Finnegan's Diary

Fergie Steals Diary Time (Finnegan’s Diary)

Carol Ann ErhardtLeave a comment

Hello! My name is Fergie. I’m a shy but very loving girl. My favorite activity is sleeping, second is eating, and third is playing with my ball tower.

I’m stealing into my brother Finnegan’s diary today. Mostly because I can! When he’s sleeping, I rule.

Mother knows what I’m doing. She’s smiling. She admits I’m a very clever gal.

I do hear some loud motors in the background. It’s probably the mowers. I don’t like them and I don’t like the vacuum. I have a blanket of my very own on the end of the bed I can crawl under and be protected. My brother isn’t bothered by these loud noisy things.

We have two window beds. One in the living room, and one in Mother’s office. That’s the one I like the best. I used to run away when Finnegan would come to chase me out. Now I am brave. I don’t leave. We slap each other and sometimes he gets into the bed, too, but I still don’t leave. He finally gives up. Win!

Mother gave us automatic feeders last year when she had a white patch on her eye. Cataract surgery, she said. Since she couldn’t bend for a while, this was her alternative. Now we get food on time every day. Finnegan and I lay on the kitchen floor an hour before the food comes out and wait. Mother laughs. She doesn’t understand that if I’m not in place, my brother will snatch food from my dish first and then go to his dish! He’s a pig!! I won’t stand for that!

One thing he is afraid of is a storm. I love them. I can lay in the window bed even when there are flashing lights, Mother calls it lightning, and those loud booms that send Finnegan scurrying away. I’m not afraid. Not even when the rain slashes against the window right next to me. It’s a little dreary today, so we might have some rain. Maybe that will keep the noisy machines away. Right now, I don’t hear them, so it might have been something else I heard. Mother says there is a lot of construction going on around us. I don’t know what that is, but she doesn’t like it. The constant growling gets on her nerves. I would offer her the comfort of diving under my blanket, but she’s not interested.

Well, that’s about all I can think of to write in Finnegan’s diary today, except…

YES, IT WAS ME WHO WROTE IN YOUR DIARY, BIG BROTHER! YOU DIDN’T CATCH ME AND YOU CAN’T GET RID OF THESE WORDS! MEOW, MEOW, MEOW!!!

Devotions

Yahweh-Shalom (Lord of Peace)

Carol Ann ErhardtLeave a comment

Our church sermon yesterday wove nicely into my weekly Bible study focus on peace. My Bible study started with the sentence: “Peace is more than the absence of conflict; it is the positive presence of God’s wholeness in our lives. It guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, enabling us to live with confidence amid life’s uncertainties.”

Our church sermon series has been focusing on the names of God. Today focused on a very needed aspect of God through the name Yahweh-Shalom – the God of peace.

Through experience, I’ve learned the presence of Christ’s tranquility in my heart is available through the most difficult times in my life. It truly is what Paul prescribes for anxiety in Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

To me, this means I must guard my heart and mind against worry and fear. How? What is causing the worry or fear? Isn’t God bigger than this? There is a choice here to trust God instead of myself. To not listen to the wrong voice. There is peace in knowing God is in control and that He wants only good for me. My hope is that when my time comes to leave this temporary home, I will not go clinging desperately to what was, but gratefully follow Him to my forever home with joy in my heart.

Isaiah 26:3 talks about the promise of perfect peace for those whose minds are fixed on God. If our focus is on worldly things, we will not find that perfect peace. When our thoughts stay centered on God’s character and promises, peace naturally follows.

This is a gift. I have a scripture written on the doorstep from my garage into my home: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” This gift was given to us by Jesus.

This gift of peace with God through Christ provides the way for our need to be reconciled with our Creator. (Romans 5:1) Jesus laid down His life, confident in His Father, to provide this peace for us. It us up to us to accept His gift.

Leaving you with these thoughts as I lift my cup of tea giving thanks for this new day. May you walk in peace remembering you are not alone. Yahweh-Shalom walks with you.

Day by Day · hobbies

Finished Projects, Cats, and Challenges

Carol Ann Erhardt2 Comments

I finished the puzzle, finally. What I thought would be a pleasant change, turned out to be a boring experience. I wasn’t motivated to see the picture emerge. Surprising, really. It’s a beautiful puzzle. The lighting wasn’t good this morning. It is much more vibrant than my phone camera depicts.

I also finished coloring a picture this week in Wildflower Folk.

Today I’ll be coloring and video chatting with my daughter. She has been working on crocheting a baby blanket during our video chats.

I visited my sister of the heart on Tuesday. It was so good to see her. She’s been going through some health tests recently, and we are hoping to hear good news in April. Wednesday I had lunch with another close friend. Our lunches together are always uplifting. It’s been a fairly quiet week.

