I think there is a song to the effect "Keep on the sunny side of life"... or perhaps it is just a familiar term that I've heard throughout the years, to always try to look on the "Sunny" side of life.
Today, I intend to do just that!
Meet Sunny!
That's right! We live right next door to the "SUNNY" side of life!
Sunny, our next door horse, is a sweet 20-year-old horse. She loves to come over to the fence to be petted, and especially to see if we have any treats.
I thought it was just dogs that like to eat snow... but Sunny introduced me to the fact that this is just not so!
Horses LOVE to eat snow too!
I could hardly get her to lift her head up long enough as she ate the crispy, crunchy, icy snow...
... to let me get a good picture of her beautiful Sunny face!
The sun was shining brilliantly, and the snow was reflecting that brilliance.
Ahh!! There we go Sunny!!! A beautiful picture of your face! See how her fur is very fuzzy and furry. I always worry about the poor horses who have to stay outside in this bitter cold weather, but when I see how the Lord so perfectly clothes them for every season of the year, I don't feel so bad!
Ok... she is feeling a bit shy today...
Or perhaps we are just interrupting her snow-eating delight!
Annie desperately wanted to play with Sunny. She whined, and begged, and whined some more... she wanted under the fence so badly!
She didn't have a great attitude, but she did remain obedient!
Sunny continued her snow-eating, after we petted her for a while. Not sure what it is about the snow that tastes so good... but she was sure enjoying it!
We talked her a bit more, and then Sunny decided to move on. Thanks Sunny... for being the Sunny side to our life today!
Today, I intend to do just that!
Meet Sunny!
That's right! We live right next door to the "SUNNY" side of life!
Sunny, our next door horse, is a sweet 20-year-old horse. She loves to come over to the fence to be petted, and especially to see if we have any treats.
I thought it was just dogs that like to eat snow... but Sunny introduced me to the fact that this is just not so!
Horses LOVE to eat snow too!
I could hardly get her to lift her head up long enough as she ate the crispy, crunchy, icy snow...
... to let me get a good picture of her beautiful Sunny face!
The sun was shining brilliantly, and the snow was reflecting that brilliance.
Ahh!! There we go Sunny!!! A beautiful picture of your face! See how her fur is very fuzzy and furry. I always worry about the poor horses who have to stay outside in this bitter cold weather, but when I see how the Lord so perfectly clothes them for every season of the year, I don't feel so bad!
Ok... she is feeling a bit shy today...
Or perhaps we are just interrupting her snow-eating delight!
Annie desperately wanted to play with Sunny. She whined, and begged, and whined some more... she wanted under the fence so badly!
She didn't have a great attitude, but she did remain obedient!
Sunny continued her snow-eating, after we petted her for a while. Not sure what it is about the snow that tastes so good... but she was sure enjoying it!
We talked her a bit more, and then Sunny decided to move on. Thanks Sunny... for being the Sunny side to our life today!
Here is a random event that my camera and I have witnessed together. I was driving into town one afternoon, when this incredible display in the skies unfolded as I drove. I had one hand on the wheel... and the other holding the camera, and snapping pictures. The view was so incredible before me, as I drove slowly to try and capture it through the lens of my camera.... and the windshield of the truck!
It seemed as if there was a storm brewing in the atmosphere, and the clouds were creating a masterpiece of emotion across the sky.
The trees were holding their breath in icy stillness as the clouds battled across the horizon...
The clouds were roiling and rumbling across the mountains with great ferocity...
The sun was wrestling with the clouds, and at times, you could see the rays of the sun breaking through with mocking defiance of the cloud cover.
The icy-snow covered roads, and the pine trees with their lacy covering, and the angry blue of the clouds in the distance made for a breathtaking moment as I traveled along.
Can anything be more beautiful than an approaching storm with the world clothed in white, reflecting the brilliance of the approaching storm clouds? I think not!
Oh, the vehemence of these clouds bespoke of the coming storm...
From this vantage point, it certainly seemed that the storm was imminent on the horizon... and its fury most certainly was about to be felt by me!
But then.... when I turned the corner and began the descent down the hill into town... another picture awaited me...
The sun was winning the battle on the north side of town, and in fact...
... as I descended the hill towards town...
The sun literally wrestled the clouds, and swung them far, far away, until blue sky was dominating the landscape, and the river began to reflect the sky in all its brilliance.
Isn't it amazing how you can just turn a corner, and suddenly the world takes on a whole new perspective!
It was hard to believe that just moments ago, it seemed as if a terrible storm was about to descend upon the world, and now.... the sun had won the battle, and was doing her best to outshine every dark cloud on the horizon.
