My fence this week is from Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri. My daughter and I spent a few hours here on our road trip from Seattle to North Carolina. If you like cemeteries this really is a worthwhile one to visit with many wonderful monuments and so much interesting history.
I’m joining TexWisGirl at Run *A* Round Ranch for Good Fences.
Thank you for being a fabulous hostess!
There are so many interesting people buried at this beautiful cemetery. I’ll be sharing more notables in posts when I get back from all my traveling but for now I’ll just show some of the monuments without the history…
We are marveling that we missed so much “weather” on our travels and we are still thanking God for being safe and sound in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
We’ve had a nice Mother’s Day. We found out about an interesting law here in this part of the state. We don’t know if it’s the law all over the state but when we arrived for brunch at Duck’s Bar and Grille at 11:00 A.M. today we were considering having Mimosa’s with our Eggs Benedict. We were informed that the law stated no alcohol could be served before noon on Sundays. So there you have it. Today is the most humid day here since we arrived so we are enjoying just staying in with the air conditioning on. Katie started a meal in the crock pot this morning before we left for brunch and it is smelling real good right now. Tomorrow Katie scheduled massages for us and we are really looking forward to that.
We still do not have T.V. here at the apartment and I’ve been interested in some weather stories I’ve seen here and there. I hope you are safe where you are and that you are enjoying a lovely Mother’s Day at home or elsewhere.
Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Refrain
I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.
“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Refrain
Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Refrain
Words: Civilla D. Martin, 1905.
Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s reply was simple: “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” was the outcome of that experience.
Civilla Martin
HT: Cyberhymnal
On the 5th day of our roadtrip Thursday May 1st we doubled back to St. Louis to visit the Bellefontaine Cemetery. Bellefontaine is the 14th great rural cemetery built in the U.S.A. Before rural cemeteries the dead were buried in family plots or churchyards. The first internment took place in 1850. Because of the Cholera outbreak in St. Louis in 1849 and a devastating fire that killed many, the city needed a large cemetery.
Like Calvary Cemetery there are a lot of people buried here that were influential in the history of the U.S. Before I share about the people I’m going to share the beautiful trees and flowers we enjoyed.
I’m a huge fan of dogwood and we were treated to many beautiful dogwood trees here. Katie and I left home just as my pink dogwood was starting to bloom.
I’ll be sharing much more from this great cemetery in the future.
Today in Jacksonville Katie and I shopped for all the staples for her kitchen, all the basics for cooking and baking. Katie is making dinner for us tonight. She has been registered on an e-meals sight for a while now and you choose the meals that sound good to you and a shopping list is generated. It has been a handy tool to get Katie more comfortable in the kitchen.
It’s so nice to be in a residence instead of a hotel. Having internet makes a big difference, too. No T.V. yet but we are surviving nicely. Katie and Andrew have some interesting neighbors. Apartment life is so unpredictable! At least you know you aren’t in one spot forever especially if you are in the military. Did you know that active military members that receive any new orders are free to break any lease without penalty? That’s a very good policy.
What’s going on in your neck of the woods?
English Standard Version (ESV)
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and 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 added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
These verses have come to mind a lot on this 8 day road trip of ours, especially when we encountered some severe weather along the way. As I saw birds flitting about in the strongest of winds that made our car rock I thought that God was certainly watching over us, too.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
On day 5 we started in Illinois and backtracked to St. Louis, Missouri so we could investigate the Bellefontaine Cemetery. It was worth back tracking for. We spent about 3 hours at the cemetery and I’ll devote a whole post later to this beautiful place filled with so much history. When we were done at the Cemetery we headed east again to Illinois and then crossed into Kentucky and made it to our Tennessee destination for the night at 5:30. Here are a few shots from the road.
I have so much to share from Bellefontaine.
Our day #5 on the road was Thursday May 1st. We started in Illinois, traveled back to Missouri, back to Illinois, then to Kentucky and finally ended up in Tennessee.
Kentucky
Tennessee
On Thursday evening we had dinner with Andrew’s best man’s mom in Hendersonville, Tennessee. We were given a nice place to lay our heads and headed out on Friday morning for Asheville, North Carolina via a scenic route that took us through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg next to the Great Smoky Mountains.
We are thankful to be so far into our journey safe and sound. Tomorrow we stay put right here in Asheville. I’ll be sharing all about our time soon. We traveled from the central time zone to the eastern time zone today.
Hope May has started out well for all of you!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 