discovery cove ~ yesterday

 

My only regret is that I did not ride the dolphin

at Discovery Cove yesterday.

I opted out and regret,

but such is life.

 

This was our first time at "the cove,"

and it certainly was all the wonderful we had heard.

 

The picture above is right before we left...

the rain came about 3pm

and ran us away.

I had just gotten out of the lazy river

where we floated away life's cares and stresses.

My hair was still dripping wet.

 

Jake and Eli stayed in their wetsuits all day long.

There was scubering,

the bird aviary,

the dolphin swim,

the lazy river,

free food and snacks all day,

hammocks and lounge chairs,

clear blue water and white sandy beaches.

We found paradise....again.

 

It was one of those days

 that I will relive over and over

 in my heart and my head.

 

Thank you Mark & Amanda

for making it happen.

We're going where she is going

We will drive down 

and meet up with her sometime around

Monday or thereabouts.

Interesting that her name is Erika...

someone very dear to us.

Keep a close watch on where she's going

and that's where we will be.

(Lord willing)

We may be swimming alongside the dolphins (literally)

with Jake and Eli at Discovery Cove

or maybe we'll be at the

The Magic Kingdom

running with Mickey and friends.

Hopefully, this little storm will keep crowds away

and afford us some much needed cooler temps.

You know how much I love storms....

I could not be more excited!!!

except for the beautiful sunset

Everybody likes to go to Harbor Town over on Hilton Head.

There is the lighthouse,

the red rocking chairs,

all of those big floating palaces.

There is the dock,

 great restaurants,

 little shops,

a playground.

We have watched them light the Christmas tree,

and listened to the man sing 

under the big oak tree.

We have ridden our bikes there

and walked all around.

It is truly a fascinating little piece of property.

This picture shows what Harbor Town

looked like before....

before anything was there except for the

beautiful sunset.

I thought you would like to see this.

I can't stop looking at it.

So here it is on my blog tonight

so that I won't lose it somewhere

and never see it again.

Hope you had a happy day.

I sure did.

so i won't forget

There is God and His son Jesus Christ....

and there is the Holy Spirit.

These three people are distinct but they are one God.

They are known as the Trinity.

The Bible is where their story is told.

Just before Jesus was crucified

He told his disciples,......

"I tell you the truth....

 It is to your advantage that I go away;

 for if I do not go away, 

the Comforter will not come to you;

 but if I depart, 

I will send Him to you."  

John 16:7

The Comforter is the Holy Spirit

and He resides in everyone who is a believer.

"I must always remember that the Holy Spirit is a Person,

I must always recognize the fact that this Person is within me.

It is a very good thing for Christians,

the moment they wake up in the morning,,

to say to themselves.....

'I am a child of God.

My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit;

I have this gracious guest within me.

Wherever I am today or whatever I may be doing,

the Holy Spirit will be with me.

I am not alone,

I do not live an isolated life.

there is nothing that I can do or that can happen to me

but that the Holy Spirit is a sharer in it.'

If we but walked with that realization uppermost in our minds,

it would transform everything."

Assurance of Salvation

Martyn L Jones.

I read this today.

I want to meditate on it and make it a part of my mind.

I wrote it here,

so that I won't forget this truth.

cc

sweetness....

She had just gotten up.

Her beautiful eyes were still puffy from sleep.

Lucy always comes and sits with me in my big white chair

first thing in the morning.

She had her Puppy and her Lily.

Lily is a blanket that my dad gave me.

He got it free from the countless charities to which he gave money.

She has claimed it as her own.

We sit together for a while and talk

before getting on with our day.

Times like these, you know, are priceless.

She and I have been going to sewing lessons all summer.

On Saturday past,

I thought for sure that she would

finish the apron she has been working on so diligently,

but it was not to be.

On Saturday,

Mel, the wiener dog was there at the sewing studio.

Mel, the wiener dog, as lovable as he was,

became a huge distraction.

He took a liking to Lucy and she to him.

before the two hour lesson was over, they were bonded together

like glue.

The apron remained unfinished.

I thought sure I would be modeling it for you by now!!!

Watching Lucy with Mel was the best

I found all of this hugely enjoyable.

I ~ Love ~ Lucy!

Our new church building

Simple yet beautiful.

God was glorified here today.

I will write more in a little bit.

A really huge thunderstorm is moving in

and I want to watch it from the porch.

Great Storm...

and we met David and Erika and the kiddos

at the Mexican restaurant

to talk about the first day in the new building.

Community Bible Church of Savannah

had humble beginnings.

It has grown in under ten years

from 30 people meeting at Johnny Harris Restaurant

to over 1,500 at the two services this morning.

God has truly blessed.

People of all ages gathered to praise our Lord,

to worship Him in song,

to hear His word proclaimed,

to fellowship,

to serve,

to be among other like-minded believers.

The room has no adornment at all

except for the striking plain glass windows

that point our eyes  heavenward...

to the One who gave His all.

Thankful for God's blessings,

for providing this place

for us to worship.

Bubba and I have spent the last few months

 attending the Saturday evening service.

