Scatter the flowers

  Google image "The circumstances we ask God to change  are often the circumstances God is using to change us." ~Mark Batterson, pastor   Who knows what the end of this day holds?  God does.  And He is not waiting for the polls to close.   He is in control, always has been and always will be.  He is the Alpha and Omega (the first and the last).     Maybe this election season and our nation that is in turmoil has been a refining moment for all of us to decide who we are and what we want to be about in this broken world.  The last few years have been exhausting in some ways, right?     Let's surrender our control (and election results) back to God.  Just ponder each of these verses-they are just some of many that remind us who is in control- and ask God to bring you peace in your heart and mind. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses

  Tree of Life Tapestry Google image "Faith is the deliberate confidence in the  character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time." ~ Oswald chambers 🌳Have you ever worked on a needlepoint for what seemed like an endless amount of hours?  Me either.  I don't have the patience. How about painting using George Seurat's pointillism, where he used a method of painting small distinct dots of color without mixing them, so only when you stood back and looked at it as a whole did you see the way the colors come together so beautifully? La Seine a la Grande Jatte by George Seurat, 1888 🌳Again, me either.   However, I have been known to spend a fair amount of time on a good dot-to-dot with my grandkids, where the picture is revealed as the numbers are connected.  Seriously, so fun.   🌳 This blog is not about me and my minimal amount of patience, stamina or talent.   It's about our gracious Heavenly Father, who on our worst days loves us unconditionally and

  Google image They're black, they're brown, they're up, they're down. They're in, they're out, they're all about. They're far, they're near, they're gone, they're here. They're quick and slick, they're insincere. Beware.  Beware.  Be a very wary bear. ~ Heffalumps and Woozles song, Winnie the Pooh, Disney Studios 👻The Boogeyman.  Watch out for him (and his friends).  This is the season for those "spookies" (as my 3 year old grandson likes to call them).     I'm a pansy.  I've never been one to want to watch a horror flick or go to a haunted house.  I don't actually enjoy being afraid.  I've always been afraid of spiders though (so much that I even put a cartoon spider here, not a real one).  👻 I remember when I was little, or not so little, when an open closet door kept me from sleeping.  I thought the Abominable Snowman was terrifying.  The Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz, don't get me started.  How

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci-The Louvre, Paris "Taking joy in living is a woman's best cosmetic." ~Rosalind Russell   💋 Women amaze me.  Moms leave me awestruck.  Female entrepreneurs are inspiring.  A woman with a servant's heart is admirable.  Any woman accomplished in the music, dance or medical field deserves their own See's Candy factory.  And to own a hockey team. Women can lead so successfully from an external "take control" stance, or they can quietly guide and accomplish the highest of endeavors.   Who Can Find a Virtuous Woman, by Julienne Johnstone 💋  This isn't a girlpower blog, just an admiration for the way God has empowered women to add richness to life, make it more meaningful, and pour love into it in so many ways. I have two of my grandkids this week while their parents are in Europe.  I know, I hear you saying now - "What? You're too old!"  I'm here to tell you that's almost true. 💋  However, as I observe

  Google image "I have so much to do that I shall spend the first  three hours in prayer." ~ Martin Luther   Do you remember that busy signal you would get trying to call someone's landline and they were on the phone?  They were busy talking to someone else and couldn't get your call.   Busyness.  In the 70s it was a landline busy signal.  It defined the role of a successful woman back in the 80s, evidenced by a full planner.  In the 90s a car phone showed we had to be able to be reached at any time.  The 2000s brought us blackberries to signal we had to electronically manage our lives, and now- well is there a person on the planet that doesn't have a cell phone? Yet as 'connected' as we are, studies show direct links to loneliness and cell phone addiction, especially among adolescents.     But let's be honest, sometimes we just want to scroll and be left alone.  And then suddenly it's an hour or so later. At first glance, there doesn't appear

  Google image 🧡 Years ago when I was a mom of young kids, I was in charge of the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) program at our church.  I thought a great fundraiser would be to host a craft fair.  I put out the info through the church and at the time the local paper (that was how long ago it was). Hardly anyone came and the people that paid for their booths were pretty grouchy.  Some even left early. 🧡  I had the best of intentions.  I thought it was a great idea.  It totally tanked. Do you ever feel like a Martha? We try so hard and no one notices.  Or we try so hard not  to do something and intentions get misinterpreted.   🧡  Only the Lord truly knows our heart.    "For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 But sometimes a change of heart is what we need.  We have never had a climate quite like today in our lifetime - stress, divisiveness, uncertainty, financial pressures, natural disasters &