life

Advent: Hoping for Good!

I am reading through the Bible again…. Wait, that’s really not totally true. I am not really trying to “read through it”, I just keep reading it from Genesis to Revelation at my own pace. It’s just my new favorite way to spend my time with God.

I had just finished the old testament and opened up Matthew and I realized I was back at the Christmas story. Great timing! Funny thing is, I typically move to the gospels this time of year. I like to be on the same page with the rest of the world. That kind of unity of focus is something we don’t see a lot of, so I don’t want to waste the opportunity.

During December I tend to go back and forth from Matthew to Luke and then to some of the prophets and their prophecies of the coming Messiah. So today as I dwell on HOPE, I had to run outside and take a picture. I could see the color of the sky through my curtains and knew it would be beautiful. Now don’t get me wrong, I had to put on a bunch of clothes first because it is slightly chilly outside. The effort was totally worth it! As I looked at the sunrise, I thought of the words of Zechariah…..

“Because of the God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and guide us to the path of peace”. Luke: 1:78-79

Sunrise always fills me with HOPE.. A new day, a new opportunity for good to happen. I know there is also the chance of hardship, pain and the not so good happening. But in the first rays of the dawn, my heart automatically HOPEs for good. Truthfully, while the good might not be mine to claim, odds are something good will be happening to someone I love. And that definitely is a good thing! I also realize that the good I’ve received, may be what I’m called to give to someone else… And that might even be better!

December 3, 2025 0

How do YOU know?

I asked them, “how do you know?”

He said, “do you see what he’s holding? He always has the good book open when he speaks.”

Again I asked, “but how do you know?”

“Do you see the words on the screen,” she smiled “it makes it so easy to follow along.”

“Yes, I see,” I answered, “but how do they know?”

“Well, look at all the people” they said.

“There is a lot, but how do we know?”

“We are a bible preaching church,” they said.

And I wondered again, “how do they know?”

And then it hit me, It’s not you, or they, or we, but I. And while all had explanations, the only one that mattered was my own. And in that moment I posed the question as it should have been from the beginning, “how do I know?”

It was then I looked at the book in my hands. Not as well worn as it should be, but getting there the older I got. Verses underlined, notes of what spoke to me and dates to mark where I was waiting for God to do His work. Dates that are growing into a timeline that shows the good He has already done….to see how far He has brought me.

This is how I know. Through a book written just for me, for you…. for all of us.

There is only one way to know. Open the Bible and make it your own.

June 8, 2025 0

Easter: Coffee, jammies and HOPE!

So here we are …. Stuck in the middle again. I felt like this last year, when Mike was recovering from brain surgery. Now? Well there’s nothing like a global pandemic to put life on hold. But is life really on hold, or has the focus just shifted? Maybe here in the middle is where we regain perspective?

They were in the middle too that Saturday, but they didn’t know it yet. They thought it was over, the wise teaching, the healing and the restoration of a nation. Everything they had been living for was changed in one day. Continue reading “Easter: Coffee, jammies and HOPE!” →

April 11, 2020 0

Hosanna?

So Palm Sunday is typically my favorite Sunday of the whole year. I think back to spending it with preschoolers and how we would tell them about that special day when Jesus entered Jerusalem. Making leaves, doing a parade and shouting Hosanna! For preschoolers, it’s the perfect lesson! There is a lot of energy, color and activity in the re-telling of the event. Today though I sit alone in my backyard, missing the energy of the typical Palm Sunday celebrations in church.

I am beginning to think though, that maybe this is how it’s supposed to be? Instead of songs and shouts of Hosanna, I have wind and rain shouting a chorus. And while there are no palm fronds, there are the trees in my backyard violently waving their praise!

While this might not be the Palm Sunday you were imagining, maybe it’s just what you need? This week as we all move toward a very different Easter, may it be a time of reflection and focus. A time to look at life and our priorities. To decide if what we think is important, really IS that important!