It was good to be back with our family

 worshiping together today.

"And let us consider one another 

in order to stir up love and good works, 

not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,

as is the manner of some,

but exhorting one another,

and so much the more 

as you see the Day approaching."

Hebrews 10:24&25

flowers on my table

Today is like any other day......

Sin is present,

grace is required,

Jesus is your hope,

your future is secure in Him,

there is reason to continue.

from a friend

"For I am persuaded 

that neither death nor life, 

nor angels nor principalities nor powers,

 nor things present nor things to come.

 nor height nor depth,

 nor any other created thing,

 shall be able to separate us from the love of God 

which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 Romans 8:38&39

Meditate constantly on the beauty of the truth.

It will change your life.

keeping gus.......

......is such a pleasure,

but it doesn't leave me much time 

to think about and write a blog.

We just finished reading Cinderella.

I love that he loves that story!

Bedtime kisses were sweet tonight.

Soon he won't be four anymore.

I will miss four,

but look forward to five.

Our day starts early with pancakes and chocolate milk.

I always rise early to get a head start when I'm keeping kids.

A bubble bath,

a few songs,

a book or two read,

and he's out the door with his granddaddy 

to visit friends and family.

We read some more when he gets home.

He looks at a movie

(so that I can rest)

and then we play games ,

do spelling work,

and read some more books.

Sometimes I think,

How in the world were we so blessed

to have this little Ethiopian boy

in our family?

What a joy he is with his

southern accent

 his beautiful eyes,

his chocolate skin,

and his smile,

O that smile!!

Lord, you have been so kind to him.

You have brought him here to us,

He is being raised to love you.

Hopefully,

his heart will always be yours.

I love you Gus!!!

conference on the beach

Bubba to Cathy....

"You have been on this beach all day long.....

don't you think its time to come on back up to the house?"

Cathy to Bubba...

"I'll be up in just a little while,

I need to watch the sun get all the way down."

Things....

My ability to load pictures onto my computer

has ceased.

Along about # 500 of the 600 beach pictures

it sighed and said "no more."

Our computer guy has been alerted...

I am on hold until he shows up.

This greatly affects our E-Bay business.

If you can't get pictures of your merchandise on,

nothing can sell.

We are up over $2000.00 now.

The 50th anniversary family cruise is taking shape.

In 5 years

when the cruise will take place,

Jake will be 15,

Lucy will be 14,

Eli will be 13,

Harry will be 12,

Archie will be 12,

and Gus will be 8.

Plenty of time, if the Lord wills,

to save more money for this fabulous event.

Thanking God for a great start to the school year 

for all of the above,

except for Gus.

He has one more year as a free man.

This is the middle verse of the Bible....

"It is better to trust in the Lord,

than to put confidence in man."

Psalm 117:8

these kids.....

....love the beach.

These kids are happy here

basking in the glow of the late afternoon sun.

It doesn't matter if they are in the water,

or covered in sand,

it is all magical.

I love the look on Gus' face 

as he watches the antics of his older cousins.

Archie has grown to love the beach in his short time here.

You would think he had been raised on it as the rest of these have,

Lucy is kneeling on her boogie,

and is covered in mud.

Jake and Eli are so filled with joy

that it is literally bursting out of them.

And Harry...

well Harry is in "hog heaven" on the beach as well.

"Grandchildren are the crown of old age."

That's what the Bible says.

It is so true.

They are the blessings that allow you to be a child again.

To experience the world through their eyes.

To see the wonders that they see,

to ride the waves,

to write on the sand,

to build sandcastles,

to collect shells,

to be filled with joy at the sight of a dolphin.

These guys were handpicked by God to be ours.

I think He did a marvelous job.

Each is unique in his or her own way.

You can see this in the picture.

They are gifts,

treasures!

Thank You Lord God in heaven!!!

in the ocean....

There's no where else I'd rather be,

than floating here in the deep blue sea.

cc

Already, the days are getting shorter,

the kids are going back to school,

summer is coming to an end.

For me,

this summer has been very different.

My usual frenzy of activity was cut short.

Back in the middle of June

I was sidelined,

stopped in my tracks,

given a mandate that was not my own.

The Lord decided 

that I needed to stop doing what I was doing

and start on another path,

The yard that I left on the evening of June 15th,

has not been touched since.

The flowers are still growing, but they need fertilizer and care.

Much debris is on the ground.

 Weeds have sprung up and grown quite large.

The kidney stone, surgery, and long recuperation

were not in my plan book.

In spite of the misery though,

I was able to read...a lot.

That is what God wanted me to do.

Much soul work has been accomplished.

Quiet places,

alone a lot,

learning to be content,

what it means to be justified and sanctified,

to be "in Christ."

Joyously reading the book of Acts,

as the new church gets started,

wishing for that unity and fellowship and giving spirit in the church today.

Slogging through Romans...

agreeing with Paul about what a wretched girl I am.

Being thankful that Christ died for me,

and that I have been reconciled to God by His blood...

and all that truth implies.

And O, that book by Martin L, Jones...

"Assurance of Salvation."

