Serendipity Sunday

It has been a while since I have posted a SERENDIPITY SUNDAY.

That certainly is not because I haven't had any blessed surprises. I just find myself posting something on fb.

I am blessed to most always get good views on my blog, but I find myself at a struggle with what I really should post.

I know, there can be too much of me! 😁😂🤣

I guess, I think, I should always post an inspiring project for you,  but every now and then, I just feel called to share some thoughts...

Oh, no....she is thinking again! Watch out.

Yes, watch out indeed! 

AND that brings me to my first SHOUT OUT to God for safe keeping through the storms. 

While I was sleeping on Saturday afternoon (yep--days and nights are mixed up, again), a tornado touched down, without a warning, and destroyed one house and heavily damaged another. It was about 3 miles away, as the crow flies. 

One house that was destroyed belonged to a family whose husband died recently.  My heart goes out to all.

I have to admit, I sometimes think we ARE given more than we can handle. Nope, I don't think it is HIS doing this. It is just a result of mankind having choices. I don't doubt that God is faithful, because He is, but I do think sometimes, some people get hit way worse than they deserve! 😔 I hope y'all understand what I am saying. I still love and serve God, but it breaks my heart to see people suffering.

Oh, and on the flip side, lest you think I am drinking that half empty glass--we most often get WAY better than we deserve! ♡

Another man was also killed trying to put up covering on his house. Praying for his family.

Our storms of the night have just passed, and I pray peace for those still in the path.

I offer Praise for a friend whose husband is sick for an unknown reason, because one reason for his illness was ruled out--it was an ugly possibility --but now, the search for the cause still evades them. May peace settle on their home and May they be led to the right person to help heal him completely!

The beginning of the year brought news of a fb friend's unexpected death! She was a quirky and a bright spot in this world, and our lives are dimmed by her death, but it inspires me to try to shine just a bit brighter, in her memory. My heart breaks for her 2 puppies, who were her great Joy. Judy, you are missed.

Another fb friend was admitted  to the hospital on Friday night because she has been battling mono and great exhaustion. Join me in praying for a clear biopsy on her liver! Get better, Cheryl! There is much beauty waiting for you to create.♡

Oh, I give a huge praise for a new $15 keyboard.

Yep, you think this is a crazy one, but it extends the life of my slowly dying laptop. Somehow, God will make a way for me to buy a new one, that actually connects to my slow dial up internet...yes, high speed internet remains on my prayer request,  but when the time is right,  it will happen. I remain hopeful, and feel blessed for what I have. As Mother said, sometimes, it is like Slugo's house, here, with things pieced together! 😁😂🤣😃

I am most grateful for all of those "pieces"! 😉😊

As I am finishing up a deadline project (almost done), I sit here listening to my sweet Charcoal snoring, and my heart if filled with good thoughts of those I love, and of things I love to do. 

Yes, I most certainly could do more and do better, but I want to give myself a break and give thanks for what I have done.

I hope you will do that for yourself, too.

We live in a world where people have "bad hearts" and do bad things. 

Our screaming at each other on social media does nothing to solve this problem, and, yes, in my opinion, creates a bigger problem, because, we are just fostering more "bad hearts".

LOVE is the only answer.

If what you post doesn't promote love, then stop posting it.

If you don't have a solution,  then pray for what you can do to help, instead of inflaming others.

What can you do to promote love?

Be kind.

Pray.

Promote Art.

Paint pretty things.
Sew whimsical creations.
Write uplifting music.
Create poetry in any form.

Dance!

Sing...🤤

Accept that others might be right.

LOVE yourself so that you can love others.

Bite your tongue, or, scroll on by...

Sprinkle Love and kindness everywhere you go...

Smile

Thank you for being in my little corner of the world.

I am simply blessed to create~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♡

Serendipity Sunday

I found myself in a couple of panic moments this week as I realized I hadn’t found that ONE serendipity moment.

I stopped to laugh at myself…for those who doubt, really, I do laugh at myself.  I’m a hot mess, sometimes, but hey, at least I am HOT!!  (hmmmmmm….could that be because of the heater turned on HIGH??!!)

I laughed as I thought of what would be my writing today, and wondered if Karalee is READY for another post, since she spent a good deal of her day catching up reading my past posts…

This week contained some wonderful moments, and I think they will all qualify as unexpected surprises.

I got to see Waldo and Wilma (the cardinals who built a home outside of my window by the back porch) feeding their babies…It was so much fun to watch Waldo fly from branch to branch in order to escape the attention of me and of Charcoal.  He had the food in his mouth.  I thought I was certain that is how God envisioned a family, with the Mother and the Father working TOGETHER to feed the children and to keep them safe and warm.  I was reminded of how hard my parents worked together to take care of us…then of course, I praised God for HIS watch care and love over me, and over all of those who don’t recognize HIS gifts, but He still cares for them.  Yep, I can get pretty deep into my thoughts sitting on that back porch.  I also think, the babies might have flown away now!!  As, always, I want to point out, that sometimes things happen to disrupt a family’s dynamic, but I have no doubt, that God will ALWAYS send someone to stand in the gap, as long as the family seeks this. 

