I'm so thankful for my life!: Watering my Plants, Hoeing some Weeds, Singing a Song and More!

Hello out there! It's 3:05 pm and after I give you my weather report, I'm going to share some scriptures from the Gospel of Matthew with you! I was outside this morning, watering all of my plants and topping off my bird baths - the sky was and still is a vivid, bright blue with white clouds dotted all throughout the sky. Some wind gusts here and there, another beautiful sunshiny day! It is 93 degrees right now and the high is expected to reach 94!

Watering my plants, hoeing some weeds, singing a song - that sounds like the perfect title to me!

Today's Gospel Reading from Matthew really hit home with me today:

As I worked outside, I heard the bird's chirping and singing their songs. I watched as they flew in and out of the trees and stopped to get a drink from the multiple bird baths we have:

(1) The bird bath next to the statue of St. Francis of Assisi, (2) The "Red Neck" bird bath out by the oak tree, (3) The oblong, stock tank bird bath that is also home to four goldfish.

Not only do our neighborhood birds have a place to get a drink and take a bath...the deer, squirrel and other thirsty animals stop by for visits too!

Matthew 6:24-34

Jesus said to his disciples:

"No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil."

I had read the scriptures for today before I went outside. And as I watched the birds, and thought about the nests they have carefully crafted in the branches of the trees, stopping by the bird baths for a drink and quick splish splash, and saw the droppings on the ground from the deer that had visited the night before, I thanked God for everything. He is always with us. The scriptures from Matthew remind us...But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.

Jim and I sit on the back porch most evenings. We've been blessed to live in this home for thirty-three years. Our children were young when we moved in here and I prayed that it would be our forever home. Our grandchildren love to come and visit and we are blessed with so many memories. The walls in my small kitchen seem to move back and make room when we are all gathered here. As our family has grown we have added a table in the living room and out on the back porch. The motto in our home is: "If you are still hungry when you leave, it is your own fault! Thank you Jesus! We have plenty to eat!"

Like most families, we have had our own financial struggles. Through the years we've had to budget, cut this out and that out, and learn the difference between needs and wants. But those struggles have helped us to be more thankful, taught us to be more frugal, and that prayer and depending on God is the answer to everything!

Here are a couple of money saving hints that I have learned along the way:

1. It's always cheaper to eat at home than eat out.

2. Buy a coffee pot, a large can of Folgers Coffee (or whatever brand you like) and make a pot of coffee. Add the water and coffee the night before and hit the on button the next morning. Not only will you save a bunch of money, you can actually enjoy drinking a cup while you're getting ready for school, work, errands etc. You'll also save on gas that way!

3. It's okay to skip a manicure and or pedicure. It really is! That's one of those, need/want things! There was a couple of years that I didn't even spend money at the beauty shop. My bathroom was also known as "Sharla's Cut & Color" - I trimmed my own bangs, I colored my own hair, (the only time my hair had a slightly red tint) and I trimmed Jim's hair too!

4. If you usually eat out for lunch - stop! Fix a sandwich, cut up some fruit, grab a yogurt, etc. and you will save money!

Pray together! Pray before meals, pray before bed, pray before you leave the house!

The hard times have only brought Jim and I closer together and more importantly, closer to our Lord. We celebrated 41 years earlier this month. Through it all, the good and the bad, the richer and the poorer, when we are sick and when we are healthy, the happy and the sad - God has been right here with us!

This picture was taken about three years ago - Our statue of Mother Mary in our front yard. There is a story that goes with the straw hat in one of my older posts!