Tuesday April 5 2016  HOW FAST OUR DAYS DISAPPEAR

Yesterday can never be recaptured.  Today, this moment is where life lives.  And I cannot live in tomorrow-land until it arrives.  And yet, it never comes.  Because when I wake up in the morning it has always scooted ahead of me and is again out of reach.

So…I choose to live now, remembering the pleasantry of yesterday.  So many different experiences always happening as we live in the cocoon of our world.  I have a dear friend in Wisconsin who sent me an email that I received about midnight last night.  Three of Michelle’s children inherited a heart condition which makes it necessary for them to have pacemaker/defibrillators implanted in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  One of her teenage daughters underwent such a surgery on March 17.  Following is part of Michelle’s email.  I am sending it and asking that you will pray for her daughter during this crucial situation.

“Urgent Prayer request please.  March 17 (daughter) had a pacemaker/defibrillator implanted because of her condition (heart block and had deadly arrhythmias on a heart study) she is in ICU now with complications.

She was very swollen so I took her to ER.  She had a drain tube put in to drain fluid off heart last night.  If the bloody fluid doesn’t stop it means a hole in heart from the lead that must have perforated wall of heart.  Then they may need to do a revision surgery Thursday…”

Michelle went on to explain that she herself is scheduled for surgery on Thursday for cancer.  She has thyroid cancer.  She postponed her cancer surgery so she could be with her daughter through her surgery on March 17^th and help her through recovery time. 

As you can see, not everyone had such a wonderful day yesterday.  Michelle and her daughter are in need of our combined prayers to God.  Please ask for their protection and healing through these next few weeks.  Please pray for them as thoughts of them come into your mind.  Does God need reminding?  No, but we need to be reminded in whom we place our trust and faith.  Thank you friends and family for your prayers.

IT IS GOD WHO PICKS YOU UP

By Kathleen Martens

April 5, 2016

When the hour seems the darkest

Know God is by your side.

Regardless what you confront

Strength from God abides.

He is with you every step

Through both the big and small.

He is only a breath away

When on His name you call.

It is God who picks you up

And sets you back on course.

No matter what is your need,

His strength is your source.

Thank You Lord for a healthy body.  Let me never take it for granted

Thank You Lord that I awoke this morning.

Thank You Jesus that You are our Healer.

Thank You Father that you take care of me even when I am not aware of it.

Thank You that Your Holy Spirit abides within me, wherever I go, no matter where I am.

Thank You for friends who know how to pray.

Not much happening today as far as exciting excursions.  Rebecca is off to an appointment and I decided to write my blog early so we will have time to play cards this evening.  Oh, by the way, THE WOMEN WON BIG LAST NIGHT!  I mean we really destroyed our opponents.  It was awesome!  We had to gloat just a little bit.  We didn’t want to do it too loudly lest we eat crow for later games.  Oh, how I cherish these precious times with our daughter and her husband and their dog boys.  We see them so seldom and every hour is so precious.

Two of my very favorite people in the world were my Aunt Estell (my mother’s sister) and her husband, my uncle Horace (always pronounced uncle Harce).  Dave and I would play cards with them by the hour during the times we were together.  After I was an adult and moved away I didn’t get to be around them much.  As they aged and we “matured” we would go visit them for periods of time and they would drive to Wisconsin from California and stay with us several days.  Uncle Horace was the father I never had.  My father died when I was 17 years old.  Uncle Horace was the one to give me away at my wedding and the one I went to for help and advice and love.  Oh how I cherished him.

Well, I gave you a little look-see into my past so I could tell you what I am about to write.  As I sit at the dining room table playing cards at our daughter’s home, my memories escape back to the years when Dave and I played so many hours of cards with Aunt Estell and Uncle Horace.  In their later years they were about the age Dave and I are now and we were about the ages of Rebecca and Neil.  I remember Dave and I doing all the shuffling of five decks together and they would count the cards out on their turn.  Very slowly and methodically the cards would be sorted into the required piles.  I would sit there and marvel at what age had done to them and knew in my heart at that time that they would not always be with us.  I remember thinking in that moment that this was a memory I always wanted to cherish.  I waited patiently as they dealt the cards, wondering if that is what it would be like for us someday.  I intentionally tucked those memories into my heart so I would forever keep them with me. 

Now the tables have turned.  Dave and our daughter do all the shuffling and we each take our turn to deal the cards.  My hands do not work so well since I have lost flexibility in the joints of my fingers.  Our two young’uns (Rebecca and Neil) in the crowd sit and wait patiently as I perform my turn.  They say nothing but I sometimes wonder what they think.  I hope someday they will be able to look back and remember with fondness how much fun we had playing such competitive games, regardless of how long it took mom to deal the cards.  We all need to feel we are needed. 

