tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6092548947543381842024-03-18T14:37:06.907-04:00Random Thoughts of a Great-Granny GrandmaGreat-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.comBlogger486125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-68224905332333383612024-03-17T21:54:00.000-04:002024-03-17T21:54:07.164-04:00BEAUTIFUL SPRING: PART 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-16hEbpllzojR_JmvHcFSH5UGYePT-J4jNZWv5Eabml-v3iaiyW81fSIg8Rl-DAWqDo2WN2sF8YSP7e_eQghPRZiDc9ZHyRxyPr0aps-_w5tZwUBSluDdEgn6E6DqkRNx-BrinX9mvdgrQgUPgqaRv9PtULOkfGl3AHuN-WLwxUNKzgL7j9XmFJbCat4_/s640/1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-16hEbpllzojR_JmvHcFSH5UGYePT-J4jNZWv5Eabml-v3iaiyW81fSIg8Rl-DAWqDo2WN2sF8YSP7e_eQghPRZiDc9ZHyRxyPr0aps-_w5tZwUBSluDdEgn6E6DqkRNx-BrinX9mvdgrQgUPgqaRv9PtULOkfGl3AHuN-WLwxUNKzgL7j9XmFJbCat4_/w150-h200/1.jpg" width="150" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Th<i>is post was written for <a href="https://fiveminutefriday.com/" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration-line: none;"><b>Five Minute Friday</b></a></i></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--HURRY</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">----------------------------------------------------------</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We've been having such beautiful weather lately, it's been hard to stick to my daily routine. I would much rather be out and about.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">On Friday, I had a bunch of errands to run and my intent was to hurry and get them done as quickly as possible, come home and hurry through the rest of my must do's, and get this post written and posted on Friday. However, as you can see, that's not what happened. I am writing this on Sunday evening instead.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: white;">There were so many things that caught my eye, I kept pulling over and getting out of the car to take pictures instead of hurrying to get home. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">By the time I finally did get back, I felt like that little cupid resting on the steps of a friend's house and needed a nap.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">I don't like to always be in a hurry, but feel as though I need to be or I won't be able to get everything done that needs to get done. Lately, however, I've been trying to slow down and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">become more in tune with what the Lord has for me to do each day, instead of trying to be the one in control. That way there always will be enough time, and I won't be stressed out by the constant hurry, hurry.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">As I was writing this post, Luke 10:41-42 came to mind. "<i>Martha, Martha," the Lord replied, "you are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her" </i>(BSB).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">----------------------------------------</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Following are some of my favorite shots taken on Friday. Enjoy!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhuRhWuN5PcV8BQcanAm4JhurcEbwhR54zUZ4PfCgT141LhuNMQ5OOk-QVQSYttvTRk37q3pBGfUCuhT2Z7kEOMpq2jJu_Vmep2pgO3XOSWnElQUFuvcOedapRvTvvrkBXZz2V9nO-U1CfkmtkiIuq5rM4Zt15BT0lC0hDDQ1x8Ho4hqRDfEAij49souU/s640/2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhuRhWuN5PcV8BQcanAm4JhurcEbwhR54zUZ4PfCgT141LhuNMQ5OOk-QVQSYttvTRk37q3pBGfUCuhT2Z7kEOMpq2jJu_Vmep2pgO3XOSWnElQUFuvcOedapRvTvvrkBXZz2V9nO-U1CfkmtkiIuq5rM4Zt15BT0lC0hDDQ1x8Ho4hqRDfEAij49souU/w150-h200/2.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3yiNxHfbw9rG3Zoa_4ZHWeYkMvhjQTnT6DQVvsCsXTKfA62i3-9QCM8hnO2zWw4Pr91KbmQ2pF6-TybecEPlwS5yuJ4B4B1I-S817Vktg7LE2R7uyk0NTOFjguxf9XAjk6T6Bveq2gYCXSM1P6-sDXZfEU-9MNT2-hW4xja9Qba4NXnPkdDTBSnrIy3H/s640/3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3yiNxHfbw9rG3Zoa_4ZHWeYkMvhjQTnT6DQVvsCsXTKfA62i3-9QCM8hnO2zWw4Pr91KbmQ2pF6-TybecEPlwS5yuJ4B4B1I-S817Vktg7LE2R7uyk0NTOFjguxf9XAjk6T6Bveq2gYCXSM1P6-sDXZfEU-9MNT2-hW4xja9Qba4NXnPkdDTBSnrIy3H/w150-h200/3.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK42iZmx36pwLUSjqFVc_pRwkV1WmHnbUdkMlH6YX9NUjal1N3nIpMGls7FhISFmmiUplKh-TZntWRiDXlaV_vXHo8b8qDI1dESRACqmChj2zSSny8Be29pFSoXDZzSq7Gn8D4861HdiZkEVO0JzotHnIHJibiR1yCCK_yAPYCratJESlQYSVN9sjfnT9u/s640/4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK42iZmx36pwLUSjqFVc_pRwkV1WmHnbUdkMlH6YX9NUjal1N3nIpMGls7FhISFmmiUplKh-TZntWRiDXlaV_vXHo8b8qDI1dESRACqmChj2zSSny8Be29pFSoXDZzSq7Gn8D4861HdiZkEVO0JzotHnIHJibiR1yCCK_yAPYCratJESlQYSVN9sjfnT9u/w150-h200/4.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnptgutle3bWfQTLaqt1rx3fl81lVPS4gDuR_NL2lE5G96tY4yScSlPG_DTOjCjOGp9LK-NDGEtLxWzhBHdx3onJQtlBCfjwErZgFNyXDNp5ACbezQ9OeKWJD4zuRn5KqwVVbeEOuswzXIulenlisxhY_GqwENj8um4eXT_5KNlz42OU0RLpEI5xE7PYCW/s611/5.jpg" style="clear: right; 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float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwyCwx29wOmz2d1Vi_lYHkZQ9mBo-mzMsmf0HBTB7SpApWm9PnRdqRTMQrlqmGKpMv5Cjhgn5mFepBdTHT887XPNoQHzNl7krijJsO7keS2he-spw2u2GWGBLed4JQRImg0x2wmluyzNorK37l9CGm1EDR0k-2wvZOcYCmoQPhgfVkFDNvzsokPcSpxCF1/w150-h200/14.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlBcM-IHruB6wR25u7y87Iv9kzRzHN6zz8NUSFPN60R8Wvdbxjzbo6pE7U8IRaqOcTmYvpWEwkn4XMkJBzXJ1Gs8KxFSiPsxyq1qxaIj5AYXx9dIgsmFU2d1GGZcBSdRVQIJ8w66rqIx__UReGVOfxEpNXh9dkQnTtF9-owFpmr9GqeMBHrnrXPWN8dVY0/s640/18.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlBcM-IHruB6wR25u7y87Iv9kzRzHN6zz8NUSFPN60R8Wvdbxjzbo6pE7U8IRaqOcTmYvpWEwkn4XMkJBzXJ1Gs8KxFSiPsxyq1qxaIj5AYXx9dIgsmFU2d1GGZcBSdRVQIJ8w66rqIx__UReGVOfxEpNXh9dkQnTtF9-owFpmr9GqeMBHrnrXPWN8dVY0/w150-h200/18.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYrQh80OItLbd_MPCXWccSsxUQVhFhshzeGaQv7rZtPMhnaJ-GCsSrrccrZupwOs7kIWKu9ZIo6PUFPKGpFGtwxe1uyK0VxHhihN8pXdwufzBBdrJtmebszRMIn0ho-30M6uas9xzXSU9JCBxfhDtIDak5sMme8R1VvibNg7i4Nq_cJ7lCuLHanDXhFEo/s640/21.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYrQh80OItLbd_MPCXWccSsxUQVhFhshzeGaQv7rZtPMhnaJ-GCsSrrccrZupwOs7kIWKu9ZIo6PUFPKGpFGtwxe1uyK0VxHhihN8pXdwufzBBdrJtmebszRMIn0ho-30M6uas9xzXSU9JCBxfhDtIDak5sMme8R1VvibNg7i4Nq_cJ7lCuLHanDXhFEo/w150-h200/21.jpg" width="150" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-32095662525664014842024-03-12T22:05:00.002-04:002024-03-12T22:06:14.702-04:00PRETTY PINKS AND BLUES<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsOmSUXOPnNpsw44_gJWY4COpfvLJ1vkK8vQYwIxz4o32pHoUm1sKvIFaoDzHP99FI4C_vhtuIJvSQ7eVeflHA_93DBapG9HUHAk2e4JgWGWb3VkQXxXM4kD3b_1lgPwFQbc7ZkWLovHyh3KdXcGkXvI5C6NOD7EW_qhBNQR81QSRod1JmEPGDd2icVzx/s406/1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="387" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsOmSUXOPnNpsw44_gJWY4COpfvLJ1vkK8vQYwIxz4o32pHoUm1sKvIFaoDzHP99FI4C_vhtuIJvSQ7eVeflHA_93DBapG9HUHAk2e4JgWGWb3VkQXxXM4kD3b_1lgPwFQbc7ZkWLovHyh3KdXcGkXvI5C6NOD7EW_qhBNQR81QSRod1JmEPGDd2icVzx/w191-h200/1.jpg" width="191" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This cute display in the floral department of our Local Harris Teeter store caught my eye.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAgqfyO7gFqUALgh9-j33bGSxleMQMUNziNoGENZNjqEEs6oNEe9HuLkFNVDG2e8rClNGzPORqUwjMMcFpa15k5DMa6r5L8Qsnih882aTbJ6Ruy2czhrZGkFVEaA_vQEttLHxorhFBtWjPawOW_wgxPfoqngGCqb8u4X1TL72cVesKSCHMw4o8aNoBFf5v/s640/2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAgqfyO7gFqUALgh9-j33bGSxleMQMUNziNoGENZNjqEEs6oNEe9HuLkFNVDG2e8rClNGzPORqUwjMMcFpa15k5DMa6r5L8Qsnih882aTbJ6Ruy2czhrZGkFVEaA_vQEttLHxorhFBtWjPawOW_wgxPfoqngGCqb8u4X1TL72cVesKSCHMw4o8aNoBFf5v/w150-h200/2.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrIo-mq-4Vsw2ZQ6XUTTPKZvt_KkIEpS4G4kKc6Tyb0CXpDiPjv_Sf4TGzs7YI9cO2qhW5necDRq-wjxsjm1nEzqkUQW_FSBp_NGy9m6wqVwTO81j4ldvbudgJxjNVcmTlCSKKmoQQS25znfNhojwnrV-L18pOzWQDucWbP5N3vHeWSn0ndEXktd8fcBx/s640/4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrIo-mq-4Vsw2ZQ6XUTTPKZvt_KkIEpS4G4kKc6Tyb0CXpDiPjv_Sf4TGzs7YI9cO2qhW5necDRq-wjxsjm1nEzqkUQW_FSBp_NGy9m6wqVwTO81j4ldvbudgJxjNVcmTlCSKKmoQQS25znfNhojwnrV-L18pOzWQDucWbP5N3vHeWSn0ndEXktd8fcBx/w150-h200/4.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHpXW9VLBSS5yhA1NUW5IhuTPKwY2OVHj0buL1bY-m9CUIaObeo1ITof6Cd1roa5ocMaVCvEIHbQtVCucjUWixRdSyIidSWecKVeMbMhGkuLDGRjo8c1xweJcGojkDhIYSCP1sCSdW8XN4_fawgjPR_7W0wSw3EnE3BTqny-9FXCpVbBtAwcGuSMKS9X-/s640/5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHpXW9VLBSS5yhA1NUW5IhuTPKwY2OVHj0buL1bY-m9CUIaObeo1ITof6Cd1roa5ocMaVCvEIHbQtVCucjUWixRdSyIidSWecKVeMbMhGkuLDGRjo8c1xweJcGojkDhIYSCP1sCSdW8XN4_fawgjPR_7W0wSw3EnE3BTqny-9FXCpVbBtAwcGuSMKS9X-/w150-h200/5.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfyeYHbJPpN9TT7CzkmP6bjIX4ayjf2O6Vm9wfflHNnDO1t3Gi4eQiScFXLJoF7yFOIYBoiMy1WcVcDq8yETV19VuXLefUzHEuPm4C9j1lV3Qgc5oXY92lIiw0weRRZe1IMII_k8j3SEbT-MzEAFiXllEPqrxfonc7OgN6dYz3gupA7BA2jw157r0WWDk/s640/6.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfyeYHbJPpN9TT7CzkmP6bjIX4ayjf2O6Vm9wfflHNnDO1t3Gi4eQiScFXLJoF7yFOIYBoiMy1WcVcDq8yETV19VuXLefUzHEuPm4C9j1lV3Qgc5oXY92lIiw0weRRZe1IMII_k8j3SEbT-MzEAFiXllEPqrxfonc7OgN6dYz3gupA7BA2jw157r0WWDk/w150-h200/6.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmwQDdbJ5s_g444pL0ijEtLsxWvyNyTAxn9tSeZeT8xg-N8eUH33nOLrxC7Sp0ccxWJq8a0ba5ietRf9NQt-o8w-sub3APK8KEeK95xmLm8GC1JlOas2aG3NYLqvUFRpXyPBhSLtTsdYdoxpHmKWze4e1t1txrmCNsnaO2TBcrToQWj5xRHnNxex6TS5a/s584/9.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="459" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmwQDdbJ5s_g444pL0ijEtLsxWvyNyTAxn9tSeZeT8xg-N8eUH33nOLrxC7Sp0ccxWJq8a0ba5ietRf9NQt-o8w-sub3APK8KEeK95xmLm8GC1JlOas2aG3NYLqvUFRpXyPBhSLtTsdYdoxpHmKWze4e1t1txrmCNsnaO2TBcrToQWj5xRHnNxex6TS5a/w158-h200/9.jpg" width="158" /></a></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">On the way home I saw many beautiful trees full of pink blossoms. So beautiful. I'm not sure what kind they are. Maybe almond trees? Does anybody know?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The picture doesn't really do it justice as it was taken through the dirty windshield of my car. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFfHxd9zOdsGhqOMze3yve_kV0TXLIB1HstQ7xy18W-IjwGJEyoQX6XxqRhM1GFAZ5WZ-OAwYdQbVFHlK9KKwDett9h_I9BeQQy82EPgWUNUk6GfRC8mjV8QQXSl5yDQ-Sos23-9GnJPowU5gXwW_J8XHoqXhwgS8inwwqUTgJl3JVgCEhouI1l-K5raY/s640/11.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFfHxd9zOdsGhqOMze3yve_kV0TXLIB1HstQ7xy18W-IjwGJEyoQX6XxqRhM1GFAZ5WZ-OAwYdQbVFHlK9KKwDett9h_I9BeQQy82EPgWUNUk6GfRC8mjV8QQXSl5yDQ-Sos23-9GnJPowU5gXwW_J8XHoqXhwgS8inwwqUTgJl3JVgCEhouI1l-K5raY/w150-h200/11.jpg" width="150" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I also saw some pretty little pink and blue wildflowers in the grass in front of my building.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Maybe if my back feels up to it tomorrow, I will take a little walk to get some better pictures of the trees.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUin016nFf4YSCnwuAhK0yT1qnvDrNWZFkMaqJf3uZPDt8DKR_RYZqQT2vzxvAoYuO67icZq2XaBI-XXY-5vdq9opa5TyoTAeG_LQfczNtjqv1U0rIdcp8kyxt0e3Eh6P5fVyLKN1UPGby58vvj77KE8Mv0t1nEHwq2lhRZvxImyDj9UYDJoVfW9ADYZn/s579/13.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUin016nFf4YSCnwuAhK0yT1qnvDrNWZFkMaqJf3uZPDt8DKR_RYZqQT2vzxvAoYuO67icZq2XaBI-XXY-5vdq9opa5TyoTAeG_LQfczNtjqv1U0rIdcp8kyxt0e3Eh6P5fVyLKN1UPGby58vvj77KE8Mv0t1nEHwq2lhRZvxImyDj9UYDJoVfW9ADYZn/w166-h200/13.jpg" width="166" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwfcRdN1QToymFpIJl-JZJWrnQ16t87tKcxLPQELR4y3xS-npSCrZQUXhvwezf8eletZZpRGznpUK6KTtzIrccJqmgmrkMp5NMlNkvWjYB8fY-FFeHRxVMhq_bwyeJOnEQPbHkpPcxqdVn5Nr3x5a7kt2D62H5yyxBjXCfuYzkttsGByEnVIV0HRHHQoxS/s640/17.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwfcRdN1QToymFpIJl-JZJWrnQ16t87tKcxLPQELR4y3xS-npSCrZQUXhvwezf8eletZZpRGznpUK6KTtzIrccJqmgmrkMp5NMlNkvWjYB8fY-FFeHRxVMhq_bwyeJOnEQPbHkpPcxqdVn5Nr3x5a7kt2D62H5yyxBjXCfuYzkttsGByEnVIV0HRHHQoxS/w150-h200/17.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-25009809774617843152024-03-10T22:55:00.000-04:002024-03-10T22:55:42.400-04:00PROMPTS MISSED AND MISUNDERSTOOD<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhXZ1ud9QHah1Ie2G5Cd88esphiupufIge8SyvGFgnktd-fiZe6R6BEW_kMcsDZ8GWwZxeE8WmLqLXrsD8PDMja4R6cR1eqCbIl2MzapoVfVZHhMn9ZbPR-PQecfaOz2Mbv95h54YWhygRw25kFgAQybnKLV4qtoge3RNLvmec_7xM4vK2TmaP23YvcXC/s600/Your%20story.