Comforts of Grace

Finally, brothers and sisters... whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable... think about such things... and the God of peace will be with you.  ~Philippians 4:8-9 Morning sunrise April 21, 2021.   Peace.   Joy.   Gentleness. Izzy says, "By my measurements, I'd say about 3 inches." Yep! Noon sunshine ushering in 50 degrees outside. 24 hours later... it's a typical Indiana spring. For Him,

Is anyone else having intense dreams during these pandemic times?  I certainly am and so is my husband.  Many are disjointed and make no sense at all.  We often can't remember all the details to share, but know it was intense, crazy or weird.  However, on rare occasions, a dream is so vivid with remembered details that we can't wait to analyze its meaning and purpose.  I had such a dream last week. In my dream, I was traveling alone in an airport.  I remember immediately questioning why I was alone and without my husband who has always been my traveling companion - at least the last twenty years of our forty years together.  Oh, I get it, (or so I thought in my dream's beginning) this dream was going to take me back to a time when I often traveled alone for a corporate management position I held during my twenties and thirties.  But nope.  I was made to realize right away (and with great importance) I was my current age in the dream.  A rabbit trail threatened to interrupt

God's candy.  That's how our youngest son, Austin, deliciously described sun-warmed, fresh picked strawberries as sweet juice trickled down his little chin.   I savor that precious mama memory every year during picking season. As we patiently waited to pick the ruby red "candy" this year, we were reminded of God's faithfulness, goodness, and delicious joy for such a time as this. "Look for the fruit," the Lord always whispers as I seek His guidance throughout my days.  It's all around us ... if we pause and look.   Let the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control be your trusted guide, especially during this difficult season of 2020. For Him,

 Ahhhh... fall has arrived with lumbering tranquility.   The robins and other birds have already departed for warmer winter retreats.  It's so quiet and still.  My steaming coffee mug serves as a hand and nose warmer now as I bid farewell to summer from the serenity of the screen porch. I wince at the sight of my spent flower gardens.   Yet ... there ... in the front row of summer's lead performers ... is one small pink chrysanthemum premiering brightly among her aging sister plants.   That 'lil mum there, well, she and I have enjoyed a special bond ... a comforts of grace bond. After years of failed attempts to grow perennial mums, I'd almost given-up hope in my quest for much needed fall garden color.  However, last fall, empowered by internet research and a determined spirit, I purchased two pink and two yellow hybrid mums as soon as they arrived in the garden centers. As suggested, I promptly plopped them in the ground in hopes of encouraging root

All this is for your benefit.  And as God's grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.                           ~ 2 Corinthians 4:15