Short, Sweet and Hopeful

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."   --- Jeremiah 29:11

******

On Saturday I wrote this at Facebook:

On our way to yard sales this morning (my first time this crazy year), I told Tom, "I refuse to wear a mask. I'll step up to the sales and if they ask me to wear one, I'll just say, 'Okay. Thanks.' then walk back to the car."

Guess what? No one holding the 4 sales wore masks nor asked us to, even at the estate sale where we walked around rooms, browsing(!) No one anywhere said a word about the virus or riots, etc.

So if anyone tells you a regular normal is forever gone, do not believe them! Do not! I experienced an old normal today and it felt wonderful and like a promise of better things to come.

And today I'll simply add this:

All sorts of folks online tell me (us) normal is gone. Forever. Well, last Saturday proved to me, anyway, that normal's returning! So if they're wrong about that, what else are they in error about? Hmm?

So there. シ

You just can’t beat the person
who won’t give up.

--Babe Ruth

"Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done."   --from the old hymn

******

Anyone else enjoy these kinds of vintage cookbooks?

The best cookbooks (they say) contain lots of photos so these must be amongst the best. シ Do I actually cook from these? Not really. Mostly I just browse through them on winter (and sometimes, summer) afternoons. And smile.

And speaking of books, did you know you can sign up with Kindle Unlimited free for 2 months? Go here to learn more.

*****

Oh! And on another personal hopeful note, Amy from the cafe posted Facebook photos of friends helping her paint and update. She'll be re-opening soon!

But amongst the photos I noticed this one which illustrates part of the view I've sometimes described to you. Between the hotel and house there's a peek of the river and to the left of this photo is a huge expance of sky where I watched that unforgettable 'starling ballet' (also known as a murmuration of starlings).

More normal soon to return! Color me so very grateful.

"Never give up,

for that is just the place and time
that the tide will turn."

--Harriet Beecher Stowe

******

"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

Disappointment? We Can Handle That.

" ... but the cheerful heart has a continual feast."   ---Proverbs 15:15

******

I forgot to tell you something.

Three Thursdays ago as I puttered around my house, tiny things kept going wrong. Sammy The Old Cat threw up. Flowers on my patio table died. The lawn needed mowing, but the humidity would make that rough (and me all sneezy). The one book I desired to read was unfindable, I felt old, and people in our Country were still acting like loons.

But you know? 

After each complaint, I reminded myself, "At least I can go to the cafe tomorrow! At least I can go to the cafe tomorrow!" Take a book. Sip coffee, stare out the window perchance to dream.  シ

Again and again I'd encouraged myself with that thought.

But then that evening at Facebook, Amy posted that the coffee shop was closing. Changes were happening. She was sorry. Stay tuned.

Oh no! Not that. And basically? My heart broke. Gah.

While growing-up, my mom would tell me, "If you wouldn't look forward to things so much, you wouldn't be disappointed when they don't happen."

Yet I couldn't accept that. Early I learned anticipation is a sweetness in Life, in fact, it's a result of faith. Go having real faith and you'll get excited about what's coming. So yeah, like the Apostle Paul had his messenger of satan to buffet him, for decades I've known my buffet guy is named Disappointment.

シ

But here's the good news. Also decades ago, Jesus became sweeter, better to me than anyone, any good time or fun surprise. He became so vital, so real to me that I could honestly say--

I may have lost ______, but as long as I have Jesus? I'll be happy. In a fun way, He'll make up for this loss. As long as I still have Him I can anticipate what He'll think of next!

And that, my friends, is why, on this Friday weeks later, I barely miss the coffee shop. See, in just a few moments I'll carry my hot chocolate, my reading glasses and a retro Nancy Drew book out to the sunny front porch where I'll sit with Jesus, Himself, and we'll commune and smile and gaze with squinted eyes down to the river at the end of the street.

And all will be very, very well, indeed.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."   --- Hebrews 11:1

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'   ---Mark 12:30

"Return to your first love"....   ---from Revelation 2

*******

But hey! I've some good news to add. According to Amy's latest Facebook posts, it looks like, rather than being a co-owner, she's bought the business. She's currently updating the decor and has even changed the cafe's name.

She's encouraging us to still stay tuned, for she'll be re-opening soon. Hooray!

******

Oh! An 11-year-old girl from our state renovated her own 'tiny house.' Kids these days.... many are quite the little go-getters. 

******

Speaking of Yutube (my last post) did you know that you can easily block any channels they recommend which you'd rather not watch? Simply click on the 3 vertical dots below the small screen, then click on 'Don't Recommend Channel'. This way you can customize everything so that you only see what pleases you.

(And isn't that a nice thing these days whenever we can get away with doing it?)  ツ

******

"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

Places To Go, People To See--Or--August This And That

"... those who are rich in this present world should not be arrogant nor put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." --- 1 Timothy 6:17

******

1.) Did you see how all the houses in a Nevada neighborhood switched out their porch lights for blue ones so to 'Back The Blue'? What a wonderful thing! (Watch the video here.)

2.) Oh Youtube! Your 'music reaction' videos delight my heart as I watch young people discover the songs we 'of a certain age' grew up tapping our fingers to on our radios.

 

And it sounds weird, but while listening to the 20 and 30-somethings' awe-filled reactions to performers of 50+ years ago I recall this verse:

"A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men."   ---Proverbs 18:16

A majority of these singers no longer walk this Earth, but their gift--which they did not hide--still makes room for them, still creates melody in the hearts of young and old in 2020.

My favorite 'reaction folks' are Twins The New Trend, but I've branched out this week and found others. Videos like this one were great fun: watch their expressions! And here's one for Rainy Days and Mondays, a favorite of Jr. High Debra. Oh my.

(But you must promise not to become addicted to these like I am.)  シ

3.) So remember the 2 original 1930's Nancy Drew books I showed you?

 Well, immediately upon finishing The Clue of The Tapping Heels, I skimmed my updated, 1960's copy and gah! They'd ripped the heart and soul away. Changed some characters, left out the wild adventures, and used words like 'groovy'. 

I sat on the carpet beside my bookshelves and exclaimed, "This is garbage! Garbage!"(Tell us how you really feel, Debra.)  シ

Well, now I'm gonna replace every 1960+ updated version of Nancy Drews that I can. I'll consider each book on a case-by-case basis and will soon march down to the Salvation Army bin with a bag of too-modern-for-me Nancy Drew books.

(In the 90's, Applewood Publishers reissued the first 21 books in their original form and 2 are speeding toward me.)

4.) Speaking of books, I must mention Bookfinder.com again. Just fill in the title and author of book you're searching for and they'll rush you to the cheapest copy in all of Internet Land. 

In fact, in my Ebay cart I had one of those Applewood ND books for $8, but I zipped over to Bookfinder, where they took me back to Ebay, whose search had not shown me the $5 copy available(!) Really, imo, Bookfinder is one awesome place for us penny-pinching bibliophiles. Indeed.

5.) Anyone else ever watch the news lately and recall this verse?

6.) Yay! And also at Ebay, I bought two seasons of The Rockford Files.

Season 2 episodes weren't available to us on tv so Tom and I are happy to watch these at each weekday's end. Some old tv series don't 'hold up' after tons of decades, but this one, to us, certainly does. It 'scratches our take-me-back-to-the-1970's itch'.  シ

7.) Loved this. I'm a huge fan of those who create rather than complain.

(Thanks for sharing that at Facebook, Dolores!)

8.) Now here's a wonderful verse for our Times!

9.) Remember the Oui yogurt jar upon my window sill with the tealight? Well, here are lots more ways to use those adorable jars (and others).

10.)

 

******

"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15