Faith, Family & Freedom

 

Greetings Gail-Friends:

I'm BAAACK!  In my last post (February 8, 2023), I said this:  " Within the next week, I'll write a post about what G-d has been laying on my heart about this subject."  Well, a lot has happened  since then.

I thought I'd do a little catch-up post about life at Golden Cottage.

 

 

 

 

Sadly, we lost our little dog, Zoe, in January.  She was over twelve years old and developed liver problems.   We found this sweet, little blind doggie at the local pound and rescued her. Even though she was blind, you'd never know it.  She could run like Rin Tin Tin,  and jump like a kangaroo, and was fiercely protective of us and our grandson.  Her favorite thing to do was ride in my bicycle basket. We loved her so much, and miss her every day.

 When she passed away, we prayed for another dog -- the one that needed us, and the one that we needed.   God led us to this little girl at our local Humane Society, and they had named her Lucy.  

We kept that name because she sure does make us laugh.  Jem wanted an "active" dog.  Well, God sure answered that prayer.  She runs like the wind - and will make up to fourteen laps from one end of the house to the other.  Of course, she had to learn to live with our cat, Toonie Woo, Esq.  

He's a very laid-back cat, so they are still working that out.  Sometimes, they run together in those laps and it's a hoot to watch the race.

 On February 20, I had total knee replacement surgery.  I had some complications and had to stay in the hospital longer than expected.  A couple of weeks later, I developed a painful rash around the incision which necessitated more doctor visits with a dermatologist - this in addition to regular visits to the ortho doctor and several days a week for rehab therapy.  So, it's been a long, painful road to recovery. 

I'm back now, and beginning to feel like my old self.  It feels so good to feel good and be able to do things I want / need to do.  I give praises to Hashem for His healing power, and for the amazing medical treatments we are blessed to have in this time in history.  Without the surgery, I'd be crippled.  I'm also so thankful for my dear, sweet, kind husband for his patient nursing care through it all.  And for the wonderful ladies at the synagogue who provided meals, encouragement, and prayers over these past five months.  I'm so blessed.

In May, we celebrated our seventeenth wedding anniversary. 

 

 It's hard to believe it's been that long.  The days, and weeks, and months seem to fly by.   I can honestly say my husband has made me a very happy wife.  I tell everybody that he is the best husband in the world, and he tells them I'm the best wife in the world.  God has blessed us abundantly...more than I could ever ask or think.

We also celebrated our youngest grandson's birthday with a pizza party.  He's two years old now and he's a DYNAMO!!  Getting him to sit still for a photo was a trick!  We had a good time together with our co-grandparents,  Betty and Ray.  Such a blessed, fun day. 

 Speaking of time passing so fast, it's hard to believe that our first grandson is now almost fourteen years old.  Wow!

 

He's home schooled, but also attends a music school.  We really enjoyed the concert put on by the students at the end of the semester.  He is in the band as well as the chorus and is very talented - plays the xylophone and is first chair of the percussion section.  Also, he 's a member of a STEM program at the museum where Jem works.  It's so interesting to me that he's musical like his mom, and loves computers and engineering like his dad.  And, oh, what a sweet boy he is!

Also in May, we celebrated Shavuot at the synagogue.  Sadly, I only got one photo.  This is a beautiful charcuterie board made by one of our sweet ladies.  She's amazingly talented with fruits and veggies!

 Here at Golden Cottage, Jem always puts out 50+ flags on patriotic holidays.  We want all of our neighbors to know that we love America!

On this past Shabbat, a few days before Independence Day, we sang several patriotic songs during our praise and worship time.  I don't think there was a dry eye in the congregation.  We were all overwhelmed with the love and blessings of being Americans.

I think I'm most thankful for the freedom to worship and for God's Holy Word that He has preserved over thousands of years.  We are the most blessed generation in that regard.  We can have the Bible readily accessible on our smart phones.  Amazing!  Think of the people in the past who didn't even have Bibles to read and study.  We are blessed, but we are also accountable.  We have the truth in our hands...something to ponder, Gail-Friends.

Jem and I were blessed to hear President Trump speak at the Faith & Freedom Conference on 6/24/2023.  I have to share it with y'all because it really touched us.  I hope you will listen.  I set the video to play at the beginning of his speech.  https://www.youtube.com/live/mF2QUfMdhNk?feature=share&t=9068

I would like to recommend a group to you, dear Gail-Friends.  It's called Moms For Liberty.  They are "dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government." If you love your country  and are concerned about the direction America is headed (especially in public education),  you need to join this organization.  https://www.momsforliberty.org/

The group held a conference,  Joyful Warriors National Summit,  where I watched President Trump speak at their conference, too, along with other dynamic speakers.  You can see the conference speakers on YouTube at this link: 

 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9muQQiOA9CjBVwrSZ00wCcpxOEtLHydl

 They also have a podcast.

And while I'm at it, check out Tucker Carlson's recent videos on Twitter, Truth Social, or Rumble.  He's speaking the TRUTH!

Well, that's all the news from Golden Cottage.  I hope all is well with y'all. Let us know what's happening in your world.  I'll be posting on a more regular basis, Lord willing, so come back by, grab a cup of tea, and sit a spell as we say in the South. :)