A place to rest

A favorite spot at the nature preserve

Thursdays are my writing days. My normal daily schedule involves homeschooling the kids, laundry, meals and other household chores, working online for a few hours (I work for a homeschool curriculum company), helping Dave as he needs, running to various appointments, and so on. Thursday afternoons are beautiful beacons that lure me out of the house each week. I get my work with the kids and online done as early in the day as possible, and then go walk at the nature preserve, or sit in a favorite sunny spot. Today was gray and rainy, but time in the Word and just to sit and think was refreshing. Usually I spend the first 30 minutes just sitting, eating lunch, and decompressing from life's fast pace.

Last week I sat under a cool maple with the wind whispering through the leaves, watching the sunshine dancing on a glorious green hillside that races up to a brilliant blue sky. So many shades of green: broad, pale stripes from the mower alternating with grassier greens, trees that glow lime-green or stand tall with stately and subdued forest greens...

It was so peaceful after a long, cold winter, and a spring filled with sickness after sickness. So I breathed in deep, long droughts of sunshine and green, and just sat and listened.

Truly my soul finds rest in God;

my salvation comes from him.

Truly he is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2

This reminds me of home and the creek I grew up by

Nature is so healing. Where do you go for healing and rest? Do you have a special place that you spend time with God?

My Magic Light

My computer is in a closet.  Yep, right where we used to keep the winter coats, boots, and hats.  That sounds worse than it really is though!  Truly I have a very quaint little office that's just big enough to hold a 5' wide desk with 4 file drawers, a printer and computer, and 2 shelves above full of books and supplies. 

If you look closely, you can see my son's Hero Factory creations on the bookshelves to the right.  Not sure why they are there right now!  Anyway, my little office is quite cozy, with pictures and things the kids have made.

I even have a few momentos from childhood--Raggedy Ann and Andy Dolls that my Grandma made, animals I used to collect, and a hedgehog from when my mom and I went to England.  (They fit right in with Ziggy!)  Yeah, I'm still a kid at heart...

So, what does this all have to do with a "magic light" you ask?  Well, since I live, er, work, in the closet, the light was on a pull-chain, with a long string attached, and I guess it really wasn't made to be used multiple times per day.  The switch wore out and we replaced it, but soon started to have the same problem again.  I thought about getting a lamp of some kind, but then I'd have more cords to deal with, plus I'm really partial to overhead lighting.  But short of hiring an electrician, I really wasn't sure what to do.  Then my hubby came to the rescue!

Dave found this little gem in the magic hardware aisles where they have all kinds of gizmos and gadgets and things that make things work.  It's a battery operated remote light switch!  I could take this thing anywhere upstairs and turn on my light!  But of course, that would never do...then I'd need a clapper to find the switch, and then something to find the clapper...  So my son mounted it on the wall for me...just like a real light switch!  I know, I'm easily amused.  (Although, in my defense, even the kids couldn't resist trying it out, as if they had never seen a light switch before.)   After spending several days in the dark, I'm pleased as punch to be rid of the pull chain and have a switch!

Hubby switched out the fixture as well:

Now instead of the generic round globe I have a lovely frosted tulip.

So thankful!

Dog Poo and Falling Too...

This might seem like a funny title for a "Thankful Thursday" post!  But my grandma used to say to learn to laugh at myself so I'd always have something funny to think about--and that works for me!

Yesterday I went for a walk, and was feeling kind of down when I started.  Then I found a penny and it reminded me of a friend who used to always throw pennies when he found them, thinking that it would make some little kid's day when he found it later!  And then it reminded me of Dave and shopping at Aldi's where you have to put a quarter in a slot to get a cart--and the joy he takes in giving his cart away to others without getting his quarter back!  So I started to smile and decided...this was a day to be thankful.

The green grass, blue sky, and sunshine--definitely something to be thankful for!

Then, a nanosecond too late to stop myself...you guessed it, I stepped in dog poo.  Then I laughed.  I'm thankful that it went "crunch" instead of "smoosh!"  Yeah, I can be kinda uncouth like that...

I walked a little farther and found another penny.  Ha!  The day's "2-cents worth."

I turned up one of the main streets in our town, and looked for a good time to cross the 5-lane road.  (My walk was doubling as a trip to the health-store for vitamins).  As I watched the traffic, I missed a foot-deep hole and face-planted in the grass.  (Am I the only person who thinks it's funny that I fell on the way to the health-store?!).  If you saw me, it's ok, you can laugh.  I did get up quickly, and hoped no one would stop!

The man at the store suggested this was a good day to be working outside, but I thought to myself, Not with my track record today!

The rest of my walk was uneventful and enjoyable.  I'm thankful I'm able to walk...remembering times when things like asthma and plantar fasciitis have prevented me.  And I'm thankful I didn't break my leg!

Star of the yard

 Today I'm so glad for my mom who bought this lovely little Star Magnolia for us!  For the last two years it only had one bloom, so this year was a great treat!

Dave is master of the bird bath and feeder, and the birds (and squirrels!) clean out the feeder regularly!  A few more years, and maybe they'll enjoy nesting in the branches of Star.

The buds open up into a beautiful, star-shaped cup initially, and then open completely and let the breeze softly flutter through the petals.  God's creation is so varied and amazing, marvel at his beauties!

Thankful Thursdays

Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long,
and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.

~ Deuteronomy 33:12 

So thankful for time to rest in the Lord, to be shielded on days when the fiery arrows seem to come from all around.  He cares for us and calls us beloved.

"Behold Our God"

This song moves me so deeply.  I think of God's train filling the room, his throne encircled in sapphire, Isaiah's coal to the lips, God's kindness to us, rejoicing over us with singing, numbering the hairs on our head, Job's response to God...and I'm filled with awe and wonder.  Let his glory fill the earth!

Thankful Thursdays-Our Portion Forever!

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

~Psalm 73:26

Today I'm thankful for a husband who loves me and a God who gives us strength to endure what seems un-endurable.  I remember at times thinking, we can't live like this!  But here we are, almost 12 years later...and God has brought us through!

But as for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;

I will tell of all your deeds.  

~Psalm 73:28

It's good to be near our Lord!  He feeds our souls.  

What are you thankful for today?