Raindrops Keep Falling on my Hodgepodge

Hello and Happy Wednesday!
 I'm glad to be hodgepodging again today after missing it last week.
~
Let me tell you, we have been getting tons of rain here in NC!
It has poured everyday for about ten days with even more in the forecast for the next several days.
We needed it terribly and have now gotten more than our share...
...of course come July, we'll be praying for more as always.
There have been periods of sunshine as well and my little container garden is thriving!
Yes, I've got babies coming on but I'll wait 'til next week to take photos.
And speaking of photos, you all know how I roll.
I like to get my lens up as close and personal with anything that will let me...

...like this cute little guy...or gal.

And in between downpours, I couldn't resist dodging the showers to capture some fresh droplets.



And there were plenty of them to go around.

Have you ever noticed how sometimes the backside of a flower is just as pretty as the front?

Okay...enough soggy flowers...it's time to get on with the Hodgepodge.
Joyce asks the always interesting questions and we answer them on our blogs.

1. The last place you visited/patronized where you felt like you were given 'the royal treatment'?

I don't think I have ever been anywhere that has treated me (us) quite like royalty...and the closest thing I can even compare it to would be when we went on a "Royal" Caribbean cruise several years ago. We have been in restaurants, hotels, etc. where we have gotten really good service...and of course others, not so much. But royalty...nah. And speaking of royalty, how about that wedding over the weekend? I thought it was just wonderful and loved the mixture of cultures, especially that awesome message on love delivered by Bishop Michael Curry. 

2. The last task you completed that was a 'royal pain'?

That would be the time a few months ago when my refrigerator decided to go "pee-pee" all over my kitchen floor. I was home by myself when I discovered it and frantically began to stuff towels under it so the water didn't ruin my wood floors. I then had to pull it out, unplug it, remove everything from the freezer and figure out how and where to find out exactly where the water was coming from. Turns out it was just frozen up due to overcrowding and after it thawed out, we were good to go. Of course, while it was empty I went ahead and wiped it down inside and out...a job I was not expecting to have to do at a most inopportune time. Of course later I was glad to have been forced into getting my freezer cleaned out!

3. How have your strengths helped you succeed?

I may be my father's daughter and I did inherit his strong personality but any real strength that I might possess comes only through Jesus. I have been through some "stuff" in my life and there will, no doubt, be more to come. The only way I have been able to succeed...or get through it in once piece...is relying on His strength, not mine because I am nothing without Him.



How have your faults hindered you?

How have they not? Pride, lack of faith, self-righteousness, just to name a few, are never good things. Thank God for mercy and grace...and thank God I'm still learning.

4. If you found a remote that could rewind, fast forward, stop and start time, what would you do with it?

Oh wow, what a loaded question. I would probably wear the batteries out in that thing in just one day. It would be during those moments when I'm thinking about my parents, or maybe back when my boys were little and carefree...I would hit rewind so I could go back and relive some of those precious moments in time. I would press the stop button when I could sense danger or something on the horizon that I didn't want to happen...and the start button to get me motivated into action OR when it seemed like my life was going nowhere. And then there's the one you didn't mention...the pause button...when everything in life is good and you want it to last forever. I would use that fast-forward button when last minute company's coming and my house could be ready in a flash....OR when I'm finally just ready to go home and be with the Lord.

5. Any special plans for the Memorial Day weekend? Rain is in the forecast here for pretty much all weekend but Friday is our son Aaron's birthday. Hopefully, we will be able to have a dry celebration somewhere over the long holiday weekend. Will you in some way honor or recognize the meaning of this day (remembering people who died in service to their country)? Our Sunday morning worship service will be honoring those who have served, are currently serving, along with a few teens who are preparing to serve. They will be wearing their uniforms and a special video will be shown as a memorial for all whose lives have been lost serving their country. Have you ever been to Arlington National Cemetery? Yes, I've seen it once during a very rushed trip through DC. Does your town do anything special to mark the day? Not that I'm aware of.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day Weekend!