Winter’s Deep Freeze Has Left the Branches Bare My hope has been placed in so many things, in so many people. I depended on circumstances, or well-thought-out plans, maybe a job, but most especially a particular person in whatever season of my life on which to hang my hope. If whatever I was hoping for would come to pass, then I knew I would be at peace and filled with joy. But time and again, whatever I … Continue reading →
Gray clouds covered the sky but they would not darken my day. The Lord had written His joy and beauty across the sky and in my heart. He had ordered His hidden treasures to be placed with love throughout my day. Sweet words from my precious students. Smiles. Hugs. A thoughtful lunch from coworkers. Friends gathered around God’s word in our home. Words. Wishes. Love notes from friends. And then the desire and prayer answered that my heart feared … Continue reading →
I gazed up at the sky, overcome once again by a vibrant Summer Sunset in this blistering desert. Quickly I grabbed my camera and snapped away before the colors faded and the clouds pulled apart like cotton candy. When I checked the views billowing into my camera’s viewfinder, I was struck at the deep roiling red captured in my first photo. It eerily reminded me of fire more than a peaceful sunset ushering in a docile evening. … Continue reading →
“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.: Isaiah 32:18 NIV By God’s special blessing, we were tucked under his pine trees breathing peace-scented air mingled with cypress at this charming bed and breakfast in Northern California. The Lord knew we thirsted for a rest after such an anxious half year so he gathered us together with our close friends up in the Sierra Nevada mountains–far from the pressure of … Continue reading →
A Rose from Aunt Mary’s garden that graced the podium in Church Last weekend, those privileged to be part of Aunt Mary’s heritage packed the center aisle of the church in which Hubby’s aunt had been involved for more than 30 years. Bound closely together by her love, we all processed down the aisle where her footsteps had entered every morning for daily Mass. Her children, 5 still living, and their spouses led the honor walk to the … Continue reading →
Dear Amy, When the latest blow of pain sliced through my heart like a knife, you stood beside me with your ever-present gift of comfort and tender sensitivity to my words and hurt. But your face registered a look I’d never seen before, and it sent a wave of tremors through my insides. You looked Stunned. Shocked. Incredulous. Twenty minutes later as you moved around the room, you said, “Wow. I’m just having a hard time comprehending this. Two … Continue reading →
I’ve heard His voice while pouring out my pleas, the desires pounding deep within my heart, the prayers crying out for the one who has walked away. He has whispered to my spirit while I’ve knelt before the altar. His voice has been heard through friends’ wise counsel. It’s time to turn my heart toward Him. To forsake all others who have been the center of my attention, the desire of my mother-heart. I have said, “yes,” yet … Continue reading →
“… I tell you the truth whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40 NIV Last week, our church teamed up with AMOR Ministries and built three houses for families in Mexico. The families who are recipients of the new homes have been identified by a local Christian church as being in desperate need of a new dwelling. While living in leaky, clapboard houses, camper … Continue reading →
Questions Need Soul Answers-Psalm 131 I could feel the depression creep into my skin like an insidious attack of insects looking for a winter home in which to roost. I flipped my head to the other side on my soft pillow, hoping to rub out the feeling of invasion and a Saturday morning filled with dreariness. Only the morning’s grogginess filled my waking mind at first. But once the invasion began, my contemplation of the day ahead became sullied … Continue reading →
“Whatever is lovely…think about such things” “You worry too much,” my cousin wrote the words that so aptly describe the workings of my mind. Just a few weeks ago I was held captive by worry as I drove home from work, not an uncommon happening. Anxious thoughts crept into my mind and spiked on the Richter scale of patterns zigzagging across the internal screen. As I wound up the road home, the intensity of worrisome scenarios built for … Continue reading →
