so thankful for these verses

It's God's promises that keep me going.

To wake up and remember this precious truth is so powerful.

God's love never ceases.

God's mercies never come to an end.

His love and mercy to us is new every morning.

He is faithful in all things.

God keeps All of His promises.

Thankful today and always! 

I made this flower arrangement to sit on my bathroom vanity.

It is huge and covers me completely up.

I like to have a little touch of Fall in all of the rooms in my house.

One week until Thanksgiving.

I cannot wait.

🦃

 

life is short

I agree with this wholeheartedly.

I still 💗 shoes. 
Instead of cute sandals,

 I wear tennis shoes and Birkenstocks.

I always eat dessert.

Every day.

It's a treat I can't resist.

🍨

I'm fully decorated for the Fall holidays.

Starting on my Christmas houses this weekend.

Amanda calls it a labor of 💗.

She's right!

I'm gonna get some help from my grandboys.

My bookcases await my magic touch.

They will come alive very soon.

Bookcase # 1 is having a lighting issue.

All of the cords, electrical strips, and wires are hidden behind.

I have to wait for help before the decorating can begin.

I tried to pull them out by myself but I sensed a catastrophe in the making.

The younger me would have tackled the problem alone.

Can't do that anymore.

😉

 

grandparents day 2024

Veritas upperclassmen are required to wear long-sleeved shirts and a tie to school.

Here is Arch modeling his professional style.

I think it looks good on him.

Last Friday I got to visit Walter's classroom.

He is in fourth grade this year.

I met his teacher and he showed me everything his class is studying.

They even had refreshments for us.

Then we gathered in the worship center to hear songs, verses, and poetry.

It is so refreshing to hear the students praise God and their love for our country.

In the beginning, our veterans are honored.

The grandparents are recognized and given a chance to win one of three prizes.

I've done Grandparents Day for 10 years and each time remained prizeless...

much to my relief.

That ended last Friday.

When I realized they had called my number I froze and said a quick "Oh No."

I had to stand up and wave for the mascot to run down the aisle with my gift.

There was much clapping and shouting.

My grandsons couldn't believe I had won and received all of that attention.

I was mortified.

Afterward, everyone congratulated me.

Sunday, the whole church had found out the good news.

At Chick-fil-A for lunch.

We met up with Harry who had just gotten off of work.

Still celebrating the gift I won.

Gus stayed at the school to help serve the chili lunch.

It was a fundraiser for the middle school trip to DC in the Spring.

We ducked out in favor of chicken sandwiches and milkshakes.

😉

 

climbing rose

I was greeted with this beauty yesterday morning.

Only God can make a flower.

The feel, 

the color,

 the smell,

the waxy green leaves,

the thorns.

Flowers are part of the wonder of God's creation.

Lucy gave me a climbing rose bush for Mother's Day in May.

Look at how much she has grown.

We planted a little heart-shaped bush.

She has grown taller than the trellis.

I'm hoping she survives the winter and covers the fence with roses.

What a perfect gift that keeps on giving.

Last week was Wow!

My prayers for months about the election were two simple requests...

1. That God would have mercy on our country.

2. That His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

As far as I'm concerned, 

He answered my prayers perfectly.

I am so thankful!

Thankful also for all of the people who voted.

We made the map of the United States almost completely red.

Also, we had a really serious flash flood,

And Grandparents Day was on Friday.

I won one of the door prizes

and I took all four of my grandsons to Chick-fil-A for a celebratory lunch.

Hugely exciting week!

I'm so glad the election is over!

It needed to be!!!

 

thank you Jesus!

 

first time voter

Our grandson Jake is a first-time voter.

I am so proud of him.

Today is Election Day in the USA.

Please go out and vote if you haven't already.

It is extremely important.

 

finding good in the dark

 When the long days of summer are finally over,

When darkness comes before supper,

When sleep patterns are rearranged,

When hunger comes at odd times...

It must be Daylight Savings time again.

When God says "Be anxious for nothing,"

When we are commanded to "Take every thought captive,"

When God declared "Nighttime good,"

When I pray and ask Him to help me "Rejoice in all things."

I tuck in and try to find good in darkness.

Here goes...

I eat supper a little earlier to get through before it gets pitch dark.

I close all my window coverings and pretend it's still light outside.

I clean the kitchen and tidy the house.

