PROJECT 365 - end January

by Robin

I'll probably never post up all 365 of my pictures but here are another handful of them for your viewing pleasure.

Jan 16 - Tiki - the not-so-lap-dog


Jan 18 - Thyme for Sale


Jan 19 - Red potato & Artichoke side dish. Delish!


Jan 21 - Ingredients to make Jam


Jan 23 - Honing the cylinders for the boat engine


Jan 24 - New poop & herbs


Jan 25 - Men at Work


Jan 25 - evening Tornado Warnings!


Jan 26 - London Broil w/ a charcoal/ dry rub twist


Jan 27 - Fever


Jan 28 - Robin Migration / Invasion (7 of them in this picture)


Jan 29 - Tiki in my hands


Jan 29 Alternate - Captain at my feet


Have a blessed weekend. Looking forward to church in the morning and then putting in a Rose Garden in the afternoon.

SQUIRREL DETERRANT

by Robin

Recently, I put some sunflower seeds into my garden to attract bees in the spring. It worked wonderfully last year.



I save hundred and hundreds of seeds. Ok, so they're in the ground. The next day or two later, I see a squirrel out there. He's eating everything I laid down. I promise you, it is a perfect line of little holes he dug!!

I laid down more seed. He's eating those too. I put more seed down and laid some tomato cages on their sides over the seeds to discourage the little guy. Grrr. The squirrel found some more seeds.

What I have found to be my BEST squirrel deterrant is Tiki. He hates squirrels with a passion.
He keeps a sharp eye out for them.



He will literally sit in the garden to wait for Mr. Squirrel. He can track their scent and knows when one has been in the garden recently.



Sometimes they come from the other direction, behind the shed. You really can't fool Tiki. He *knows* squirrels and their noises. He will even follow them down the fence. He looks up in the trees for them.



He even has a white flagging tail for when he is all excited looking for squirrels. He's dove under the shed after them before. I don't know what happened but I heard dog screams. Then, more barking.



Either way, when I'm at my kitchen window and I see the squirrel eating my sunflower seeds, I say "Squirrel". Tiki comes barking and running to the back door. He's fast as lightening to get to the garden.

I do hope I have some seeds left in the ground to have plants this year.




Edited to add: I found a couple seedlings popped up this morning. Yeah!!!!!

THINKING

by Robin

I have nothing earth shattering to write about except for a thought I had last week as I sat in the afternoon sun. It's January and everybody in the north is either in snow drifts or below freezing temps. It's not hot here but sunny enough to feel the warmth through my jeans & sweatshirt.

I was in one of those moods where I absolutely needed to feel the sun on my bones. When my joints hurt, there is no better remedy than to warm up. I don't think that makes me a reptilian, though that sounds funny just thinking it.




So, imagine this. I sitting there. The picture above is my view. Sun's out... I'm almost dozing off. Then, a cloud would come and it felt like the 60's again. Grrrr. Then, the sun would shine through and my world would warm up to 70 again. Ahhh.... back to a perfect-type of peace and relaxation. A few minutes later, another cloud would come and disturb my Utopian world of radiation exposure. Grrrr.

This cycle went on several times before it hit me that it felt very similar to my morning routine when I am rudely awakened by an alarm clock. Grrrrr. Then, I hit snooze and there is 9 minutes of bliss. Then, another rude awakening of repetitious beeping follow by a comatose walk across the room, hitting the snooze button and heading back to the warmth of the bed. Another 9 minutes of warmth and a semi-consciousness state of peace.

I guess this is why I live in FL. There are more days of total sun than clouds with sun. I love sun, the heat and humidity. I never complain about it because I LOVE it!! (unless the AC goes out for long periods of time)

Ok, I told you it wasn't deep. But, that was my revelation for the week. Over my shoulder, there was the garden. I took a picture of it since I had recently tilled over all the dead stuff. This is what is left after the 7 freezes this year. Herbs, onions, broccoli and a couple potted plants.



Have a blessed week!

BROCCOLI blooms

by Robin

From my garden












I changed the tint a little bit here. I think I like this better than the tint above.

TRIALS and TEMPTATIONS!!

by Robin

Has the economy gotten you down? Unemployed? Foreclosed? Bankrupt? Facing a possibly terminal illness? Grieving over a lost one? No money? Like many of you, our family has gone through many of these trials, as well, at one time or another. I think this is common yet there is nothing common, or familiar, about the way it feels when you're living through it.

When times like these come around, we Christians hold many Scriptures dear to our hurting hearts, like "This too shall pass" or Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." But, what we, I, have not done well is embraced my trial as being a gift from God. That seems rather unnatural in our human thinking.

However, let's take a look at Abraham and Isaac in Gen 22: 1-2. "Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

Many times I will assume that Satan is up to no good with giving me a good spiritual attack, but the truth is that God is giving me a test, much like the ones He gave others in the Bible. Abraham passed the testing to sacrifice his only son as a living sacrifice to God even though his own thoughts were probably calculating other promises, like "a nation will be made from his seed" and so forth. How did Abraham get past that point of *knowing* God promised him a son and then still surrendering to get up that morning and accepting the command to offer his son? How did Abraham get mentally past the reaction to be on the defensive with Satan and surrender EVERYTHING, all his problems, worries and concerns, to God?

How do we find that peace? acceptance? ability to let go? that faith that expands into a mighty oak tree?

Hebrews 12 answers all those questions. Take your Bibles out and read over the passage.

First, we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. Our angels are here to help.
Secondly, lay aside every weight, sin that ensnares you, and run with endurance the race set before you. Pray it out to your Father in Heaven and let HIM do the battling for you.
Third, look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, for the joy. No matter what your circumstances are, knowing Jesus died for your sins should make you feel hopeful about your future.
God knew you'd be weary and discouraged in your trials but don't despise them. God loves you even through the trials, as He is your biggest fan, wanting you to pass those tests.

v11 in Hebrews 12 sums it all up for me on how Abraham (and I) should be able to see the trials and temptations of this life. "Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those those who have been trained by it."

God promises to yield good things after your trials, believer! Many years ago, a missionary to China faced trials while the communists took over the country. They hated that he preached about Jesus and so they threw him in jail. Even in jail, the jailors got saved. Prisioners got saved. He continued to write and translate the gospels and other Christian writings to the people by sneaking everything out of the jail. He refused to let his trials to slow him down. Finally, the authorities brought him out in the town square, in front of everyone, and chopped off both of his arms from the elbow down so he could no longer write. He lifted up his stumps and shouted to heaven, "Thank you God for the marks of the cross!!"

Dear friend, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, please don't allow yourself to be discouraged by your trials. God corrects all his children so that we may be refined more like Him and be examples of His holiness.

Friend, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior of your life, please feel free to email me and ask me more about how you can have a relationship with Him. Yes, you will still have trials, but like Abraham, God will provide a way out much like He provided that ram for the sacrifice instead of killing Isaac.

God bless,
Robin

PROJECT 365

by Robin

My cousin inspired me to do a little project for the year. It is Project 365 where you post up a picture a day that you have taken. I'm actually keeping my album on Facebook, but I thought I'd post up some random pictures here to show you what it would look like.

I want to encourage you all to create one too if you enjoy photography. I have been told that if this is cumbersome to do a picture a day, you can take it down to Project 52 (52 weeks, 1 a week).

Either way, I plan on having fun with it.

Jan 1 - Tiki



Jan 2 - Squirrel


Jan 3 - Homemade Pasta



Jan 4 - Swingin' Upside-down


God bless,
Robin