Sharing the joy and tea with ruth and friends.

Having........my Lemon Zinger tea in my white and pink china cup.

Feeling.........full of joy thinking of all the work we did to get ready for the father's day celebration at our house. Yes it was planning and cooking and cleaning the yard and wondering if it would rain but being with all the loved ones made it all worth while.

Thinking...........how blessed we all are to have each other.

Watching these grands in the swing enjoying each other made the cleaning and scrubbing, to rid the patio of all the evidence of the many birds, worthwhile.

"Of course if you like your kids, if you love them from the moment they begin, you yourself begin all over again, in them, with them, and so there is something more to the world again."

William Saroyan

Photographs are such a wonderful thing to remind and enable us to relive the most joyful times in our lives.
For me
The greatest JOY is time with family.

Linking up with
Meri here at Share the Joy



and Ruth at Tea Talk 


Get out there and catch the JOY GERM.

Sharing and talking

Spread the Joy 

and

Celebrate Friendship 

The sun is shining today but

just a couple of days ago

The snow started at 3:30

 

Our deck at 6:30.

It was beautiful.

The next day.

Icicles dripping from the eaves sounded like rain.

I try to take joy in the snow and I do love it.

But I prefer the Joy that comes from seeing the sunshine.

Tea Talk with Ruth

Having.....hot chocolate 

In...........My new Doc Martin mug

Feeling........lazy since it is cold outside and snow is on the way again.

Thinking.............sometimes I feel selfish enjoying my free time and doing mostly just what I want to do.

I know where that comes from.

I was taught by my religious upbringing that a life without doing for others is useless.

Whoa, you say.

I cannot subscribe to that now at my advancing age. I must realize a happy medium is the ideal.

We have raised 6 children and we have both worked up to age 70.

I continue to learn.

Enjoy art, reading and a number of other things.

I am worn out by doing, doing, doing outside my home.

I want to be home.

Stay home.

But, I have one project that I give of my time and talent for others.

That will have to do.

"Candor and generosity, unless tempered by due moderation, leads to ruin."

Tacitus

This week I have been helping to plan the prayer services for our first retreat of the year for the
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Associate, of which I am a member.

We have a renowned speaker for our  facilitator and the subject

Our Call to Holiness

I had not been able to attend any of last year's retreats due to health problems I have been dealing with.
It is with joy that I am helping to plan and to be part of this retreat.


These two memes today both reflect my feelings of cutting back on outside activities I choose to be involved in.
It is a good thing to understand one's limitations no matter how hard it may be to come to them.


Go here for Tea Talk with Ruth

Go here for Share the Joy with Meri

It is indeed a good thing, to share the joy

Finding Joy with the help of pokes from my blogging sistas

We all have read and been told about trying to find joy in everyday things.

We know it can be done.

For me I sometimes need a little poke.
On Thursday there are two places where I get a poke.

Share the Joy Thursday.

Go here for a poke.

There are three simple things in this  photo that bring me joy.
A painting done in last year's painting class, simple daffodils and the cobalt blue bottles I like to collect.
Painting brings me such joy and it reminds me to be thankful for the ability to do this and for the amazing woman that is my 'painting' teacher.
She doesn't call herself an art teacher.
She is so humble and full of joy.

To me she not only teaches painting she lives her life with joy. 

Go to Paint Page and check out some of her other pupil's work.

Celebrate Friendship with Ruth


Having ....Aveda's tea/the
Reconfortant

In a mug I got in Belize.....


Feeling .....snug and cozy in my home with my HH while a storm in brewing in the skies outside.


Thanking about.......we have rain, rain, rain here in our part of the country, more than enough and in Texas where our sun lives, there is one of the worst droughts they have ever had.

We must have empathy for all our fellow humans who are suffering under some burden.
Our prayers go up each day for folks all over the world to hang on to their faith and keep the hope.

This is a sad situation. The joy is in knowing that God is in control.
Go here for tea with Ruth.



For those with faith, no explanation is necessary. For those without, no explanation is possible. –Thomas Aquinas