Hey, friends. Thank you for stopping by. My writing journey has been a long one, and I'm thankful I stayed on the path where God has taken me. If you are a reader, thank you so much. As an author, I appreciate you more than I can say. If you're a writer and you've been penning words a long time or just a little while, trust God with your journey. He knows what's ahead.
Monday, May 15, 2023
Coming June 1
Saturday, April 1, 2023
Overwhelmed with Peace and Hope
Daniel 6:25-27
Then
King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all
the earth: May you prosper greatly! I issue a decree that in every part of my
kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
“For he is the living God
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.
He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
I felt like I could touch the hand of God.
Pretty Place, built near Camp Greenville, North Carolina, beckoned me to bow my head and thank the Lord for His constant presence in my life. As I stood in the open stone chapel, I watched my grandchildren and children interact. My thanks rose to God for my husband, my beautiful family, and the life I’m living. Most of all, my heart entwined with God’s grace and I thanked Him for Jesus. I bowed in reverence before the Lord and poured out gratitude. It felt good and right.
Pretty Place is a place where the reverence of God overwhelms me with peace and hope.
I’ve only visited the stone chapel twice, and both times I
felt the same. I wish I could start my day there every day, but I live in Ohio.
Instead, I seek God through scripture reading, devotions, and prayer. We visit
the woods and sit beside the lake when we can. No matter where I am though, God
is with me. He’s here in my living room, on walks with our dog, in the city,
the country, no matter where I am He travels with me. And He’s with you, too.
Seek God where you are. He loves you.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Jesus Gives Peace
Saturday, March 18, 2023
The Bridge of Trust
Psalm 28:7
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him,
and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
Cincinnati has several bridges that cross over the Ohio
River and connect the city to northern Kentucky. The Roebling bridge was built
in 1866 and at that time was the longest suspension bridge. The bridge itself
is a beautiful structure with the arched trusses and light blue paint. Although
the bridge has been under repair from time to time, thousands of folks have driven
back and forth into downtown Cincy or Covington.
The people who travel across the bridge, John A. Roebling designed and built, trust the structure to carry them across and keep them safe. Much like any bridge or highway, we believe the engineers did their job and created a safe means of transportation.
I remember crossing a causeway in Georgia when I drove down
to visit my brother on St. Simon’s Island. Being from Ohio, I’d not encountered
such a structure. As it rose into the air, even though it was not as high as I
imagined, my anxiety rose a bit too. But I had to trust it to take us to the
island.
I tend to trust whatever works consistently. So why is it so
hard sometimes to trust the One being who is always the same? God never
changes. He’s present in my every day life and has never given me a reason to
doubt Him. As I’ve grown older and hopefully wiser, I tend to place my life in
His hands more and more. As the psalmist says, “my heart trusts Him.” I’m so
thankful God remains the same no matter the circumstances and He helps me as I
navigate life. I praise Him for His ongoing presence and reliability.
Trust God with everything. He has our best interest at
heart.
Saturday, February 11, 2023
This Old House
Proverbs 24:3-4
By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.
I’ve lived in 14 different homes in my lifetime.
When I was young, my parents sometimes took us for a Sunday drive to look at houses. We rolled along rural roads and through small towns. From that experience, I learned to appreciate the architecture of older homes. Some with fancy ginger breading and others with simple porches attracted my attention. To this day, I enjoy seeing some of the interesting houses in our travels.
Of the 14 different houses I’ve lived in, some of my
favorites were the old farmhouses. They have so much character. I loved imagining
what stories they could tell. From the farm wife toting in eggs from the
chicken coop to the child sitting on her dad’s lap at the end of the day. Life
was breathed into the home. Love, laughter, dinner around the kitchen table,
cousins piling in, and the dog laying by the hearth. My mind weaves a tale of
joy. However, I also know some houses heard the rough voices of arguing and
anger. They felt the trembling of fear and sorrow. Those homes break my heart.
I also see the houses, who abandoned over time, have the
life sucked out of them. They look tired, run-down, weary, and sad. I wonder at
the stories they could tell.
As I compare a house or home to life lived, I see the same
thing. Many people are filled with joy, peace, and love. While others may be
angry or fearful or live a weary, sad life.
