Thursday Thoughts and Ponderings

My love of the color BLUE never dwindles. It will remain my favorite for all time.

It is the color of a beautiful "Carolina Blue" sky...

"Oak Island Lighthouse", North Carolina

refreshing and cool bodies of water...

Looking upstream on the Ohio River from Elizabethtown, Illinois

Rock of Gibraltar (where Justin passed by not too long ago)

brilliant shades of rocks and gemstones...

Turquoise

Sapphire

Aquamarine

But my FAVORITE blues pop up around MY NEST!!

the ever changing shades of blue and grey in the eyes of Da Man...


the "look" of all my macho guys in blue jeans...


My FAVORITE GIRL with blue!! hmmm....does she take after her mom??????!!!!!


the awesome sight of Dress Blues of the USMC....


the inspiring Blue in Old Glory ...


The pairing of my favored *blue and white* still catches my eye every day in every way, and remains a Top "LIKE" when feathering...


sweet stitching on a case for a baby pillow.


beautiful and peaceful rendering of Mary and the Christ child...


a nesting theme blue and white ware ~ Birdhouse lantern.


And a forever beloved childhood favorite...Beatrice Potter's PETER RABBIT. Love the story of this bunny and his little blue jacket. I came across this adorable little ceramic PETER basket at a place where I consign my things here in CR. *HAD to get it because it went with my " most favorite" clock in the house.



**{{Children's stories today aren't what they used to be like!!! I adore the Tales written by this author, and had the video collection for my kids (and me) to watch over and over.}}

A rambling post for sure on this Thursday in July..."thoughts and ponderings" shared across the web...

Blessings to ALL my blog sisters in this Big Wide E-world.


We LOVE you Justin... God BLESS you and PROTECT you.
Thank you for your commitment. Semper Fi to the 24th MEU! STAY STRONG!

T*R*U*S*T along the way...

Have there ever been times in your life where you felt you were unable to see what was out in front of you??

None of us has a Crystal Ball that we can look at and see glimpses of the future...



Or a "Mirror of Galadriel" where we can peer into magical water and have a view of what might come...



NO...

Life is a Journey...I find myself saying this many many times in this blog...a recurring theme. In almost 52 years of life, and 30 years of marriage, there have been times of enlightenment where the way to go was very clear, and times of darkness...where we couldn't even see two steps in front of us.

There are days in the journey where it feels like a tunnel and you are looking for the Light at the other end...


And sometimes the moment can feel like a cave of twisting and turning paths, and you aren't sure WHICH way to go, and all you have is a little bit of a candlelight to show the next step in front of you...



At these times doesn't our first prayer always seem to be GOD! Give me a SPOTLIGHT!!!!



Oh but it is GOOD that God does not answer our every whim and wish!! Just think. If He did...we would not pull in close and increase our dependence on Him...for HIS way and HIS path. Waiting on His timeline - which is perfect.

When we want to strike out on our own and try to MAKE things happen, we bungle up the perfect timing God already knows needs to take place.

Those of us who TRUST Him for HIS care over our journey here...learn...after many bumps and hurdles, and roadblocks, that EVERY thing is for a purpose. EVERYTHING. When seemingly bad things or HARD things occur....it is not God's PUNISHMENT....goodness no.

It is God's PROVIDENCE...



God is ALWAYS working...in MY life...in YOUR life...and some circumstances and pathways are not ALWAYS just about ME or YOU!! God uses moments in the journey that ripple out and touch many lives EVEN WHILE HE is working in my steps and your steps...and that takes time...

And...in the MEANTIME...we have a chance to grow in our FAITH journey...learning one more time to TRUST the ONE who knows everything about our lives. From the first breath we draw...to the last. Waiting on HIM.

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them"~ Isaiah 42:16

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!... Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it."” Isaiah 30:18, 21

Indeed...Life is a journey. Today I am simply posting what is on my heart...God is Good. He is THE ONE to whom we can turn to when we are unsure....wanting light...needing reassurance. God desires with all His heart for us to TRUST. To reach out and GRASP His hand and let the One who KNOWS the way....LEAD.



Life is about Waiting. While we Wait...we can choose.

Trust .....or..... Angst.

I choose to Trust the one who has a Father's love and my best interests in His heart.

What would You choose?

An entry for my "heart journal".





God bless all my BLOGGY sisters this day. HUGS sent out across the e-world.


We LOVE you Justin...God BLESS you...wherever your boots take you... xo

Tuesday's Treasures

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time. ~Abraham Lincoln




In this HOT summertime, often we begin to long for the Autumn changes...the drops in temperatures...the brilliant colors of the Fall foliage...



Summer is not even halfway through her seasonal journey and we hear the wishing for Fall to hurry up and get here.

Like a child longing for Christmas and it's treats



before Halloween and Thanksgiving have even closed their doors....



GIDEON wanted me to write a post today about "ENJOYING the PRESENT". He said that people should be more like dogs, and fully live in the moment...



Take the days you have now and find the GOOD in them...Smell the summer flowers while they are here...



Relish the FRESH produce that only thrives in the HOT climate of summer days...



Appreciate the beauty of a tree with it's sap running FULL THROTTLE and in it's glory fully clothed in Green and Blooms....



Take in the BRIGHT colors of Mother Nature's best art galleries that it took ALL of Spring to bring out...Candy Store displays before your eyes...coming right out of the earth...

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. ~Dale Carnegie

Don't wish her away TOO soon....



For when the colors begin to fade , and the leaves begin to wither, and Fall's golden shades begin to turn to gray and dull landscapes...



Will you find yourself wishing for Summer's Warm Sunny days ....to feel her solar heat soaking into your chilled bones from Old Man Winter's winds????



Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder.

Contentment is in the heart of the Grateful.

Gratitude is appreciating what you have....today...and finding the blessings and beauty of what is yours....in the present.


And so Gideon says to write that Fall will be here quite soon enough...Enjoy your summertime. The HOT days are simply a part of what makes Summer....SUMMER! :-)



And he is thinking of Justin today...Ooo-Rah Justin...Semper Fi!!!



We Love you Justin. God Bless you!!!!

Hugs to all my bloggy sisters. Have a Beautiful Summer Day. Have a Tall Glass of Icy SweetTea with some lemon...celebrating the season.



















.

Pink Paranormal Phenomenon...

It's Merry Monday...S*M*I*L*E !! :-)

Since moving to Cedar Rapids, something strange has been occurring...

More PINK has been appearing in the nest! I love feminine pink shades, but having been in a world of predominantly BLUE for the past 20+ years with a house filled with four males...and only one girl to stand on MY side...well, pink just didn't preside very much.

Here in the 1960's ranch on Thunderbird, a vintage pink bath remained untouched...



I am venturing out and adding a little more Pop of Pink - almost subconsciously! The 2nd Guest room is going to have a Roses theme, so it is definitely getting splashes of this girly color. It's a nice change....





























Paranormal indeed.....for this blue and white lovin' girl...

Me thinks that maybe there is just a MISSING going on...a bit of a hole left in my fabric of life...since this one has left the nest...



and I am adding some "PINK" patches to stitch it up in a Pollyanna positive way...







Miss you Kit-Kat....XO

a Blessed Merry Monday HUG to all who popped in to my Pink Post today

**AND YES!! that is a NEW blankie I found for Kobe...This Indian Giver Dawg Mama is out of the dog-house and all is well ....once again in the FUR world around here...Kobe and I have made amends..



Thank you for visiting and Double Thanks for Prayers whispered for all of our Military Heroes out there watching our backs here in the Land of the FREE...


We LOVE you Justin!!! God BLESS you and STRENGTHEN you!!