Truly Humbled and Ten Times Blessed!

I sit here humbled by the kind words given. Not so sure I know how to react.....The words I tap out are just simple, not flowery, my vocabulary is not a large one. And even though I'm not always grammatically correct it doesn't seem to matter much.

You still seem to relate to me. I believe that we are all here for eachother...Sharing life stories, giving words of encouragement, words to make us think,  we are here to share in the happy times,  times of tapping out frustration and feelings of inadequacy, Letting eachother know how we all fall short, It's knowing that we need eachother. That our days aren't always rainbows and sunny side ups. We all know the rain does come and the winds do blow.

My words are mere utterings compared to His word. So when your feeling like you can't relate and no one understands. Go to His word. His Grace is Amazing.....His Grace is LOVE that cares and stoops and Rescues. {John R. W. Stott}

As for me and my tapping of simple words ......I want you to know that I'm real, I'm here for you, to let you know of the love that I know.

 Jesus said to Him, I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life: no man comes to Father, but by me. John 14:6

 You will find this Amazing LOVE in the Living WORD.

 I love the book of Romans, the book of GRACE.

 Romans 10:8 is a good place to start.

And by the way, thank you all, for your kind words. I am truly humbled, and ten times blessed!

Where I Grew Up

My old stomping grounds. This is where I grew up, this is where I'll always call home..........

And I'm 1200 miles away, away from the sights and the smells I know so well. The things that are still engraved in my mind.

I used to pick these as girl, bringing them home for mama to fill the vase with. My daughter is up there now spending time with my family........I long to be there. It's a yearning I get, at times it's stronger than others. The yearning and the ache to be up home I mean. Her voice comes over the line, "Mama I picked these just for you!, but they died before I could bring them home."
And I can almost smell their sweet wild smell through the computer screen. If I just close my eyes I can remember their sweet frangrance. It's not just the flowers that have that sweet smell, It's the walk down the dirt road, wind in our hair, my sister and I. Two little girls loving the out doors. Mama had to beg us to come in.

And it's the black caps that use to grow out in our back yard behind the garage. Mama would give us each a bowl and we would try and bring back just enough for her to make her famous turnovers. Smashing the breyers down with our feet as they scraped and scratched our legs. I can still hear the thump, plunk of the berries hitting the bowl as we dropped them in.

This old tree has had many a young girl hang from it's branches. This old maple has shaded many picnics and if you could hear her branches talk she would tell you how lonely she has been over the years after we grew up. The picnics don't come any more.

This Old Rugged Cross was made by an old man....He made it for his wife after she had passed away. I remember it always being there and I know it has long been there before me. I never thought that someday she would be standing next to it. She is living my memories, of places I've been, the things I use to do when I was her age. And it's coming full circle, this life of mine.

Chasing memories in my mind like the ducks we use to chase on my Grandmothers farm. I never seemed to catch up to them {until now}.....the ducks I mean.   Yes I'll always call this home here on earth. They say your home is where your heart is.........My earthly body longs for this home but my heart and soul longs for heaven. His name is engraved on my Heart. And my soul longs for Home, my Heavenly Home. Oh the smells and the sights, the flowers that will never die, and all the black caps you can eat.

72. Black Caps
73. Brown eyed Susans
74. Old red leaf Maple Trees
75. Chasing Ducks
76. Full Circles
77. Mama's Turn overs
78. Long Walks
79. Dirt Roads
80. Heavenly Home
81. His Name engraved on my Heart

Sweet Faith Filled Memories

Built by hand and put together with love.... This old hope chest, you will never see another one like it. Made by my Great Aunt and Uncle so many years ago. Together they nailed the boards and painted it red. To hold their hopes and dreams, their memories of yesteryear.

I remember the day she gave it to me.  She was moving into an assisted living home, she was getting on in years and she didn't have enough room for all her things. So she was giving them away, Her precious memories. Her husband Ray had long since passed on before her. It was bitter sweet for her, for us. She gave away so many treasures that day. And with each one came a story where it was from, how she happened upon it. And some came with tears.

I learned a lot that day. I learned that although it's nice to have things passed down from generation to generation, especially if there is a story behind it. It's the memories that mean more, those are what we hang on to. That's what we cherish. And I'll always remember her happy, always with a smile. I miss her, And even though I have her things they don't mean near as much as the time that I spent with her, talking, listening and laughing.

