hey bubba

Hey Bubba, you've been gone from me for 17 months.

Somehow I've survived the long, lonely days and weeks and months without you.

I'm not the only one who misses you, you know.

Our grandchildren speak of you often with great memories to pull from.

You loved them so well.

You shared your wisdom with them.

You spoke of Jesus.

They often tell of conversations y'all had in the van on the way to breakfast and such.

Hey Bubba, these kids are doing great!

On the first night I was down in Florida,

Jake and Eli returned from a week at camp.

I was blessed to hear firsthand of all the fun and fellowship they enjoyed.

It took them days to wind down.

Then I began to see shreds of evidence that God has been working in their hearts.

That He was more to them than just a story they had heard.

Hey Bubba, every night that I was there, we watched an episode of The Chosen.

Jake and Eli were as excited as I've ever seen them.

They had all seen it before.

This was my first time all the way through.

You would love this series if you were still with us!

But oh, I forgot for a moment that you are with Jesus now.

Your faith has been turned to sight.

You have seen our Lord.

You know firsthand what we can only know by faith!

Hey Bubba,

this afternoon I get to be present when Lucy and Harry return from their camp.

I will be there at 5 when they get home.

I will get to see their smiling faces and hear their stories.

We will go eat Mexican and have a grand old time.

Hey Bubba, you would be so proud of our grandchildren.

Jesus is becoming real to them.

He is working in their hearts.

I know you will be glad to hear this because you prayed so hard for their souls.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Chosen

"What was it like to encounter Jesus face to face?

How would He have made you feel, changed your way of thinking about God?

Would He have turned Your world upside down?

Journey to Galilee in the first century.

See the difference in the lives of those He called to follow Him and how they were forever transformed.

Experience the life and power of the perfect Son of God as never before through the eyes of ordinary people just like you."

(from the back cover of the book)

I highly recommend this show and the book.

I am reading it for the second time.

Hey Bubba,

I love you so much.

Always!

Cathy

 

a day at juno beach

Jake and Eli in the deep blue sea!

Florida spelled out with shells.

I did not do this.

I left my beach chair in Amanda's garage.

You know, the one I wear on my back to get down to the beach.

I remembered it on the way home.

Very sad about this.

I spotted a cross in the beautiful blue sky.

It was Sunday.

Jesus died on a cross so that we could be reconciled to God.

He paid for our sins with His blood.

He set us free.

He purchased eternal life for those who believe.

Thank You for this reminder.

(read John chapter 3)

This beach is a shell lover's paradise.

I 💙 the beach!

So thankful I can still enjoy the ocean and the sand up close.

One of life's blessings to me for sure!

 

the best of times

I'm just home from an extended stay with my family in South Florida.

I am exhausted but filled with memories to last a lifetime.

More about my trip later when I get my thoughts more coherent and ordered.

Until then, this...

when Bubba was with me,

 I used to dream about us buying a motor home and touring the country,

taking at least a year to see every part of our great land up close and personal.

Lingering in the best places,

watching the sunset in every venue,

soaking up the culture,

eating the best food!

I would, in my dream have a laptop computer.

I would blog every day.

I would write about all of our adventures.

Real-life is we never did that trip,

I don't have a laptop,

I cannot blog on my phone.

Therefore,

no blog when I'm away from this big monstrosity that sits on my desk.

I probably should give a quick blurb when I'm not going to write for a while,

but I don't usually like to advertise when I'm vacating my house.

Anyway,

It's good to be back.

😎

ps... going out to buy some food 

and see what's been done on my house 

and then home to finish unpacking and take a long nap this afternoon.

It looks like I could almost move in.

🏠

 

just Jesus

"Oh, that the holy life of blessed Jesus may be always in my thoughts, 

and before my eyes,

 till I receive a deep sense and impression of those excellent graces that shined so eminently in Him;

 and let me never cease my endeavors, 

till that new and divine nature prevail in my soul, and Christ be formed within me."

The Life of God in the Soul of Man

Rev. Henry Scougal.

 

just outside my bedroom window...

...there is a very large crepe myrtle bush.

It has climbed all the way up to the second floor where I dwell.

It is so beautiful.

It reminds me to be thankful when I'm feeling sad.

It made its way all the way up here to bestow its beauty just for me!

I've been here at this apartment for four months tomorrow.

I have four more months left on my lease.

What do I do if my new house is not ready?

