redemption

In biblical terms,

what does the word redemption mean?

Paul defines it like this...

{being bought with a price.}

"For you have been bought with a price:

therefore, 

glorify God in your body."

I Corinthians 6:20

"Redemption is of God

by the blood of Christ,

who was sent to the earth to accomplish it for us.

And from what are we redeemed?

From the bondage of the law and its curse,

the power of sin and the grave,

all troubles,

sin, evil, enemies,

death and destruction.

"Bless the Lord O my soul;

All that is within me bless His holy name....

Who redeems your life from the pit,

and crowns you with

lovingkindness and compassion."

Psalm 103: 1 & 4

Because of our redemption we have

justification,

forgiveness,

adoption,

and purification.

"But when the fullness of the time came,

God sent forth His Son,

born of a woman under the Law,

in order that He might redeem

those who were now under the Law,

that we might receive the adoption as sons."

Galatians, 4: 4&5

Through redemption God manifests His 

power,

grace,

love and mercy.

"In His love and in His mercy

He redeemed them."

Isaiah 63:9

When we have been redeemed,

we become God's property,

His first fruits,

a special people,

sealed until the great day,

zealous of good works,

and living in holiness."

"For we are His workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand,

that we should walk in them."

Ephesians 2:10

Our finite minds cannot conceive the redemptive work of God.

By faith we accept this truth

and live accordingly

in thankful praise and godly living.

cac

picture by me

notes from my hebrew/greek study bible.

Bubba

This is one of my favorite pictures of my husband.

He served our country for 42 years,

first in the Air National Guard,

finishing up as a Colonel in the 

United States Air Force.

He retired in 2006,

and here we are,

Life is fuller than ever

with all of the blessings of the Lord.

Henry, (Bubba) as I call him,

is to say the least,

a driven, hard worker.

When the kids were little, he worked three jobs,

just to make ends meet.

His favorite color is Air Force blue,

the same color as his eyes.

As we get older,

I wonder who will go to be with the Lord first.

This is in His hands and His timing.

I can't imagine life without him,

without his care and protection,

his love

 and his mercy toward me.

We have been blessed!

We have been lost,

we have found the Lord together.

We have sought Him,

and found Him,

and relished in the journey.

We have laughed a lot,

and cried a lot together.

We have watched the Lord 

do some major miracles.

We have survived, and thrived, and loved every minute

of the ride.

We have traveled all over the country,

we have seen so many wonders together.

What a marriage!

What a man...

God knew exactly who I needed to go through this journey with,.

I love you Bubba,

and I'm thankful for you!!

this little girl....

....loves

 horseback riding.

Lucy O'Quinn Cleland

seems to be a bit of a natural in the saddle.

Here she is helping Toby to shed

his winter coat.

Never seen so much hair coming off a horse.

When she was done with her ride,

we were both covered with

 horse hair.

There is just something about

an eight year old girl,

wearing a helmet,

riding a 

horse.

Yesterday,

Lucy achieved Memory Master at her school

for the second year in a row.

While she was here,

she and I went over her material.

It took her over an hour to recite from 

memory,

the history time line from creation to the present,

all of the Presidents,

all of the countries and cities in Europe,

the Middle East,

and Asia,

along with all of the rivers, seas, and mountain ranges,

parts of speech,

math equations,

and more.

It took us over an hour to get through it all.

She only made one mistake,

and she corrected that.

I'm sitting there wondering,

"How in the world does she do this?"

Congratulations sweet girl,

Grandaddy and I are so proud of you!

Being eight is so great.

I love Lucy!!!!

Toby is very gentle and quiet...

likes to sleep,

bears with,

loves what he does.

backyard baseball

This is what we do on warm spring evenings...

play baseball in the backyard.

It is such a riot to watch.

Clearly, 

Harry is not clued in to the game.

Gus got a hit...

ran to first and to second base,

then he ran back to first.

Lu is a power hitter and scored many times.

Archie,

being new to the game,

was also clueless, but willing to learn.

The adults monitored

and tried to keep order.

Lots of fun!

Today we have wind doubling over the trees

and a chance of a freeze tonight.

Can't seem to shake this winter,

but at least we have light!!!!

Tomorrow David and Erika take Archie

back to Greenville.

Please keep them in your prayers

as there are many challenges ahead.

We will have Lucy, Harry, and Gus for a few days.

