Cold. Oh my, it was cold outside.
Daddy had placed an outdoor thermometer outside the front “picture” window. Through the thin old glass, he aimed his flashlight on it. It read -18°.
Winter in the Yellow House
Speak Life
We can count on God’s promises! Cherish each one. Make it personal. Write them down on lined paper – every promise in the Bible that you need., so that even if your mind seems cluttered with so many obstacles – even if you can’t always remember where each promise is found, you will be able to see the promises and speak the promises.
Perils along the Autumn Pathways
Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Consider the paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Proverbs 4: 25-27
We Michiganders believe that nothing is more beautiful than a Michigan Autumn. We relish its jumble of colors; we inhale the spices of its drying leaves and crave its briskness on our faces. And, if possible, we abide in it – every possible moment of every possible day – captivated by its presence, knowing that we possess it only a short time.
#18 I Walk Among the Giants
I recently posted about the importance of deep roots, established and rooted in Jesus Christ. Additionally, another type of root system is also vital in the Christian life – that of “connection.” Scripturally taught throughout the New Testament, this lesson was reinforced in my mind when, of all places, Ron and I traveled through the beautiful Redwoods in Northern California. Let me explain . . .
From Oregon, we drove just a short distance south into California before gps instructed us to turn east onto Highway U.S. 199 toward our destination campground. I had booked three nights here, which I thought gave us two full days to go into the parks to see the beautiful Redwoods ~ our purpose in coming to this southernmost point of our journey. I assumed we would reach our campsite, set up, and visit the parks the next day, but – once we made that turn onto U.S. 199, we discovered were already in the Redwoods:
#2 Where you go, I will go . . .
The northwest has called us, and I invite you to come along!
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”
~ Rachel Carson
#7 Prairie Grasses Have Purpose and Deep Roots
“In nature we never see anything isolated, but everything in connection with something else which is before it, beside it, under it and over it.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Yes, all of nature is connected and has purpose. As we headed west from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula via Hwy 2, a fellow RV’er advised us not to bother driving through North Dakota and Montana – he said it was boring with no striking views. But, you see, Ron and I like to make the connections; we like to see what others might not.
Until Tuesday
I tired of her. I was busy with my young children, my housework, and giving piano lessons.
She required much of my time. She was needy. Often invited herself over. I couldn’t get anything else done. I talked with another friend and asked advice about the situation. She offered a suggestion.
I hear the Master whisper . . .
I drive past it nearly every day, on my way somewhere. Today, though, I pull over and park my car in the lot, now overlaid with weeds. I look at the church – an unkempt building that has been empty for many years now – and I listen. No music flows through its closed windows. No children laugh or play on the rotted teeter-totter in its side yard. No pastor preaches from its pulpit. Instead, I hear the sounds of the country – the birds, the leaves kissing the breeze, a tractor in the distance,
The Apron
Do you ever find time to get away by yourself and have some quiet time with the Lord? When my children were at home, I thought it must be impossible to have quiet time with the Lord in our busy, noisy household! But then I heard about Susannah Wesley!
Alone. Without a tissue.
The room is small. The chairs uncomfortable. I see her through the glass, waiting for the thick door to unlock, controlled by someone we don’t see. Someone in another room looking through cameras into hallways and rooms, cells and blocks.