Life in the Bristolwood

Isaiah 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Every spring, as all the Bristolwood awakens from winter’s slumber,  this verse from Isaiah comes to mind. Seeing the brilliant green leaves unfolding,  looking so similar to fingers and open hands reaching for the sky,  I can easily envision the branches “clapping their hands”.  This is such a joyful verse!

This afternoon,  I sat bedside,  looking out the window and admiring the blue skies and sunshine.  It was then that my wonderful Christmas Cactus once again caught my attention.  Christmas Cacti have those pretty flowers with the pink “spike” in the center…forgive me for long ago forgetting my science lessons in botany in which plant part names were fleeting at best!

I love Christmas Cactus plants so much just because they are so colorful!  Their flowers seem quite abundant with little care or fuss.  The flowers always appear,  the weight of the flower pulling the branch downward, giving the plant a “fountainlike” appearance.

But today, as I looked at the plant,  I smiled as I noted one flower; instead of looking down,  this glorious flower had its little face pointed heavenward!

If you have read here for any length of time,  you realize that my imagination causes me to ponder many times,  leading me into some abstract areas!  As I looked more closely at the flower,  I couldn’t help but be fascinated at the sparkly white flower with its pink “rim”.  The white brought to mind being “clothed in righteousness”…. Seeing the flower standing so boldly, looking heavenward, it seemed to not care what the other flowers thought about it.  Very profound.

And so,  I end this post being thankful for the beauty that surrounds us.  Beauty can be found everywhere…we need only spot it!

My friend Terri offered a challenge to her Facebook friends.  Here in the US, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day on  the fourth Thursday in the month of November.  This year,  it will be on the 26th. Terri suggested each day until Thanksgiving,  we write something for which we are thankful.

I love Terri’s suggestion, and thought I would try to write a blog post each day,  naming something for which I am thankful.  We are all so blessed in more ways than we can even imagine, and I thought it might be fun to add a photo as well! 

Today,  I am thankful for each day I am given.  This daywas an exceptionally beautiful day, even with quite a chill in the air!  When I took the Scotties out this morning, we were greeted by a world shrouded in a heavy frost.  In looking up into the sky,  the stars were magical!  Each was so pronounced and  just almost took my breath away!

This evening, as the sun set over the hills to the west,  the pastel watercolors splashed against the canvas were nothing less than incredible!

Thank you, Lord, for this day and each day we are given!

Psalm 118:26   This is the day that the Lord has made; we shall rejoice and be glad in it.

As Mark and I pulled into the botanical gardens,  my eye caught sight of a most spectacular church…

I toured the gardens, thinking whenI was done, I really needed to check out the church;  I had been to the gardens more than once or twice, but somehow, I missed this! The funniest part was that as Mark sat in the parking lot, *he* noticed the church, too, and asked if I needed to check it out!

After taking many photos of the church exterior, my interest really piqued!  After all, this is unlike any other church…or building for that matter…..found in Buffalo!

At this point, I will interject that a comprehensive history and tour of both inside and outside the basilica can be found here:

http://olv-bvs.org/ourladyofvictory/Basilica/Welcome.html

I just have to note on the statue below. (I found this info on the link above)  This basilica was the dream of a priest named Father Baker.  He wanted to build this edifice and worked to get the funding for it.  The two large statues were created in Italy of marble and one was to feature a nun, representing the sisters who worked at the various facilities there. The other was to feature a priest.  When the new statue arrived and was unveiled, Father Baker was most upset to find HE was the “brother” represented!  After some hot words  from the priest, he finally conceded….

My very favorite part of this church is the four giant copper angels, facing north, south, east, and west.

It would be interesting to see the inside of this church. From the photos given on the link I provided,  it looks like it would be an awesome sight!

Yesterday, Jeanne, over at Bermuda Bluez , posted an inspirational quote which basically said that we should use all of our communicative skills to convey our beliefs and dreams.  I thought that was a very interesting quote,  as sometimes I feel that I have not given God the proper glory in my life.  Sometimes, I forget that it is from His hand that life was issued forth.  It is He who sends the rain, the snow, and the sunshine in His appointed times. I mulled Jeanne’s post yesterday, a good part of the day.

