Happy Resurrection Day

He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

💗

It's all grace!

 

3:00

It is finished!

I've been thinking about Christ's crucifixion all throughout the day. 

He did that for us.

I am overwhelmed with His love.

💗

 

nothing but the blood

💗

Thank you Jesus 

for shedding Your blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

God requires blood.

You willingly provided.

What a Saviour!

 

at the beach

The water was like glass at the beach on Saturday afternoon.

It had rained on and off all day.

A storm had moved through just before we got there.

The sand was swept clean.

The ocean is one of those things I stand before in awe.

It always takes my breath away.

Harry likes it too.

Our condo was not rented so we took the opportunity to survey the premises.

"The Season" is starting and we always like to see if anything needs to be seen too.

It looked great!

I'm thinking about redoing the kitchen next January.

Erika and I are excited about that.

I also need to replace a chair and some bedding and get new beach chairs.

But other than that it is ready to receive guests.

I took my camera, of course.

There's a mirror on the porch.

The parting shot.

I think Lu took this one.

Still lots of rain clouds with some sun underneath and above.

God's creation...

Tainted by sin but still so beautiful.

Can you even imagine what heaven will be like?

We finished the evening at Chamacos Tacos & Surf.

You gotta try their shrimp tacos.

Delish!

 

happiness is...

...sitting in church by your 8-year-old grandchild

who is drawing a picture of the sermon the preacher is preaching 

who just happens to be his Daddy.

Hope your Palm Sunday has been amazing.

 

curious children

"Do not grow old,

no matter how long you live.

Never cease to stand like curious children 

before the great mystery into which we were born."

Albert Einstein

All of the great mysteries into which we were born 

have been revealed in Jesus Christ, God's Son.

Jesus is the way, the truth, the life.

💗

 

and then there's this...

That one Christmas item that you keep ignoring because you don't want to deal with it.

The Christmas 🎄 stand that weighs a ton and is impossible to carry.

Last Fall as I was attempting to bring it downstairs,

It fell into my shin and made a huge knot that discolored my whole leg.

Only recently has it healed.

Someone put it on my back patio after we took down the tree to dry out.

Very sensible move for sure.

Carrying that thing up to the attic wet would be a possible fatal move for me.

So there it sits in all of its glory right where it landed after Christmas.

I have lots of help.

I just keep forgetting to add it to my "To Do" for the help to see when they are here.

Now it is on my list. 

Hopefully, it will be in the attic by Easter. 

Look at the green grass.

Overnight, it seems, everything is green.

Yesterday I was out back trimming up my palmetto bushes.

That's my small pile of debris over by the dirt pile.

I love to work in the yard.

I am thinking about calling a landscaper

 to clean up this natural area behind my house.

It is beautiful like it is too.

I can't decide.

Another view.

Another palmetto bush that I worked on yesterday.

I may go out now and work on another one that is very large.

Spring just pulls me outside and I love it!

He's new this year.

Everybody loves him.

💗

 

Easter decor is on display

My life has been crazy busy since the end of September 2023.

I hosted a church-wide baby shower that kicked everything off.

Now I'm trying to bring order and organization to my space.

I finally got all the Christmas decorations up the stairs and into the attic.

Last week I got everything in bins and stacked against the walls.

In the meantime,

 I was bringing down spring and Easter decor,

making all the rooms downstairs look beautiful.

Even I don't know how I do it.

It's what keeps me going strong.

I still love my new home.

I've been here a little over two years now.

So hard to believe.

Time really passes quickly the older one gets,

Easter Sunday is two weeks from today.

At this point, 

I am hosting 12 people.

I've already been looking at recipes and thinking about seating arrangements.

Of course, there will be an Easter egg hunt.

I 💗 Easter Sunday!

These are my Easter bunny plates ready to be filled with delicious food.

💗 As long as I can decorate I will be fine!

 

through Christ

This Sunday David will be finishing up preaching through the book of Philippians.

It has meant so much to me.

Thank you so much 

for all of your hard work 

to study and bring God's word to us clearly

 and in a way that we can easily understand.

Thank you for encouraging us to put each verse into practice in our lives.

Thank you for living an example before us.

Thank you for loving the flock and watching out for us.

Thank you to all of the true men of God who labor in His service.

Thank you that the true church of God is alive and well and thriving in this world

and will be until Jesus comes to take us home at the Rapture.

I love you, Lord!

Your will is being done on this earth as it is in heaven.

God is sovereign.

He is in control of everything that is happening.

His ultimate plan cannot be thwarted.

Thank You!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Philippians 4:13

💓

 

almost done

This is the house that is under construction across from my side windows.

It is one-half of a duplex.

It has taken a while for this one to be built.

This is the last house in Herb River Bluff to be completed.

I have enjoyed watching the progress.

I wonder who will live here?

Hope they are nice.

I have not enjoyed the mess or the porta-potty.

They are giving me some ideas for the golden Easter eggs to possibly be hidden though.

Shh...don't tell anybody.

Notice the young green leaves on the trees.

Spring is very near.

The weather is warm and gorgeous,

The flowers are blooming.

🌹🌹🌹

Everything is bursting forth in new life.

Temperatures are high seventies in the day and high forties at night.

Thank you, God, 

for our new life in Christ.

 

we shall behold Him

As I get older and enter into the time this could happen at any minute,

I rejoice that I shall finally see the face of Jesus

My Savior 

and the Lord of my life.

For all of the wrinkles, wounds, scars, and sorrow life has brought me,

I rejoice that they all work together to bring me to Him.