I go through my nightly get-ready-for-bed routine.

I settle in my chair with a good book

I might watch a movie or look at a house renovation show.

Then I get in bed and read until I fall asleep.

I go to bed early with no guilt and sleep most of the darkness away.

When I wake up it's starting to get light again.

God, thank You, for the moon and stars that light up the winter sky.

You made the night for relaxation and rest.

You watch over us during the night.

You never slumber or sleep.

We earth dwellers will acclimate to the time-change.

We'll be fine in a couple of days.

🌃

 

every leaf is a flower

Loving this Fall.🍂

God is so good all the time.

He holds us in the palm of His hand.

He will never leave us or forsake us.

He is sovereign over all things.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And do not lean on your own understanding."

 

first place

Our Harry placed first at his cross-country meet in Macon on Saturday.

His time of 15:51 was his personal best.

We are so proud of his achievement this year.

He came to Grammy's house for dinner after he got home from the race.

I made his favorite broccoli-chicken casserole,

a big, steaming pot of my green onion-infused rice,

and I served up apple pie a-la-mode.

We celebrated with him over dinner.

I gave him one of my favorite bottles of IBC Root Beer.

He drank it with his dinner.

This boy lives and breathes running.

He subscribes to several running magazines and he loves running shoes.

He works hard at Chick-fil-A so that he can update quite frequently.

I love these teenage grandkids.

They are all so interesting,

💗

 

pray and vote

Yesterday was a busy errand day.

Grocery store,

Pharmacy,

Panera, 

Gas station.

On top of all that, I decided to go vote.

It was painless.

I walked right in.

registered,

was escorted to a voting station.

Got my ballot secured and tucked away,

and was gone in 10 minutes.

I was so glad I stopped by and got it done.

I've prayed all day that my vote went to the right people.

It is such a privilege to live in a free country.

What a blessing that "We the People" get to choose who governs us.

My prayer every day for our country is that God will be merciful to us,

and that His Will will be done in this land where we live.

God knows what's going on,

He is working out His plan.

He is sovereign.

We can trust Him.

These verses...

"First of all, then, 

I urge that entreaties and prayers,

 petitions and thanksgivings,

be made on behalf of all men. 

For kings and all who are in authority, 

in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life

 in all godliness and dignity.

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

who desires all men to come to the knowledge of the truth."

1 Timothy 2:1-4

 

a "broken" heart bagel

Yesterday morning I woke to one of my "seeing hearts" bagels.

I am always surprised by them.

Hearts are everywhere.

Do you ever see hearts?

Anyway,

Breakfast is good.

Coffee gets me going.

I put sugar in my coffee.

😉

Notice the green depression era glass sugar bowl.

It belonged to my Grandmother Hodie.

I chose it to come to my kitchen many years ago.

It's one of those things that makes me happy.

After I finished eating and started to clean up,

I dropped the lid and it broke into three pieces.

It shattered and there was no way to fix it.

I was "brokenhearted."

I went into all four stages of grief quickly and then dealt with my tears.

When I accepted that it was ruined,

I started thinking of how I could make this situation better.

My Hodie was a problem-solver too.

I came to my computer,

went to eBay,
 and typed in green depression glass sugar bowl lid.

It took a while.

I found a set...

sugar bowl and cream server,

no one had just a lid.

I bought it and it is on the way to my kitchen.

The lid won't be Hodie's, but the sugar container is authentic.

She would be so proud of me.

 

the need for ice

Basically, I did no pre-planning for Hurricane Helene.

She wasn't on our path.

There were no evacuations.

The schools were not closed a week ahead like they normally are.

No worries.

I slept well.

Everything changed on Friday morning.

I didn't leave the house.

I was shell-shocked.

I was totally discombobulated.

By Saturday morning I was visiting every store in Savannah looking for those frozen chunks.

None of the traffic lights were working,

roads were blocked

trees were no longer standing,

gas lines were a mile long.

But, of course, people were out gawking at all the damage.

It was treacherous.

I was near panic.

Finally at my last stop, a very sketchy convenience store,

I paid $5 for a quickly melting bag of ice.

I took it home but it didn't last long.

I had no idea what I would do.

Sunday morning I saw that ice was being given away at Memorial Stadium.

I got in a long double line and waited my turn.

I got two free bags of ice.

