Easter Wishes

Easter Blessings

May the Light of this season
From the heavens above
And the faith of Our Lord
Bring you all much love.

May time spent with family
And all your true friends
Be filled with much joy
That this Easter can send.

You are wished all blessings
This holy holiday does bring
And new awakenings surround you
With the warmth of Spring.

With the hope of this time
On this happy season I send
A blessed and joyous Easter
To your family and friends.

Toni Taddeo ©

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Much Love

Friday Foto Friends ~ Why Good Friday?

What is Good Friday and why do we call Good Friday “good,” when it is such a dark and bleak event commemorating a day of suffering and death for Jesus?
For Christians, Good Friday is a crucial day of the year because it celebrates what we believe to be the most momentous weekend in the history of the world. Ever since Jesus died and was raised, Christians have proclaimed the cross and resurrection of Jesus to be the decisive turning point for all creation. Paul considered it to be “of first importance” that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised to life on the third day, all in accordance with what God had promised all along in the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

In order for the good news of the gospel to have meaning for us, we first have to understand the bad news of our condition as sinful people under condemnation. The good news of deliverance only makes sense once we see how we are enslaved. Another way of saying this is that it is important to understand and distinguish between law and gospel in Scripture. We need the law first to show us how hopeless our condition is; then the gospel of Jesus’ grace comes and brings us relief and salvation.

In the same way, Good Friday is “good” because as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter. The wrath of God against sin had to be poured out on Jesus, the perfect sacrificial substitute, in order for forgiveness and salvation to be poured out to the nations. Without that awful day of suffering, sorrow, and shed blood at the cross, God could not be both “just and the justifier” of those who trust in Jesus (Romans 3:26). Paradoxically, the day that seemed to be the greatest triumph of evil was actually the deathblow in God’s gloriously good plan to redeem the world from bondage.

1 Peter 2:24 - “and He Himself bore our sins” in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; “for by His wounds you were healed.” ~ Praise The Lord!

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If you're interested in joining the Friday Foto Friends you can visit Debbie by clicking on her name or her Logo on the left side menu. It's a wonderful photo meme and a wonderful bunch of ladies who join in. And now until next time dear friends have a Blessed Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Wednesday's Poetry Day ~ Instant Silly Poetry

I was taking care of "my addiction" one day last week at mid-morning. And Instantly silly poetry came into my mind and of course I wrote it down. Here you go two of them  (bottom one written awhile back)  ... Love this stuff.

Happy Snack Break

Well here I am
Coffee near by
No cookie to eat
I could just cry

Maybe I'll try
A batch to bake
Coffee does need
For goodness sake

Something to dunk
In a coffee cup
The oven's ready
Now speed it up

Coffee can't wait
For a batch to bake
Finally they're done
My happy snack break

Toni Taddeo ©

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Don't Hold Back

Hook me up
Don't hold back
It's what I need
To keep me on track

Pour it now
I like it plain
hold off the cow
Stops me going insane

Feels so good
Just what I need
Please no sugar
Just liquid java seed

So hook me up
Just plain and black
Here in my mug
Don't hold that java back...

Toni Taddeo ©

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Guess you can tell how much I like my coffee and snack breaks to the point I'll even bake if necessary to go with my coffee. Peach Cobbler here I come!! And so until the next time my friends, have a day of blessings.

Blessed Is He

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, a Christian feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament.

Matthew 21:1-11 (NASB) The Triumphal Entry
When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

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Every year we are given palms in church and my sisters and I learned from our Dad how to make crosses to give to other family members and/or leave on our deceased family members gravestones when we visit their graves. The crosses we make resemble the photo shown above.

Painting of Jesus' Triumphal Entry In Jerusalem By Harry Anderson
I leave you with this, "May the spirit of this holy occasion and the warmth of the season make your heart bloom with joy & happiness. Have a Blessed Palm Sunday."

