Scatter the flowers

  "The bitterest tears shed over a grave are of words left unsaid and deeds left undone." ~Harriet Beecher Stowe My adult children every once in a while relay stories of their childhood that make me think "Was I even there?"  I'm pretty sure they made some of it up.  They ask me things about their childhood and I just shrug and say "Sorry, if it's not in the photo album  I don't remember ." Of course as I see them raise their young families and do all these amazing things,  I think: "If only I would have..." "I wish I could have..." "I meant to..." But then I shake it off and remember how our parents used to let us roam the neighborhood all day, knowing we'd be home when it got dark, or we got hungry, and we all survived.  They also let us play on the metal 'spider web' on the playground (no net), ride our bikes (no helmets), or lay up in the back window of the car on road trips (no seatbelts).  As a gr...

  Google image "Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends." ~H. Jackson Brown Jr., author of Life's Little Instruction Book 🎕  It all starts with who can stay up the latest at a sleepover in elementary.  Then in middle school it's who will stand up with you against the school bully.  In high school you only need to find one other person to be your bestie to go for chocolate covered cream-filled  long john donuts or help you with Chemistry, or your hair/makeup/outfit/everything.   Friends.  As you age, you call them when your kids are sick, or behaving weird, or you need their recipe.  You share the sale you found and the  movie you love.  You can't wait to tell them so they can celebrate with you, or you need their advice because you're going to lose your mind.  You gut-laugh with them, and at times gut-cry with them.   🎕  There are such great examples of friends in the bible.  Love, lo...

  Google image 🍀Top o' the mornin' to ya!  What's the craic (What's going on)? I hope it's grand and no one's acting the maggot  (misbehaving) or it will be donkey's years (a long time) before it's deadly (excellent) again.   Erin go bragh (Ireland forever)!   I love the Irish, Ireland and St. Patrick's Day.  But it turns out St. Patrick wasn't Irish at all.  I'm not sure how the holiday of drinking got attributed to him either.   And lucky? You decide... He was born in Britain and was captured during a raid where his home was burned by Irishmen and he was taken to Ireland as a slave.  He found a deep faith while being imprisoned and had a vision of escape that he followed and made it back to Britain.  🍀After several years of evangelizing in Britain, he believed through a vision that God was leading him to a ministry back to Ireland- back to his captors.  He made the hard choice to return with only a Bible in hand....

  "Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe." ~ Augustine "I doubt they'll get my order right." "I doubt it will be here on time." "I doubt my voice will even be heard" "I doubt they'll notice." "I'll believe it when I see it." ⁇   Look at all the ways we doubt during a typical day.   Doubt is such a powerful word.  According to the Oxford dictionary, that's when we are uncertain or don't have a lack of conviction.  Of course there's so many frivolous times it doesn't matter, but when it has to do with our faith, it's life-changing. ⁇  The devil loves to sow seeds of doubt and despair.  From the Garden of Eden, he loves us to question what God has promised to us, what God's intentions are, who God is.  Just as Jesus answered the devil in the wilderness, we can always look to God's word for truth and answers.   From the devil: Does God...