The Story Of The Dogwood

I saw this on a friend's blog and had to share! =)

The story goes that when Jesus was awaiting crucifixion and when the crosses were being made the trees begged God to spare them, but the Dogwood begged not for it's life but for the life of Jesus. 

The Roman soldiers picked the Dogwood.

The Dogwood pleaded with God to use another wood but God did not intervene.  The Dogwood would now carry the body of Christ to his death and the Dogwood knew that for all eternity Dogwoods would be known for this horror.

God in his wisdom spoke to the Dogwood and understood the tree; in that time Dogwoods were tall straight trees that provided sturdy timber for homes and vessels, safety for the animals. bowls for food, utensils to cook with; and God spoke.

God told the Dogwood that the burden that was carried would be carried only one time, and from that time on Dogwoods would be knarly small trees with poor timber size so no Dogwood could be used in this manner again. God told the Dogwood that the Dogwoods would now be responsible for eternity to help people remember.

The Dogwood would only bloom for a very short time before and after the date of the crucifixion, the flower would have just 4 petals representing the hands and feet of Christ, they would be marked with a hole and the blood of Christ and the center of the flower would be circular raised and represent the head of Christ wearing the crown of thorns.

And so it is today, the Dogwood is a small twisted tree, it blooms at Easter and the flower....well look for yourself.

Happy Resurrection day! =)

A Very Late Going To The ZOO Post!

This is several weeks late, but I figured it's better late than never, right? :-) A while ago we went to the Columbus Zoo! I had never been there before, and Josh hadn't been since he was little. If you ever get the chance, I recommend it. It was really nice! I'm sure it's even better in the summer time though. =) 

This will be mostly a picture post, because I had a TON of pictures! Don't worry though, I won't share ALL of them. =) 

Flamingos are SO interesting! Their skinny little legs look like they might break at any moment! These particular birds looked a little cold. After all, it was in the middle of February in Ohio!

The Aquarium is really cool! 

They even had a huge tank with manatees in it! It's neat to see them underwater like that. I'd only seen them from the surface.

This Cheetah (?) Was really beautiful! There was a man with us that was carrying a plastic grocery bag, and kitty was VERY interested in it! He walked right up to the fence and started pawing at the bag like a kitten! =) 

The Gorillas were the most fun! They actually seemed to like having their picture taken, and kept posing for the camera. Every once in a while one would run up to the glass wall and pound on it with his fists and scare everyone. =)

He looks like he's thinking about something. =) 

Look at that arm! Those guys are strong!

This was a lady Gorilla. Once she walked over and sat against the wall right in front of me. It was cool to only be separated from them by the glass!

This was one of the best pictures I got during the entire day. =) Isn't he cool looking?

The tiger! This was exciting. He walked over when he saw us and paced back and forth in front of the glass. Probably because he was hungry and wanted to get through the glass to eat us! =) 

It was really thrilling being this close to him! They are really beautiful animals!

He looks hungry!

He was a pretty good looking cat! Lions are one of my favorite animals. I think they're beautiful!

The lady lion just lay there and watched us. She seemed pretty board. She's pretty though isn't she!

And here's our very own little tigress. ;-) She's a mighty hunter too, of small bits of paper, my hair scrunchies, and her little toy mouse.

Well that's all for now. =) I hope you enjoyed the pictures! 

Fallapalooza Blog Party ~ And Fall Is Here In Ohio!!!!

Ok, I'm really excited about the Fallapalooza Blog Party going on at Below the Plateau!!! I just posted about it on my other blog, so instead of re-writing it here, ya'll can just head on over there if you want. Don't miss out on the fun! It's going to be a blast. ;-) The giveaway opens for entries on September 22nd - THAT'S ONLY SEVEN DAYS!!! So yeah, go on over there and find out how to enter. :-)

                                           

Something else I am VERY excited about is that........... FALL IS HERE!!!! The trees aren't really changing yet (although I have seen a few twinges of color!! :-), but the weather has turned cool, the goldenrod is blooming,

the corn fields are turning from green to yellow,

and I am barely resisting the urge to PLAY CHRISTMAS MUSIC!! (Yes I am one of THOSE people)

My sunflowers are almost done blooming.