I could have been any of those three. We all could, but when I
accepted Jesus’ invitation to follow and love Him, my life found the joy, love,
and peace I longed for. Even in times of sadness and difficulty, Jesus’ love
carries me. I no longer live as a slave to fear, anger, sadness, and sorrow.
Instead, Jesus poured His love and grace into me and loves me more than I could
imagine.
I want my home to be a place of love and peace, reflected in
Jesus, just as I want my life to shine for the Lord.
Does your home reflect Jesus’ love? Does your life?
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
Faith
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Hope
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Peace
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
Peaceful and Thankful
where they had the most beautiful chrysanthemums.
When I snapped photos of them,
I knew I wanted to share their beauty on my blog.
What better time, than November-
the month we think about Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Guard Your Heart
Saturday, October 1, 2022
Anxiety and a Pair of Jeans
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace
of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Shopping for jeans raises my anxiety.
After a hot summer, I’m ready for the cool air of autumn.
With the change in temperature comes the need for new jeans, part of my
standard retirement uniform. I’ve worn out the ones I bought a few years ago, so
I gathered my courage (because I need that to try on pants) and went to the
store where I bought my last pair. The bins and racks oozed with denim, but
every pair I looked at either had pre-ripped holes (I’m too old for those) or
buttons instead of a zipper, again, too old. No classic jeans existed. As my
anxiety rose and my frustration with it, my daughter, who came to the store separate
from me, saw me and creeped up on me and scared the beejeebers out of me (of
course we laughed about it—later.)
The whole shopping experience made my anxiety go through the
ceiling. I vowed to wear my thread-bare jeans and forget shopping. Then Kohl’s
dinged my inbox with a 40% off coupon. Could I try one more time? Yes, I did,
and I came home with a pair of classic “mom” jeans and a cute Peanuts t-shirt. I’m
thankful that despite my anxiety, I tried one more time.
I laugh now about the ridiculousness of trying to find a
pair of jeans, but the anxiety I’ve dealt with throughout my life isn’t funny. The
truth is, being anxious leaves me exhausted. I’m so thankful Paul addresses it
in these verses. God understands. He reminds us to stop and pray, ponder on
thankfulness, and He’ll pour peace into our hearts and minds. Without doubt, I
know this to be true.
Full disclosure: I have a medical issue that causes anxiety
and with the help of medicine, I am much better. But I also know that without
God, I’d be in a heap of trouble. My go to is prayer, always. I’m so grateful I
can talk to God about everything, including a frustrating shopping trip. Philippians
4:6-7 is one of the verses I cling to—to get me through life.
Pray first, always.
Saturday, August 20, 2022
Second Chances
Ephesians
4:22-24
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put
off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful
desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put
on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness.
God gives second chances.
I am
overwhelmed with gratitude every day because I have a God who gives grace and
forgiveness. Growing up in church I learned a lot about the rules. Do this,
don't do that. In the midst of those teachings, I heard of God's love for me, but being a shy, quiet, rule follower, my focus stayed on right and wrong. I
thought if I did everything right, I'd earn my way to heaven. Boy was I wrong.
As a human, I didn't have the capability to live a perfect life.
As I grew
older, I experienced life. Some good, some bad. The more I learned about Jesus,
the more I realized I couldn't go through life focusing on rules. At times Satan
tried to push me away from the whole "religion" thing, but God
brought me to my knees. Not to punish me, but to remind me of his beautiful,
perfect grace.
You see, He
loves me unconditionally. Regardless of poor choices, doubts, or frustration, He
continues to wrap His arms around me and show His mercy. Once I turned my life,
my decisions, my actions, my everything over to Him, I understood. Granted I
need to be obedient, I must seek His will, and I have to stop and listen. I'm
not in this alone, I'm in this life with the One who created me. And guess
what? God wants me to succeed. He has plans for me and a future.
I'm
forgiven. Do I still mess up? Yep. But I hit my knees and ask for grace. I
praise God with thanksgiving for his Son who took my place and for the Holy
Spirit who guides me. I'm thankful for this precious second chance.
Saturday, July 9, 2022
I See the Light
Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
A green light shone every six seconds.