As for the cats, Fergie is doing great. She sleeps all day long between meals with occasional trips to get close to me on the sofa, where…you guessed it…she sleeps.

Finnegan is still dealing with his chronic rhinitis. Every day, I’m using a damp cloth on his nose and applying pure petroleum jelly to loosen those boogers I remember my little ones having back in the day before they learned to blow their noses. Finnegan sees me blowing my nose and he comes to me and looks up expectantly. Then I wipe his little nose with the tiny little nostrils. I give him an antihistamine pill to help. We tried Benadryl but it made him very food aggressive. He’s doing well, though. He sleeps a lot, too. Of course, both cats are nine years old.

I have a challenge for spring. I want to be able to open the window on my storm door, but the roll down screen tore on the side completely at the end of last season. It’s the second one, so there must be some kind of defect in the door. I don’t want to invest in another one just to have the same thing happen. I’d like to replace it with a storm door that has slide down window to reveal the screen. However, the HOA system makes doing so a problem. If I don’t do something soon, the heat between the storm door and the inside door grows extremely hot and the plastic on the door warps. Plus opening the door lets too much heat into the house. It’s all due to the afternoon west sun with no trees to block it. It’s the only negative about my condo.

Looking forward to seeing more signs of spring. The pear trees by the pond are filled with white blossoms. I think the landscapers will be mowing soon. Let’s all keep hope in our hearts and joy in our days. Have a blessed weekend.

Devotions · Thankfulness

Reflecting on 2020

Carol Ann Erhardt2 Comments

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Looking back to 2020, 6 years ago, I was recovering from Covid-19, which at the time the doctors couldn’t identify and classified it as a very bad strain of flu. I refused to go to the hospital. They sent me home with a bottle of sore throat stuff to gargle. I recovered at home alone, taking Tylenol and drinking a lot of water. The coughing was so horrible at night, I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t have the energy to do more than a quick shower and change of night clothes. After a week of no sleep, I reached out to my daughter to bring me Vicks Vaporub. This actually helped with the night time coughing. My illness had followed a bout of shingles, so I believe my immune system was compromised, and I picked up the germ while in the doctor’s office for that. I only learned I must have suffered from Covid when the pandemic spread. I learned it would compromise smell and taste. True that!

Later came the lockdown. I never thought 20 years into the new century a pandemic would spread across the world. This was something Hollywood made movies about. Now it was real.

My daughter and I were talking about the blessing that my hubby didn’t have to go through this time as he had passed 7 years prior. He had severe COPD and heart disease.

During this time, God taught me to be content with what He had provided. I felt gratitude for my home and learned I could be happy in a kind of isolation. I missed attending church but was happy there was online service. I missed talking to people in person. My little neighborhood was so quiet. No one passed walking their dogs. No one sat on their porches. But I found blessings in the silence. I wasn’t alone. I had Jesus. I read my Bible, devotionals, and colored a lot. Life was slower, quieter, and peace surrounded me. I trusted God, avoided the news with all the doom and gloom and dire predictions. I reached out to friends and family by telephone and my daughter in NC and I video chatted once a week. There were so many blessings in this long year.

I’ve learned God gives me strength to walk through adversity. He shows me blessings in the waiting. And He is always with me.

Thankfulness

My Heart Overflows with Joy

Carol Ann Erhardt2 Comments

Yesterday, I drove to my sister of the heart’s home. She lives about 20 minutes away, and while I don’t drive on the busy highways any longer, I enjoy the drive to her house. I take back roads where there is little traffic, maybe a car or two one way or the other, but no backups and no crazy changing of lanes, or semis. Instead, it is a winding back country drive. I find it very peaceful and calming. While there are other ways to choose, they are much busier with multiple lanes or roundabouts (eek!).

As I’ve aged, I find the slower pace of life suits me well. I’ve settled into accepting my lifestyle has changed. It’s a good change. I don’t fight it or wish to go back in time. I choose to take in the experience of each new day with a grateful heart. I’ve learned to enjoy my quiet home with only the sounds of the furnace/AC, the refrigerator and the occasional meows of the cats. Right now, I’m enjoying the sound of my laptop keyboard. All these things surround me with peace and joy.

Perhaps it is knowing that wherever I go or whatever I do, the Lord is with me. It’s more than just scripture or words. It’s a secure knowing and experiencing of His presence.

This is the year I’ll age to 83. This is just a number. It doesn’t define me. It makes me smile! How wonderful to know God still has a purpose for me. He is giving me time to learn and to grow, but mostly to experience joy in each moment. My heart overflows.