Connie and Caroline

First on our calendar for today was a visit to Caroline’s, but when we got out of the truck, church board chair-lady was working in her front flower bed across the street from Caroline’s house.  Of couse, we walked over to chat.  I love Connie’s Bluebonnets, the Texas state flower.

Connie was sitting on a little green stool with her pink shorts and gardening gloves on… really cute.  Of course, I took her pictures as she breathed, “Stinker!”  But… I am a kind person, so, I cropped the picture for the blog.  (But never fear, I have the original just in case I ever need it…. :>))

One more shot of the Bluebonnets. 

Going on across the street to Caroline’s, I found she still has poinsettias.  They grow well here in the RGV.

In an earlier post back in November or December, I introduced readers to Caroline Becker from Serbia.  Caroline escaped from a concentration camp when she was twenty and has been through things she can’t even talk about.

Her deceased husband was quite an artist.  This stain glass lamp is one of his creations.

He also made this fancy peacock.

The purpose of our visit this morning was to pray with Caroline for her granddaughter, who had surgery today.

We sure love this sweet lady.           

Finally!

Finally, we found a city with interesting architecture!  We were just passing through, so this is the only picture I got, but there was more and we’ll go back to Weslaco one of these days.

Here’s a close-up of the…. giraffe?

Reunion time

When we got to Mercedes, we found a sweet friend from our first winter out in Arizona, Linda Poyer.  It was soooo good to see her!

Her park model is beautiful.  We loved this framed word art in Linda’s living room.

We went out to the workshop in the back where another Quail Run friend, Sharon Grieves, was grooming a poodle pup.  Sharon does doggy grooming for several people in their park.

Linda took us on a tour of their park on her golf cart.  One feature that we loved, was found on the RV sites.  Some of these sites had casitas which housed a kitchenette, bathroom and utility room with washer and dryer.  Really cool!

I found a new tree today.  Well, new to me.  This is a Texas Olive tree.  This tree is found no further north than the Rio Grande Valley.

The uniquely flowering Texas Olive is also native to Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Coahuila and Tamaulipas. In those parts of Mexico, the Texas Olive is commonly referred to as the Mexican Olive (Anacahuita), pronounced ANA-COW-EAT-A. The citizens of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, honor this beautiful tree as their state flower.

On to one of the ponds where a young family was having fun fishing. Uh…… what’s that over to the right in the water?

An alligator?!!!  Yep!!

We all piled into Linda’s new Chevy SUV and headed to Chili’s for lunch.  It was great fun catching up with these three… Arlene, Linda and Sharon.

Tip-O and Friendie

Back at the Tip O’ Texas, it’s walk-the-manager time. 

The first doggie we see is Donna and Rene’s Yorkie, Tip-O, named for….. Tip O’ Texas.

Well, lookee here… We have a Texas Olive tree in our park!

Awwwww, look at that adorable long-haired Chihuahua.

This is Friendie.  Isn’t he just so photogenic.

Well, thank you very much, choir director Jane, for the sticky buns you brought over this afternoon.  Don has already enjoyed one.  No, I did not eat a sticky bun.

My sweet husband is chopping fruit for a fruit salad he made tonight. Yes, I ate fruit salad.

Thursday has been a really good day.

Folks are back home from being in the hospital and friends in other places got good reports on tests they had done.  God is faithful and we are so grateful.

When I get there, I’ll know.

Luke 24:38-40 (New American Standard Bible)

³⁸And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?

³⁹"See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

⁴⁰And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

John 20:19-21 (New American Standard Bible)

Jesus among His Disciples

¹⁹So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."

²⁰And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

²¹So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."

John 20:24-26 (New American Standard Bible)

²⁴But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

²⁵So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

²⁶After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."

John 20:26-28 (New American Standard Bible)

²⁶After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."

²⁷Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."

²⁸Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus' Nails  -  This article states that nails in Jesus’ hands would not have held his weight and would have ripped out.  Read the article for a complete explanation.

But…. the Bible says “see My hands.”  It is my firm belief that, realistically, there is not any place in either the wrist or the hand that could hold the weight of the body for six hours.  As the article states, usually the hands were also tied to the cross timber.

So, how did Jesus stay on the Cross?

Could it be that He hung on the Cross by the same power that resurrected Him from the grave!  It was supernatural and yet, it did not diminish one iota of the pain He suffered, the greatest of which was His separation from the Father when He took my sin upon Himself.

I don’t know the answer, but when I get to Heaven, I’ll know!

Recommended reading:  He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado

LaVon is one happy girl..

… because she is surrounded by flowers and color!!

The trumpet bushes on our site are beginning to “sing praises to the Lord!”

Unusual orange color bougainvillea.

Oooooooo… amaryllis.

So many different colored roses on one rose bush!!

So pretty, it almost doesn’t look real.

Carol and Roger are going to be going back up north this week, so they invited us over for a visit.  That watermelon she served was so yummy and sweet!

I did Walk Away the Pounds this morning, and this afternoon, Donna and I walked the perimeter of the park.  She felt really good about walking, so she wanted !free! ice cream that was being served in the main hall by the Pink Flamingo Lady, Carolyn!  No, I did not eat any ice cream, thank you very much.

Whew!  I was tired after my second walk today, and before I knew it, I had taken a little nap on the couch.

When I awoke, Don wanted to go back to the Obst Farm Market that we found the other day.  They sell about forty gallons of fresh squeezed orange juice daily.  Yeah, baby, we got a half gallon.  And fresh picked strawberries and fresh gathered BIG sweet carrots and a cabbage and two big ruby red grapefruits and a jar of local honey.  We are looking forward to the fall when they will have fresh cauliflower, broccoli, celery, radishes and more.

