"It's a new day.... and I'm feeling..... good...."

 Wasn't that a Michael Buble song?  Actually, it is. :-)  The title of the song is 'Feeling Good'.  Have you heard it?  I love his songs, so relaxing!  

"It's a new dawn, It's a new day, It's a new life, for me and I'm feeling good."  That's the chorus.  Try googling it and listen!  It just might start your day off better. :-)  

If you think about it.... when you hear the beaten up, torn down, unhappy songs.... they tend to put you in that mood, don't you think?  But when you hear a song about Hope, about Love, above 'feeling good'... you find that well, you don't feel so bad after all!   Right?

I had a great lunch with my son yesterday.  I love that he chooses to spend time with me when he can and we can have meaningful conversation.  I noticed last night that I STILL forgot to give him a prayer wheel I have for him.  Well, it is something I can give him 'next time'. :-)  Always enjoy my time and conversation with him.

Speaking of my boys....  the youngest is taking hubby out for lunch today.  That works.  The oldest takes me to lunch, the youngest takes hubby!  That works out well, don't you think?  No, I'm not envious that my youngest takes hubby out.  I'm happy he does.  Today, though, I will get to have company during that time.... a great-granddaughter will come visit for a couple hours.  Not sure yet what we will do; will depend on what mood she is in and if she wants to play with the dolls or bake cookies or what.  Will need to see how it starts out.  Usually the girls run to the back room to play with the dolls.  Either way, we will have quality time together.

I'm sitting here looking at my list of 'things to do' and wondering what I should try to work on today. I could always add more things to the list, little things that have no urgency at all, but why make the list so long I don't want to do any of it?  Some I don't want to do unless I'm alone; I don't need a supervisor, if you know what I mean.  It's already 8:30a this morning.... yes, I'm writing this late, but it's Saturday.... first thing I'll do is take a shower and wash my hair (you needed to know that, didn't you!) when I'm done here as we have a celebration of life for a friend this afternoon that I plan to go to.  I'll take it when I'm done here.  I don't have to cook breakfast (which I haven't done for some time now) because hubby will have a big lunch, I'm sure.  They probably will go where they can have steak.  What is the big deal about steak, anyway?  It's nice once in a while, but it's no biggie to me. Definitely not a 'deal breaker' on where to go.  Actually, no food is a deal breaker for me.  I need to eat less, not more. 

Which reminds me, we tried our first meal in the Tovala oven last night - and it was good and easy!  I was surprised, to say the least.  I chose the teriyaki chicken bowl.  I opened the box, the rice was already in it, I opened a packet and put the broccoli on top.  Put the raw chicken in another container (furnished) and poured teriyaki sauce on it.  Put both containers in the Tovala oven. Here is where it is unique.  There is a card inside the food box, and I take the QR code for chicken and 'scan' it on the oven screen.  It turns the oven on - goes to that temperature, sets the timer, and voila!  It took 20 minutes!  I followed the rest of the instructions of putting a lime vinegarette on the rice/broccoli, mix it up.  Take the chicken out of the teriyaki sauce and cut it up, pour the sauce in the pan over the bowl - and - you know what? It was really good!  We'll see how long I enjoy this type of 'cooking'.  LOL

What brings you peace?  Yes, that could be a loaded question.  You may think it is getting off by yourself (and I agree, getting away by myself does bring me peace at times).  You may think it is doing things you enjoy doing.  And that could be true as well.  What brings you real peace?  One of my devotions this morning talked about Adam and Eve, and how they had such peace in the garden of Eden.  And it only took one bite for that peace to fall away.  Do you think Adam may have choked on that piece of fruit he ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?  Do you think he was immediately filled with fear at his disobedience?  After all, God DID tell HIM.... 

Genesis 2:15-17 (ESV):  The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

(I am reminded of my son's keychain 'But did you die?') And did Adam die?  He surely did.  God didn't tell Eve... but surely Adam told her, yes?  So she had to know... but allowed the serpent the devil to entice her to eat of that tree anyway.  And she gave it to her husband..... and he took of it.  So God banished them from the beautiful Garden of Eden.  They had to till the land, and labor under it.... but they never got to be in the garden again.  That in itself was a loss to be repented up, you think?  The peace that Adam and Eve had in the garden was taken away.

What causes you to lose peace?  What gives you peace?  Have you ever stopped to think about it?  I have discovered one thing.... and I talk about it frequently.... clutter causes me distraction.  When I can be in a room without a lot of clutter, I have peace.  Does that make sense?  Granted, that is rare, for I am a 'collector' of things I don't need but someone else might.  Don't laugh!  You are probable the same way!  When I finally decide, after years of holding on to something, that I don't need it and get rid of it, I always need it.  I can even give you an example - and you will laugh!!

I had this electric saucepan that I had gotten from Aunt Sue.  I used it when all my burners were full. But, since I don't cook that quantity anymore, it has set in the garage for years.   I finally decided to let it go when my daughter had a yard sale before she moved.  This pan was probably 30 years old and still worked.  Well, I thought about that pan a lot this year.  Remember when my oven AND my stove were turned off for 3-4 months while we waited on the part for the oven?  Yeah, I thought then that I sure wished I had that saucepan!  Yes, I thought about buying another, but thank goodness, I held back on that urge!  And we survived!  

