Of chocolate pies and friendship....

I cannot believe how lazy I have been this week, trying to get rid of this pneumonia! Goodness... I'll be so glad to be up and going strong again......... it has really just worn me out, though, and, though I have felt reallly guilty..... I've had strong admonitions from friends and family to "rest and get well!" They left out the "or else" part, but it was definitely implied... hehe.
And my dear sisters - in - the - Lord and precious friends have encouraged me through it all! One has emailed me repeatedly to check up on my progress, and today one called wanting to know what kind of pie I would like her to make.... I picked chocolate, and it has been delicious, and so appreciated!

But most of all I am thankful for people calling my name out to the Lord... What a blessed person I am that someone would take the time to do that for me! As the old song says: "His eye is on the sparrow andI know He watches me....." I have noticed that sometimes when I'm ill, God will talk to my heart about certain things; things I need to work on, do a better job at, or things such as a need to spend more time in prayer or reading God's Word, or even the need to be kinder, or to show more compassion to others....... and that has been the case during this week of illness.... Oh my! I want to take these things to heart.....

Just sharing with you all some ramblings that I have been thinking on during all of this "resting".....
I hope each of you has a wonderful weekend!

Not feeling Well, But Content in Him....

(This is another photo of our friend Jack's amazing roses..)

This sickeness just popped up, out of the blue.... (but isn't that the way it usually happens??) I woke up on Thursday with this gurgling rail deep in my left lung, and thought uh oh! As an athsmatic, I have had congestion and pneumonia too many times to count. All that congestion has left some permanant scarring in my lungs.... so this sound was nothing new. Yesterday, however, when the nausea kept hitting me in waves, I was just a sick girl.....

I have felt my Lord's prescence through it all, though! How dear it is to know He is there with us in sickness..... and to feel His sweet nearness is just so beautiful! I know without doubt that He can heal me, and that He will see me through! He is Faithful, Always!

I love Him so much!

Sharing Some Wisdom from Proverbs

(This is a photo of those cute mallards swimming...)

Just sharing some scriptures that spoke to my heart today....

Prov. 3: 5-6:

5: "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6: "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Prov. 3: 25-26:

25: "Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

26: "For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken."

Prov. 11: 30:

30: "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise."

Prov. 18: 10:

10: "The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe."

Prov. 24: 10, 24: 16

10: "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small."

16: "For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief."

Happy Father's Day, Daddy

This is a picture from Christmas Eve 2010. Dad was sitting in his favorite chair to open gifts. I am so thankful for my Dad! I have mentioned before on this blog that I was adopted, and I feel that God gave me the most loving parents a child could ever have. Dad has always been there through thick and thin, and I have never doubted his love for me. One of my favorite memories is of how as a child I was afraid of the dark, and Dad would come in every night to pray with me and read the Bible to me and assure me that God was with me. One night I woke in the dark after everyone had gone to bed, and was terrified, and whispered, "Jesus, please wake my Dad up and let him come to check on me!" Well, it wasn't but a few minutes, and there he came! "Are you ok?" he whispered, and, of course, since he was there, I was! I am so thankful for him, and for all the love he has showered on me all these years.......I love you, Dad!

I must say also, that I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father..... what would I do without Him??? He is my everything!

The Song My Heart Is Singing......

For the past couple of days, this song has been on my heart, and I have found myself singing it at the top of my voice several times....... it is based on Matt. 10: 29-31

"His Eye Is On The Sparrow" by Civilla D. Martin, 1905

Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows come
Why should my heart be lonely
and long for Heav'n and home
When Jesus is my portion
My constant Friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow
and I know He watches me (repeat)

I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me

"Let not your heart be troubled"
His tender Word I hear
And resting on His goodness
I lose my doubts and fears
though by the path He leadeth
but one step I may see
His eye is on the Sparrow
And I know He watches me (repeat)

Shopping in Galveston

As I had mentioned in the previous post, last Saturday my family and I spent the day on Galveston Island, Texas. It is an island off the Texas coast that opens into the gulf of Mexico. It is a place rich in history, and so interesting to visit. The famous pirate Jean Lafitte hung around there, and later, during WW2, German subs regularly prowled the Gulf Coast off of Galveston. One of the more fascinating stories about Galveston, is that of the terrible 1900 hurricane, known as The Great Storm; that killed thousands and devestated the entire island. As a result, sand was dredged from the ocean floor, and hauled in to raise the island eight feet higher. A sea wall was also built to help withstand the pounding waves of future storms. It has done a pretty good job, but the storm surge from hurricane Ike in 2008, did manage to tear up quite a bit of Galveston and other areas of the Gulf Coast pretty badly.

