A NEW FAMILY OF QUAIL

Last year we had a family of quail living in our back yard. I did several posts with pictures at various stages of development of the babies. Well, this morning Hubby looked out in the back yard and exclaimed excitedly, "There are some baby quail in our backyard again." So I grabbed the camera and shot through the window. They move so fast. If I had tried to go outside they would have been gone before I could have opened the door. Here is the new little family. The Daddy quail is always around close by but didn't get him in any of the pictures I took this time.

Here are the babies up close.

You have to look closely to see the babies in this one.

They were already gone when I took this picture but decided to include it because I think the flowers are pretty. No, on second look I think I see them right along the edge of the green. That's right. I remember when I took it the mother had already gone behind the palm tree.

This one is just for the flowers. No birdies.

PREPARATION FOR MEMORIAL DAY

It is the

VETERAN 

not the preacher,

who has given us freedom of religion.

It is

the VETERAN

not the reporter,

who has given us freedom of the press.

It is

the VETERAN

not the campus organizer,

who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is

the VETERAN

not the lawyer,

who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is

the VETERAN,

not the politician,

Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the

VETERAN who

salutes the Flag,

It is 

the VETERAN

who serves

under the Flag,

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD,

AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

GOD

Bless them all!!!

I also want to pay tribute to my dear uncle Emmet, a veteran of WWII. 

I SUPPORT OUR GOVERNOR

BOOK REVIEW - GIVEAWAY

In my last post on this blog I told you I had started reading Joyce Meyer's new book called eat the cookie ... buy the shoes. (I didn't capitalize the title because as you can see it is not capitalized on the book cover.)

Joyce Meyer, a #1 New York Times best selling author, has written over 80 inspirational books and two novels plus thousands of audio and video teachings. I have heard her teach on TV but have not had the privilege of hearing her in person. I did not realize she had written so many books, but when I learned that this book was available for review, and being a cookie and shoe person myself, I jumped at the chance. I also liked the shoe connection because my daughter had seen her in a shoe store a few years ago looking for a pair of brown shoes. I mentioned it in my last post.

After finishing this delightful book, I was tempted to eat a cookie to reward myself, but alas, there were no cookies in the house. Perhaps I should go out and buy a pair of shoes. No, what I need to do right now is finish writing this review.

Joyce wants to help readers of her book to experience joy and celebration. She says it took her many years to learn this important concept. She calls it giving your soul a vacation. She states that the entire premise of "eat the cookie ... buy the shoes" is designed to let your soul rest. It is not wrong to let go of life's demands and circumstances for a while and do something you enjoy. She also emphasizes the need to not try to fix all the problems in life by yourself, but to turn them over to God who can do a much better job of it than you can anyway. She also points out that time after time God ordered his people to celebrate. She also states that fun and enjoyment are needed in our lives, and we can't be healthy without them. She says that for too many years she was addicted to guilt and the only time in life she felt right was when she was wrong. I think there are a lot of people who can relate to that. She says we need to lighten up, give our souls a rest and in the long run we will get more accomplished. She gives little nuggets of advice all through the book. Here's one I like. "See how many days you can go without getting into a bad mood or finding something in your life to complain about."

You may be fortunate enough to win a copy of this book. If not, I think it would be a good investment to obtain a copy from a bookstore or from Amazon.

The generous folks at Hachette Book Group are allowing me to host this book giveaway for five (5) copies!

• Winners are restricted to the US and Canada. No PO Box mailing address please. You do not have to be a blogger to win.

• I must have a way of contacting you, so be sure to leave your email address in your comment.

• Some choose to omit the @ sign and the . dot by writing it in "code" like this: you (at) your email (dot)com.

• I'll close the comments May 27 and pick the five winners. I will contact the winners via email to get their mailing information. The winners will have three days to respond. If I do not hear from them within three days, I will select another winner(s).

Eat the Cookie ... Buy the Shoes

See the pair of shoes on the left? Those little brown patent leather shoes were our daughter's all time favorites. She saw them in a department store, and wanted them. They were rather expensive so we decided not to buy them. When we got in the car to start home, she started crying. She really really wanted those little brown shoes. She was never one to "throw a fit" to get what she wanted, and we knew how important those shoes were to her, so we went back in the store and bought them. We have been so glad ever since that we did. She has never forgotten it and every so often she will bring up the subject of how much she loved those shoes. You may or may not be curious about the other three pair of shoes. The ones next to her belonged to her brother and the other two were cousins.

So why in the world am I writing about these shoes? It reminds me of another "shoe" story. Our daughter was in a shoe store in Scottsdale a few years ago trying on shoes and said she heard a gravely sounding voice over in the next aisle. She thought to herself, "That voice sounds familiar." The voice said she was looking for a pair of brown shoes. Out of curiosity, Carol went over where she was, and the voice belonged to Joyce Meyer. Yes, "the" Joyce Meyer. This leads me into talking about the title of this post. Joyce Meyer has written a book by this title. As many of you know, my husband reviews books on his blog. I have also reviewed a few but do not do it all the time like he does. When he saw the publisher was offering this book for review, he asked me if I would like to review it. Since I love cookies and I am definitely a shoe person, I decided sure - why not?