This morning,  I watched the little birds outside my window,  flapping their wings and journeying betwixt trees and feeder, moving almost nervously back and forth. As I watched, I couldn’t help but think of the Creator of the Universe….that He would create such beautiful little creatures that we might enjoy them. It seems when I am deepest in my thoughts of God’s great world created for our pleasure, He shows up.  Always in most unexpected ways.

I saw the little female Downy Woodpecker out on the tree.  Boy,  I thought to myself, I would love to get a nice photo of her. She seems rather tame when I lift the window. Perhaps….

I went upstairs and indeed raised the window. She seemingly ignored me!  I began to talk to her a bit and she glanced my way….

It was *then* another of those precious “God moments” showed up.  Totally unexpected.  Totally out of the blue…

I had mentioned the other day that as I was photographing “Mrs.” Downy, she apparently flew off and “Mr.” Downy took her place.  I had found it so curious.  But, in all the years I have been photographing the birds here, I have never seen Mr. and Mrs. Downy together!

The two birds worked away….it seemed that they were unaware of one another, although I doubt that! Mr.  Downy looked right at me. If birds have the capability of “winking”,  I think this is certainly where Mr. Downy would have done so, before both he and Mrs. left the tree.

And in the midst of me happily snapping away with an itching trigger finger,  I imagined my Heavenly Father, smiling down as I so appreciated just one more of His “God moments”! This had nothing to do with luck. Nor coincidence.  Merely a “God-incidence!”

Mark had a physical therapy appointment this afternoon, so the kids and I went along with him.  After his appointment,  the kids said they were hungry, so Mark took them on over to Wendy’s to grab a bite to eat.  As they were eating,  I ventured out to catch a few photos of Canada Geese, which seemed to be everywhere along a little stream running to the lake.

I had to cross over a little ravine to get some of these pictures.  It didn’t look too bad, so I went to step over and ended up sinking midway to my thighs in snow!  I hurriedly hopped out of the pile,  looking back to see if anyone saw me almost go down, as I lost my balance. Sheesh!  At least my camera was still in my hand and safe!

I walked past this very interesting little contraption someone had parked next to the stream…

We left Wendy’s and drove down next to the lake.  I had Mark park so I could take a couple more photos.  There were just a few geese and seagulls out on the ice on the lake.

I have taken photos of this particular area in the summer, but I don’t think I have any winter photos here.

I love the way the tree was mirroring itself off the smooth water of the lake.

We discovered a few weeks ago that WalMart has an awesome Tyson Buttery Garlic roast chicken that is delicious.  As Mark went into therapy,  I called WalMart and ordered a chicken to take home for dinner. They will roast one if we call ahead and we can get it fresh, rather than one that has been sitting around.  So, we went to pick it up.

As I came out of the store, I was totally caught up by the spectacular sky. It was, well, awesome!

Michelle wanted to go over to TJ Maxx when we finished up at WalMart.  Mark drove over and parked the truck.  We talked while waiting for Michelle.  I happened to look out the side rear mirror on the door.  I thought it was kind of funny that there was a rainbow in the mirror.  I turned around to see if it was a reflection off something, when I discovered there was a sundog in the sky!

As you can see, it was breathtaking with those unique clouds! As I sat reviewing the photos on my camera, I thought to myself that Carly’s mother-in-law, Madeline, had told me sundogs usually appear in pairs.  I searched the sky, but only saw one.   Then, *suddenly*, its twin appeared.

I took photo after photo, telling Mark this was just too amazing!  I explained to him that it almost seems that some days God is just humoring my picture-taking!  I told Mark I often think of myself as a spoiled princess, as I am sure God is smiling as he sees my excitement. 

I looked out the window once again, and this time, I nearly squealed with delight! Look closely at the photo below….

You can actually see a huge “arch” that encircles the sun.  It looked like a giant rainbow around the sun. It was hard to see, but you can see it is there!  By this point, I was nearly in tears, feeling as though God was overwhelming me with His glorious handiwork.

It was then that I looked up in the sky just above the truck….