Some of you read about my making Wilted Leaf Lettuce, and some of your shared that you made it with Bacon, and yes, we have had it made with bacon grease, also…I am not sure I can make some of you understand what a great memory that was for me.  As you know, food has so much to do with my memories.  I really did find great joy in making and eating that recipe, and I hope to make it again, soon.  It is the little things, and I’m not saying that to gain respect~~it is true!

You see, I once was one of those people who would waste time on things that didn’t matter, and I’m certain that I still do, but I am more aware of it.  Someone once gave me a pair of socks, and I went and bought something to go with those socks…it was that important to me!  That makes me sad, now.

I had a “blow my mind moment” when someone said they wished to be like me!!  WHHHHAAAAATTT???!!!

I have no words to express my humbleness at that statement.  No words…(ok, quit cheering, smartie pants…it is VERY hard to make me speechless!)

I don’t share stuff to make me look good, because, well, I have shared so much to give you reason NOT to be like me.  I have written about the ugly in me, and I have done my best to be REAL…I have tried my best NOT to make me look better than I am, because, as you see, I am deeply flawed, BUT I also want you to see that I am trying really hard to do better…to be better…to encourage…to support…to LOVE. 

Thank you, Tracy, for putting me a little higher than I deserve to be, but thank you, for seeing that I really am trying!! I am amazed at what you get done, and I often have to take a nap from just reading about your accomplishments!  =)  

 Gosh, how did I get so blessed?!

Saturday night, I had the best time snuggling with Charcoal on the couch and watching a rerun of BLUE BLOODS, my favorite show.  What made it just a bit more special was having a real COKE and a Snickers.  I had not had one for months.  It was so much fun to watch Charcoal zero in on that candy bar and stare as he followed every move it made.  After I laughed, I chewed off the chocolate to give him a bite that seemed to send him to Nirvana!  ROFL…funny, how a candy bar can do that for LOTS of us…

It was so nice to have someone to be with.  Someone that thinks I am pretty special, even if it is food-driven.   AND the feelings are returned to him.

As you can see, nothing major happened in my life, but things that MATTERED happened in my little corner of the world.

Once again, I was reminded of how important those little things really are, and to me, that makes me smile that I finally understand that about life.

I hope your week will be one of the best weeks yet!  I hope you notice all those little things that are in your life.  I hope you FIND the blessings that are in your world and that smiles will come far more quickly than tears…BE BLESSED and claim it!  I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

Serendipity Sunday

I am really enjoying this new Blog schedule I have set for myself…

I like the subjects each day to give me variety~~Serendipity Sunday, Technique Tuesday, Whacky Wednesday, Tutorial Thursday, Food Friday, and Saturday Smorgasbord.

It gives me a reason to be better organized with my thoughts, and gives me a challenge to make what I want to say FIT somewhere~~rolf…there is no shutting me up simply because I have something I feel I want to share!!  Boundaries??!!  Pish Posh!

I admit, my favorite topic is Serendipity Sunday.

I LOVE that each week, I try really hard to notice that little unexpected blessing that I would tend to overlook if I wasn’t looking.  It has caused me to stop dwelling so hard on the WHAT AM I GOING TO DO TO FIX THIS moments that seem to overwhelm me as of late.  I NEED this reminder.

On Wednesday, May 13, I was so overcome with joy because the mower started.  I was doing my “thank you, Jesus” praises, when as I was doing a pass, I noticed that something felt strange, only to discover the big back tire is flat and the front right tire is questionable…sigh…BUT I am claiming the JOY and victory in the “it started” moments and somehow, I will find a way to get the tire repaired…WHY do places want money?  =(

As I stood at the mower in tears, remembering having to spend $100 that I couldn’t afford on a car tire just one week ago.  I gave myself another “talking too” and thought somehow, I can’t dwell on this.  I just have to find a way to fix it. 

I found great joy in watching Charcoal bark at the mower and my leaving it in his dog trot.  It is quite comical how that has thrown his world into such a downward spiral.  I decided we needed a change in location for a bit, so I walked to the field by the house that is waiting to be planted in soybeans.

WOW…I didn’t notice how beautiful the day was.  I had shared with my FB friends on my page about the storms of life and how beautiful it is after they pass, and sure enough…This had been the first storm-free day in the last 5 days, and just WOW!! Only a few light clouds on the edges of the sky…

 

As I walked, I noticed that some type of fruit had dropped in a particular spot, so I walked and sat at the edge of that, and curiosity started filling this ole cat.  I sat and pondered what I thought it was.