Footnote:  When Dave and I play together we just put all the cards on the table face up and mix them heartily.  And our games are still just as fun.  I will say that it is because of Neil that I can still play cards.  Several years ago he realized how difficult it was for me to hold my cards.  He surprised me by designing a card rack for me so I could place my cards in the rack and set it on the table.  Oh…what a great gift that was and still is.  Later he made one for Dave too.  Of course we brought them with us.  I’ll include a photo with today’s blog.  He even did an original hand painted design across the back that all can read.  I LOVE IT.  AND I LOVE BOTH REBECCA AND NEIL AND GRAN-DOGS, COAL AND JACKSON.  I feel like a very rich woman!

Hope your day is a good day!

GOD BLESS YOU!

P.S.  Not only do our days disappear, so do our years!  Live each hour to its fullest!

Monday April 4 2016  OH WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY!

Dave turn coated on me today.  He actually told Rebecca and Neil that he could live in Florida.  I didn’t say a word.  But I will admit that today was one of those picture perfect days that would cause anyone to want to live here.  At least until they went through a summer of heat, humidity, and hurricanes.  Dave went on to cover his tracks by saying, but he wasn’t planning on moving here.  Whew!

Neil and Rebecca both had the day off and we had an adventure!  Mine and Dave’s began at the gym while they caught up on their sleep by sleeping in.  They have both been working long and hard.  While Rebecca went into work for a short time Neil took Dave and me to “The Society of the Four Arts Garden” in Palm Beach close to where Rebecca works. 

The Four Arts Garden was originally planted in the late 1930’s as an example to those living on Palm Beach Island as to the kind of plants that would grow in their own gardens.  World War II saw the garden’s demise.  In 1954 the Garden Club of Palm Beach had it redesigned into segments exhibiting the floral displays in room-like enclosures.  Hurricane Frances and Jeanne once again destroyed the gardens.  Again the garden was replanted only to be destroyed by Hurricane Wilma.  Hurricane Wilma brought with it “micro bursts” that decimated all the plant life in the gardens.

In 2007 a beautiful new garden was opened and a few of the old trees were saved.  The new gardens were planned around the old trees which influenced the project’s design.  The members of The Garden Club of Palm Beach work in the garden to keep it up.  The garden’s self-guided tour is open free to the public.  It is a rather small garden with separate enclosures showing off the meticulous room designs.  I will include some of the photos I took today.  I did not have time to go through the entire garden because I had the opportunity to meet a kindred spirit.  And guess what, we talked a lot. 

My new kindred spirit is Susan from New Jersey.  I could tell immediately she would be a person I would like to know better.  I asked her my famous question:  What is your one wisdom you would share with the world if you had a platform to do so?  Here is her response:

“I think my  one word of wisdom would be LOVE, and to love every person and to take the time to care, to be kind, and to spend a moment to look into each person’s eye.  I think that is what the world is really all about. LOVE!

What stood out to me was Susan’s phrase, “…and to spend a moment to look into each person’s eye”.  Perhaps looking into a person’s eyes is not important to a lot of people, especially those of a stranger.  Looking into another’s eyes is always important to me, especially those of a stranger.  Not everyone will return my gaze, but at least they will know that someone else sees them as an individual person.  I especially enjoy doing this as passengers debark from an airplane at the airport.  I look into their eyes and smile.  Rarely do the adults return the smile.  The children’s faces almost always break into a great big grin as they crane their necks to hold my gaze as they led away quickly.  When our children were little I would take them to the mall with the soul purpose to smile at people in order to see how many smiles they received in return.  Some smiled in response, but not everyone.  And several would stop and have a short conversation with them.  Would I do that now?  I do not know.  People are different.  Life is different.  As a parent I would be on high alert at all times as to their protection.  I always was on high alert, but I think I would show even more due diligence in today’s world.

Susan, thank you for sharing your heart with me and listening to mine.  Our spirit’s connected connected even deeper when we discovered that we are sisters in Christ.  Somehow, spirits identify with spirits that are similar.  If I never see you on this earth again I’ll have a rendezvous with you someday in heaven!