David suggested last night as we sat by the pool that I could move into my beach condo.

That sounds good to me,

It would involve an extra move, though, and that may not be feasible.

Maybe I could rent here month to month,

but the rent goes up when my lease is done.

The other option is that my house will be ready and I can move right in.

I can always hope!

Most of the time houses take longer than promised.

I need to be thinking this through.

Y'all, this is the best book ever.

Beautiful words!

I love it.

 

my house ~ 7/13/21

This is what I found today on Hope Lane

before the sky clouded up and the rains came tumbling down.

Roof truss ~ 

A framework typically consisting of rafters, posts, and struts supporting a roof.

An assembly of beams or other elements that create a rigid structure.

There is much work that goes into constructing a house.

The people who do this have to be geniuses.

Such an intricate maze of timber.

Thank Lord for the wonder of this new home You have provided for me.

🏡

 

handwriting on the walls

Last Sunday,

 July 4, 2021, 

we had our celebration at my new house that is being built.

I wanted the kids to write some Bible verses on the studs.

Verses that would be the foundation of my new life.

Here are some of them!

Lucy wrote the one above.

Of course, I teared up when I saw it.

She wrote it on my bedroom wall.

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes..."

Revelation 21:4

I'll always think of that verse and who wrote it and what a wonderful promise of our life to come.

Archie wrote the next verse on some studs in the great fellowship room.

I love these verses that they chose.

And they had them memorized and ready to go.

"...The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world."

! John 4:14

Gus wrote this verse.

It is in the little alcove leading to my bedroom.

It is so good for me to remember.

"...let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger..."

"...The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

James 1:19&20

I found David's offering tucked away in the guest bathroom.

"God is a rewarder of those who seek Him."
Hebrews 11:6

I wrote this one!

I had memorized it last year in Bible study.

I had no idea at that time that I would be building a new house this year.

I also found another one that Lucy had written, maybe in the garage.

These were all I found before we had to head for home.

Before we left we stood in the living room in a big circle and David prayed.

I will never forget that these verses are hidden in the walls of my house.

To God Be the Glory.

 

living with anxiety

Just when I think I've got this living alone thing under control,

some situations come along and remind me that I don't.

A tropical storm comes. 

The power goes off in the middle of the night.

The day after the storm I feel like I'm living in a foreign land.

The next day I have my monthly infusion and with it comes depression and pain and yes, fear. 

This morning on my way to my vehicle I almost step on a snake

who slithered away under the outside stairs.

I realize that Bubba is long gone and I live alone and I have two choices...

1. I can give in to the fear and hide myself away or,

2. I can have courage and saddle up anyway and live my life even though at times I'm afraid.

I'm gonna choose to saddle up even when my life is scary and hard.

I'm gonna live my life and enjoy it and be grateful and thankful.

I'm gonna pray harder than I've ever prayed that I will honor God with my life

by living it in spite of the fear because I know He is with me and will never forsake me.

And I will remember this quote and how much Bubba loved watching his John Wayne movies.

And I will try really hard not to be afraid.

🏇

 

the rest of the Elsa tale

While I was waiting for Elsa yesterday,

(the picture is not Elsa)

I did a blog diary of my thoughts and actions while waiting for her.

By 5 PM I was done.

 I had decided that she probably wasn't even coming to Savannah.

It was too quiet out there.

At 8:30 PM I reluctantly closed the blinds and went to bed to read.

Mildly disappointed, but ready for my Elsa watch to be over.

Not long after I turned out the light and started to drift off, she came.

Elsa was a wild buck of a storm.

From about 9:30 PM she howled and hissed and threw water at my windows like a madwoman.

The lightning was never-ending, striking close, lighting up my bedroom.

The thunder thumped and bumped and shook my bed.

She was unrelenting.

She never took a break.

She expended her full fury on our fair city.

My body hurt all over from the barometric drop.

I was alone in a storm-tossed stupor somewhere between sleep and terror.

At 1:30PM she finally, mercifully stopped with her fury. 

Somewhere in that interval of time, my power went off.

It got quiet and very dark.

I fell into a fitful sleep.

It got very hot.

I remember hoping that the power would return so that I could have my coffee this morning.

It didn't,

David and Erika and the kids lost their power too,

But, they have a gas stove.

They invited me over for a french press.

I went happily!

That offer of hospitality is what got me through the rest of the day.

We all have power now.

Remarkably there was not much damage.