Friday Foto Friends ~ Breathtaking Sky

I took these photos through my window March 9th at 5:56 PM. The sun was setting and the color of the clouds took my breath away. I'm always looking for sky and cloud photos. Tell me what you think. I only had my cellphone handy to take them though a clouded window glass.

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Thought For The Day

If you're interested in joining the Friday Foto Friends you can visit Debbie by clicking on her name or her Logo on the left side menu. It's a wonderful photo meme and a wonderful bunch of ladies who join in. And now until next time dear friends have a lovely weekend.

Wednesday's Poetry Day ~ Spring Has Sprung?

Yesterday being the first day of Spring I thought I would do a post about Spring hoping the weather agrees and the trees start budding blossoms around here. Or at least tulips and daffodils start sprouting out of the ground. Well at least I can post a photo to match my poem because no way is Spring weather here yet.

Sounds Of Spring

As the morning dawn fills my room with filtering light
And the sounds of spring fill my soul with delight
I hurriedly shower, dress and rush out the door
For I truly can not wait to see or miss much more

Of chirping birds building their nests all around
And butterfly wings fluttering, such a wondrous sound
The trees now budding with their green leaves so bright
And tiny blossoms and lilac blooms are a welcomed sight

The colorful daffodils and tulips stand proud and tall
Lined up along the winding path and my garden wall
The sound of children laughing ring throughout the air
And the soft warm spring breeze ripples through my hair

As I fill myself with sounds and fragrance of spring
The beauty of this season that only God can bring
Happily I thank Him as chirping birds fly on by
While the warmth of the sun filters down from the sky.

Poem By Toni Taddeo ©

Thought For The Day

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Until the next time dear friends, be blessed.

A Letter From J.J.R. Tolkien

You all know how much I like Tolkien and his books i.e.; The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit. Well I thought you might get a kick out of a letter Tolkien wrote in 1967 to Lord of the Rings fan Elise Honeybourne and, after he reiterates his reasons for beginning the Lord of the Rings stories, sees Tolkien speculating on Miss Honeybourne's name and its origins. (Why is it most writers have terrible handwriting).

Here is the letter from a word processor:
If I dare say so a very hobbit-like kindness to send a present on your own birthday!

PROFESSOR J. R. R. TOLKIEN
Oxford 61639
76 SANDFIELD ROAD
HEADINGTON
OXFORD

September 18th. 1967.

Dear Miss Honeybourne,

Thank you very much indeed for your generous and delightful letter, one of the most warming and comforting that I have received.

As I said in the ‘Foreword’ to the American paper-back edition (Ballantine Books), I wrote The Lord of the Rings because I wished ‘to try my hand at a really long story that would hold the attention of readers, amuse them, delight them, and at times maybe excite them or deeply move them.’ As a guide I had only my own feelings for what is appealing or moving; and it has been a great pleasure (and a surprise) to find that so many other people have similar feelings. But no one has written me a letter more warm, and few have come near it.

I am specially grateful for your pleasure in the names: I took a great deal of trouble with them.

Your own name is a delightful one, and brings to me a suggestion of Kinship. It must be derived (as so very many English surnames) from a village name, but the only ones of that name that I know of are the adjacent villages of Church H (Worcs) and Cow H (Glo). These are not far from Blackminster where my brother has a small fruit-farm, in lands where my maternal ancestors (Suffield) can be traced far back.

It is such a good name that I must, in any future more complete map of the Shire (often asked for), find a place for it. It is one of the comparatively rare place-names that means what it says: a stream, of sweet water and/or flowing through flowery meads.

Yours sincerely and gratefully

J.R.R. Tolkien

Part of The Shire a.k.a. Hobbit Town

I leave you with one of Tolkien's many quotes

I hope I didn't bore you with my love of Tolkien for besides C.S. Lewis he was a Christian with Christian values. Until the next time dear friends be blessed.

Friday Foto Friends ~ The Land Of Green

In honor of St. Patrick's Day tomorrow I thought I would show photos of the beautiful Irish countryside, cottage and village. It's a lovely picturesic country and one I have thought I would get to visit but alas, never did. I did pass through it on my way to Italy years ago when our plane made a stop there. Seeing the countryside and the "puzzle" green land from the air was breathtaking.

