Lucy graduates ~ class of 2024

Lucy graduated from high school this year.

Yesterday we celebrated her with a "drop-in" party at my house.

How did this happen so quickly?

How is she grown and now finished with high school?

That little baby sure did grow up fast!

We are so proud of her achievement.

She will work for the next year as a barista at Coffee Deli and take classes at Georgia Southern.

She plans to go to Cedarville College next year to study to be a nurse.

God give her wisdom as she heads into the future. 

May she love You with all of her heart. 💗

May she love Your Word.

May she obey Your Word and Rejoice Always.

May she love others and serve them with Your sweet spirit.

May Jesus be the center of her life.

Lucy has the sweetest heart. 💗

She loves her people.

She adores her cats.

She has a servant's heart. 💗

She is good at figuring things out and making things work.

Lucy is my favorite (only) granddaughter.

We have a special bond.

She watches me grow old in the kindest of ways.

God has truly blessed me with Lucy.

Oh Lu, if only your granddaddy could see you now.

Learning to Fly

 

Hope Bible Church Summer Camp 2024

"Let the little children come to me,

Do not hinder them.

For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." 

Matthew 19:14

💗

 

God didn't give us a spirit of fear

This is a verse I quote daily, multiple times.

The struggle with fear is very real.

This fear does not come from my good, good God.

Fear comes from Satan our enemy.

He wants to steal our joy and make us miserable.

But look what God did give us...

power, 

love, 

and self-control.

Isn't it amazing that God knows our struggles and gives us the tools to overcome them?

Thank You, God,

 for providing everything we need for life and godliness.

 

a day to myself without much to do

This is David's famous selfie of our 2024 family trip to South Florida.

On the last day, we always go to the beautiful Jupiter Inlet.

Usually, we take lots of pictures.

This year the sun was hiding behind clouds so this was the only shot we got.

We sure missed Lucy.

But we had a blast!

That's all of my photos.

Until next year! 

🌴

Yesterday morning I got up and made blueberry muffins just for myself.

After a week of getting up and going early,

I relished in a lazy morning with several cups of coffee and my Bible.

These muffins were the perfect accompaniment.

There is nothing like a day to myself without much to do.

The sermon this morning...

Psalm 23

"The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want."

💗

 

 

Hope Summer Bible Camp 2024 is in the books

We were the snack team...

Cathy, Sherry, Kasey, and baby Daisy.

We stood in the breezeway every day from 9:00 until 11:30 

handing out healthy snacks and friendly smiles.

It was hot, but God sent breezy conditions which kept us from sweltering.

I was reminded of my Bible School days at Calvary Baptist Temple.

We walked down Barnard Street to the Fellowship Hall

where the sweet ladies greeted us and handed out delicious snacks.

It was a wonderful week of fun and great Bible teaching.

The children memorized verses from the book of Ephesians

about the Armour of God.

They learned how we can use God's word to fight all of the schemes of Satan.

These are some of the men of our church...

The pastors, the teachers,  the elders, the husbands, and the fathers.

They labored so hard this week working with the kids in various capacities.

They offered themselves up this morning to be pied in the face by the happy campers.

(we used plates full of whipped cream)

The children were ecstatic and almost insane while this was happening.

 What a mess but what a delight.

God was glorified this week and He blessed all of our hard work.

There were no problems.

The only injury that I know of was that Dip, the turtle, who lives in the courtyard,

bit a child's finger.

The children had been warned not to offer up their fingers to Dip.

May God's Word work in these little hearts for salvation.

May the seeds planted in their minds grow and be fruitful.

May the verses memorized this week not be forgotten but stored in their souls.

 

the last of the boat day pics

The bridge opening above us.

Our boat passed under at just the right moment.

A view of the golf course from our boat where David and Mark played the next day.

Harry found this huge starfish at one of the beaches along the river.

Gus is in one of his pensive moods.

Probably contemplating the large manatee that came to greet us.

These beautiful deep orange trees were all along the waterway.

They are Poinciana trees.

Breathtaking!

Standing on a sandbar in the middle of the river.

Teenage boys in a deep discussion on the sandbar.

David and I closely examining a shell that Harry found in the river.

I'm munching on some Cheetos,

standing in the water having a snack.

Driftwood on the beach of another island we visited.

This time Gus is sprawled out on the sandbar.

The Jupiter Lighthouse as viewed from our boat.

This was a magical day.

I've stored it away now in my memory and my blog.

We'll surely do this again, Lord willing.

Spend time with your family doing fun, exciting things.

Watch them grow and change.

Don't miss a thing.

My family is a gift from God.

💗

 

close encounter with a manatee

I can't really describe how incredible the boat day was.

Dylan was our driver and tour guide.

He is a good friend of Jake and Eli.

He has a boating license 

and a lifelong knowledge of all the Palm Beach, Florida waterways.

We met at the dock at eight in the morning.