Some trees and debris down,

some flooding, 

some stalled cars alongside the road.

I have cleaned out my fridge and thrown away the perishables.

I have bought new food.

I made three separate trips in town for various food-related issues.

I still have to set all of the clocks.

I took a nap this afternoon out of sheer exhaustion.

In good storm language,

I have spent all day trying to right my ship.

It's not level yet.

I feel off.

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow I'll be better!

😧

 

another storm is headed our way (I've written a diary of this day)

I hope it doesn't blow my new house down.

I'm most worried about my beach condo down at Tybee.

Maybe more rain than wind with this one.

I hope so!

Crazy!

Addendum.

Wednesday morning...

bright and early!

"Not a creature is stirring."

The trees are statues.

Not a breath of air is moving among them.

The air is heavy with humidity.

It is hard to breathe that air out there.

They say she is coming but right now it seems so improbable.

I have opened all of the blinds in this place...

raised them up as high as they will go so that I can observe this storm named Elsa.

But first...

I'm going to get a pedicure.

I have big plans with old friends tomorrow.

My toes need to look good for that.

I just hope we don't have to cancel!!!

By the way,

I just started reading Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson.

"The best storm book I've ever read,

 consumed mostly in twenty-four hours; 

these pages filled me with dread. 

Days later I am still glancing out the window nervously. 

A well-told story." 

Daniel Hays 

After lunch on Wednesday

I just walked to the mailbox. 

There is just a hint of a breeze out there now.

Still very humid.

The sun peeped out for the briefest of minutes.

No pedicure for me today.

The salon was closed.

Just as well.

I made my appointment for the 14th instead of today.

I have occasional senior moments!

@ waiting for Elsa to arrive!

Late afternoon on Wednesday

Still waiting for Elsa.

Looks like it will be later on this evening before she gets here.

So sad that our much anticipated "friend lunch" at the Pink House tomorrow was canceled.

I always get tired of the "waiting" for the storm to arrive.

Will probably just go to bed and miss the whole thing.

At 5 PM

Elsa steps stealthily into beautiful Savannah.

You would hardly know she was here.

She comes with gentle rain.

She barely whispers.

I cleaned my porch, deadheaded my geraniums, and watered them.

I got a good start on my hurricane book.

It is most beautifully written.

A lot of hype.

Not much excitement.

Just another summer storm on a sleepy afternoon.

 

our july 4th celebration.

We met at my new house at 5:15 yesterday afternoon.

I had planned this celebration in my head weeks and weeks ago.

I wanted to celebrate July 4th in my new backyard.

As you can see, much progress has ensued at the duplex.

I now have an official second floor.

They called this picture 

"Sparkly Grammy."

Here we are standing in the very center of the house.

To the far right will be my fireplace.

We are standing kinda where my sofa will be.

We walked around visualizing all of the rooms and closets and bathrooms and such.

Our table was makeshift...

a piece of plywood on some bricks in the backyard.

We had sub sandwiches, chips, and watermelon.

Lucy made brownies and strawberries complemented them beautifully.

Nothing quite like a blue quilt on my green, green grass...

...and some well-placed beach chairs.

Erika said, "I can't figure out why we don't use our beach chairs more often."

"They are so comfortable!"

We played our favorite outside game of lawn darts.

David won, Erika came in second, and Gus took home third prize.

This picture was taken by Harry.

I love the bush branch in the foreground.

He likes photography.

He wants a camera like mine.

📸

We did sparklers before it got dark.

I am so thankful for all of these people that are on this journey with me.

It was almost my favorite Fourth of July ever.

I will tell you why in my next post.

 

true freedom

"For the wages of sin is death,

but the free gift of God is eternal life in 

Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 6:23

 

beach grammy

Everybody thought I had lost my mind when I picked up this fish head that I found lying on the beach.

"O Grammy, that's so gross!"

Actually,

it was a clean cut!

Didn't stink at all,

 and I thought it was kinda cool.

Gotta have a little bit of that "shock" thing going with the grandkids.

They love it!!

I like the action I caught in this one.

All seven of the kids doing their thing.

The sky was overcast so we didn't get that gorgeous blue water of south Florida.

It was still so beautiful though.

There is never a bad day at the beach.

Sunny or rainy,

overcast or bright blue skies.

Every minute I get to spend at the beach is wonderful.

A quiet, pensive moment with Walter is highly unusual. 

I had to catch it quick with my camera.