Thankful tonight for healthy bodies,

willing spirits,

friends and family

who pray and love and care!

what does that mean?

"Love not the world, 

neither the things that are in the world."

I John 2:15

Surely God does not mean that we should not love the

 beautiful and wondrous things in the world that He created...

The mountains,

the oceans,

 the flowers and trees,

the animals,

the birds of the sky,

the lakes and streams and deserts,

or the heavens,

filled with stars and the sun and the moon.

All of these things He created and put here for us to enjoy....

to cause us to worship Him and praise Him.

Those things are not at issue.

so,

what does this verse mean....

"Clearly

 the very text and the whole teaching of the Bible

 shows that it must mean

 the organization 

and the mind 

and the outlook of man 

as it ignores God 

and does not recognize Him

 and as it lives a life independent of Him,

 a life that is based on this world and this life only.

It means the outlook that has rebelled against God

 and turned its back upon Him.

It means, 

in other words,

the typical kind of life that is being lived 

by the average person today,

who has no thought of God, but thinks only of this world and life,

who thinks in terms of time 

and is governed by certain instincts and desires.

It is the whole outlook on life 

that is exclusive of God."

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Life in Christ

Sound familiar?

You may know this person.

Good chapter ~  second book

chapter 7

page 213

somebody left their umbrella....

.....on the beach.

High tide will snatch it away and take it to 

places unknown.

I thought it made a pretty sight down there all alone.

I was on the deck of our condo

enjoying the view this 

afternoon.

Not a ripple in the large expanse of ocean.

so relaxing and beautiful.

I hung some curtains,

and put linen covers on the chairs.

Getting it ready for the summer guests who will be arriving soon.

The picture is the walkway

down to the beach.

The end of the walkway has a great little nook

to sit and watch the big ships go by.

God's creation is so beautiful.

To contemplate His works,

to meditate on His word,

to give thanks for His blessings,

to praise Him and worship Him for all of His gifts...

these are our duties as His created.

Always in awe,

giving all honor and glory to Him,

for everything that is wonderful and beautiful is from Him.

vintage charm!

firepit

So...

tonight I am sharing my vision for our backyard.

It starts with a 

firepit,

very simple in shape and design,

right in the center.

I have an Adirondack chair just like the one in the picture.

(My Dad had it made for me)

this is as far as I've gotten,

but this much I am without a doubt,

sure of.

Think of all the fun that could be had around that beauty.....

lots of people roasting hot dogs

and making s'mores

while keeping warm and toasty on cool fall evenings.

Bubba is not opposed to this.

I've just got to convince him that this needs to happen.

Had a great afternoon.

Lucy helped me rake and bag another

load of leaves and debris.

I am making real progress out there.

On another front,

Bubba is really upset that Duke got beat today,

and he has lost interest in the

March Madness.

What I thought would be a lonely weekend

has suddenly become filled with possibilities.

Maybe I can get him in the yard 

to measure for the

firepit!!!

This morning at 10:59 DST

the egg that had been standing upright by itself

 toppled over

and I accidently dropped it on the floor

creating

 a huge mess for myself to clean up.

Amanda's standing upright egg also toppled over at about the same time.

That tilt...

sent it over the edge.

happy first day of spring

Have you stood your egg on end today?

The first day of spring is the

vernal equinox....

The only day that this can be done.

Ours is still happily standing.

If it is still standing in the morning,

I will question.

It's starting to happen.

Everything is getting ready to burst into bloom.

The grass is "greening " up,

the flowers are poised and ready for their great reveal.

I worked in the yard today,

but was quickly overcome with the sheer

magnitude of work to be done.

One must start somewhere, though.

I did really well until I picked up a thorny vine 

that penetrated my hand.

I will try again tomorrow and tomorrow.

What I need is to get it cleaned out,

and then someone to come give me a master plan.

Bubba has already said no to that.

He says we can figure out what we want to plant

by ourselves.

(sad)

Anyway,

Aren't you glad its Spring?

daughters.....

From the moment they first handed her to me,

I was in complete awe.

God had granted my prayer

and given me a little girl.

Never

 in a million years 

could I have imagined the joy 

she would bring.

We are so close, but live miles apart.

We talk most every day,

We chat about 

the boys

 and her jobs 

and the wonderful place she calls home.

She always has at least one funny story to relay.

She is a counselor to me.

When I am troubled she always has the right words.

She never fails to admonish when that is needed.

