Scatter the flowers

  "Women Kneeling in Prayer", George Henry Boughton "We must talk to God about men before we talk to men about God." ~ Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ Ahhh. Fall.  The smell of fallen leaves, crisp morning air, colorful mums between pumpkins, cinnamon.  Doesn't it feel like your soul just got hugged by an old friend?  It's easy to find joy in the little things in this season that give us a temporary lift. And then we turn on the news.   Joy zapped.   Last blog we talked about how we can fight the battle of losing our joy by using our gifts God gave us to bring a little cheer to others.  I hope you thought about some ways you could incorporate that into your daily life.  Your gifts are yours, and others need you to use them.  I have benefited this past week by gifts some of my friends & family have used - listening to me, challenging me to act on some intellectual pursuits, thinking of me with texts, encouraging me with nostalgia,

  "Together we can change the world, just one random act of kindness at a time." ~ Ron Hall, author of 'Same Kind of Different as Me' 💙    I don't intend for this blog to go dark on you all, so bear with me.  It seems like we go to bed and aren't sure what we'll wake up to, doesn't it?  Last year Russia attacked Ukraine on the other side of the world from us, but we felt the ripple.  This past week Israel was attacked and it is rocking our world and has the potential to upend it.   I find myself feeling like I have no control and am a victim to whatever happens out there.   And this doesn't even address the personal issues we or those we care about are going through.  People are getting the scary news of cancer, divorce, children going through tough times, schools misguiding our kids/grandkids.  Oh Lord, help us! 💙  None of us like feeling this way, right?  Time for some grounding.  I started this blog because I was inspired by Sister Therese of

  When the Wind Had Wings by Bev Doolittle "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." ~ Henry Ford 🐴 Do you ever find yourself singing a song, and then you stop for a second and think about the lyrics and you can't believe you were singing it?   "I want you to want me.  I need you to need me.  I'd love you to love me. "  Because I lived in the 80s where music was absolutely incredible, I have this AWESOME Cheap Trick song in my head.  It's a window into human nature - we all want to be wanted, right?   Why? 🐴 Because, as we touched on in my last blog , God designed us for relationship with Him, and when we look to people or things to fulfill that relationship, we are left feeling want.  No one can satiate our souls with love and peace but God.  So why do we look to other things? We want to be loved.  Because of romantic novels, movies, fairy tales,  we think there is "the one" who is going to love us foreve