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The Order of Chaos

  a tangled tapestry "The world is a place in which God creates order, but humanity has a tendency to create chaos." ~Rabbi Sacks 🕊  Ever feel beat up by life?  Like you're on the merry-go-round and it won't slow down enough to exit?  Having the thought, "If one more thing happens..." running through our mind, wondering what we would do? I remember as a mom of young children often just reacting to the cycling sickness, hectic schedule of activities, never-ending decisions of what to make for dinner, and constant barrage of discipline.  It was Monday, then in a blink it was Friday.  🕊   Or an even quicker blink, the kids were babies and now they're grown. As a retired grandma, I have a second to breathe and think about what's going on around me.  There's still the chaotic events of the world, the cycling of sickness and death, and  the decisions to make about how to invest your time, but I think God wants to remind us to breathe during it an...
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Come Rain or Shine

  Google image "The greatest glory in living lies in not never falling,  but in rising every time we fall." ~Nelson Mandela 🐕 It's raining cats and dogs outside my window right now.  Where did that phrase come from anyway?  I mean, I would be okay if it rained cats, but dogs ? That's just mean.  Unless upon landing their paws turned into marshmallows.  Cats would just go on with their barren lives upon landing.   🐈 Is that too vicious?  Anyway ... 🐕  Rain turns me into a 'grab a throw and another cup of coffee' kind of person.  Somewhere along the lines I made a decision to respond in that way, and I'm glad.  I don't want rain to make me grouchy.  Yes, it can damper some outdoor plans, but where I live as long as it's raining there won't be fire danger.   These past several weeks a lot of spiritual 'rain' fell across our world.  It was dark, storms raged between people, and suffering and sadness loomed....

How to Fight Back the Darkness

  Crosswalk image Nothing makes Satan weak in the knees more than when we are on our knees."   ~ Skip Heitzig, Pastor Death.  Killing.  Violence.  What do we do with such heavy hearts in such a dark time? With the knot in our throats and the pit in our stomachs that are weighing on our souls?  When we look around us, nothing on this broken earth can fill our void of sadness and despair.   So we look up to the One who created all things and who alone has the power to bring light and help: "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.   What does help look like?  When does it come?  How much will we get?  Anger, confusion, bitterness, hostility, helplessness and fear overcome us in different ways and at different times.  We want reasons- we ask, "Why, Lord, why?" We instinctively want a reckoning- someone to pay for the injustice that has happened....

Fairy Gardens Rule

The Hobbit "I killed a goblin or two with a flash." ~ Gandalf, from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien    🏡  I came across some fall villages I had bought months ago & forgot about.  When I unpacked them I realized I had a huge smile on my face.  Now I have been building a Christmas village for 39 years now, so imagine my heart leaping for joy when I discovered fall villages!  What genius soul created that- thank you!! 🏡 I know I have a weird fascination with fairy garden world.  Those cute miniatures just make my heart happy.  It's like a hobbit world without the bad goblins, trolls or wargs.  It's like a piece of the world where sin is not allowed, no mean people can live there, food has no carbs, everyone is kind, and each house has endless coffee brewing if you just happen to stop by.  And everyone has their own pumpkin patch. Hmmm.  That reminds me of a place we read about where sin isn't allowed, where love abounds, Jesus is K...

Remember when?

  Google image "Good friends will stick with you until you're unstuck." ~ Winnie the Pooh Remember that time we ...? I will always think of you when I see... This reminds me of that time we ... I can't believe you remember... I recall you were the one that ... Ah, memories.  Good, bad,  life giving,  life threatening, even life endangering.  There's no greater feeling than seeing an old friend, someone we shared life with at one time or another, or still do.  They know us for us - in weakness and strength,  sound mind and sound body or unsound mind and frail body.   There is a niche in time carved out that we shared together, where we put our imprint on something somewhere.  The understanding doesn't even have to be uttered but it is because it brings back the emotion of the experience and resolidifies our relationship. Acceptance is realized and appreciated.  No one can take away that shared survival. ❔Who is our best old friend? "...

Jesus Loves Me This I Know

  "God loves each of us as if there's only one of us." ~ Augustine    🎵What's the one song that is your go-to, feel good, get you out of the dumps song when you're having a bad day?   The one that speaks to your soul, or had a profound effect on you during an especially challenging time in your life?   Did you know one of the songs most dementia patients remember from their childhood is "Jesus Loves Me".  It's  an emotional anchor for them spiritually, and songs like these provide comfort, reduce anxiety and promote social interaction,  providing a lot of therapeutic value, according to the National Institute of Health. 🎵This simple hymn was written to comfort a dying child, and it has comforted countless people of all ages to this day.  Think about its' content, and, though simplistic, how submerged in Scripture it is:   🎵    "Jesus loves me"- "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that wh...

Christmas in July

  Google image "I will honor Christmas in my heart and try  to keep it all year." ~ Scrooge, A Christmas Carol 🌞Alright, alright - I hear you.  Please don't talk about Christmas while you are enjoying summer.  (But someone needs to hear this - there are only 157 days left.)  And you know what comes out  first- the school supplies, then one day later the autumn decor.  Then three days after that is Christmas everything.  And my happy meter spikes:)  I can already smell the pumpkin spice latte.☕ Now some may think I'm trying to throw shade on the whole summer experience. 😎 And you would be right.  I only endure summer because fall is just around the corner, and I am finally able to celebrate this time of year appropriately, without a start to school.   I will admit I love the poppies that are growing in my yard.  And of course the baby deer.  And the garden tomatoes and peaches.  OK, summer does have some redeemi...