What’s the problem here?  Can’t they decide what to name this street.  North Veterans Blvd. or “I” Road?  Gee, it’s confusing.

Relaxing in the shade.

What happened to Your Hand?

Yes, I’m headed for a home built by God alone.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!  I am.

Where the only thing there that’s been made by man
Are the scars in the hands of Jesus. *

* “The Scars In The Hands Of Jesus” Wilkin, Marijohn © 1974 Buckhorn Music

    THE SCARS IN THE HANDS OF JESUS 
  I
MY EYES HAVEN'T SEEN NOR HAVE MY EARS HEARD
WHAT MY FATHER HAS IN STORE
BUT WHEN I HEAR THE SONG OF A SWEET SINGING BIRD
I'M CLOSER THAN I'VE BEEN BEFORE.
TO THAT HEAVENLY HOME BUILT BY GOD ALONE
ACCORDING TO HIS PERFECT PLAN.
WHERE THE ONLY THING THERE THAT'S BEEN MADE BY MAN
ARE THE SCARS IN THE HANDS OF JESUS.
   II
WHEN I SEE A MOUNTAIN COVERED WITH SNOW
FALLING FROM HEAVEN ABOVE,
IT MAKES ME FEEL SMALL - HARDLY NOTHING AT ALL
TO KNOW THAT I'LL BE A PART OF
THAT MANSION WORLD WHERE THE GATES OF PEARL
ARE OPENED BY AN ANGEL BAND.
AND THE ONLY THING THERE THAT'S BEEN MADE BY MAN
ARE THE SCARS IN THE HANDS OF JESUS. 
   CHORUS
YES I'M HEADED FOR A HOME BUILT BY GOD ALONE
HALLELUJAH, PRAISE THE LORD, I AM.
WHERE THE ONLY THING THERE THAT'S BEEN MADE BY MAN
ARE THE SCARS IN THE HANDS OF JESUS.

WHERE THE ONLY THING THERE THAT’S BEEN MADE BY MAN

ARE THE SCARS IN MY SAVIOR’S HANDS!

(Mute the playlist in the sidebar and sing along with the video)

 

Hebrews 1:10
And," YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;

Those are the HANDS that took my nails!

Today, our heart is in Oklahoma

Yesterday, our dear, wonderful friend, Bill Ritchie, spent all day and into the evening, in open heart surgery, having two valves replaced and some grafting done.  A granddaughter kept us posted via text messages and we were elated that Bill made it through the surgery and the surgeon reported that he did great.

However, the trauma was just too much for his body and sweet Bill went Home to be with Jesus about 3:20 this morning.

There are so many stories we could tell, but I will just say that Bill loved Don and called him his pastor, even when Don wasn’t the senior pastor.  I will also say that since the summer of 1995, Bill has been like a daddy to me.  He would always light up when he saw me and make me feel so special.  He loved watching our LaNae play basketball at the University of Oklahoma.  He and Mary even drove to Ruston, Louisiana to watch the team play in the NCAA tournament.

Please pray for his wife, Mary, his two sons and their families.  Bill is going to be sorely missed.

We will see you in Heaven, Bill.

We are so blessed

Tuesday sure missed a golden opportunity for rain.  Early, there were really heavy clouds and much humidity in the air.

Tree trimmers are busy trimming 100 palms trees this month.

Charlie comes out to chat as we walk by.

Now here’s a fine “how do you do!”  Three men watching one woman working.

Here comes Warren.  He just finished playing basketball.  Later in the day, Don found Warren at the tennis courts swinging a very active racquet and keeping a little tennis ball very busy.

Marlys is on her way home after playing tennis.

We arrived at our ten o’clock appointment with Ben and Nettie Toews (pronounced Taves)…. a delicious continental breakfast of cinnamon rolls, fresh pineapple, orange slices and hot coffee.  Ben told a story of hosting a couple a few days ago and one of the guests cut a piece of chocolate cream pie in half.  When Ben asked him why he did that, he said, “because I’m on a diet.”  Well, wasn’t that just my perfect excuse to cut a cinnamon roll in half and only eat half.  I did not want to hurt Nettie’s feelings, but I didn’t need a whole roll, either.  God is so good.

Ben and Nettie are just the sweetest couple from Manitoba.  We just love them and look forward to spending more time with them next winter season.

As we left Ben and Nettie’s, we met Donna just starting her walk around the park, so I joined her and Don went on his way.

We don’t have many squirrels here in the RGV.

It is definitely Spring in the RGV.  Lovely pink Oleander blooms.

Golden Hibiscus.

Roses are plentiful.

The magenta color of this bougainvillea is so vibrant it is almost fluorescent.

This is not the only trailer or vehicle we saw being loaded as folks are preparing to leave the Tip for the summer.

We don’t see many of these in the park and this pretty one happens to be a stray.

Palm trees are usually so tall that I can’t see what’s going on up there, but this one is just my height!

Who knew about all the springtime activity up in the palm trees???

To cap off a really nice day, our Creator paints a beautiful RGV sunset.

“Have you ever wondered why God gives so much?  We could exist on far less.  He could have left the world flat and gray; we wouldn’t have known the difference.  But He didn’t.

He splashed orange in the sunrise (sunset)

and cast the sky in blue,

And if you love to see geese as they gather,

chances are you’ll see that too.

Did He have to make the squirrel’s tail furry?

Was He obliged to make the birds sing?

And the funny way that chickens scurry

or the majesty of thunder when it rings?

Why give a flower fragrance?

Why give food it’s taste?

Could it be

He loves to see

that look upon your face?

(pg. 7 – He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado)