Bitter Cold

It's cold. Bitter cold. I'm stuck inside. Stuck with a good book. Close to a fire. Wrapped in a blaket. Beloved voices heard in the home.

It's cold. Bitter cold. I'm stuck inside...........I am glad.

The Snow Arrives

The snow arrives and our household is ready to stay in and gather around the fire. It's been so long since we've had this pleasure. Snow days bring a necessary pause. In a way, the earth looks new. Fresh. A natural new beginning for a day. A day scheduled the way you desire and you can stay home. Beginning again is always good to do, even if it's the first of February. Beginnings. They inspire hope, anticipation of good things. Yet, hard things come and we walk through them whether it be willingly or unwillingly. When snow melts and the normal pattern of life gears back up, we will take moments of these days and remember the rest, the pause, the reflecting done and will ever so slowly begin to apply those new beginnings and reestablished rhythms for the days ahead.

Truly, let it snow...........

February's Walk

Winter's beauty.....



Frozen fog clinging to trees....



The setting sun of a full day, glowing bright in love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No fresh inspiration for the day.
No earth shattering insight to ponder.
No great "next thing" to grasp, understand.
No breakthrough I've been anticipating.
No new delicious morsels to nurish the soul.

Just the filling words of life I love. Read again and again. Dear friends of old. Comforting. Healing. Loving. Seeming new as I read them with anticipation, knowing what the next words are. Familiar becoming fresh. Reminders of who He is, of His love. Gratitude. Always gratitude in the remembering.

Gratefulness Doesn't Begin to Explain this.....

.....for a life filled with men who desire to be real, loving, strong, and valiant....and that they love me.....




....for hands to work long hours, strength of might and diligence in their tasks, and hands to do His bidding in glad obedience......




....for feet that will run to Him, stand strong when they must battle, and flee from unrighteousness......a blessing beyond measure.....




.....and most importantly, for smiles and deep belly laughs that filled the photo shoot (& this life!) with many "retakes" and memories to come.




Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving thanks.
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Oh LORD, I give thanks to You for the great and mighty things that I would never have known without knowing You.......You are good.....beyond measure.....beyond words....I bow low....

Grateful for Tender Care

Luke 12:6-7

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.




Psalm 84

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

Each day, I am seeing new things. After my hubbie lovingly created a bird feeder for my kitchen window, I have been delighted by little birds. I have been delighted by growing young men and their deepening love for His creation. The giggles and awe of watching flying creatures, with personalities, sustain themselves.... a daily grace. Sparrows are precious. Little. Ordinary. I can relate. No bright showy red to catch the eye. No size to admire greatness. No food for a meal. Just a bird. A plain 'ole bird. I like them.

"The sparrow has found a home." Home. That's what holidays stir in these days. The beckoning of coming home. Planning for it. Dreaming of it. Yearning for it. A beautifully set table, steaming bowls of love ready for the consuming, happy chatter with loved ones. I think of earthly home. I want to dream, plan, yearn for the home that never fades away.....heaven. Home with beloved saints of old and those treading this dirt today. Oh how lovely to be home! What peace! Oh the comfort!

This little sparrow, so lovingly held in my son's boy/man hands and cared for gently for a time, went home. It's nest close to the altar. The picture, a reminder of His tender care, love for His created ones, and that we share His attention. He knows when the sparrow will fall to the ground and where........and He let this sweet, little one touch us, showing great and mighty things we know not, in new ways.......His tender care.

Spice Of Life

It's that time of year.......I can feel Fall preparing her grand entrance. I am thankful. I love the smell of these chocolate chip pumpkin muffins baking in the oven. It's delicious scent drifts up the stairs and tickles noses of sleeping boys. I smile knowing that I will soon hear sleepy shuffling feet, hug strengthening muscles of emerging men and see boyish grins of expectancy. Oh, how I love these boys!

Days seem to have a good feel about them. There's a better pattern to life with school in session. I anticipate fall every year. I love it. Pumpkin spice nurtures the soul in our home whether baked in warm oven, candle lit on hearth, or seeing a welcoming, plump friend on my porch. My heart is happy. I, in turn, want to nurture the hearts of the loved ones in my midst.

My face turned upward in gratitude to the One who created pumpkins, pumpkin spice, and a heart full of thankfulness because He did.......


......I love fall. I love Him.