SABBATH SNAPSHOTS: Boys! Boys! Boys!

7/28/13 Hooray! Hooray!! We're on our way........our summer camping vacation begins today. Boys ages 11, 9 (2), 7, 6, 5, 2, and 1 girl (7).
Have you ever tried & succeeded in  taking a picture of 6 boys with all eyes open, all smiling, all facing the camera?

Since Nathan was looking down in the group picture, he gets one of his own.

Sippin' Choices

7/27/13 In the "teas" of life, it's all about choices. Everyone knows the old adage, "Happiness is a choice".......so is sereni-TEA..... and I need big gulps of it as we prepare for our trip.

Remember, I'm the "excessive planner" type. I want everything perfect for the family (18 of us) on our upcoming camping trip to the mountains. Though I know, as I tell everyone else, camping is all about "making do." It's in the "making do" that we make those memories.

Ready. Set. Pack.......But do we need 241 lures??

So I choose to leave the other teas behind---at least I'm trying to do that. Trying hard not to brew up anxie-TEA and for sure I want to leave the guil-TEA at home---if things don't go as planned. 

I have done all I can do and the rest is up to God.

Sippin' sereni-TEA as we tuck them in and praying for lots of safe-TEA all along the way!

Papal Wisdom

7/25/13  In Rio de Janeiro today, the Pope (Francis) said, "....we must do more to end the culture of selfishness." That's the only part I heard and I don't want to take it out of context. However, that reference to selfishness resonated in my own conscience. Working with high schoolers for several years opened my eyes to their expectation of instant gratification and their perceived unfairness if they were ever on the short end of any "they have, I want" stick. I blamed it on their self-centered age.

Not today. Today I saw myself afresh.  SELFISH (in all caps) brought me up short.

Philippians 2:3-4 is my defense. My weapon. I will use God's word to fill my mind. Hopefully, that will cast out all those ungrateful, selfish thoughts and allow me to see the Lord's truths in a fresh way.

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

I'm not Roman Catholic, but I thank the Pope for his wise words. Words that took me to the Word. God's words that I need to keep at the forefront of my mind.

Seasonal Meditation

7/22/13

"To everything there is a season. A time for every purpose under heaven.

....a time to be silent and a time to speak,.....a time to weep and a time to laugh,...a time to mourn and a time to dance." (Ecclesiastes 3: 1, 7, and 4)

All of those emotions are real. All are valid responses to both the blessings and the seeming curve balls which life throws our way. Life isn't always one or the other----sometimes I can burst out laughing right after a good cry. 

But sometimes I have to let grief run it's course. Right now I'm dealing with the pain of watching dear friends struggle with disappointments---both in relationships and in disappointing biopsies.  I'm silent because I'm not sure what to say. I try not to let the circumstances touch me, at least not while I'm with them. I'm mourning for them. I'm not ready to dance. But God.....has said there is a time.....and I need to trust His timing. 

As Laura Story sings, 'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?'

God's Word, song lyrics and an African (Zimbbwe) proverb are all "food for thought" on this Monday of seasonal meditation.

SABBATH SNAPSHOTS: A Maine Event

7/21/13 Maine is glorious from sunrise in Acadia National Park at Cadillac Mountain to sunset on the Bar Harbor village green listening to the band----and everything in between. Cadillac Mountain at 1,528 feet is the highest summit in ME and thought by many "down east" folks to be the first location in the United States struck by the sun's rays each morning. (3:55 CST)

God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. (Genesis 1:16)

Long Island Lucy

719/13 For those who asked I just posted the pics from last weeks' Long Island trip w/ Josh, Megan & Lucy. Just click here to get to them....Long Island Lucy.

Thnx to folks who told me link wasn't working----hope it's fixed now. Enjoy---we certainly did.

BTW, last summer's Beach Olympic pix still haven't been posted but as soon as they are I will personally email SW so she can see them.

