Just Not Up To Par

Don't know what the deal is lately, friends, but I just haven't had anything new to share here on my blog. So, I'm sharing a verse and will continue to add to my gratitude list for now.

Often wisdom invites us to ponder great questions. The question, “Can anyone make straight what God has made crooked?” echoes the words of 1:15—“Something crooked cannot be made straight.” Only God can determine what is and what is not. God makes our paths crooked or straight. And we often do not understand why one person’s way is straight and another’s is crooked. The message of the teacher is simple: reverence God regardless of 

the path you have been given to walk.(source)

"When times are good,

  enjoy them and be happy.

 When times are bad,

   think about this:

    God makes both good and bad times,

        so that no one really knows what is coming next."(Ecclesiastes 7:14, The Voice)

#1799 - Baking lots of yummy sweets while snowed in at home for 2 days... 

#1800 - Getting to see the movie "Risen" with the hubby and my mom. (Very emotionally moving and unique movie...)

#1801 - A flock of Canadian geese that stopped in front of our cottage for a short visit. 

#1802 - The wonderful variety of God's creation(enjoying the colorful and unique design of the birds He made.)

#1803 - Between the blizzard-filled, snowy days, a day(or even a few hours) of sunshine.

#1804 - My sweet doggie friends...Cheyenne

#1805 - and Jet

#1806 - For shelter and warmth on a cold blizzardy day.  

#1807 - That the Lord protected and kept me safe while I was travelling on the road in this weather.

May you all have a warm and blessed week!!

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Favorite Blogs Parties where I Link-up

Let it Snow....Let it Snow....Let it Snow

Well, this time of year(between January and April) is my least favorite time. It's cold here, where I live and roads can get pretty icy and hazardous at times. The sun doesn't shine too much and skies are gray. There are a few good things about this time of year:

1. The days are now getting longer and spring will be coming.
2. Because of the cold weather and snow, I don't feel guilty reading and writing and blog-hopping.
3. Even though I don't like the cold, the beauty of the snow falling and layered on the ground and trees is very beautiful!

Here are some winter pictures from the internet that I found reminded me that wintertime and the snow have a beauty all it's own!

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
   or seen the storehouses of the hail,
 which I reserve for times of trouble,
   for days of war and battle?

Job 38:22

Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments,
embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.

John Boswell

Isaiah 1:18 

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

 

"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin."
William Shakespeare

There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very
hollows in snow.  It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every
blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance.

William Sharp

Proverbs 25:13 

As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.

Prayer to the Snowy Owl

Descend, silent spirit;
you whose golden eyes
pierce the grey
shroud of the world—
Marvelous ghost!
Drifter of the arctic night,
destroyer of those
who gnaw in the dark—
preserver of whiteness.

"Sweet bird!  thy bow'r is ever green,
Thy sky is ever clear;
thou hast no sorrow in thy song,
No winter in thy year."
-  John Logan,  1748 - 1788 

When the snow is still blowing against the window-pane in
January and February and the wild winds are howling without,
what pleasure it is to plan for summer that is to be.

Celia Thaxter

linking up at:

No Ordinary Blog Hop - Theme of the Month

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

A picture I took of the Canadian geese on a lake near where I live.(Pike Lake, Indiana)

Wishing you all celebrations of joy

as you

leave the past (mistakes) behind

and anticipate

the new beginning (God's plan) that lies ahead!

Happy New Year!!!

Linking on over to:

Beholding Glory

 
Freshly Brewed Sunday

It's Cold Outside, but I'm Going Out Anyway!

I usually don't venture out too much in the wintertime. I'm just not a lover of the cold. But lately, I've been a little picture crazy. Don't know why, but my camera keeps crying out to me to go out and use it! 

These are pictures of one of our area lakes:

Looks like nobody wants to sit out in the 40 degree weather!

"It was You who set all the boundaries on the earth;

You made both summer and winter."

- Psalm 74:17

A view of an area lake

"Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments,

embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour."

- John Boswell

This channel divides the mainland from a small island.

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.

 Psalm 62:1

A walking bridge over the channel.

“Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!… 
He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes. He casts forth His ice as fragments, Who can stand before His cold? 
He sends forth His word and melts them He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.” 
~Psalm 147:12-18

Large chunks of snow that fell on the icy water.

“Out of the south comes the storm, And out of the north the cold. From the breath of God ice is made, 

And the expanse of the waters is frozen.” 
  ~Job 37:9-10

A line, dividing water and ice.

The ducks don't seem to mind the cold water.

 Look at the birds of the air; 
they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, 

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

 Matthew 6:26

A Mallard, enjoying a swim.

I saw this cute decorated antique sled in someone's yard, on my walk around the lake.

May you find peace and solace in nature's beauty!

 linking on over to:
Word-Filled Wednesday 

Reflections of His Grace


State of the Heart