Natures Beauty

Along the banks of the Kissimmmee River

This tree is 'talking history'....see below...

This Live Oak Tree is awesome...along the bank
of the Kissimmmee River...at least 200 years old!

Pat's 'in love' with the tree....

"Self pity is our worst enemy, and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in the world."

Helen Keller1880-1968,
Blind and Deaf Educator

Happy 2nd Birthday Lil' Chuckie

Mainsail Art Festival

Talking to new bride, Mrs. O'neill, on her 'honeymoon'..



Portable Cash

Awesome sight from this great organizational cause....

Flags, flags and more flags....beautiful eye feast
God Bless America...

"The Boys"....see last picture in wedding series

Carla & Kevin's Wedding

On Sat. till Sunday, our family traveled to Pelham, Ga...(near Thomasville) for the wedding of our dear Carla to Kevin. The wedding was held at Kevin's family 'K-Bar Ranch' . Acres and acres of lush country plus an area for state rodeo competition was the perfect Southern setting for this celebration of Love....and Family. The setting looked like a movie set from 'Dallas'....with the exception that there was Gator paraphernalia on barns, buildings, houses, cakes .....everywhere! If any family can be perfectly matched as sport fan enthusiast.....then that happened when these two families merged....
But most of all, Carla & Kevin have combined one of the key elements of life into their united marriage.....Family!
In conversation with Kevin's family members it was like hearing an 'echo' of our own ......"we are a close family and we welcome you to be part of this celebration of love..."

Go To Photo Show Animation on right and choose

Carla & Kevin's Wedding to view photo show...

Also, click on Pictures below to enlarge...then back arrow...

I present to you.......Mr. & Mrs. Kevin O'Neill

Kevin's Family Picture (with some missing)

Our Family....Missing from picture...

Ash, Matt, Lynn, Britt, Dylan, Joshua, Chad

......Everybody was scattered by the time this picture was made...

See 'missing persons' in Photo Show on right....

Happy Bride & Groom

'Watch Out, Kevin, she has 'that' look!'

The Look...Of Love!

What is this?

Lil Chuck finds the beer tap....

And Boys will be.....Boys!

My......Serenity Prayer

The Serenity Prayer....
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
and the Wisdom to know the difference"...
This has been around so long that we overlook its timeless wisdom and insight.
Recently I came across a variation of this prayer...
"God grant me the serenity to accept the person I cannot change,
the courage to change the person I can,
and the Wisdom to know that I AM THAT PERSON."
In truth, the only person we can ever change is......OURSELVES....

Heaven....

Heaven...What's It Like?
A few years ago I wrote a simple little book called 'Heaven' and its reality...
The Bible makes it clear that....Heaven is a place on the map of God.
It's within the realm of the actual.
It doesn't float around in some ethereal dream world.
It's not a DisneyWorld.
It is REAL and in contrast with earth, it is STABLE, SECURE, PERMANENT, and...ETERNAL.
Heaven is a PREPARED PLACE for a PREPARED PEOPLE....
It is for those WHO HAVE MADE RESERVATIONS HERE.
John 3:16 makes this clear.....

Will we know each other in Heaven?
Certainly!......
(Read Mark 9:1-5 John immediately recognized Moses and Elijah, though they had lived 900 years before....)
If anything, we'll know each other BETTER.
We NOW recognize people by how they look - their outward appearance;
but THEN THE RECOGNITION WILL BE OF WHAT THEY ARE -
we'll see beyond the externals INTO THE TRUE CHARACTER OF THE PERSON.
Since our bodies will be raised to house our spirits, there will probably be some resemblance to our past life. Jesus was able to prove the reality of His Resurrection by HIS crucifixion scars....
......and yet....WE WILL BE DIFFERENT... (1 Corn. 15:40-44)
Since our resurrected body will be designed for a NEW DIMENSION, it will NOT be limited by SPACE and TIME, and like Jesus' body, will pass through matter. (John 20:26) and probably move through space WITH THE SPEED OF THOUGHT...
How old will we be?
Since there is no time in eternity, THERE IS NO AGE!
Age....implies.....aging, and that is something we will NEVER do in Heaven. (1 Corn. 15:53)

