Happily Exhausted

We are home again....after traveling 1800 miles across five states in eight days. I took care of all of the things I needed to do, and then we flew to Utah to begin a tour of the north-west. It was everything we had hoped and more than we could have imagined. My little head is fairly bursting with all the beautiful sights and incredible things we experienced.

There are literally hundreds of pictures to organize and a journal, of sorts, to flesh out - not to mention all the dirty laundry we brought home with us. I feel as though I just have to quietly let it all settle into my heart and mind.

For now, I just wanted to say it's good to be home. I know I won't really be able to catch up with everyone, but I will join you right where you are.

We have so much to be thankful for:

safety in our travels
beautiful weather every single day
new friends
experiencing the miraculous wonder of the
Father's creation
the Father's tender care of our loved ones

I missed you.

Blessings,
Linda

Time Out

It is time to take a little break. Life is rather busy right now - good things, lovely things - and I need to give them my full attention. I'll be back in a week or two. Perhaps I'll even have some interesting and worthwhile things to write about. It could happen!

In the meantime, I will miss you, pray for you and keep you in my thoughts.

Blessings,
Linda

Multitude Monday

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought,
and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."
Gilbert Keith Chesterton


Sometimes, when Monday rolls around, I think "I don't have anything special to add to my list this week, so I won't participate in the Gratitude Community this time." I walk around and feel a bit uncomfortable as a little voice prods me with memories of all that He has done:

- a birthday celebration for my Mom - 87 years of blessing to everyone who has had the joy of knowing her

- protection for my son - when he got a nasty shock while doing some electrical work

- safe travels for my daughter

- a night of incredible ministry

- volunteer work

- an afternoon shower

- the joy that comes from doing the thing I love to do, and encouraging words from friends

- delicious corn on the cob (with lots of butter!)

- a great sale on things we needed

- the underlying current of mercy, grace and love that flows through my life because of Jesus

Blessings,
Linda

Solace

Several years ago, I went through a very difficult time. Bad news had left me feeling bereft.

My Mom, knowing that there really was nothing to be said or done to make things better, picked up this little guy for me. Somehow, this grown up Grandmother found solace in this warm, furry little body.




for more photographs on "solace" please visit 3 From Here and There.



Blessings,
Linda

I'm Guest Posting!

I discovered Emily's blog several months ago and have come to love visiting her. She is delightful, inspiring and a great writer. I am so honored to have written a guest post for her. Please join me at Chatting at the Sky on Saturday.





Before we can even get the car doors open they are there, spilling out of the house with cries of “Papa! Grandma!” I bend over to grab a little one in my arms, reach up for a hug from a grandson who seems to have grown six inches in the past few weeks, and caress the cheeks of a beautiful granddaughter. Everyone is talking at once as we make our way into the house. There is so much they all want to share.
I feel like the most loved, important person in the world......
(Continued at Emily's)

Blessings,
Linda

But God

Last summer the earth baked under relentless sun and cloudless sky. This summer we have had abundant rain. However as July slipped into August, the weather "fortune tellers" predicted a return to hot, dry weather for - a long spell. One scorching day followed another until it looked like their words would come true. The earth cracked, flowers drooped and the grass began to turn brown.

But God...







I am participating in Emily's imperfect prose - please join me there.



Blessings,
Linda

Change

“Everything changes
but change.”*
I cling to
same
fearing what
I cannot see;
finding comfort
in my
normal.

Hanging on,
with tight-fisted grip,
feigning control.
Still it comes,
Ripping world apart,
and I crumble
under weight I
cannot bear.

He is in the change
holding it in
unseen hands,
allowing it access
into my life.
Peace comes as,
with open hands,
I surrender to
change
and learn to trust.

*from the song "I wish You Enough" by Janet Paschal and Joel Lindsey

This is my contribution to One-Stop Poetry One Shot Wednesday.

Blessings,
Linda

An Ordinary Life

Tuesday will find me at Laced With Grace. I've written about an ordinary life made extraordinary.
Please join me there.

Blessings,
Linda

Multitude Monday

"In the morning, O Lord, Thou wilt hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to Thee and eagerly watch."
Psalm 5:3

A loved one was suffering. It was not a physical pain. It was a deep hurt. Words were not enough to heal the wound. What was needed was a miracle, and so I began to pray.

I prayed and waited, and then prayed some more. Nothing seemed to be happening, and the prayers became less urgent, less frequent. I find I am prone to give up too easily, and when the need is not right there in front of me I have a tendency to forget. I am not proud of that confession.

I have a Father, however, who is not forgetful in the least. He has promised in His word that He will hear our prayers and, more than that, He will answer.



The answer came on Saturday evening as we sat in church with this loved one. Every word went right to that hurting heart; every word ministered healing. I listened in wonder, and gratitude and a bit of shame that I had not been faithful.