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="504" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhXZ1ud9QHah1Ie2G5Cd88esphiupufIge8SyvGFgnktd-fiZe6R6BEW_kMcsDZ8GWwZxeE8WmLqLXrsD8PDMja4R6cR1eqCbIl2MzapoVfVZHhMn9ZbPR-PQecfaOz2Mbv95h54YWhygRw25kFgAQybnKLV4qtoge3RNLvmec_7xM4vK2TmaP23YvcXC/w168-h200/Your%20story.jpeg" width="168" /></a></div><br /></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="https://fiveminutefriday.com/"><b>Five Minute Friday</b></a> prompt from two weeks ago was SUFFERING. I did not participate because it brought up too many painful memories to process in five minutes. However, it kept hounding me until we got this week's prompt, which I thought was <i>DEPEND. </i>It would have been so perfect. Except it turned out that the weekly challenge was <i>DEDICATE, </i>not <i>DEPEND. </i>How I made that error, I'll never understand. The two words don't even look or sound alike. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Anyway, the word <i>depend</i> brought to mind a time when I left everything behind and relocated to accept a job and a marriage proposal from a man I believed was a mature, trustworthy, responsible Christian and who made a big point of telling me how his word was something I could bank on. In the end it all fell through and there was no turning back.*</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Lesson learned was that only God's word can be banked on. His word alone can be trusted one hundred percent of the time. People make commitments they don't or can't always keep. Sometimes it's because they make them impulsively without considering the ramifications. Other times it's because circumstances get in the way. Even the most honorable, best intentioned folks are subject to unexpected events such as sickness, unavoidable delays, and death.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">We have been going through the Book of Psalms in church on Sundays, and today our pastor gave an excellent message on Psalm 96, which is about worship, and about singing to the Lord because He is worthy of our praise, and for the things that He has done, and when he asked us to think of things we are thankful for, this lesson--albeit painful and confusing at the time--was definitely one of them. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">At the end of the message he gave us a challenge to sing a song of worship to the Lord for what He has done, out loud, every day this week. As I wrap up this post, I commit to <i>dedicate</i> myself to doing just that.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">--------------------------------------</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">*This was one of the major pivotal points of my life. It is included in my memoir <i><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sincerely-Wrong-Sandra-Kovacs-Stein/dp/146103390X">Sincerely Wrong: An Improbable Journey</a></span></b>.</i></span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-20310815547387123712024-03-10T19:22:00.001-04:002024-03-10T19:22:23.068-04:00DEDICATE<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MgZp7izbsOBbDjktIkgPbACUkQPLtXs_GKbUItEAXDfhLW73LKtM4rcSgMhal5otQcplVYE6f93b1JK_AtN6cPVmjJGhdbeYA3R_8TjvQb6C3CPZvKrFC5l24roxPmmaSuUKb-Kkzn8nv4jDi6FxzLJ0bgqg7Skm5JbNsHcEjFph8ut-tlp8Ny0Mbt50/s960/Its%20Bazaar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="960" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MgZp7izbsOBbDjktIkgPbACUkQPLtXs_GKbUItEAXDfhLW73LKtM4rcSgMhal5otQcplVYE6f93b1JK_AtN6cPVmjJGhdbeYA3R_8TjvQb6C3CPZvKrFC5l24roxPmmaSuUKb-Kkzn8nv4jDi6FxzLJ0bgqg7Skm5JbNsHcEjFph8ut-tlp8Ny0Mbt50/w200-h174/Its%20Bazaar.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Th</span></i><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">is post was written for <a href="https://fiveminutefriday.com/" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration-line: none;"><b>Five Minute Friday</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--DEDICATE</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">----------------------------------------------------------</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It's March, and there's a lot of noise coming from the water tower across the way. Loud, raucous, <i>quark quark</i>s as the ravens dedicate themselves to getting their nest ready for the babies soon to be born. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This particular raven family first arrived in town quite a few years ago, and built a nest on the water tower across from my balcony. They became very dedicated to the spot and returned to it every year when it was time to lay their eggs. again </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">At one point their nest got removed due to some major maintenance work to the tower, including a much needed paint job. I wondered what would happen when they returned to find it gone. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">They just surveyed the situation and built themselves another nest on the temporary tower that had been erected behind the original one to house all the cellular carrier antennas and telecommunications equipment while the work was going on. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">When the work had been completed, the temporary tower was dismantled and their second nest removed along with it, but it did not seem to put a damper on their dedication to returning to this location one bit. They just built another (third) nest on the original, now spiffied up, tower. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Disappointlingly for me, this nest is on the other side of the tower that is not visible from my balcony, so now I just hear them but cannot watch them the way I used to be able to do.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;">For any of you who might be interested, the first year the ravens arrived and chose the water tower to be the site of their abode, I spent many hours on my balcony taking pictures of them and their babies learning to fly. which became the inspiration for my first children's picture book--</span><i><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Water-Tower-Ravens-Sandra-Kovacs/dp/1490511407">THE WATER TOWER RAVENS</a></span></b><span style="color: #444444;">. </span></i><span style="color: #444444;">It even made the front page of our local newspaper at that time. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;">Alas, I am not very dedicated to marketing, and so sales have dwindled since then, but maybe when and if I ever have more time to spare, I will try and spread the word once again. </span></span></div></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-46124185835257486992024-02-25T23:41:00.001-05:002024-02-25T23:41:28.206-05:00FALLEN THROUGH THE CRACKS<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PSIH_vdRgIzCGuplTSzWdQH9LEki_5D13uVWCsemaYWMupc8xIFdbmsNql25611M5GNBtneop4kZ21_Jbd1sOPK3xMZtdtGxvYx_HNxKuOALAm_2QjVipLKIjlrg-uCij-4WMfVONaEleUJj5Sc5oWd7JKMBk0tiBv0P5UhedJ4ZHQd2wTl7rnj13V61/s1024/Cracks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1024" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PSIH_vdRgIzCGuplTSzWdQH9LEki_5D13uVWCsemaYWMupc8xIFdbmsNql25611M5GNBtneop4kZ21_Jbd1sOPK3xMZtdtGxvYx_HNxKuOALAm_2QjVipLKIjlrg-uCij-4WMfVONaEleUJj5Sc5oWd7JKMBk0tiBv0P5UhedJ4ZHQd2wTl7rnj13V61/w200-h176/Cracks.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Do you ever feel as though you have fallen through the cracks? </span><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Mostly my heart is full of gratitude for the many blessings in my life, but there are times when I feel like that—especially when something happens that triggers old painful memories of feeling overlooked, left out, insignificant, or “less than.” </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> Whenever that happens, I think of the wildflowers (called weeds by some) that bloom where they are planted and grow out of cracks in the road or sidewalk. It reminds me that even when I feel unseen or forgotten, I am never invisible to God. He always knows exactly where I am, and my identity lies in Him alone and not in how I feel I measure up to others or what they might think of me. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Neither you nor I were accidents. God designed us to be Divine originals, created for a special purpose no one else could fulfill (Psalm 139:13-16; Ephesians 2:10). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Even before the beginning of time, every single detail of your life was recorded in His book (Psalm 139:16-17). You are of great value to Him and He loves and cares for you. If you have any doubts about that, just think of the Cross. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">John 3:16 tells us that "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." It is a gift that can only be received by grace, through faith. Salvation cannot be earned by good works (Ephesians 2:8-9). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Although it is not God's will for anyone to perish, He will not impose His will on you or force you to accept it. The choice is yours. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Jesus stands at the door of your heart, knocking and waiting for you to let Him in (Revelation 3:20). If you have not already done so, I pray you would open the door now and accept His invitation to enter your life, forgive you of your sins, and make you a new creation. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">------------------------------------------ </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. . . . My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.</i> <b>– Psalm 139:13-16, NIV</b> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.</i> <b>– Ephesians 2:10, NIV</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.</i> <b>– Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV</b> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,</i> <b>-- John 1:13, ESV</b></span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-71906336334436930522024-02-23T15:31:00.003-05:002024-02-23T15:37:15.180-05:00RESPITE<p> </p><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCmF4Iqc9p15zAdFBE60BjMC3RMVw7EP13DzPK2Q0g2wfVBw2TkgeLGGzF8QyTbb3b6kx9RfYqlQHE2gdkpJyZJWLaUanvbrbD1hisNhdLm4spt5KrTaCRrHTS9Kk0047DzDKvmehS_mZYKB-8k9My_KzGWs6OGOTFPJa1Oacb0FADeBuWQTIpas04hQq/s318/thumb_Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%202.56.48%20PM_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="318" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCmF4Iqc9p15zAdFBE60BjMC3RMVw7EP13DzPK2Q0g2wfVBw2TkgeLGGzF8QyTbb3b6kx9RfYqlQHE2gdkpJyZJWLaUanvbrbD1hisNhdLm4spt5KrTaCRrHTS9Kk0047DzDKvmehS_mZYKB-8k9My_KzGWs6OGOTFPJa1Oacb0FADeBuWQTIpas04hQq/w200-h199/thumb_Screen%20Shot%202024-02-23%20at%202.56.48%20PM_1024.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Th</i><i>is post was written for <a href="https://fiveminutefriday.com/" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration-line: none;"><b>Five Minute Friday</b></a></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--RESPITE</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">----------------------------------------------------------</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>RESPITE</i>: "A short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>RESPITE CARE</i>: "Short-term, time-limited break for families and other unpaid caregivers."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;">At first this prompt did not bring anything to mind, but after I pondered on its definition for a bit it got me to thinking of </span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lisameckle/posts/pfbid02JBCPCiJ89TgRQrfehaPVEqYqYVSVZXJ4xa82jihZBFEkAaPavLtdbC6MHXg85RMTl">a beautiful lady (inside and out)</a></b></span><span style="color: #444444;"> who is one of the most generous, caring, kind-hearted, funniest, warmest, loving, Jesus-like people I know. She has a big, big heart, and His love just flows through her.