Sunday, January 13, 2008

More Unexpected Gifts

My friend Eileen's niece Pat, who lives in Broad Channel, New York, surprised me by sending me this beautiful little gift the other day. It is a keepsake of Saint Francis, with some animals and the baby Jesus. Eileen had told her how much I love animals, and had sent her a book with one of my animal stories in it. Pat said she was so touched by my story, that she just had to send me this lovely ceramic piece. Along with it, was a copy of these special prayers:


Prayer for my Pets--

In Your infinite wisdom, Lord God,
When You created the Universe,
You blessed us with all living creatures.
We especially thank You for giving us our pets
Who are our friends and who bring us so much joy in life.
Their presence very often helps us get through trying times.
Kindly bless my pets. May my pets continue
giving me joy and remind me of Your power.

May we realize that as our pets
trust us to take care of them, so
we should trust You to take care of us,
and in taking care of them, we share Your love
for all Your creatures.

Enlighten our minds to preserve all
endangered species so that we may continue to
appreciate all Your creations. Amen.


PRAYER TO ST. FRANCIS
FOR OUR PETS--

Good St. Francis, you loved all of God's creatures.
To you they were your brothers and sisters.
Help us to follow your example
of treating every living thing with kindness.
St. Francis, Patron Saint of animals,
watch over my pets
and keep my companions safe and healthy.
Amen


I was truly touched by your beautiful, surprise gift, Pat. Thank you!

PS. Eileen said it was hard to keep this surprise a secret, but she did it!



Meanwhile, my friend Jan, gave me an unexpected gift as well. This adorable country girl with her animals. Isn't she cute? I love her. Thank you, Jan.


Surprises are a wonderful way to end the week.
Have a blessed day!

38 comments:

Beemoosie said...

Suprise gifts are the sweetest!

Karen H. said...

Good Morning Ms. Renie,
I love the unexpected gifts you received from your friends. Looks like you had Christmas all over again. "THANK YOU" for sharing them with us. Did yall get any rain last night? We got some but not a major rain fall. They say it's suppose to get really cold again later on this week. Take care my friend and have a great day. May God Bless You and Yours.

Love & Hugs,
Karen H.

Patty said...

How nice of Pat and Jan to send you the figurines. Always nice to receive something through the mail as a surprise. Have a great Sunday.

Mississippi Songbird said...

awww.. Those are beautiful gifts..
I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday..

Susie said...

Hi Renie,
Lovely gift and poem. I have a statue of St. Francis in my garden that once was in my Grandma's garden. I treasure it of course...
xo

Nonnas News said...

I know that just made your week getting such sweet,unexpected surprises! Enjoy!

Renie Burghardt said...

Beemoosie,

Yes, they are! Thanks for coming by, Bonnie. Hope you are well.

Renie

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Karen,

I'm glad you're still around. We did not get any rain last night, and yes. we'll be back in the teens at night next weekend. Cold enough for me today.

Thank you for the nice comment. I had a wonderful day. I hope you did as well. Take care, my friend.

Hugs,

Renie

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Patty,

Saint Francis came in the mail, Jan lives in my area, and came by with her gift.

I had a lovely Sunday. Church, good friends, and good food made it a special day. Thank you for the nice comment. Hope your Sunday was nice as well. Take care my friend.

Renie

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Stephanie,

Had a lovely Sunday here. I hope you did as well. Thank you kindly for coming by. Have a nice evening.

Renie

Renie Burghardt said...

Susie,

It's so nice to see you. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Renie

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Nonna,

Er, I mean Patti. :-)

Yes, these sweet unexpected gifts did make my week! Thank you for stopping by. Have a nice evening.

Renie

Deborah Wilson said...

Renie,

That was sweet of Pat to send you the surprise gift..:)

It little things like this that makes life grand!

Michele | aka Raw Juice Girl said...

Hi Renie,

Congratulations on those nice gifts - you deserve them! And the poems are beautiful!

Yes, surprise gifts are the best. :-)

Hope you had a great weekend!

Smiles,
Michele

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Michele,

Thank you for the nice visit and comment. Yes, I did have a great weekend, well...except for a couple of hours Saturday, but we won't talk about that! :-)

I hope your weekend was nice as well.

Hugs,

Renie





Deborah,

It was very nice of Pat to send me the lovely little St. Francis and animals, ceramic. Especially, since I don't know her, except know that she is Eileen's niece.

Yes, little surprises like this do make life grand.

I hope all is well with you and hope that Angel is okay.

Renie

Tina Coruth said...

Renie,

These figurines are wonderful surprise gifts and the poems are lovely. Have a great day!

Hugs,
Tina

Merle said...

Dear Renie ~~ How lovely for you to get some surprise gifts. They are lovely as are the poems (or prayers)
Thank you for your comments and kids do say the cutest things in all innocence. Glad you liked the Old Age is a gift and the poem for Leann who
will be sad, but has amazing faith so she will be OK. I hope you had a nice lunch after church with your friends. Take care, Love, Merle.

audrey` said...