Isn't that how life is sometimes! We can see the storm clouds ahead of us, and it seems as if all hell must be about to break loose on our lives, and we see every detail, and just "know" how awful it is going to be. But miraculously, there is a battle going on behind the scenes, of which we are unaware of... and at any given moment, our lives may take a turn, much as the road did that I was on... and suddenly... the storm clouds had disappeared, and the sun was shining.
There are times in our lives where we anticipate, worry, fret, and stew over the impending storm clouds that we see approaching. Even while we are wrestling with our fears of the unknown, of the approaching darkness, and danger, we are unaware that the SON is working behind the scenes in our lives, and it could be that we are about to turn a corner that we cannot foresee... and once we turn that corner, unimaginable beauty, and joy await us.
While we stare at the storm clouds, and cower in fear, and despair... we must keep walking, and keeping our eye on the SON... because we just don't know when that corner will be turned... and our fears, terror, and angst, will be turned into joy, gladness, and abounding peace much like the river I crossed above.
I needed to hear those words I wrote above myself, and honestly, the Lord has just spoken to me, even as I wrote this post. I had originally named this post something totally different, but now, I know that the Lord was teaching me something too... even as I wrote this post, and began to think about the significance of the clouds. and then the turning of the corner into the brilliant sunshine... it calms and soothes my heart to know, that no matter what troubles, difficulties or fears we may encounter on our journey of life... we must never take our eyes off the SON, our dear Lord Jesus, because HE leads us on a pathway that is not always clear to us, but there are corners, hills, and trails that we cannot know.... but as we trust and follow Him... even though there are storms in the distance, or storms surrounding us, or storms upon us... at any given moment, the sunshine of our lives, the Lord Jesus Christ can break through every one of those storm clouds into a brilliant, and beautiful place that we are not expecting... what a wonderful thought, and yes, it is so true!!!
So... I hope this little post has blessed you today, even as it has blessed me just now... as I wrote it! May the SON of God, roll the clouds out of the situation that you may see on the horizon, or may be traveling through.... and that the brilliant sunlight of His love would shine bright and clear into your heart today, so that may you feel the PEACE like a river today in your heart, life, and soul!
It seemed as if there was a storm brewing in the atmosphere, and the clouds were creating a masterpiece of emotion across the sky.
The trees were holding their breath in icy stillness as the clouds battled across the horizon...
The clouds were roiling and rumbling across the mountains with great ferocity...
The sun was wrestling with the clouds, and at times, you could see the rays of the sun breaking through with mocking defiance of the cloud cover.
The icy-snow covered roads, and the pine trees with their lacy covering, and the angry blue of the clouds in the distance made for a breathtaking moment as I traveled along.
Can anything be more beautiful than an approaching storm with the world clothed in white, reflecting the brilliance of the approaching storm clouds? I think not!
Oh, the vehemence of these clouds bespoke of the coming storm...
From this vantage point, it certainly seemed that the storm was imminent on the horizon... and its fury most certainly was about to be felt by me!
But then.... when I turned the corner and began the descent down the hill into town... another picture awaited me...
The sun was winning the battle on the north side of town, and in fact...
... as I descended the hill towards town...
The sun literally wrestled the clouds, and swung them far, far away, until blue sky was dominating the landscape, and the river began to reflect the sky in all its brilliance.
Isn't it amazing how you can just turn a corner, and suddenly the world takes on a whole new perspective!
It was hard to believe that just moments ago, it seemed as if a terrible storm was about to descend upon the world, and now.... the sun had won the battle, and was doing her best to outshine every dark cloud on the horizon.
Isn't that how life is sometimes! We can see the storm clouds ahead of us, and it seems as if all hell must be about to break loose on our lives, and we see every detail, and just "know" how awful it is going to be. But miraculously, there is a battle going on behind the scenes, of which we are unaware of... and at any given moment, our lives may take a turn, much as the road did that I was on... and suddenly... the storm clouds had disappeared, and the sun was shining.
There are times in our lives where we anticipate, worry, fret, and stew over the impending storm clouds that we see approaching. Even while we are wrestling with our fears of the unknown, of the approaching darkness, and danger, we are unaware that the SON is working behind the scenes in our lives, and it could be that we are about to turn a corner that we cannot foresee... and once we turn that corner, unimaginable beauty, and joy await us.
While we stare at the storm clouds, and cower in fear, and despair... we must keep walking, and keeping our eye on the SON... because we just don't know when that corner will be turned... and our fears, terror, and angst, will be turned into joy, gladness, and abounding peace much like the river I crossed above.
