Hurricane Isaias

Oh my goodness, this storm snuck up. Already had a bit of rain and we are under a hurricane warning watch. I was out taking down wind chimes when it started pouring, so the top half of me got drenched. I decided to give the barn girls tomorrow's ration of food, and fill up their water bowl as it is supposed to be rainy and windy all day tomorrow. That was just a little feeder band of rain, stopping rather quickly. More to come.

One of my dear online friends M.K. posted a couple of scripture verses which were very good. Here they are.

For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand,

saying unto thee,

Fear not; I will help thee."

Isaiah 41:13

"Be merciful to me, O God,

be merciful to me,

for in you my soul takes refuge;

in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

till the storms of destruction pass by." 

Psalm 57:1

My dear sis-in-law Sue, sent me this prayer from a website. Which is perfect for today also.

https://hopeforthebrokenhearted.wordpress.com/2020/07/31/prayer-for-july-31st-5/

The gardens should get a good watering, which will be free, always a good thing, since I have to pay for water.

This hibiscus below is called 'Hugs-n-Kisses' and I'll close with that.

Love, hugs and prayers ~ FlowerLady

Home is Where the Art is

First of all, thank you all for your kind words, love, encouragement, prayers. They are much appreciated.

I thought I'd share a series I just found on you-tube. It's a happy one and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

It is called 'Home is Where the Art is'.

Home Is Where The Art Is S02E04

Home Is Where the Art Is S02E05

Home Is Where The Art Is S02E06

Home Is Where the Art Is S02E07

Home Is Where the Art Is S02E08

Home Is Where The Art Is S02E09

Home Is Where The Art Is S02E10

Home Is Where The Art Is S02E11

Home Is Where The Art Is S02E12

Home Is Where The Art Is S02E13

Home Is Where The Art Is S02E14

Home Is Where The Art Is S02E15

These all made me smile and feel love and happiness. Some brought tears.

Enjoy ~ FlowerLady

Providence ~ divine guidance or care

Good Tuesday morning ~ It is gray, and humid. Grass is growing like crazy and I try to keep it mowed in between the rain, when the grass is dry. Don't know when I'll be able to get to it this week, I just take life one day at a time, trying to live in the present moments I am blessed with.

The cereus cactus gave another round of blossoms. They are so amazing and such a gift.

This is Coral or Fringe Hibiscus, Hibiscus schizopetalus.

Don Juan roses

 Loved the way the afternoon sun was hitting this gate.

This is sweet 'Crepuscule'.

This is a deep red hibiscus.

This past Saturday I had a surprise visit from my dear husband's brother and his wife. They live about 30 min away. We've not seen each other since February. They were on their way to visit their daughter and her fiance who live south of me by maybe another hour, not sure.

Anyway, we had masks on, and I got big hugs from both of them, what joy. They did not come inside, we stayed outside for about 15 minutes. She ooohed and aaahed over my overgrown secret garden, which made me feel good. She gave me a lovely T-shirt, and said when she saw it she just had to get it for me. She said I am her strong sister. Well, I can tell you right now, that there are many times I do NOT feel very strong at all, and any strength that is showing is because of Jesus, as He is my strength. Thank you dear Sue for your prayers, love and encouragement.

Here I am in new T, sitting where I zoom with them each week.

Next, I'm going to share with you from my journal from last night and this morning. I was not being very strong, but reading in Psalms 91 and 119, calmed me down and I was so thankful. I thought I'd share the real deal, instead of just typing out what I had written. I was in bed, had just turned out the lights and no sooner had I turned over when I could hear wind starting up out of the blue and then rain. Oh good grief. Ever since going through 3 bad hurricanes in 2004-2005, and then other ones that were close, when 'weather' starts to happen, adrenaline starts pumping. I hate it. I wasn't this bad when my husband was with me.

I have been journaling for more years than I can remember. It helps me a lot, especially since God called my dear husband home 7 1/2 years ago. I write about life, thoughts, fears, thankfulness, etc.

When I went back to bed about an hour later, the encouraging scripture verses kept running through my head, and the ending was really powerful for me.

"No matter what happens, I will live unafraid." That is my prayer for each and every day.

The title of this post is Providence. I heard a piece taken from the Heidelberg Catechism this morning and it blessed my heart. I pray that it will also bless you.

Providence is

The almighty and ever present
power of God
by which He upholds,
as with His hands,
heaven and earth and all creatures,
and so rules them that
leaf and blade,
rain and drought,
fruitful and lean years,
food and drink,
health and sickness,
prosperity and poverty ~
all things, in fact,
come not to us
by chance
but from His Fatherly hand.

I will close with the wonderful photo taken the other day. I was sitting here in my space and looked out the window and saw this.

Love, hugs and prayers for all ~ FlowerLady

Living in hope

Hello Friends ~ I pray that you are all doing well in spite of this pandemic we are all dealing with. We are well into our 4th month of isolation, masks, distancing, etc. all in hopes of staying well.

