SHELTER

A friend just sent me this amazing photo, and I just had to share it with you!

"He will cover you with His feathers,
and under His wings you will find refuge."

  --Psalm 91:4a

"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble."
--Psalm 46:1

BEAUTY AROUND US

Azaleas blooming near the ivy bed.

It seems that as soon as the blooms of one type of flower begins to fade and fall, others burst forth to take their turn.

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Picture below is of the hostas. The gazing ball was a mosaic project from a few years ago, and the statue has seen better days, but the poor little guy is about sixty years old. The previous owners of our Leesburg home had left him out by the pool. He came with us when we made the move from Florida.

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I think the waterlilies down at our pond are trying to cover the entire top of the water!

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thyself, best Gift Divine,
To the world so freely given,
For that great, great love of Thine,
Peace on earth and joy in heaven.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the Beauty of the Earth

(1st & last verses)

--Folliott S. Pierpont, 1864

HAPPY 'FOURTH'

Independence Day is celebrated on July 4 because that is the day when the Continental Congress adopted the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. From July 8, 1776, until the next month, the document was read publicly and people celebrated whenever they heard it. The next year, in Philadelphia, bells rang and ships fired guns, candles and firecrackers were lighted. But the War of Independence dragged on until 1783, and in that year, Independence Day was made an official holiday. 1941 Congress declared 4th of July a federal holiday.

"The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity...I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God."
"[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty."
--John Adams in a letter written to Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved by Congress.
(John Adams, a lawyer, the first Vice President and the Second President of the United States, was one of the members of the Second Continental Congress who signed the Declaration of Independence).

HAVE A SAFE and HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!