Friday, February 27, 2009


Holding onto his daddy makes my little grandson feel safe and secure. Baby Hay loves going to the beach and wading out into the ocean, but once the cool water touches his knees, he starts to get scared. Looking out over the horizon you can see ships and it seems so calm; so inviting. People are surfing and swimming and their laughter fills the air. Baby Hay’s big sister doesn't mind the waves pushing her down. No, Bri is the fearless one that you have to hold back. He wants to go in but yet he is afraid. After a few minutes his daddy picks him up and carries him farther into the ocean reassuring him that everything is ok. One day I know I will see Baby Hay running into the water with his boogie board, surfing the waves. But for right now he will stay close to his daddy.
That is how life seems sometimes for me. I am ready to take on new challenges and soar with the wind. But fear keeps me from venturing away from the normal that I have created for my life. I want to try new things..but like Baby Hay, I am afraid. God places on my heart what He wants me to do and I get up my courage and set out to conquer the world. Then I begin to doubt what I thought the Lord told me to do. Is it just something I have conjured up in my mind? The waves force me to my knees and my face hit’s the floor, but my daddy is near and I hold on like Baby Hay. God is always near and I feel secure and safe. I imagine myself as a little girl holding on to my Father's leg. Wherever He goes I will go. Just like when I was a little girl and I clung to my daddy when things scared me. Now I lean on my daddy and hold him tight.

God at the Beach

While at the beach my favorite time is in the morning. I try to get up early to enjoy the sunrise and this particular morning it was stunning. I didn't notice the "cross" until I downloaded the pictures onto my computer. So you can imagine how I felt when I played the video and while I was singing, "I will learn to walk in Your ways," I saw a person at the bottom of the screen walk out onto the beach, looking as if they were at the foot of the cross.

O God, You are my God, and I will ever praise You.

I will seek You in the morning and I will learn to walk in Your ways.

And step by step You'll lead me and I will give You all of my praise!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Licking the Bowl


Wow! There is nothing better than licking the brownie mix from the bowl. I tried to give my granddaughter a spoon but she wouldn't have anything to do with a utensil...I mean when you have your own two tiny hands that fit inside the bowl, why use a spoon!!

That's how I want to view life. Use both hands and lick every morsel of goodness I can. I don't want to worry about getting messy or fat! She doesn't even care if I like how she is going about getting all she can.

So why do I worry about what others think of me when I am trying to live my life to the fullest. God doesn't want me to worry about what man thinks, but about what He thinks. Jesus said in John 10:10, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness." The thief here is Satan, but sometimes, I think the thief can be your own mind telling you lies and sometimes it is friends who think they know what is best for you. Friends can speak life or death into your soul. I am so thankful for family and friends that speak life into me which encourages me to go for all the blessings God has for me.

God offers us the bowl of goodness..."Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who trust in him! " Psalm 34:8

Friday, February 20, 2009

Where's our mother? We're hungry!


My grandchildren and I were able to watch these birds as they went from little blue eggs to babies yearning for the mother to bring them food. WOW! It was an awesome sight!

Donna Clements, public speaker

Donna Clements speaking on how to bring Color into your world!
She is a great speaker....very entertaining!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Growing into adulthood is hard.

Life isn't always the way you want it to be, although sometimes it is much better than what you thought it would be, but usually you have to have the right attitude and just suck it up! I spent a good portion of my morning talking to a young woman whom I have known for 10 years. She is not yet 25 and her life, like so many of us, has had it's ups and downs, and flips and dives.

Talking to her about getting her life in order, whatever that means, reminded me of the years I was in a daze. Oh' I knew about Jesus. I don't remember a time in my childhood that I didn't hear about him, but there is a moment when I felt like God Himself was speaking to me and saying He had had enough of my ways and He was bringing me back to Him. It was scary at first, but then I reasoned that it was just in my mind. Well, it made an impression on me and after that, every time I decided to 'sin' I was well aware that it was wrong. I wish I could tell you that I stopped and thought about the consequences but ...nope...I just kept on going.

Thank God He had plans for my life and when I finally understood that He was pursuing me, not because I am special but because He is special, I felt loved for being just me. I have loving parents but somewhere I heard negatives about myself and I thought those words were true and I lived them out. I hope I can convince my young friend that God loves her just the way she is and when others tell her she is nothing, she will not believe them. The bruises she wears is not because of who she is but because those people do not know whose she is. For she is the daughter of the Most High God.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

A pierced face looking for a friend.

You just never know what will happen at Starbucks! A young man came over to our table and asked if we would be his friend. My friend and I looked at each other and said sure! We had been talking about what our lives were to be as Christian women in this crazy world. How do you reach out to people anyway? Well, here was this young man with so many face piercings that it made my face hurt looking at him. Actually I have never seen anyone with so many little silver balls covering their cheeks, lips, eyebrows and nose. His hair was in yellow corn rows and he was dressed in all black.



I asked him if he was from our area (thinking surely he wasn't from this small southern town) and he surprised me by telling me he went to the same high school as my son and Jen's daughters. Well, he did until he was kicked out of school. First it was some lame reason and then it was because he had committed a felon. The girl he dated was younger than what she told him. He had no qualms telling us what some would hide. I asked him his name and he said it was Matt but some called him Jesus. That was interesting!



He wanted to know who are children were and at first I hesitated. How wise would it be to give their names to this person I didn't know and couldn't imagine having over for dinner? But it turned out that he was in art class with my friend's daughter. We encouraged him to get his GED to better his life, but he was an artist and showed us the tattoos on his legs. We talked to him for awhile and then it was time for us to go about our normal routines. I wondered what his normal looked like. He had shown us a picture on his cell phone of the money he used to pay his bills earlier. Not quite sure what that was all about. We said our goodbyes and hoped he could find other friends.



As I drove home I wondered if I had missed a great opportunity to ask this young man if he knew Jesus as a friend. Matt seemed lost and lonely but he wasn't afraid to come up to two ladies that were quite different then himself and reach out for friendship. I don't think I would have had the courage to walk up to him. I hope he finds more friends...I hope he meets Jesus!

Following the Canal Trail




Here in the Roanoke Valley we have this beautiful canal trail that follows the river. My husband and I have had some wonderful walks and talks as we meander through the trees. It is so peaceful and serene. Pictures are better than words....Enjoy!