Time makes noise

I rested Sunday afternoon while sitting in my chair.  But, the quietness of the room, made me aware of one thing.  The repeating noise.

The ticking of the clock, the small one, the one whose hands move.  It had been noticed earlier in the week.  I had planned to remove the batteries.

But, Sunday afternoon as I stretched out under my throw, (the ticking) became one of those "moments" meant for my attention.  The constant was a reminder of "great moments" pushing by, am I allowing myself to linger to acknowledge and recognize each one as grace gifts from God.

I will not be slipping the "life giver" out of the little clock.  The ticking will be used as a reminder that "each movement of the hand counts." 

These life giving moments have been given to me - to say thanks.

For my learning, drawing close and looking unto the

 "Giver of Life"

 and for seeing them written on paper.

180. the cheery chirp

181. the sooner than expected UPS delivery

182. rays of sunshine across the floor

183. new books by my chair

184. oldest loves his job

185. the warmth from my throw

186.  better yet the warmth radiating from sweethearts feet

187. youngest cleaning yards

188.  yellow roses in calloused hands

189.  listening ears of a caring doctor

190.  the swishing noise of the dishwasher

191.  the Wednesday night moon

192.  e-mails of encouragement

 193. flag waving outside the window

194.  humbled by prayers, bare feet & water

195.  Sunday rest for the whole family

196.  music to remind "to worship while I'm waiting"

197. grocery shopping on his way home from work

198.  laughter with my mother in law

199.  plans for time with a dear friend

200. new mother describing son's new words



~Leaning & Lifting~

Psalm 143:8

Cause me to hear Your loving-kindness

 in the morning,

for on You do I lean and in You do I trust.

Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk,

for I lift up my inner self to You (oh Lord).

The Amplified Bible

No editing was done to the picture.

  The photo may not be of the best quality,

being it was captured from my son's cell phone.

 I believe you can capture the

 stillness and beauty

of the moment

if you will allow yourself

to still long enough.

The quiet had to be sensed

along with the fog & mist being felt.

~

I pray you & I will look for

these "moments" of stillness.

~

The slower the living, the greater the sense of

fullness and satisfaction.

Ann Voskamp

2011 ~ the year of trust

Bird Legs, Drop Cloths, & Tulips

Just cannot stay away from my love for decorating.  karen s.

~These January days seem to be taking a toil on the body. ~

longing for the sun to shine

flowers to bloom

relaxation on the deck

AHHH!
We consider our deck another room of our home.

what great memories from 2010

but unfortunately,

the hot summer sun took its toil on the drapery panels

:(

Yes, I am very disappointed to say the least.

I really thought the fabric was outdoor quality.

 I'm not discarding them yet.

Just may figure out a way to re-purpose.

But, I have found inspiration!

I found this colorful "outdoor" pillow at Tuesday Morning.

Don't you just love the colors & flowers?

~Screaming spring~

I considered a few things before purchasing.

READ THE TAG - INDOOR/OUTDOOR

1. deck stain color & brick on house

blends well with the orange/red flower

2.  the shades of green

 will coordinate with the cushions on the furniture

3.  the bright yellow matches well with these

I've learned a few life lessons along the way,
from my long-time decorating friend (that I miss dearly).

I would jump into something and she would

start asking all the important questions.

What about the color of this?

What about the color of furniture?

The style of the furniture?