What an answer to prayer.

I went there every day until the power came on.

They upped the number of bags we could have to four as the hot, humid days persisted.

A big shout out to the Salvation Army and all of the volunteers.

I ended up having to throw everything away in both the fridge and the freezer,

The ice couldn't save the meat and ice cream

But I got to have cream for my coffee and ice-cold water to drink.

Note to myself...

Maybe next time you hear that a hurricane is out there you should stock up on ice.

I'm looking into generators.

Bubba never got one.

 

happy birthday gus # 14

If anyone had told me when I was young that I would be this boy's grandmother,

I would not have been able to imagine it.

Gus has brought so much joy into our lives.

What a privilege and honor God bestowed on us,

 when He picked him to be a part of our family.

One of my cherished Happy Birthday plates.

Gus was served his birthday dessert on this plate.

Early yesterday morning I made an angel food cake.

After it cooked to perfection I removed it from the oven,

placed it on a drying rack,

and it promptly fell into several large pieces on the kitchen counter.

After I mumbled,

"Why?"

I went to work retrieving the broken cake and placing it on its pedestal stand

until time to cover it with strawberries and fresh whipped cream.

Maybe nobody would see how bad it looked.

Just to make sure I covered it up with a napkin.

No one batted an eye.

No one cared how silly it looked.

It tasted great and that's all that matters.

Gus asked for money for his birthday this year.

He is saving up for his class trip in the spring of 2025.

He also won both prizes in our game of lawn darts.

He went home with a lot to add to his savings.

I never know what I will get in these photo shoots.

We were singing Happy Birthday to Gus.

All four shots I took had Harry looking like a zombie

Where was Erika?

Gus lives life with a passion in his soul.

It's fun to watch him come into his own!

I 💗 Gus!

 

memories of hurricane helene

One of the things I missed the most during the long power outage was hot water.

Hot water is definitely something we take for granted.

Actually, I was very thankful to have water running through the faucets.

But I truly missed hot water.

Thankfully, I have a natural gas stove.

When I remembered how to light the burners I was in business. 

I boiled water to make coffee,

to wash dishes,

to wash myself.

All of my family were jumping in a cold shower.

I couldn't bring myself to do that.

The picture is of my laundry room

I found another use for it...my hair-washing station.

I gathered all my supplies and got it done.

It was a bit laborious.

I made a mess...

but the wonderfulness of fresh clean hair was worth it all.

There was no electricity for my hair dryer.

I let it dry naturally.

It became a frizzy mess,

but it was clean.

I'm so thankful that God didn't bring me into this world in pioneer times.

I can't even imagine how those poor women survived.

 

milton the hurricane

Milton, 

the ferocious hurricane that we have watched and dreaded for days,

brushed past Savannah this morning with merely a sigh.

He was exhausted from all of the damage he caused in Florida overnight.

I woke up to misty rain and gusty wind,

but when I saw the red lights on my clock I knew he had spared us.

We all thought we would have round two, two weeks later,

but thankfully, God kept him away from our fair city.

The Hollingsworth family did not suffer any damage,

but they were surrounded by tornados that devastated neighborhoods very close to them.

So scary!

At 2:00 in the afternoon after Milton passed this morning,

 the winds are breezy in a bright blue, sun-filled sky.

Temperatures have cooled off a bit.

Could we be done with hot and humid for a while?

Could Fall be right around the corner?

Most of all,

could we be done with hurricanes for a while?

God in heaven, thank You.

You control the wind.

 I't goes where You command.

Be with those people who in the last two weeks have lost everything. 

May they find You in the process of recovery.

"And they

 (Jesus' disciples)

 became very much afraid and said to one another,

'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?' "

Mark 4:41

It is Jesus who made heaven and earth.

Put your faith and trust in Him.

 

discombobulated

Discombobulated is the perfect word to describe my condition

 the morning after Hurricane Helene hit Savannah.

First of all, I slept through the storm.

We had no warning or watches.

School was not canceled.

Needless to say,

we were not prepared for what had happened while we were sleeping.

I knew immediately that the power was off.

The first thing I do when I wake up is look for the red numbers on my clock.

They were not there.

Black as the Ace of Spades.

There was no light anywhere.

Evidently,

 overnight,

 The city of Savannah was turned off by some master switch somewhere.