I am thankful:

- that He is always faithful

- that He hears and answers prayer, in His way and in His time

- that He forgives and extends grace

- that His word is powerful and healing

- for a young Pastor who faithfully proclaimed the truth of the Word

- for the Spirit that ministers

- for lazy summer days spent with family and friends

- for the amazing beauty all around us

- for funny little friends who come for a drink of water

I am joining with the Gratitude Community at Ann's today to give thanks.


Blessings,
Linda

Joy

"O Rest of rests! O peace, serene,eternal!
Thou ever livest, and Thou changest never;
And in the secret of Thy presence dwelleth
Fullness of joy, forever and forever.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

Blessings,
Linda

St. Patrick's Day in August

Mom had been planning the big St. Patrick's Day supper for days. She bought the corned beef and cabbage and invited us to come. However a couple of days before the big event she fell and broke her hip. I put the meat in her freezer, and the long, slow healing process began.

Tonight we are going to have our St. Patrick's Day supper. We will be thankful and joyful. There is still a way to go - Mom is faithfully going to Physical Therapy and hoping to trade in her walker for a cane soon - but she is doing very well.

So Happy St. Patrick's Day - in August! He turns our sorrows into joy.

Blessings,
Linda

Place of Rest

feeling small
and fragile,
words
misunderstood.
they put up
walls
of silence and
anger
I'm too weary to
tear down.
might I hide
myself
in You?
rest for a
while,
let your peace
wash
over me
cradled in
Your
love.



I am linking to Emily's "imperfect prose" today.

Blessings,
Linda

Hearing His Voice

"My soul wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him."
Psalm 62:5

I will find Him in the silence.

There was a time, when I desperately needed to know, that I longed to hear His voice. I had heard testimonies prefaced by "The Lord told me...." or "The Lord spoke a word to me..." - and I longed for that experience in my own life. I would sit quietly, waiting.

There were times I thought I heard, only to discover it wasn't His voice at all. I began to question my faith, wondering what I was lacking.

I hesitate to write these words because I know that for some, the Father does speak in just that way. I don't question that. I think, perhaps, just as we are uniquely created - we hear His voice in individual ways.

He speaks to me in just the way I hear best. I am a timid soul and need much reassurance just to be sure. So He often begins to speak to me through His word. It settles into my heart and then He says it again - perhaps in the voice of my Pastor or a loved one or friend. He may even sing it over me - waking me up with the words of a fitting song on my mind. The words in a devotional or on a blog post echo the theme - and I know.

It is in the silence that all of those things come together. When I am bombarded by sound - the radio, the television, music - the words He has spoken get lost. I cannot call them to mind when my ears of full of noise. They cannot burrow deep into my heart, take seed and grow.

So these days, I seek the silence. When I walk alone, I don't bring along the music; when I'm alone at home, I turn off the radio. The quiet surrounds me, and I hear His voice.



This is my contribution to Ann's "Spiritual Practices" series.

Blessings,
Linda

A Grateful Heart

It's Monday, the day we gather at Ann's and share the things that fill our hearts with gratitude. I had thought I would opt out. I confess that my heart has not been filled with gratitude today. It has been preoccupied with self. There are things that are weighing me down. One is this business of trying to sell our property. It has suddenly become so heavy.

Then I looked again at the pictures of our home and read the comments. If that weren't enough, I read this post at Jennifer's. I realized how blessed I am and how foolish to dwell on the negative. The weight I've been carrying is made up of discontent and self-pity - a heavy load. It is time to lay down the burden and be thankful for the blessings:

- a home that is comfortable and cozy and filled with precious memories

- the abundant provision of a faithful God

- a wonderful vacation in our future

- time spent with new friends

- encouragement, just when I needed it most

- piano lessons - so much fun

- special talks with my daughter

- Mom and Dad doing well

- peaceful walks

- sufficient rain

- the comfort in His word




Blessings,
Linda

A Little Sales Pitch

Some of you know that we have had our property on the market for a very long time. Our situation is unique in that when the little town we live in incorporated they zoned certain areas as commercial property. In doing so, they zoned our two acres and our next-door neighbor's four acres as C3 commercial. That means that any business could build on our land.

In recent years a large shopping center, Home Depot, banks, grocery store and numerous other businesses have been built just one door down from us. We no longer really feel at home here. Our little place in the country has changed dramatically!

We are actually selling just the property, and originally thought that someone would buy it, tear down the house and build a business here. However, since we added a mother-in-law apartment several years ago our Real Estate Agent is also marketing it as a place where a home-based business would do very well.

I just thought I would put a few pictures up here on the chance that someone reading my blog might be interested. We are located a bit north of San Antonio, Texas.



In any case, we would appreciate your prayers that the Lord would send us a buyer.
Thanks so much.

Linda