I was fascinated by all the colors in the dying weeds.  Look Mulberries!!

Meanwhile, I looked to see a bird soaring HIGH and then another, and another, and they got lower…HOLY MOLY, it is a buzzard and his friends and they think I am DEAD…I moved quickly to discourage them for fear of some ole buzzard setting a record for the biggest find in buzzard history!! 

I smiled as I remembered the day that Daddy had come home from the barn, where he cut wood for me, after spending a month in the hospital and months at home regaining his strength.  He came into the house grinning like a possum, when he told that he walked out of the barn to see 3 buzzards sitting on the top looking down at him.  He giggled and said, “You don’t get me, YET!”  My precious Poppa!!  I am certain not many girls remember their father with such love when they see an ugly buzzard!

Look at the colors in that one weed.

I quickly went inside to grab my phone to research the berries, and yep, Mulberries.  It was a huge tree and I thought back to my childhood of singing, “here we go round the Mulberry bush” and thought, good grief, we could collapse in exhaustion trying to circle this big tree! 

Charcoal continued his search for more sticks and more sniffing…Do you KNOW the joy of a black fur baby running full speed toward you at the joy of seeing you?  Ok, yes, there is that moment of “Slow down, boy. You will KILL me if you hit me going that fast!”  Rewards of scratching his back made the celebration more fun for him.  Gosh, his Naughtie Aunts sure did make my world a better place when they helped me and encouraged me to get him…Yes, well,  they could tolerate the sadness no longer of  my losing Roamie…LOL   I do tend to have a gift for “woe, is me.”

All of this and you are convinced that this was my serendipity moment. 

Yes, it was a glorious couple of hours, and I no longer cried when I looked at the mower…

Life is filled with DOXOLOGY MOMENTS

BUT the REAL serendipity moment of the week was on Thursday, discovering that a Cardinal had built a nest in the little peach tree outside of the window by the door!  NEVER have I seen a cardinal nesting.

Last year, it was a robin in the bell, and now, this year…just for me…a Cardinal in the peach tree (sung to the 12 days of Christmas…yep…I think there might be a design coming with this moment!)

May I tell you how much I would love to see into that nest?  AND how DIFFICULT it is to get a good picture?  And how much Charcoal does not want my attention on such a thing?  Can you spell spoiled?  Why, Yes, m’am, I can~~C H A R C O A L!!

BUT, I would not risk hurting that location by dragging a ladder to it, or by cutting any of the protective branches…it is not my intent to destroy nature, so I will just watch each day to see the birdie parents making their nest a home…I welcome this family to my little corner of the world.

You can see the orange of the bill right in the middle of the picture...Where's Wilma instead of Waldo!!  LOL

Oh, my sweet Lord, HOW did I get so blessed while others long to have a safe home?  I am absolutely floored by the amount of Mercy, Grace, Forgiveness and LOVE shown to me daily!  HOW can I not Praise YOU!!

Please forgive me for my moments of weakness and yes, there are things I need, but You keep showing me how you provide, so I will wait and I KNOW my needs will be met at just the exact moment and not one bit sooner or later.  THANK YOU for loving me…

Thank you for all of the UNEXPECTED and UNDESERVED moments of Joy…YOU have my heart and I will do my best to be better…I will honor my trust in You, by pushing FEAR from my life…it is really tough, but you know that.  You promised ME that if I will trust, You WILL provide and I am claiming it. Amen…

Thank you, all my friends for joining me in my journey as I stumble and fall, and then rise to have some pretty good moments, only to stumble again…but THIS is my life…it is REAL and I cannot thank you enough for loving me through my trip down these winding roads, and for laughing at me when YOU KNOW I should have taken the other road.  I’m stubborn like that.

I wish you MANY serendipity moments this week…you sometimes have to look for them…I am simply blessed to create~~charlotte

GIVEAWAY

I would like to GIVE AWAY this 5x7 painting I completed and shared on Tutorial Thursday.  I am blown away at the LIKES, kind comments and over 400 page views I had for the day on that post…YOWZERS.

I will draw a winning name on my Daddy’s 93^rd Birthday…I try to do something thoughtful on those special days that make me sad, so May 24^th, it will be…a drawing to someone who enters.  The drawing will be open to everyone, no matter where you live.

To enter: Answer this question: 

What is one of your favorite Serendipity moments, EVER…

I know, some of you HATE to share yourselves in public, but come on now, take a deep breath.  Answer on this blog, or I will make a PINNED POST (those on your phones, you will have to look for the pinned post at the top) on my facebook page ROMA LAND WOODCRAFTS.  Just my way to spread the love that was so freely given to me by my daddy…