"Monday Monday So Good To Me....."

My work week starts on Tuesday, so Monday is a treat for me. After a busy previous week and most often a busy weekend, it is the one day of the week that I don't have to do anything!! At least every other one. I teach Bible study on every other Tuesday, and the Monday before my turn I usually finish up my outline. Most often though, I get to hang out and do what I want to do........I'll sleep in and then enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee while watching the news. Later on in the day I sometimes go to the library or I will do a little shopping at TG Maxx. I usually fill up the bird feeder with seeds and nuts for a week's worth of dining pleasure for my feathered friends. I practice my guitar and learn new songs to sing, or I do a little baking, or look I at a magazine and dream of projects to do. And sometimes, I even get to take a little nap in my recliner while I catch up on my recorded HGTV and DIY shows. As I am typing this I am realizing something that you the reader probably already have........I sound like an old woman!!

"Great Grace"

This post is for all of our loved ones who are struggling with cancer. I have to tell you that I hate that word.......That one word can strike fear into the stoutest of hearts, and it can bring all to their knees. Truly, being on our knees is the place to be in the best of times, but when this horrible word is spoken to a loved one, or to ourselves, being on our knees is the ONLY place to be.

Mitch's sister, Deb, has had a recent diagnosis of cancer, my best friend Jenny's sister Sarah has cancer too. There are 6 people at our church that I know of who are struggling with cancer, and I am sure that all of you know of more. There have been loved ones who have died from this disease, and loved ones who have made it to being cancer-free, I thank Jesus for His love and grace that covered all!!

Let us join together in prayer for our loved ones as they battle this disease. Let us be the voice of encouragement and grace as they fight the affects of treatment.

I felt that today's reading in, Streams in the Desert, was a great encouragement for all of us.........especially the ones who are ill with this horrible disease.

His grace is great enough to meet great things-

The crashing waves that overwhelm the soul,

The roaring winds that leave us stunned and breathless,

The sudden storms beyond our lives's control.

His grace is great enough to meet the small things-

The little pinprick troubles that annoy,

The insect worries, buzzing and persistent,

The squeaking wheels that grate upon our joy.

Annie Johnson Flint is the author of this poem, and she knows hardship; she was blind her whole life long, and yet the Lord used her to write the most beautiful worship songs and poetry.

The Best Laid Plans.......

I saw some sweet Primroses at the hardware store last week....Don't you just love Primroses? I especially like the blue and yellow ones. Whenever I see them I am reminded that Spring is not far away.

I had planned to buy some today and plant them in some pretty pots for my front porch.......but, you know what they say about the best laid plans of Mice and Men....by the way, does anybody know what that phrase means, or what is the story behind it? Anyway, the weather decided to not play along with my plans.....Baby, its cold outside! The temperature dipped down to the low 30's and the prediction for tonight in the teens! Last week it was 60 for heaven's sake! So I decided to wait awhile before doing any outside planting.

This afternoon, Mitch and I had to stop at the hardware store to pick up some nails for the Porch Project, and there they were, those pretty little Primroses, all lined up on a cart, braving the cold windy blast.......looking like Spring.

Today

Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love,

For I have put my trust in You.

Teach me the way that I should go,

For to You I lift up my soul.

These words, from a song that I love, came to my mind this morning and have stayed on my heart all of today.

Since this morning I have prayed that I would be aware that His mercies are new today....no left-overs from yesterday. I hope that my heart will always remember that the guidance I needed today was given, and will be given again and again, with each new 'today'....All I have to do is ask....And so, at the end of this today I have found Him faithful and true.....for today He brought me word of His unfailing love.

Porch Project Update

Up-date/noun

1. An act or instance of updating

2. Current information for updating something

3. An up-to-date version, account, or report

We are getting closer to the finish line. In case you are wondering there are cedar planks on the ceiling......doesn't it look beautiful?

