Encouraging Deep Roots

It's February, the month of love. I think that February is one of my favorite months for many reasons. First and foremost, it signifies that I'm almost through the winter! This has been a rough one. It's -12 Fahrenheit right now with a windchill of -22. It's also the month of other fun events - the Superbowl, my son's birthday, Valentine's day, my husband is off his teaching and tutoring because of winter break. This weekend I'm looking forward to participating in our local farmer's market. The following week we are going to go and visit my daughter and son-in-law for a couple of days. All fun things! But February is also a reminder of love. I have this little plaque that sits on my mantle that says, "Love lives here." I often have to ask myself, "Is that true?" "Do I love well?"  Some days, the answer is probably, "No." But then other days I do a better job. As I reflect back over the past week, I had more days wh...

Each day I rise and look out the window for a glimpse of the sun. For the past couple of months there are many days when I can't see it because it is shrouded by clouds and snow. But when I do catch a glimpse of the rays, it raises my spirits. I miss seeing sunshine in the winter. Lately, I've seen it peeking out more often as the days are beginning to lengthen. The sun has a different feel and it brings a bit of hope that the bad weather won't last forever. Because the cloud cover has been less, I've also had opportunity to see some beautiful sunsets. I find those glimpses of the sun bring me renewed energy and joy. The days when the sun is out all day long are the best.  From a spiritual perspective, from dawn to dusk, I do have the Son shining on me. I am able to face whatever is happening around me with hope because of the light of Jesus Christ. He brings hope and peace. He gives me the strength to face hard things. He brings joy. He allows me to pass that on to oth...

I'm getting ready to spend the last day of this never-ending January at a conference. It's 4 a.m. and Dan and I will be headed out in a couple of hours to drive the hour and a half to get there. To be honest, I don't really feel like going since it's 8 degrees out and I also have a long list of things I could be doing. But the main reason I'm attending is we have a couple of younger people from our church going and I want to encourage them, especially the young woman who is attending.  I turned 64 last weekend and there is part of me that feels as if my time is over, but then I remember I still have much to offer. I'm finding that as I age that the opportunities in my life are less about me and more about coming alongside the next generation and helping them lead and grow.  I head up a writing team for our national women's group and what I've been doing is seeking out younger women who normally may not have an opportunity to write for a larger audience. ...

Every now and then I will take a passage of scripture and re-write it in own words. This morning as I was reading in Psalms I felt the need to do this with Psalm 73. It helped my anxious thoughts. Psalm 73 God Alone When all is falling down around me - God alone. When the world is in chaos - God alone. When injustice reigns - God alone. When innocent people are accused and enslaved by bad ones - God alone. When it seems as if evil is winning - God alone. When I am in despair - God alone. When wicked people mock & gloat - God alone. When I have to be strong for others and it seems too much - God alone. When I stumble and fall - God alone. When I fall prey to envy and discouragement - God alone. When others fall away - God alone. When I feel helpless - God alone. When I'm hurt - God alone. 💓💓💓💓💓 God alone because He is all I have.  God alone because El Roi sees. God alone because He is my strength. God alone because He is all I need. God alone because He is righteous and jus...

I recently went for a walk and took this photo. The funny thing was I really couldn't see well nor look directly at the tree while snapping the picture because the sun was so bright. Since having cataract surgery I notice that being outside is difficult because the brightness does hurt my eye. I know that will change as my eye heals. But when I got home I thought this was a neat shot with the tree standing alone, the sun shining through the branches and the shadows on the ground. There was beauty in the stark branches against the backdrop of the snow. I love taking nature pictures. I love getting out and hiking. I enjoy being creative. God has wired me to be able to do many different things, to be able to do them quickly and do them fairly well. And yet, so often, I keep trying to stick to one thing. I think, "I have to stop doing multiple things and only do this thing." And every single time I attempt that I find myself sinking into feelings of being down and depressed. ...

I had a follow-up appointment at the eye doctor this week and it was busy in the office. When I came out of the exam room there was a crowd of people around the receptionist desk. There was an Amish family, a few older and younger people and the waiting area was full of people too. It was noisy and kind of chaotic. As I waited my turn to check out, I heard the nurse call a man's name and then heard a rattle of chains. I looked to see a prisoner, dressed in a black and white striped prison outfit and shackled at the hands and feet being led by two police officers to the exam room I had just come out of. It was a bit of a shock as he was out of place. I do know the Amish family is front of me looked extremely uncomfortable! And I didn't feel much more at ease either as he was paraded right in next to me. I certainly wasn't expecting that to happen. I commented to my husband on the way home that he must have commited some sort of major crime as I couldn't imagine someone w...