What will the space be used for?
Can this be seen from another room?
~~~

I could continue on - but all these ?s  bring

satisfaction to the completed project.

she refers to it as "A Finished Look"

I do have a few of those "unfinished" looks at the present time.

My next fun-filled piece was found
at the end of the summer at Tuesday Morning
for less than $2. 
I say he coordinates real well.

Just love those little bird legs!
And he has a friend, I purchased two for that price.
They just may look great perched under a cloche.

But, wait what are his tiny legs perched upon?

You guessed right!

I will be creating my four new drapery panels out of dropcloths.

The putty color of the drop cloth & the flower in the

lower left corner of the picture match beautifully.

Lesson learned to share:

Purchase drop cloths from Home Depot,
 those have the seam going down the middle.
  I learned the hard way by purchasing the drop cloths from Lowes.
There's have the seam running across the width of the dropcloth.
"kinda hard to make drapery panels out of those"

Just have to put a few more things together,
like tablecloth & accessories.
But, those are the fun things!
The rug will definitely be staying.

I'll be starting on this project with
 the first sign of green grass

and the tulips & daffodils start blooming. 

Joining Vanessa for Inspiration Friday

~Parched~

We are sure not parched from the sun

away down here in the south!

The days have been cool (to the sweetheart) and cold to me.

Damp and a little dreary.

Might be needing a little Vitamin D

or if the sun would shine it would fill the deficiency.

Just felt as if today, was needing to be a little light-hearted.

Kinda been on the weighty side lately, wouldn't you say

and this girl loves to have fun.

Memories light the corners of my mind,

misty water colored memories...

how many remember that one?

or when's the last time you had some of these?

JUST HAD TO LET YOU GET

A CLOSE-UP VIEW

DO YOU SMELL THE AROMA?

SIMPLE PLEASURE = WARM PARCHED PEANUTS

what fond memories I have 

Mama & Daddy parching peanuts

the shaking of the pan sounds
but, they were in the shell

I have been buying shelled peanuts in the

 produce department at Wal-Mart.

Place them in a shallow pan in a 350 deg. oven

for about an hour.  Shake regularly :)

It has been a few weeks, since I linked up with
Dayle for her Simple Pleasure posts on Thursdays.
But, I'm joining today ~ visit and see what
others enjoy as Simple Pleasures.

~head over heels~

Sustaining Love

Long Lasting Intimacy & Passion

Why did we marry?

"we were head over heels in love"

Courtney @ Women Living Well

has kicked off today

I first questioned the word "challenge"

should it be a challenge  to do these things that I

 need to already be doing?

Admiration, Praise, Appreciation &.......

I looked up the definition to the word.

Challenge  - n. to compete in a sport

:-)

I was instantly reminded of the scripture passage

in Genesis 26 of Issac & Rebekah

(I think sweetheart has read this one to me before)

Issac was sporting with Rebekah his wife

vs. 8

However, the commentaries or dictionaries explain this one

laughing, playing, they were enjoying one another

So ironic this "challenge" to be presented today.

This morning sweetheart found this -

Week ONE begins today

and I have a head start!

Here is Courtney's challenge for this week:

Look for ways to praise your husband verbally.

 Praise him in front of the kids, friends, family, co-workers, on facebook, tweet it -

 get praise out anyway you can!

 Try to mention something noteworthy he has done - in his role as provider, father, husband, lover, or friend.

 If the thought of trying to come up with one terrifies you,

 then pray right now that God will give you new eyes to see your husband as God does.

 Then open your mouth and say something kind and uplifting to your husband

 today and tomorrow and the next day until Valentine's Day arrives!

Of all things~

I went to the bookshelf last night and

pulled out

Fall in Love and Stay in Love

by Willard F. Harley, Jr.

and started re-reading it.

I highly recommend this one. 

***

We plan to celebrate our

 25 years of marriage this year.

I'm hoping to

rekindle, restoke, renew

 and whatever else

I can do to keep the love alive.

 



Awakened

The days of November 2010 come to an end.
The numbering stopped.
Numbness returned and the looking became blurred.

Vision blurred with "just living life".

The gratitude journal has been dusted off
Good intentions overcome
My walk returns to a walk of looking
Alert to those things HE is giving

This my friend is the only way to experience the moments Our Creator is giving. 

Looking, naming, and counting.

Please take the 4 minutes to view this video ~ and hopefully you too will be awaken to the moments given to you.

So teach us to number our days,

that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

Thank you Lord,

for giving us moments

and

forgiving us for not capturing.

Moments=Gifts from God

Wintery Scenery

Snowflakes ~ kisses from heaven.

Life is like a blanket of snow.

Be careful how you step on it.

Every step will show!

Snowmen have cold hands,

but their hearts are warm.

Snowmen fall unassembled.

There's snowplace like home.

Snowy days & frosty nights
warm our hearts.

~~~

I'm joining the others at

     

Kindness

Just the opposite of what I want to do!

If you like me, we want to administer evil in return
"their day is coming" usually are my words uttered

We must abide in HIM,

as HE instructs in the book of John chapter 15 and verse 4

to be able to administer this Kindness spoke of in Romans,
that our Lord & Saviour suggests.

Joining the others at

Spiritual Sundays

and

Scripture & A Snapshot

Flocking Together

The weather forecast predicted 6-8 inches of snow.

I made the run to the grocery store on Friday.

Cooked enough for a "log rolling".

And made sure the birdys had plenty!

I've had fun today watching them stuff themselves.

She is well disquised.

I believe our Creator planned it that way. :)

She can hide real easy when she's on the nest.

But, look at this beauty.

He could not keep still ~ see his wings.

I've got to tell you how I captured these.

I bundled up (see our predicted 6-8 inches).

It was COLD THOUGH!  33 degrees

 ICE in the branches is what it really amounted to for us.

~On with the story~

Set the tripod up under the carport.

Hid beside the storage room.

AND WAITED!!!