Fine Feather-y Friends

I love birds....I love everything about them.....their fluffy feathers and beautiful colors, the fact that they can fly without an airplane :), their ability to withstand the elements, and that they build nests in the most unexpected of places. I remember one particular set of Robins who built their nest at the very end of a branch in an Elm tree in the backyard of our place in Colorado. The nest was built so far out on a limb :) that I considered those Robins rook-y nest builders, they didn't seem to know what they were doing; for when the winds blew, the branch of the tree would sway from side to side and the little baby Robin that was sitting cozily in the nest would wind up being dumped onto the ground. Mitch was my resident "pick-up-the-little-Robin-and-place-it-back-into-it's-nest-guy." I still have a sweet and funny memory of Mitch standing on the very top of our small step ladder, trying to place the little Robin back into it's nest while the mommy and daddy Robin flew and dove about his head....and my cat, Cleo, was howling from the screened porch where I had locked her up! Needless to say Mitch would get the little bugger back into the nest, and all would be well........until the wind blew again!

When we moved from Colorado, I knew that I would miss watching a pair of Mourning Doves that would build their nest in the Fir tree out front. I used to watch the daddy Dove fly from the tree to the ground and return again with a twig or moss in it's beak. He would then walk into the interior of the Fir tree and leave the bit of nest-building material in it, and pop back out a few minutes later to fly away to search for more. Did you know that Doves mate for life, and that they will return each year to the same place to build their nest and to lay their eggs? Knowing this made my heart sad as I said Good-Bye to my little house in Colorado. I sometimes wonder if the pair of Doves is still coming back to that Fir tree.

I have a bird feeder in the lone Maple tree in my front yard. I love to hear the birds singing in the morning and in the late afternoon as they come for their meal of seeds and nuts. Well, at least some seeds......I stopped buying the mix with sunflower seeds in it, after I discovered that the birds would grab a seed and take it to eat it on my front porch! Even though I love birds, I don't particularly love what comes out of their back ends!! So.......no more Take-Out for these birds!

I think that my favorite thing about birds is their call, their sweet song. There are a variety of Common Finches that visit my feeder and an occasional Chickadee, and their calls are sweet to hear. One morning, a month or so ago, as I was sitting having my coffee, I heard the sound of a Mourning Dove. I was so excited to find that I had attracted some to my feeder, since I had been missing my Colorado pair of Doves! I was hoping that as our trees grew that this pair would keep coming back, and would one day build their nest in our tree, but it looked like that wasn't to be, since I hadn't seen them for a bit.....but, the other day, I heard their call, and there they were, sitting on the back fence. Maybe they will stay for a while this time, build a nest and settle down, maybe they will feel as much at home here as I do.

Latin: rhinitis acuta catarrhalis

I have always been proud of my health, so I guess the Lord wanted to knock me down a few notches......I have a cold....again....for the 3rd time this winter! It is funny that the more I try to remember to take my vitamins, eat right, and get my daily recommended dose of 8 hours of sleep, I still got another cold.....ah well.......I'm off to brew some more hot tea with lemon and wishing I had some chicken soup to go with it. Here is to hoping that the rhino-virus will take its big ol' self on outta here.

"The Simple Answer"

The last time we were in Spokane I snapped this photo of the sunset......You can tell by the picture that the sky looks like it is on fire......Because of the wind, the clouds were in motion and with the sunlight behind them, they looked just like flames in a fireplace, leaping and dancing.......It was simply beautiful.

I am reminded of the words from the Bible that tell me that my God is a Consuming Fire. So often I let other things consume me.....I let the cares and concerns of my everyday life hold me captive......I let my feelings have their way more often than I care to admit and yet.......To be consumed in everlasting love and to be held in the Everlasting Arms, to dance for joy before my King.....Could there be anything better than that? Is there anything that can replace my God's all Consuming Love for me? The answer is simple..........NO.

The Handwriting on the White Board....

My grand daughter Rachel is so cute.......she wrote this on my Grocery List.........And yes, I do have a good and wonderful and oh so sweet grand daughter.......her name is Rachel.