Summer's Peace

 

I have photographed the chapel in the field behind us many times, and I love how the trees framed it this summer. This is a close-up, as the chapel is a bit further away then this photo shows, but I wanted to get another shot to remember our view of it. The field behind us will be getting developed in the months to come, and eventually new houses will block our view of the field and the chapel. Time often brings changes, and this is one change I am not looking forward to, yet I understand it and will adjust. We knew when we moved here it would happen one day; we just hoped it would be several more years before we lost the view.

 

Hopefully, there will be several more moments to photograph the field and the chapel before they fade out of our sight.

 

 

Many times, we have left from a visit with our extended family members in the Midwest with our memories and photographs to keep us until we see them again. I cherish these photographs, for they help to keep my memory of this time together clearer.

 

I have found many if the words of our Savior a comfort when change happens in my life. I share these words in John 14:27 as a reminder that He alone brings us peace. In this world of change, He is our one and only constant.

 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled

and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

 

Count Your Blessings

This beautiful post by Ann Voskamp was on Facebook today, and I want to pass it on.

Shalom

Post by Ann Voskamp.

Great Love

Broken Clay Pots

Yesterday was very hot and very windy.

Our patio is exposed to the west, and the wind usually comes from the northwest.

We get a lot of wind in our yard, since there is an open field right behind our house.

I love the open field and I recognize that wind is going to be a part of that openness.

 

Twice now this summer, the wind has toppled over two clay pots,

breaking them into pieces and making them useless for the plants that are in them.

Here is the one I found yesterday when I arrived home:

 

 

 

It held a lavender plant that didn't fit in the ground space

I have other lavender planted in, so I potted it.

 

 

Large and small pieces of terra cotta were broken away...

 

but these pieces will not go to waste.

 

I added them to the little box that held the broken pottery pieces from the other pot that broke when the wind caught it. I will save them to use in the bottom of pots as I plant new flowers or herbs someday.

 

The lavender will thrive in a new pot, for although its outer shell, the pot, was broken, the plant itself is healthy and growing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Respecting Our Elders

When I met Mary, she'd moved in with our neighbors after leaving the farm she and her husband had raised their family on.  

With her husband now gone and family long grown up, she was welcomed by the church family she loved and that loved her.

 

She was probably in her 80s then, and full of spirit, both Holy and energetic.

 

To say Mary love the Lord was almost an understatement;

Mary LOVED the Lord.

She sang for the Lord.

She prayed to the Lord.

She talked about the Lord.

She acted on behalf the Lord.

 

 

Mary was also a simple woman.

She worked the land with her hands,

recycled long before it was vogue,

and probably never stayed in a fancy hotel or traveled very far.

Mary was the real deal,

nothing put on, fake or done-up.

 

And did I say, Mary LOVED Jesus?

 

The peony bush pictured above came from Mary's farm. She blessed me and the friend she was living with by allowing us to go to her farm and dig up whatever we wanted. We each got peonies and transplanted them in our yards, where we were reminded of our dear friend Mary after she left for a nursing home and after she left this world for her heavenly home.

 

When we sold our home and built this one 2 1/2 years ago, a new house in a new neighborhood where the trees are young and the landscaping is put in by the builders, we planted this peony bush, along with other plants we'd had at our former home, replacing most of the cookie-cutter landscaping and making this new place seem more like home.

And this peony bush has thrived.

It has more blossoms this year than it ever has,

and the scent sends me to the moon.

 

Did I tell you that this peony bush is well over 100 years old?

 

How fitting that this beautiful bush is as old as it is beautiful.

Just like Mary.

Mary was old and she had a beautiful heart.

We respected her as our elder as well as our friend and Sister in Christ.

Every time this bush shares its beautiful blossoms and their scent, I am reminded of Mary.

 

Stand up in the presence of the aged,

show respect for the elderly and revere your God.

I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:32

 

Look Up

The Hope of Easter

I've had this little guy with his "hope" balloon for several years,

given to me by 0ne daughter after she and her family moved back to Montana

and before our other daughter and her family moved back.

 

We all have experienced the hope of

 ~ loved ones returning,

~ a diagnosis that is easy to treat,

~ a day without pain,

~ a sunny day for an outside wedding,

~ a meal when the cupboards are bare,

~ a hope fulfilled when all looks hopeless.

 

 

 

But there is a different kind of hope...

 

a

Living Hope

in Christ Jesus...

 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

 In His great mercy He has given us new birth

into a living hope through the

resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...

1 Peter 1:3

 

 

This is the hope of Easter.

A Promise

Sometimes something happens that stops you in your tracks

and changes your world forever.

 

Jesus is there for any who have experienced a broken heart,

and He keeps all of His promises.

 

Psalm 147:3

 

Eternity's Mirror

 

 

 

 

 

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,

but on what is unseen,

since what is seen is temporary,

but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18