And there the rambling starts again, right?  I couldn't sleep last night (probably still wound up from a night of worship at church!) and I've had trouble staying awake this morning.  Hence, this is later than usual.  Maybe my mind isn't functioning on full level yet and the ramblings are settling in?  Perhaps that is also a sign that I need to get off here and get in the shower and 'clear my head'.

So with that... I'm off here today.  Hopefully can manage to get some things done somehow. Spending time with a great-granddaughter will be a good break. Which reminds me, hubby made a comment about us going south in October to visit our granddaughter and her little family.  I will need to check with her what would work best for them, and then look for a hotel.  Now THAT brings me joy.  Peace will follow. :-)

Have an amazing day and be kind to others.  You don't know what they are going through that makes them do things that make no sense.

Blessings!

It felt good.... my soul was revived....

 You know that I don't get much time when I am 'alone' in that there is no one else here with me.  I have my 'alone' time in the mornings, yes, but that isn't the type of 'alone' time I am referring to.  But, come to think of it, I think I have referred to being alone.... ok, I'll get to where I'm going....

My daughter had to put her little poodle, Buttercup, down yesterday.  Buttercup has been going downhill for some time, but yesterday it was time to make the decision and put her out of her misery.  Buttercup is now with Tacco, who died before Christmas, and the cat Simon, who died also before Christmas.  It's been a tough six months or so for her.  And since yesterday was Tuesday, we were still thinking about meeting up, in spite of the sorrow she was feeling.  I text'd her once more before I got ready to leave to head over to her house for our 'girls night out' and we decided not to meet up.  Her hubby was being attentive to her and sensitive to what shewas feeling - and I certainly wasn't going to interfere with that.  I loved Buttercup and she was my favorite of the pets.  Probably becaues she was a pretty white poodle, small, and just content to lay next to you.   I'm getting there....

My hubby still had his men's group so that meant I was going to stay home alone.  Usually I would curl up with my crochet and watch one of 'my' movies, or grab a book.  But last night I didn't.  I told hubby that I was going to Walmart to look at plants.  I had decided instead of planting seeds and dealing with the beginning growth of plants, that I was going to buy small plants and put in my elevated garden.  I was actually VERY surprised he didn't tell me to wait until he could go with me.  I grabbed my keys and told him I'd see him when he got home.  And off to Walmart I went!

They had very little in the plants I wanted.  No herbs at all.  A few tomato plants and then flowers.  I bought a couple, disappointed, and then decided to go to Home Depot.  I 'may' have gotten a little carried away.  But it was so much fun.  I bought basil, cilantro, rosemary, and mint herbs.  I bought slicing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and roma tomatoes.  I bought romaine lettuce and spinach.  I didn't want the viney type or the very bushy type of plants (other than tomatoes) cause I really don't have that much room.  I'd love to have gotten a green or red pepper, but talked myself out of it.  So I brought everything home and put everything on the front courtyard.

I started planting... I started with the garden bed and planted the herbs, spinach, and romaine lettuce.  Then I remembered some gallon pots I had bought plants in last year that died so dumped that dirt out and put in fresh soil, and started putting my tomato plants in them.  They are small enough that I can put them in between my rose bushes; it helps fill in the gaps and they get the full sun.  I decided that we can move all six of the big pots I have bought to the back of the house, and I bought six small fir bushes to put back there.  Yes, they are small, but they will grow.   I also bought bouganvilla (sp) plants to put at the side of the house, and I need pots for those. The regular plants will be planted tonight - or whenever I can get hubby to help move the big pots.

And it felt so good to be alone, in my thoughts, in my planting and dreaming.  I was rushing to get done what I wanted done before it got too dark, and had asked God to hold back the darkness until I was finished.  And He did.  I was able to get everything planted that I wanted to, plus the area cleaned up, before it was too dark to work outside.  It was so nice to not have any interruptions, God and I were carrying on a conversation, and it just felt good.  By the time hubby got home from his meeting, I had heated up 'stuff' for dinner and had had a bowl of ice cream, and was reading a book.  I was content.  And it felt good.

Have you ever had something that you just wanted to do by yourself and not have anyone interrupt you, or invade your thoughts with questions?  If so, then you know what I was going through last night.  It was such a peaceful, calm feeling.  A joyful quiet.  When you don't get those often, when you do get it, it revives the soul.

When God created the heavens and the earth, when He supplied the earth with all it is, with animals, and with a man and a woman, He said 'It is good'.  And as I looked upon what I was able to get accomplished last night, I, too, could look at what God enabled me to do, and say "it is good".  I can't wait for the plants to grow.  Granted, I didn't plant that much and we will go through it quickly, I'm sure, but I'm a beginner at this and need to start small.  

I tell you what - having an elevated garden bed or pots to put the plants in is the way to go!  You aren't toiling the ground and having to dig through hard soil with rocks.  I can garden like this!  If all goes well this year with what I have, I may have to invest in another elevated garden bed next year.  But for now, I am content with what I have.

The country in me is coming out, I think.  I can remember my granny's garden back in Tennessee.  I can remember walking behind the plow that tilled up potatoes and we walked behind it and picked them up and put in bags.  Blackberries grown on the vine were so yummy.  Tomatoes right off the vine.  My heart will always be country, I think.  It was a lot of work, of course, but I got to enjoy it when we visited.  I am so blessed to have those memories.

God may own it all, the plants, the animals, the world.... but He allowed me to experience His joy in 'creation' some last night.  And it felt so good.

Do something today that brings you joy.  And thank God for the joy He gives.

Blessings!