DRAWN TO THE LIGHT

7/19/13 Drawn to the light." For me, that  phrase encapsulates my essence in both the physical and the spiritual realm.
I like light streaming in through my windows, so I open the shutters. I choose doors with glass instead of solid doors. I pull blinds and shades all the way up. 
I have loved the openness of our neighborhood for the past 36 years---mostly fenceless. Kids were not hemmed in and ball fields & mini golf cart routes could stretch through four backyards,
But in the past three months, fences have gone up. Confinement---no longer our open space

Now, hubby is closing in our carport. I understand his decision. Safety. Since our break-in we have both felt "uneasy," to say the least. But as I've watched the walls go up, I've lost the light and view from my kitchen sink.  It seems to have taken the breath right out of me.

How grateful I am for a hubby who wants to protect me and provide an extra measure of security. But, how sad I am to lose my light. It's as if the burglars robbed me of more than my possessions.
But God......reminds me of the only true security I have. The One who is the Light. A Light that can never be taken from me. For that, I am eternally grateful.

CELEBRATING LIFE!

7/15/13 Headed to the mailboat early this morning to "ferry" over to Isleford, the hamlet located on Little Cranberry Isles.  Isleford is the home of our dear friend Ashley Bryan and though he's visited our home in Memphis several times and daughter and I have visited him on the island, today was hubby's first visit. Larry was just as enthralled with our time as I was. Plus we got to meet Ashley's Sus, (Susan V.) who is sort of like the island's chamber of commerce welcoming gal, as well as running the general store and handling all of Ashley's schedules and "tech" stuff. He doesn't even have an answering machine.
Ashley showed us new art work and shared his upcoming book, "Can't Scare Me" from memory. He's a great story teller so that was a real treat. His book should be out  by the end of summer.

Ashley, an animated storyteller brings his words to life----can't wait to see his illustrations for his new book, "Can't Scare Me."

What a glorious day! Time visiting and chatting with Ashley and soaking up his "wisdom" as well sharing his gourmet Dean & DeLuca passion fruit and coconut birthday cake. In celebration of his 90th. What a delight to while away the hours with such a special friend.

Because Ashley so embodies the essence of Psalm 90:12, that's the verse for meditation today. Ashley understands "numbering of days as he lives each day with gratitude and has not only a heart of wisdom but also one of the kindest hearts, I know.

So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:12-14, 17)

Ashley celebrates each day as a "birth" day. He celebrates living and he does it well.

In one of Ashley's studios---this is where he is using sea glass to create the stained glass image of Paul, the apostle. He has already completed Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Peter with glass he finds along the shore. With the apostles bookending his creations, he depicts the life of Christ and florals in his panels as well.

SABBATH SNAPSHOTS: LONG ISLAND

7/14/13 Long Island: North Fork---the quieter more rural side. Perfect for time with little Lucy and family---lots of open spaces, a beach just down our walking road, outdoor shower experiences, horses and goats and ducks and chickens, picnics, dinners at the open air pier, outdoor grilling w/ fish, scallops & shrimp, lots of ice cream, roadside stands and thriving flowers. A vacation very much an answer to prayers!

Lucy mailing postcards to her 6 cousins.--all boys

As if we had our own private beach

Lace-cap hydrangeas--almost indigo in color

Porch Time

What does the horsie say? Lucy knows.

Fields of sunflowers 

Organic berries & veggies & goat cheese at KKs

Chickens and ducks and goats, oh my!

Lavender on steroids!

Certainly shoes must match sunsuit.

Snuggletime for Daddy &Lucy

Last morning "cuppa" with Shug, in a china teacup, no less!

SATURDAY SADNESS

7/13/13 On our last morning with Josh, Megan and Lucy, the sadness begins to creep in---"so much felt, so little said" syndrome. Hard to express the "tearing away" feeling of the heart when one has to part from loved ones. But God....has brought to mind that we'll see them in October. They're coming to Les and Ashley's wedding.....and it's in Memphis. YEA!!!

At Lucy & Dixie's (the dog) favorite "rock beach" at Orient Point where we'll catch the ferry later this morning as we head up toward Maine and they all head home to Brooklyn.

Lucy "talks" to Daddy. She's only 21 mos. but  is a real chatterbox---and  you should her her sing!! She has quite a repertoire!