Thought of the Day

"Shout for JOY to Adonai, all the earth!
 Serve Adonai with gladness.
 Enter His Presence with joyful songs.
 Be aware that Adonai is GOD,
 it is HE who made us, and we are HIS.
 HIS people, HIS flock in HIS pasture.
 Enter HIS gates with thanksgiving,
 enter HIS courts with praise;
 give thanks to HIM and BLESS HIS NAME.
 For Adonai is good, HIS grace continues forever!
 His faithfulness lasts throughout ALL generations."

~Tehillim (Psalms) 100~

From My Backyard

More pictures of the backyard.  I love going on nature walks.  While on my walks, I try to look for things out of the ordinary.  It has been so HOT this week, that my walks have been very limited.  As you see in one of the pictures above, we had some much welcome rain this week.  Yesterday, a front passed through cooling the temps about thirty degrees.  It's warming up today, but at least there's a breeze in the air making it tolerable to be outdoors.  I hope you all have a very blessed weekend.  Shalom!

Daily Thought

"The chains of habits are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken." ~ Samuel Johnson

An Unwelcome Visitor

A cry of alarm came from the chicken lot.  Our rooster has a way of letting us know when things aren't quite right in their territory.  I ran out to see what the problem was and to my surprise, this cute little ground hog was standing on his hind legs holding onto the fence frantically trying to find a way out.  By the time that I ran back to the house to get the camera, he had escaped.  We caught him scurrying down along our field.  Can you see him hiding in the pictures?  He was a cute little guy, but boy can he be destructive.

Thought of the Day

How do I change?
If I feel depressed I will sing.
If I feel sad I will laugh.
If I feel ill I will double my labour.
If I feel fear I will plunge ahead.
If I feel inferior I will wear new garments.
If I feel uncertain I will raise my voice.
If I feel poverty I will think of wealth to come.
If I feel incompetent I will think of past success.
If I feel insignificant I will remember my goals.
Today I will be the master of my emotions. 
~Og Mandino

Sounds of the Past

Excitement filled the air this week as the Nickel Plate 765 passed through the area on its way to the Train Festival 2011 in Rock Island, Illinois.  There's something about the sound of the whistle and the puff of the black smoke that bring people out of their homes. My Grandma lived to be 102.  She passed away last November.  I loved to hear her stories about the days of traveling by rail.  Recently I found a journal of memoirs she wrote to me  a few years ago.  She writes, "I remember when the train whistles  would blow as the trains neared town or a road crossing near the city.  Also the chug, chug, chug of the gears as the train started up, after stopping at the water tower or the station.  Then there was the screeching of the wheels as the engineer applied the brakes to bring it to a stop."  I too am a big fan of the old steam engines.  If we could just somehow turn back time so this could once again be a familiar sight.......Sweet dreams.

Today's Thought

"You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser.  You are what you make yourself to be."  ~  Lou Holtz