Rambles

Walked to the Post Office this afternoon, about two miles total. Sunny and warm, temp. close to 50°F. It smelled and felt like spring. Had on my new suede high top boots from Cabelas (Christmas present), my new purple slouch visor cap, and clipped on my shades. Feeling good. Hope I looked as good as I felt, but doubtful.

Walking though the village of my youth brings back many memories. I pass houses that once were the homes of childhood friends; the Town Office was my high school. That dental office was my first school, kindergarten through third grade. An incident that happened there when I was in first grade impacted the rest of my life — negatively. A bad teacher, a woman who should never have been allowed near children,   planted the seed for a bad self image. After 58 years, I can finally look back and put it all in perspective and see it for what it was. And realize it was her problem, not mine. And that is a good thing.

Am watching a deer eating at one of J's feeding stations out back as I write. She is so pretty. And all alone, which is unusual. They usually come in groups, does and lambs first, in groups of four to six, then later maybe a dozen at a time at dark. It is still light out.  Maybe she is a he.

A picture from last winter's herd:

We had SO much more snow last year. Today there is bare ground all around those trees.

Anyway, getting back to my next to last post about prayer and football. Well, I am sorry to say, my prayers did our boys no good last night. Needless to say, J and I went to bed last night quite depressed. I was very surprised at how let down I felt. Never expected it to effect me that much. Silly.

Oh well, guess I'll go dip some strawberries in chocolate.

The Importance of Prayer

Spent the afternoon (and now the evening) watching football with J. Of course we are huge New England Patriots fans and this was a real nail biter of a game. I did a lot of praying and we won.  Did my prayers have anything to do with this win? I tried hard not to ask outright for a Pat's win, but for help for them to play their best and for "Thy Will be done", as my mother always taught me. Now I have to wonder.  It wasn't so much that the Pats won, but that the Raven's lost and at the last minute. A 3-point game lost by a missed field goal kick. They did outplay us in many ways and yet we still won. Wow. Maybe we had more people praying for us than they did. I know many will say we just got really lucky. I don't believe in luck. I do believe in the power of prayer. We were Blessed. So now the Pats go to the Super Bowl in 2 weeks and a lot more prayers will be said.

I also expect there are those out there who would say I shouldn't be wasting prayers on a game or that I shouldn't be bothering God over such unimportant matters. Don't think that is true. Belief and faith tell me that we can take anything (ANYTHING) to God. There is nothing too important or too unimportant.

Just a few of the day's blessings.

Dear God,
Thank you for the blessings of each and every day of my life. For helping me to realize that sometimes the greatest blessings are the simplest things or happenings such as: how much better a hot shower can make me feel while recovering from a miserable head/chest cold; how many times a day I feel joy and smile just from looking at the sweet, sweet man in my life, from the hugs, kisses and jokes that we share, from watching our cat go through her comical maneuvers; from watching the birds darting from feeder to tree and back again, chickadees and tufted titmouse, nuthatches, finches and our cardinal couple. (Sorry, I'm not thanking you for the bluejays; I know I should, but I can't. They are loud, greedy, pushy bullies and I wish you would keep them way back in the woods where they belong. And while I'm at it, the gray squirrels too) From watching the lovely deer that come to the feeding stations that my man makes out back, anywhere from 15 to 20 at a time. It is almost time for them to come, so thank you again for my day so far.

My daily prayer

Thank you, Lord, for the blessings of this day and for helping me be a blessing to all I meet. Thank you for blessing me and J and (each member of our families by name). Thank you for saving our souls and keeping us from harm, or from doing any harm. Thank you for leading us from temptation and protecting us from evil. Thank you for our daily bread. Thank you for forgiving our sins and for helping us to forgive the sins of others. Thank you for healing our sick, in spirit, mind and body. Thank you for granting us the love, joy, peace and wisdom that can only be found in you. Thank you for answering my prayer that I make in Jesus's Name. Amen.