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">She had been a caregiver to each of her parents, and after they both passed and she became the official owner of their home, one of her first thoughts was to use it to be a blessing. She named it after her mom, and created a special respite room for caregivers to use as a getaway for a night or a weekend at no charge. They have an option to be alone B&B style or to hang out with a group of ladies and "do dinner, movies, games, (and/or) devotions" </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the introduction to her Facebook page she quotes 1 John 3:18 --"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." And that she does with all of her heart. She's the genuine, real thing.</span></div></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-26674068787880456462024-02-21T18:53:00.001-05:002024-02-21T18:53:42.246-05:00MY FIRST WORDLESS WEDNESDAY<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXi4YkoJWXJniF4wjJdZVa2N27UGs1aoLPkh6LBShBoW2gnEL4_7Ym6LFfkOCWcyTafA68QkxlVCnbec4xHSf1LmFdiJUKwzpnMUiPDYktGf4tayAThEt4rXBZqB8ZiI4l7c3s8TorVkF3hpPJIJlRioR-V6aOw779lhYu0q_jMSYMNnVJkaYtQsLIH3DL/s640/IMG_0777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="640" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXi4YkoJWXJniF4wjJdZVa2N27UGs1aoLPkh6LBShBoW2gnEL4_7Ym6LFfkOCWcyTafA68QkxlVCnbec4xHSf1LmFdiJUKwzpnMUiPDYktGf4tayAThEt4rXBZqB8ZiI4l7c3s8TorVkF3hpPJIJlRioR-V6aOw779lhYu0q_jMSYMNnVJkaYtQsLIH3DL/s320/IMG_0777.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-55054122721131870212024-02-16T15:44:00.000-05:002024-02-16T15:44:10.158-05:00SPOILER ALERT<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpM4P58pKYV0sHU41LCniyWTSJzItekTw3y9DR79HJ3qKjdzyYcnsGzmo9mqUShk97Z_xVX4VIelzF2tK_Qa8026F9mieasgRgOv2g1YevpnJPDUKnIgyQl4eigGAR-Pfy6P0QsBoKD5yBbPlqBYi6zMs3mFGNmEfgtmTNxFs2luPeGFME09jeyXtnN-8/s640/IMG_0801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpM4P58pKYV0sHU41LCniyWTSJzItekTw3y9DR79HJ3qKjdzyYcnsGzmo9mqUShk97Z_xVX4VIelzF2tK_Qa8026F9mieasgRgOv2g1YevpnJPDUKnIgyQl4eigGAR-Pfy6P0QsBoKD5yBbPlqBYi6zMs3mFGNmEfgtmTNxFs2luPeGFME09jeyXtnN-8/w150-h200/IMG_0801.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br />Th</i><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">is post was written for <a href="https://fiveminutefriday.com/" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration-line: none;"><b>Five Minute Friday</b></a></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--SPOIL</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">----------------------------------------------------------</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;">My mind is still ruminating on thoughts from my last trip to the grocery store that I posted as an </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://greatgrannygrandma.blogspot.com/2024/02/happy-valentines-day-and-addendum-to.html">addendum to last week's prompt, </a></span></b><b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://greatgrannygrandma.blogspot.com/2024/02/happy-valentines-day-and-addendum-to.html">Consumer</a></span></b><span style="color: #444444;"><i>. </i>Thoughts of how spoiled we have become in my little corner of the world (me included), and how wasteful we are and quick to consider things spoiled and throw them out.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ZX_OpGcyXgTvsyXe-KvFayv_EBt9zEE5CFgKSU2qANFLpw9rGr2cGqOL1n1QVC6YR7leEFE5QIfBlx-IS4ExUt0zGbw4QN9ibtcWgg5xnhvfjPclfVJgS2R5Mjm0yQbBfc7tdPk_OS6mHHOo1n294PnHKKDz5ncCOwmyprMZ_K3qhqlOsob3H2SO0rrk/s640/IMG_0805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="596" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ZX_OpGcyXgTvsyXe-KvFayv_EBt9zEE5CFgKSU2qANFLpw9rGr2cGqOL1n1QVC6YR7leEFE5QIfBlx-IS4ExUt0zGbw4QN9ibtcWgg5xnhvfjPclfVJgS2R5Mjm0yQbBfc7tdPk_OS6mHHOo1n294PnHKKDz5ncCOwmyprMZ_K3qhqlOsob3H2SO0rrk/w186-h200/IMG_0805.jpg" width="186" /></a></div>On a lighter note, as I was dumping my trash where all the spoiled things get dumped, I heard a bird loudly singing and other birds responding from other trees as though they were having a conversation back and forth. It took<br />me quite a while to spot it because it was so small, and when I did, was surprised to see that such a small bird could have such a big voice. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;">It seemed strange for so many birds to be out and about, merrily chirping away, when the weather forecasters have issued a winter storm warning for tonight and into the weekend. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Could it be they know something we don't? Are they singing, </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">spoiler alert, spoiler alert. Spring is the only thing on its way?</i></span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-60601762051772879482024-02-13T16:30:00.001-05:002024-02-14T16:17:35.705-05:00HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, AND AN ADDENDUM TO LAST WEEK'S FMF PROMPT "CONSUME"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxOxzVuiAvKdE8nhQFgpV3y7xMecjd1jl__rWrZUb7jB3OP103yNB5NF0-QlUiKZK2wGycNbAF5xeI4HT7M9Hlyib5v3VQ_VqBSMOaYVFCykJqFRJ68Zjx-eBrmtftNwOkFrNUy4mVyKggUKWkAj1LXg6IMdafBKBlwbqpkk3ovPATyXUCtsemXXFFtEu/s640/IMG_0774.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="568" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxOxzVuiAvKdE8nhQFgpV3y7xMecjd1jl__rWrZUb7jB3OP103yNB5NF0-QlUiKZK2wGycNbAF5xeI4HT7M9Hlyib5v3VQ_VqBSMOaYVFCykJqFRJ68Zjx-eBrmtftNwOkFrNUy4mVyKggUKWkAj1LXg6IMdafBKBlwbqpkk3ovPATyXUCtsemXXFFtEu/w178-h200/IMG_0774.jpg" width="178" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>The display of Valentine's Day goods at our local grocery store is so pretty. You can't miss it when you enter the door. I stopped to admire it before starting my trip around the aisles to do some much needed restocking after my <i>No Spend January </i><span>challenge last month.</span><i> </i></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The child-sized "customer in training" shopping carts made me smile, but for some reason, when I looked at them today, I thought the sign said "consumer in training" instead.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDdNaN6YypNl3R7PoTSISRoy0miGroUnLo5unOPU721rx0-QG4SzgVf81y2n3YkPn71MSv2nYX7T1r7Q0R-mEeR4waypgvKs3HdJPaXsng4Gq16c35XCU5iSbk_h0Uvdxt6pIal9_-we1XLBx0OI8J9IvshEOWdx-WSm2lEBxgt4YoSLNFHRifTm5ovQm/s640/2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="494" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDdNaN6YypNl3R7PoTSISRoy0miGroUnLo5unOPU721rx0-QG4SzgVf81y2n3YkPn71MSv2nYX7T1r7Q0R-mEeR4waypgvKs3HdJPaXsng4Gq16c35XCU5iSbk_h0Uvdxt6pIal9_-we1XLBx0OI8J9IvshEOWdx-WSm2lEBxgt4YoSLNFHRifTm5ovQm/w154-h200/2.jpg" width="154" /></a></div><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">That got me to thinking about</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> last</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span> week's FMF prompt <i>CONSUME,</i> and of how one of the participants, Carole Duff, started out her post with the words: </span><i><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://caroleduff.com/2024/02/12/consume-to-eat-drink-buy-buy-buy-and-use-it-up/?fbclid=IwAR0CrBpee_ocb35FrTjHMIt3S9iZD_7QDjju7mdxCJWYrH2ErilOT4sjZNU" target="_blank">Consume: to eat, drink, buy, buy, buy, and use it up</a></span></b>. </i><span>That definitely seems to be the mindset in my neck of the woods. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">My gratitude at being surrounded by so much abundance and being able to come in here and freely buy whatever I want was tinged with guilt over how mindlessly and often frivolously I shop for food. Not everybody is so fortunate.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyzIQBRCx3_IOToCXNjKn_93IQG5Ft8FebmOhhsrYlthYq709h3Qey9aaiRGgUbood7fY1mfKymKrCPg0G8Fq5iUyOJ11cfjUZEQ_AKvN4SdHOcUvgH46KocmKjbMDmrvC7gGqXvhc4dZ7b7YEmxpXUuu_Fn62hyphenhyphenmuVcu2ZUonur1dKfOCmNgbXMvxlTmN/s640/3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyzIQBRCx3_IOToCXNjKn_93IQG5Ft8FebmOhhsrYlthYq709h3Qey9aaiRGgUbood7fY1mfKymKrCPg0G8Fq5iUyOJ11cfjUZEQ_AKvN4SdHOcUvgH46KocmKjbMDmrvC7gGqXvhc4dZ7b7YEmxpXUuu_Fn62hyphenhyphenmuVcu2ZUonur1dKfOCmNgbXMvxlTmN/w150-h200/3.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXR37XBs6lHPeUsOLF0lY94FxG19iUPwmf93zEQdhWgF6vm0c4aEwhqfNNe-n9cRv0NK98rSbKp0aPTsd-9yJeUO6plaqUv2wbyqqQt5_wm8_hXjd4r4d17eBPjhZmf1GvfFm5nwOKIFb61UtwZecznpM1kHnFiFACO7O4SwH2qiHGSRY7rGZ9U8Pk2DzJ/s640/4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="518" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXR37XBs6lHPeUsOLF0lY94FxG19iUPwmf93zEQdhWgF6vm0c4aEwhqfNNe-n9cRv0NK98rSbKp0aPTsd-9yJeUO6plaqUv2wbyqqQt5_wm8_hXjd4r4d17eBPjhZmf1GvfFm5nwOKIFb61UtwZecznpM1kHnFiFACO7O4SwH2qiHGSRY7rGZ9U8Pk2DzJ/w162-h200/4.jpg" width="162" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pbyvGtByJ7NxH3W_OEKymHQzlJULnaRCc6QQ6J3z-OjTrmZ2dkh9TJ9i6sEnchaOEtEbT53X8SJGMrL-k7tXiSh3SVoO7UUtnLJ9IeUocTImyhkm1g50dVefXNtwGf9ByHjte8p-JTwhResUFLFxWVMFcYGlREnw7s-7ebzjaJsZ5sDCx8VKaz9aUA4a/s640/5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pbyvGtByJ7NxH3W_OEKymHQzlJULnaRCc6QQ6J3z-OjTrmZ2dkh9TJ9i6sEnchaOEtEbT53X8SJGMrL-k7tXiSh3SVoO7UUtnLJ9IeUocTImyhkm1g50dVefXNtwGf9ByHjte8p-JTwhResUFLFxWVMFcYGlREnw7s-7ebzjaJsZ5sDCx8VKaz9aUA4a/w150-h200/5.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjYZjjrQegtFqlB3VH9UkU0_b7cQzuHH02QiXBAdrweec8lym21bcLRMhUB1u_QiwjsPyobi6e2xJY8vFS7Dr16IL1M8Qeu0gINIUysqeCd8pSuZQeBjlhZW2KOTq0QP99uWr7ccfhyphenhyphenuwK0CRM3zRMZZWwCKn6qPGZJ-JyBrOiwOiotWLkCV9M61RBDBm/s640/6.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="504" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjYZjjrQegtFqlB3VH9UkU0_b7cQzuHH02QiXBAdrweec8lym21bcLRMhUB1u_QiwjsPyobi6e2xJY8vFS7Dr16IL1M8Qeu0gINIUysqeCd8pSuZQeBjlhZW2KOTq0QP99uWr7ccfhyphenhyphenuwK0CRM3zRMZZWwCKn6qPGZJ-JyBrOiwOiotWLkCV9M61RBDBm/w158-h200/6.jpg" width="158" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">By God's grace, I have never had to go hungry, but according to recent statistics, 46.9 of the world's population lives in poverty, and as many as 828 million people (an average of about one in 10) goes to bed hungry every night.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It made me want to empty my shopping cart, go home, and start another no-spend month challenge right then and there, but I didn't. The thought did stay with me though as I unloaded my bags and filled the pantry and freezer.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">We're in the middle of a month right now and I don't want to wait until next month to start, so given that tomorrow is both Valentine's Day and the first day of Lent, I'm seriously considering a no-spending-on-food challenge for Lent.</span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-7378680952001293522024-02-10T18:25:00.000-05:002024-02-10T18:25:13.199-05:00CONSUME<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAw3-nyHxVNJz7hn6zVRyeISiyBiMu5JeUkoqIOnCzfXPzEkhuAJVuGGtgBanitYBLxFbYyG1BAOIJ8HdnaLOBqZQz9V2D3TiYvnYyU-hyrENECoTjjORqJ-Vo05_Pa9twE8wvaCt5zPmBIi5gam8n4iio53MlxaVX6YcKSINDnGR1drN1An59bCw8QssW/s853/CONSUME.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAw3-nyHxVNJz7hn6zVRyeISiyBiMu5JeUkoqIOnCzfXPzEkhuAJVuGGtgBanitYBLxFbYyG1BAOIJ8HdnaLOBqZQz9V2D3TiYvnYyU-hyrENECoTjjORqJ-Vo05_Pa9twE8wvaCt5zPmBIi5gam8n4iio53MlxaVX6YcKSINDnGR1drN1An59bCw8QssW/w150-h200/CONSUME.jpeg" width="150" /></a></div>Th</i><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial;">is post was written for <a href="https://fiveminutefriday.com/" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration-line: none;">Five Minute Friday</a></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Word prompt--CONSUME </span></span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it</span></span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">----------------------------------------------------------</span></span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This may seem like a stretch, but one of the things that came to mind when I saw this week's prompt was Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 6:12 -- <i>You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is good for you. And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything </i>(NLT).