Category Archives: Quotes

If I Only Had a Brain…

(Scarecrow)
I could wile away the hours
Conferrin’ with the flowers
Consultin’ with the rain
And my head I’d be scratchin’
While my thoughts were busy hatchin’
If I only had a brain

I’d unravel any riddle
For any individ’le
In trouble or in pain

(Dorothy)
With the thoughts you’d be thinkin’
You could be another Lincoln
If you only had a brain

(Scarecrow)
Oh, I would tell you why
The ocean’s near the shore
I could think of things I never thunk before
And then I’d sit and think some more

I would not be just a nuffin’
My head all full of stuffin’
My heart all full of pain
I would dance and be merry
Life would be a ding-a-derry
If I only had a brain

This pretty much covers how I’m feeling today! We got in at 11:00 last night after a day of working our buns off and getting everything wrapped up in Washington. It will take me a little bit to get back to “me old self”. Have a wonderful last day of September everyone. May Fall truly be felt here in Southern California!

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site. All my photos that I stored and uploaded from that site are now big ugly black and grey boxes with a message to pay big bucks to get them restored to my blog. It will take me a long time to restore thousands of posts.

Taste and See ~ John Piper

I’ve been reading off and on a devotional by John Piper called Taste and See -Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life – 140 Meditations. I’m sharing part of Meditation 50 (How Can Elsie Run? How to Run and Box when You are over 80) I’ve highlighted in bold green print parts that really spoke to me…

…”Are running and boxing only for the fit and hardy?

The answer is that we all must run, whether old or young, whether sick or healthy. And this is possible for the sick and senile because the race is run with the heart, not the legs, and the fight is fought with the heart, not the fists. It is a race and a fight not against other athletes, but against unbelief. It is possible for the aged and weak to win this fight because the fight is a fight against lost hope, not against lost health.

Here’s the biblical evidence for this. In 1 Timothy 6:12 Paul says to Timothy: “Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession” The fight is a “fight of faith.” It is not a fight to get out of bed, but to rest in God.

It is not a fight to keep all the powers of youth, but to trust in the power of God. The race is run against temptations that would make us doubt God’s goodness. It is a fight to stay satisfied in God through broken hips and lost sight and failed memory. The race can and may be run flat on your back. In fact, it may be run and fought better by the paralyzed than by the able and seemingly self-sufficient.

…Finishing the race means not giving up the hope of the gospel. It is a race against hopelessness, not against flawlessness.

When we cheer on the diseased or aging runners who run their final laps in hospital beds, what we are really saying is, “Do not throw away your confidence which has a great reward” (Hebrews 10:35) The finish line is crossed in the end, not by a burst of human energy, but by collapsing into the arms of God. And let us not forget: In the Christian race, we do not finish alone. We finish together. It is part of the rules. “Encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called Today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13)”

I find this very encouraging and I hope it will encourage someone out there who is having a hard time running. Keep the faith. Keep looking ahead to the Hope we have in Christ. Keep acknowledging God’s goodness to you every day. Blessings on you…

We Cannot Think Too Highly of Christ ~ Newton

We cannot think too highly of Christ

“I am well satisfied it will not be a burden to me at the hour of death, nor be laid to my charge at the day of judgment, that I have thought too highly of the Lord Jesus Christ or labored too much in commending and setting Him forth to others, as the Alpha and Omega, the Lord our righteousness, the sufficient atonement for sin, the only Mediator between God and men, the true God and eternal life.”- John Newton, Letters of John Newton

Tolstoy ~ Quote

 “All happy families resemble each other, each unhappy family is unhappy in it’s own way.”

~ Leo Tolstoy from Anna Karenina

Well I’m off and running getting everything put together for the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night. All the shopping is done. I even managed to find a new dress to wear to the wedding in under an hour. Whoohoo! Pasta Salad is done. Chicken is marinating. Brisket is ready to go into the oven tomorrow bright and early. I’ve been to the airport once already today and got to get re-acquainted with my sweet little niece who is now 5 months old. I head back to pick up my daughter at 9:45 tonight. Tomorrow morning I have extra hands at the condo to assemble fruit skewers. When all is transported to the venue I hope to be able to get some photo time in between making sure everyone is fed and happy!