She is an encourager,

my cheerleader,

my friend.

She has made me cry,

and she has made me laugh my head off.

She is funny.

She notices things.

(I love people who notice things.)

That is very important.

She shares beautiful music,

and dance moves,

and words of wisdom.

She is caring and loving.

She is a wife and mother now.

She thrives in her roles.

I love you Amanda.

Thank you for all the ways you care for me.

I thank God for you!

mom

super heros and grandsons

I just read these two a book

and kissed them goodnight.

They have to go home tomorrow.

It has been fun and we will look forward

to our next visit together.

Thankful tonight for fun times,

hugs and kisses,

correction for my reading mistakes,

freshly scrubbed boys just out of the shower,

Krispy Kream Doughnuts,

Granddaddy's spaghetti,

treasures at the thrift store,

&

a promise of warmer weather.

Thanks for coming dear ones...

see you again real soon.

agent P and eli

The things they love....

you never know what will be next.

This is Perry the Platypus

aka Agent P,

from Phinneas and Ferb.

So glad to have Eli and his family here at our house tonight.

It has been a busy day

and I am very tired 

and longing to lay in the bed to

read & relax.

One more thing,

Amanda and I were combing through our new

Goodwill store today

and we found some Agent P pajama bottoms.

Of course Eli was wearing them just now 

as we kissed him goodnight

and tucked him in.

Jake has a tummy ache...

hope he feels better in the morning.

The blessing of family

together

around the table

sharing a meal

laughing....

nothing better in this world.

"for we walk by faith.....

....not by sight"

II Corinthians 5:7

I don't know what's out there

but God does.

He is the One 

to trust,

to believe,

to worship,

to base your whole life upon.

Thankful that God drew me to Himself

and allowed me to know Him through

His Son Jesus Christ.

"Be much in prayer,

spend longer in holy adoration,

read the Scriptures more ardently & constantly,

watch your lives more carefully,

live near to God,

take the best examples for your pattern,

let your conversation be filled with heaven,

let your heart be perfumed with affection for lost souls:

So live that men may take knowledge of you

that you have been with Jesus,

 and have learned of Him."

Charles Spurgeon ~ Morning & Evening

nothing but mistletoe

It came back this morning...

the cold weather returned late last night

while we were sleeping.

The wind howled,

and swirled,

knocked on the windows and doors,

and when we woke up,

it had arrived.

These trees are across the street.

They are stripped bare.....

winter trees.

I think winter trees are beautiful.

I love looking at the mistletoe.

Soon these tress will be filled with new green leaves,

hiding these bundles.

Right now,

they are calling for someone to come stand under.

"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."

Kiss the Girl ~ The Little Mermaid

I'm going across the street to sit under the mistletoe

to see what happens. :)

cute stack

I took a lot of pictures at Bathtub Beach.

thought I would share

my lovely daughter and her two sons.

Love what the elements do to wood at the beach.

That old weathered look...

just perfect.

Looking forward to seeing the three above and Mark

here in Savannah in a couple of days.

Mark has been learning how to scuba dive all this week.

Tomorrow,

he dives in the ocean.

How fun is that!

Harry B has spent the day with granddaddy.

They have their "Man" things that they do together....

a trip to the tower at Skidaway Island

to look at the wild pigs over on another island

with their binoculars.....

a visit to the Bass Pro Shop

to look at the fish and climb on the boats....

finished off with lunch at the Chick Fil A.

Always fun times!

Granddaddy was showing him some pictures

on my blog. 

Mainly Harry wanted to see Eli driving the big boat.

They came across the picture of me in the

Miss Geechee Pageant

and the conversation went something like this....

GD ~ Harry, do you know who that is?

H ~ Yes granddaddy,

that was grammy before she got old.

Doncha just love kids?

Nothing but pure, unadulterated honesty.

smile!!!!

*Gotta get them on the beach early...

teach um to love it!

Harry was two weeks old for his first time.

strange light

Unusual.

It is 6:30 in the evening

and this much light is streaming into my kitchen.

I don't want to miss a moment,

lose a single ray,

of the delicious warmth and beauty

of these longer days.

These sunlit evenings come with a price at first,

in the morning,

in the slumber that is cut short.

I had to be awoken at seven this day,

exactly an hour after I normally get up.

But that's just fine.....

Soon, it will all be okay again.

The patterns and habits of our days

will settle and be right.

