Terrific Tuesday!

Yummy!  I just finished eating the BEST salad.  I LOVE when food is better than you were hoping it would be!  I even had multi-grain Crackers to go with it.

Let's be honest.  The "Multi-grain" is probably some crumbs they had left from a previous batch of something, so they put it in the crackers and called it multi-grain, making people think it would be healthier, and then buy more...YEP, I'm one of those suckers!

But, anyway, YUM!

I went to the Postie yesterday to mail a special order, and to pick up a package that I knew was waiting for me from Pennsylvania.

I KNEW it had a special froggie in it.

The poor froggie has had a tough time.

Moses, was accused of LICKING him, and was accused 

of trying to take him into the Jaws of Death...

He survived a wreck, coming back from Kentucky, 

SO, hopping to my house was a blessing for him.

Besides, I have REAL ones that keep coming into the house...

Last night was 2 nights in a row for the real one, and before that maybe 4 others?  I have lost count.

This is my Birthday Froggie from a Special Friend, 

Wendy Young, of Olde Moonlane Primitives.

Getting something she made is a treat.

Her designs sell almost instantly when she posts!

Is there any wonder why??

But wait.

There was more.

As I said, her designs sell faster than hot cakes, 

and being able to get one is a Treat.

Earlier this year, I was able to buy a 

birdie and a flamingo Ornament...

AND THEN, she took special orders for 

a giraffe, a bear and a froggie!

THAT is even more of a treat, because she 

doesn't take many special orders.

I am not whining, in any way, but this year has been a tough financial year.  I have had EVERY single thing that I have needed, and it is amazing to watch God work things out for me, JUST exactly as He promised, but it still makes it 

tough at times to keep the FAITH.  

I have stood at the checkout counter wanting to buy a candy bar, but refusing, because Charcoal needed a treat far more than I needed those calories. He shouldn't have to suffer because of me.

All this year, I have kept 2 $100 bills tucked inside my billfold for emergencies.  ONE was set aside to pay for the 3 ornaments that I had ordered.  Yes, I will confess, I was being selfish.  I prayed that God would please not let her get finished earlier, because I feared having to tell her that I just didn't have the money.  I did not want to go back on my word~~something I try very hard to keep.  I also did not want her to know that I was having a tough time, nor anyone to know, for that matter.  I don't want the pity and Yes, I KNOW that is pride--a sin.  :(  Hey, I struggle like everyone does.

WELL, sure enough, I had been able to hold on to that one bill...

She said she was sending invoices...

I waited...

I waited more...

I got no invoice...

I waited...

I thought that MAYBE she just forgot and didn't make me any...

sadness...BUT it is ok, because at the end of the day, sometimes things happen, and we don't get everything we want...

nor should we get everything we want...

sigh...

BUT HOW in the world could I ever stay sad because she made something that I loved JUST FOR ME...

Not for just anybody, but ME!

Oh my...how could I stay down.

I have an Olde Moonlane Primitive Froggie!!

How blessed am I!!

BUT again...WAIT...

I went to the Postie and opened my special package, that the Posite Lady LOVED and in it I found all 3 of the ornaments I had ordered!

I wanted to cry, but the Postie is next to the Policie and I didn't want this CRAZY LADY to be hauled off to the jailie!

No, my life would have gone on without having gotten these, BUT I have a Heavenly Father, who allowed me to have something that I wanted.

I learned another lesson in FAITH, that He wants us to have some things that our heart desires.

Yes, I KNOW they are just "things" but these are SPECIAL THINGS made by a person who BELIEVES, Trusts and uses her talents for good...to put smiles on the faces of people...who is exactly as she claims to be.  Wendy is one of those special people who always goes the extra mile and turns the other cheek. She is willing to be used as an instrument of peace--I have seen it!

I in no way want to EVER compare myself to the hell that JOB experienced in his life, but it is a lesson we are taught in the Bible about faithfulness.  We ALL go through tough times, and there are always different people around~~some just can't wait for us to fail, or to see bad things happen to us, some cheer us on, even though they have nothing specific to offer, other than support, and those who do what they can to help.

We need all of these people in our lives.  Yes, even those nasty ones, whom I believe, are in our lives to keep us focused on our journey and to remind us that we CAN make it because the 23rd Psalm tells us that He prepares a FEAST before our enemies.

WOW...just WOW...I am so glad that I am learning that good things happen to me, not because of something I have done, but because of special people who are, well, just special!

Thank you, Wendy.  I don't think you truly know what a blessing this is to me, but I hope that I have explained it some.

Oh, and I went and bought Charcoal some treats with that other $100 I had stashed away, because, I have tried to make sure he has what he has needed, and he deserved some new treats, too!

I rattled one of those pieces of candy in the box, 

and well...this is what happened.

He decided that he wasn't seen, so he moved his head closer...

Now, I need to see what I can create with these items 
and MAYBE I will have a craft post for this week!!

Again, I posted this not to brag or to show you 

how good I am or blah, blah, blah...

I posted to show you to HANG on.

If you are going through tough times, just hang on 

and do the best you can.

We do NOT serve a Father who enjoys seeing our tears...

He is a Loving Father who HURTS when we hurt and He is with us every step of the way, and yes, He often gives us the desires of our heart, but sometimes, He asks that we TRUST HIM and wait for the BETTER things He has in store for us.  It might not be something that can change the world, but it can change US, and that is a step in changing the world.

I am so blessed~~charlotte♡

Serendipity Sunday On Monday

Glory Be…IF there is a mosquito carrying Zika or West Nile in my yard, then, I am certain to have it!!  Man, this white flesh just fed the mosquitoes WELL, and I was only outside for less than 5 minutes~~probably less than 3 minutes.