After we left the gardens our family went to lunch. We ate at a place where Neil and Rebecca go quite often.  Wherever we go Rebecca and Neil always seems to know quite a few people who work and manage the businesses we use.  The owners and managers always seem to know them and after Rebecca introduced us to those she knew we ordered our food.  The entrée salads were huge.  A few moments after our order arrived we received an unexpected delivery.  It was a gift from the management which included two small cold slaw salads, two apple desserts with chocolate toffee dip, and four huge cookies.  What a terrible treat for me!  I ATE TWO OF THE COOKIES.  One cookie was consumed after lunch and another one after dinner tonight.  My dinner was my leftover salad, which I still could not finish.  However, I had no trouble finishing off the cookie!

We left the restaurant and drove to the “Busch Wildlife Sanctuary”.  The sanctuary has a hospital which treats thousands of sick, injured, and orphaned wild animals each year with the goal of returning them to the wild.  Nearly 90 % are returned to their natural habitat.  The animals we viewed were beautiful, well cared for, and some were permanent residents of the park.  There is no charge for admittance and the park receives donations that allows it to stay open.  We did not have access to the “hospitalized” animals but could see some from afar off.  It was well worth the trip to visit such beautiful and interesting wildlife.  Be sure and click on the photos above to see some of the pictures from today.

From the Wildlife Sanctuary we traveled to the beach.  There was a beautiful ocean inlet lined with spectacular homes.  We walked out on a pier that went beyond the inlet.  It was from this inlet that two 14 year old boys were last seen leaving for a sail on the open sea.  Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos, were last seen leaving the Jupiter Inlet on July 24, 2015.  You may remember the story from widely broadcast and printed news stories last summer.   It was at this same place where we went today.  There was a small memorial placed on the pier.  (See above photos).  Such sadness for a parent’s heart. 

On a more positive note, I walked by a beautiful parrot sitting on the railing of the pier.  I have never been so close to such a beautiful bird unless it was caged.  The bird’s name was Augie.  Augie is eleven years old and has been owned by his handler since he was 5 weeks old.  He was a rescued bird.  Someone found an egg and cracked it and lo and behold, there was little premature Augie struggling to survive.  He was raised in captivity due to him being orphaned.  I asked if I could hold him and his owner said Augie would like that.  I rolled up my sleeve so he could cling to my arm.  He gently stepped on, gave me a good sideways scrutiny and settled in to enjoy himself.  Of course my daughter took some pictures.  The men were long gone so they missed all the excitement.  It was thrilling to me!  It was another one of those little GOD-GIFTS to me.  I hope you enjoy the photos I will included above.

All in all, it was a beautiful, lovely, day.  And Florida just came up a notch or two in my eyes!  The weather was perfect!  That helped with the increased rating.

OH WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY

By Kathleen Martens

April 4, 2016

God in His goodness

Bestows beautiful gifts

To those who seek

Their souls to lift.

When least expected

Beauty just comes,

Like a refreshing breeze

Or the kiss of the sun.

So many presents

To unwrap each day

As we walk hand in hand

Along our way.

Brilliant colors

On a feathered wing,

Visual poetry

Of which to sing.

The expanse of ocean

Lapping the shore,

Opening the heart

Reaching its core.

That we might reflect

All God’s creation,

Designed specifically,

For our elation.

Lord, I thank You for two healthy children and for the joy of having them all these years.

Lord, thank You for your beautiful creation.

Thank You for the opportunity of meeting a kindred spirit today.  It was Your countenance I recognized on her face.

Thank You Father for Your unending and amazing love for me.

Thank You God that you created those in this world that really do love others and care for them.

Thank You for the Garden Club that works so diligently that your beautiful creation is displayed.

Thank You for Your unending designs.

Thank You for colors beyond imagination.

Lord, thank You for TIME.

Thank You Lord for refrigerators.

And thank you Father that my daily bread comes from You.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU THIS DAY.

Oh, what a wonderful day!

Sunday Sabbath  April 3 2016  A WALK ON THE BEACH…IMPENDING DOOM

I survived the walk on the beach.  Well, not really the beach, because we were actually on the Intracoastal Waterway.  The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000 mile inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts in the United States.  In this area it separates West Palm Beach from Palm Beach Island.  The water is brackish because it is where the Okeechobee Lake’s fresh water overflows into the ocean water. 

Rebecca and Neil take our two grand-dogs there for their walks.  They also take us there for our walks.  It is about a mile away from their house.  We drive through residential streets to get there and then walk about a mile or so while we are there.  There are homes that back up to the coastal water; big, beautiful, grand, and expensive homes.  The beach area ends where the houses begin.  The homes then have private beaches.  There is a walkway that goes in front of the homes, lined with beautiful yards which have a myriad of palm and coconut trees, and gorgeous plants and flowers.  There is a wide grassy area between the yards and the street.  The berms are planted with tall, mature coconut trees along the sidewalk where pedestrians walk.