The other morning I woke up with the old hymn, 'Whispering Hope', running through my mind. That made me want to write a post about hope.

As a believer in Jesus being God, my hope is in Him. He is the Creator of the universe and all that is in it and in Acts 17:28 of the Bible it says ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’

In Romans 14:8 we read, 'If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.'

Wikipedia says this about hope. "Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large."

Right now, I would say that most of our world is living in hope. We are all effected by this pandemic, our health (physical and mental), finances, relationships, governments, on and on. We hope things will get better, we hope it is soon.

What are we to do each and every day when we wake up and it hits us, that we are still dealing with this worldwide situation. We don't know when it will end, we don't know what life will be like, 'after'.

We are also hoping for there to be peace among all peoples. We need more kindness, love, forgiveness, encouragement. Selfishness and entitlement are not good things for us to live by, they enslave us.

The answer is let us have hope in God, let us see the beauty and goodness in each new day, let us be thankful.

I will share some Bible verses here along with pictures from Plum Cottage.

Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who hope in the Lord.
Ps. 31:24

Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.

Psalm 42:5

This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.

Lamentations 3:21-22

Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Isaiah 40:31

The Lord alone is our radiant hope
and we trust in him with all our hearts.
His wrap-around presence will strengthen us.
Psalms 33:20

My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
Psalm 62:5

Seek the LORD and his strength;  seek his presence continually!

I Chronicles 16:11

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Psalm 46:10

-----------------

I will close this post with the lyrics for 'Whispering Hope', also three different musical versions that I found on you-tube.

Soft as the voice of an angel,
Breathing a lesson unheard.
Hope with a gentle persuasion,
Whispers her comforting word.

Wait till the darkness is over,
Wait till the tempest is done.
Hope for the sunshine tomorrow,
After the shower is gone.

Whispering hope,
O how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in it's sorrow rejoice.

Hope has an anchor so steadfast,
Rends the dark veil for the soul.
Wither the Master has entered,
Robbing the grave of it's goal.

Come then o come glad fruition,
Come to my sad weary soul.
Come Thou O blessed hope of glory,
Never O never depart.

Whispering hope,
O how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in it's sorrow rejoice.

If in the dusk of the twilight,
Dim be the region afar.
Will not the deepening darkness,
Brighten the shimmering star?

Then when the night is upon us,
Why should the heart sink away?
When the dark midnight is over,
Watch for the breaking of day.

Whispering hope,
O how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in it's sorrow rejoice.

----------------

Firm Faith Zimbabwe

Whispering Hope on harmonica

Musical leaf - Hi everyone, Thank you all, I'm glad you enjoy my playing. I must say God He himself made this simple and beautiful instrument. I only picked it and played it. God bless you all. -Leaflute

That's it for now.

Love, hugs and prayers,

FlowerLady

Morning Rainbow

Good morning Folks ~ Here it is another Monday morning. It is partly cloudy, breezy, looking like we could get more rain. I need to mow the back, but that's not going to happen with wet grass. I was able to mow the front little lawn and driveway area last week, plus trim and weedeat along the sidewalk/front hedge.

The morning of the 17th I opened up the blinds in my little space here and low and behold I saw a rainbow. So, I grabbed my phone and quickly raced outside before it disappeared.

I always love seeing a rainbow. It brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart.  It is God's promise to us that He will never destroy the earth again with a flood.

"It represents His goodness, His mercy and grace, His love and longsuffering, and, most of all, it is a reminder that His promises are true and faithful." (From livinggospeldaily.)

Our opportunity is to Soar our Spirit.

To see Light and Joy in everything.

To spread our wings and fly boldly.

To give thanks for rainbows and butterflies -

our symbols of renewal and rebirth.

To offer daily Thanksgiving - for ourselves, our family,

our friends, our community, for the whole world.

 Jonathan Lockwood Huie

***

May you all have a peace filled week.

May you be well and stay safe.

Love, hugs and prayers ~ FlowerLady

Change of scenery

Good Saturday morning from Plum Cottage, may you all find beauty and joy in the weekend.

Yesterday morning I woke up from a horrible claustrophobic dream and had a big panic attack. Sheesh! It was right around 5 and I decided to get up. I started the kettle for a cup of tea, and then had a spell of 'dry heaving'. Oh my gosh. I prayed, read scripture and eventually calmed down. I felt out of sorts and not so good most of the day, but gradually by the end of the day I was feeling more normal and much better. I slept good last night and was thankful for that.

One thing I did yesterday that helped give me a different perspective was to go into the caravan and lie down on the bench/bed in there. It was very warm, but not unbearable. I just laid there. It was nice to be out of the house, out of the gardens, to be somewhere different. Sure it is an unfinished project, the last one dear husband was working on. I will never finish it like he would have done, but I can make it look more presentable. Right now I've stored some things in there, but I can easily clear them out and go from there. It is a sweet little place. We 'were' going to camp in there while working on laying new flooring in our bedroom. That didn't happen of course. Life goes on though, and here it is 7 1/2 years later, I'm still putting one foot in front of the other, doing what I can.

