RS


    Not real clear here, but a view of the canal with townhomes on the far right.


    Bridge over canal RS


    One of many bridges over the canal.


    Bridge and view over canal RS


    This is even prettier when the leaves are on the trees …
    hubby was wondering why they didn’t have even tiny ones yet.
    Do they look sick to you … or maybe just late bloomers?


    bridge over canal in need of repair RS


    This is where I met a couple that had just gotten married last July …
    they let me take a a few photos of them on this bridge.
    We saw a quite a few photographers taking senior pictures on Sunday.
    It’s that time of year again!


    blooming tree RS


    I love the tiny heart shaped leaves in this one …
    not to mention the beautiful blossoms!


    canal view 3   5-4-08 RS


    I believe this is a local hotel on the canal …
    they have them, along with townhomes, and apartments …
    we may go stay in the hotel there sometime soon.
    It would be nice to get up for an early morning walk …
    and again in the evening, there along the canal.


    Canal view RS




    suspended boat RS


    This one intrigued my husband … it was suspended from one of the bridges.
    Not quite sure what that’s all about!


    flowers 2 RS



    Steam Clock RS



    This was interesting … a clock powered by steam!  It has a miniature *calliope* which plays
    ‘Back Home Again in Indiana’, every 15 minutes … we heard it, and it’s really pretty! 
    You could see how it worked through the glass … we stayed for awhile watching, and waiting to hear the music.
    *A calliope is a
    musical instrument that produces sound by sending steam through whistles,
    originally locomotive whistles.
    The calliope is also known as a “steam
    organ” or “steam piano”.  Wikipedia
    In this case it’s also known as a “steam clock”.  :o )




    steam clock 3




    Skyline RS


    This one was taken from a spot off of a bridge over the canal.
     You’ll find many photographers right here with their tripods.
    Someone stopped earlier in the day, and told us about it.
    This is the same spot where I got the one after dark showing the night lights …
    you’ll find it over at BetsaflyGallery.


    Porta Potties RS


    We found out that this was one thing that is in short supply on a trip to the canal! 
    We were so thankful these were here at the time!
    Not the cleanest, but a far cry from Ana’s ‘squatty potties’ …
    and, if you haven’t done so, you have to go read all about those over at Kafekotka!!
    After a quick stop here, we were able to enjoy the rest of our walk!



    Phone RS


    Now, how often do you see one of these?
    I haven’t seen one in ages … with all the cell phones now,
    they’ve removed most of them from around here.


    Juggling Fire RS 


    Here are a couple of photos of the man we saw near the river, who was juggling the ’firesticks’.


    Juggling Fire 2 RS



    mosquitoes RS


    If you look closely in the one above, you’ll see the little specks against the sky …
    those are the mosquitoes … 
    they’re much clearer on a larger scale … there were oodles of them!
    The sunset was really beautiful that night, though.

    Canal night view RS


    This one was taken after dark from the bridge where everyone goes for their photo ops …
    if you look closely, you’ll see people walking on both sides.
    We didn’t get a chance to walk it much after dark …
    it was already late, so we decided to take a ‘rain check’!
    It really is quite pretty at night with all the lights reflecting on the water.
    Definitely worth a trip, or two, back!  :o )


    FLAG downtown 5-4-08 sundown RS


    I loved seeing ‘Old Glory’ blowing in the gentle breeze.



    Workmancycles com surreys


    And finally, this is the ‘surrey’ … see the fringe on top?
    They also have ones with 3 of the larger seats, for a family, or a lot of friends!
    We had a beautiful day … and that’s a little bit of our town …
    I hope you enjoyed the tour!





    Flowers 3 RS

    JOY FROM EVERY GIFT

    Peace and warm contentment flow from beauty to the heart ~
    When God sends quiet moments, wait and rest …
    Look closely at the lovely things surrounding you each day,
    and take joy from every gift with which you’re blessed.

    “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty,
    for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.”
    Jeremiah 33:11

  •   
    ART COM  Sapphire-Bloom-II-Print-C10350714


    Happy Sunday to you all! 
    It is absolutely beautiful here today! 
    The birds are singing, the squirrels are enjoying their morning breakfast,
    the sun is brightly shining against a deep blue sky, and everything is so green!
    I didn’t realize how green, green really is!!
    God knows how to paint a beautiful morning!
    I love the way the sun shines through the tiny green leaves on the tree in our backyard.
    And just across the street is the most beautiful tree with tiny white blossoms
    gently falling to the ground … reminds me of the snow I love so much!
    All winter aside … it’s a beautiful spring morning!
    I’m enjoying a cup of coffee before church, and wanted to share this blessing with you. 
    I pray each of you have a most blessed Lord’s Day, no matter the weather where you are,
    for even on a cloudy day, He is always the Sonshine in our hearts!
    It’s truly a day to sing unto our LORD!

    Tiny Tag flower bird  Hugs,
                              ~ Deborah <><

    SEASON OF SINGING

    For sunshine and springtime,
    our season of singing …
    for Your glories displayed …
    thank you, LORD!

