One day as I was driving to the workshop I tuned my car radio to our local public radio station.  It's one of the few that still plays mostly classical music.  As I was listening I heard a familiar piece of music that moved me in a new way.  My heart engaged so fully I was almost on the verge of tears.     I was listening to a selection from Handel's Water Music. As I listened, my heart was filled with praise to the Lord. I wasn't sure why... so I did a little online research.  Though I knew the name of the piece, I was curious about Handel and if there was a backstory. It … [Read more...]

  God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1   When my friends hurt... I hurt. Today I have friends who have battened down the hatches, filled their bath tubs, and are waiting for Hurricane Irma. Others who escaped to higher ground or other areas to wait. I have another friend who has been betrayed by a person in her life that should always be counted on to be trustworthy. There are the friends who are trying hard to make their marriage work and each day is a struggle. I know people trying to figure out how to rebuild after Harvey. And … [Read more...]

  Morning is my favorite.  I love the light and the quiet and peace of the morning.  And though I am an early riser... I love to savor the morning and begin slowly.  It doesn't always happen. But, this morning Tim got up before me and put eggs on the stove to boil and proceeded to get ready for work. As I walked into our living room, the sunshine was streaming in the windows.  The sky... brilliant blue... everything looked extraordinarily crisp and clear.  And then I noticed it... the sunflower in the vase... it was facing the sun.  Its petals glowing. It was a moment.  Could I call it a holy … [Read more...]

  Do you wonder if you have enough faith?     You think... "If only I had enough faith... I would have handled the situation differently." OR "Things would have turned out differently." I have a friend whose son innocently got in trouble with the law.  It was one of those things where he just didn't think and he offered to help his friends out. The consequences were unimaginable.  And all I can think is what is happening to our justice system? For months we have been praying in faith, believing that God would rescue him from what feels like an unjust prosecutor. We believe … [Read more...]

  Have you ever participated in a group event where there was a trust walk or a trust fall? Even if you know all the members of your party, and are fairly certain that they will look out for your best interest, do you find it difficult to trust that they will lead you, or catch you, or keep you safe?     Who do you trust?   Maybe you have trust issues that make these kinds of "events" and most people unsafe or scary.   Trust...   A small word filled with the potential power for goodness, tenderness, and love. A word that could be equated with … [Read more...]

      Just between us... do you sometimes feel like God doesn't care? It's okay... you're not alone. We all feel like that sometimes. As I was preparing to write this post, I had a sense that you needed to be reminded just how very much God cares for you. God. Our big God.  The Creator of the universe. The One who had you in His mind's eye before you were even conceived. Yes... that amazing, powerful, just, strong, amazing, faithful, loving, and tender God... He loves you and cares for you intimately. And... Just in case you need further validation... here are some … [Read more...]

  My writing chair faces north. Through a wide expanse of windows, I have a beautiful tree top view.  And even though I can't see the sun rise from my spot this morning, I do see fingers of golden light reaching... reaching around as gentle wisps of radiant color into my narrow view.     From this vantage point, my field of vision is limited.  The branches of the tall oaks are silhouetted against the dawn like a line drawing.  The intricacy is incredible... but it is only a glimpse of a bigger world.  For as far as I can see... beyond the trees... are more trees.  Off to the side... … [Read more...]

    Here we are the week AFTER Easter and I find myself reflecting on some of the events leading up to Jesus' death and resurrection. I think that's the way it was for Jesus' friends and followers, too.  Sometimes we see things in hindsight that were right in front of us but we just didn't see them. Jesus said a lot of things that night of the last supper.  If it wasn't enough that he humbled himself to wash his disciples' feet, he also told them about things to come that were unfathomable and challenging even for us to process when we know the whole story.  You can read all about it in … [Read more...]

  Each day I read a few devotional meditations as part of my time with God in the morning. One of them has music videos that are included, but it is rare I ever view them. This morning, for some reason I was nudged to click the music video open.  It was good.  And I was grateful to have engaged in worship to God with it.  When it was finished, as always happens on YouTube, a collage of other music options came up.  I noticed a song we sing in church, at least I was hoping it was the same song and decided to listen to it as … [Read more...]

  Are you settling for second best? God intends for us to live life fully. He doesn't want us to settle for second best. Sometimes it's really good to read scripture out of context. It's then the Ah-Ha moments can come. That's what happened when I read this verse.... God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else? Romans 8:32 As we make our approach to Easter, we're contemplating this amazing love that God has for us and the significance of Jesus giving His life to pay the price of our sin. When God sent Jesus to earth to be … [Read more...]

    This evening we sat at a red traffic light.  My husband is usually a very patient man, but tonight, he was very tired and commented several times as we sat under the heavy gray skies about how the light was slow, that the timing must be off, and then finally, it turned green. I, the typically impatient one, wasn't bothered by the length of time the light remained red. Remember, I said Tim was tired.  He is usually quite busy on the weekends with his work and we also volunteer at church... so we don't have much time together. I had some errands to do and he offered to come with me. … [Read more...]

  Are you been in that spot where you are looking for answers but can't seem to find any? There I was in that very spot, trying to make things happen, and being completely frustrated when I came across this verse... This is what the Almighty Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: You can be saved by returning to me. You can have rest. You can be strong by being quiet and by trusting me. But you don’t want that. Isaiah 30:15   The morning I read that verse I had no idea that it would be a day where I would encounter an obstacle at every turn.  Nothing seemed to go the right … [Read more...]

    This morning I read this verse from 1 Corinthians and sort of felt like it was a slap in the face. Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong.  1 Corinthians 13:4-5 As I think back over the past 24 hours I know I had moments of impatience, selfishness, envy, and pride.  I wanted my own way and though I probably didn't notice it, was probably irritable or touchy.  Grudge … [Read more...]

  When I was growing up I used to hear people talk about how to know God's will for your life. It's a question to which we all want an answer.     Better yet... a direct message, email, a text from God would put us all on the right path.  Or so we think. I know that there are times when I'm perplexed with indecision and I wish for His "handwriting on the wall." God doesn't work that way and even if we had a personalized life plan in our hands Fed-Exed directly to us from Him... we would still pick and choose what feels good to us.  What?!  I hate to admit it... but how many … [Read more...]

  This morning I prayed for direction in writing this post.  As usual, there were no lightning bolts nor was there any handwriting on the wall.     My heart was open to hearing from God.  And he didn't leave me wondering for long.  I opened Bible Gateway and the verse of the day popped up. Here it is... If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars. For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen. The command that Christ has given us is this: whoever loves God must love others also. 1 John 4:20-21 I had already been concerned about … [Read more...]

  If a TV reporter were to stop you on the street and thrust a microphone in your face and ask you what you're thankful for this Thanksgiving... what would be your answer? We often talk about gratitude here and how a thankful heart is a happy heart.     As I was editing photos today I was thinking about Thanksgiving and the pilgrims' first Thanksgiving dinner that my second-grade class reenacted on the stage of an old gym with the slippery brown linoleum floor.  A long table was placed on the stage and set with food.  I'm not sure if every student dressed in pilgrim clothing, but … [Read more...]

  Words... Have you noticed that there's been a war of words, especially on Facebook? Granted Facebook isn't REALLY our personal space.... but it feels personal to me. It's where I keep up with my nieces... one lives in Connecticut and the other in Arizona. It's where I keep up with the friends I've made in New York, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and beyond. It's also a work space for me... there are the blogging groups I belong to and there's my biz page for my blog, too.     Words, memes, and other images have invaded the space where I usually I look forward to seeing … [Read more...]