The wedding is Saturday evening and then we hit the road bright and early on Sunday morning for Seattle.

All this to say ellen b. will be back to bloggy world when she arrives in Seattle next week. Have a wonderful weekend y’all!

Give Me Your Flowers ~

Give me Flowers

I would rather have one little rose
From the garden of a friend,
Than to have the choicest flowers
When my stay on earth must end.

I would rather have a pleasant word
In kindness said to me,
Then flattery when my heart is still
And this life has ceased to be.

I would rather have a loving smile
From friends I know are true,
Then tears shed around my casket
When this world I bid adieu.

Bring me all the flowers today,
Whether pink, or white, or red;
I’d rather have one blossom now
Than a truckload when I’m dead.

-Author Unknown

G.K. Chesterton ~ Quote

May 29th was G.K. Chesterton’s birthday. He would be 134 today. John Piper with Desiring God Ministries recommends in celebration of G.K.’s birthday that you read his book Orthodoxy.

I decided it would be good to share a G.K. Chesterton quote today and here’s the one that I enjoyed the most from the list Piper shared…

  • “Man is more himself, man is more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing in him, and grief the superficial. Melancholy should be an innocent interlude, a tender and fugitive frame of mind; praise should be the permanent pulsation of the soul. Pessimism is at best an emotional half-holiday; joy is the uproarious labor by which all things live.” (159)

Enjoy and choose Joy and Praise God and praise someone in the flesh around you today!!

 

Love this photo of G.K.

Oh and here’s a confession ~I can only understand G.K. one sentence at a time or maybe one paragraph. I do appreciate minds like his and C.S. Lewis’ even if I need Cliff notes to understand them….

Choose Joy ~

 

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living.  We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our own windows today.
~Dale Carnegie

ht: I saw this quote at Button Willow, a very beautiful blog.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

Gardens of The World in Thousand Oaks, California ~

On Tuesday morning I stopped by Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks, California. The Gardens of the World are privately owned and operated by the Hogan Family Foundation. There’s a Japanese Garden, French Garden, English Perennial & Rose Garden, and Italian Garden.

 

I walked in and was pleasantly surprised at what I saw. First of all I was treated to Wisteria growing on their entry gates! I had a quick stroll through the free garden. On Wednesday I returned to the Garden with Willow after we had Tea together at a great new Tea Room in Thousand Oaks (post to follow soon) and it is really hard to choose what photos to show from this wonderful place.

 

After the Wisteria we were treated to these pink beauties.

 

The walkways through the different themed sections of the garden were inviting.

 

The water features were dramatic.

 

This was the majestic bamboo in the Japanese Garden Section.

 

You walked through a Olive tree lined path to the Mission courtyard with the outer walls filled with Bougainvillea

 

The Mission Courtyard is an authentic Mission Courtyard. This courtyard features murals of the 21 remaining missions painted by local artists.

This is an example of one of the murals.

The fragrance in this courtyard was amazing from the 4 orange trees whose blossoms were in full bloom. Oh so lovely.

 

The rose garden was blooming and I got some close-ups

 

These were just a few of the beauties.

 

 

 

 

There were other beauties besides roses.

It was well worth the trip here and I think we probably picked the best time of the year to visit.

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.
e. e. cummings

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

WFW ~ John 13:1, 14-15

 

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

John 13:1 ~ “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

For more Word FIlled Wednesday click here.

I took this photograph yesterday in Thousand Oaks, California at the Gardens of the World.

The Gardens of the World is privately owned and operated by the Hogan Family Foundation.

Fun Monday ~ 5 & 5

Nekked Lizard is hosting Fun Monday and here’s the challenge.

FIVE PICTURES – FIVE WORDS PER PICTURE.
Any 5 (FIVE) pictures, any subject, and any 5 (FIVE) words to describe and/or explain each picture.  CAN YOU DO IT???

And here I go with my Five and Five….

“Great Minds Think A Pint”

My Walking Buddies in Washington

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

Time for My Trifle Friends!

 

My Favorite View of Seattle

Me and my wonderful Children!

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

For more Fun Monday visit the Nekked Lizard!