Monday, October 31, 2011

what are you going as?

A couple of weeks ago,
when Jake & Eli were visiting,
I bought them four new books....
all about
 Clifford the Big Red Dog. 

I read those books
over and over
while they were here. 
It was no wonder,
then,
that Jake
 would choose to be Clifford 
for this big, wonderful dress up night. 
Here he is along with little brother Elmo posing in all of their glory.

Last night I posted
Lucy
in her Snow White costume.

Just a little while ago she called and asked, 
"Grammie,
what do you think about me being 
 Minnie Mouse
instead of
Snow White
tonight because my
Snow White outfit is
itchy?"
I told her that I thought it would be fine....
especially since Gus was going as
Mickey Mouse.

Guess what Harry is going as?
The cutest little
Peter Pan
I've ever seen!

We pick them up to start
Trick or Treating
at 5:15. 
Hoping for lots of treats and no tricks.
Happy Halloween everybody!
cathy

ps....It's 8:30
we just got home from
trick or treating.
Lucy went as Snow White after all.
Thanks
Frankie & Lindsey
for a wonderful time!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

snow white

This is really Lucy,
not
Snow White.

I think that she could go right down to
Disney World
and get the job of playing
Snow White
without any trouble.
She may be a little short,
but hey,
that's only a minor problem.

Lucy's spending the night on
Tuesday
and we will watch the movie of
Snow White
together so that she
can get all her moves and her lines memorized. 
After that,
the sky is the limit.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

georgia 24~florida 20

Just watched the end of the game with Bubba.
This was a very important win so I was told.
I am not a generic football fan,
but I do like Georgia,
and I like to watch the finish of an exciting game.
Go Dawgs!

So,
I got my wish today...
a day to stay at home,
to not back the car out of the driveway,
to work
and organize
and decorate
and cook
to my heart's content.

I made shrimp creole for supper.
Luscious tomato sauce concoction
with fresh sweet shrimp
served over rice.
Loved every minute of that!

The cold blew in today.
I washed my soft warm blanket
and will use it tonight.

Do we ever stop just to count our blessings...
to remember how much we have
and Who gave it to us?

Thursday, October 27, 2011

the rocking chairs at high hampton

WISDOM

First of all,
 God
says in the book of James
that if you don't have any
wisdom
you should ask for it.

"If any of you lacks
wisdom,
let him ask of God,
who gives to all liberally and without reproach,
and it will be given to him."

"But let him ask in faith,
with no doubting,
for he who doubts
is like a wave of the sea
driven and tossed by the wind."
James 1: 5&6

Now keep in mind,
 this is written to and for believers....
those who have His Spirit and read and study His word.
Wisdom
comes from the truth of the Bible.

God gives His wisdom liberally,
generously.....
there's plenty for everyone.

But notice...
we must ask in faith,
without doubting.

How many of us
pray to the great
God who made heaven and earth
and at the same time are doubting
that He can do
what we ask of Him
 revealing in our heart of hearts
our lack of faith?

The writer
compares one who doubts
while at the same time asking
for wisdom 
to a wave in the ocean
driven
and
tossed by the wind.

I've seen this analogy at
Tybee. 
A wave is up
and then down
 in and out...
it goes here and there.
 
A wave crashes and fizzles out....
so does a believer who doubts
while asking for what he/she needs.

David blogged about Cornerstone Church today.
Though you might like to read his thoughts...

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

for Jake tonight....

Because you
kissed the girl....

There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don't got a lot to say
But there's something about her
And you don't know why
but you're dying to try
You wanna kiss the girl

from
The Little Mermaid
Kiss the Girl

Also
from last night's post.....
It was not a
"fish bowl"
 that got broken.
It was a
bowl
in the shape of a fish.

and lastly....
I love
honey crisp apples
caramel sauce
watching the sun rise while taking my shower
McDonald's coffee
watching a movie with Harry curled up under the same blanket
seeing Lucy dressed up as Snow White
&
reading God's word.
What a blessing life is
cathy


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

bubba's bungees

A couple of weeks ago
when
Jake and Eli
were here,
Bubba
 took them out on a
grandfather~grandson
outing.

Upon their return here to the house,
Jake
was holding a red bungee cord and
Eli
a blue one.
At this point
I should have known
that trouble was pending,
but remained oblivious.

Later in the day
I heard a very loud crash 
coming from the family room. 
Racing down the stairs,
 I found Jake crying
and Eli
with a very sheepish look on his face.

There is a picture of it
somewhere in all of these blogs of mine. 
It came from Anthropologie,
my absolute favorite store. 
 It was a green fish bowl....much loved by me. 
And there it was,
in several small pieces on the floor.