</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Whether it be food or money or time, there is only so much of it you can consume. Consuming too much time on one thing, for example, may leave less or none to spend on something else that may be better for you. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">In January I participated in two challenges that helped me be more mindful of how I was consuming my time and my money.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The first challenge was joining my church family for 21 days of prayer that included a daily online devotional that was interactive for those of us up early enough to watch live. This wound up doubling and sometimes even tripling my daily devotional time and consuming a much larger portion of my day than I had anticipated. To make it work, I had to reset my priorities and give up some worldly pleasures, such as an hour or two of my sleep, my daily word games, and most of the books on my to read list. In return, the Lord redeemed the time I offered Him and enabled me to get a lot more done in what was left, and with a lot less stress.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The second challenge was to join <i>No Spend January</i>. What a great feeling to actually complete it without even making a trip to the grocery store except for one where I went to purchase something for someone else. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">My pantry and freezer were pretty well stocked going into the <i>No Spend</i> challenge, but it didn't take long to consume all the items needed for my same old same old easy-to-throw-together meals. Instead of going out and replacing them, however, I looked for creative ways to make substitutions. The end result took a bit more effort and consumed a little more time, but some healthier and more balanced choices were the result. </span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-84271283820383825542024-02-02T14:19:00.002-05:002024-02-02T14:19:47.155-05:00REGRETS -- SO MANY REGRETS<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiziDq8lhL67ZEta11FwnS2Ijd34YTocFJLkU57cAA39hibqwMnxVq_F5_wWXiMTehFTDAlqrFoDz-yFSf3yB1LUFPwTmnynlNDhvXv_hpQLj7lgEJ1VpTFn-vLcd6VlMEKrr9AX3IE_2n0fmot5QKNBRod1uIB2k8q1OYJIohhzoTH7mkS8gkDwoMyL_/s607/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="604" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiziDq8lhL67ZEta11FwnS2Ijd34YTocFJLkU57cAA39hibqwMnxVq_F5_wWXiMTehFTDAlqrFoDz-yFSf3yB1LUFPwTmnynlNDhvXv_hpQLj7lgEJ1VpTFn-vLcd6VlMEKrr9AX3IE_2n0fmot5QKNBRod1uIB2k8q1OYJIohhzoTH7mkS8gkDwoMyL_/w199-h200/10.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><br />This post was written for Five Minute Friday</i></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--WASTE</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it </span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">-------------------------------------------------</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This prompt felt heavy. It came on a day when my heart was grieving over regrets about my shortcomings as a parent, and all the poor choices I had made in the past that led me to where I am today. I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that the slate really was wiped clean the day I accepted God's gift of salvation and invited Jesus into my heart to be Lord of my life.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">And then in the midst of it, the prompt WASTE triggered many other regrets as well. Regrets of all the many things I've wasted during the course of a very long life -- time, talents, opportunities, education, money, health. If it weren't for the two children, seven grandchildren, and six great-grands who I dearly love and who it makes me happy to see are living out well the dreams I once had that never came to pass, I would add regrets over a wasted life as well, But having them was definitely not a waste.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">My comfort is that from God's perspective, nothing is a waste. He sees the end from the beginning and I'm sure that His view of the tapestry He is weaving does not look anything like the tangle of knots visible on my side. I'd like to believe that all those things I now regret were part of His design, and without them I would never have felt the need to turn to Him, which would have been a greater regret by far.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">---------------------------</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created. Your regulations remain true to this day, for everything serves your plans. </i><b>-- Psalm 119:90-91, NLT</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. </i><b>-- Psalm 139:16, NLT</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. </i><b>-- Romans 8:28, NLT</b></span></div></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-24542219215143378652024-01-19T11:52:00.000-05:002024-01-19T11:52:49.243-05:00SAY<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijnk7rvKbLP5eawqDIaZrnW9XaUuc8HV2u0AeaLScG-4tWnk0Mml-HBx6wXBMTIHPBzhQKsgPQhlupvlzZJui6IUy7JuCqB8oZ5XIpVM7DZpn4BvkWkxorJQbJGISfefESGeTMxUKBU7A6jfIXyKXHj4KM-pmeU8uX4nf4MFZNxM-JKOZ4TcikF_ac6tCv/s622/thumb_IMG_0698_1024.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="466" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijnk7rvKbLP5eawqDIaZrnW9XaUuc8HV2u0AeaLScG-4tWnk0Mml-HBx6wXBMTIHPBzhQKsgPQhlupvlzZJui6IUy7JuCqB8oZ5XIpVM7DZpn4BvkWkxorJQbJGISfefESGeTMxUKBU7A6jfIXyKXHj4KM-pmeU8uX4nf4MFZNxM-JKOZ4TcikF_ac6tCv/w150-h200/thumb_IMG_0698_1024.jpg" width="150" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">This post was written for Five Minute Friday</span><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--SAY</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it </span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">-------------------------------------------------</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">What can I say?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It did snow, but it's hardly THE big snow that the forecasters said was coming and that triggered a frenzy of frantic shoppers trying to stock up in anticipation. I heard say that they did a good job of emptying shelves at the local grocery stores. That's just hearsay, though, as I am still in the middle of the No Spend January challenge and did not visit any of them myself.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Although I was a little disappointed not to wake up to the sight of the winter wonderland I was expecting, it was still a pretty view, and probably a relief to the folks who have to be out and about.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Here are some pictures I took from my balcony.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpXE1tP_yf1HmhPgbv9C2sKB0Pmb6esuD44rnJTHO5uR3jqFWAwvWAj2ESvZgMGfrfNJBju3Wk84u511EF6jUo5cPjoyt_pLlUZqcKZ_j3zBk19diNnyeIVeUv1v82B6NY-Ezh0JiQHkPzPMgBx4ODPLpO-mK6l5s7D28_WGij26d1U9r22sIOCj7D_1F/s590/thumb_IMG_0700_1024.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpXE1tP_yf1HmhPgbv9C2sKB0Pmb6esuD44rnJTHO5uR3jqFWAwvWAj2ESvZgMGfrfNJBju3Wk84u511EF6jUo5cPjoyt_pLlUZqcKZ_j3zBk19diNnyeIVeUv1v82B6NY-Ezh0JiQHkPzPMgBx4ODPLpO-mK6l5s7D28_WGij26d1U9r22sIOCj7D_1F/w163-h200/thumb_IMG_0700_1024.jpg" width="163" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRx3_rQYipGkjAagZwQJO1hjpbO4z4jjaP8MacnuYrNO2xt4Gp1il20iFShAFP9Xc45Boqnt7rx4B0vO5zxppeg-824M-h2KtudD_21uyKgqtqBnkOKL9RUd56APJ7ltUtVF_0AOFHT_CEDVRnvLR-0WYurId6McvNUXCn3aEUWfU4UXb7RmGW-HPJeOJh/s482/thumb_IMG_0707_1024.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="413" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRx3_rQYipGkjAagZwQJO1hjpbO4z4jjaP8MacnuYrNO2xt4Gp1il20iFShAFP9Xc45Boqnt7rx4B0vO5zxppeg-824M-h2KtudD_21uyKgqtqBnkOKL9RUd56APJ7ltUtVF_0AOFHT_CEDVRnvLR-0WYurId6McvNUXCn3aEUWfU4UXb7RmGW-HPJeOJh/w171-h200/thumb_IMG_0707_1024.jpg" width="171" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOn71UIqaLFA1GMIIRKcNzrXrgyLlun2DtKgigcqByZIVwummKh44Bbn52Oym9pEYjg24r_QmHslV_pjba4i4CEmMIabtkvoCChmvCdTbynG_MHFjvDR0blcGex_wl2FXFh0m3ML2zJFmVFrIWr9qkG825o8r3KNX1w5SAdmsaZZKdXW_7uN_YqAp92bsL/s561/thumb_IMG_0709_1024.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOn71UIqaLFA1GMIIRKcNzrXrgyLlun2DtKgigcqByZIVwummKh44Bbn52Oym9pEYjg24r_QmHslV_pjba4i4CEmMIabtkvoCChmvCdTbynG_MHFjvDR0blcGex_wl2FXFh0m3ML2zJFmVFrIWr9qkG825o8r3KNX1w5SAdmsaZZKdXW_7uN_YqAp92bsL/w171-h200/thumb_IMG_0709_1024.jpg" width="171" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9vaP9F3qiC9mZDU6N0VjtXtQNcrfEnsOJmrokLFgc2wYL8CKWCDdFPIC7RF0N_p7wB2C3tAtHL7QgyGE8mMN9fD0DI1BlekM16PNMylzcqxXiKIeF7DT8x3K3rNAggNDIhR0SiOq1nu36JJEgV0PKyX8auciTY-LZFe2DPlCJRDXzsq50nGVe30vU7_L/s513/thumb_IMG_0710_1024.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="421" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9vaP9F3qiC9mZDU6N0VjtXtQNcrfEnsOJmrokLFgc2wYL8CKWCDdFPIC7RF0N_p7wB2C3tAtHL7QgyGE8mMN9fD0DI1BlekM16PNMylzcqxXiKIeF7DT8x3K3rNAggNDIhR0SiOq1nu36JJEgV0PKyX8auciTY-LZFe2DPlCJRDXzsq50nGVe30vU7_L/w164-h200/thumb_IMG_0710_1024.jpg" width="164" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-22282501583573318762024-01-14T21:49:00.000-05:002024-01-14T21:49:36.493-05:00PATTERN<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsPmyh3sJxVT2gpabCZpxDzaXRCyoYCvEyybwk3FIY8ii35fK0ygNC9wPdhuihx_2VxooP-gf9OrCbd7Y2XuZ2fxTT13ywxnFVY6w7cpgqqoUZKfxh87csEITrRrFOGhKN46YujAdYA0pwAHGUkVACwZuHQGvcFn2ymZQI4LYz9McmiIO18QFx72acpEN/s640/IMG_0677.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="606" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsPmyh3sJxVT2gpabCZpxDzaXRCyoYCvEyybwk3FIY8ii35fK0ygNC9wPdhuihx_2VxooP-gf9OrCbd7Y2XuZ2fxTT13ywxnFVY6w7cpgqqoUZKfxh87csEITrRrFOGhKN46YujAdYA0pwAHGUkVACwZuHQGvcFn2ymZQI4LYz9McmiIO18QFx72acpEN/w189-h200/IMG_0677.jpg" width="189" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>This post was written for Five Minute Friday</i></span><div style="background-color: white;"><div style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--PATTERN</span></i></div><div style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it </span></i></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">-------------------------------------------------</span></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Though I did not enter the new year with any resolutions, I did join a couple of January challenges that have totally altered the pattern of my day-to-day life.</span></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The first challenge is "No Spend January," and this has been a big pattern changer for sure. My freezer and pantry were well stocked, so I won't be going hungry any time soon, but no more same old same old that I usually eat because it's easy and doesn't take long to put on a plate. Once I ran out of those items, I had to start substituting others, which meant being creative as well. The result is much more variety, and probably a healthier, more balanced diet that will help me get rid of a few extra pounds.</span></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;">The second challenge is a 30 day challenge called </span><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Do-Day-Make-Break-Habit/dp/0593192842">Do It For A Day</a> </span><span>by Mark Batterson which is a book on making or breaking a habit in 30 days. I started it because I wanted to break myself of a bad habit I've struggled with for years, but then decided it might be fun to make a habit as well. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span><span>I picked a walking challenge to help me get into the habit of regular walking even if it's mostly just indoors. My goal is to walk </span></span>1,000,000 steps (approximately 500 miles) by my birthday at the end of September, and I'm using a free app called <a href="https://million-steps.com/"><b>million steps</b></a> which adds a lttle extra motivation by rewarding you with a small Amazon gift card when you complete the challenge.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The third challenge, and the most meaningful one is a spiritual one. Every year my church starts out the year with 21 days of prayer and fasting (doesn't have to be from food). This year we are learning how to pray through the psalms. Every morning at 7:00 there's an interactive devotional on Facebook led by one of the pastors. You can watch a replay at any time, but to be able to interact you need to watch it live.