I just went out to turn the antennae around~~again, so I could get the Channel 2 morning news~~I have developed a tolerance for them, but can’t hang with the other 3 stations…LOL  I should have doused myself in mosquito spray.  I know better.

BUT during this mad dash, I made a pretty awesome discovery.  I would go take a picture, but I might be a quart low of blood already this morning!  HA HA HA HA

In my yard, we have always had a couple of small peach trees that My Aunt Jenny used to make pickled peaches.  They are TINY little things, and the worms LOVE them.  I don’t like to spray stuff because of the danger it causes to the food chain, so we have just enjoyed their beautiful flowers in the spring and their shade in the summer.

I saw one behind the cabin, but I left it instead of cutting it down, because it was pretty.  Today, as I made the mad dash to the back, I saw a rotting peach on the ground and it was a regular sized peach.  I wondered where in the world it came from, and so I looked up to see several, not tons, but a few REGULAR sized peaches.  I grabbed one and popped that beauty open and took a bite of a REAL PEACH…

God provides for us, in so many ways.  Even when I don’t feel I can afford the “luxury” of buying fresh peaches, God placed one right in front of my face…HOW blessed I am, again.

Speaking of Blessed, again, I knew that I was getting a surprise in the mail, and I was so excited to find this awesome bowl that my friend, Crystal, painted.  There were treats for me and treats for Charcoal and this beautiful bowl that has great meaning.

I know, being redundant, I share that Mother hardly ever (and never on purpose) left the house without a butterfly pinned to her left shoulder.  I remember her with each glace of those beautiful creatures.  This bowl will hold many memories for me…

Thank you, Crystal…if we all spent HALF the time trying to make others smile, the way that Crystal does, our world WOULD be different.

Charcoal took the treat and said he didn't need help getting it out of the plastic. 

That package was expected and was surely enough to make my little corner of the world a bright place…

Charlie! Do NOT put Chester in the box!!

BUT, there was another note in my PO Box from the Postie Man that said I had a package TOO BIG to fit…well, it could be 6 inches and be too big to fit~~ROFL…

This however, was no exaggeration…it was TOO big to fit!

Yowzers…I gathered it and went on my way to the car when I had to see who sent me this TOO BIG package and WAS it a mistake…Yep, mistakes happen sometimes, as I handed the envelop belonging to “Mr. Willie” to the postie person…not a big issue (and yes, that letter appeared right back in my box—lol)

Charcoal wanted in on the action

WHY was I not surprised to see that Miss Lynnie POO POO, aka, Lynn Barbadora, had sent the package~~that GIRL!  (oh, my word, I just heard my MOTHER coming out of that statement!)

 

I am posting this on my blog, because I know that Miss Ramona doesn’t read this, and I am SAFE from her yelling to “SEND IT TO ME”!!

The boys love boxes!

Inside were several gifts, all generous in their own right, and the BIG show piece was a sweet girl holding a pot of flowers~~ another reminder to BLOOM.

This had been painted for her daughter’s room that was garden themed and had remained in their “other home” until it sold.  She wanted ME to have it…ME!

Charlie, let Chester out of the box!!

How thankful I am to receive this from a beautiful lady~~gorgeous actions/thoughts and a lovely face that radiates JOY~~when on so many days, I know she just wants to crawl in the corner and cry, but who charges ONWARD planting seed of happiness, kindness and HOPE.

I am so glad to have people like this in my life and it has NOTHING to do with WHAT I have done to deserve it, but has everything to do with them BEING those kind of people who have a desire to make the world a better place.

I smile as I remember Lynn sending me requests to LIKE her facebook page, and I KNEW I had, so I ignored them, until ONE day, I went and there was NO LIKE…we laughed…

Lynn is the reason I have Prince Charlie, the fairest in all the land, and Chester the Jester Elf…she was the reason we all wanted to have fun with our mischievous elves…

Lynn taught me to say POSTIE…

Lynn has NO clue that I am NOT the reason that Santa has a Naughty List and that I am one of the VERY FEW on FB that NEEDS to choose the NICE button, and it does not work!!  (her solution was simply to remove it!!  Hey, that is how I FIX stuff, these days…)

I seldom eat a peanut butter M&M without thinking of her…

SO what that we have never met in person…she is a friend~~as real as any friend I have ever had!

Thank you, Lynnie Poo-Poo…thanks for allowing me to be me and NOT having to pretend that I am something better than I am…and for not taking me too seriously, but instead, looking to see the REAL me, and liking me anyway…I keep HOPE that one day, your story will have a happily ever after and all the chairs will be filled, as they should…

Well, now, enough SAP for one day…

I know we need to TREAT THE WORLD WITH KINDNESS…do what YOU can to make ONE PERSON smile…

We all think we need LOTS of money…need to make GRAND gestures…need to do GREAT productions of HEY~~look what I sacrificed…

For some reason, we discount the SMALL ways we EACH can make this world better…

I am amazed at how others have embraced BLOOM this year…I think we were all needing a gentle reminder to turn our faces to the sun and to show our beauty…

We are ALL beautiful…We ALL have something BEAUTIFUL to share, but with that, comes the realization that the seeds we plant must be seeds to grow KINDNESS, POSITIVE THOUGHTS and messages of encouragement....We have to leave those comments of complaint behind us and to work so much harder on improving things and realizing that WE are the CHANGE and that change can be negative or positive.  It is a lesson that I struggle to learn DAILY…

So, as you can see, I have had several serendipitous moments this week.  Shame racks my body when I fail to recognize that in my struggles, I STILL am blessed beyond measure.  THANK YOU all who make my world a kinder, gentler place…I am blessed to create~~charlotte♡