Evidently
the bungees had been hurled
toward the shelf
holding the fish bowl
with great gusto. 
One of the bungee hooks
 scored a direct hit
 and plunged that fish bowl
right to it's permanent demise.

Jake is still crying hysterically and Eli asks this question,
"Grammy, are you mad?"

Here is what I told him while holding Jake close in my arms....
"No Eli,
I am not mad...
just a little bit sad because my bowl is broken,
but I love you guys
much, much more
than I liked that bowl
so I'm giving you grace."

God gave us
grace
when we deserved to be punished for our sins. 
He put our sins on Jesus
and He bore the punishment for us. 
That is grace friends,
pure & simple.

I bought the replacement today...
It is pictured above.

By the way.....
Jake kissed his girlfriend this morning 
during science class. 
Way to go,
little man.


Monday, October 24, 2011

creativity at its best

The pumpkin tractor.
Just one
of the many beautiful things
we saw in the mountains on Saturday.

I love pumpkins.....
because
they are orange
and shapely
and
heralds of autumn.
I just feel good when I see them.

I like pumpkin spice muffins
and jack o lanterns
and little babies dressed up as pumpkins
at Halloween.

I like
the four pumpkins
that are sitting on my front steps
and the pumpkin fields
set up by the side of the road.
I always want to jump out of the car and buy the biggest one on the lot.

Walked on the beach today....
a perfect ten
kind of day it was.

God is so good,
so perfect in all of His ways.
cathy

Sunday, October 23, 2011

sleeping in the car

We had eaten lunch
and were heading for home
after a wonderful weekend getaway.
 I was sitting in the sunlight with my book.

Reading had made me drowsy
and I gave in....
reared my seat back,
 propped my feet up on the dash,
put my camera bag behind my head
and to dreamland
 I went.

For some reason,
my head kept rolling off of 
the camera bag
over and over again
But I never fully woke up.
Strange that one can
sleep
 under those conditions.

Bubba said
when we got home
 that he had slept some
on the way home too.......
He was driving.

Don't ask me why we are
glowing gold
in the picture above.
I just don't know.
cathy

Saturday, October 22, 2011

in cashiers, north carolina

with my sister Teri
outside of Sweet Treats
just before eating a luscious ice cream.

We are in Greenville, South Carolina,
for my Dad's World War II
Tenth Mountain Division reunion.
Spent the day up in the mountains,
looking at all of the beauty.
Absolutely awesome weather
and wondeful sweet fellowship
and lots of good eating.

Thanking God for all of His blessings....
for all of His good provision.
cathy

Thursday, October 20, 2011

swinging

Oh
for simpler times
when going out for a good swing
could solve
 all of the complications of life.
cc

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

beach dune wild-flowers

Sad today.
Been sad since early this morning.
can't shake the sadness.

These
are the things
I wrote down in my prayer today
about God
from Psalm 85.

God forgives my iniquities
He covers all my sins
He revives me
God is
lovingkindness.
(I love to think of Him that way)
Salvation
The Glory of the Lord
He is Truth
He makes me righteous
Peace
The Giver of what is good
He makes me fruitful.

All of these in just one Psalm!

This is my antidote to sadness...
being in God's word
remembering
all
of His attributes and promises.

How then can I be sad anymore?
cathy

Monday, October 17, 2011

a new church in savannah


The cornerstone
or foundation stone concept
is derived from
the first stone set
 in the construction of a masonry foundation,
important
since all other stones
will be set in reference to this stone,
thus determining
the position of the whole structure.

Three years ago
David moved his family back to Savannah
with a vision and a passion in his heart
to establish a church built on the foundation, or
cornerstone
of the truth of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Praise God,
on Sunday,
November 13, 2011,
The Cornerstone Church of Savannah 
will meet as a body for the first time.

Jesus said to them,
"But who do you think that I am?"
And Simon Peter answered and said, 
 "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Blessed are you,
Simon Bar-Jonah,
for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
but My Father who is in heaven. 
"And I also say to you
that you are Peter
and on this rock I will build My church,
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

The rock
that Jesus chose
as the cornerstone of the church
was this statement......

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

The rock
or cornerstone
of this church
will be one and the same.

More details later.
Please pray.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

cuteness

Not writing tonight.
My
brain
needs
a
rest.

"Therefore
let us pursue
the things which make for peace
and the things by which one may edify another."
Romans 14:19

Saturday, October 15, 2011

party girl


That's me having fun at
Frankie's
birthday party
last Thursday night.
Great food,
fun,
and sweet fellowship!
Beautiful fall decorations
adorned the O'Quinn's fabulous home.
It was so good
to have
so many family members
together all under one roof. 
That doesn't happen very often.