I needed to hear those words I wrote above myself, and honestly, the Lord has just spoken to me, even as I wrote this post. I had originally named this post something totally different, but now, I know that the Lord was teaching me something too... even as I wrote this post, and began to think about the significance of the clouds. and then the turning of the corner into the brilliant sunshine... it calms and soothes my heart to know, that no matter what troubles, difficulties or fears we may encounter on our journey of life... we must never take our eyes off the SON, our dear Lord Jesus, because HE leads us on a pathway that is not always clear to us, but there are corners, hills, and trails that we cannot know.... but as we trust and follow Him... even though there are storms in the distance, or storms surrounding us, or storms upon us... at any given moment, the sunshine of our lives, the Lord Jesus Christ can break through every one of those storm clouds into a brilliant, and beautiful place that we are not expecting... what a wonderful thought, and yes, it is so true!!!
So... I hope this little post has blessed you today, even as it has blessed me just now... as I wrote it! May the SON of God, roll the clouds out of the situation that you may see on the horizon, or may be traveling through.... and that the brilliant sunlight of His love would shine bright and clear into your heart today, so that may you feel the PEACE like a river today in your heart, life, and soul!
I wanted to share with you a remarkable savings that I've been enjoying thanks to a great company called Zaycon Foods. Their website is located here: https://www.zayconfoods.com/
The thing that piqued my interest in this company was the fact that their products are all organically grown. The product is shipped directly from the farm to the consumer, with no middleman involved (like the grocery stores). The first time I tried their products, I was nervous about spending this much money and was worried that I would be disappointed.
Instead, I found myself absolutely THRILLED with the meat! First of all, the meat was fresh, and never frozen. The chicken breasts were huge. I was able to package them according to our family's needs. Then, my delight turned to amazement, as when these chicken breasts were cooked, they did not shrink into unrecognizable pieces no bigger than a golf ball, but remained the same size and shape when cooked. The pieces of frozen chicken you buy at the grocery store seem to shrink almost half in size when baked or boiled. These pieces of chicken retain their size. Also, the flavor, and taste is incredible! No hard pieces of gristle at all. The chicken is flavorful, tender, and overall the most delicious chicken you'll ever eat.
After trying Zaycon chicken, my family agrees that buying chicken through a grocery store is just not an option. Not to mention the savings that you get by buying the chicken in bulk, fresh, and packaging it according to your family's needs.
So, this time, I documented for you just what the chicken looks like when you buy it from Zaycon.
The chicken comes in a large waterproof cardboard box box that holds 40 pounds of fresh, never frozen, straight from the farm to you - chicken breasts.
When you open the cardboard box, the chicken is packed fresh into these heavy-duty plastic bags that keep all the fluids contained.
As you open the large plastic bag, you find four 10-pound bags of fresh chicken breasts.
The chicken is fresh, and the breasts are intact, so you get 2 breasts, plus some rib meat for each piece of chicken.
These breasts are huge, as you can see. I am using a 15 x 9" pan here. I would say each breast piece weighs at least 1 pound, or both together, about 2 pounds.
This is the 15 x 9 " pan completely filled with the 10 pounds of chicken. Because I was packaging the meat downstairs in our basement area, I brought some soapy water and clean water to rinse my heads as I worked with the meat, and then also to clean up after the packaging was finished.
Our family of four can generally make a meal on 1 pound of chicken, and most of the time, even with that, we still have leftovers for another meal. So, approximately there are 40 meals that can be made with this chicken, plus leftovers.
I packaged the chicken into quart-sized freezer Ziplock bags. From this 40 pounds of chicken, I am able to get at least 40 meals. The price of the chicken breasts, along with tax is about $2.00 pound, or $2.00 a meal for a family of four!
While you can buy frozen chicken breasts at a cheaper price at times, I can guarantee you, that you are losing about half of the chicken breast when you cook it, as most of the chicken breasts you buy in the grocery store shrivel in size after being cooked. These breasts retain their size and shape, the taste, flavor, and texture are not even comparable to anything found in a grocery store, and best of all, they are organic, natural farm raised chickens.
This has been a huge savings and blessing to our family. I always have lots of fresh frozen chicken on hand now. Check out the Zaycon website, and see if they offer their product in your area, it is an incredible value. I can say that I will never go back to grocery store chicken after seeing for myself the value in purchasing the bulk organic fresh chicken breasts!!
The thing that piqued my interest in this company was the fact that their products are all organically grown. The product is shipped directly from the farm to the consumer, with no middleman involved (like the grocery stores). The first time I tried their products, I was nervous about spending this much money and was worried that I would be disappointed.