<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>This, more than anything, has really changed the pattern of my day-to-day life and taught me a lot about trusting the Lord. </span></span>For starters, I'm getting up much earlier than I normally would so I can be ready at 7:00. And it's practically doubling--even sometimes tripling--my usual morning quiet time, which is where the part about trusting the Lord has been coming in. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Instead of trying to be in control of my day my way, I'm having to trust Him to enable me to get everything done I need to in much less time than what I normally have and am always overwhelmed at not having enough of. Amazingly, as I trust Him to order my steps and orchestrate my time, and become more sensitive and obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, I've been able to accomplish a lot more with a lot less stress. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>I'm probably over my five minutes by now (I wasn't timing myself), so I'll stop here, but since the word prompt was pattern, here are a couple of pictures I took today of things I thought had interesting patterns.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The first picture at the top of the post is a Berry Hibiscus tea bag. These other two are the sunlight reflecting on a Kleenex box near the window. One taken directly of the box, and the other one through the back of my computer chair.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-qm6Xtftr_L0kcHTJl3UU7TRTLTEBZWgDAN-lpzamMWHE_h8TjbO4uQXZ8x1rnFfhLM7mRnO8nA3USgLOrmbBCDgo5f0aEVjVEKIFjPPMSgHE-_jP_vFgkT1nwqcadOwRT9eIYnl0s16QRTBbi3tZ-0BlKVPpUDa5Qofi02PfstqMvVhx1qZUh7ghkNr/s640/IMG_0678.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="588" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-qm6Xtftr_L0kcHTJl3UU7TRTLTEBZWgDAN-lpzamMWHE_h8TjbO4uQXZ8x1rnFfhLM7mRnO8nA3USgLOrmbBCDgo5f0aEVjVEKIFjPPMSgHE-_jP_vFgkT1nwqcadOwRT9eIYnl0s16QRTBbi3tZ-0BlKVPpUDa5Qofi02PfstqMvVhx1qZUh7ghkNr/w184-h200/IMG_0678.jpg" width="184" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlgA9EysIX5r-BwwfY9ov4HtGxOxruFgrukcIhyphenhyphenCUYIgoF97wqmSzV7kPH4TjehUNFWYtYI4WiuBuv2ZFbyTSikX93xbGQoJtnDDwkRDbmSvInunctDB_b6ZWFPtohNYOlY2G7CCX1bxdnYdIgOTToyI0ajsemBCPJp8jplSO8DJXxOlmDlROh1TvhSZi/s640/IMG_0679.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="576" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlgA9EysIX5r-BwwfY9ov4HtGxOxruFgrukcIhyphenhyphenCUYIgoF97wqmSzV7kPH4TjehUNFWYtYI4WiuBuv2ZFbyTSikX93xbGQoJtnDDwkRDbmSvInunctDB_b6ZWFPtohNYOlY2G7CCX1bxdnYdIgOTToyI0ajsemBCPJp8jplSO8DJXxOlmDlROh1TvhSZi/w180-h200/IMG_0679.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><span><br /></span>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-73272400359703630902023-12-24T15:25:00.001-05:002023-12-24T15:25:50.542-05:00MERRY CHRISTMAS 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMHvofuzmtm5d_hK8VXbih7juiEl9rOqhlYgdzDOL_777ogC9McZybVL5FVZpah6cp8J6ShP_MKDh6-b1JUIw9S_-Se0oFB8-n1lxQiD0d_QcEyUcWRoRmvnxSiYqw_VBoTdLyTrY_QsQbUN2tvkLWP6998We50-fYsnjcBPNcrAZLbg1WLlLjiRP0Ha6/s825/Christmas%202023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMHvofuzmtm5d_hK8VXbih7juiEl9rOqhlYgdzDOL_777ogC9McZybVL5FVZpah6cp8J6ShP_MKDh6-b1JUIw9S_-Se0oFB8-n1lxQiD0d_QcEyUcWRoRmvnxSiYqw_VBoTdLyTrY_QsQbUN2tvkLWP6998We50-fYsnjcBPNcrAZLbg1WLlLjiRP0Ha6/w266-h400/Christmas%202023.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-65877625300679772152023-12-08T22:22:00.001-05:002023-12-08T22:22:48.487-05:00TURN<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkL_Ysad6kqPJPbPP8czkGAbr5HTfFbHAQ2KRs6CQ1we3Q8xL_55-Htlq6LPnD9VzZk10_tShOl8SWYdV4k3p5ljDHpzPbt_hjtblyXHI6UjARRl_NZ4wV6g_RLjqZTjkMUXlEJFNy0EH7KrbRg4z7t-Kohm8QBUZC7fzFVD-3ig98ru6g2RukZ08LgD_n/s586/thumb_IMG_0475_1024.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkL_Ysad6kqPJPbPP8czkGAbr5HTfFbHAQ2KRs6CQ1we3Q8xL_55-Htlq6LPnD9VzZk10_tShOl8SWYdV4k3p5ljDHpzPbt_hjtblyXHI6UjARRl_NZ4wV6g_RLjqZTjkMUXlEJFNy0EH7KrbRg4z7t-Kohm8QBUZC7fzFVD-3ig98ru6g2RukZ08LgD_n/w164-h200/thumb_IMG_0475_1024.jpg" width="164" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>This post was written for Five Minute Friday</i></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--TURN</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it </span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">-------------------------------------------------</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Several days ago I was taking my recyclables to the dumpster and planning to drive them there. However, it was a nice day out, and my back did not feel too bad, so I decided to walk instead. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The dumpster is at the back of our parking lot and there are several ways to get there. I started one way, but felt a little prompt to turn around and take the steps instead. I listened and made the turn, and was rewarded by a lovely, uplifting surprise.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYyMLFamcZU3OzJsMoZWCVoBFhBP1PTXssDuxSAQR_mjFgLKLUChf10R9VM9HMQbOvhSKPceKX5nNwxN3g1wHZRca1WtlOo6N9Cq0UADlutH6DTsIB3bUHX9p2b9b77PEZTjK3_rsBRJxUM2dIDS8ZQoE9fkilynKJfRx_5bmo03sHY4MjROIBCa4zHkf/s575/thumb_IMG_0464_1024.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="575" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYyMLFamcZU3OzJsMoZWCVoBFhBP1PTXssDuxSAQR_mjFgLKLUChf10R9VM9HMQbOvhSKPceKX5nNwxN3g1wHZRca1WtlOo6N9Cq0UADlutH6DTsIB3bUHX9p2b9b77PEZTjK3_rsBRJxUM2dIDS8ZQoE9fkilynKJfRx_5bmo03sHY4MjROIBCa4zHkf/w200-h155/thumb_IMG_0464_1024.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Some of the rocks bordering the sides of the stairway had been painted and inscribed with encouraging slogans. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">My favorite, and the first one that caught my eye--a bright pink one that said, "You are as strong as this rock."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I know in my own strength I am not, but it reminded me that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and who is the solid rock on which I stand (Philippians 4:13, 2 Samuel 22:2).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">That led to a mini photo shoot and a moment of gratitude for the prompt that led me to take that turn.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKF859U5AeATYmL5ZONsgS90ZldW0PpyhaxFCtf75gmWPynHzq_YwtK6IzH3oi6W2PMwoG8YsrELS2USeHfhBrP0EZSTlDGtASkxA0JFslaJe4OLzWQ7OTsuaVPTSQVTELEYM3KEYWtGLo6yfWZhTUxicVX5oVxP6EDlbOL8_RrNQfrcJL77V8uNEnWY7/s551/thumb_IMG_0465_1024.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="551" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKF859U5AeATYmL5ZONsgS90ZldW0PpyhaxFCtf75gmWPynHzq_YwtK6IzH3oi6W2PMwoG8YsrELS2USeHfhBrP0EZSTlDGtASkxA0JFslaJe4OLzWQ7OTsuaVPTSQVTELEYM3KEYWtGLo6yfWZhTUxicVX5oVxP6EDlbOL8_RrNQfrcJL77V8uNEnWY7/w200-h162/thumb_IMG_0465_1024.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_9fmKHG5d3-KSYzePyJiOyEd20Brxilf5N8dJjVfGV7nFlN1j63qTXG4yyhBrH-cmJWyHYrhFl0gjermJ2sj3DSlWdLKmXOqn7L0nvqJNMBczgi_57SP1XLnpT3dmeBiOSDIKZq1clQvRka_Jr8ldKI8dbuSHvzC-VCKwiq1v1drtsnIzxMMrMe7OEPE/s556/thumb_IMG_0466_1024.jpg" style="clear: right; 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float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0DjiQs2kPgbUHyo7p9wzsiggMDQVo7WK3n234jpNvA-vg_GnVckAlPjB9Ro8U0gNYFcWMZlRByYUbOUtz-oKvYadLlX1_POKtynZfNddsi4liODIen6yQXaSqnw8KWasws9WbW4K2wwJAoq9s4-WKPNad9Wvor0agk2La9FPs1mFSSRHWHSXeMv7v8bz/w200-h150/thumb_IMG_0477_1024.jpg" width="200" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">On my way back from the dumpster I thought of a Scripture that also uses the word TURN -- <i>Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." </i><b>-- Isaiah 30:21, NIV</b></span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-24648747024897563992023-12-02T17:40:00.003-05:002023-12-02T17:43:58.106-05:00NO ONE NEED BE LEFT BEHIND<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQeUQrIs2p7ttPGBTJ_mm1wCDyUDWeyesZzKINWtSi39gfAtS5KZ-eqwHNwCNrApscyNZcxWFGp3zUMgdTL52CEw9eHx-P7DcfFBGXtRRX2kk0Nv8AuyPIQFuPf2_ClCLwrQu1jBI-mvVLez21uD2VhNE_-s_iE0CheyjdoTVdoNxgL5hwM7WmwIip6tYu/s1920/LEFT%20-%20Anny%20Akter.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="1920" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQeUQrIs2p7ttPGBTJ_mm1wCDyUDWeyesZzKINWtSi39gfAtS5KZ-eqwHNwCNrApscyNZcxWFGp3zUMgdTL52CEw9eHx-P7DcfFBGXtRRX2kk0Nv8AuyPIQFuPf2_ClCLwrQu1jBI-mvVLez21uD2VhNE_-s_iE0CheyjdoTVdoNxgL5hwM7WmwIip6tYu/w200-h68/LEFT%20-%20Anny%20Akter.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="color: #444444;"><div><i style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></i></div><div><i style="font-family: inherit;">This</i><i style="font-family: inherit;"> post was written for Five Minute Friday</i></div></i></span><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Word prompt--LEFT</span></i></div><div style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Five minutes to free write about it </span></i></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-------------------------------------------------</span></div><div style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;">The first thought that popped into my mind when I saw this week's prompt was "left behind." </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;">I thought of the 1995 </span><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Left-Behind-Novel-Earths-Last/dp/1414334907">bestseller by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins</a></span></b><span style="color: #444444;"> about Earth's final days following the Rapture when all true believers in Jesus Christ have been taken to Heaven, leaving only the nonbelievers behind to face God's judgment on a rebellious world (1 Thessalonians 4:17, Revelation 6-16). What a terrible time that will be.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;">The good news is that no one need be left behind, "for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16, Romans 6:23). It is a gift that can only be received by faith. There is nothing you can do to earn it (Ephesians 2:8-9)</span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">, and as much as it is not God's will for anyone to perish, He will not impose His will on you or force you to accept it. The choice is yours.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;">Don't be deceived, as I once was, into believing that there are many paths to God, or that we get to Heaven by being good. That's the biggest deception of them all.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;">Although we were created to have fellowship with God, Adam and Eve's sin caused us to be born with a sinful nature. The Bible tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," and that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 3:23, 6:23a). Because of sin there is a great gulf that separates us from God and there is no way we can cross it through our own efforts. There is only one path across, and that is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;">Jesus stands at the door of your heart knocking and waiting for you to answer (Revelation 3:20). I implore you to open the door before it is too late. You are not promised tomorrow or even the next moment. Accept His invitation to enter your life, forgive you of your sins, and make you a new creation.