Very recently I’ve had to update this site (some of the differences are very noticeable while others are unchanged) as I was using a WordPress theme that is no longer fully supported by the WordPress platform. I began to notice that certain functions were no longer working, necessitating the change. I didn’t advance with the times regarding the intricacies of technology so I don’t have the eagerness nor the curiosity to explore building another website and certainly don’t possess the depth of knowledge required to even begin to do it. So I’ve been quasi content with the WordPress ‘plug it…
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More and more I find that what I used to consider my greatest hindrances were, in fact, my greatest teachers. I used to believe that my troubles were attributable to lack of finances and consequently, thought all of them could be solved by a surplus. I considered disadvantages and often almost totally overlooked the great trust and creativity I was developing and gaining over the years. I used to overlook what God was placing right before my eyes. Troubled with how things were going to work out—crippled by fear that they wouldn’t, days were difficult and money seemed scarce. Little…
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Throughout the week I wonder what the LORD would have me to write. In an attempt to convey a message from my heart, I have the usual distactions. Distractions, buzzers, timers, calls, the dryer’s beep-beep-beep, the knocking at the back door… distractions. And then I thought: distractions? No: life. Life is what’s happening when we’re waiting and planning for something else to happen. And then I think on this further and wonder: is this the story of my motherhood experience? Has it all happened while I was waiting for something else to happen? Have the days passed by while I…
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I have in a folder a heap of “draft” blog entries — some dating back several years. I was going to just ‘blindly’ delete the whole folder since I generally write inspired by studies, current events, or experiences for single entries, message series, or Bible studies. Today I reread the following entry, written two years ago in the midst of an activity that lasted a couple of months. What’s interesting to me is that while this happened two years ago, hindsight demonstrates it was just a precursor to what began to happen just before this new year, this 2021 year.…
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The other day I was browsing the aisles of a local thrift shop — not that I need another thing, but since many of our things are in a storage unit, on more than one occasion recently, I’ve needed to pick up an item or two. This time, of all things, I needed a cake pan. I didn’t find what I needed, but the trip was more than edifying. An eager, loving young boy was pointing out to his mother all the things he would like to buy for her and telling how nice they would be in her…
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There is a River… The truth of this beautiful song comforted me back to sleep a few times throughout the night and into this morning. I’m evermore thankful for God’s prompting, His presence, His provision in and through music. Similar to memorized Scripture, being the only thing one can read on the ceiling in the dark, music can play in the theater of our mind and be used of God to bring comfort, clarity — calm to a stressed, anxious, worried mind. The concerns of the day were heavy on my heart last night so it seemed best to just…
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The days seem long but the years are quickly passing. As I typed that, I recalled saying something similar in the early years of motherhood: the days are long and the weeks fly by. I never thought about the swift passage of time in terms my own mortality but in terms of our children growing taller, learning new things—getting older. Now I think of them as young —in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s— so much life ahead while our years are swiftly slipping away. Early on, older women would tell me to enjoy the children while they’re young, it’ll go so…
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Lots of women do this. Every day they do this. For years I wrote every day. But then a reality check came. And the reality was this: I was so consumed with doing all I was doing that I forgot/neglected what I was supposed to be doing. I think lots of early sites, early website designers/builders and then bloggers fell into this same thing: out of control distraction! I’ve had the honor and privilege of talking with some of them over the years. One such blogger, Keri Lamar, who faced a similar ‘day of reckoning, is the author of Present: How…
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Over the years I’ve used a phrase numerous times in all sorts of seasons, mental spaces, homemaking, motherhood, even on this blog — the phrase: do the next right thing. This concept wasn’t learned overnight and it wasn’t learned easily. It wasn’t something that came naturally to me — as disciplines of motherhood didn’t come naturally to me. But, from the beginning, God was working in me to will and to work for His good pleasure. –Philippians 2.13. Day by day He has been working disciplines into my life and I share these things with you that you might experience the same:…
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In this strange season I attempted to ‘rethink’ this blog, realign it, redirect it. And, for the life of me, I haven’t been able to “get it” or come to a resolution. But, here’s my attempt… In this past year—this strange season, many changes have occurred in my life and our home. In this strange season (as in your strange season, no doubt) the changes and restrictions have forced me to think about or, rethink what I’m doing, what’s important, what’s got to change or, really, what ought to be eliminated. And it’s not just things, it’s not just eliminating…