Instead, I found myself absolutely THRILLED with the meat! First of all, the meat was fresh, and never frozen. The chicken breasts were huge. I was able to package them according to our family's needs. Then, my delight turned to amazement, as when these chicken breasts were cooked, they did not shrink into unrecognizable pieces no bigger than a golf ball, but remained the same size and shape when cooked. The pieces of frozen chicken you buy at the grocery store seem to shrink almost half in size when baked or boiled. These pieces of chicken retain their size. Also, the flavor, and taste is incredible! No hard pieces of gristle at all. The chicken is flavorful, tender, and overall the most delicious chicken you'll ever eat.
After trying Zaycon chicken, my family agrees that buying chicken through a grocery store is just not an option. Not to mention the savings that you get by buying the chicken in bulk, fresh, and packaging it according to your family's needs.
So, this time, I documented for you just what the chicken looks like when you buy it from Zaycon.
The chicken comes in a large waterproof cardboard box box that holds 40 pounds of fresh, never frozen, straight from the farm to you - chicken breasts.
When you open the cardboard box, the chicken is packed fresh into these heavy-duty plastic bags that keep all the fluids contained.
As you open the large plastic bag, you find four 10-pound bags of fresh chicken breasts.
The chicken is fresh, and the breasts are intact, so you get 2 breasts, plus some rib meat for each piece of chicken.
These breasts are huge, as you can see. I am using a 15 x 9" pan here. I would say each breast piece weighs at least 1 pound, or both together, about 2 pounds.
This is the 15 x 9 " pan completely filled with the 10 pounds of chicken. Because I was packaging the meat downstairs in our basement area, I brought some soapy water and clean water to rinse my heads as I worked with the meat, and then also to clean up after the packaging was finished.
Our family of four can generally make a meal on 1 pound of chicken, and most of the time, even with that, we still have leftovers for another meal. So, approximately there are 40 meals that can be made with this chicken, plus leftovers.
I packaged the chicken into quart-sized freezer Ziplock bags. From this 40 pounds of chicken, I am able to get at least 40 meals. The price of the chicken breasts, along with tax is about $2.00 pound, or $2.00 a meal for a family of four!
While you can buy frozen chicken breasts at a cheaper price at times, I can guarantee you, that you are losing about half of the chicken breast when you cook it, as most of the chicken breasts you buy in the grocery store shrivel in size after being cooked. These breasts retain their size and shape, the taste, flavor, and texture are not even comparable to anything found in a grocery store, and best of all, they are organic, natural farm raised chickens.
This has been a huge savings and blessing to our family. I always have lots of fresh frozen chicken on hand now. Check out the Zaycon website, and see if they offer their product in your area, it is an incredible value. I can say that I will never go back to grocery store chicken after seeing for myself the value in purchasing the bulk organic fresh chicken breasts!!
My dear friend SL and I have gotten onto a schedule of hiking every Wednesday morning. A couple of her friends were able to join us, making this time of hiking a great way to visit, and fellowship with other Christian ladies.
Cheetah was anxious to get the show on the road. We were in the porch area getting ready for the hike and putting all our warm gear on, and she just couldn't understand what was taking us so long!
Since we had had the January thaw-freeze-thaw-freeze... this is what we had left to deal with... lots of ICE! We were all walking with ice spikes on our boots. Unfortunately, my spikes would not stay on my boots. So, I had to stuff the spikes in my pocket, and try my best to walk on the snow, instead of ice!
Cheetah loves to stop and get frequent snacks of snow... I guess all the dogs like to do this!
There were areas that we hiked that the snow was plentiful, and we didn't have to worry about the ice. We had a wonderful time hiking together, in spite of the icy conditions, and after getting back to the house, a nice cup of hot tea and a snack awaited us.
The next Wednesday that rolled around brought a weather change for us. Finally, it had started snowing, covering up all the ice everywhere, and the world was a snowy wonderland! Today it was just SL and I, as the other two ladies were not able to join us.
I love how the snow is able to transform ordinary objects, into beautiful works of art!
We began our hike today by climbing up the steep hill on my friends property, and then we were going to loop around. Our intentions were to hike about an hour, as it is much slower hiking with the falling, fresh snow.
The snow began to fall pretty heavily while we hiked, and it was just beautiful being able to enjoy the forest with the snow quietly falling around us!
We climbed up and around several hills, and we often had to stop and pause, because hiking in fresh snow wears you out quickly. Plus, you are bundled with several layers of clothing! So, I used the opportunity every time we stopped to take some pictures.
You can see that the day was overcast, and that lends an element of darkness to the pictures. The snow had paused falling during our hike.