I always fix my coffee the night before.

It was ready to plug in but there was no power.

There would be no coffee.

I gathered some candles and flashlights,

got them going,

and went to sit down and think.

It was only a short time before David called.

He came quickly to my aid.

His home was powerless also.

Seems as if we lost it between midnight and 1:30 AM.

He showed me how to make coffee in the French Press Erika had given me.

He also showed me how to light my gas stove with a firestick.

Soon I had breakfast!

I cooked my bagel in the frying pan.

Thus started five days with no power.

More to come.

☕

 

God will accomplish all of His purposes

It has been a hard week for so many people.

So much suffering.

So much death and destruction.

But through all of the chaos and confusion

God will accomplish His purposes.

Please pray!

*I used this quote once before on May 2, 2024,

but thought it bore repeating.

It's a reminder for those who believe.

We can trust the One who gave us His written Word,

the One who made all of those promises.

This is how we can remain calm amid chaos.

Everything will work out for our good in the end.

 

power restored

 My power just came back on.

I can't even believe it!

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for Your new mercies every morning.

Thank you for Your great faithfulness.

David and family moving in until their power comes.

A sweet friend is bringing us dinner.

Lots of wild and crazy rejoicing here this evening.

A happy ending to quite the ordeal.

Thanks for all the prayers.

Love,

Cathy

where is the state of Georgia?

Helene,

 what are you up to?

It seems like you've already been here.

It poured rain all morning.

The sky was dark with heavy-laden clouds.

There was lightning and thunder.

The air was heavy with humidity.

But,

 interestingly,

there was no wind.

That's probably because you didn't come through Savannah this morning.

You are still in the Gulf of Mexico.

It seems as if you are headed to Atlanta,

a former home of mine.

I have a lot of friends and family up there.

I pray you will be kind and not do much damage.

I am really afraid for the people who live in the Big Bend of Florida.

A direct hit would be devastating.

Helene is a huge storm that popped out of nowhere,

intensified,

became a category 3 Hurricane,

and is now poised to make landfall very soon.

Such chaos!

It seems like there is chaos everywhere right now.

Jesus brings peace.

"Be anxious for nothing.

In everything give thanks.

For this is God's will for you."

Trust Him completely,

💗

Remember,

Jesus calmed the storms

He still does that.

 

tulips ~ pink and green

I 💗 Tulips!

Tulips are a rather fragile flower.

When I buy them the blooms are covered up by the long leaves.

Gradually, one by one, they peek out and then open up to their full glory.

The leaves begin to droop,

the tulips open wide,

and then they are gone.

It's a fast cycle.

But oh wow, it is glorious.

I love the flowers at Whole Foods.

They are always fresh and usually available at a good price.

God gives us so many things to cherish and enjoy.

His beauty can be spotted everywhere...

even amid the chaos.

Our God is faithful and loving and kind.

He is worthy to be given praise and honor, and glory.

This is a good way to choose not to sin.

That thought,

that unkind word,

that anger,

that depression, 

that temptation that comes out of the blue,

all manner of evil that we are capable of and carry out.

If we just stop and ask ourselves this question...

"Will this that I'm about to do glorify Jesus?"

Think of all the sins we wouldn't commit.

"Do all for the glory of God."

💗

 

tybee beach ~ last Friday evening

The tide was as low as I've ever seen it.

So much beach to explore.

Lots of rivulets and ripples where the water usually is.

Bright blue skies.

Beautiful cloud formations.

Delightful and picturesque.

Still hot with a soft breeze.

Harry and Gus caught a blue crab with their bare hands.

They went ahead and pulled his big claws off to diminish any danger.

They threw him back in the water but,

I doubt he had any chance of surviving.

Erika walking in the bulrushes by a small stream of water.

She couldn't find baby Moses in his basket,

She looked everywhere.

David in his Hope Bible Church T-shirt

taking in all of God's wonderful things that He made.

Looks like it is raining over there in South Carolina.

There were many shrimp boats but we didn't see any dolphins.

Gussie found a shell with a critter inside.

Those critters come out and bite the hand that holds it.

I found out the hard way a little earlier.

🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚

Right after I took these photos my camera broke.

I have to take it to be repaired.

My garage doors won't open automatically either.

Will be calling the garage door technician in the morning.

Life is beautiful but things break!