The book arrived a couple of days ago, and I have just started reading it. When I finish it, I will be doing a review of the book and giving away five copies. So, be looking for that review, and if you would like to receive one of those free books, you can let me know then. Now I think I will go read a few pages.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

I didn't know so many strange, beautiful, ugly, weird, large, small, instruments existed in the world until I went to the new Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix a couple of days ago.

They advertise they have over 10,000 instruments. We spent several hours there but plan to go back soon to see the rest of them. I took a lot of pictures and just finished posting several of them on Sharing My Photos. You can click HERE to go to that blog.

The museum opened on Saturday which happened to be my mother's birthday. That fact makes it even more special to me.

If you live in the Phoenix area, you will want to visit it I'm sure. It is close to Desert Ridge at Tatum and Mayo Blvd.

NEW SCHOOL PRAYER

First I want to recommend you visit my other blog to see the tribute to my mother for Spiritual Sundays. Here's the link to that: Charloltte's Weblog

I received an interesting email this morning from my good friend, Dorothy. Instead of passing the email on I decided to post it here on my blog. It's sad but true.

New School Prayer (Someone worked hard on this.)

Now I sit me down in school

Where praying is against the rule

For this great nation under God

finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,

It violates the Bill of Rights.

And anytime my head I bow

Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,

That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.

The law is specific, the law is precise.

Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall

Might offend someone with no faith at all

In silenced alone we must meditate,

God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,

And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.

They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.

To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,

And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.

It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong.

We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,

Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles

But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,

No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,

When chaos reigns the school's a mess.

So, Lord, this silent plea I make;

Should I be shot; My soul please take!

Amen!

After getting this ready to post, I decided to share it on Spiritual Sundays although I've already shared something there today. 

MORE BOUGAINVILLEA

The tall plant is an ocotillo cactus with pretty orange blooms way out on the ends. If you look closely you can see the oranges on the neighbor's tree (at the left).

Here's a closeup of the pretty lavender flowers in the neighbor's yard.

This pink bougainvillea is under a huge tree and gets way too much shade so it isn't usually this colorful.

And here is some more bougainvillea at the back of our house.

LOVE THAT PINK

I took the following pictures in the back yard yesterday. Love that pink bougainvillea.

The ice plant in the strawberry planter survived the winter but we were beginning to doubt if it was going to bloom. Now it's blooming big time. It's blooming even more today but I'm not going to go out and take another picture. This one will do.

Happy Spring!

SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS

^{1 Cor. 13 -- 4}  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  ⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.  ¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

How important is "love"? Even greater than faith and hope? "The greatest of these is love."

Click HERE to go to the Spiritual Sundays blog for links to spiritual/inspirational posts.

The Empty Egg

This is rather long but well worth the reading in my opinion. Thanks goes to Karen for emailing it to me this morning. I just had to share it. - Charlotte

Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the age of 12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool, and make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy just irritated his teacher.

One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation. As the Forresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five year gap between his age and that of the other students."

Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here." Doris sat for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a terminal illness.  But it 

wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write. Why waste any more time trying?

As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. Here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family, she thought. Lord, please help me to be more patient with Jeremy. From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares. Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him.

"I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear. The other students snickered, and Doris ' face turned red. She stammered, "Wh-why that's very nice, Jeremy. N-now please take your seat."

Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Miller," the children responded enthusiastically-all except for Jeremy. He listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.

That evening, Doris ' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse, and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents.

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here." A small girl in the first row waved her arm. "That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out. The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that's new life, too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine." Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom, "My daddy helped me," he beamed.

Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty.  Surely it must be Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another. Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is empty." He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too."

Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh, yes," Jeremy said, "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him up."

The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the school yard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.

Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket, all of them empty.

If this blesses you, pass it on.

  -- Author Unknown


I've already shared a Spiritual Sundays post on my Charlotte's Weblog blog but decided I also want to share this post so I'm linking it there. http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/

LITTLE THINGS

Just received this in an e-mail. I love it. Thanks Karen.

The ' L I T T L E ' Things ~ As you might remember, the head of a company survived 9/11 because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her alarm clock didn't go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike because of an auto accident.

One of them missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.

One's car wouldn't start.

One couldn't get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means get to work. But before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today..

Now when I am
Stuck in traffic ,
Miss an elevator,
Turn back to answer a ringing telephone ...

All the little things that annoy me.
I think to myself,
This is exactly where
God wants me to be
At this very moment..

Next time your morning seems to be
Going wrong,

The children are slow getting dressed,
You can't seem to find the car keys,
You hit every traffic light,
Don't get mad or frustrated;
It May be just that
God is at work watching over you.

May God continue to bless you
With all those annoying little things
And may you remember their possible purpose.

A M E N

I hope you will keep this in mind as I will today. And I hope I remember to keep it in mind tomorrow and the next day and the next day and . . . .