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><i>for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. </i>-- Romans 3:23-24</span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><i>For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. </i>-- Romans 6:23</span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><i>For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. </i>-- Ephesians 2:8-9</span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><i>Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. </i>-- John 14:6</span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><i>Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. </i>-- Revelation 3:20</span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><i>By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. . . . The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. </i>-- 2 Peter 3:7, 9)</span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><i>After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with thm in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. </i>-- 1 Thessalonians 4:17</span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;">-------------</span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><i>Photo credit: Anny Akter</i></span></div></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-87157369871566602502023-11-21T23:25:00.003-05:002023-11-21T23:25:57.177-05:00HAPPY THANKSGIVING<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5v_t_vUbqp1jH7ZuLGLj8irgG0M4UXoY6iM63TRGZrIh8O5usF1ZaYQ-9D-yY5ywavEmgVmLcHBecG3780mxaS4Q8sWDEyFOy8AZAG0R1wEQDyAMv5JcMR_pFGCMXdVj2oaUit5ML0CYY-EmavqcEvE6VVNN4UlDnmjWQK2RGz2VV7q4q9HFMREYZLKJ/s1024/thumb_IMG_0658_1024%204.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5v_t_vUbqp1jH7ZuLGLj8irgG0M4UXoY6iM63TRGZrIh8O5usF1ZaYQ-9D-yY5ywavEmgVmLcHBecG3780mxaS4Q8sWDEyFOy8AZAG0R1wEQDyAMv5JcMR_pFGCMXdVj2oaUit5ML0CYY-EmavqcEvE6VVNN4UlDnmjWQK2RGz2VV7q4q9HFMREYZLKJ/w200-h150/thumb_IMG_0658_1024%204.jpg" width="200" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Whereas I don't normally enjoy getting stuck in traffic backups, I was very thankful for this one. It gave me a chance to take a couple of quick shots through the car window of some Canada geese swimming in a pond<span>. </span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8uPb3X1LgbHlJsl_ooThJZEZyfgn7XVQzy9b9y9vAwHlS9ciBn6J1x4NXPehEyWaOPOiosM-OZJ7kdi2qaF-GJNvPjauSN7RwYnodaIoMUo8shL74CY0OsNutng5n0SxJuCmn_ZXf6dPSZeac4MhIZc8oIHfQEhz_k7_L8qjByxA6ItST11zyjEU7Z2R/s1024/thumb_IMG_0660_1024.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8uPb3X1LgbHlJsl_ooThJZEZyfgn7XVQzy9b9y9vAwHlS9ciBn6J1x4NXPehEyWaOPOiosM-OZJ7kdi2qaF-GJNvPjauSN7RwYnodaIoMUo8shL74CY0OsNutng5n0SxJuCmn_ZXf6dPSZeac4MhIZc8oIHfQEhz_k7_L8qjByxA6ItST11zyjEU7Z2R/w200-h150/thumb_IMG_0660_1024.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnWsZx6r2x_lzhAc_dAsxcAUKWs43xcgXxfUh74PfH347htKY2wiCIm2TZx03uffbVpt-TFwNblY9wttrhbmAod5EWPR9q2gfbkT7E6EwRaXjXTBLQXv1wnm8-AF2eA4_K8uQuOkG6vjg3opM_bZnWJmfKPEZlZJFBTCyTCGHM9vRF5VHD3sEtAC2GpKe/s1024/thumb_IMG_0659_1024%202.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnWsZx6r2x_lzhAc_dAsxcAUKWs43xcgXxfUh74PfH347htKY2wiCIm2TZx03uffbVpt-TFwNblY9wttrhbmAod5EWPR9q2gfbkT7E6EwRaXjXTBLQXv1wnm8-AF2eA4_K8uQuOkG6vjg3opM_bZnWJmfKPEZlZJFBTCyTCGHM9vRF5VHD3sEtAC2GpKe/w200-h150/thumb_IMG_0659_1024%202.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So often I see something while on the road that I'd love to capture but can't pull over to do it, and trying to take pictures while driving seems too big of a risk. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Happy Thanksgiving to you all!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">P.S. This upbeat little song--<i>You Keep On Blessing Me--</i>has been running through my mind ever since I first heard it a few days ago. Hope it blesses you as much as it has me.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Enjoy!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ON8x7tcU7Fo?si=NkVAgI_-TErQY5FK" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-85555658839829208992023-11-21T00:14:00.001-05:002023-11-21T00:14:57.401-05:00CHANGING SEASONS<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDbanoIcaR9-q_T_4qHNcpWt7UZ80_hTMHLPcHyP1pcIz_RTOD08q2XmpKxqgeQHnx0gKuHzRUTUDv-QJnMe297fi_K4y-1vwcCDTjw6AfqsPktFqRTH2YRaGV9NibcbbBz-AHmb6MwtFlV5qYsDrd7xyESie7Vktm4YcwBLAY1IXF3gBgf2NAlqhyWw2/s640/IMG_0414.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="516" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDbanoIcaR9-q_T_4qHNcpWt7UZ80_hTMHLPcHyP1pcIz_RTOD08q2XmpKxqgeQHnx0gKuHzRUTUDv-QJnMe297fi_K4y-1vwcCDTjw6AfqsPktFqRTH2YRaGV9NibcbbBz-AHmb6MwtFlV5qYsDrd7xyESie7Vktm4YcwBLAY1IXF3gBgf2NAlqhyWw2/w161-h200/IMG_0414.jpg" width="161" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">What a difference a couple of days can make.</span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The leaves on the beautiful red tree I posted a picture of just days ago have now mostly blown off and turned into a thick red carpet with a few flecks of gold from the one tree next to it that has hardly lost any of its leaves at all. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__hNYQRNILg0orE4xyCoyBgVr73p2CZVl6LRQoUOoAgexzKknSVmz2KjFhdoi61yZqqgPjQEHqWibQrBvW3NCXYCH5p5Fgc93GdbCUA8ychQ6zFbcdQfeFFDLNirVEJrdcKScR1L1M_xKOxmern1bFbt2U-LoMlElsMiPfDzKh44FoO_6Eg5GibqW5sWZ/s640/IMG_0416.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__hNYQRNILg0orE4xyCoyBgVr73p2CZVl6LRQoUOoAgexzKknSVmz2KjFhdoi61yZqqgPjQEHqWibQrBvW3NCXYCH5p5Fgc93GdbCUA8ychQ6zFbcdQfeFFDLNirVEJrdcKScR1L1M_xKOxmern1bFbt2U-LoMlElsMiPfDzKh44FoO_6Eg5GibqW5sWZ/w150-h200/IMG_0416.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDU0mblbMQI4458ksJsk5hsbmBRijJpgTkzVURQ2hTELgDVhraXdzuVJFmklNpCus8WVmMwCwe_MrS4hsUG0JboJaZVDiGJqseDzLzporfhd4UU1T2JWuUxw9xDIaEX_lQcSBvLmtwlFWAksEKNefCYAuDiLTydJqtgYmmg9U5RYEyI5q0pyodLcJSXg1/s640/IMG_0417.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="496" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDU0mblbMQI4458ksJsk5hsbmBRijJpgTkzVURQ2hTELgDVhraXdzuVJFmklNpCus8WVmMwCwe_MrS4hsUG0JboJaZVDiGJqseDzLzporfhd4UU1T2JWuUxw9xDIaEX_lQcSBvLmtwlFWAksEKNefCYAuDiLTydJqtgYmmg9U5RYEyI5q0pyodLcJSXg1/w155-h200/IMG_0417.jpg" width="155" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKGNKbBvIUkwrBVx9ur_veG4bZ2WxbS4VHwu1aR5JWpbkPQP9ByW6E2B6qpPGMz9gCcZZOyx2t5k3NGEkwjIZY0pdQK-LfFY_F0WdHCzbBBeZdYMLgo0XLgD7JkwwUf_QQf6Xl3PUdZ99ZHDwqBCKeRNCWd9A4GSkfwnIi6Y4AXlQcdJj9zdlqNQAWWCo/s640/IMG_0419.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKGNKbBvIUkwrBVx9ur_veG4bZ2WxbS4VHwu1aR5JWpbkPQP9ByW6E2B6qpPGMz9gCcZZOyx2t5k3NGEkwjIZY0pdQK-LfFY_F0WdHCzbBBeZdYMLgo0XLgD7JkwwUf_QQf6Xl3PUdZ99ZHDwqBCKeRNCWd9A4GSkfwnIi6Y4AXlQcdJj9zdlqNQAWWCo/w150-h200/IMG_0419.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ultFafKu1VlRhgk6InER_TYPx-HxpT14SI8MULV5T3Hm7u4TqY6dzy_5Lx7_pUnaSoDLfeEHM4pILM98jK16kl4DFbHOSuWYpfQvDh1bq6KguFrGXjQDx0Rc7Zf5ETa10VVS14sRh9KkKdOJffd8j9WN6FEEvhzKfrv3-hSzwA7pNPCwal7JXlXBFn3v/s640/IMG_0421.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ultFafKu1VlRhgk6InER_TYPx-HxpT14SI8MULV5T3Hm7u4TqY6dzy_5Lx7_pUnaSoDLfeEHM4pILM98jK16kl4DFbHOSuWYpfQvDh1bq6KguFrGXjQDx0Rc7Zf5ETa10VVS14sRh9KkKdOJffd8j9WN6FEEvhzKfrv3-hSzwA7pNPCwal7JXlXBFn3v/w150-h200/IMG_0421.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-40080788729464927882023-11-18T23:44:00.008-05:002023-11-18T23:48:02.815-05:00RESULTS<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_42fo1JS2swiZpj5H3N2EVDm4HCvlx4XyDD_d_48y89It-DiNqwxcmZWnRtx9dXBxMKVT0p_oAaOBi4SfWTXkJvNqEPnVOkoBBWtV8V-7z6jujlPrBO3PzKCrC9CGQcU85kZMkCgkbunELqIOliQ-rruNrNFwLI3k6GNPHKMt4CCmOOkYx6JJjr201R2N/s640/Grateful.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="530" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_42fo1JS2swiZpj5H3N2EVDm4HCvlx4XyDD_d_48y89It-DiNqwxcmZWnRtx9dXBxMKVT0p_oAaOBi4SfWTXkJvNqEPnVOkoBBWtV8V-7z6jujlPrBO3PzKCrC9CGQcU85kZMkCgkbunELqIOliQ-rruNrNFwLI3k6GNPHKMt4CCmOOkYx6JJjr201R2N/w166-h200/Grateful.jpeg" width="166" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>This</i><i> post was written for Five Minute Friday</i></span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--RESULTS</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it </span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">-------------------------------------------------</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This week's prompt reminded me that we reap what we sow, and my current frustrations are the result of the many poor choices I made in my younger years. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Sadly, I can't turn back the clock. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Some of the poor choices, however, resulted in unexpected blessings, such as my salvation experience and my relocating to this beautiful area I live in now. I would rather focus on those things that give me cause to rejoice instead.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Many of my blog and FB friends dedicate the month of November to writing about their blessings and post one thing they are thankful for each day. I wish I had remembered to do the same, but November 1st came and went, and I forgot. Now we are already past the middle of the month and five minutes is not long enough to start listing them all, but I will give you three.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The picture at the top of the page is of a beautiful maple tree outside our library that caught my attention. Maple trees line many of the streets in my neck of the woods and are a spectacular sight to behold. Usually by now the winds will have blown the leaves off of them, but that did not happen this year. The temperature has been unseasonably warm as well, which is blessing number three.</span></div></div></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-90637205017940037902023-11-12T18:51:00.000-05:002023-11-12T18:51:03.430-05:00MAINTAIN<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7PAnD9iZiEAMYA6lVnkSe-mctc2RANZNHyWd2Ai_ZCmjK0RH_VPFBm_rb_BAv4ZOiYT-kAAYkpTzSMR4eltRtKUnmSjvg1uo8lHRxYawBDjDIjDmwew2O_G1NsbNRUbUF82UUjaFSaSO2PWi9D67kvvIMyGgAF1ynf7g6qLCSbkDRvPLxypgFxHED5z7/s538/Maintain-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="538" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7PAnD9iZiEAMYA6lVnkSe-mctc2RANZNHyWd2Ai_ZCmjK0RH_VPFBm_rb_BAv4ZOiYT-kAAYkpTzSMR4eltRtKUnmSjvg1uo8lHRxYawBDjDIjDmwew2O_G1NsbNRUbUF82UUjaFSaSO2PWi9D67kvvIMyGgAF1ynf7g6qLCSbkDRvPLxypgFxHED5z7/w200-h179/Maintain-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>This</i></span><i style="color: #444444;"> post was written for Five Minute Friday</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--MAINTAIN</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it </span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">-------------------------------------------------</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"Things that are well-maintained last longer" is a truth I've seen proved in my 23-year-old car and the original appliances (except for a dishwasher that had to be replaced a few years ago) that are still in top working form in the apartment I've lived in for almost 20 years now.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sadly the opposite is also true. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Though I've always been careful to maintain things like my car, I have not done the same for my body and am now reaping the consequences of that very poor choice.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I am not an exercise person, but I did love ballroom dancing and that managed to keep my back relatively straight despite the long hours I spent hunched over my word processor. When I became a Christian, however, I was under the misguided notion that I had to give it up, so I did.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now I have kyphosis and other back issues due to compressed nerves and have been going for physical therapy for what seems like forever. I know the kyphosis cannot be reversed, but had high hopes the other issues could be, so I've been diligently doing all my stretches and exercises even when I didn't feel like it. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Though there has been some improvement it's looking more and more as though all I'm doing is maintaining it rather than continuing to move forward, and my motivation to keep spending so much time each day on my routine is starting to wane. But then came this week's very timely FMF prompt and <a href="https://fiveminutefriday.com/2023/11/09/fmf-writing-prompt-link-up-maintain/"><b>our hostess Kate's post</b></a>, which ended with this thought that encouraged me to keep on keeping on--"sometimes I have high hopes and unreasonable expectations, but I'm learning that the opportunity to maintain is no small thing" (Kate Motaung).