I thank God for this season of new life and long light.

He is in control of all that.

He saw fit to give us seasons and change 

and that is very good.

Like this....

"She is bendable light;

she shines around every corner of my day."

my granddaughter lu......

....or as I like to call her,

my lu, 

or lu blu

or

skip to my lu....

she sweetly answers to all.

Thursday,

when I picked her up to spend the night,

she had a surprise for me.

She had gone to Target that morning with her mom,

and using her own money,

she bought me my first Peeps of the season.

That girl knows what her grammy likes.

We came home and shared one immediately.

Then we read by the fire for a while,

played a game of Uno with granddaddy,

went to Cracker Barrel for dinner,

watched McKenna,

an American Girl story about a gymnast,

while enjoying an ice cream sundae.

After all this,

bedtime was greatly welcomed.

Friday morning at 6:07am,

there was a knock on my bedroom door,

and we were off and running. 

By 6:30am we had already played four games of

Ocean Bingo.

There were errands to run, 

and then

Red Lobster

for some crab leg cracking

and pure enjoyment.

We made a visit to the hospital to cheer up Ms Gloria

and then back home for a rest.

She keeps me hopping!

She keeps me young!

As she grows she just gets better and better.

Lu Blu ~ I love you!

miss geechee wannabe

This picture is from the late 1960's.

I found it the other day in with some other old pictures.

I went to Armstrong State College....

majored in 

elementary education.

Had the time of my life during those years.

Amazingly,

I got chosen to represent the

Baptist Student Union

in the

Miss Geechee Pageant.

My Hodie made my dress...

she hand sewed all of those sequins on the bodice.

I didn't win the title,

but what a thrilling time that was.

My momma always claimed

 that the reason I didn't win was because

the hairdresser

 made my hairdo too big.

I think the reason I didn't win

was because the girl who did win,

her name was Marilyn,

was the much better choice.

I just loved my college days!!

happy birthday eli....7

You take the wheel of a big boat with just a little bit of fear.

I see it on your face,

but not in your actions!

You are not afraid to try new things.

You are very brave at seven,

strong,

determined,

funny,

very intelligent,

interesting!

I also see that God is working in your heart.

You were willing to give,

what you wanted very much,

to your brother,

so that he would be happy.

You are our grandson,

you light up our lives with joy.

Your smile is contagious.

Love you to the moon and back little man!

Grammy

deep foundations

This lookout structure on the beach

 needs strong support

 to withstand the constant pounding of the surf

 against its foundation.

We Christians need constant support as well.

Every day we are buffeted by the evil world system

which rails against all that is of God.

Just listen to the news for a few minutes

and you will know what I mean.

We need a foundation that goes deep to get us through,

to keep us believing and trusting in God.

That is why we have the Bible.

The Bible has everything we need

to stand firm against the constant pounding,

the lies and deception,

the doubt,

the depression,

that the evil one is always whispering into our heart.

"God's word is.....

perfect,

restoring the soul;

sure,

making wise the simple.

God's word is.....

right,

rejoicing the heart;

pure,

enlightening the eyes.

God's word is.....

clean,

enduring forever;

true,

righteous altogether.

God's word is....

more desirable than gold,

yes,

than much fine gold.

Sweeter also than honey,

 and the drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover......

by God's word we are warned;

in keeping them (His word)

there is great reward."

Psalm 19: 7~11

What are you waiting for?

Pick up your Bible,

read it,

love it,

obey it!

Make sure, dear Christians,

make sure your foundation is deep in His word.

40 for a high tomorrow?

I,

the girl pictured above,

would move to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida,

in a New York minute.....

cannot believe high temps here tomorrow

will only be in the forties.

I brought myself back to winter....

boo hoo.

There is a place where it never gets cold....

you never have to use the heat,

the grass stays greener than green,

bougainvillea grows brilliantly,

falling over porches that glisten in the sun.

There is a place where

the ocean is bluer than blue,

where the sand is warm between your toes

all year round.

Thank you Mark & Amanda for our visit to paradise!

Looking good Henry C.

The beach becomes you!

picnic in the park.....

Found this sunny spot by the river.
We spread our table,
unloaded the ice chest,
and enjoyed our lunch.
While everyone else posed for this picture,
Bubba couldn't wait as you can see.
We have had a wonderful visit.
Heading for home in the morning...

So thankful for times like these!