The birds would fly in and land in this area,

before hitting the bird feeder.

AND

I PRAYED FOR A RED BIRD.

AND

SHE WAS WHAT I GOT!

But, I believe he is my favorite.

All fluffed up and showing out!

I hope you've enjoyed looking.

Treasures of Darkness

~I found the picture~

~I searched for a verse~

~I added the text to the picture~

~I inserted the picture~

and then I thought  ~ Lord, what is there to learn from this

but, it was HE who had done the work all along

all along HE knew what picture I would choose

it is what we acknowledge as God's hand at work

Instantly He reminded me

of a quote.

What you learn in the dark,

you share in the light.

Charles Stanley

There have been past days in my life,

that seemed to not know a foothold.

Teachable moments

Character Building moments

could we call them?

YES!

I now can say I've walked in the one step of footprints.

He carried me - and what did He teach me?

Dependence 

Moments of darkness always have the motive of surrender.

I was right where He could have my full attention.

No looking around, only gazing upward.

The looking around caused more darkness.

Even in these moments

 I was walking

toward the light.

With Him giving just enough light for the next step.

The dependence on HIM being exercised.

But, only in these moments

could the Lord give me those treasures

He speaks of.

God has a purpose for allowing our darkness.

Darkness allowed me to realize how strong my belief really is.

The darkness only lasts until God accomplishes

HIS PURPOSE.

He had my full attention

when HE called me by name.

Doesn't that bring such comfort to know

He knows each one of us by name! 

He is "the I AM".

~~~

Who is He to you?

Teacher, Healer, Saviour,

Redeemer, & Friend

2 Corinthians 4:17

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,

 is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

Joining the others at Spiritual Sundays & Scripture & A Snapshot

Promised Tour

The visits with our family in Louisiana,

almost always

include a trip into Natchitoches, a nearby town.

So grab a blanket &

hop on and take the promised tour!

~

Front Street is lined with shops, eateries &

the oldest general store in Louisiana.

I snapped a few shots inside Kaffie's while shopping.

Just imagine all those hard to find things (you can find them here)!

You can visit them on line Old Hardware Store.

This attic space is above the entrance.

Check out the old bicycles along with the shiny red wagons!

(love the little red fire truck & covered wagon)

The old cotton scale can be seen as you top the stairs.

Santa was busy at work,

 over by the old rope drawn elevator.

Upstairs was home to beautiful Christmas decorations for purchase.

I adore this old cabinet,

 filled with pine branches & decorations.

sorry I had to soften the edges, but the ladies did not sign a consent to have their pics taken :)

Let's head on down Front Street

The bank in the background is one of my favorites.

The combination of paint colors are beautiful.

The setting sun made the glow in the windows.

An old wagon was loaded with mums for Thanksgiving.

I've taken pictures at Thanksgiving & Christmas

 during our visits this year.

~let's do a little Christmas window shopping~

The picture below was taken the day after Christmas.

window looks a little naked ~ wouldn't you say?

Saved the best window for last!

It was late in the evening, my husband and I were

 strolling along front street, window shopping

and look who was people watching from the book store.

The architecture of all the old buildings is enough in itself.

Oops! Don't believe I've even mentioned these

beautiful buildings along the brick front street

are overlooking Cane River.

and starting Thanksgiving

 the town & river are adorned with lights & displays

Natchitoches has its abundance of

 beautiful churches in the downtown area.

The Catholic church below, being only one of them.

The day after Christmas my husband and I

spent a quiet evening in Natchitoches

at the Church Street Inn in the downtown area.

This was the view out our window.

The Catholic Church can be seen

 on the other side of the courtyard.

Saturday Nights are for fireworks!

Every Saturday night after Thanksgiving,

down by the river,

 just bring your lawn chair or blanket and

you might even like to have a funnel cake,

 hot chocolate or try a little boudin.

But, you can't leave town without getting a

Meat Pie from the World famous

Lasyone's.

I haven't even taken you on the tour of the beautiful homes.

~maybe another day~

Don't forget this is the little town

 where Steel Magnolias was filmed.

I am in no way compensated for advertising this

wonderful vacation spot.

~~~

I will leave you with a piece of the puzzle.

This little building stands on St. Denis street,

right off of Front Street.

 Holds a little

Place of my Heart

It housed my very own

Karen's Chocolate Delight

A candy/gift shop

back in the 90's.

Its looks have changed.

I hope to share my scrapbook with you soon

and show you pictures & memorabila

from those days.

We're bracing for a winter storm

a way down here in the south!

I cooked a pot of soup today

 and plan to cook

a pot of gumbo tomorrow.

We're wishing for snow!