Tuesday, January 31, 2012

brother john

It was 1959.
I was eleven years old.

The beloved pastor of Calvary Baptist Temple,
John Wilder,
had died and we needed a leader.

John T. Tippett,
known affectionally as Brother John,
was called
and came to be our pastor.

He served for twenty five years.
He saw me through my teenage years,
He married Bubba and I,
he baptized David and Amanda.
He shaped all of our lives
with his fiery preaching and his constant presence.

Brother John died this past Friday.
He finally got to meet,
 face to face,
 his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We went to his memorial service today.
It was like stepping back in time.
The old friends that were members of his flock
came by the droves.
We came to
remember and honor,
the years of devotion and service he gave to us.

John Tippett was bigger than life.
He was our hero and our friend.
I remember his hands...
they were very large.
They held me steady in the baptisimal pool
and they joined me forever
to my husband.

His son Tom spoke today 
of Brother John's final days of life on this earth.....
He had a mask on his face to help him breathe.
Tom asked him how he was doing.
Not able to hear his response,
Tom lifted the mask to hear these words....
"I'm following Jesus."

What a way to go into His presence Brother John...
Following Him all the way home!


Monday, January 30, 2012

lounging....

on the sofa at the beach.

A little something about sin.....

"What would you expect?
Sin will not come to you saying,
'I am sin.'
It would do little harm if it did.
Sin always seems
good,
pleasant,
and desriable
at the time of its arrival."
jc ryle

Sunday, January 29, 2012

jake & eli

Happy brothers!
Best friends!
Two special joys of my heart!

They live far away and I don't get to see them very often,
but I love them
 and cherish the time we do get to spend together.

Jake is six now and doing first grade with his mom at home.
He is on a basketball team learning how to play.
He writes beautifully
which is unusual for a boy.

Eli is four, soon to be five.
He is in preschool.
He notices everything
 and can tell you the answer when no one else can.

At the end of February we are all going to
Disney World.
We will spend a whole week together having fun. 
I can't wait!

What blessings God has filled my life with.
How thankful I am.
I praise Him for all of His good gifts.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

sleepover

or...
what i learned from Lucy.

She and I spent the night at the condo last night.
It was a delight for both of us.

  Aware....she is aware of everything.
  She wants to control all keys and open all cars, doors, and post office boxes.
 She likes to sleep very close.
  She likes to also touch,
kick,
rub,
and stare at me during the night.
  She found me at 2:30 am taking a respite on the sofa
and took me back to the bed.

Yesterday on a very windy and cold afternoon on the beach
we got the kite so high that we ran out of string.
She controlled it the whole time
until it came crashing down on the beach....
then I had to wind up three miles of twisted and knotted string.
We did the same thing again this morning.
The kite is still intact and ready for our next outing.

She can pretty much talk me into anything.
She loves to eat.
I like people who think eating is as much a pleasure as i do.

We watched Mary Poppins
and
A movie about Kit...an American Doll.
I thoroughly enjoyed both of them.

We ended our day at the
Sugar Shack
eating ice cream cones
and watching the funny people go by.

I love Lucy!


Friday, January 27, 2012

God's beautiful world


"In the begining God created the heavens and the earth."
Genesis 1:1

If you start there,
at the very beginning of the Bible,
that first verse says it all.
God made the earth and set it into motion,
and even to this very day
He keeps it rolling along.

God's earth is majestic!
Just look at the perfection,
 the beauty,
the awesome power
that contols that ball in it's place in space.
God is the creator of all things.
Praise Him!

If you look real closely at where Savannah is
and then go down to where the water is aqua blue,
that is where Lucy and I will be in just a little while. 
She and I are spending today and tonight and part of tomorrow at the beach. 
Grammy ~ Lucy time is time well spent.
Can't wait for her to teach me some stuff.

"And God called the dry land Earth,
and the gathering together of the waters
He called seas. 
And God saw that it was good."
Genesis 1:10

(picture - NASA Blue Marble 2012 image of the earth)
Stunning!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

she dances

This is Lucy modeling her ballet teacher,
'Miss Heide.'
She (Lucy) has really come a long way.
I see her flying through the air
with her legs straight out
and her hands over her head.
"gaining grace."
That's what I call it.
Every little girl needs to learn to be graceful.

Small groups
start up tonight for
Cornerstone Church of Savannah.
That's why I'm writing early.

Being a part of a fledgling church
and watching how God blesses
 is a grace gift.....
a high point
in the journey to heaven,
a sweet taste
of fellowship to come.

