Are you a sky watcher? When I lived in Michigan, Autumn always brought what we termed "El Greco clouds." One September I spent the month touring the beautiful country of Spain. While there I visited Toledo where I discovered works by the painter from Crete, El Greco. I was fascinated with the cloud formations and unique lighting in his paintings. As we would look westward, in Spain or Michigan, at twilight I would notice that same etherial lighting and magical cloud formations, just as El Greco painted them in the late 1500's and early 1600's. The beauty would make my … [Read more...]
Happy Labor Day! What does the holiday mean for you? An end of summer hurrah? One last day or two at the lake or beach? Maybe a gathering of friends with a fire or cookout? A chance to knuckle down and get a DIY project done? And maybe even for some, it's no different than any other day. There is a bit of history behind Labor Day and why we celebrate it which I won't get into that here. Instead I am thinking, if we have work...be it for someone else or we're our own task master...we are blessed. Recently I heard that the "real" unemployment numbers are more … [Read more...]
Other than going away to college or getting married, have you ever packed up your home, said good-bye to friends and neighbors, and moved far away? Our first big move was away from our sweet saltbox which we had built and thought would be our forever on earth home. Nine months ago we made our fifth move. This time, leaving behind friends we had made over twelve years. This week a man who greeted us and helped unload our moving trucks at our last house came with his wife to visit us in our "new" home. They were en route to see a U.S. Open Tennis Tournament and decided to take a day, … [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? Trust. Just five letters. A small word filled with the potential power for goodness, tenderness, and love. A word that could be equated with safety. Today our relationships and authoritative entities are wrought with a lack of trust. We say trust must be earned. Many are … [Read more...]
It's Saturday night. Our time to worship HIM. Worship. It's about Him. It's not about me. The congregation sings a song I know so well. A song I sang with the kids' worship team at my old church. It seems that every other week lately we've been singing a song to which "my" kids and I made up motions and led a multitude of other children in singing worship to our great God. "My" kids because I loved them (still do). "My" kids, because we were a team. A family. We celebrated, cried, prayed, and had fun together. We had the best of times every Wednesday night and Sunday … [Read more...]
I heard the whisper of God this past week. Why else would I have had the huge urge to completely clean out a storage room? Especially as I could close the door and no one would see the room, it was a perfect storage area. Monday night I had no idea why I wanted an empty room. But, I was a woman on a mission. It seemed that since that storage room was next to the laundry room (that's another upcoming story), that it would be the best place to put the clothes drying rack. Before the urge to empty the room, it had been called the “Christmas Room” as it was filled with all things … [Read more...]
Do you ever wonder what someone sees when they look at you? This verse from the Bible tells us what God sees. scripture art online But, I really wonder what people see? Today I was volunteering at my church and I was introduced to a man from Sierra Leone. His name was Harry. I chatted briefly with Harry, enjoying his accent and graceful manner. And then he said to me, "You have a godly smile." I hope I said, "Thank you." But, really, I have no idea what I replied. It was such an unusual compliment to receive. A few days ago, Ann Voskamp wrote about her experience … [Read more...]