This rainbow was above the truck and was totally disjointed from the sundogs or the rainbow around the sun.  By now, tears were streaming down my face.  There was no precipitation. None at all. Only my tears! These are what I can only describe as “God Moments”.  Times when I am thinking about Him and it is as though He shows up on the scene…..

By the way, within about five minutes, the sundogs, arch, and rainbow were completely gone.  Completely…..

I stand amazed at how people really seem to dislike “religion”, and yet the Bible is quoted so frequently….We crossed the US/Canadian border via the Rainbow Bridge.  In the above photo,  there is a portion of Scripture written (in concrete!) regarding God’s promise to never again flood the earth.  I guess it was chosen for its referene to the “bow”.  Hey, they could have etched Somewhere Over the Rainbow in that concrete, eh? Nope…it was from the Bible, instead!

I should get some points for knowing that the language above was Latin! And, being (once again) so clever, I Googled the words and came up with the this .  Once again,interesting that the motto of Canada came from (imagine that!) the Scriptures.

When Mother’s  Day came (and went) almost three weeks ago, Mark was not able to get out and do what he wanted, due to the sore he had.  He and Ben talked together, and decided that since I wanted  to go to Canada, they would take me for a late Mother’s Day.  So, yesterday was “my” day.

Canadian and US flags….

Yup, here we are, in a foreign country!

Complete with the famous Mounties!!! But, all of this tourist “stuff” is NOT what I came for. No, sireeeee……

Last night, I purposed to get to bed early so I could get up early this morning. I really enjoy being up long before everyone else.

I bounced out of bed by 5:00 and fed the Scotties. After taking them outside, I decided to soak in the freshly-changed water of the hot tub. When I first went outside, I noted that the sky was so black! It was perfect, as the “pallette” was pitch dark, and the stars seemed to pop!

I leaned back against the seat, my head resting at the top of the tub, so I could look intently above me. It was so peaceful sitting there, with only the starlight and small LED in the tub lighting the darkness surrounding me.  My eyes searched the skies above me….the sky was cloudless and the stars were so many!  This brought to my mind the story of Abraham in the Bible……

Genesis 15:5
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

As I thought about Abraham, I wondered how this old man felt, being told by the God of the Universe, that he would be the father of many! As I looked at the stars, I could see that many were much brighter than others….Did Abraham wonder at those who would follow….if some would be more outstanding than others? Or, was his mind boggled just at the thought of wondering the logistics of how this was to transpire?

Abraham was living as a Nomad, and as such, was unencumbered by all the “stuff” we impose upon ourselves today. It seems we need more stuff to take care of the stuff we have! Abraham…..what were his grave concerns? Food, water, making sure his tents were secure. Attacks from wild animals. Attacks from enemies….I am sure his life was not easier, by a longshot. But, I do believe he must have been less encumbered!

As I thought about this, I began to realize that I would certainly love to live this life less encumbered as well! Oh, I love technology and all the advances it has taken, but I pray that all of these things remain less important in my own life and that God and others would be my primary concern. To have the faith of Abraham; Oh, what a noble aspiration!

Amazing, the thoughts while soaking in the hot tub, eh?

I was going to add some pictures from a concert Mark and I attended with the kids at Kingdom Bound, but I forgot! Yikes!

The name of this group is Stellar Kart. They are, I am told, from Canada. When I won the tickets from the radio station , I also won a Stellar Kart CD.  They are quite good, but the volume was *just* a tad bit loud for my old ears!

 Wow! These guys are not only loud, but full of energy, as well! hehehe

As I panned around the crowd, I found this forward-looking couple with their little one protected from the *loud*. Did I mention the music was L-O-U-D?

 Yes, this concert was held right next to the wonderful (no, I did not ride it, nor will I ever!) Superman roller coaster. So, of course, I *needed* to photograph this group on the vertical drop….wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 The concert was very good, although the temps were soaring into the 80′s, making it too warm for me. I needed to (sulk) trudge off to the Dippin’ Dots stand to take cold refreshment and revitalize my poor hot self!!!!

We also saw a few other concerts that I didn’t photograph, but it sure was a fun, albeit TOO hot,  few days! What a terrific way to spend some family time!!!!