</span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-61014171973496749292023-11-03T16:31:00.002-04:002023-11-03T16:31:38.371-04:00CHANGING SEASONS<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUustsbetYJrbjJogVre-eQJVACV7FzctsXplvtb0P7R6d9TeGBaEwhJHD8JjhBClGUHsr3jE6ePiLEc-IwMUb2tE57B9_9ftVhTjeWzFon2dLhUstwsMDxfWnYFfi4trbt7a9QMeuvHMLql6YlQbsaWGnzZ1KwDEg59PlqmppSxUiEgoyl59QkG7qS_Qv/s640/1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUustsbetYJrbjJogVre-eQJVACV7FzctsXplvtb0P7R6d9TeGBaEwhJHD8JjhBClGUHsr3jE6ePiLEc-IwMUb2tE57B9_9ftVhTjeWzFon2dLhUstwsMDxfWnYFfi4trbt7a9QMeuvHMLql6YlQbsaWGnzZ1KwDEg59PlqmppSxUiEgoyl59QkG7qS_Qv/w150-h200/1.jpg" width="150" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></i></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This<i style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"> post was written for Five Minute Friday </i></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--SEASON</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it </span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">-------------------------------------------------</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Interesting the timing of this week's prompt as I have been giving much thought lately to changing seasons--especially the many seasons I have seen come and go during the course of my life. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 sums it up well (BSB):</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><p class="indent1stline" style="color: #001320; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 30px; margin-right: 30px; text-align: justify;"><span class="reftext" face="Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #b34700; font-size: x-small; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="https://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/3-1.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">1</a></span><span style="font-size: medium;">To everything there is a season,</span></p><p class="indent2" style="color: #001320; font-size: large; margin: 0px 30px 0px 60px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and a time for every purpose under heaven:<a name="3"></a></span></p><p class="indent1" style="color: #001320; margin: 0px 30px; text-align: justify;"><span><span class="reftext" style="color: #b34700; font-size: x-small; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="https://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/3-2.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">2</a></span><span style="font-size: medium;">a time to be born and a time to die,</span></span></p><p class="indent2" style="color: #001320; font-size: large; margin: 0px 30px 0px 60px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a time to plant and a time to uproot,<a name="4"></a></span></p><p class="indent1" style="color: black; margin: 0px 30px; text-align: justify;"><span><span class="reftext" style="line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="https://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/3-3.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">3</span></a><span style="font-size: medium;">a</span></span></span><span style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"> time to kill and a time to heal,</span></p><p class="indent2" style="color: #001320; font-size: large; margin: 0px 30px 0px 60px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a time to break down and a time to build,<a name="5"></a></span></p><div style="color: #001320; margin: 0px 30px; text-align: justify;"><span><span class="reftext" style="color: #b34700; font-size: x-small; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="https://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/3-4.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">4</a></span><span style="font-size: medium;">a time to weep and a time to laugh,</span></span></div><p class="indent2" style="color: #001320; font-size: large; margin: 0px 30px 0px 60px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a time to mourn and a time to dance,<a name="6"></a></span></p><p class="indent1" style="color: #001320; margin: 0px 30px; text-align: justify;"><span><span class="reftext" style="color: #b34700; font-size: x-small; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="https://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/3-5.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">5</a></span><span style="font-size: medium;">a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together,</span></span></p><p class="indent2" style="color: #001320; font-size: large; margin: 0px 30px 0px 60px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,<a name="7"></a></span></p><p class="indent1" style="color: #001320; margin: 0px 30px; text-align: justify;"><span><span class="reftext" style="color: #b34700; font-size: x-small; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="https://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/3-6.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">6</a></span><span style="font-size: medium;">a time to search and a time to count as lost,</span></span></p><p class="indent2" style="color: #001320; font-size: large; margin: 0px 30px 0px 60px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a time to keep and a time to discard,<a name="8"></a></span></p><p class="indent1" style="color: #001320; margin: 0px 30px; text-align: justify;"><span><span class="reftext" style="color: #b34700; font-size: x-small; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="https://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/3-7.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">7</a></span><span style="font-size: medium;">a time to tear and a time to mend,</span></span></p><p class="indent2" style="color: #001320; font-size: large; margin: 0px 30px 0px 60px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a time to be silent and a time to speak,<a name="9"></a></span></p><p class="indent1" style="color: #001320; margin: 0px 30px; text-align: justify;"><span><span class="reftext" style="color: #b34700; font-size: x-small; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="https://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/3-8.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">8</a></span><span style="font-size: medium;">a time to love and a time to hate,</span></span></p><p class="indent2" style="color: #001320; font-size: large; margin: 0px 30px 0px 60px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a time for war and a time for peace.</span></p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1uoIX1xliYD3JEHIpWGctgFW-C6L11zapTZw32Y-h7YpTS6Iau_NIs_RpKuPQdemHd0LuzIDYK1pxVHouZiKpfS_2VV__zrHqPiFs7ZPNEwzX5qFZ8pzhC9jD1dQ-0IxpFM4nayReBY1XtvjgYUt7pmsrGPqBNdNE3qWsFoCrJ3v2OUsxn7wvHfuDBV3/s640/2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1uoIX1xliYD3JEHIpWGctgFW-C6L11zapTZw32Y-h7YpTS6Iau_NIs_RpKuPQdemHd0LuzIDYK1pxVHouZiKpfS_2VV__zrHqPiFs7ZPNEwzX5qFZ8pzhC9jD1dQ-0IxpFM4nayReBY1XtvjgYUt7pmsrGPqBNdNE3qWsFoCrJ3v2OUsxn7wvHfuDBV3/w150-h200/2.jpg" width="150" /></a><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">The prompt also nudges me to post some pictures of the view from my window. The spectacular colors are what make fall my favorite season, and I feel so blessed to be able to enjoy them without even having to leave my apartment to do so.</span></div></span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKaAcllGNli1woiB_pvSQfNk-_oBHjCikJaS5H-zUyi-DxyOXe0uuZ_9hspB2-HS0nRey-7xAKhHMlciLlgNr4qRZCrinh7yPkkrUuEB-gsBAg9pFxMdcVXhuSful2WM-VpaF6Jzmi694-9w4bVW7xl7AJlS-v9z-BHyoM5LOX50zXoWoLNskm5fp5P7G/s640/3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKaAcllGNli1woiB_pvSQfNk-_oBHjCikJaS5H-zUyi-DxyOXe0uuZ_9hspB2-HS0nRey-7xAKhHMlciLlgNr4qRZCrinh7yPkkrUuEB-gsBAg9pFxMdcVXhuSful2WM-VpaF6Jzmi694-9w4bVW7xl7AJlS-v9z-BHyoM5LOX50zXoWoLNskm5fp5P7G/w150-h200/3.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRXO1RowhvcfE49sU53FW5S61h5_kzf6uH6Arr3VlTlY6ybhUDqWamEbnJ0USYsxBBe286jG2PQHIbjaODxIitsArxtfI4D6WkReapG3sOqmL2VixZ4fDiZCB0GutwPrwHRfD1r72u5iAxHDAgvZLZX2O3tIUVAxXGiBOy-j7dumf0b_8Zk_8N9f15m1I/s640/4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRXO1RowhvcfE49sU53FW5S61h5_kzf6uH6Arr3VlTlY6ybhUDqWamEbnJ0USYsxBBe286jG2PQHIbjaODxIitsArxtfI4D6WkReapG3sOqmL2VixZ4fDiZCB0GutwPrwHRfD1r72u5iAxHDAgvZLZX2O3tIUVAxXGiBOy-j7dumf0b_8Zk_8N9f15m1I/w150-h200/4.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTn4uhHJiv4QjBjBM3mbkF2mt3f5CkeQLKJaXJFP09mehrwO2JSUP24Hl0EGaPIUNIzkS78Be2OhzPDiEm_iOtSQub7O0ajuKpbsHiJTpb9J_QxmEo0vAU_gElbRrpeXfUw_KS_t8dju6CRUnLxChxRtdhpGX0pu6_R2BuKnPX8ADpS3pqjBiC7D9c_1Dx/s640/5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTn4uhHJiv4QjBjBM3mbkF2mt3f5CkeQLKJaXJFP09mehrwO2JSUP24Hl0EGaPIUNIzkS78Be2OhzPDiEm_iOtSQub7O0ajuKpbsHiJTpb9J_QxmEo0vAU_gElbRrpeXfUw_KS_t8dju6CRUnLxChxRtdhpGX0pu6_R2BuKnPX8ADpS3pqjBiC7D9c_1Dx/w150-h200/5.jpg" width="150" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">But alas, when I went down to my car this morning, the unexpected icicles on the windshield were a reminder that the seasons are about to change, and my least favorite one is on its way.</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8C6FvtCEf_Vg0oHNf9d9jac9NoS7K0MfI3OkaxLaO0srpW2ME4We7k3L81uGoXe1LJAfk-hD280XSr4LsWjsYecutbGavRIb-hELe-xQPwBjs8nHSAOAQZhP9pRuUsBqjB4llEzRfHRrFY66xLkx2vQmPQvs1MerOSYbOXS9Xy2BHT-XZ15UheuB7RMra/s640/6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8C6FvtCEf_Vg0oHNf9d9jac9NoS7K0MfI3OkaxLaO0srpW2ME4We7k3L81uGoXe1LJAfk-hD280XSr4LsWjsYecutbGavRIb-hELe-xQPwBjs8nHSAOAQZhP9pRuUsBqjB4llEzRfHRrFY66xLkx2vQmPQvs1MerOSYbOXS9Xy2BHT-XZ15UheuB7RMra/w150-h200/6.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWh65N1S1aGVpuFnUHzWtznSd6KgHBLs422LN-9ycfd0giNX9yy4u4zX1zrz8qDbWLuBdSajn_9ldBBVcqnqYy8qO19iMGpALOCN_FeTSgThBoW7LpgS4zFBTXxShqWTepzhGsoIY4hSniEGqLgp_8645gICxGigjCLY-6mz1v4ig4ITb-BeL7Oyhy7OT/s640/7%20.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="640" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWh65N1S1aGVpuFnUHzWtznSd6KgHBLs422LN-9ycfd0giNX9yy4u4zX1zrz8qDbWLuBdSajn_9ldBBVcqnqYy8qO19iMGpALOCN_FeTSgThBoW7LpgS4zFBTXxShqWTepzhGsoIY4hSniEGqLgp_8645gICxGigjCLY-6mz1v4ig4ITb-BeL7Oyhy7OT/w200-h183/7%20.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-67828528223375032082023-10-28T13:22:00.004-04:002023-10-28T13:24:54.156-04:00STRIVE<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uN81nUdq9dFH3c2O9eww2jVV3mmP9trDcv0BTx4CRLeKqdOXAcM8VBr-9bZIVUDF9HzYC5Z-wKh1JYrx0rKlb6GphsC96o-PZWBd_r6o23tGFM9d2pOZS-blvPp-I6_c7z7I1eb6cusZ1t_5kxXQZJljZvlBDN558cF8rp14IFGq2aoC6cmRwiw-G6WD/s400/God%20provides.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uN81nUdq9dFH3c2O9eww2jVV3mmP9trDcv0BTx4CRLeKqdOXAcM8VBr-9bZIVUDF9HzYC5Z-wKh1JYrx0rKlb6GphsC96o-PZWBd_r6o23tGFM9d2pOZS-blvPp-I6_c7z7I1eb6cusZ1t_5kxXQZJljZvlBDN558cF8rp14IFGq2aoC6cmRwiw-G6WD/w200-h200/God%20provides.png" width="200" /></a></div>This</i><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"> post was written for Five Minute Friday </i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--STRIVE</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it </span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">-------------------------------------------------</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">As I Googled for a verse on striving this popped up first. It's not an actual bible verse, but it was just what I needed to see at this particular moment in time. A personal message of encouragement from the Lord, it seems. Hopefully a word of encouragement to someone else who reads this post as well.