Hello!!  I hope that this blog post find you happy and healthy!

On one of our road trips south I spotted one of the most beautiful and interesting flowers that I have ever seen.  I picked it and brought it to the car so I could study it a bit closer.  I used my google lens on my phone to find out what it was.  It turns out that it was a passion flower, the Tennessee state flower.  Well, apparently, TN has two state flowers, the passion flower which was chosen by school children in 1919 and the iris chosen in 1933 by the legislature.  The people refused the iris,  so in 1973, they decided on two state flowers, a state wildflower and a state cultivated flower.  That allowed both to get their way.

The Passion flower is quite a unique piece of art!   It is so delicate looking.  It has so many interesting things going on!!  And it can point us to Christ and His crucifixion, called, "The Passion of Christ Flower".

To start, the...

Hi!!

I love wildflowers.  Most people call them weeds, but to me they are beautiful and have so many special purposes.  One being making me smile.  

Dandelions are one of these such wildflowers.  They offer a bright sunshiny yellow to cheer up our day.  Plus they give us food as the leaves are very good in a salad if picked before the flowers appear and are a good source of many vitamins and minerals.  I have recently learned something else about these cheerful flowers; the symbolism of a Dandelion.  I really like it!  

The Dandelion's uplifting yellow flower reminds us of the sun and the puffball of seeds reminds us of the moon while the seeds themselves, when blown and are drifting through the air, remind us of the stars.  I love how God has put many things in creation that point us to Him.  The sun, moon and stars all in one courageous flower!

A friend of mine recently told me that they have a scientific mind,...

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My sister in law (and best friend) sent me a quote from Pastor Tony Evans the other day.  It read, "You may have freedom of choice, but you do not have freedom of consequences." And then today I was going through an old journal and I saw a page that said, "Devotional Notes", when I read through it I realized that it goes right along with the same idea as the quote.

Have you ever read the book of Ruth?  It is a short book in the Bible.  It's about a family who made some wrong choices and a bunch of bad things happened.  A woman named Naomi lost her husband and two adult sons.  She was left in a strange place with two daughter in laws, one named Orpah, the other, Ruth.  Naomi decided it was time to return to her homeland and told Orpah and Ruth to return to their families but Ruth decided to remain with Naomi and go back to Bethlehem-Judah with her.  When they returned, the people said, "Is this Naomi?"  Naomi told them not to call her...

Hi Everyone!

I hope this finds you doing super duper today!  But, it might find you feeling a bit empty...or a lot empty.  If so, I hope you find my thoughts helpful.

In recent days I created a journal page with one of my favorite pictures of myself.  I was in fourth grade and it was from one of the most happiest times in my life filled with happy and joyfilled memories.   We were renting a big, old,  (haunted) house on an estate in Millbrook, NY.  I would LOVE to trail off here and tell you all about how wonderful it was!  But, alas, my original thought...emptiness.

I have been feeling a bit empty.  I actually was having a fantastic time.  I had several prayers answered in just two days..it was actually quite overwhelming because it was so much...but then... I had some very disappointing news the other night (it wasn't actually the news--I didn't like the news, but it was the circumstances around the news that set me going downward)...

Hello there!! I am so excited to talk to you about this! 

Did God abandon me? Of course not, but it sure felt like it! 

I was heading into trauma...God was there and then He wasn't.  I couldn't find Him anywhere.  Actually, I coudn't feel God's presence for at least three years.  As you can imagine, this was a very lonely time.  Not too long ago I watched an illustration unfold before my eyes to express how this all played out in my life.

My friend, Michaela, was telling me that her daughter was learing how to ride her bike on the driveway.  She laughed because she said that Katie demanded that her mommy hold onto her back as she rode down the driveway, but she really wasn't holding her at all, just barely touching her back. Soon we went outside so I could see this magnificient feat for myself.

There they went, down the driveway.  Katie on her bike and Michaela barely touching Katie's hood.  She felt so able to complete this task only...

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Lately I have been feeling guilty and confussed.  I realized one day that I cry almost everyday about the loss of my dog Buluu and only occasionally about the loss of my mom.  This has really bothered me and caused me to think a lot on this.  

Why do I grieve the loss of Buluu more than my mom...if I could choose to have one of them come back, I would, hands down choose my mom.  If I could just have one more minute with my mom...my mind cannot even describe the joy that my heart feels when I contemplate that thought.  

There has been many studies about the grief of losing a dog and it isn't uncommon to grieve more for the loss of a dog than a person, even a dearly beloved person.  One reason is because our daily routines revolve around our dog, and Luu being so needy, mine surely did.  Plus, Luu was a source of unconditional love who provided security, comfort, laughter and so much more.  Everything I did somehow reolved...

Hi there,

Today is my 27th wedding anniversary.  Each year this day brings to my mind a lot of reflection; like a movie reel running through y mind of laughing and crying, ups and downs, births and deaths, dashed hopes and dreams, but also new hopes and dreams. 

I makes me think of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 where Solomon reminds us that there is a time for everything.  "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..."

Over the last 27 years we have raised four boys, lived in four different homes, had too many pets to count from little snails to big greyhound dogs (Buluu being the #1 pet of all time).  We've been a part of two churches, had many different jobs, but there has been one constant through it all - we love each other and work hard at staying together.  When change comes I can be encouraged that Michael will be there to cheer me on and help me through. 

Marriage is in no way easy, it can be down right hard. ...

Hello Ladies!

It seems as though our entire world is falling apart.  There doesn't seem to be any peace anywhere, no matter where we look.  But, we can actually have peace even when our entire world is falling apart; our country's politics, our world's health and even our intimate little personal world.   Which, in actuality, is the most important and causes more pain when out of whack.

Scripure tells us in John 16:33 ...that in Me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation:  but be of good cheer;  I have overcome the world.   And, Isaiah 26:3 tells us, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace , whose mind is stayed on Thee. 

2020 has been a trying year.  We are only a few days into 2021 and it has already been quite tumultuous.  How can we find peace?  We can find peace, pure contentment and peace in God our Abba.   The above verse tells us that if we keep our minds on HIm, we will have perfect...

Happy New Year!

As I went to bed on the last day of 2020, I layed there with anxiety and feeling very uncertain.  Typically the new year has little effect on me, but this year is quite different.

My new year is full of uncertainty.  I don't know if my husband will have a job or where we will be living.  I don't know where I will go to church or who will become my new friends.  Is there a Trader Joe's near wherever I will be living? I really don't know much of what this new year holds for me.

But, as I layed there trying to fall asleep to wake up to a new year full of uncertainty, I decided to think about what is certain.  (Side note:  I decided to think...that is the key.)  What is certain...  I can still continue my work on my art and my retreat boxes.  I will still have the love for my children and they will continue to love me wherever I will be.  My husband will still be my life's companion and will support me in whatever I...

Hello again!!

Recently we had a rather nice snow storm.  Here in our part of Little Rhody we don't get very much snow.  Towns just 15 minutes away can get lots of snow when we get a few flakes here and there because we are so close to the coast.  Typically, if we do get any amount of snow, it only lasts for a few hours or a day at most.  I used to enjoy this because I love to see the snow falling but I have never really enjoyed the snow.

When I was little I loved the snow until I was out in it for any length of time.  I got so cold and thought that I got frostbite everytime I went outside.  I remember going ice skating with my sister and some friends.  When we came inside I started crying because I was so cold and in pain.  They all just yelled at me and said that they were all cold and to stop crying.

Yes, I am sure they were all cold, but I was in pain.  Later in life I learned that my white fingers and toes meant that I didn't had...