The weather was gorgeous and we were all giddy with excitement.

The boat's speed, the wind blowing, and the sun beating down take your breath away.

Off we went into the unknown.

We made our way under the Blue Heron Bridge

gawking at the waterfront mansions and luxury yachts.

After about an hour we anchored at a beautiful spot.

Most everyone jumped out of the boat and took off down the beach.

David stayed behind standing in waist-deep water right next to the boat.

All of a sudden He started screaming in distress.

Out of the corner of his eye,

 he saw a massive black object swimming straight for him.

He thought he was just before being attacked by a shark.

Those who had stayed near the boat panicked, of course,

 but quickly realized the huge gray creature was not a shark 

but a sweet, slow-moving, people-loving manatee.

A Sea Cow.

Amanda got the picture.

David ended up with a great story to tell when we returned home.

We all had a rare and unexpected encounter with

one of God's exotic sea creatures.

 

 

boat day

On Day 3 we rented a big speed boat and set out on an amazing adventure.

In this picture, we had anchored at an island to eat lunch.

Everybody else jumped off.

I stayed on the boat, ate lunch, and savored the solitude.

We had never rented a boat before.

Will definitely do this again.

More pics of our boat day later.

It was so much fun!

 

beach day

Day 2 of our trip to South Florida was our "Beach Day."

It's the day when the whole family sets up camp for the morning on the sand.

We swim,

spray ourselves with sunscreen,

 walk,

  hunt for shells

  talk,

  laugh,

 and eat lunch.

It's so relaxing ~ so much fun.

Here we are eating lunch,

the older folks under the shade of the beach umbrellas.

We had honey-baked ham sandwiches and every kind of chips made in the USA.

Cold drinking water in the ice chest and,

of course, Oreos were dessert.

Here is Walt emerging from the gorgeous ocean.

Look at the color of the water.

On Beach Day evening we dined at the famous U-Tiki.

A sudden downpour canceled our plan to eat outside under the palm trees.

But that's okay...

the food was delicious!

I got a grouper sandwich with fries and cole slaw.

Erika got sunburned despite the sunscreen.

She suffered a bit for the rest of the week but managed to carry on.

I love this picture!

Jupiter lighthouse ~ Jupiter Inlet.

The view from U-Tiki.

 

"For God...

...so loved the world 

that He gave His only begotten Son 

that whosoever believeth in Him

 should not perish but have everlasting life." 

John 3:16

💗

I gathered these shells while walking on the beach last week.

I made this heart and left it there for others to see.

Everybody needs to know Jesus.

He is our Savior.

He is the Lord of our lives.

He died for us.

He conquered sin, Satan, and death.

He has forgiven us.

He rose from the dead.

He ascended back to heaven and is sitting at the right hand of God.

He is preparing a place for us for eternity in heaven with Him.

He is praying for us.

He is coming to get us and take us to our real home.

We who know Jesus can "rejoice always"

even in the hardest of circumstances.

Our hope is in Jesus!

Trust Him!

💗

 

more sun-kissed

First night down on the dock at David and Erika's Airbnb.

Amanda cooked a delicious meal for us as we rolled into town.

We left after that to go watch the sunset.

Such a fun night.

I don't know what they were looking at.

The boys minus Jake who had to work.

God's masterpiece!

Singer Island

Just over the Blue Heron bridge.

Erika kicked off her shoes and sat on the end of the dock.

Harry in all of his curly hair glory!

Eli was literally kissed by the sun.

Great start to our Cleland-Hollinsworth family vacation!

🌞🌴🏖

 

sun-kissed

I'm just back from a fun-filled week in South Florida.

I have many pics to share and stories to tell,

but not tonight.

I'm drained and looking forward to bedtime.

Oh, the glories of being with your family in paradise!

I 💗 the beach!

 

God's will for us in these dark days

These are dark days here on God's earth.

Things seem to be spinning out of control but they are not.

Our sovereign God is in complete control.

He is working out His plan.

What is God's will for us who are His people?

"Rejoice Always.

Pray without ceasing.

Give thanks in everything.

For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

I Thessalonians 5: 16-18

💗

I would like to add...

Read God's Word every day with diligence.

Everything you need to know about life and death is right there.

Cathy

 

happy days

My sister Teri was here all last week.

She came to see her granddaughter Sadie Josephine.

I was included in many of the fun activities.

Mostly we did baby things and loved every minute.

Phone to camera to blog pictures always come out a little blurry,

but here we are on our girl's lunch and shopping spree day.

Sadie is as all babies are a gift from God.

She is 3 months old now.

She got lots of hugs and kisses.

We cuddled her, 

 fed her,

 bathed her in the bathroom sink,, 

 played with her.

and talked and talked about how wonderful she is.

Such joy!

My last hydrangea bloomed.

So lovely in the beautiful morning sun.

I'm not cutting it.

It's staying right there.

💜