"I will meditate
on the glorious splendor
of Your majesty,
and on your
wondrous works."
Psalm 145:5

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

winter sunrise out over the marsh

Behave Like Christ is Coming Again

Wherever you may live,
and whatever may be your trials;
however great your difficulties,
and however small your helps;
nothing should prevent your aiming at the highest standard,
to behave like one who believes that Christ is coming again! 
You should resolve,
by God's help,
to live
so that the day of Christ
shall find you needing as little change as possible! 
You should seek to have.......

your tastes so heavenly

your affections so spiritual,

you will so subdued,

your mind so unworldly~

that when the Lord appears,
you may be thoroughly in tune for His kingdom!
jc ryle

Can we live like this?

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

happy birthday david william

You make us glad of heart!
What a houseful of blessings you have!
Love to you on your birthday and always...
mom

ps...I love facebook!
Erika set up my timeline on fb
and she got me going on Pinterest!
And....she is so sick.
I love my son David's wife!!!!


Monday, January 23, 2012

the reception....

We were twelve.
We had left our babydolls behind...
realizing that we needed to get married first.
This is the reception picture.
I guess the stainless bowl contained the punch...
cookies to the side.
That's our friend JoAnne.
We would never let her be a bride...
only a bridesmaid.
Maybe we noticed that she was already getting her "shape"
and we were still rather "boyish."
She might steal away our make believe hubbys.

Lou,
what happened to your veil?
You look like "the flying nun."
Love these pictures and the memories they bring.

Today is David's birthday
but we couldn't party because everyone at his house is sick.
Love you so much firstborn son!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

curl up in this

I like nothing better
 than to take a rest
 with this wonderful silk quilt
curled around my body.
This quilt graced the bed of Bubba's mother and father. 
It is very small...
I don't know how they both fit under.
It is soft and warm and very silky and I love it.
I am always amazed at the things I get attached to.

As I read the Psalms in the Bible
 I also write them in my little notebook. 
Lately, 
I have been struck by how many times I write the word
lovingkindness
in relation to God Himself.

What is His lovingkindness?
Why it it referred to again and again in His writings to us?

"Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, I shall praise Thee"
Psalm 63:3

"God's lovingkindness is His mercy;  
and God's mercy is that He is from everlasting to everlasting
filled with the desire to make His people happy.
God knows that His people are temporarily in misery,
and this lovingkindness of God is to bring His people out of that misery
and to lift them up to the highest glory.

It is that will of God to bless
that becomes manifest in the death and resurrection of Christ,
as Peter expresses it in I Peter 1:3....
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which according to His great mercy (lovingkindness)
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 
That will to bless His people is God's mercy."
Herman Hoeksema

The lovingkindness of God...
His desire to bless His people,
to lift them up to the highest glory,
attained through the death and resurrection of His son Jesus.
Meditate on that!

I will ever Praise His name!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

shrimp boat.....

dragging for shrimp in front of our condo
this afternoon.
Notice the birds and dolphins following behind.
The dolphins are hard to see in this picture.

This picture was taken looking northeast from our deck.
I love to walk down to that spit of sand.
A great convergence
of ocean and river
takes place there and is so interesting to watch.
Looking to the left of the picture you see
Hilton Head Island.
I love the view from here.

This is the little eating table
with ambience lighting.
Everything in this condo is very small
except now we have a big king-size bed.

It is raining and thundering and lightning.
My window is open to hear it all better.

Love this quote....

"If God has given His Son to die for us,
Let us beware of doubting
His kindness and love
in any painful providence of our daily life."
jc ryle


Friday, January 20, 2012

january things

These pictures show how January is celebrated here.
Snowmen and snowflakes.
Coffee mugs and snowskiing plates.
Candles and coffee
and lights
to make the long winter nights more bearable.

Last night I hosted the first ever
"ladies of Cornerstone Church"
fellowship.
I cooked
hot chicken salad
brocolli bread
and
oriental coleslaw.
Everybody loved the food
and we had a great time.

This was our dessert.....
An absolutely delicious fresh fruit tart.

I love to entertain!!!

Lucy and I
were going to spend the night tonight
at the condo,
but she fell ill. 
We will put it off for a few 
 and try again.

Take the time to seek God.
His words are so tried and true.
When things in life get difficult,
only He can comfort.

"For as the heavens are high above the earth,
 so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 
As far as the east is from the west,
so far He has removed our trangressions from us." 
Psalm 103: 11&12

because of Jesus....




Wednesday, January 18, 2012

hello kitty

Lucy called me on my cell very excited this afternoon.
"Grammy, guess what?
We have a new kitten. 
Can you come over to see it tonight?"

Here she is...
nameless as yet, two months old 
She is a Snowshoe....
gray and cream.
She has a dark gray tail and nose.
Her eyes are crystal blue.
We love her already.