    See!  The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.
    Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come.
    ~ Song of Solomon 2: 11 – 12 ~


  • MorningLight susan rios large

       
    My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD;
    in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
    ~ Psalm 5:3

    Prayer is more than asking.  Prayer is more than praising.  Prayer is more than thanking.
    Prayer is more than requesting, or interceding, or kneeling, or humbling ourselves.
    Prayer is expecting that God wants us there, expecting that God hears us,
    and expecting that God will meet us in our prayer time and do what is best for us and those we love.
     
    Loving Father and Eternal God, thank you for meeting me in this prayer time.
    I know that you hear me and care about what I share with you.
    Thank you for paying attention to someone like me and accepting me as your precious child.
    Thank you, in Jesus’ name. 
    ~Amen ~

    Pic Bible Rose Tea

    Updating …. Goodmorning all! 
    Well, it’s been a little while since I posted, but I won’t keep you (too) long. Ha! 
    First of all, I don’t know if anyone noticed,
    but that beautiful accoustic guitar music I had on here is now gone!  :o (
    ‘Sonific’, the company that offered it on a ‘widget’ playlist, closed down on May 1st.
    That was some nice music, and I’m really going to miss it. 
    I had e-mailed the company asking if I could get the list of the songs I had on my
    ‘widget’ playlist … they said it would take too long to look for it … sorry! 
    Well, not wanting to be without music, I  went over to
    Playlist.com,
    and uploaded some that I hope you will enjoy while you’re here visiting. 
    I’m still working on it … I just wish I knew how to upload my own music to put on here …
    I have some great instrumental worship I know you’d enjoy!

    Tiny Tag Rose White Moving on …
    We went out to dinner Wednesday night with Mom Betty,  O.P., and my sister-in-law.
    That was my pop-in-law’s actual birth – day, and we wanted to bless him, again.
    We’d already had a birthday dinner with all the family about 2 weeks ago.
    They both seem to be doing well, but he was a little quieter than usual.
    He voted for Applebee’s … and we all had a nice meal.
    I went to the chiropractor same day just before dinner …
    still don’t know what that ‘lump’ on my lower spine is!
    Doc’s keeping an eye on it …
    and said if I noticed any change in the size, or pain, to let him know, asap!
    I haven’t so far … PTL !

    Hubby’s been working hard all week … I’ve not been feeling my best,
    so, for the most part, I’ve just been piddlin’ around home here,
    doing a little of this, and a little of that.

    Spoke to Ian … they are camping with the college group 
    from the church this weekend down at Big Sur.  Anyone ever been there before?
    I ‘Googled’ it, and the pictures are awesome!  What a great photo-op that would be!
    When my husband drove them out to CA last year,
    he took an extra day, and they both went down there together  … 
    … wish I had been there then.

    He sure is fulfilling his life long dream of traveling … and enjoying it!
    There’s now talk of a video missions trip to Guatemala in December …
    if that’s the case, he may not be home until next year …
    yes, that was a little hard for me  to hear, but I know God has a purpose and a plan for him,
    and as for me, He’ll give me the peace that I need when I have those weak moments of missing him like crazy!

    Tiny Tag Rose White News Flash: *He did ask me to come stay with him for a couple of months!
    He said I could work with the children’s ministry there at the church, etc., etc ….
    … he seems to have thought this one over! 
    So what do you think? 
    I don’t want to leave my hubby for that long, that’s for sure!
    I wish we could both go out there and stay for a little while,
    he keeps asking us to come out,
    but finances just won’t allow for that right now…
    unless of course, it’s what the Lord would have us do …
    … then He would provide all we would need!  Right?!
    Something to ponder and pray about!

    Ian’s shoulder is doing much better,
    and I thank those of you who prayed for him … so does he!
    Let’s pray that he’s careful this weekend, and everyone stays safe …
    … there’s no phone service there  at Big Sur either, that bothers me a just a little.
    I’ll just pray harder!

    Today, we’ll be going to the antique mall to restock, then after that, the afternoon is open.
    They’re predicting storms for the day,
    so that may limit anything we might want to do outdoors.
    Church tomorrow … and I believe a ‘pitch-in’, so I need to decide what to take.
    Any suggestions from you ‘seasoned’ cooks out there?

    Well, I hope you all have a great Saturday, and a blessed Lord’s Day!
    Let’s all pray for those who were in those devasting storms! 
    I’m sure some of you saw these, but the damage in the pictures on the news
    in Arkansas, wasn’t anything like I’d ever seen before from a tornado …
    …  a hurricane, yes … but a tornado … no!
    Let’s keep them in our prayers.
    Be blessed.
    Tiny Tag Rose White Hugs,
    ~ Deborah <><

    Sig Tag Cause Me to hear thy lovingkindness in the AM

  •      
    jesus_with_little_one


    Who Am I ?
    Author Unknown ~

    Only a short while ago the Lord’s friends gathered around to hear Him speak of great and wonderful things.  The things of God, eternal things.  We hung on every word, savoring it, digesting it.  Now, they are gone and I alone remain, sitting at His feet.  Like a delicate fragrance, the sound of His voice seems to linger in the air.

