WEARY ONE!

Running, as seen below is no longer in my vocab. Those days are long gone. 

Sometimes even walking, without my cane, can become falling.

Reading Isaiah 40:31 was making me feel "less than" and weary.

They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.     

But God, has shown me there are ways to "run" other than physically. I can go to my prayer chair for others. I can "run on" with encouraging words in a text, an email or a card. Hopefully acts of kindness or a relatable blog entry can make others soar as an eagle.

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. (Proverbs 31:26, ESV)

Thanks be to God who allows me to "run" alongside Him even as I sit in my prayer chair.

SATURDAY SALVE!

A Saturday salve to soothe the soul.

A timely surprise! A kind, tenderhearted gift. (Ephesians 4:32a)

Easily seen from my prayer chair! .

Beautiful from any view!

A smiling bouquet!

A remedy. Think offering sustaining strength as I pray for others! 

Soul soothing!

PRAYER PLACES!

I have "plopped" for prayer in many places!

The phone table at 2211 with a party line, though I'm not sure of many prayers in those early years.

Hospital rooms as I visited others. 

Homes and porches of many friends and funerals.

Church pews, as I attended weddings.

Fireside @ Camp Loucon, Lake Junaluska, Pinecrest and the Cove.

In Hungary it was in a field of sunflowers.

In Ukraine it was by the river at Kompas Park between sessions with kids.

In Antalya, Turkey it was on a sandy beach on the Mediterranean coast between speaking times at a Biblical conference under the guise, for safety, of a business leadership event.

In the mountains of Tlapia, Mexico, a cloth was over my head.

In Costa Rica it was on a train bench in the rain forest.

In Honolulu, Hawaii it was seated on boat ride to the USS Arizona with a snarky, pushy line-breaker. I had to pray for forgiveness for my attitude.

In my "Prayer Chair," in our Tennessee home, often occupied by a grand. 

During this season, with "final" move to NC, I can plop on a large prayer chair, stretch out on a bed, kneel on a floor pillow or stand and look out an eastern view of the mountains because this home has a "prayer room"....... A PERFECT PLOPPING PLACE!

 What a view for worship..... a worthy place to plop and pray for all those devoted to prayer. (Colossians 4:2)!

CHOOSE KINDNESS

Each Saturday as I pray for "grands," mine and others, I pray for them to choose to practice kindness in their lives. (Ephesians 4:32) As I finished my "prayer chair" time, I received a text with this picture from "my" NY family. Lucy made a sign that said, "We can be kind." As she matures, may this be written on the tablet of her heart as well. (Proverbs 3:3)

What an affirmation. May we all choose to be kind to others.

FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTENT

10/5/13 I know the idiom uses familiarity breeds "contempt." A way of stating that less is more---with people, or even as one experiences something a lot. But....I like my word choice better.

After months of fun, with almost non-stop travel activities, it's good to be home.......

and the past few weeks I have been more than content with the ordinary----the familiar. 

My house. My prayer chair. My 3 three squishy bed pillows. My sharpened pencils. My sweet tea. My mundane mornings.

So familiar, so content.

Counseling Comforter

12/1/09 I like comfort----extraneous comfort is something I DO enjoy!! That’s why I have a stack of squishy down pillows and piles of sheets, light-weight blankets, comforters and coverlets all on the bed at once with my HHS “signed “friendship” quilt (gift) across the foot. At the foot of each bed in the house I have “nap blankies” to pull up and add to my resting comfort depending on where I am when I “hit the wall” each day--- Hoptown chum’s, cross quilt (gift) on the “mud” bed (a Liles term for Tempur-Pedic mattress) my grandmother’s quilt in the guest/Mommar’s room, and my teacups afgan (gift) on the window seat in the computer room. It’s also why I have a BIG prayer chair with wide enough arms to hold my morning “cuppa” and my “gift” prayer shawls. Plus, my closet houses more comfy clothes with pockets and adjustable/expandable waists than “decent” clothes and certainly more than formal attire.

Since MAC (my rare cancer), I have had folks from everywhere ministering to me and offering LOTS of extraneous comfort. I’ve probably brought some “sunshine funds” to the brink of bankruptcy and depleted pantries all over the Mid-South while overusing all my prayer warriors. But God…....He doesn’t go bankrupt, get depleted or overused. I know that. He has been my counselor extraordinaire since diagnosis day, January 13. He knew what was down the road for me. Because He understood my future He was the One who could direct my path. I didn’t have a clue---and neither did most of the medical world---but He did. And that was great comfort to me. As I walked the path set before me, He offered comfort through so many of His children.

Christ, the Father of Compassion and the God of all Comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (II Corinthians 3-4)

He Himself was my Comforter…..and still is.