David
was sitting in his big leather chair
holding her when we got there.
Lucy & Harry
had been told to back off a little bit...you can just imagine. 
She had her "surgery" yesterday
and was still a little tender.

The people at the Humane Societytold them not to let her jump around,
 but how do you relay that message to a kitten? 
When we left she was flinging herself all around the room.
She will survive....
kittens always do. 

Tonight we thank God for the animals....
they add so much to our lives.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

blushing brides

This is a follow-up to the blog last night.
My friend Lou emailed this picture after reading. 
She said to me...
"The ruffled runner looks like a mighty nice piece for a wedding ensemble."
I replied...
love, love love!

What a friend!
What precious memories came rolling over me last night.

Lou lived on my street up on the hill.
As children,
we adorned ourselves as brides and got married over and over again.
Ascending the long steps to her front door,
greeting our make believe husbands,
we played and dreamed,
never tiring.
Our "ensembles" were lavish
We truly thought we were beautiful.
We even got our moms involved.
Oh it was so wonderful!

Friend,
I loved sharing my childhood with you!
No two ever played better,
 because in our minds all that we did was real.

I cherish this picture and your friendship.
Cathy

Monday, January 16, 2012

total indulgence

I never do this....

Last week Bubba took me on a day trip to Florida.
Glad that Florida is close enough to do this.
He is still feeling the results of the
radiation
in the form of fatigue,
so we are keeping it simple right now.
Nothing too strenuous or far away.

Anyway....
I walked into the store,
I turned right,
I saw it.
The snow white,
ruffled,
100% imported linen,
simply gorgeous,
table runner.
I picked it up
and I knew that it had to be mine.
It is.

That day
I also brought home
my new dishes and glassware
 that were my
Christmas gifts.

It is all pictured above.
I am so thankful for these beautiful things.

Bubba and I worked at our condo at Tybee this afternoon. 
The new king-size bed is being delieverd tomorrow 
and we are getting it ready for the guests
that will start arriving soon. 
A little cleaning,
 a little painting,
and a few new things
make for contented vacationers.

Oysters for supper.
To me oysters taste just like the ocean. 
 I love them fresh and delicious.

Just a few musings today.
Loving life,
cathy

Sunday, January 15, 2012

crowns

I had the honor and privilege
 of sitting with Lucy
during church this morning.

The picture on the left was drawn last Sunday.
I am standing up singing.
My glasses are prominent.....
eyes huge and hair short.

The picture on the right was drawn this morning.
I have longer hair,
dots for eyes,
a crooked smile,
large hands with fingers,
and a crown.

I think the crown
is because
she just got back from
Disney World
yesterday.

This picture is Lucy.
We are almost identical except
she is shorter.
Notice.....
she has a crown too.

She gave me these pictures so that I could remember.

For sure little Lucy,
I will keep these in my memoirs.
I love your mind....
I love everything about you!

Friday, January 13, 2012

and two shall be one

A couple of things....
I inadvertently deleted my sitemeter today.
Waiting for it to be reinstalled.

This picture
is from last summer
when we were at the airport
waiting for Gus to arrive.
I've always liked it and never shared.
Thought it would be perfect for tonight.

Marriage.....
how it should be.

"Christian husbands and wives
ought to help one another in spiritual things,
and to encourage one another in the service of God.

Marriage
is a state of life
which has the greatest effect on the souls of those who enter into it. 
It helps them upward or downward. 
 It leads them nearer to heaven or nearer to hell.

We all depend much on the company we keep.
Our characters
are insensibly moulded
by those with whom we pass our time. 
To none does this apply more than to married people.

Husbands and wives
 are continually doing either
good or harm to 
one another's souls.

Let all who are married, or think of being married,
ponder these things well.

Let them....
pray together
read the Bible together
go to church together,
and
talk to each other about spiritual matters."
(jc ryle)

Blessed are the couples who know this grace.

Thank you Bubba for always doing good for my soul.
cathy



Thursday, January 12, 2012

wee one in his cute coat

Seeking God

Just something I read a little earlier 
about what we as believers should be doing every day......

"O give thanks to the Lord,
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples.

Sing to Him,
Sing praises to Him;
Speak of all His wonders.

Glory in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.

Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face continually.

Remember His wonders which He has done,
His marvels, and the judgements uttered by His mouth."
Psalm105: 1~5

I can't get over these verses.
If we were doing this all day we wouldn't have a care or a worry in this world.

"Seek the Lord and His strength....
Seek His face continually."

In His word....
that would be how.

