Thankful

I sit listening to her talk, basking in the glow of her joy - remembering back nearly forty-four years to the early days of my own marriage. The words bubble with laughter, and I silently give thanks. From the time she was a tiny girl we prayed for the one who would one day share her life. The one who would be there for all the joys and sorrow, the sunny days and the ones dark with rain clouds.

Thank you Father for answered prayer:

for time spent with these two beautiful women

for cooler days and brisk morning walks

for the work begun on our new home - the forms for the foundation that will support it all

a doctor who takes the time to be thorough - and then leans back to talk and laugh about all the things going on in our lives

the changing of the seasons - a constant reminder of His faithfulness

our adult choir joining forces with the middle school choir - watching with full heart as they worship

the heartfelt gratitude for four generations still sharing love and laughter and life

music

words - life-giving, live-changing words shared in this community

new neighbors - help us to be salt and light Father

linking to Ann's Gratitude Community

Blessings,
Linda

Five Minute Friday - Relevant

Friday comes quickly, and it is time for another Five Minute prompt. Today's is "relevant," and I find I'm struggling a bit with this one - worried about getting the definition just right. I will just go with what has popped into my little brain and hope for the best.

start:

Relevant

There was a time in my life, okay there are still times in my life, where being relevant was so important to me. Being accepted and part of the "right" group was high on the list of priorities. It was, too often, the way I judged my own self-worth. I needed to wear the right things, say the right things, read the right things - be included in all the right things.

I am of an age now where that matters less and less. I am learning to number the days, the hours, the minutes - trying to make them relevant in the way I live them out. More and more I want to be relevant in His eyes - to switch my focus from me to Him - to find my worth in what He deems relevant.

It is easy to slip back into the old patterns - to look around at what others are doing, where they're going, what they're saying and want to be part of it all. It is sometimes hard to find contentment in less until I begin to realize that the less is more.

"He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost His life for my sake shall find it."
Matt. 10:39

I am praying for that sort of relevance.

stop

Linking to the Gypsy Mama - Lisa-Jo

Blessings,
Linda

Giving What He Has Given

The land is ready and waiting. Soon the heavy equipment will arrive - to drill for water, to lay the foundation, to build the framework for our new home.

We have pored over plans, spent hours deciding on colors and cabinets and faucets and lights and all the myriad things that go into making a house a home - for us at least.

The email arrived in my inbox the other day - the answer to whether or not we could give an extra gift to the boy who has become part of our family, the boy whom we have never seen in person but who has taken up residence in our hearts. World Vision must be very cautious about this matter of giving, especially in countries where the poverty is so devastating. It would make things difficult if one family seemed to be getting so much more than others. So they carefully, wisely, make these heartbreaking decisions.

"...we learned that due to the fact that the family lives in one room - house,
what is more immediate and necessary for them are the interior doors of
their unfinished house...In this case we think that
the entire GN would go to the family needs."

I thought my heart would break. We know that they have been working on this tiny home for years. I had imagined something just a bit more.

"One room; no interior doors."

I am bowed low with the weight of all we have been given. We have always had doors.

We have always had rooms. We are blessed with such abundance.

I am grateful - for all we have been given and for all that we might give.

My most recent memory verse is this:

"But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to You? Everything we have has come from You, and we give You only what You first gave us."
I Chron. 29:14

Everything I have comes from His hands - everything. My only resources are those things that have been given to me by a Father who loves me with an unending love. Help me, Father, to give back what You have so graciously given to me. All I have is Yours; let all I am be You in me.

Linking to Emily's imperfect prose.



Blessings,
Linda

Thank You For the World So Sweet

One of the things I knew I would miss, once we moved, was our walk. My feet had traveled that little country road for years. When I began, it was a simple dirt road. On the rare occasion when a car or truck drove by, I was lost in a cloud of dust.

Eventually, when the Christian School took up residence not far from us, it was paved. I had to learn the best times to walk, as another school and then a small subdivision were added. It was a bit treacherous when the school buses and parents delivering children to the schools were out and about. Still I walked - sometimes alone, then with a friend, then with my husband.

It was when the stores joined the ever growing community, I knew the days of walking along this stretch of country road I had come to love were numbered.

We have found a new place to walk near our apartment. It is much more urban than I would like. I felt the loss for a while, but then I began to notice the gifts the Father had scattered along the way. Truly, He is always there sending love and grace - if we only have eyes to see.

There is something so calming about water - and water that dances and bubbles over is sheer delight.

Even in this man-made pond the little ducks find a home.

A beautiful "bouquet:"
Texas Sage

a lovely "etching" right in front of my feet!

acorns - in spite of the drought - containers filled with the potential for new life

the wind making the grasses dance

a field of sun flowers

tiny beauties

a "portrait" painted against an impossibly blue background

a splash of color

And this! I couldn't believe he would sit so quietly as I carefully approached. Amazing!

And these two elegant ladies

"Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything."
(Mrs. E. Rutter)


Linking to Ann's and the Gratitude Community


Blessings,
Linda


P.S. Our daughter is here for a visit from Paris. I will be spending as much time as I can with her. Please excuse me if I don't get to visit as much for the next couple of weeks.

Five Minute Friday - Beyond

Our word for today's Five Minute Friday is:

Beyond:

I waited and waited. Sometimes I waited with patience and hope. More frequently I waited tapping my foot, arms crossed, whining and complaining about not getting an answer. Any answer would do at that point, but the silence was killing me.

Some days I had hope that persistence would win out. Other days I was convinced I should just accept the emptiness as a silent "no" and move on.

None of my efforts to manipulate the Lord worked. It seems He really does keep His own counsel, and really does only do what He deems best. He also does it in His own time.

The day came when the silence was broken and the answer came. It came in ways I could never have imagined. It came with blessings I hadn't thought to ask for. It was above and beyond anything I could ask or think.

He is a God who is beyond my own meager thoughts and means.

stop

Come join us at Lisa-Jo's. Encourage and be encouraged as we share our writer's hearts.



Blessings,
Linda

Unwrapping the Graveclothes

It is a familiar story, the one in John 11 where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. The miracle, the power, the glory, the depth of compassion all step out of the pages of scripture and minister to our hearts in a myriad of ways. It seems we can read the same verses at different seasons in our lives and find something fresh and new from the heart of the Father who knows our every need.

This past weekend I heard someone speak on this passage in a way that I had never considered before. He was speaking on recovery, and He was talking to Christians. Somehow we have gotten the idea that when we take that first step of faith and accept Jesus into our hearts as Savior everything from that moment on is going to be good.

Please join me and my little friend Timmy at Laced With Grace today for the rest of this devotional. We'd love to see you there.

Blessings,
Linda

Five Minute Friday - Catch

Today's Five Minute Friday's word is change.


GO:

I went, humbled by the gift of answered prayer and unconditional love. I went simply wanting to receive what He had for me - trying hard to set aside my own agenda. He went before me, and from the very first moments he whispered, "Catch."

Catch the wonder of relationships formed with words becoming warm hugs, beautiful smiles and anointed words.

Catch the beauty of my creation - the wonder of My Artist's heart.

Catch the words of wisdom and knowledge so generously shared.

Catch the joy of simply knowing that I am here.

Catch the spark that I want to ignite in your heart.

Catch the quiet of the still, small voice.

Gather it all and then give it back to me that others might catch the glory and the wonder of who I am.

stop

Joining Lisa-Jo and the other beautiful hearts at Five Minute Friday. Come join us.



Blessings,
Linda