"O dear friend, when thy grief presses thee to the very dust, worship there!" ~ Charles Spurgeon The story of August: Fans running throughout the house and strawberry lemonade on days of 100 degrees Summer marigolds in the garden On a day of hospital visits---Christians who stand firm in the surgery waiting room, quoting James, … Continue reading Sorrow, Psalm 139, & the Good Shepherd
"On warm evenings, we would sit out on the front porch from supper until bedtime. There was no TV then, of course, and on weeknights little traffic on the road. It would be so quiet that you could hear other people talking on their front porches or a bunch of children off playing somewhere. ...Sometimes … Continue reading Summer Canning & Slow Afternoons
We saved pickling for the hottest afternoons in July, letting the big round thermometer beneath Papa Jay’s sunroom swing well over 90, the humidity souping up like the moss on his pond. It was a big job, with loads of cucumbers to harvest between our garden and Papa’s. Over a few weeks, Mom would save … Continue reading Pickling Day
“My heart exults in the Lord;my horn is exalted in the Lord.My mouth derides my enemies,because I rejoice in your salvation.There is none holy like the Lord:for there is none besides you;there is no rock like our God." ~ 1 Samuel 2:1-2 Good things in June: Sunday rain and coming home to a Crockpot of soup How Don wears a cover over his cowboy hat when it rains Discovering the weekly grocery ad Eden Annalise, a new niece who is beautiful and calm -- a perfect third child Finding out we are … Continue reading Fresh Basil, June Babies, & Other Growing Things
I remember the way I described the Atlantic Ocean in my letters to Papa Larry from Cape Cod, when we walked the easternmost hem of Race Point Beach with the sea "rising and falling at our sides." But the Pacific, I now realize, does not "rise and fall" like some prim lady curtsying. It cracks … Continue reading Consider the Hummingbirds and the Seas
"The good of my life and comforts and my happiness are more in God than in myself."~ Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment Things that made me happy in August: Long evenings of light to read on the swing Making Mema's cucumber salad from all the cucumbers in the garden Little Ozark mountain … Continue reading Redwood Trees & Rocks in the Sea
"We reflect the greater storyof our King and His bride."~ Bethany Barnard, Covenant These are the things that made me happy in July: On the first day of July: watering the garden in a sweatshirt, walking in rubber boots around the pond, making granola, sewing a dress Flying down the slippin' slide on the big … Continue reading Fireworks & Wedding Flowers
"I felt as much complimented today as though I had been praised for writing a good book: a man I met, who had bought a comb of honey from my friend, the market man, told me he thought it as fine honey as ever he ate in his life." David Grayson, The Countryman's Year Good … Continue reading Housework & a Honey Harvest
For Papa Jay on his 88th Birthday, Labor Day 2023 You told me “Eight thirty or so,” but of course, you meant eight, And I knew you’d been up a long time before then Because I ran by at dawn And saw the old hurricane lamp was on in the kitchen And the storm doors … Continue reading Eight Thirty or So
"And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. " ~ 1 John 1:4 A blessedly cool breeze on my run The clink and hum of the coffee shop on a Monday morning Little neighbor girls playing outside, yelling about mermaids and lollipops Taking tomatoes to Mrs. Kathy next door, then … Continue reading Thunder & August Rain
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