Plan B is for BOY and BLESSINGS!

Today I am baby-sitting my 2 1/2 month old grandson, Zeke. We are having sweet fellowship. Ezekiel is at that wonderful age where he is smiling and cooing, he is so precious. We have shared some secrets this morning and I have been singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" to him. He loves it, and oh I can't wait to tell him one day how faithful God was to bless our lives with little Ezekiel Timothy... His father is my oldest son, Jeremy, who is a pastor. Jeremy has to conduct a funeral this afternoon. My darling daughter-in-law is finishing up her master's degree in marriage/family therapy counseling and had appointments that she must attend today. Her mother (the other Grandma who is Plan A and usually babysits) is ministering to the widow of the gentleman whose funeral is this afternoon and helping plan a meal for the family after the funeral. That's what we do here in the South. It is a wonderful blessing to families. So here comes Plan B - ME! The other grandmother - Gran Jan! I am Plan B because I am the mother of the BOY! It is a wonderful place to be, and I just blessed to be babysitting and part of the plan. All you mothers of sons remember that this is also God's Plan as spoken in the book of Genesis "for this cause shall a man LEAVE his father and mother and cleave to his wife..." Boys must leave and cleave and it is all good...trust me. I have raised two fine men and they are wonderful and God has given me two amazing daughters-in-law. I am so very blessed. Because I remember how much I wanted my mother with me when my boys were babies, I am totally okay with being Plan B! I am just blessed to be here and blessed to know the greater joy of God's Plan for this precious grandson. GOD'S PLANS ARE THE BEST OF ALL AND HE HAS A PLAN FOR EVERYONE...and His plans are to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future! Jeremiah 29:11 Rejoicing in His Plan Today, Gran Jan, a.k.a. Plan B for BOY and BLESSINGS

GOLDEN GLOW...

Gardening is a passion of mine, and one that brings me great peace and joy as I work and think and pray and ponder and just enjoy being outside in the presence of God. I especially love gardening in Autumn!

I love this plant. I think of it as a cultured wildflower of sorts, and have heard it called "Golden Glow," or "Swamp Sunflower," but it's real name is Helianthus Angustifolia. (My name is Jan, but my real name is written down in the Book of Life because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross for me, and my acceptance of His blood atonement for my sins!)

Golden Glow blooms in glorious October and it truly does GLOW with bright yellow flowers.

I am celebrating this year because my Golden Glow has made it's way back home to me...and I am so happy to have it back in my garden. It was first given to me years ago by a precious senior adult woman. I grew it for years and shared cuttings with many others. I gave some to my daughter-in-law's mother and she planted it in her garden. We share a love for gardening and also a new grandson...named Zeke...have I mentioned him lately? :)

When we moved to our farm a year ago, I neglected to bring any Golden Glow from my old garden with me and I really was missing this "Delight" to my soul! This past spring, a friend with whom I had shared some cuttings brought it back to me and now I can start the tradition again. My Mom has already asked for some new plants next Spring, and I will gladly share with her!

Lessons learned:

*Share from the abundance of what you have...

*The blessings will return back to you...

*Get outside and enjoy God's glorious creation...

*Be sure and know what your "real name" is...

*Bask in the GLOW of His Love for you...

Blessings,

Jan

Especially for Holly

For my friend Holly from Colorado, vist her here. This wonderful concept is taught in the study, Believing God, by Beth Moore. Visit Beth here. I posted last month about my moonvine that has large white flowers and blooms at night...hence the name "moonflower." I also shared about the fascinating night-time hummingbirds that visit. Holly replied that she was interested in these nighttime creatures, so I told her I would try to send some information. I looked around the world wide web, but the pictures were not really pretty and I wanted to actually TAKE a picture, so I've been waiting! Well tonight during my evening stroll around the garden I heard the familiar "sound" of rapid wings fluttering and my heart skipped a beat...because it has been a long time since I actually saw the nighttime visitors...check it out Holly!!! Can you see this one in flight as well? This was taken just about an hour ago. The night hummingbird (actually a moth) is just above the pink flowers right at the edge of the sidewalk. Here's another view where he is taking off again. I had the absolute best time attempting to take these pictures, all the while thinking how blessed I was to see this "delight." This picture on the left is not great because I was fluttering around myself (what a sight in itself!) trying to take the pictures. The hummingbird moth is right near the window on the far right of the picture. They are quite large. What does all this mean to me? I am reminded that we serve a God who never sleeps or slumbers, He is always awake (Isaiah 40:28). We can rest in Him, because He cares for us. Our God who is up all day and night for ever and ever even created wondrous delights that are up at night too! Now, me personally, I look forward to the day when there will be NO MORE NIGHT - because we will be with Jesus and He is the LIGHT and will SHINE forever and ever, AMEN! Night-night, sleep tight... Love, Jan