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><div class="k31gt" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: Favorit, "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 8px 0px 15px; min-height: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: var(--post-padding); padding-right: var(--post-padding); padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 540px; word-break: break-word;"><span class="Oxcng iQED4" style="border: none; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Do not strive in your own strength; cast yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and wait upon Him in the sure confidence that He is with you, and works in you. Strive in prayer; let faith fill your heart -so will you be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”</span></div><div class="k31gt" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: Favorit, "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 15px 0px; min-height: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: var(--post-padding); padding-right: var(--post-padding); padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 540px; word-break: break-word;"><p style="border: none; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">—Andrew Murray</p></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It made me smile as I thought of how well it addressed my feelings regarding a text someone I have not heard from in a very long time sent me this morning and my response to it. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I had been unable to get to the phone in time to answer her call yesterday, but was overjoyed to see her name on the screen. I immediately called back to apologize for not making it to the phone on time, and when it was voice mail that answered instead of her, I left a message saying I hoped she would try again.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">For the rest of the afternoon and evening I carried my cell phone around with me in full anticipation that she would, but she did not. And so, instead of just letting it go and letting God, I strove for that call back by following up with a text. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">At first it seemed as though she wasn't going to respond to my text either, but early this morning she did. Just a short text back saying she had called because she had been thinking of me, she was doing well, and she assumed I was thriving. My response was that I wouldn't say I was thriving, but I was doing okay and God is good.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">And yes, God has been beyond good. He has been awesome and touched me in so many small, personal ways to encourage me along the way. This was such a small thing. Why could I not just rest in Him instead of striving to make things play out the way I wanted them to.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Though it was disappointing not to get to talk to this person from out of the past, it was still a blessing to know that she does still think of me sometimes and that for one brief moment she even considered picking up the phone to call. </span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-6190448528577951542023-10-22T13:46:00.000-04:002023-10-22T13:46:03.454-04:00CLARIFY<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizcYUT2Bfvlco7g9-vqnITfb-cylEnQea8XvZj6iyQVUyJY2xS84joqzlScIg6yoi8SoW_uNObXOQ4JZE4-hqKv0qkT9AOK9QTbK0EThJWNQSPYHjiWVfXUjqVTR3pJedOECJsEo1BFloKgkk1QT7jqq_82jwXkPkCQtRDKeoNsCv9mdgCypNA3lOXapo0/s853/Clarify-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizcYUT2Bfvlco7g9-vqnITfb-cylEnQea8XvZj6iyQVUyJY2xS84joqzlScIg6yoi8SoW_uNObXOQ4JZE4-hqKv0qkT9AOK9QTbK0EThJWNQSPYHjiWVfXUjqVTR3pJedOECJsEo1BFloKgkk1QT7jqq_82jwXkPkCQtRDKeoNsCv9mdgCypNA3lOXapo0/w150-h200/Clarify-2.jpeg" width="150" /></a></div>This</i><i> post was written for Five Minute Friday </i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--CLARIFY</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it </span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">-------------------------------------------------</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: white;">I must have been dreaming about this prompt, because I woke up to a jumble of questions that could all use some clarifying.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> These are a few.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Out of the 1,600 plus folks who have downloaded a free copy of my book, <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sincerely-Wrong-Sandra-Kovacs-Stein/dp/146103390X">Sincerely Wrong</a></span></b> (and the many others who have actually purchased a copy on Amazon), has even one person come to Jesus as a result of reading it?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Why did a faithful blog friend suddenly stop visiting my blog though I never stopped visiting hers? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Why, on top of the other issues I have been struggling with, has my blood pressure decided to run amok?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">And on a lighter note, reading the many tags clarifying the special qualities of the new raincoat I just purchased, I wonder why the manufacturer felt it necessary to treat a slicker with UPF 50+ to prevent sunburn? </span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-87549023060491053912023-10-15T12:56:00.001-04:002023-10-15T12:56:17.982-04:00ANTICIPATE<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4jjH7KbIqto4gwuDYwG8su619Q3nX9rRWmD8uaL-ixfqLJfCjrNQ4aEvmMBUBUwuJ4uSGifaMHueXO2BYtOM6Smh8XbdpOwlZ_EPP6ntWrTEsRo1t93fgShvA0_IwXSWDMA2-x9sTt89bwfwnDjRbUHeBFtbwi01CKhQW0QJzbHaIu122CnvmKWGXm9iw/s442/Anticipate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="304" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4jjH7KbIqto4gwuDYwG8su619Q3nX9rRWmD8uaL-ixfqLJfCjrNQ4aEvmMBUBUwuJ4uSGifaMHueXO2BYtOM6Smh8XbdpOwlZ_EPP6ntWrTEsRo1t93fgShvA0_IwXSWDMA2-x9sTt89bwfwnDjRbUHeBFtbwi01CKhQW0QJzbHaIu122CnvmKWGXm9iw/s320/Anticipate.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">This</span></i></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> post was written for Five Minute Friday </span></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Word prompt--ANTICIPATE</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Five minutes to free write about it </span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">-------------------------------------------------</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">For as long as I can remember, nothing has ever turned out the way I anticipated it would. Sometimes it's been a very good thing and I was blessed beyond my wildest expectations, like when I anticipated I would not live long enough to see my children grow up and made arrangements for a good friend to have custody of them should this be the case. But by the grace of God not only did I see them grow up, I've seen my grandchildren grow up as well, and have even been blessed with six great-grandchildren. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Sometimes I've been pleasantly surprised by something I could never have anticipated, such as the offer of a job in a field I had no idea existed, or a large check from an unexpected source when there seemed no way I would be able to meet my financial needs. Even becoming a published author of children's picture books was an unexpected surprise, given I never anticipated becoming an author--let alone at the late stage of life it happened.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Other times what I've anticipated had a disappointing outcome, like a post I thought would take off, but that hardly had any readers at all, or having plans I'd looked forward to be canceled at the last minute due to circumstances beyond our control, or even the wildflower seeds I planted n the spring with great anticipation of the butterflies and hummingbirds they would attract, but that failed to thrive or attract anything at all.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Some outcomes have been tragic, such as when I anticipated getting married to someone I would grow old with, and was unexpectedly widowed at a very young age. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">These days I try hard not to anticipate, but rather to trust in God's plan, focus on one day at a time, and look for the hidden (or not) blessings in it. </span></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609254894754338184.post-41044705250064788082023-10-07T01:36:00.000-04:002023-10-07T01:36:44.856-04:00ATTEMPT<div><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_raYvEhSe_oFBxFcKXf6cJS2msYKmuxXaIvqoVRZUWdGNGpNLM3g9hd2VbUqQKNy9JQ-BwVBHDaxsn-y0bNCkXUXYgBOsYfDZmIQbMSCgvqZq_iJ1xSaGxb9Fur11YDLAlvGHsKduk6e5Y8g473f-b1bPOAMBqTJbVHtlPRPl6UffoPeqCWAdmIgh4F4/s640/Memories-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_raYvEhSe_oFBxFcKXf6cJS2msYKmuxXaIvqoVRZUWdGNGpNLM3g9hd2VbUqQKNy9JQ-BwVBHDaxsn-y0bNCkXUXYgBOsYfDZmIQbMSCgvqZq_iJ1xSaGxb9Fur11YDLAlvGHsKduk6e5Y8g473f-b1bPOAMBqTJbVHtlPRPl6UffoPeqCWAdmIgh4F4/w256-h320/Memories-2.jpeg" width="256" /></a></div><br />This<i> post was written for Five Minute Friday </i></span></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Word prompt--ATTEMPT</span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Five minutes to free write about it </span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-------------------------------------------------</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Good advice I needed to be reminded of today as I looked for a picture to use on my post for this week's FMF challenge -- ATTEMPT.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">There are things on my to do list that I would like to get around to, such as updating my address book, organizing the photos on my computer, and finishing a children's picture book I started eons ago about a miracle violet I once had that is now defunct. It's like why even attempt to get started when there are too many other pressing things clamoring for my time. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBI35uLIWRI2YfJyY9tSvnzU0xve0sEF0vJd8THHv_8PrW5pVOs9cHyCWDa4SGsYEpVZ3a-8DxHpVWbo03rV2FoPGmI63zMEZsbmk8SBHVYOsWlWMieT65sONM-u2RYQShPOKOtBdFIKxExuhAvzjFu3YcgjR6y8RuKKWU2WJPQiLMcZ9zoKwJhubAu7Fh/s800/Keep%20Going.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBI35uLIWRI2YfJyY9tSvnzU0xve0sEF0vJd8THHv_8PrW5pVOs9cHyCWDa4SGsYEpVZ3a-8DxHpVWbo03rV2FoPGmI63zMEZsbmk8SBHVYOsWlWMieT65sONM-u2RYQShPOKOtBdFIKxExuhAvzjFu3YcgjR6y8RuKKWU2WJPQiLMcZ9zoKwJhubAu7Fh/w200-h200/Keep%20Going.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></div>Well, today turned out to be a day full of much needed encouragement to help get me unstuck, like this other picture I came across that reminded me that I don't have to attempt to do all those things on the back burner all at once. Setting aside an hour or two a couple of times a week to devote to them, for instance, is certainly something doable to attempt. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXSvbO1lKz6Q_MpV0UHV-JizwEP38MOMOAQ6eRROo0JoMXyxHRizy_6EcWNKlda99c2c_ekuCKJgpm-OkeKUvjpliIE0bFxcNK2Ht-zg2o-PFemewLjEaiidJ6HgVT4rpwnQYqWOQ9CTuYh2TZhbON1O3PNtaL7jh0u6CSyEww85ygaCaPHl1sHi2KNZi/s243/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="243" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXSvbO1lKz6Q_MpV0UHV-JizwEP38MOMOAQ6eRROo0JoMXyxHRizy_6EcWNKlda99c2c_ekuCKJgpm-OkeKUvjpliIE0bFxcNK2Ht-zg2o-PFemewLjEaiidJ6HgVT4rpwnQYqWOQ9CTuYh2TZhbON1O3PNtaL7jh0u6CSyEww85ygaCaPHl1sHi2KNZi/w200-h170/images.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>On a more serious note, there are a couple of priority things in my life that I am pouring all my energy into in an attempt to achieve, but keep getting frustrated by discouraging obstacles along the way. Sometimes it all seems so hopeless it's tempting to throw up my hands and say, <i>what's the use</i>. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">God had three things to say about that as well. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">The first was a scripture verse that showed up in my quiet time today: <i>So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. </i><b>-- Galatians 6:9, NLT</b>; the second was a picture about perseverance that popped into mind; and the third was a song playing on the radio when I turned it on that felt like a personal exhortation to hold on just a little bit longer. A gentle prompt to turn my gaze away from my circumstances and focus it on Him who is seated on the throne and who has never failed me yet. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><br /></div></div><div><div>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/4s3k8aUaFqk?si=ZOYoc7BR4YkAu0ED" width="480"></iframe></div></div>Great-Granny Grandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984367859984906071noreply@blogger.com9