Challenges certainly exist in this stage of life, but blessings abound.
One of my major blessings is Hubby. He is caregiver, resident comedian, chef, and planner of adventures in local, out-of-state, and foreign destinations.
Another of God's blessings is that I am coherent and can recognize blessings and be joyful in them.
May blessings abound in your day today.
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When I was a young mother, a visiting preacher had challenged the congregation at our church to read the Bible through in a year. I accepted that challenge.
At that time my husband left for work before 6 a.m. He would wake me up before he left.
I would ooze out of bed and fumble around getting dressed for work before our two active sons woke up.
Once dressed I was ready for my time with God's Word. It took about a year before I could easily make it through the scripture passages for the day without having to backtrack until I could be fully awake and read with understanding.
Passages began to speak to me of a challenge that I was currently facing in a demanding work day or volunteer time. At first I would grab whatever was handy to write the verse down. I would stick in purse or pocket.
That habit ushered in a major change in clothing purchases. Whether slacks or skirts, pockets were a requirement. When stress would strike, I could just whip my day's scripture out of my pocket and read my verse of the day.
As a retiree, I enjoy a slower pace and stay awake now . . .most of the time. But it may just be that as a retiree, I am getting more sleep and are alert for those morning times with God's written word and the living Word Jesus.
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Ahhhh!
The feeling of "I'm finished! I posted!"
It lulls me into thinking I have overcome that irritating flaw in my character--procrastination.
I go on deluding myself that I will succeed in posting regularly. But I will try, try, and try again.
That also goes for catching up on all you bloggers who post often and so wonderfully.
I admire you all but fail to emulate your dedication.
Heavy sigh!
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| Our north porch |
I can see his point. But the street side of our property has a carport and the ramp up to our entry door, all under roof and with railings that help me navigate safely.
In contrast the north porch faces our "woods," creating privacy that offers space for unobtrusive storage. On the left east side is an antique cedar wardrobe that in former years held my stash of Bible lessons and craft supplies for my second grade Sunday school class.
Several years later I graduated to working with fifth and sixth graders and then Vacation Bible School and after-school programs. Nothing got tossed and every space in the wardrobe was packed.
For awhile now I have been having difficulty commenting on blogs I follow. The Google powers that be are often only allowing me to comment as "Anonymous."
As much as I have ranted, raved, gnashed my teeth and moaned, I have yet to solve the problem.
It was mostly with blogs I had started following recently. "Recently" may be the wrong word since my blogging has been erratic for a long time.
But today a blog showed up that I hadn't seen in ages, and "Friko" was experiencing the same problem. She's way better at solving techie challenges than I am so I do have hope. I'm also determined to dig deeper on my own.
I miss so many blogging friends that helped me to stay sane and to do the best with what brain power and physical ability I had left after a 2011 hemorhagic stroke. It was such a blessing in my post-stroke journey staying connected to those early blogging friends.
Old and new blogging friends broaden my horizons, make me laugh and sometimes cry, but always make me thankful for their sharing successes, epic bloopers and insights to living life fully.
Thanks!
A January 12, 2021, excursion north included the small rural community of Brooklyn, Mississippi, home to the Forrest County Agricultural High School, formerly a boarding school.
Even as a little kid I was curious about that school. I couldn't imagine leaving my family and home to live at a school.
On family day trips from our Hattiesburg, Mississippi, home to the Gulf Coast, I would see signs for that school. My curiosity was intense, but it was just one more thing that I wanted to know about but didn't ask my parents about.
Now I realize they would have told me more about the school or even taken me for a visit. I was a shy kid, especially reluctant about asking questions. I think I was embarrassed when I didn't know something.
I was an adult before I looked back at those early years and wondered why in the world I was under the impression that not knowing something was a condition to be ashamed of rather than an opportunity to ask questions.
In any case, that January day Hubby took me for a look at the school that had fascinated me as a child. We drove around the campus. Classes had yet to resume after Christmas and January break.
I resorted to that old standby Wikipedia for more information: The school is now listed as a Mississippi historical landmark. It was established in 1911 by an act of the Mississippi Legislature as an agricultural boarding school located on 320 acres of donated land.
Students from across Mississippi, the United States, and several foreign countries were educated there.
No longer a boarding school, these days it boasts outstanding facilities and robust academic programs. The competitive sports programs include teams for males and teams for females in a variety of sports.
Our brief exploration gave us a good view of classroom buildings, gyms, tennis courts and other facilities. Everything looked in pristine condition. We completed our drive around the campus, and headed for the rural community of Carnes, last on Hubby's list to explore that day.
Old farm houses and more modern homes graced the community. Most were well-maintained with lovely landscaping.
I savored seeing homes surrounded by green fields, large barns, other out buildings and fenced pastures with contented looking cattle and horses.
But it wasn't long until hunger sent us south on U. S. 49.
Tony's Brick Oven Pizza, a restaurant we had recently discovered in the old downtown area of Gulfport, Mississippi.
We left Tony's happy and with full tummies. After the scenic drive home on U.S. 90 along the beach, we were extra tired but relishing good memories about our day.
Hubby definitely got his traveling itch scratched, at least for awhile. During our excursion I had totally forgotten my desire to take photos. By the time we arrived home, though, nap time won over any disappointment about missing photos.
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A father and son, relatives of our sister-in-law, dock their shrimp boat in the Ocean Springs Harbor near the bridge we travel often.
In the summer if their sign is out that they have shrimp available, my husband takes a couple large coolers and stocks our freezer.
One Saturday morning in December, Hubby pulled a bag of that shrimp out of our freezer.
He spent the morning making a big pot of gumbo. We had other appointments that afternoon for a couple of hours, and weather had turned chilly, perfect for a hot bowl of his gumbo loaded with shrimp, chopped veggies including okra, celery, onion, green pepper, garlic and tomatoes.
I proposed that when we got home we should change into snuggly pajamas for our meal.
What I actually said was "Can we eat gumbo in our pajamas?
Hubby's response was "I would rather have my gumbo in a bowl."
Shared laughter joined potato salad, toasted and buttered baguettes as sides for my personal chef's delicious gumbo.
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