All of the above is just a few excerpts from my little book called, Heaven....
To get the full picture in a very simple way.....there is a web-site that tells it in an exciting and beautiful but simple format which impresses me tremendously....
Please Go to...http://www.heaventour.org/gates.html
My today's devotion reminded me of this when I read In 2 Corn. 5:(MB)....."The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of Heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less....That's why we live with such Good Cheer..."
that's why we can say...NO MATTER WHAT....It IS a GOOD Life!

What you think.....is what you are!

Article by: Dr. Jay Dishman.....

"Recently I visited Alcatraz prison. Once it housed the most hardened of criminals.

Today it is open to tourists under the direction of the United States Parks Department.

Many men have tried to escape Alcatraz, no one is known to have succeeded.

As I listened to the tour guide explain the impossibility of escape, I thought of other prisons equally confining but where the doors are never locked, no guards walk the halls, and escape is encouraged and possible. That prison is habit."
Our habit of thinking about ourselves and our environment as a jail or a paradise.

We need but to look around us to see people who are rich emotionally and materially because they think and feel rich. We also see people who are laden with emotional and material debt because they think lack. Some are inspired with vision, others are encumbered with doubt. Some are moved by ambition, others feel safer in monotony. Some reach for the mountain tops, others huddle in the pits. Some seek opportunity, others wait for it to knock. The sad fact is that more people are confined by their thoughts than are fed by them.
Negative thinking shuts us in a prison, but there is a way out.

The apostle Paul said, "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind."

Paul knew a lot about prisons, both physical and mental.

You renew your life by renewing your mind.

You renew your mind when you change your habit of thinking.

Change your thinking.....change your life!

The Heart of Family Easter

Joshua enjoyed his 'Heart Jello' dessert...

"Too cool for pool....hot tub 'just right'" say Turkey & Joshua

Bride-To-Be on April 14th, Carla and cousin Matt....

Aunt Carla and Baby Dylan....

Family Easter Fun...

Joshua & Lil Chuck on Easter Egg Hunt...

Joshua finds one in Tire Swing

Lil Chuck....'Turkey' admires his eggs...

Gracie, Britt & Carla....Family Fun...

Good Friday is....Good News!

The history of Jesus's actions on this .....Good Friday....is very profound in the movie,
The Passion of Christ....
BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS....
SUNDAY IS.....COMING!
The good news is....the bad news is....WRONG!

Happy "Good News" Easter.....

See Photo Show....

Be sure and go to Animated Photo Shows on the right ....
Click on....Bill's Seafood Fest to see all pictures
Let me know how this process works for you...

Seafood Week-End...Thank You, Bill Otis!

Sorry, no seafood, Boys!.....April Fools! Our friend, Bill Otis, gave us a wonderful gift this week-end.....
A seafood feast that lasted two-days....
Bill shared with us, HIS FRIENDS, about 20 lbs. of creole spiced crawfish and jumbo shrimp which was cooked in Louisiana, packed in ice and flown to Florida....just for him.....
Bill called Ann & Dockie, Sally (aka:Mom) & Sam, Melissa & Kurt, and Charlie and I and invited us to 'help him' enjoy his bounty.....
We, immediately, made our arrangements to be available on the Kissimmee River in Okeechobee in order to 'help him out'.
We ate for TWO DAYS!
See slideshow below....
For those of you who do not know....here is what Wikipedia says about...crayfish,, crawfish or crawdads....

Crayfish, often referred to as 'Crawfish' or Crawdad's , are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are closely related....

There is an art to eating them....Kurt, Charlie & Sam.....really know this to perfection!
Thank you, Bill , for this 1st Annual Seafood Fest.....
Susan, we missed you, Sweetheart, and hope you are feeling better and will soon be enjoying 'the Good Life' with all your friends who love you....

How big is...Jumbo?

Bill's Annual Seafood Feast....