Old family pictures are what fills the hope chest now. And some day I hope to pass it on down with the memories of her. How her smile would light up a room and her sweet voice would calm your soul. That she wasn't afraid of dying, that she talked of how great it would be when she sits in the lap of her Maker. That's what legacy's are made of..........Sweet Faith Filled memories. It's nice to pass down family heirlooms, but it's more precious than Gold to give your time to those you love, that's what they will remember the most. Long after the things of this earth have faded away.

67. Sweet Faith Filled Memories
68. Hope chests painted Red
69. Family heirlooms
70. hopes and dreams
71. Sweet Time

Into a Uniqueness All HIS Own

They look like little men in green hats. Up from the ground they came. growing in deep purple, almost black.

It's funny to me how life grows. Starting from a tiny seed, and then forming into a uniqueness all it's own. From the dirt this eggplant came. From the dirt we all came. It's the dirt that reminds me of how filthy the soul can be. My heart and soul knows all too well how unworthy I am.

My soul longs to stay clean. White as snow, forgiven by The Magesty of Purple.  And so I keep asking  Him for the soul drenched rain washing. The rain that makes you grow into a uniqueness all your own.

And then after you have been drenched with forgiveness The Son dries you off and shines upon you bringing out what was once almost black into beautiful vibrant colors.

And this is how you shine, this is where the light comes from. With out His forgiveness your soul stays black and dirty, like the ground you were made from. And in the end this body of mine will go back into the soil, but my soul will soar. With all the light that lives in me, my soul will soar to the heavens.

This cleaning of the soul, you can't do it on your own. There is nothing you can do that will be good enough. The work has already been done. The price has already been paid. The only thing that's left, is for you to surrender your dirty soul and let His forgiveness rain down upon you. Let the Son shine through you. Allow your self to grow out of the dark and into the light. Into a uniqueness all HIS own.

61. Eggplant
62. The Son
63. The deepest of purples
64. Little green hats
65. Eggplant lasagna
66. I'm Forgiven

Is There Beauty in a Rock?

It's just a pile of rocks and for some reason I find myself taking pictures of them.

Is there beauty in a Rock?

The rocks tell a story, with in them holds the truth, even Charles Darwin said: "As by this theory innumerable transsitional forms must have existed, why do we not see them embedded in countless numbers in the crusts of the earth? The number of immediate links between all living and extinct species must have been inconceivably great!" Which means that there are no fossil records that proves one animal evovled into another. Even Darwin himself was not convinced of his own beliefs and theories of evolution. There is no evidence that proves evolution. NONE!

So is there Beauty in a rock? I believe there is. In their cracks and crevises tells the story of creation. Do you think it's a coincidence that God's word says:
 He only is my ROCK and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved. Psalm 62:2

When the King of Kings had a crown of thorns placed on His head, He was taking our place. He was put in a tomb where a large STONE or ROCK covered the opening.

 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the STONE from the door, and sat upon it. Matthew 28:2

Oh how beautiful a story the Rock has to tell. If we would only listen.......

My littlest ones also found beauty in the rocks. They found what I couldn't see. Sometimes we are not willing to roll our own stone away to see the truth. It  takes more effort to beleive in the fractures of evolution than in the ROCK of SALVATION!

Feeling Blue?

The bluest of blues. For as long as I can remember blue has been my favorite color.

I'm not sure why they use the color blue to state how your feeling when your sad.

I don't feel sad when my eyes take the calming color in. And when I look at the brilliant blue sky I'm amazed at the many shades of blue that there are. My favorite time of day is Dusk, right before the sun goes down. When every thing has that blue hue. And the air lays still like a blanket, tucking in the day time creatures for the night. Except for a slight breeze every now and then whisping through your hair, bringing natures sweet smells for you to inhale.

Feeling Blue?  It may be that your life is lacking the color blue. Go out side and take in the color of the sky. Look towards the heavens.

Breathe in the sweet smells, take a break from where you've been. He will meet you where you are. No matter what color your lacking, He can give you the rainbow.

The Almighty Physician and His nurses

The line in the waiting room is a long one. This is where the sick and broken wait..............

And one by one they take them in. Asking them where it hurts.

Good Doctors are hard to find these days. Ones that have the time to care. To take the time to ask questions and to answer questions. It takes a special person to do what they do. Our bodies are so complex. I know I'm not that special person. The sight of blood makes me weak in the knees.

Isn't that what church is for? For the hurt and the broken? For the sinners and the saints? Why are we all here, if it's not for the broken? We come together, to learn together, to heal together, to correct eachother. To hold eachother accountable. To help fix the broken.