Coconuts grow in large clusters at the base of the coconut fronds.  They are large and numerous and weigh about one and a half pounds or more.  They are in the “drupe” family and belong to the seed fruit category.  The danger of walking on that path underneath the clusters of the coconuts is a clear and present danger.  If the hard fruit landed on a person’s head it might possibly become a lethal weapon due to the distance of falling from 30 feet or more.  I was very aware of the coconut laden trees and made certain I avoided walking under them.  When I was here previously, such a coconut fell just a few feet ahead of me on that same path.  I doubt if many people would survive a coconut falling on top of their head.  I took a few pictures of the beautiful trees with the fruit in various stages of ripening.  I wish you could see the size of just how big some of them really are.  I’ll include some at the end of the blog.

The temperature has dropped into the mid 70’s.  It feels wonderful outside with the scattered clouds and ocean breeze.  Now I would love to take a nap, but I have been told that it is card playing time.  Will continue this blog later!  Sighing off at 3:56 p.m. 

5:54 p.m. and I am back.  THE LADIES ARE THE VICTORS.  At least for this game.  We have played three card games called HAND AND FOOT, and the men have two wins and we have one.  Well, at least we will not be shut out from winning at least one game.  One year we played thirteen games and the men won every single game.  And wouldn’t you know it, they still maintain the bragging rights and have never let us forget it!

We visited an awesome church on this beautiful Sunday Sabbath.  Neil and Rebecca have been watching the broadcast of the church online and decided to take us there.  It is Faith Church in West Palm Beach.  It has been meeting in a high school auditorium for the past 30 weeks.  I don’t know where they met before.  There was quite a crowd present and the praise and worship time was awesome.  I cannot remember the songs now but they were songs that I have never heard before and the words of praise and worship were awesome.  There was a sweet spirit among the musicians, and unbeknownst to us, they were the very ones who welcomed us as we entered the sanctuary.  I was far back from the front and the stage was quite dark so I didn’t even realize they were the musicians.  After the service I went back to these young men and told them how much I appreciated their warm welcome they gave us on the way in.  That is when I found out that they were the singers and band.  They had such a welcoming spirit and it made me want to come back.  After talking with them I was introduced to the music director, who was one of the guys who had greeted me.  We also met a friend of Rebecca and Neil whose business sets up the sound system and all the electronics needed to make a Sunday Service doable.  Before we knew it we had a complete tour of backstage and all the workings of setting up all the needed paraphernalia that is put in place each Sunday morning.  It was unbelievably orchestrated.  It was another gift that God bestowed upon me today.  I love having new experiences and seeing and learning about new things.  I think the rest of my group enjoyed it too, but maybe not quite as much as I did.  It so reminded me of the assortment of things I was able to do last year on my trip when time and circumstances allowed. 

The sermon was also amazing.  The Senior Pastors are a husband and wife team.  The wife spoke this morning and the sermon was well worth hearing.  I know it might not seem exciting to some to have an awesome church to attend when you are away from home, but for me it is always a highlight of any trip I take.  I enjoy taking time for new experiences.

TAKE A CHANCE

By Kathleen Martens

April 3, 2016

Every day is the day of a lifetime

So grab it by the horns.

Do what you can to use it up,

Let new experiences be born.

Take a chance to sing and dance

If opportunity does arrive.

Do everything possible

Before tomorrow’s sunrise.

You never know who you’ll meet

Or the opportunities that are inviting.

Purposely seek to connect

It makes life is so exciting.

Just a hug or just a smile

Can go quite a way

Adding sunshine to your hours

Of an otherwise gloomy day.

Today Lord I thank You for the opportunity of experiencing Faith Church and all the wonderful music.

Thank You Lord for my feet that can take me on walks.

Thank You Father for Your amazing love.

Thank You Jesus for Your amazing grace.

Thank You for the beautiful sky You paint for me each hour.

Thank You for the awesome beauty in the world You created for man to enjoy.

Thank You for today’s sermon.

Thank You for allowing me to meet the people I met today. 

Thank You Lord for all the wonderful experiences I enjoy that you place before me.

Thank You Lord that my brain still works!

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU FROM BEAUTIFUL SUNNY FLORIDA.  You see, Florida really does have a beauty all its own.  Even though I would not choose to live here, I am enjoying every single moment I have while I am here!

P.S.  When you look at the pictures below be sure and click on “OLDER POSTS” a few times to make certain you see all the pictures I uploaded tonight.  The last group of photos uploaded all on on page so be sure to click or tap on them to see them full size.