Dearest Renie

You're blessed with so many generous and kind friends =)
They're a great blessing from our Lord.

Take care.

Karen H. said...

Good Morning Ms. Renie,
I'm here for a refill on my coffee. LOL. It is cold here this morning. It is 27 degrees right now with a windchill of 23. They are calling for some Snow Showers here starting Wednesday night I think. "LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW"!!!! Take care my friend and have a great day. May God Bless You and Yours.

Love & Hugs,
Karen H.

Renie Burghardt said...

Tina, Hi!

Good to see you again. I'm glad you're feeling better. The sun is shining here. but chilly out. Have a wonderful day, too, and thank you for dropping by.

Hugs,

Renie

Renie Burghardt said...

Dear Merle,

I always enjoy all the inspirational and fun things you post. Even the blond jokes! Lol.

Yes, Leann has great faith, and it will see her through this sad time.

I thank you for the nice comments. The surprise gifts were very nice.

Have a lovely Tuesday! See you soon.

Love and Blessings,

Renie

Renie Burghardt said...

Dear Audrey,

Yes, indeed, they are a great blessing from the Lord.

Thank you for your visit and kind message. God bless you, my friend.

Renie

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Karen,

Coffee tastes good, doesn't it? Thanks for sharing a cup with me. As for your comment, "let it snow, let it snow," well, all I can say is "Hush!" Lol. But if it does snow, I'll be out there with my camera.

Hope all is well with you and yours. Will be over to visit this evening. Have a blessed day, my friend.

Hugs,

Renie

Patty said...

Christmas all over again ! What wonderful gifts.

Renie Burghardt said...

HI Patty,

So true! :-)

Thank you for stopping by. Have a nice evening.

Renie

Talk..to..Grams said...

How fun to get surprise gifts!! This was so kind of your friends to make your day so happy!!

We have one dog "Molly" and two cats Zeke and Mytrle! The are so fun!
I have added your blog to my side bar! I love coming over here!! Love and Hugs, Grams

Renie Burghardt said...

Grams,

Good to see you again! Thank you for the nice comment. And guess what? I have added you to my side bar as well. Nice to count you as one of my friends!

Blessings and Hugs,

Renie

Mary said...

Renie,

The gifts are both adorable. Aren't surprises wonderful?

I always look forward to reading your posts. They brighten my days. Thank you for sharing.

Blessings,
Mary

ancient one said...

Renie,

I loved your surprise gifts. They are the best! Loved the prayers also.

Hope you've had a good day!!

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Mary,

Thank you for coming by and the nice comment. I always enjoy hearing from you. Have a great day!

Hugs,

Renie





Hi Ann,

Thank you for coming by, and the lovely comment. I hope all is well with you!

Renie

Karen H. said...

Good Morning Ms. Renie,
I'm here for coffee again. LOL. It's another cold morning here. It's 27 degrees right now. They are still calling for a Wintry Mix late tomorrow night and into Thursday. I doubt we will get anything tho. We will probably just get rain as we always do. If you have to get out today, be sure to bundle up. Take care my friend and have a great day. May God Bless You and Yours. I enjoyed my coffee with you as always.

Love & Hugs,
Karen H.

Renie Burghardt said...

Good morning, Karen,

Yep, another chilly morning, but there is a lovely sunrise, so at least we'll get some sunshine today.

Well, you're about 80 miles south of me, so we may get some wintry stuff here, they're predicting. I used to love the snow, but two years ago, in December if 2005, I fell in the snow, and broke my hip! Since then, I'm not to keen on the stuff!

Well, got to get out there soon and feed the birds. I have so many of them coming to the feeders, and I really enjoy seeing them.

Have a wonderful day. That cup of coffee sure tastes good, doesn't it?

Love and Blessings,

Renie

Merle said...

Hi again Renie ~~ Thank you for your kind comments on my
post about The Penny Story. How nice for you to fin two recently. It has been so nice to have a break from the extreme heat and I try to get some jobs done before it returns. I liked the Senior Breakfast Special and the clever lady got to take her two eggs home. The quotes was a nice one too. Take care, my friend, Love, Merle.

Renie Burghardt said...

Dear Merle,

Yes, enjoy the cooler temperatures, and take refuge from the heat!

Thank you for stopping over. I always like to see your smiling face here. Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Love,

Renie

BClark said...

Renie,

Thank You so much for your visit and your kind comments. Wonderful to meet you and what a perfect post to find first thing. Animals, which as you noticed are important to me. I look forward to reading more.

Best to you, Barbara

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Barbara,

How nice to hear from you so quickly. Yes, I did notice that you're an animal lover as well. And you love living in the country. It's always a pleasure to meet kindred spirits in Blogland. Thank you for coming by and the nice comment. I look forward to reading more of your posts as well.

All the best,

Renie

Unknown said...

Aaaaah, Saint Francis is a personal favorite of mine. Thank you for this post.

Renie Burghardt said...

Mine as well, Mr. Nick.

Thank you for the visit.

Renie