Above are some pictures I took of displays in a store called "The Admiralty". It is located in the Strand shopping district of Galveston, and I enjoyed looking at all of the "beachy" themed items they had for sale.... please enlarge the bottom photo for a closer look at the angels made out of sea shells. Aren't they cute?

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!

An Old Fashioned Soda Fountain

My Family and I took a trip to Galveston Island on Saturday. It was a beautiful day, albeit pretty hot! The sea breezes, blew, though, and the water was gorgeous.... We went shopping on "The Strand" (I'll share photos later of some of the pretty shops we saw) and we took a detour into La King's Old Fashioned Soda Fountain and Ice Cream Shop. It is like stepping into the past! Things are made the old fashioned way, and there was a man making salt water taffy by hand, and then he wrapped it and threw it into the crowd for people to catch and enjoy..... La King's also has an amazing candy counter full of all kinds of goodies, as well as wooden buckets of the salt water taffy...

and delicous, salty/buttery pop corn to offset all that sweetness! It was fun to enjoy a step back in time for a little while.....

I hope each of you had an enjoyable weekend, too!

Into The Deep... Sort Of!!!!

(Click on the photos if you'd like a closer look)

Tonight my family and I took another trip to Kemah, to view their fireworks display over the bay. It was a lovely evening, and we had lots of fun..... I couldn't resist popping in to the Aquarium Restaurant, to get a few pictures of these denizens of the deep. The Aquarium restaurant makes you feel as if you are literally dining under the sea... you are surrounded on nearly all sides by huge aquariums full of fish, eels, sharks, and stingrays, all swimming among lovely rocks and coral reefs. The walls are all simulated coral reefs, and on the far wall there are several smaller tanks, one in particular representing the Amazon River, is full of piranha fish.... I still remember my first look into that tank..... I had been eating, and keep seeing it across the room, and thought, hmmm... what is that muddy looking tank supposed to represent? So I got up and took a look, and stepped back when I saw all the toothy underbites those fish were sporting!

I am just amazed when I think of the wonders God has created, how that a beautiful world exists under the ocean.... teeming with beauty and life, and created for His pleasure. No wonder He created everything, and then saw that it was good! He is amazing!

We also got to meet a very nice lady named Jeanie, who is suffering with much pain in her body. I am honored that she asked us to pray for her healing. I will not take it lightly, for I know my God is the Master Physician, and He can heal! I have seen Him heal people, including myself way too many times not to believe it with all of my heart...........

I hope that each of you have a wonderful weekend......

Gracie Owns Me: Bambi, Jazz, and Billy. Thanks for the Smiles.

Gracie Owns Me: Bambi, Jazz, and Billy. Thanks for the Smiles.

Many thanks to Bobbi from Gracie Owns me. She is a dear sweet soul to have done this post....

Jenni

More Petsitting Fun

This Weekend, my sister and I got to go and petsit for our dear friends Kathy and Tommy. We only cared for the the one cat, Alex, this time, because Kathy took the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Jazz, with them to her daughter's. Sadly, the other precious kitty, Toulous, recently passed away.
My sister and I just gave extra love and attention to Alex. We managed to fit in some shopping, too, and I got the cutest pair of bling-y flip flops. I just had to smile when I saw Alex had gotten comfortable right next to the flip flops.... I guess he liked them, too!

We drove over to the nearby Lake, and were dismayed at how low it is getting due to the terrible drought we are experiencing in this part of Texas.... imagine my delight, though, when I spied a Mallard Hen and Drake.... they were the only ducks on that part of the lake, and would not leave each other's side as they rooted through the puddles of water for tidbits to snack on. They were so sweet! They stuck really close together as they waddled up and down the beach, and even when they went for a swim..... I was glad to get a photo of them foraging..... please click on it and enlarge it, so that you can see the drake with his head in the sand. He looked so cute flipping the sand up with his bill....

The next picture is of some yellow coreopsis at the garden shop, a big old bug was having a time in those flowers, and I just had to get a shot.....

It was such a nice and peaceful weekend.... My sister and I knelt and prayed together in the living room each evening..... and what joy, being in the prescence of the Lord! One of the specific prayers I prayed was answered today, and I am thankful......Praise the Lord! He Alone is Worthy!