I LOVE sunflowers ;-)

The ones this color are my favorite. :-)

For those of you who love in warmer places ( I mean YOU you Florida people ) don't be discouraged, the heat will soon give way to beautiful cooler weather, the pumpkins will be out, the grass will no longer need mowed, the leaves will need raked, and before you know it, Christmas songs will be playing on the radio. :-)

And now, for some pictures of my kitchen, which underwent some re-organization last week. I told my dear friend ( you know who you are ;-) that I would post pictures, so here they are:

This is me ( duh) getting ready to tackle the cabinets....

My lovely apron- a gift from my Aunt Polly :-)

My first victim, I was always struggling to get what I needed out of here.

And here it is finished!! I decided to move my pots and pans here because it was much easier access than the one they have been in. :-) I can even get to my pancake griddle now!! Woohoo!

This is where I used to keep my pots and pans... I like this much better :-) Now to make some sort of curtain to cover the opening. :-/

Can you believe ALL of this came out of these TWO cabinets?? I couldn't. :-)

That's much better. Yes.

And here are all the others all cleaned up! :-) I am very pleased with the results!

And now I must go do some laundry and pick up the house. :-) Have a LOVERLY day girls!!!

Before & After Photo Fun

Just for fun, Hannah at Find That Creative Spark asked her readers to edit a certain picture on Picnik, and post the before and after. So here goes!

Before...

And After! :-)

I enjoyed playing around with it the other day :-) And now, I'm off to clean the Casa de Blu! (aka- the house :-)

No Other Plea

I woke up this morning with this hymn playing in my mind, so I decided to share it with you. :-)

My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed;
I trust the Ever- living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him,
He'll never cast me out.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

My heart is leaning on the Word,
The written Word of God,
Salvation by my Saviour's name,
Salvation through His blood.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

My great Physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed,
For me His life He gave.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.


Isn't that beautiful?! What a great way to start the morning!

Thankfulness

Ok, so I'm sitting here listening to Christmas music and drinking almond flavored coffee (yum!) and I just realized I haven't written ONE post this month about what I'm thankful for. Now that is unacceptable! Since Thanksgiving is on the 26th this month, I think I'll list 26 things that I am thankful for :-)

1. I am so thankful for a God that understands my weakness, loves me in spite of it, and can't wait to forgive and help me when I ask.
Hebrews 4:15-16- For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

2. I am thankful for the hardworking, handsome, loving, godly husband God has blessed me with.



3. I am thankful for my godly, loving parents, and all of my brothers and sisters- handsome, pretty, cute, funny, smart, creative, sometimes aggravating, always a blessing. I love 'em! ;-)



4. I'm thankful for Josh's parents, and that they are so close by.



5. I am thankful for grandparents!









6. I am thankful for a beautiful place to live.







7. I'm thankful for Patrick Christopher -aka- Pat C. (formerly known as Patsy).



8. And yes, I'm thankful for Bell, even if she is a pain sometimes :-)



9. I'm thankful for health- my own and my entire family's.

10. I'm thankful for majestic beauty in God's creation.






11. I am thankful for the beauty in the tiny things that we sometimes miss.


(Frost on our porch railing)






12. I'm thankful for baby's smiles :-)



13. I'm thankful for almond flavored coffee :-)

14. I'm thankful for Alabama Christmas music :-)

15. I'm thankful for long walks in the country, sometimes with friends, in which we take pictures like these:







16. I'm so thankful and excited that my family is coming up for a visit next month!!!!!!!!!!

17. I'm very thankful that Josh has LOTS of work during a time in our country when a lot of people don't.

18. I am grateful to God for blessing me with all of these things even though I don't deserve them.

19. I'm thankful for humor :-)






Pat C. and Josh watching football :-)

20. I'm thankful for pumpkin bread, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin scented candles.....

21. I'm thankful for heaters to heat the house when it's cold outside.

22. I'm thankful that my mom taught me how to cook and bake.

23. I'm thankful that my parents taught me a better way to fall in love and get married besides dating.

Me and Josh about 10 minutes after he proposed to me :-)

24. I'm thankful for digital cameras:-)

25. I'm thankful for all of you people that read this blog, and the blessing of meeting most of you in person, and getting to know the rest of you a little through our blogs ;-)

26. I'm thankful for a holiday that encourages us to dwell on all of the things we have to be thankful for :-)

I could list more, but you wouldn't have time to read it all, and I wouldn't have time to get a lot of the things done today that I need to do. So, I hope you all are having a WONDERFUL day, week, month and year. We really are Richly Blessed aren't we?!

Brittany