Irish Hostel

World Wide College, Kilkenny, Ireland

Irish Village

The Puzzle Like Tipperary fields, Ireland

Thought For The Day

If you're interested in joining the Friday Foto Friends you can visit Debbie by clicking on her name or her Logo on the left side menu. It's a wonderful photo meme and a wonderful bunch of ladies who join in. And now until next time dear friends have a lovely weekend.

Wednesday's Poetry Day ~ Peaceful River Shore

I remember sitting on a bench by the Hudson River early in the morning when every thing was peaceful and quiet. That's when I used to drive and the kids were in school and just relax before the day got hectic. This memory made me write the following poem awhile ago. (that's not me in the photo LOL!)

By A Peaceful River Shore

Sitting here on a bench by a peaceful river shore
There sails a sailboat barely seen in the misty haze
And rising in the distance is the sun's early light
The only sound I hear is the soft current's wave.

A feeling of quiet peace now joyfully surrounds me
As the horizon in the distance clearly now is seen
The beauty of the landscape is a sight to behold
And the air around me smells refreshing and clean.

The sounds of birds and families now can be heard
As the sun is rising high above the daylight sky
I listen to the sounds of life saying not a word
But feeling just a little sad as time is flying by.

The time has come for me to leave the river shore
And the park bench that I sit on every early morn
Yes I now am feeling sad as time swiftly flies by
Yet happy knowing that I'll be back again at dawn.

Toni Taddeo ©

That's about it for now and until next time dear friends have a day of blessings.

A Revisit To Ireland

Here's this week's repeated Toni's Creative Adventures seeing that St. Patty's day is this coming Saturday and I know it's one many of you haven't seen here. I enjoy creating this meme. It's always fun seeing how a story adventure can be created with just 4 fill in the blanks questions.

A Visit To Ireland
1.   While walking in a countryside in Ireland, I see a strange green glow coming from behind a large tree. Walking up to it I find -

a beautiful tiny green jeweled chest that the sun is shining on.

3.   Much to my surprise I bend to - open it and see a bunch of fireflies but soon realize they are not fireflies but a little village of tiny fairies going about their work and day, some laughing and some chatting with others. They never really noticed or acknowledged me as they went about their business.

4.   Deciding this must truly be a Irish fairytale, I laughing think to myself - "Now all I need is a leprochaun with a pot of gold hanging about". But alas no such Irish luck. I slowly close the chest and like a good samaritan leave it where I found it and happily go on my way singing, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling".

Go to the Toni's Creative Adventures blog to copy the meme questions by clicking on the graphic

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I hope you join in and play along too. In the meantime dear friends have a blessed day ahead.

It's Time Again

While the adoption of Daylight Saving Time is almost always rife with controversy, most of the world (except for countries around the Equator) has implemented DST at one point or another. Today, approximately 70 countries utilize Daylight Saving Time in at least a portion of the country. Japan, India, and China are the only major industrialized countries that do not observe some form of daylight saving. As for the states, parts of Arizona doesn't observe DST either. Daylight Saving Time (DST) is often incorrectly referred to as “daylight savings time”. In some countries, it is also called “summer time”. When DST is not observed, it is called standard time, normal time or winter time.

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Here's a little poem I wrote about the time change. Thought you might get a kick out of it. :)

An Hour Lost

Tick, tock, tick, tock
Ding dong chimes the clock

It's the time to move ahead
Lose an hour then go to bed

Sun comes up an hour late
This is time I truly hate

Let me sleep an hour more
Then I'll dress and out the door

Daylight saving time is here
Seven months of the year

It's time again to move ahead
Up and at 'em, get out of bed.

Toni Taddeo ©

Now don't forget to change your clocks tonight. I usually change my clocks Saturday morning, it's a habit from when my kids were young so by bedtime they were already used to the change. Until the next time my friends, have a weekend of blessings.