Seventy-seven steps. The number of stairs a person would
need to climb to get to the top of Marblehead Lighthouse. Tim and I have
climbed those steps to the top, in the daytime, where we stood against the
railing and viewed Kelleys Island in Lake Erie. When we turned to face the
lighthouse, we peeked in on the magnificent LED lights that shine in the night.
We are drawn to the lighthouse at dusk, when the green light flashes every six seconds. There isn’t a beam, like a search light, instead there is a steady lamplight warning boats of the hazard of the nearby land and rocks.
Boats aren’t the only thing aware of the light at night.
Mayflies are drawn to it. They appear around May, June, and July on Lake Erie.
If there are a large number of the flying creatures, the lake is clean because
these insects choose a clean environment to lay eggs. On Kelleys Island, I
asked a young lady if they were bothered with mayflies. She told me they mostly
come out at night because they love the light.
In my everyday life, God is my lighthouse. He’s not shining
a search light, instead He’s a steady beam of light which draws me to Him out
of the darkness of our broken world. Like the boats, I need Him to warn me of
the dangers, and like the mayfly, I’m drawn to Him as my shelter.
David reminds me God is my stronghold and my shelter. I have
no need to fear, because He’s the light which draws me to Him and the salvation
for my soul.
When I keep my focus to God’s light, as I walk through this
dark world, hope wells up in me and I embrace His peace.
Seek God’s light and salvation.
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Fruit not Fruits
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such
things there is no law.
The fruit of the Spirit isn’t fruits.
By the time you read this, I will have talked to a group of
moms and daughters at Woodland Lakes Christian Camp. A while back, Amy, the
director of Mother/Daughter camp asked me if I would put together a devotion to
share about the fruit of the Spirit.
As I’ve searched for the words and examples to share, I remembered
my realization that the “fruit” is not “fruits.” As a child I thought the word
was plural, like there were nine different fruits standing on their own. As an
adult, I realized I was wrong.
Now I see the fruit of the Spirit like an apple. When I
purchase an apple at the grocery store or orchard, I have one whole piece of
fruit in my hand. I bring it home and cut it into pieces. Is the apple multiple
fruits now? No it’s still one apple, just with several slices.
The fruit of the Spirit is like the apple, one fruit with
many pieces. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control are all part of the same fruit. As a follower of
Jesus, I need to nurture all aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. If I seek
peace and joy, without kindness, my fruit spoils. If I try to be good and
faithful, but lose my self-control, my fruit rots. God has given his children
this amazing gift through the Holy Spirit, and I long to embrace all the fruit
and make them a constant in my life.
God calls His children to live with all nine segments of
fruit. He knows the world needs all of these and as Christians we are the ones
to inject love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control into all aspects of our lives.
Take the challenge to actively live by the fruit of the
Spirit and share God’s gift with the world.
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
See the Soul
Saturday, April 30, 2022
Called Into Light
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of
him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
When I was a child, I was afraid of the dark.
My neighbors,
cousins, and I played outside and caught fireflies. We played hide and seek
while the adults chatted in their lawn chairs, and the light shined from the
porch. I felt safe as long as a glow shined over the yard, and the sound of
grown-up voices echoed through the air.
When the
cousins, aunts, uncles, and neighbors left for home, the dark overwhelmed me.
The porch light clicked off, and I made a bee line for the house. Even as a
young adult, I didn't like being outside by myself in the dark cover of night.
As I've
grown older, I've learned to appreciate the light of night, the stars overhead,
and the moon, for those lights shine through the darkness.
As a
believer and follower of Jesus, I'm called to God's light. He doesn't want me
to be afraid of the dark or stay in the shadows. The King of Kings has called
me to step out of the gloom and doom of the world and step into the beautiful,
wonderful light of grace. God calls his children his special possession, a
people he encourages, and loves. He guards our hearts and radiates His light as
a guide away from the dark corners of the world.
My family
experienced a great amount of loss the first three months of the year. Times
were dark and sad. We clung to each other and to God, and His light and love have
carried us through. Some days will still be rough, but peace comes from knowing
the One who created the sun and moon and calls us to His light.
Seek God's
light as He calls your name.
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
A Quiet Moment
Saturday, April 2, 2022
Take Heart!
John 16:32-33
A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be
scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I
am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that
in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But
take heart! I have overcome the world.”
I'm never alone.