I've read it before,

but this time every chapter has jumped off the page at me.

Yes, its been a different summer!!!

Looking back though,

I consider it one of the best summers I have every had.

So thankful for the healing power of the truth

for my body and my mind.

I'm very thankful for that vacation too.

It came at just the right time.

blogging....

First ever picture of me blogging.

Amanda had my camera for most of the beach week.

She took random shots.

Of course,

I could never take a picture of myself writing,

so I am glad to have this.

I am writing blog #2,318.

I started Koinonia back in June of 2007.

Eight years ago.

Who would have thought it would have lasted this long.

I just went back and read some of my early posts.

(the first 30)

I didn't know how to include pictures,

so the posts were just words....

short.

I struggled with spelling,

I worked really hard to get it going.

I persevered.

We were living in Washington, DC,

in a high rise

 on the eleventh floor.

Bubba had my cat Priscilla of Tyrone put down

while I was on one of my many trips to  

Savannah.

Both of our moms were nearing death.

Soon we would make the decision to move back home to Savannah.

It was right about that time that the grand babies

started to come around.

In the writings and pictures on my blog since that time,,

I have watched our grandchildren grow.

I have chronicled 

our trips,

our holiday celebrations,

our family gatherings,

all of the good times!

I have posted much about the God that I love,

and His word that I cherish.

Hopefully, every post gives the glory to Him,

because without Him,

I am absolutely nothing at all.

What a journal,

a keepsake,

a treasure!

Thank you for sharing my life,

for reading my posts,

for loving my pictures,

for putting up with me when I get writer's block and

 don't write for weeks at a time

for in so many ways conveying to me how much 

you enjoy my Koinonia Blog.

I plan to keep writing,

until I run completely out of anything to say.

:) cathyc :)

beach week with david's fam

David & Erika.....

still haven't finished their conversation.

The three musketeers....

brothers connected at the hip.

It doesn't take blood to make you a brother.

Is Harry trying to get in on the Hollingsworth thumbs up event?

Lucy and her dad strolling on the beach.

Lucy became a full on fishergirl on this trip.

She justs loves to

 "drop a line" in the water.

Archie boogie boarding in the surf.

He loves what we do over here in America!

Harry...

facing the waves head on.

Lucy.....

unaware of the bird over her head.

Gus...

his handsome self.

Harry....

trying his best to fly.

Lucy and her dad...

surveying the surf and wondering why it was

a "red flag" day.

Standing in the glow of a beautiful summer evening.

the best ever...

week at the beach!

To God goes all thanksgiving and praise!!!!

thumbs up

Mark seems to have found 

just the right spot for his chair on the beach.

Eli is out in the ocean with his thumb up.

Seems as if the water is

just right!!!

Jake and Eli 

spent many hours on the beach 

burying super heros 

in the sand.

Apparently,

Jake approves of what has been done.

I really have no idea why all of these thumbs were up.

Seems as if before Jake's illness manifested itself,

and before the golf car incident with

Eli and the new Honda Pilot,

everything was just right!!

I never saw Amanda with her thumb up...

no, not one time.

but I know she had a great week

in spite of  it all.

Somehow, when you are living at the beach,

you just cope with things better.

beach creatures

This mourning dove came by for a visit.

Up close and personal with the dolphins.

Twins! 

 Mark caught this sting ray. 

Inspecting the sting ray.

Dolphin tail.

Alligators in our backyard. 

This one was eyeing us.

Dead fish.

He was just lying on the beach,

we didn't catch him.

Harbor Island, South Carolina is a wildlife sanctuary.

What a beautiful place.

God made all of these creatures

and placed them here for our enjoyment.

We found tons of sand dollars

over on Hunting Island.

They were nestled in the mud.

The children had such a good time finding them.

We threw them all back before we left.

We "Chose Life" for them.

beach faces

This is Jake.

He is holding a hermit crab he found out in the ocean.

Jake is ten.

This is Lucy.

Lucy is floating on a boogie board.

Lucy is nine

                                  

   This is Harry.

He is fearless in the ocean.

                         Harry is seven.                     

                                                                     
                                                                              This is Gus.
                                                     Gus has his floaties on just to be on the safe side.
                                                                               Gus is four.

                                                                            Here is Eli.
                                                 He can catch minnows with his bare hands.
                                                                            Eli is eight.

     

                                                                   This is Archie.
                                                He is learning to be a good swimmer.
                                                                  Archie is seven.

                                               I love every one of these beach faces!
                                                                I love the beach!

birthday at the beach

Eli loved this unexpectedly chocolate birthday cake

that I bought on the way to Harbor Island.

In fact,

most of it was consumed directly by him.

Amanda loved her new flip flops and purse.

She had to wait a long time for her gits and her party,

but we finally got to celebrate our first night at the beach house. 

The first night at the beach is always the best.

You go to sleep knowing that you have the whole week ahead.

We had a low country shrimp boil

and then headed down to spend the first evening

on the beach.

Family time,

all together under one roof.

No better blessing in the world.

Thanks be always to the One who allows such joy!!!!