The quiet
after the boys have been here for a week
always takes me by surprise.
Don't quite know what to do with myself for a few days.
I did take a
"quick as a wink"
nap this afternoon.
That was very nice.

Glad to report that....
Erika and the children are seemingly fine
from the accident,
Mark made it home safely from India,
Amanda and the boys made it back to Richmond in perfect time to pick him up from the airport,
And they are all safe at home.

Thanking God for this and so much more!
cathy


Friday, October 14, 2011

very thankful

They were on their way here
to fly the kite that we bought at the pumpkin patch.
It was a beautiful day to be outside,
to take some pictures of the kids,
before Amanda
heads back to Virginia in the morning.

Their van was broadsided
and probably totaled
at an intersection just a few blocks down the road.
Miraculously,
everyone walked away mostly unharmed.
Erika had a cut on her nose and some aches and pains.
Harry was seated at the point of impact...
we are watching him, he seems okay.
All airbags deployed on the left side of the car.

"Through the Lord's mercies
we are not consumed,
because His compassions fail not. 
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3: 22&23

God protects us and keeps us safe!
Thank you,
O Lord
for what You did just a little while ago.
cathy

Thursday, October 13, 2011

a cute little fella

a little bit of business:

first:  Some of you write the sweetest comments on my blog....
I thank you so much.
Most of the time I do not publish them
unless I am absolutely sure of the source.
I have let viruses into my computer this way in the past,
so I am extra careful now.
I especially want to thank the reader from Jerusalem who commented today.

second:  What I mean by "thinking spiritually."
To me "thinking spiritually" is this...
reading God's word and trying to do what it says.
My natural tendency is to follow my own instincts
which are sinful & selfish.
God's way is always best because
He is sovereign and
He knows what we need and what is best for us.

third:  Please pray for Bubba.
His cancer has returned
and he will be commencing with radiation treatments
in the very near future.
We are completely trusting God in this and all things relating to.

"But the wisdom that is from above
is first pure,
then peaceable,
gentle,
willing to yield,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality,
and without hypocrisy." 
James 3:17

Love this kind of wisdom!
cathy

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

hayride

This trailer
filled with bales of hay
was pulled by a tractor
back into the woods
into a clearing filled with pumpkins. 
We all got off and chose our favorite.
How much fun is that?
As in Harry's case,
not all pumpkins are perfect.
Beauty
is always in the eyes
of the beholder.

Last evening
I wrote about thinking spiritually 
in all things.
Today,
I want you to know,
I have failed miserably in doing that.
Not giving up...
will keep trying until I get it right.
God knows my heart
and my desire
and He blesses that.

Life is very sweet at the pumpkin patch.
Cathy

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

bike riding momas


It finally stopped raining
long enough
for us to get in a bike ride.
We have been deluged with rain the last few days.

Hopefully,
the sun will be out tomorrow
as we head over to
South Carolina
to the "pumpkin patch."

I'm thinking tonight
how good God is
to hold us up
during the times
when things get really hard in our lives. (now)

I'm learning about
"thinking spiritually"
at all times and in all things....

"Everything in the Christian life
 must be regarded from the spiritual angle. 
The whole of this life is spiritual. 
Everything about us
must therefore be considered spiritually,
every phase,
every stage,
every interest,
every developement. 
 Ultimately,
 the problems and the difficulties
of the Christian life
are all spiritual,
so that the moment we enter into this realm
we must think in a spiritual way
 and leave the other mode of thinking (rational) behind." 

Martyn Lloyd Jones
Faith Tried and Triumphnant

Trusting God completely in the trials of life
require a mind trained to think spiritually in all things and at all times.
I'm working on this....
not easy,
but attainable with the help of the Holy spirit.
cathy

Monday, October 10, 2011

say hi to snookums

Snookums
lives
at the fish,
reptile,
and amphibian store
here in Savannah.
Snookums
is a girl.


Snookums
is a tortoise
that lives on dry land. 
If you put her in water she would die.

Snookums
is eleven years old
and can live to be one hundred and twenty.
She has free range in the shop. 
She struts around like she owns the place.

At about four o'clock in the afternoon,
Snookums
runs out of steam,
 gets in her cage,
and crashes.

She is very costly.....
$20,000

We've been by the shop two different times to see her.
Eli
is bold to step forward,
get close,
and even touch
 this lovely creature.

I included the picture of Jake to show his reaction.
 He came so far and would come no further. 
The look on his face says it all.
He kind of liked Snookums,
but there were snakes in the room.
"Not for me," he said.
"No way."

a day in the life...
cathy

Sunday, October 9, 2011

guess who's here?