    I breathe in the essence of His presence and sigh.  It’s good that I should be here; I want to stay forever.  For a moment He shuffles in His seat and I fear that my Lord is going to leave.  My heart sinks until I realize He is leaning forward and reaching out His hands to me.

    All at once the child in me comes alive as Jesus lifts me to His lap and cradles me in His arms.  Tears of joy fill my eyes and overflow, cascading down my cheeks.  I weep softly and bury my face in the folds of His robe as His strong arms close around me.

    Who am I that the Lord should hold me so tenderly?  Did He hear my anguished cry for more of Him?  Had He peered into the depths of my heart and dug through the pain and deeply rooted pride and anger and actually found some good buried there?

    Is there any good in me?  I am still so slow to learn, so quick to fall.  My reasoning weaves a maze through my mind as I try to comprehend.  As Jesus draws me closer to Himself, a thread of gold enters the woven maze in my mind and I understand.  Jesus holds me not because of my goodness, but His; not because of my love for Him, but rather because of His great love for me.

    My thoughts become a blur, struggling to grasp what is unimaginable for the human mind.  He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than I think or imagine.  My Lord and my God loves me!  I savor this delicious morsel of truth as He gently cradles me in His strong arms like a dear beloved child, and holds me close to His chest.

    A favorite Scripture from Isaiah comes to mind:
    “You are mine, you are precious in my sight and I love you.”  I ponder this, these words meant for me as well.

    As I listened to the Savior’s heartbeat, He also was listening to mine.  What I couldn’t put into words He heard from the cry of my heart.  My desire for Him.  My love for Him.  My longing to be with Him.  And the heartbreaking sorrow I felt for ever having done anything that put a distance between my beloved Jesus and I.

    For a moment He stops rocking me and I can feel His warm breath on my forehead.  He tenderly says, “child, look at me.”  I am reluctant to look up because I know that my eyes will meet His.  What I have longed for, now suddenly fills me with dread.  I fear what He will see in the face of this unworthy child.  His fingers are beneath my chin and He raises my head until my eyes meet His.  What I see is more beautiful than words can express.  In His eyes there is an ocean of love, deeper, wider, and higher than all the world can contain.  His eyes are the color of mercy.

    For a moment I feel as if I am little more than an ant at the foot of the cross, just beginning to comprehend His love and sacrifice.  The King of all the universe is gazing into my eyes and communicating His love to me.

    Jesus’ hand is warm against my face.  He cups my cheek and wipes away my tears with His thumb.  God’s thumb, wiping away my tears.  He holds my face firmly for a moment and looks deep in to my eyes as if to say, “this is important, listen to Me.” 

    His eyes seem to plead with me as He speaks.  He wants me to understand and believe it.  As His eyes fill with tears, He says,

    “This is why I did it: so I could hold you and love you for eternity.” 

    So again, I ask, “who am I?”

    I-am-a-Child-of-God-Print-I13201349


    If there be anything that can render the soul calm, dissipate its scruples and dispel its fears, sweeten its sufferings by the anointing of love, impart strength to all its actions, and spread abroad the joy of the Holy Spirit in its countenance and words, it is this simple and childlike repose in the arms of God.  ~ S. D. Gordon

    Consider Jesus.  Know Jesus.  Learn what kind of Person it is you say you trust and love and worship.  Soak in the shadow of Jesus.  Saturate your soul with the ways of Jesus.  Watch Him.  Listen to Him.  Stand in awe of Him.  Let Him overwhelm you with the way He is. 
    ~ John Piper

    Jesus, within you I lose myself, without You, I find myself searching to be lost again.  ~ Anonymous

    There is an experience of the love of God which, when it comes upon us, and enfolds us, and bathes us, and warms us, is so utterly new that we can hardly identify it with the old phrase, God is love.  Can this be the love of God, this burning, tender, wooing, wounding pain of love that pierces the marrow of my bones and burns out old loves and ambitions – God experienced is a vast surprise. 
    ~ Thomas R. Kelly

    A quiet time, to me, is just an established time to go to my Source, to the Father, and spend time with Him.  It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, or who you are, or how you’ve screwed it up, but you have a Father who likes to spend time with you.  To go before God, to know what I’ve done and thought and to expect that He’s going to strike me with a lightning bolt – but to be hugged instead – creates great astonishment.  We mature Christians, we get so we’re not astonished any more.
    ~ Steve Brown

quote and verse

Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation.
- Andrew Murray -

God often comes to us,
not in dramatic and the spectacular,
but in quiet, unexpected ways ...
In a still, small voice,
a gentle whisper,
God makes known His love.

In quietness and trust
is your strength.
Isaiah 30:15

Pleasure, possessions, power, and privilege are ultimately worthless in comparison to the indescribable
joy of knowing GOD!!

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5,6

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:
I will guide thee with mine eye.
Psalm 32:8

calendar daze

May 2008
M T W T F S S
« Apr   Jun »
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  

HOW TO FIND ME … I HAVE MOVED!

I HAVE MOVED!!

past threads