Revelation 22: 1-5

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

Dear Ladies,
I have always been perplexed by the portion of scripture in verse 3 where it talks about the leaves of the tree being used for the healing of the nations. Why do the nations need to be healed once we are in heaven if old things pass away and God creates a new heaven and earth? Have any of you ever thought about what this verse means? I've tried doing a study on it but always walk away confused. If you have any thoughts I'd love to hear them...thanks!

For more ABC's of the Word click over to Pam's blog Grey Like Snuffie and help us stir up God's word in our hearts.

Jacksonville Cemetery

We spent the morning trudging up and down the mountain side exploring the old cemetery. Time seems to stand still while wandering through the bramble of old headstones and I often wondered what these peoples lives were like, what hardships did they face, and did they face the same day-in-day-out trials that we are faced with today? I think that our lives were probably very similar in many ways.

The view from the top of the mountain down into the town. It was much higher so I used my telephoto in order to get a better picture of the little church below. The large flat building just beyond the blue church is our Inn.

We saw deer foraging for their morning meal.

Hubby saw this guy and said, "let's take a closer look!" "I don't think so," says I. This guy didn't look intimidated in the least bit. I thought he looked like he wanted us for breakfast.
Do you remember the old Japanese Deer Park in Buena Park? They had to close down after several years because some of the deer were known for attacking children. Well guess what...I was one of those kids. One minute I'm staring in the eyes of a sweet doe eyed deer telling him that he has had enough of my cookies and that some of the other deer should have a chance to eat cookies too and the next thing I know I'm face down in the dirt with a sweet little deer pounding his hoof prints into the back of my head. Not only did he leave his hoof print, but he ripped a chunk of my hair out of the back of my head and tore a giant hole in my beloved blue and white sailor dress.
So when my husband says, "let's take a closer look," I'm going to think twice. "No thank you dear, I'm at a safe distance right here! You go look if you want to."

Two of his friends who were sweetly cleaning each others faces and ears.

The cemetery was divided into several different sections. There was a Jewish, Catholic, and then a general area. The Jewish and Catholic sections were separated from each other by white markers. It was a tradition to place memorial stones on the headstones and many of the headstones were completely covered. It reminded me of when Joshua led the children of Israel across the Jordan and they placed memorial stones in the center of the river stream.

I don't remember the story behind this headstone, but I thought the statue looked as if she were pleading with the heavens above. What was her request, I wonder?
Sweet hubby thought she looked down right creepy! Silly man.

There were so many children's graves dotted through out the cemetery.

Many of the grave sites had fresh Christmas wreaths placed beneath them. It made me wonder how many generations of families had never left this beautiful valley and why should they want to wander from such a serene place?

We spent several hours wandering about the grounds, but there was so much more to see and do that we decided to head back into town for a little window shopping and lunch.

The Magnolia Inn

This was our room...Room 9.

By the end of our stay at the Magnolia Inn both hubby and I agreed that this is the best Bed & Breakfast we've stayed in. It's always been a dream of mine to own a B&B and I've gone over every detail in my mind of how it would be. All the way down to the colors, decor, room themes, and names. This romantic Inn had it all. Nothing was missing from my list.
We had a gorgeous view of the little church next door and the largest bathroom in the Inn. There was a small TV and movies available as well as free wireless Internet.
And the room was very cozy and romantic.

Outside our room was a kitchen for the guests that had everything from Microwavable popcorn to tea, coffee, fruit, and a fridge for storing left-overs. There was even a dishwasher. The French doors led from the kitchen to the veranda where I endured the cold to enjoy my breakfast outdoors in the crisp morning air.

A view of the veranda. There was an upper and a lower one for the guests to enjoy.

The entire Inn was decorated for the Christmas season in beautiful golds,
greens, and neutral accessories.

The guest kitchen with it's darling decor was a mix of new and old pieces.

The small front parlor was so inviting with it's large Christmas Tree and soothing color palette. I could have spent all afternoon sitting there sipping cocoa and reading magazines, but there was too much to do and see in town so I just walked by and sighed...aah!

Hubby standing in front of the Inn doors. What would I say the architecture was? I don't think there was any history on the house, but it looked as if it were a 20's style that had been added on to. What ever the architecture was, it was enchanting.

The exterior of the Inn. What a wonderful place to visit.
Next time we'll take a tour of the Historic Cemetery. I'm not sure why, but sweet hubby and I always love visiting the old cemeteries. Until then...

Winter Wonderland

Once the sun went down the Victorian town was transformed into a winter wonderland of white. Grand old houses surrounded by picket fences had candles burning in every window and wreaths were hung on each door. As we walked from the Magnolia Inn and rounded the corner to Main Street the entire area was lit by the soft glow of white lights. It was like walking into a dream.

A Room with a View

The view from our window at the Magnolia Inn

What a beautiful little Victorian town Jacksonville has turned out to be. When I first made plans to visit I wasn't sure what to expect other than what I had romanticized in my imagination. All I knew was that it was an old Gold Rush town that decked the halls for the Christmas season.

When we pulled into town we were both surprised to see every inch of the historic buildings covered with fresh garlands and twinkle lights. It was like rounding the corner to find yourself lost in an enchanted fairytale in some other-worldly realm.
We turned down 5th Street to find The Magnolia Inn where we would be staying for the next two nights and decided to see if they were ready for our arrival. The woman at the front desk said there had been a mix up in the rooms and the room I had requested was occupied so to make amends she let us pick the room of our choice with no extra charge. We chose room 9 with the black wrought iron bed and french motif...Tres jolie!
More on our wonderful Inn experience later. For now let's spend a bit of time in the town.

This beautiful Victorian towne is filled with small wooden churches of every shape and size....well, maybe not EVERY shape. They're all pretty rectangular, but darling in character.

The Main Street stores with thier pretty decorations and blooming planter boxes.

The town is nestled in the valley surrounded by mountains and many of the buildings roofs are covered in moss. Me being the silly person that I am thought is was magically charming while my hubby thought of the structural damage it would cause to the owner. I never cease to be amazed me at the differences between the male and female brains, but then I guess that's part of why God created them male and female. There's a certain balance between the two working together.
OK, I'm done with my rabbit trail.

The streets are filled with carolers singing acapella dressed in Victorian finery and wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas". If you are cold and need something to warm your tummie there's free apple cider being offered on a few of the street corners and instead of an expensive horse drawn carriage ride you can take a ride in an old wagon pulled by two Belgium Horses for a donation.
Poor hubby! We were waiting for the wagon to load up while I was teasing him about moving to a small town where we could dress up as Dickens characters and stroll the streets singing. He wasn't too fond of the idea and the next thing we knew the carolers were loading into the wagon. Much to his horror we rode all over town singing Christmas carols with the carolers.
I think it was the highlight of my day! Well, I did find some darling PINK glittered stars to buy, but I'll post about those later. Now there's a bit of a tale to tell.
Gotta run...the sun is lowering behind the mountains and there's a cute little coffe house I want to visit.