Tim and I took Rosie for a walk at the local park. We hiked
into an area where we could hear the river water rushing alongside us. As I
walked, I spied the three-leafed trillium that sprouts in the spring in Ohio
and enjoyed the greening foliage on the trees. For a moment I closed my eyes
and listened. No cars revved their engines, no washer or dryer rumbled, no
furnace kicked off and on. All I heard was the water, the burble of the river
flowing over rocks, the tranquility of the woods. The peace reminded me of the One
who is always with me.
The last three months have been hard. At times the burden
too much to bear, but the beautiful, most wonderful thing I experienced in my
time of grief and stress was the presence of the Holy Spirit. I'm never alone.
Yes, my family and I were surrounded by the amazing blessing of friends. For
that I'm so thankful, but in those times when I sat by myself in my home while Tim worked,
I felt the presence of God. Through scripture and the Spirit, He reminded
it would be alright.
Jesus spoke to his disciples before his final days on earth
and reminded them that even as they needed to scatter and leave Him on His own,
God was with Him. I absolutely love what He tells them. "I have told you
these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will
have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
As a believer, the Holy Spirit lives inside me, beside me, and
gives me peace in this troubled world.
Take heart! Jesus has overcome the world.
Saturday, March 5, 2022
It's How You Live
Proverbs 31: 25-28
she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her.
"It's not how you die; it's how you live." -JP
Most of you know my mom passed away on February 25. At ninety-five,
we knew the days grew short, even still, losing a parent is hard. I doubt Mom
ever dreamed she would live as long as she did, but once she passed ninety, she
embraced her age.
Per Mom's request, in her last days we were able to keep her
at home. She wanted to live as independently as possible, and being in the
apartment attached to my brother's home gave her the independence she desired.
There were times in her last days we wondered if she could stay there, but with
the help of hospice, she remained comfortable in her own bed.
As a family, we did this to honor our mom's wishes. I'm thankful
we had so many years with her and the opportunity to learn from her wisdom. Mom
loved Jesus and her family. I remember as a child, and even an adult, Mom reminding
me to wear my coat and to always be careful. She was concerned about our
well-being and questioned us when she thought we needed it. She did that
because she loved us like only a mother can. She loved with a fierceness and
protectiveness.
Her love reminds me of how God loves. He has a deep
adoration for His people and He wants nothing more than for us to love Him back.
When I think about how much Mom loved me and how much I love my children, I
begin to understand God's intense care for me. God loves us so much He sent his
son to live on earth, to teach and to die for our sins. But He didn't stop
there, He brought Jesus back to life.
Why did God do that? So people would have a chance to
repent, be saved and baptized, receive the Holy Spirit, live a faith-filled
life, and join Him in heaven. My mom would want you to know the love of Jesus, His
forgiveness, and His amazing love.
Seek Jesus.
Saturday, February 26, 2022
I'm Glad One Thing Never Changes
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
White dust drifted to the floor, from the blackboard.
Remember at the end of the school day wanting to be the
student who erased the whole board, then went outside to slam the erasers
together to clean them. Of course I just wanted to go outside, yet there was
something about wiping the board clean that brought satisfaction at the end of
the day.
Classrooms today have changed. Instead of a blackboard, my
daughter, Sara's first grade class has a whiteboard she uses to either write on
with special markers or use as a place to hang important classroom learning
tools. There's also a smartboard, a large screen hooked to her computer, where
she shares lessons, directions, and educational videos.
Classrooms have changed. Students are learning more now than
ever. They also learn the basics, in new and innovative ways. Sara has been
teaching for more than a decade and has had to continue to learn new and interesting
ways to teach.
Change can be good, and most things in life evolve in some
way. Look at our kitchens and compare them to our grandparents or great grandparents'
kitchens. Yet one thing never changes because He is already as good as it gets.
Jesus stays the same. He's always loving, and forgiving as He seeks our hearts.
He's the rock I stand on, the One I depend on, the One I pray to. Jesus never
waivers from being the Son of God, my perfect hope.
When I'm in the middle of uncertain circumstances and I'm
not sure what to do, I turn to the One who stays the same, the One who loves me
no matter what. I'm thankful Jesus is the same every day, and with confidence I
can move forward and trust Him.
Count on Jesus in your season of change.