When?
Continually!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

one last 2011 collage

Bubba and I
 sat too long on the deck of the condo just now
listening to the waves rolling in. 
Not really....
one can never sit too long listening to the waves. 
Nevertheless,
I am too tired now to write
what I had planned for this evening. 
Going to bed
with a really good book.....
nite ~ nite

one more thing....
The moon just rose up and it is a stunner tonight.
God made it and hung it there you know.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

having doubts?

I took this picture of my geranium a few days ago.
There it sits on the back porch healthy, green, and gorgeous,
never minding at all that it is January 10th.
I think it is a phenomenon.

"Let us carefully hold fast
the great doctrine
of the plenary inspiration of every word of the Bible.

Let us never allow
that any writer of the Old or New Testament
could make even the slightest verbal mistake or error,
when writing as he was
'moved by the Holy Spirit.' 
2 Peter 1:21

Let it be a settled principle with us in reading the Bible,
that when we cannot understand a passage,
the fault is not in the Bible
but in ourselves.

The adoption
of this principle
will place our feet upon a rock.

To give it up is to stand upon a quicksand,
 and to fill our minds
with endless doubts and uncertainties."  (jc ryle)

So many fail in Christianity at this point.
They cannot accept the truth that the Bible is the inspired word of God.
They pick and cut at the Scriptures,
taking what they want to believe and discarding the rest.

Every single word is important to the whole
and the whole makes up the word that God gave to us....
a precious gift,
a love letter,
and instruction book
for His dear believing children.

O My God how thankful I am for your book.
cathy


Monday, January 9, 2012

another collage

Just went and bought a new
king size mattress
for our condo.
Making some improvements there.

Read Psalm 103.
Cathy

Sunday, January 8, 2012

pictures I've posted.....

this year on facebook.
Looking back,
2011
went by so quickly.
All of these
pictures
that make up my year
seemed to have taken place just yesterday.

Life is precious.
Life in Christ makes "life" even more precious.
Each day and every night is full of
His grace & mercy.
And just like it looks in the pictures,
life is filled with wonder.
Joy abounds
and it is all because of His word.

Just reading and writing and meditating
on the Psalms
over and over, day in and day out, 
 has changed my heart
and my mind
beyond anything I could have ever possibly imagined.

Knowing God through
His word
is such a treasure to me. 
I want everyone to know Him in the same way.

Just start reading the Psalms tonight.
Keep it up...don't stop.
Write down what you find about God.
Think about what you learn.
Pray the Psalms back to Him.
You WILL be blessed.

I love you,
cathy

Saturday, January 7, 2012

grains of sand......

magnified 250 times.
Beautiful isn't it?

Will be staying at the
beach
on and off for the rest of  January & February.
Want to get some of that warm sand under my toes.
This is the winter of my dreams,
 by the way.
74 degrees today and more tomorrow.
My windows and doors
were open wide
this afternoon
while we took the tree down.

I, and my daughter Amanda,
have such crazy,
sentimental feelings
 about our Christmas trees.
She posted on facebook today
that she had Mark take her tree way back in the woods
so that she wouldn't have to see it and be sad for discarding it.
I responded that she was "nuts,"
but I know 
 what she means.
We just had our annual
"throw the tree over the balcony ceremony."
So hard to say goodbye to a wonderful tree.

Bubba finished his radiation treatments yesterday...
all 39 of them.
Praise God for giving him much grace and mercy during this time.
Now we pray that all of the mean cells are dead and gone.

Sorry for the respite in my writings.
Sometimes I need a little break.
Then, like today, it is hard to get started back.
I always wonder if I will have anything else to say,
But,
I just start telling my stories and away I go.
I love the feeling of my fingers
clicking on the keyboard.

So...here's to 1,500 more blog posts,
your friend,
cathy

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

the reason i write....

I cannot believe that 2012 starts the sixth year of my blog.
I began writing in June, 2007,
when we were living in Washington, DC.
I have written nearly 1,500 posts
and posted who knows how many pictures since then.

Why do I write?
What has been my purpose from the beginning?
In a nutshell,
 I would have to say,
to share my love of and devotion to 
my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.....

And
to encourage you
to seek Him in His word
so that you can
 know Him and love Him as well.

I throw in a little spice
in the telling of how He blesses this family,
and lots of truth....
Scripture verses and quotes or passages
from the writings of men that I
trust and admire.

My pictures
catch us in the action of living our lives
and I share them with you
because I love photography
and the blog gives me a reason to shoot.
Being able to put my writings
together with a picture is always a joy.

I would love to hear from you.
Tell me why you read...what you enjoy.
If you leave a comment, I probably won't publish it....
but you can know I will treasure all.

I'll keep writing if you keep reading!
love to all,
cathy