I loved the way the sunlight was shining through one of the stained glass windows.

These past 4 months have been rough for everyone around the whole world. We are all affected differently. It has made me miss my dear husband all the more. It has made me think about what is really important at this stage of my life. It's not about things, it's about faith in God, love for Him and for others. It's about forgiveness, about encouraging one another, letting go of the past, looking forward to each new day.

This morning I came across this scripture that inspired me to keep focused on Jesus. To know that He is my strength when I am weak, that He is always with me.

My fellow believers,
when it seems as though
you are facing nothing but difficulties
see it as an invaluable opportunity
to experience the greatest joy that you can!
 
For you know that when your faith is tested
it stirs up power within you to endure all things.

And then as your endurance grows even stronger
it will release perfection into every part of your being
until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.

James 1:2-4 TPT

That's it for now. I've got to eat some breakfast and get ready for our GriefShare meet and greet zoom meeting this morning. There may be only 4 of us, but God will be right there with us comforting us with His ever lasting love.

Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady

Little accomplishments ;-)

Hi Folks ~ Today is a new day, a gift from our heavenly Father, Creator of the universe and all that is in it. May we be glad and rejoice in it.

My tropical jungle continues to 'overgrow'. Mowing is a weekly occurrence if it can be done in between times of rain. There is also always something to trim, as I never get caught up with it all.

View out the scullery window as a storm was headed in my direction.

The flowers of course are enjoying all of God's liquid sunshine. This rose below is 'Prosperity' and I've had it for years. The blooms always make me smile and give thanks and I put my nose to the blooms to take in their delicate sweet scent.

Below are alamanda blooms, this plant was grown from a cutting. Only one out of 6 cuttings made it. I love the coloring of this one.

The other day my dear friend Rita was going to drop off a couple of things she had for me, one was this lovely, key ring, which touched my heart.

Plus she stopped on the way and got me a Wendy's cheeseburger, fries, lemonade and a big cookie. Such a dear to do this and it was much appreciated.

My driveway needed some serious trimming as 4 o'clocks and other things were sprawling. So I tackled the job before she got here. It took a couple of hours and I was working in the shade, sweating but not as bad as if I'd been working in the sun.

Before

After

Tree limbs from the neighbors trees are over hanging the driveway. I do appreciate the shade, but, it's overgrowth is getting to be way too much. I cut back what I can reach and I keep praying that the tree service that takes care of trimming trees for the power lines will come along and take care of it all. They have done so in the past. My dear husband used to take care of it. The last time it was done was 2-3 years ago by a friend's tree man, no cost to me.

From the sidewalk looking north.

From the back looking south.

Little side gate into front patio.

Well, I won't be buying a new phone for connecting with Zoom. My Wi-fi connection is what's wrong. I checked my ATT account and I now only have the basic internet connection. We used to have a great connection, but I did get rid of my landline because of finances so just have U-verse, maybe they cut my connection back. As a widow, on a very limited budget, I really have to watch my spending. I am relieved about not buying a new phone, as that's a LOT of $$. This one works just fine and does have a great camera.

I have an older computer with windows 7 and no camera on my monitor, so I googled web-cams. I read and read reviews and info on these cameras and finally ended up with this one below.

Web Camera

My brother-in-law and sis-in-law were very impressed with the quality of audio and video when we 'zoomed' on Sunday.

I was intimidated by this all as my DH was the computer geek. I had to purchase a web cam on my own, then downloaded the zoom program to my computer. And YAY, I did it! It was so nice to zoom and not be frustrated about being cut off constantly. Plus on my computer I can 'see' everyone so much larger than being on phone.

My friend Rita and I will be starting a new session of GriefShare, online, using zoom. This is all new territory, much different than doing it in person. Please keep us in your prayers, and for any who will attend these meetings in this way.

Below are a couple of visitors.

I had just opened up the curtains on the back door and saw this stray cat lounging. It wasn't all the way light out yet, outdoor light hadn't shut off, and he saw me,

then ignored me.

Here is another visitor from yesterday afternoon.

In the pic below, he must have sensed me staring at him through the window and decided to vacate the premises.

I will close this post in saying that reminders of love can show up when we least expect it. This one was on the bumper of my van.

Keep me in your prayers as I try to take care of this place. It does get overwhelming at times, and especially during this time of isolation.

Thank you all for your love, prayers and encouragement.

Thank you dear Deb for the three masks you made and sent. I will think of you and pray for you as I wear them.

Thank you dear Terra for this sweet 'bear' hug.

That's it from Plum Cottage for now.

Love, hugs and prayers,

FlowerLady