Jake & Eli!
Mark is in India
so Amanda
decided to come for a visit.
Of course,
 that makes me very happy!

We were going out
for a bike ride,
but it is pouring down rain.
Savannah
is being inundated
with a tropical thing
that is moving up from Florida
 for which
we give many thanks!

Maybe we can ride in a little while through all of the puddles;
the boys will love that!

Just bought some
beautiful apples & delicious caramel sauce.
We will be dipping in just a few minutes.
Dipping & listening
to the falling rain.

Fall is coming but it is not here yet.
Still warm & humid.

"Blessed
are those
who put their trust in Jesus."
Psalm 2:12





Friday, October 7, 2011

me and my shadow

Some people think
that we are all we will ever be
in the here and now.
That's not what the Bible says.

Here on earth in this life we are
mere shadows
of what we will be for eternity with God.

In heaven we will be perfect,
as God intended, 
 before man's fall into sin.

"And
I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
Behold,
 the Tabernacle of God is with men,
and He will dwell with them,
and they shall be His people
and God Himself
will be with them
and will be their God. 
 And God
will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
there shall be no more death,
nor sorrow,
nor crying;
and there shall be no more pain,
for
the former things have passed away."
Revelation 21: 3&4

What joy!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

every sunrise is different

Each sunrise,
since the day that
God
created light,
has been different.....
God's great creativity on display.

If you rise early enough,
 you have the privilege
 to observe
His masterpiece
for the day
painted across the eastern sky.

cathy

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

the sunrise this morning...

Let me say this about this....
Bubba was the 50,000th visitor to my blog.
He heard all of my hullabaloo about who it would be,
and he signed in and and got the honor.
Kinda sweet,
I think.

Just so you know,
I have no idea who reads my blog.
(I do only if you tell me)
The sitemeter only counts,
it does not reveal identities of readers....
so,
I write and you read,
and I don't know who you are.
Again, thanks for reading!

David leaves Israel in just a little while.
He is so ready to be home.
He has learned a lot
and has enjoyed  his time immensely,
but it is,
according to him,
an arduous
and very tiring journey.

Looking forward
to being taught
what he has learned
in his Old Testament Survey class
during Sunday School in the coming weeks.

Tumultuous wave action this afternoon.
Choppy seas as far as I can see.
Sun making the foam look like shining white snow.

Wish I could stay here forever.

Bubba.....
No more long, tiring trips for me...
just take me to some beach,
preferably not far from home,
and let me bask in the beauty that is before me right now.
satisfied,
cathy

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

49,999


When I signed on just now
Mr. Sitemeter was at the number in the title.
I wonder who will be # 50,000?
Thank you all for reading my blog.
It is my creative outlet and my witness.

I have found my summer again...
sitting here looking out at the ocean
and listening to the roar of it's waves.

Peaceful,
already feel my body relaxing.
Vast,
it reminds me of how big God is
and the smallness of myself.
Unrelenting,
it rolls in and out...
powerful & beautiful,
every day and night
without fail.

God made the ocean...
He controls it.

"And I (God) said,
"Thus far shall you come but no farther;
and here shall you proud waves stop.' "
Job 38:11

God tells those
massive,
powerful,
waves
where to stop and they obey.

That is my God!
The God I worship and love.

All praise is due His name!!!!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

chasing summer

Can't say goodbye yet to
Summer.
Going down into
Florida
tomorrow looking for
one last glimpse
of her
before she slips quietly away.
Taking the bikes
and a couple of beach chairs
and a good book.

Sitting here with the door open
looking at the sun go down on the marsh.
Green,
gold,
and brown
with a ribbon of blue.
Amazing beauty.
God is so good
to let us glimpse His glory
in the things that
He created.

Please pray
for our friends Sandra and Robert Rushing
and their family
as they deal with the cruelty of Alzheimer's. 
Very hard struggle....unrelenting stress. 
That God
would draw them close
and comfort them at this time
as only He can.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!


Saturday, October 1, 2011

october one

That's me in the mirror
taking a picture of Bubba
who is taking in the scenery
at our condo.

Some things I love about this month...

The windows and doors are open wide.
There is a slight coolness in the air.
(don't want it to get any colder than this)
The sky is a brilliant blue.
I am beginning to see orange pumpkins around.
The sun casts beautiful golden hues on the earth.
Looking forward to the coming holidays.
Excited to decorate the house for fall.

I am struggling a little bit right now.
Won't go into any details,
but just to say what saves me....
Being in God's word and
keeping Christ preeminent in my thoughts.

"...casting down arguments
and every high thing
that exalts itself against
the knowledge of God,
bringing every thought into captivity
to the obedience of Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:5

Hard work doing this.
Impossible without God's Spirit.
cathy