These are the kinds of hills that we climbed up and over.... if you are looking for the best workout gym in the world... may I introduce it to you!
Many of the stumps along our path became perfect resting spots. Cheetah loved it when we stopped to rest, because that meant she got to get petted.
Yes, this is no ordinary workout gym! It is so extraordinary, and it is the best workout playground ever! And, best of all... it's free!
Free to enjoy, explore, and discover. Snow gives everything such a different perspective, familiar trails with the falling of the fresh snow have taken on the appearance of a winter wonderland.
Cheetah loved to point her face into the falling snow and just smell, sniff, and watch the forest around us.
Cheetah knew the trail well, and forged out a path for us as we walked.
We climbed up one of the last hills we would climb for the day, and rested some more, as we viewed the valley before us. You could not see much of the valley, or the mountains beyond because of the cloud cover, but this hill makes a great vantage point when there is no cloud cover.
The snow was beginning to fall pretty heavily now, and we had to be careful that we were on firm ground, instead of a rock, because the snow was covering everything up. We slipped a few times as the covering of snow was making it difficult to tell whether we were on ground, or rock.
We hiked for about an hour together, and then looped back to the house, where again, hot tea, and a snack were a welcome sight! We enjoyed fellowshiping, and sharing about the Lord as we sipped our hot tea. It is always a special time in the Lord whenever we are together, and our fellowship is always encouraging and uplifting! Getting exercise, along with the time to fellowship, in the great wonderland of nature - it can't get much better than this!
Cheetah was anxious to get the show on the road. We were in the porch area getting ready for the hike and putting all our warm gear on, and she just couldn't understand what was taking us so long!
Since we had had the January thaw-freeze-thaw-freeze... this is what we had left to deal with... lots of ICE! We were all walking with ice spikes on our boots. Unfortunately, my spikes would not stay on my boots. So, I had to stuff the spikes in my pocket, and try my best to walk on the snow, instead of ice!
Cheetah loves to stop and get frequent snacks of snow... I guess all the dogs like to do this!
There were areas that we hiked that the snow was plentiful, and we didn't have to worry about the ice. We had a wonderful time hiking together, in spite of the icy conditions, and after getting back to the house, a nice cup of hot tea and a snack awaited us.
The next Wednesday that rolled around brought a weather change for us. Finally, it had started snowing, covering up all the ice everywhere, and the world was a snowy wonderland! Today it was just SL and I, as the other two ladies were not able to join us.
I love how the snow is able to transform ordinary objects, into beautiful works of art!
We began our hike today by climbing up the steep hill on my friends property, and then we were going to loop around. Our intentions were to hike about an hour, as it is much slower hiking with the falling, fresh snow.
The snow began to fall pretty heavily while we hiked, and it was just beautiful being able to enjoy the forest with the snow quietly falling around us!
We climbed up and around several hills, and we often had to stop and pause, because hiking in fresh snow wears you out quickly. Plus, you are bundled with several layers of clothing! So, I used the opportunity every time we stopped to take some pictures.
You can see that the day was overcast, and that lends an element of darkness to the pictures. The snow had paused falling during our hike.
These are the kinds of hills that we climbed up and over.... if you are looking for the best workout gym in the world... may I introduce it to you!
Many of the stumps along our path became perfect resting spots. Cheetah loved it when we stopped to rest, because that meant she got to get petted.
Yes, this is no ordinary workout gym! It is so extraordinary, and it is the best workout playground ever! And, best of all... it's free!
Free to enjoy, explore, and discover. Snow gives everything such a different perspective, familiar trails with the falling of the fresh snow have taken on the appearance of a winter wonderland.
Cheetah loved to point her face into the falling snow and just smell, sniff, and watch the forest around us.
Cheetah knew the trail well, and forged out a path for us as we walked.
We climbed up one of the last hills we would climb for the day, and rested some more, as we viewed the valley before us. You could not see much of the valley, or the mountains beyond because of the cloud cover, but this hill makes a great vantage point when there is no cloud cover.
The snow was beginning to fall pretty heavily now, and we had to be careful that we were on firm ground, instead of a rock, because the snow was covering everything up. We slipped a few times as the covering of snow was making it difficult to tell whether we were on ground, or rock.
We hiked for about an hour together, and then looped back to the house, where again, hot tea, and a snack were a welcome sight! We enjoyed fellowshiping, and sharing about the Lord as we sipped our hot tea. It is always a special time in the Lord whenever we are together, and our fellowship is always encouraging and uplifting! Getting exercise, along with the time to fellowship, in the great wonderland of nature - it can't get much better than this!
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