Through God's Word and His Spirit, I have been drawn close,

but one day I will be in His actual presence, 

with my face to the ground,

 in awe and thanksgiving,

for the blood He shed on the cross for me and for all who believe.

Oh God, You have put eternity in my heart.

Thank You, Jesus!

💗

 

birthday flowers and a new baby in the family

First, the new baby.

This is Sadie Josephine Stewart.

She was born on February 17, 2024.

She is three weeks old today.

She belongs to my niece Anna and her husband Robert 

who have lived in Savannah for almost a year.

Sadie is a gift from God and is doing really well getting herself on a schedule.

I love her so much!

The Hollingworth family sent me these flowers for my birthday.

There were enough to have two bouquets.

So many different varieties!

So fresh!

They have a strong scent of deliciousness permeating my house.

I put this grouping in my bathroom.

Here is the other bouquet in my Grandmother's pink glass vase.

this one stayed on my kitchen island.

It seemed like February went by in a flash.

When there is a 7-day cruise in the month it throws you off.

And now daylight savings time begins tonight.

We move forward and lose an hour of sleep.

The time change is madness.

It disorients me for days.

Could we just please leave time alone?

😴

 

the last of our cruise pictures

  

First Day ~ Sea Day...

Eating lunch on the sun deck at the top of the ship.

The Hollingsworth's and the Cleland's cabins were very close.

Amanda took this cute shot from her balcony.

Jake performing on karaoke night.

He got a rousing round of applause when he finished.

This is the kid's table at the buffet.

I don't know where Harry had gotten himself off too.

He was probably getting more food.

Our St. Thomas Virgin Island day dawned rainy and windy.

We had booked an excursion over to the island of St. John.

When we got off the ship to board the ferry,

we were informed that the excursion had been canceled.

The captain said he could get us over there but he may not be able to get us back.

There was lots of disappointment,

especially me,

but the prospect of our big ship sailing off without us was not to be trifled with.

We loved the small bowling alley with the small balls.

I got a strike.

We landed at Thrive and had lunch as soon as we boarded the ship on the first day.

It was so nice to sit down and relax after the stress of getting to and on the Escape.

This is David's famous selfie.

The rest of our crew, the older boys, went off to explore the buffet.

Umbrella Road in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

Everybody loved the ice cream bar.

This picture is of me on my balcony at the back of the ship.

I'm glad I tried it.

The view was amazing but I wouldn't book it again.

The reasons...

1. The structure of the boat slanted upward and my balcony was not fully covered.

I couldn't sit out and enjoy it when it was rainy or in the middle of the day when the sun was strong.

2. There was a rather pungent fuel smell at times.

3. The motion or swaying or rocking and rolling was more noticeable.

The middle of the boat is the most stable place to be.

Until next time.

🚢

This trip was so special.

Being surrounded by so much beauty,

Being on the ocean.

Seeing new sights,

Being with my family.

This vacation was so good for my soul.

I am already saving for the next one.

All thanks to God who is the giver of all good gifts.

 

great stirrup cay ~ bahamas

 

Our last day dawned exquisitely.

Still had clouds but they were not storm clouds.

We had to tender over to the beach.

That's our ship to the left.

This is a photo spot.

This is a shot of our boat from the tender.

The water was a deep navy.

So gorgeous.

On the beach.

So happy for the sun to be shining,

Seeing hearts on the beach.

This one may have been handmade.

The water was cold.

Probably because it was February.

Still winter.

Shorter days.

Less sunlight to warm it up.

Beach talk!

Walt found a huge sponge.

This picture shows his head.

Beautiful blue skies and palm trees.

Lu and me heading back to the ship.

The tender dock.

Got to get back on our boat.

What a beautiful, wonderful last day of our cruise.

going where graves do not exist

Thank You, Lord God Almighty, for this truth.

You have provided eternal life for Your people 

through the shed blood of 

Your Son Jesus Christ.  

You have put eternity in our hearts.

We long for it.

Humbled before You today.

Your tender mercies are new every morning. 

Great is Your faithfulness!

💗

 

rockin' and rollin'

After we left the island of Tortola behind,

our short, round, jovial captain turned north out into the open Atlantic Ocean.

The next day would be a Sea Day and then on to the, hopefully, sunny Bahamas for a beach day.

We had been in and out of tropical disturbances for a while.

I noticed during the night that the gentle rocking to sleep became a little alarming.

A trip to the potty became a huge challenge.

We were going uphill then down into a valley and then up the hill again on the other side.

I was going from one side of my cabin to the other.

Somehow I got back in my bed and stayed there until morning.

Our Sea Day became a grand endeavor to navigate the ship without falling.

On the way to breakfast,

 for those of us who were unaffected in our stomachs and hungry,

we saw that someone had put the barf bags out.

Not a good sign.

Walt was our only victim.

He was sick all day and couldn't leave the bed.

The rest of us carried on with the fun while being extra careful not to fall.

Another night of stormy seas abated just as the sun came up the next day.

We were all very thankful to be able to walk normally again.

Walt was fine when he got up!

A few more memories from The British Virgin Islands.

Evidently, the Virgin Islands have a lot of little secrets about nature.

This slogan was on all of the license plates.

The marina.

The storm clouds were always lurking.

Great name for a coffee shop.

Me standing in front of my cabin in some kind of small, localized fog pod.

Amanda was in my cabin taking a picture as we were leaving.

I have to say the stormy weather didn't bother me at all.

I LOVE storms in any form...

always have!

And,

I still love a good adventure.

Walking fast in the pouring rain made my spirit soar.

⛈🌦☁ 💗

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