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. James 3:17

April 5, 2020 0

Ready to soar in 2020

I was able to talk to my oldest son for a while last night. We stood outside beneath the stars, wondering at the beauty of the night sky. We talked of the new year and the feeling that something was coming. It was a bit foreboding, but we both agreed that no matter if it’s good or bad in store, God would have our backs.

Those were the words I wrote on December 31, 2018, and how prophetic they would turn out to be. So in the few weeks following, my hubby endured more pain, doctor visits and the diagnosis that would change everything. Brain tumor. Even now when we hear the words we shake our heads in disbelief and laugh.

images Now that it’s (mostly) behind us, we are looking forward to the new year more than we typically do. Mike is looking forward to regaining strength and feeling more like his normal self. I am looking forward to …. well I am not sure what? Don’t get me wrong… for Mike I am praying for excellent recovery, and for the boys that they would continue to make strides forward in their lives. Above all that they…….that we all would be able to know God’s presence. But while I felt foreboding last year, I am not sure what I feel this December 31st? It’s definitely not the same heaviness as last year, but it’s also not the normal New Years day feeling. Continue reading “Ready to soar in 2020” →

January 1, 2020 3

Advent: Rejoice!

So it’s Christmas Eve and I am fighting my feelings. I’m sitting here with my hubby on a quiet evening. No family…. Not that normal excitement that usually comes with the season. In some ways it seems kind of sad, but it’s just because things have changed. Most of the boys are now with significant others and living out of town. So we spent our “Christmas” together on Saturday, so that they would be with their ladies families on Christmas day. It was wonderful to be together, but the new normal is taking some getting used to. It was kind of getting me down having such a quiet Christmas Eve and anticipating the same on Christmas Day. It didn’t help that I was going to the doctor because I wasn’t feeling well. Really? Is this how the holiday is supposed to be? Continue reading “Advent: Rejoice!” →

December 25, 2019 0

Advent: Hope

I started tearing up the other day. They were on me so fast, I could barely stop them from coming. It was because of the rain. Now it typically rains during the fall/winter, but this was the first of the year. I may live in California, but here in the Central Valley, there is not a beach in sight. That’s OK though, because I do live just west of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and they are amazing!

There are good points and bad points to this area, but the worst is the air quality. It sucks to put it mildly. As the year goes on, the air quality deteriorates to the point where you can’t even see the mountains, that are with a short drive away. The funny thing is, at some point, I forget they are there. I drive east every morning, and eventually they fade into the haze. So with the first rains of the year, I knew the mountains would be making a comeback. I also knew that since it was raining, they would be obscured by clouds for now, but soon I would see them. And in the anticipation, I found hope. Continue reading “Advent: Hope” →

December 10, 2019 0

Advent: Focus

Advent. It is a new tradition for me, so the first Sunday of Advent almost passed me by. Yikes! It is not my fault! I don’t come from a background where Advent is celebrated, so it just kind of snuck up on me. I was barely over the turkey and it just appeared!

So just like anything in my life, I take what is celebrated by many and use it for my own nefarious purposes. Ok…. Maybe not nefarious, but I definitely do make it my own. I need to have help in keeping focused, and writing helps. I tend to be shall we say….. wordy. So if I have to post something, like for Advent, it helps me to focus and get the writing done. Continue reading “Advent: Focus” →

December 2, 2019 0

Grateful still?……

I was thinking the other day how grateful I was. We had just gotten back from a family wedding in San Diego, and it had been so much fun! It was just a moment when I was reflecting on the wedding, the love of family, the amazing time we had and how far we had come this year.

I thanked God for the peace, strength and all the good people He has put in our path to make it all happen. As I sat there I wondered, would I feel this way if the outcome hadn’t been so good? What if Mike’s health and surgery had not progressed so well? Then I remembered that we aren’t really through it yet.

Continue reading “Grateful still?……” →

July 23, 2019 0