Don't we all have the capability to at least be nurses..........nurses of the heart? Especially if Jesus occupies your heart. Don't you feel what He feels for the broken? No matter how big the hurt, Jesus can heal, He is The Great Physcian. And praying is our medicine. Taking the time to ask questions, to listen. To give a hug, to lend a hand even when you don't have the time. Make the time, take the time to care. Sometimes the hurt and broken don't want to be fixed, they don't "need" to be healed. But if we give up on them .........They will never feel the conviction, Never see the healing, And death will be forever.

 To be God's hospital we need to be His body......hands, arms and feet. But most of all Patience is of most importance. For it is in His time that the hurt and the broken become healed. I learned that lesson with my uncle. For years I prayed for his salvation. I wrote letters, it made him angry, but I kept on. I really began to doubt that my prayers would be answered.  But I kept praying and a couple of weeks before he died, he gave his life to the Lord. Cancer may have taken his body, but his soul won the victory.  Church is not a Country Club, it's a Hospital. And God is the almighty Physician and we are His nurses.  By the way, the line in the waiting room is a long one.

What Matters

"I just had my drivers liscence renewed, it will be good for another 8 years." She pauses and then starts again..."I'll be 78 years old........That's a sobering thought isn't it?" I try and grab words as if they are floating right above me. It's strange to me, I said. Strange when you put a number on your life. She has held and rocked all my babies even was there to watch a couple of them come into this world. I don't put in-law after Mother............It doesn't suit her, that's not who she is to me.

I think of all the things she has taught me over the years, all the things she has brought to my life. Does she even realize the difference she has made in me........in everyone. She plays many roles in this family. Faithful wife, Loving Mother, Devoted Grandmother. And she puts her all into everything she does. She rarely says no, I don't believe it's part of her vocabulary. It's probably the most precious role she plays.....the role of His servant. That's her gift, that's what she does better than anyone I know. Without a complaint and all in love.

Her light shines and it's shining brighter with age.

I want her to know that when I look at her I'm not seeing a number. I'm seeing someone who has been there for me for more than half my life. A permanat figure. I want her to know that I adore her and am so very thankful for all she has done for me.....for everyone. And even though the grey is starting to appear a little bit more each year that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what your number is. What matters is all of the time and love you have put in. Your legacy will be a great one, one that will live on long past your time here. What really matters is that I know this life is not the end for you and I. What matters is that there are no numbers in heaven. And I'm looking foward to being with you up there. For we are not suppose to cling to this life we live here on earth.

Those who try to hold on to their lives will give up true life. Those who give up their life for me will hold on to true life. Matthew 10:39

So let the grey come and the numbers go up. What really matters is the True Life we have in Him! And by the way, Thank you.........Thank you for all you have done and all your still going to do. But most of all I thank you for your son!

58. True Life
59. My Mother in-love
60. Sparklers

Kindred Spirits

She comes in my room and tells me she is going outside to play, my Sweet Summer Skye, oh how she misses her. From the window I feel her pain. She tells me later that she only cries at night. "That's when I miss her the most."

They are 4 years apart, but so close at heart. Why is it that the tears and fears come mostly at night? It's in the dark that we feel alone. And She is in her little sister's prayers while she is away. At night that's the only light little sister finds. For His Light shines through the blackest of nights, and cuts through the loneliest of times. And she will make it through until her sweet sister returns. This is what makes the heart grow fonder, this is what makes us stronger.

I know how she feels. I have a sister of my own. And when your so close and yet so far, the pain of separation never really dies it just fades. It's through cyber space that we reconnect. Sometimes just seeing her face is all I need to start again.  And she is my best Friend, always has been, always will be. Like kindred spirits dancing in the sun. Dreaming of days gone by. Looking foward to the days to come, to reunite again. And it's easy to pick up where we left off. We share that special bond. No matter how far apart or how long it's been, it's always easy to begin again.

His Glory Reigns

It's raining out side this morning and we are all inside. I look around the house and I notice crystal rain drops inside, hanging from a candle chandleir. I wonder if you slowed the rain down to a stop, would it look like this? 

And this is God's rain soaking the floor of the earth. Quenching all thirst. Rejuvinating everything green. And I pause..........

Everything God given, Everything God made, Everything under the rain is crystal clear. His Glory shines like the sun through the prisms of my indoor crystal rain drops. Like the outdoor rain brings the colors out of the earth. His Glory Reigns.......And the sun is making it's way through the blanket of clouds to shine on His Glory.  Enjoy each brand new day even when it rains, because they are all God Given.