Sunday this and that . . .

 

"Dad's hold our hands for a little while 

and our hearts forever." 

One of the greatest blessings to come out of the recent events in my life is that I now get to spend time with my father.  I had truly thought that I would never be able to see my father alive again in this lifetime and had resigned myself to that fact. That I now get to spend real time with him, in abundance, is the silver lining in what was a very dark cloud.

I love my father very much. I may not always have appreciated him.  Especially when I was a teenager and he was imposing rules on me that I didn't like or think were fair.  Now when I look back on them, I know he was only doing so to protect me and that it came from a place of love, not from him wanting to spoil me having a good time.

All he ever wanted to do was to keep us safe and for us to be happy, even if he was not always happy himself.  Today we will be celebrating Father's day with him, and for me this is a really special day, a day I never thought I would get to experience again. My sister is making him one of his favorite suppers, Swiss Steak and Mashed potatoes.  I have baked him a Lemon Meringue pie.  He would probably love a raisin pie even more than that, but I love him far too much to feed him all that sugar.  His eyes will light up at Lemon Meringue all the same and its not quite so bad for him sugar wise. 

Life has a way of coming full circle.  We come helpless and innocent to the world and our parents care for us and do their best to bring us up to be good people.  Then in their later years we get to repay them for all of their goodness by taking care of them in whatever way we can, and in showing our appreciation for all they have done for us through the years.

 

I am grateful that I have raised three good sons who are also great fathers to their children. My oldest son (see above) has two wonderful boys.  My middle son has three lovely boys and my youngest son has a son now himself.  It is one of life's greatest blessings to see your children growing up and becoming great parents themselves. 

  

The love of family is one of life's greatest gifts. 

I have two good son's in law as well.  Tom is a wonderful father to their two children and of course although Eileen and Tim will never have any children of their own, they are a wonderful Aunt and Uncle to their nieces and nephews. 

I know we give a lot of credit to mothers in our lives, because they are the nurturers and do a lot when it comes to the raising of their children, but they are not alone in doing this. Good father's help to shoulder the responsibilities and in many cases do it with equal amounts of love and care. 

I am so grateful for all of the good father's in my life.  Happy Father's Day to them all! 

 

I discovered this photo this morning and it made me smile.  It made me think of the days I would spend hours baking and cooking for my growing family . . .  all the effort put in, only for it to disappear in seconds.  Its a good thing I enjoyed the effort! There were years when I baked cookies every single day.  I didn't mind really.  I was happy to be able to give my children wholesome homemade food, even if it seemed to disappear in an instant.  That was a good sign. A sign of appreciation. 

  

This also made me smile because "Ain't it the truth!"  When I was a child I hated having to stay at home. I wanted to be out there having one adventure after another.  I hated the thought that I was missing out on anything that was happening outside our four familial walls. Now as an adult, I truly appreciate the comfort and peace that happens and resides within my own four walls.  There is no place I would rather be than at home.  

 

Last night after I got into bed I was reading in my book, Even This by Emily Belle Freeman. It was only a short chapter last night ( a few pages) entitled "Longing for Understanding."  In it she outlined how at one point in she and her husband's life together he had lost his job and how they had prayed for months and months for him to get another job, only for him to find what was they thought what seemed like perfect job and an answer to their prayers. A job which felt heaven-sent. But then as the years go by, this job ends up with them going deeper into debt . . . this God sent job crippling them financially.  At the end her husband found another job, but not without them having taken on a financial burden which was with them for years.  And it made her wonder, why  . . . 

Thinking on those years, she can clearly see good things that came from that job, she can trace the goodness from that job and people that they were able to help in turn, but at the end of it all, she still struggles with why it seems that God's answer ended up costing  them so dearly. 

I ponder that very question sometimes.  I wonder at times why I can do the right things, live a right life, follow what I think are righteous promptings and yet still end up having to pay a hefty price for doing so.

I think we may never know why sometimes the answers to our prayers cost us dearly, at least not on this side of the veil.   I do believe, however, that we will always be able to trace the goodness which comes out of some of our trials, even if we can't always understand the why's and the wherefores'.  

Maybe I will never understand why I had to go through what I went through in recent months, but, perhaps the greatest blessing comes in personal growth, and in our ability to stick to the correct path, even despite the stumbling blocks that keep trying to get in the way of our journey. Maybe it lies in the blessings, help, and growth we are able to afford others because of our journeys. Through our examples we set in how we handle the slings and arrows of life. 

I believe we will always be blessed in the trying, no matter what . . . 

Forever IS composed of now's.  A line of small and simple happenings and things, that in and of themselves seem like not a lot of anything, but when added together shape themselves into what ends up being our lives. 

My sister and I stopped at a yard sale/market place that is open every weekend near the Frenchie's in our small valley.  It was not in the plan, but we saw all the tables and decided to check them out. One man's junk is another man's treasure and all that.  I had not planned on getting anything, but couldn't resist a few things  . . .  

 

I had been looking for something to layer parfait types of desserts/mousses in.  Back in the UK, I had an assortment of glass misfits that were on their own not enough for use at the table, etc., but were perfect to use as props and presentation items for my food photos. One glass here, two glasses there. I am sadly lacking in those things now, but I spied these champagne flutes. Nothing special but only $4 for the four of them.  I will be able to use these for sure so I bought them. 

 

 

Me, whose house had been filled with clocks that chimed and ticked and gonged have none now.  I did buy a cheap wall clock at Home Hardware to hang in the kitchen area so I could see what time it is, but no clocks anywhere else.  I do so love the comfort of a clock ticking.  This carriage clock was on one stand and I couldn't resist it.  It is now on the end table between the sofa and my comfy chair. It does not gong, but it does tick and now instead of having to look for my iPad or phone when I want to know what time it is, I can just sit in the comfort of my chair and look at the clock.

And looking at the clock I can see this has taken me far longer than I had supposed so I best get my skates on and leave you with a thought for today  . . .

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *Faith is having the courage 
to let God have control.•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Skillet Cherry Cobbler.  Its so easy and yet amazingly delicious.  Sized for two people. 

I hope you have a happy and blessed Sunday.  Be safe.  Don't forget! 

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⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿

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And I do too!